How did normal society function in Nazi Germany? Were there still luxuries and regular socializing?

Question

How did normal society function in Nazi Germany? You always hear about the government, the war, and the Holocaust (Which was terrible) but what about regular society of typical Germans that the government accepted and who accepted the government?

Were there still luxuries, did people still go to restaurants, bars, clubs, and do regular things? I suppose as the entire time Nazi Germany was at war, it was like any other country at war. I imagine the secret police units scared quiet a few people. Could anyone own a business or were many businesses nationalized and people actually lost money?

Was the atmosphere of fear everywhere in the country? Did anyone go day to day living normally with their families? Or was everyday life even dictated to an extent?

Did everyone become less materialistic, more war focused, more government participation focused? What was going on in everyday society?

Answer 1

For most Germans life was normal under the Nazis until the war. The German economy rebounded from the Great Depression in a very short period of time under the Nazis. Businesses that were not Jewish-owned thrived and unemployment dropped drastically. Profits soared and labor costs declined. Big German companies such as IG Farben, Thyssen, Krupp, Flick, Siemens profited greatly from their association with the Nazis. Independent trade unions, however, were abolished and wages actually became lower. The wealthy continued to enjoy luxuries, even more so as profits from their investments increased.

Hitler was able to attract foreign investment and German industries and financial institutions enjoyed growth and prosperity. The Nazi rearmament program and huge amounts of government spending helped German industry.

Early on, however, leftist leaders including Social Democrats, communists and trade union leaders were either murdered or rounded up and sent to the first Nazi concentration camps such as Dachau and Buchenwald. Dissent was not allowed. Within a few months after taking power the Nazis had eliminated all political opposition by destroying all leftist parties and by incorporating other right-wing political parties into the Nazi party. Newspapers and other media outlets were controlled. Liberalism in politics, the arts, literature and music was denounced as degenerate and not in keeping with Nazi ideals.

Later, other groups were specifically targeted for persecution such as Jews and homosexuals. Jewish businesses were “Aryanized” and sold to others at rock bottom prices. People were later put into concentration camps.

During the war slave labor from the concentration camps was used by several of the big German industrialists in order to help the Nazi war effort. Some of these industrialists were put on trial, after the war, as war criminals.

There is a huge amount of literature available about the Nazi reign. It is not possible to cover many areas of life in Germany under the Nazis in a YA answer.

Answer 2

Nazi Germany started in 1933, Germany started the war on Poland in 1939, the hardest part of the war didn't start until the invasion of the USSR in 1941 and even then it was '42 before it started getting tight (Stalingrad, Strategic Bombing, Loss of Africa). So when becomes an important question. Industries weren't nationalized since the Nazis were Socialist rather than Communist. There is no short answer to the indepth question you ask. There are many books about, some films, etc.

Answer 3

Hello,

I know many still alive who lived through that era. Yes you could own your own businesses. Labor disputes had to be settled by compulsory arbitration though and in the war the government could grab your workers and send them off to work somewhere else when needed.The bars, beer houses and restaurants thrived. There were many clubs, organizations and contrary to popular myth fire arms ownership was permitted... err so long as your name wasn't Goldburg or Silverstien. Berlin , Munich and all the big cities were known for their wild night life. The movie musical Caberet is a great example of this. Once the war came on there was restricitons and rationing as in all other countries involved.

What you could not do was mouth off or be critical of the government. Even publically joking about Hitler or the administration could be punishable by prison or death.
If you did slip up or say the wrong words over a beer or snaps, more often than not you got a visit from the authorities and left with a warning. After that, look out!

One interesting yarn I got from my friend's great aunts years ago. She owned a boarding house in Munich and had a bad tenant who would not pay the rent. He had been in the army, got a bum leg and was released. Whenever she needed to collect the rent he refused to pay citing what a great patriot he had been and should be treated with respect and left alone. She then wrote to one of Goering's offices (that regulated these things)complaining and begging for help. "Well here is what this man says but I lost my husband in the First War; work at the hospital with the wounded; have one son fighting in Russia and the other now stationed in Italy.I humbly ask you, who then is the greater patriot for the fatherland?" LOL, within a day or two of getting her letter the authorities showed up at her door with a truck, kicked the guy out and moved him elsewhere.

Cheers,

Michael Kelly

Answer 4

Let's back up a second. After World War I, Germany's economy was in ruins. The Germans were blamed for pretty much all the destruction in Europe and were forced to pay recompensation to several countries. As a result, by the time Hitler came into power, a wheelbarrow full of money might have been enough to buy you a pair of shoes. So when Hitler established his regime the people were thankful because they weren't living in abject poverty anymore. Yes, Nazi Germany was the epitome of fascism, and there was some concern over the war machine Hitler was building and the secret police, but by and large the Germans looked the other way because they were living much better than they had been before he stepped in.

So what you had in Nazi Germany was a very strong and very powerful government that was working very hard toward building Hitler's master race and preparing to be the new world order. Jews were openly persecuted, then later on rounded up and herded into concentration camps. The government controlled art and literature, books were burned by the thousands, and the government was even involved in the education of young boys (the Hitler Youth). The economy was geared largely toward production of military weapons and supplies, so everyone knew or should have reasonably known that war was coming, but again, just like with the human rights abuses of Jews, the Germans largely looked the other way. Those who protested against the government or who engaged in any type of activity that Hilter prohibited were rounded up and interned in work camps, which were little better than concentration camps. Dissent was not tolerated and was harshly punished, and the sad thing was many Germans would label people who even questioned the government as traitors and would turn in people they suspected of any type of dissention.

BOTTOM LINE: Hitler took advantage of a group of people who were at rock-bottom and felt hopeless. He literally brainwashed them into following him down his demented road. The vast majority believed he was a saint because he pulled Germany out of their dark age, and as far as they were concerned the end justified the means. They were cowed into following this monster because he took them out of what they thought was a hopeless situation and gave them hope. The problem was they were so focused on their lives being better that they turned a blind eye to the evil Hitler was brewing, and it took World War II to put a stop to it.

Answer 5

Most I know of this is that Hitler had his men searching all of the affluent homes for anything that was worth any money. They confiscated most art, chrystal, gold and silver. Anything of value and worth.

These items (usualy not even taken care of during the transition) were loaded into warehouse thourghout Germany for Hitler as a source of money during and after the war. He bacame very rich as he expected these items to be his.

When the story leaked out to the people that Hitler's men were in fact taking these items, they tried to bury them hoping that they could retrieve them after the war was over.

Most people were relocated or killed and the areas that they buried their artifacts were usually lost to any survivors or relatives.

Most middle and lower class were only allowed to go to work and to the store etc. They usually had some sort of paperwork stating where they were to go and the SS were everywhere and checked on these.

If people were out when they were not suppose to be they were punished (raped or gassed with the jews). Many Germans were slaughtered along with the Jews or just gunned down in the streets for now reason.

The affluent were still allowed a descent living arrangement usually due to the fact they became in league with the Nazi regime in one way or another just to protect their families.

Answer 6

Interesting question, life pretty much went on for most people. Having spent much time with a man who lived in Berlin during the last three years of the war, this a little of what he told me.
Luxeries of course became most scarce, there was rationing of food and goods needed for the war effort. Gas was rationed, so was rubber and medicines. The Germans had pretty effective public transportation in place prior so taking a tram or bus to work was already common. People bicycled frequently. They still played soccer and other sports, Nazi's were big into healthy living.
People went to work everyday, kids went to school. There were holidays, carnivals, and many many parades, mostly military themed, but still parades. People even took vacations, There was some night life but it was frequently affected by curfew. Hitler was no lover of jazz or modern art.

There was SS and police presence, people were 'cautious' in giving opinions. They all knew people who had been taken in to custody for careless remarks. Most people who were picked up were arrested, kept a short whle and eventually released unless it could be shown that they had links to Germany's 'enemies' or were part of the resistance movement. The Authorities were aware on a large scale of who was doing what, and who was talkng to whom but generally unless that person became a problem they were let alone.
When the Brits started carpet bombing Germany the awareness of the war became acute. Curfews were tightened. Rationing increased and food became more difficult to find.

Answer 7

O.K. In 1933 a few weeks after Hitler was 'elected' as Chancelor of Germany he passed the 'Enabling Laws' for the protection of the state against internal and external enemies.

All enemies of the state were rounded up (Jews, Catholics, Jehovah's Witnesses, Communists, et.al.); all civil rights were suspended for ALL Germans; all roaming rights were suspended for ALL Germans; no money could be transferred out of the country; ALL Germans were required to serve in the military (of proper age and health); death sentence to ANY German who got out of line; ALL Germans were issued a state I.D.

It was not fun to be an average and loyal German under the Nazi regime. There was hunger, long lines, shortages, and forced labor.

Not all Germans were Nazis. Not all Germans joined the Nazi Party. General Rommel and Admiral Doenitz were not members of the Nazi Party.

Answer 8

I think you pretty much have it right, things went on as normal. Of course the aerial bombing and then the land invasion from east and west changed all that, but otherwise it was normal.
Hitler was prepared to nationalize the economy if that was what it took to fulfill his objectives, but it wasn't necessary; capitalism did not interfere with his agenda.
I'm sure people watched what they said in public but as far as I know there was not the kind of fear common in other totalitarian societies, such as parents afraid to speak candidly in front of their children.
This probably isn't a subject for a lengthy study but if you read "The Great Escape" or "The Longest Tunnel," you'll see how mundane and prosaic the daily life was that the allied POWs traveled through after they escaped from their Stalag.

Answer 9

Normal social functioning continued for the most part, although those opposed to the government were well aware of the existence of informers and Gestapo agents, so the feeling of being free to speak one's mind was circumscribed, to say the least. Production of luxury goods continued well into the end stages of the war, as Hitler and his functionaries refused to put the country on a full war footing. Many people who favored the government or who were uninterested in politics lived their lives very much as if nothing unusual were going on. Hitler was firmly committed to private ownership of business whenever it did not interfere with any part of his political goals, and in fact he despised Soviet style collectivism. A proviso to this is that while private ownership and the profit motive were maintained, all businesses were subordinate to the state in terms of political philosophy, and the state maintained the authority to nationalize or regulate private industry in whatever manner it thought fit. Essentially, one was free to own and profit from a private business so long as one obeyed the government in whatever edicts it chose to impose.

Many, including some whom I know personally, lived their lives as if they were living in an idyllic state, rather than under a deranged madman.

Answer 10

it was normal social functioning, don't forget Germany was one of the best ordered states at that time