Account for the role of terror in the Nazi Regime

When the Nazi’ came to power, Hitler wanted Germany to be a one party state and desired Germany to be an Aryan state. Hitler used terror tactics to achieve these aims. Firstly Hitler used the SS, which were a fierce force built of exemplary Aryan man, blonde hair and blue eyes, which was very loyal to Hitler. The role of the SS had changed in the years that the Nazi’s were in power. They became the main means of terrorising and intimidating Germans into obedience. The SS almost had unlimited power to arrest people without trial, search houses, or confiscate property. They also ran the concentration camps. Secondly Hitler used concentration camps for his terror tactics. Opponents were taken there for questioning, torture, hard labour and ‘re-education’ in the early days of the Nazi regime. If someone was killed at a concentration camp family members would receive a note saying that the victim had died of pneumonia or had been shot whilst trying to escape. By 1939 the Nazi’s had built up a large business using their prisoners as slave labour, extracting raw materials and manufacturing weapons. Later these concentration camps became scenes of mass Genocide. The concentration camps installed fear in anyone who was considered and enemy of the state like Jews for example and it ensured the Nazi’s got support from Germany, as most people were fearful of death if they did not support the Nazi’s. Thirdly, Hitler used the Gestapo, which was originally the Prussian secret police run by Goering. After June 1936 it became the state secret police under the command of Himmler. The Gestapo tapped telephones, intercepted mail, and spied on people. They had a network of informers throughout Germany picking up on anyone who so much as whispered and opposition to Hitler. If someone did go against Hitler of the Nazi’s, the informers could let the Gestapo know and could have been arrested. They were an illusive force that could strike anywhere at any time against ordinary Germans. It was