Hitler's rise to power & Nazi consolidation of power

Question 1

Why was Hitler in prison in 1923?

Answer 1

Because of his involvement in the Munich Putsch

Question 2

What book did Hitler write in prison?

Answer 2

Mein Kampf

Question 3

What ideas did Hitler’s book outline?

Answer 3

the need for an Aryan Race
Lebensraum
Anschluss with Austria

Question 4

Why did the Nazis not have much success between 1924 and 1929?

Answer 4

Hitler was in prison so they didn’t have a clear & influential leader.

Question 5

How did the Wall St Crash help Hitler’s rise to power? (3)

Answer 5

• It caused political instability as the Weimar was unable to meet demands (making them seem weak).
• People feared communism so they turned to the Nazis.
• Nazis offered public work schemes to help with the continuous rise of unemployment.

Question 6

Name 4 strengths that Hitler & the Nazis had that helped them come to power.

Answer 6

Propaganda & Rallies
Organisation - local leaders well trained
Support of Industrialists - financial backing of the Nazis because of their fear of communism
Hitler was charismatic and a good speech maker

Question 7

Name 4 reasons on how the weaknesses of the Weimar Government helped Hitler come to power.

Answer 7

Attempts of compromise within the government failed.
Increase in spending caused threat of inflation.
Politics becoming more divided.
Decline in democracy.
This all make Hitler & the Nazis more appealing as they appeared to offer simple solutions for all of these problems.

Question 8

How many seats did the Nazis get in the July 1932 elections?

Answer 8

230

Question 9

Why did Hindenburg refuse to make Hitler Chancellor in July 1932?

Answer 9

Hindenburg was known not to like Hitler & some of his ideas.

Question 10

Who was chosen as Chancellor in July 1932?

Answer 10

Franz von Papen

Question 11

How many seats did the Nazis lose in the November 1932 elections?

Answer 11

34

had 196 seats

Question 12

Who was chosen as Chancellor in December 1932?

Answer 12

General Kurt von Schleicher

Question 13

Who did Hindenburg & von Papen meet secretly with, in January 1933? Why?
(the Backstairs Intrigue)

Answer 13

They began to meet with Hitler

They believed that after the November election the Nazi party were in decline so they would be easier to control.

Question 14

When was the Reichstag Fire?

Answer 14

February 27th 1933

Question 15

What happened in the Reichstag Fire?

How was this advantageous for Hitler?

Answer 15

A Dutch Communist, van der Lubbe, set fire to the Reichstag.
Hitler used this as anti-communist propaganda, claiming that it was an attack on Democracy (the building represents democracy) and part of a communist plot to take over.
*As a result Hitler used Article 48 to ‘protect’ Germany, this meant that civil/political liberties were taken away.

Question 16

What was the Enabling Act and when was it passed?

Answer 16

Passed March 23rd, 1933
Transferred power from the Reichstag to the Chancellor.
Hitler could limit the freedom of the press/media.

Question 17

How did the Enabling Act help Hitler?

Answer 17

Enabled Hitler to have a one party state - didn’t have to pass laws through the Reichstag for 4 years so he had more legal power.
Control of the media allowed him to supress other political views and promote his.

Question 18

Who were the SA?

Answer 18

Formed in 1921 to protect the Nazi Party, led by Ernst Rohm.
More radical Nazi views and posed an internal threat because they help high ambitions and were pushing for a further revolution.

Question 19

What happened on the Night of the Long Knives?

Answer 19

The SS & Police arrested dozen of SA Leaders, shot others dead or took them to camps. Killed Rohm, Strasser and Schleicher (ex-chancellor).
This gained Hitler the armies support as the SA no longer posed a military & political threat.

Question 20

How many seats did the Nazis secure in the March 1933 elections?

Answer 20

288 seats (44%)

Question 21

How did the March 1933 Elections limit Hitler’s power?

Answer 21

Because the Nazis didn’t win the majority vote, Hitler couldn’t change the constitution or increase his power as he needed a 2/3 majority in the Reichstag to do so

Question 22

What is Gleichshaltung?

Answer 22

The creation/co-ordination of the Nazi State

Question 23

When was the Night of the Long Knives?

Answer 23

June 30th 1934

Question 24

How was Gleichshaltung put into place?

Answer 24

At a local level by giving freedom to the SA (Revolution from Below)

At a national level by the Nazi leadership (Revolution from Above)

Question 25

How did the local Nazi organisations do to dominate the states?
Why did this fail?

Answer 25

They attacked rivals in outbreaks of violence

It caused widespread disorder, which created a risk of being seen as revolutionaries by the army

Question 26

How was the situation with the local Nazi Organisations solved?
(3 stages)

Answer 26

1) Regional Parliaments dissolved and replaced with Nazi-dominated state governments (March 31st 1933)
2) Reich Governors, that were usually local party gauleiters, were created
3) Regional Parliaments were abolished and federal government and governors were subordinate to the central gov (January 1934)

Question 27

When were the SD’s banned?

Answer 27

June 22nd 1933

Question 28

What declared that the Nazis were the only legal party?

When was this?

Answer 28

The Law against the Establishment of Parties

July 14th 1933

Question 29

Why was Gleichshaltung not complete by 1933?

3 points

Answer 29

The Church still had its influence
Army and Big Business were still independent
Civil Service and Education had only been partially co-ordinated