How Hitler Turned Germany Into A Dictatorship Flashcards
What was first in the steps to Hitler turning Germany from a democracy to a dictatorship from January 1933 to 1934?
-Reichstag Fire - 27th February 1933.
What was the second step in Hitler turning Germany from a democracy into a dictatorship in the years January 1933- late 1934?
-Enabling Act, on the 23rd March.
What was the third step to Hitler turning Germany from a democracy into a dictatorship in the years January 1933 - late 1934?
-Trade Unions taken over - May 1933.
What was the fourth step to Hitler turning Germany from a democracy into a dictatorship in the years January 1933 - 1934?
-All political parties were banned in July, 1933.
What was the fifth step to Hitler turning Germany from a democracy into a dictatorship in the years January 1933 - late 1934?
-Night of the Long Knives - 29th/30th June 1929.
What was the sixth and final step to Hitler turning Germany from a democracy into a dictatorship in the years January 1933- late 1934?
-Hindenburg died on 2nd August 1934.
What was the Reichstag fire?
- Gave Hitler an excuse to crack down on communism and to declare that Germany was in a state of emergency.
- 27th February 1933 the Reichstag building was set on fire.
- Van dear Lubbe (Dutch Communist) was found at the scene.
- Appears to be acting alone, but Nazis claimed that it was start of a Communist plot to take over Germany.
- 400 Communist leaders arrested.
- Next day - Hitler persuaded Hindenburg to grant him emergency powers - suspended civil liberties. -Nazis used police/SA to put pressure on political opponents/broadcast anti-Communist message on the radio.
- Helped Nazis achieve best election result - 5th March 1953 - 44% of the vote.
What was the Enabling Act?
- Gave Hitler the power to pass laws without the Reichstag. He was known as the Fuhrer from this point onwards.
- Gave Hitler political power to pass laws without the consent of Reichstag.
- Needed 2/3s of Reichstag to support this.
- Achieved on 23rd March 1933.
- Communists banned from voting.
- Catholic Centre Party/various small parties - persuaded vote in favour.
- Only social democrats voted against.
- Enabling law passed 444 votes to 94.
What happened when the Trade Unions were taken over?
- May 1933.
- Workers lost rights/Nazis control lives of workers more easily.
What was the Night of the Long Knives?
- Took place on the night of the 29th/30th June 1929.
- It involved Hitler having 200 leaders + Ernst Rohm (leader of SA) shot.
- This was because he claimed Rohm had been plotting against him.
- The other motives were that he needed to turn on the SA in order to gain the support of the army, the SA were seen as thuggish (hired thugs by some people), and the SA had started to depart from the Nazis in terms of political views as they wanted the initial socialist ideas of the early 1920s to be carried out (for the government to take over big businesses).
What happened after Hindenburg died?
-Hitler became President/Chancellor/army swore an oath of loyalty to Hitler, due to the fact, he destroyed the SA.
What was a limitation of the Night of the Long Knives?
-It was seen as an act of betrayal because the SA had helped Hitler come to power.
What happened when Hindenburg died?
- Hindenburg died on 2nd August 1934.
- Hitler became President as well as Chancellor. On the same day, the army swore an oath of loyalty to Hitler, as they had been won over by Hitler because he destroyed the SA.
