Memorandum on forces of Opposition in Germany

This file contains informations on forces of Opposition in Germany. The purpose of that document is, so the auther argues, to portray in outline public opinion in Germahy as it has developed during the establishment of the Nazi regime. First the author tries to define 'opposition' in Germany, as it is depending on the social background and ranging from passive dislike of the Nazis to active resistance to them, as he argues, it should be necessary to recognize that there is no such thing as 'THE German Opposition'. Continuative he explains certain characteristics shared by all forms of Opposition in Germany and mainly that none had ever succeeded in developing into an organised and coordinated movement, including the church Opposition. Yet the unorganised character of such an Opposition does not neccessarilly imply complete ineffectiveness. The loudest criticism of the regime comes from the lower middle class, the very class which originally brought the Nazi Party to power has now been sacrificed to the demands of industrial, commercial and administrative centralisation. Also state control of prices and wages, increasing taxation, a shortage not only of food but all articles of mass consumption, are bringing economic and social crises to those who were once Hitler's most fervent supporters.