4.1 Setting up a Nazi dictatorship

Question 1

What were Hitler’s strengths as Chancellor?

Answer 1

Nazis were the largest party in the Reichstag

Nazi support was essential if nationalist coalitions were to work

The Nazis held key positions in the cabinet

Question 2

What were Hitler’s weaknesses as Chancellor?

Answer 2

Clear limits to the Chancellor’s power to make laws

Hindenburg kept all presidential powers and could sack cabinet members

Out of a cabinet of 12, only 2 were Nazis

Only a third of Reichstag members were Nazis and lacked a majority

Question 3

When did Hitler call a new election in 1933?

Answer 3

5th March 1933

Question 4

What did Hitler get Hindenburg to pass on the 4th February 1933?

Answer 4

A new law stating that all election meetings had to be notified to the police 48 hours in advance so police could protect them - instead the SA disrupted them

Question 5

Who was in charge of the police in Germany?

Answer 5

Goring

Question 6

How many men did Goring bring into the police force?

Answer 6

50,000

Mainly SA members

Question 7

What did Goebbels make use of during the 1933 March election?

Answer 7

The radio - all of Hitler’s speeches were broadcast with his own commentary

Question 8

When was the Reichstag Fire?

Answer 8

27th February 1933

Question 9

Who was accused of the Reichstag Fire?

Answer 9

Dutch Communist, Marianus van der Lubbe was found on site with matches and firelighters. He confessed and was executed by guillotine.

Question 10

What do some historians believe about the Reichstag Fire?

Answer 10

Some historians believe that he was set up by the Nazis and others believe that the Nazis started the fire themselves and blamed it on van der Lubbe

Question 11

What were the consequences of the Reichstag Fire?

Answer 11

Goering said that Lubbe had been part of a Communist plot to overthrow the government

4,000 Communist leaders were arrested

They lost 19 seats as a result

The next day, Hitler persuaded Hindenburg to pass The Decree for the Protection of People and State starting that people’s rights be stopped

The police could ban meetings, search houses and imprison without trial

The death penalty could be used for certain crimes

Concentration camps like Dachau were set up

Question 12

What steps did Hitler take to get people to support the Nazis in 1933?

Answer 12

Police officers were slowly replaced with Nazi supporters

He recruited 50,000 SA members

Political violence during the election campaign led to around 70 deaths

Thousands of members of the Communist Party and the Social Democratic Party were arrested and sent to concentration camps

The SA broke up election meetings by opposition parties

Newspapers that did not support the Nazis were closed
Hitler secured funds from industrialists with promises to destroy Communism

The Nazis issued huge amounts of propaganda

Voters were threatened at polling stations to ‘encourage’ correct voting

Question 13

How many seats did the Nazis get in March 1933?

Answer 13

288

Question 14

What percentage of the votes did Hitler get in the March 1933 election?

Answer 14

The result wasn’t the two-thirds that Hitler wanted - it was 44%

Question 15

Who did Hitler ban with his emergency powers?

Answer 15

The Communist Party

The Socialists

Question 16

Who did Hitler win the support of in the Reichstag in 1933?

Answer 16

The Centre Party after promising to protect the Catholic Church

Question 17

What did the Enabling Act do?

Answer 17

Allowed Hitler to pass laws without the Reichstag

It would be invalid after 4 years

Question 18

After getting the support of the Centre Party and removing the Communists and Socialists from the Reichstag, what was Hitler able to do?

Answer 18

He could pass the Enabling Act with 444 votes to 94

It effectively ended the need for the Reichstag

Hitler passed a law saying the Nazis were the only party allowed in Germany

The Enabling Act started 6 months of huge change known as the Nazi Revolution

Question 19

What were the consequences of the Enabling Act?

Answer 19

It effectively ended democracy in Germany

The original act applied for 4 years but was renewed in 1937

Hitler no longer needed the approval of the Reichstag to make decisions

The main targets of the Nazi revolution were local government, trade unions and big business.

This process of Nazification is known as Gleichschaltung (bringing into line)

Question 20

How did Hitler remove opposition within local governments?

Answer 20

31st March 1933: Nazis closed down Germany’s 18 state parliaments

Hitler reorganised them so the Nazis had a majority

Hitler appointed Nazis state governors

Jan 1934: Hitler abolished state parliaments altogether

Question 21

How did Hitler remove opposition within the trade unions?

Answer 21

2nd May 1933: the Nazis broke into the trade union offices and arrested their leaders

Nazis created the German Workers’ Front and forced workers to join this new organisation

Question 22

How did Hitler remove opposition within other political parties?

Answer 22

10th May 1933: Social Democrats were suspended, the Nazis occupied their seats, and took their funds

End of May 1933: Nazis suspend the Communist Party

July 1933: Hitler created a new law which banned all political parties except the Nazi Party

Question 23

By the end of 1933, Hitler’s power was at risk from which three sources?

Answer 23

The President

The army

The SA

Question 24

Who led the SA?

Answer 24

Ernst Rohm

Question 25

Why did Hitler want to reduce the power of the SA?

Answer 25

The SA was powerful. In 1934 it had over 2 million members. Rohm was a possible rival to Hitler

The head of the SS, Himmler resented the SA’s influence

Some SA members used violence and intimidation in a way that embarrassed Hitler. The Nazis lost some support from conservative Germans

Rohm had very different views to Hitler. He wanted more socialist policies and to take measures against big business

Some in the Nazi Party were offended by Rohm’s homosexuality

The SA wanted to take the place of the army meaning that Rohm would be even more influential

Question 26

When was the Night of the Long Knives?

Answer 26

30th June 1934

Question 27

What happened during the Night of the Long Knives?

Answer 27

While Rohm was on holiday with other SA leaders, on the 2-9-30th June, SS troops broke into their homes and arrested them

Hitler accused Rohm of plotting to overthrow him

Around 90 SA leaders die

Hitler also took revenge on former enemies like von Kahr and the von Schleicher who were executed.

He also executed Strasser, a potential rival

Question 28

Why did Hitler take responsibility for the Night of the Long Knives?

Answer 28

He claimed that he was defending Germany against a plot led by Rohm

Question 29

What happened on the 2nd August 1934?

Answer 29

Hindenburg died and Hitler combined the offices of Chancellor and President

Question 30

Hitler took the name of Fuhrer, what does this mean?

Answer 30

Supreme Leader

Question 31

What did the army do on the 2nd August 1934?

Answer 31

The entire army swore a personal oath to Hitler and he began to rearm

Question 32

Hitler held a plebiscite to agree to changes he began to make as the Fuhrer of Germany. What percentage of the public vote did he gain?

Answer 32

90%