Consolidation of Power Flashcards
1
Q
when did Hitler become Chancellor?
A
Jan 1933
2
Q
What were some issues facing Hitler when he became Chancellor?
A
- he had no majority in the Reichstag (Nazis were the single largest party but didn’t have a working majority as the next 2 largest parties were SPD and KPD [LW]) which made it difficult for him to pass laws
- communists remained popular with the unemployed
- the SA were causing panic, fear and chaos (Nazis lost seats in 1932 election)
- he was only permitted to have 2 other Nazis in the cabinet
3
Q
When was the decree to ensure ‘free and peaceful elections’ passed?
A
4th February 1933
4
Q
What did the decree to ensure ‘free and peaceful elections’ do?
A
- all election meetings had to be notified to the police at least 48 hours in advance to ensure they could be adequately policed
- gave police the authority to prohibit any election meeting where a danger to public security was feared
- useful in the key state of Prussia where Goering was Minister of the Interior and controlled police
5
Q
What are 2 examples of SA interference in the 5th March 1933 elections?
A
- 17th February Goering told his force that SA or nationalist meetings were not to be obstructed but communist were (‘I shall cover for police officers who use firearms in the discharge of their duties, regardless of the consequences of their use”)
- 22nd February Goering appointed members of the SA as auxiliary police officers and gave them the same free rein as the official police force (they disrupted opposition meeting and beat up opponents)
6
Q
when was the reichstag fire?
A
27th February 1933
7
Q
what was the impact of the Reichstag Fire?
A
- intensified tensions already present in Germany and was seen as a major blow to political stability (in the Stresemann years leading up to this, there were no real attempts to overthrow the government)
- 5 people were arrested for starting the fire but only Van der Lubbe (Dutch Communist), was charged
- der Lubbe said he’d acted alone but the Nazis manipulated this and used this opportunity to suggest that there was a violent communist conspiracy to overthrow the government
- Goering’s police arrested and imprisoned 4000 communists in response to the fire
- atmosphere of panic and terror pushed many people to Nazism, who took a strong stance against Communism and promised a strong leader and government to deal with their issues and civil unrest.
- contributed to people’s acceptance of a dictatorial style of government
- led to the Decree for the Protection of the German People and State
- The enabling Act needed ⅔ of the vote to be passed so relied on the Emergency Decree passed in response to the Reichstag Fire, to ban the Communist Party from attending. The SS and SA had been intimidating and scaring people into the party - without the Reichstag Fire’s panic, it would have been much harder to get away with this - and Hitler’s control of the media (also from the Emergency Decree) meant he could influence people’s opinions via propaganda and eliminate opposing views.
- 13th of July, the Reichtag made a retrospective bill sanctioning the NLoK as a necessary emergency defence measure; Hitler needed complete control of parliament from the Enabling Act which relied on the Reichstag Fire. Without the fear and panic from Reichstag Fire they couldn’t’ve got away with so much violence; German people so terrified of revolution, instability, and communism, they were willing to overlook this intense act of violence by their own leaders
8
Q
when was the decree for the protection of people and state passed?
A
28th February 1933
9
Q
what was the impact of the decree for the protection of people and state?
A
- stayed in place for 12 years
- suspended all articles in the constitution which guaranteed personal liberty, freedom of speech, press and assembly
- gave the police the power to search houses, confiscate property, detain indefinitely without trial, ban meetings, close newspapers, send political opponents to concentration camps and detention centres
- decreed the death penalty for a range of crimes
- leading communists were banned from campaigning
- Goering seized the state radio station
10
Q
how did the Nazis influence the outcome of the March 1933 Reichstag Election?
A
- 1000s of political opponents arrested and newspapers shut down
- flood of propaganda
- each polling station was policed by a mass of uniformed nazis who, in some areas, watched each ballot paper being marked to intimidate voters
11
Q
what was the outcome of the March 1933 Reichstag Election?
A
Nazis got more voted than before (288) but not a majority (opponents combined totalled 359)
12
Q
when was the Enabling Act passed?
A
23rd March 1933
13
Q
what was the Enabling Act also known as?
A
The Law to Remedy the Distress of the People
14
Q
how was the Enabling Act passed?
A
- banned communists from serving in the Reichstag
- Hitler had support of DNVP but needed more voted so made a deal with the centre party (would protect all rights of catholics in germany and seek better relations with the pope)
- SPD wanted to refuse to attend as attendance had to be over 66% to pass a law
- Goering (leader of Reichstag) introduced a rule that if any Reichstag member that didn’t attend without extreme reason, they would be counted as present
15
Q
how many votes were the for and against the Enabling Act?
A
444 for and 94 against
