Gleichschaltung + Night of the Long Knives

Question 1

What was the Gleichschaltung?

Answer 1

The Nazification by which the Nazis attained a totalitarian control over all aspects of Nazi German society.

Question 2

How is Gleichschaltung translated as?

Answer 2

“Bringing into line”

Question 3

Regarding forming organisations, what did the Gleichschaltung include?

Answer 3

The Deutsches Jungvolk, the Pimpfen, the Bund Deutscher Mädel and two organisations designed to make Germans think like Nazis called Strength through Joy and Beauty of Labour

Question 4

What was the Night of the Long Knives?

Answer 4

The event in which all Hitler’s enemies and those who angered him within the SA leadership were murdered.

Question 5

Why did the Night of the Long Knives occur?

Answer 5

• Hitler wanted to ensure he had the regular army’s allegiance and wanted any opposition out of the Nazi Party.
• The regular army hierarchy saw the SA as a threat to their authority, and Himmler and Goering saw Röhms leadership of the SA as a threat. They convinced Hitler that Röhm was disloyal and aspects of his private life (open homosexuality) were inappropriate for a leading Nazi
• By 1934 Röhm had begun to talk about merging the SA and the army, which alarmed the army’s leaders and made Hitler decide that Röhm was a threat.
• This on June 29th-30th 1934 the SS arrested the leaders of the SA and carried out the arrests for two nights.
• As well as Röhm, over 100 men were killed. The Nazis justified the actions that they had taken by claiming that they had prevented an SA putsch (revolution)
• On 3rd July the government approved a law stating that the actions taken were to suppress the acts of high treason and necessary for the self-Defense of the state
  The army swore an oath of allegiance to the Führer.

Question 6

How did Gleichschaltung start? (2)

Answer 6

• The Nazis started with the Act for the Restoration of the Professional Civil Service on 7th April 1933.
• This legalised removing anyone of non-Aryan descent from the civil service and removed any judges that were deemed non-compliant with Nazi laws or principles.

Question 7

Name the forms Gleichschaltung took : (5)

Answer 7

• March 1933 all of Germany’s state parliaments were closed down then re-established with Nazi majorities
• April 1933 Jews and other political enemies were removed jobs in the legal profession and civil service. Key positions were taken by Nazis
• May 1933 All trade unions were outlawed and replaced by a Nazi union the DAF
• Youth clubs and initiatives tried to make Germans think like Nazis
• July 1933 the ‘Law against the Establishment if Political Parties’ made the Nazis the only legal political party

Question 8

Date of night of the long knives

Answer 8

30th June 1934

Question 9

Who was Röhm? (5)

Answer 9

• One of the More left-wing members of the Nazi party.
• He believed that Hitler’s takeover would be followed by a ‘second revolution’ in which the authority of Germany’s economic old guard and the army would be crushed and the SA would become Germany’s new army
• Röhm now wanted this second revolution to start
• This concerned Hitler because he feared the army; the only group that could stop his achievement of dictatorship
• He needed the army to implement his foreign policy aims. Many in the army high command supported these aims