3.1 The creation of dictatorship 1933-34 Flashcards
How was Hitler’s power as chancellor limited?
- Weimar constitution controlled what the chancellor could do
- Hindenburg retained all the powers of the president
- Hitler’s cabinet had 12 members - but only 2 were NSDAP members
- NSDAP members numbered only about a 1/3 of the Reichstag
Who started the Reichstag fire?
Marinus van der Lubbe
How many communists were arrested as a result of the Reichstag fire?
4000 communists
What was the Decree for the protection of the People and the state?
a law that gave him the powers to imprison political opponents and ban opposition newspapers
What law gave Hitler the powers to imprison political opponents and ban opposition newspapers?
the Decree for the protection of the People and the state
How was Hitler able to control the police force?
By making Hermann Goering the new chief of the police
Since Hitler controlled the police force, what was he able to do?
ensured that the police force turn a blind eye to the violent activities of the SA
How were the Nazis able to secure two-thirds of the seats and what did this result in?
by using the emergency powers to prevent the communists from taking up their 81 seats
- Hitler had enough votes to change the constitution of the republic
When was the Reichstag fire?
27th February 1933
What year was the enabling act passed?
1933
What were the features of the Enabling act?
- the Reich cabinet could pass new laws
- the laws could overrule the constitution
- Hitler would propose the law
the vote for the enabling act was won by…
444 to 94
How did Hitler deal with opposition towards the enabling act?
he intimidated his opponents with the SA
The enabling act allowed Hitler to get rid of which 3 opposition to the Nazis?
- trade unions
- political parties
- local government
Elaborate on trade unions being an opposition to the Nazis and what happened to them when Hitler started using his new powers gained through the enabling act.
- Hitler believed that if communists amongst working men were able to control trade unions, then these could be used to undermine the government (e.g.strikes)
- May 1933: Many union officials were arrested and Hitler used his new powers to ban trade unions and make strikes illegal
- these were replaced with German Labour front
what happened to political parties when Hitler started using his new powers gained through the enabling act.
May 1933: SDP and communist Party offices and funds were taken by the Nazis
July 1933: Hitler made all political parties, apart from the NSDAP illegal
Elaborate on the local government being an opposition to the Nazis and what happened to them when Hitler started using his new powers gained through the enabling act.
- By 1934 Hitler had control of the Reichstag- but could not control the 18 Lander parliaments
- January 1934: abolished the Lander Parliaments and declared instead governors appointed by him, would run every region in Germany.
Why was Ernst Rohm and the SA a threat to Hitler?
- The SA was much bigger than the German army and they believed Rohm wanted the SA to replace the German army
- leaders of SS wanted to reduce the size of the SA in order to increase their own power
- By 1933, 60% of SA were permanently unemployed, moreover, they felt undervalued which made them bitter and loyal to Rohm
- Rohm opposed Hiler’s policies as he wanted more socialist policies, to tax the rich and help the working class
How did Hitler arrange to remove the threat of Rohm and the SA?
by arranging a meeting with Rohm and 100 other SA leaders at a hotel in the town of Bad Wiessee on 30 June 1934
when they arrived, the leaders were arrested, imprisoned and shot
What year was the night of the long knives?
1934
When did Hindenburg die?
August 1934
What did Hitler do when Hindenburg died?
He took over supreme power:
- He declared himself Germany’s Fuhrer and decreed that as Fuhrer he would add all of the Presidential powers to those he already held as Chancellor
- he forced an oath of loyalty to him from every soldier in the army
when did the Weimar republic formally end and why?
19th August 1934 because Hitler had become furher
How was Hitler able to merge the offices of the chancellor and President to create a new office of Fuhrer?
through a law concerning the head of state
On the day that Hindenburg died who did the army swear their allegiance to?
Hitler, not Germany
