The following were three methods of control that the Nazi Party used to control the Germans:

(i) Manipulating the law
(ii) Use of propaganda
(iii) Use of violence and intimidation

Which of the methods was most effective? Explain your answer. [13]

One of the methods was the manipulation of the legal system. Through this method, it became justified and legitimate to take action against anyone in Germany. For example, the Enabling Act allowed Hitler to make laws without the need to seek approval from the Reichstag. This effectively wiped out all opposition. With the Enabling Act, he made all opposition illegal, including trade unions. Another example that demonstrated Nazi manipulation of the law as a method of control was the introduction of anti-Jewish laws. This limited Jewish presence in German society as they could not work in the government or even appeared in certain public places. All these laws encouraged discrimination against the Jews.

The second method was the use of propaganda. In schools, children were brainwashed with Nazi ideas at a very young age. Subjects were adjusted to support Nazi ideas regarding history, geography and biology. Students were expected to join youth organisations set up by the Nazis, who would instill Nazi values in them. All these resulted in future generations of Germans who would remain loyal to the Nazis. These youths were so influenced by Nazi ideas that they would obey the Nazis willingly. This was most obvious when many of them willingly participated in the ill-treatment of the Jews. For the general public, Nazi messages were constantly sent to the people through posters and radios. Censorship was very thorough in order to ensure the people would only be influenced by pro-Nazi messages. Such propaganda tactics were quite successful, as seen in the subsequent willingness of many Germans to fight for Hitler in the Second World War.

Violence and intimidation was also used as a method of control, especially in dealing with any opposition. The secret police, known as Gestapo, was created to arrest people who were expressing any sort of dissent. Informers were planted in all aspects of society to monitor the people's loyalty. These created an environment where nobody would dare to express dissent openly. Even dissent within the Nazi Party was forbidden, as the Night of the Long Knives had proven, as the more independent-minded SA was destroyed by the SS. For those Germans who were arrested, they would be sent to concentrated camps, where living conditions were purposely kept poor so that nobody was likely to survive. All these made Germans fearful of going against the Nazis in any way.