Living Under Nazi Rule, Dictatorship

Question 1

How did Hitler become dictator?

Answer 1

1. The Reichstag Fire occurred on the 27 February 1933 where the Reichstag government building was ablaze. Marinus Van der Lubbe, a young communist, was arrested. During Van der Lubbe’s trial, the Nazis sowed seeds of doubt in the public’s mind and Hitler persuaded President Hindenburg to pass the Reichstag Fire Decree. This gave the Nazis and Hitler lots of power and as a result, 4000 communists were arrested.
2. The Nazis then were confident and in the next election on the 5 March 1933, Hitler introduced the Enabling Act, which gave Hitler the power to create any law he wished without the Reichstag. 444 Reichstag members voted to approve the law with the help of SA guards
3. The Nazis then began crushing the German people with fear (Gleichschlatung). On 7 April 1933, the Act for the Restoration of the Professional Civil Service was passed which dismissed anyone who was non-Aryan or a political opponent. They also officially encouraged anti-Semitism and organised a boycott on the 1 April 1933. Encouraged by Goebbels, students were urged to burn ‘un-German’ books made by Jewish and communist authors. Finally, they used terror with over 100,000 people being arrested in 1933
4. Lastly, they removed any opposition such as trade unions and other political parties. They arrested the main trade union leaders in February 1933 and replaced with the DAF, the Nazi-led German Labour Front. They also removed other political parties such as the social democrats by claiming that there had been corrupt use of SD funds. On 14 July 1933, the Act to Ban New Parties was passed and the Nazis became a one-party state

Question 2

How did Hitler achieve total power?

Answer 2

1. In January 1934, the Act for Reconstruction of the State was passed and this made Germany into a highly centralised state, which reduced power to the regional governments
2. The Nazis set up the People’s Court which created a separate court outside of the normal justice system. It dealt with political offences and resulted in very harsh penalties
3. By 1934, two threats remained to Hitler’s power - the non-Nazi conservatives and the SA. Hitler tasked the SS to make evidence that Rohm was planning an uprising and to create a list of ‘politically unreliable’ people. On 30 June 1934, the Night of the Long Knives occurred where the SA leaders were tasked to go to a hotel in Bad Wiesse for a special meeting. SS officers, Hitler and Goebbels entered the hotel and arrested the SA leadership and sent them to prison. Many were also killed. Hitler also murdered many prominent Reichstag deputies and arrested non-Nazi conservative members such as von Papen
4. Finally, Hitler created the Act concerning the Head of State, where at the moment of Hindenburg’s death, the power of the President and chancellor would be merged under the new title of Fuhrer. The next day on the 2 August 1934, Hindenburg died, making Hitler Fuhrer