Ortsgruppen in Cologne and their role in spreading ideology

The map illustrates the close network of local party groups in the city in 1933; by 1939 there were 125 such groups. In the densely populated inner city their district would only have comprised a few streets, enabling them to disseminate Nazi ideology and impose control throughout the neighbourhood. Propaganda, demonstrations of violence, and omnipresent political surveillance went here hand in hand. The Ortsgruppen and their leaders compiled registers with addresses of Jews and political opponents, as well as of members of various National Socialist organizations, noting anyone who maintained contact with Jews or responded to appeals for funds.