Book contents
- Enemies of the People
- Enemies of the People
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Figures
- Tables
- Preface
- Acknowledgements
- Introduction
- 1 National and Regional Foundations, 1933–1945
- 2 Criminalizing Conversation, 1933–1934
- 3 Defining Opposition, 1935–1939
- 4 Discovering Offences, 1935–1943
- 5 Confirming Culpability, 1935–1943
- 6 Cooperation and Ascendancy, 1935–1939
- 7 Principles of Internal Security, 1939–1942
- 8 Enforcing People’s Community, 1939–1942
- 9 Total War Policing, 1943–1944
- 10 Involving the Party, 1943–1944
- 11 Death Throes, 1944–1945
- Epilogue
- Notes
- Bibliography
- Index
8 - Enforcing People’s Community, 1939–1942
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 08 October 2021
- Enemies of the People
- Enemies of the People
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Figures
- Tables
- Preface
- Acknowledgements
- Introduction
- 1 National and Regional Foundations, 1933–1945
- 2 Criminalizing Conversation, 1933–1934
- 3 Defining Opposition, 1935–1939
- 4 Discovering Offences, 1935–1943
- 5 Confirming Culpability, 1935–1943
- 6 Cooperation and Ascendancy, 1935–1939
- 7 Principles of Internal Security, 1939–1942
- 8 Enforcing People’s Community, 1939–1942
- 9 Total War Policing, 1943–1944
- 10 Involving the Party, 1943–1944
- 11 Death Throes, 1944–1945
- Epilogue
- Notes
- Bibliography
- Index
Summary
The Gestapo balanced the scales of justice with the weights of people’s community from 1939 to 1942. Political police resolved twice as many cases while state prosecutors’ workload, but not conviction rates, dropped by a third. The Gestapo evaluated “political reliability” based on a range of socio-political behaviours distinguishing upstanding “racial comrades,” who embodied the values of people’s community, from subversive opponents who either rejected Nazism or embraced alien ideologies. Supporters might complain, but they sincerely apologized, cooperated, and usually conformed. Subversives advocated alternatives. At best, repeat offenders were simply chronic complainers. Private exchanges might be overlooked, but repeated public criticism was intolerable. Hinting toward a change of government was utterly unforgivable. Supporters who acted in “momentary weakness” received “psychological understanding” and educational warnings. Subversives who called for regime change, swayed other against Nazism, or were connected to targeted minorities faced the courts. Himmler’s mandate “to create and uphold the desired order” of a people’s community was finally being realized.
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- Enemies of the PeopleHitler's Critics and the Gestapo, pp. 180 - 204Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2021