Establishment of Nazi Dictatorship Flashcards
How long after Hitler came to power did the Reichstag Fire occur?
Less than a month
On what date did the Reichstag Fire occur?
27 February 1933
Who was found at the site of the fire?
Marinus van der Lubbe
What was Marinus van der Lubbe and what happened to him?
A Dutch Communist who confessed and was executed after trial
How did Hitler exploit the Reichstag Fire?
- He claimed there was a Communist conspiracy to overthrow the government
- Asked Hindenburg to give him emergency powers using Article 48
- 4,000 Communists arrested
- KPD banned
What were these powers Hindenburg gave Hitler known as?
The Reichstag Fire Decree / Decree for the Protection of the People and the State
What did the Decree for the Protection of the People and State allow Hitler to do?
- Suspend the freedoms of the constitution (e.g. freedom of speech, assembly, right to fair trial)
- Citizens stripped of civil liberties
- Allowed Hitler to imprison opponents of the regime - in particular Communists (KPD)
When was the Reichstag Fire Decree passed?
28 February 1933 - the morning after the Reichstag Fire
What key event occurred shortly after the Reichstag Fire?
The Elections March 5th
Who was allowed to campaign for the March elections?
Only the Nazi Party - all other parties were banned from campaigning
On polling day, who were present at polling stations?
Uniformed Nazis, watching the votes being cast
What percentage of the vote did the Nazi Party win in the March elections?
44%
How did Hitler manage to gain a majority after the March elections?
The Nazis formed a coalition with the DNVP who had won 8% of vote
What percentage of the vote did the German National People’s Party win?
8%
What percentage of the seats did the coalition of the Nazis and German National People’s Party control?
52%
The Communists won 81 seats in the March elections. Why did they not take their seats in the Reichstag?
Hitler refused to allow them
Potsdam Day
Ceremony for the reopening of the Reichstag 21st March that Hitler utilised as propaganda due to all its media coverage
Why could Hitler not pass the Enabling Act with only support from his coalition?
He only had 52% of the vote - he needed a two-thirds majority (66%)
When did the vote for the Enabling Act take place?
24 March 1933
Where did the vote for the Enabling Act take place? Why?
In the Kroll Opera House - because the Reichstag had been burned down
How did Hitler get his two-third majority to pass the Enabling Act?
- Intimidation - the Kroll Opera House was full of SA and SS men, there to terrorise MPs into voting with the Nazis
- Communists not allowed to vote
- Promises to interfere with Catholic Church won the centre party vote
What powers did the Enabling Act give Hitler?
- Full power for 4 years in
- Hitler could pass laws
- Bybass the Recihstag and President
Significance of the Enabling Act
- Civil Liberties suspended
- Censorship and control of the press
- Abolition of Trade Unions (replaced by Nazi Labour Front)
- One party state
Political Parties
- KPD banned after Fire
- SPD HQ seized 10th May
- Remaining Parties voluntarily dispanded
- Law against formation of Parties passed 14th July
- Nazis won 95% votes in Nov 1933
