Nature of Nazi government Flashcards
what happened to the Reichstag after 1933 and what was it’s role?
- it had lost its power when the enabling act was passed
- was used as a propaganda piece to show support for Nazi policies and laws
when was the Reichstag last convened?
26 April 1942
how many laws were passed by the Reichstag after the enabling act?
7 laws
what was the German cabinet and it’s role after 1933?
- Hitler retained von Papen’s cabinet
- at first there were only 3 Nazis
- was pretty useless
why was the idea of a cabinet useless for Hitler?
Hitler did not like group policy making so the cabinet never had decisions to make or responsibilities to take
what was the Reich Chancellory?
- passed laws through decrees with the power of the enabling act
- coordinated governmental departments
who was in charge of the Reich Chancellory?
Hans Lammers
what was the Nazi civil service like?
- non elected governmental workers
- most servants were hostile to the Weimar Republic so the ideas of Nazism appealed to them
what did Hitler change with the civil service?
1933 Law for the reconstruction of the civil service
- less than 5% of civil servants removed (mostly Jews)
From 1939 all civil servants had to be members of the Nazi party
how would Hitler bypass the civil service to make his decisions?
he used his own special agencies such as the Foreign Service led by von Ribbentrop
what happened to local government after 1933?
was abolished in 1934
replaced by a Gauleiter system before being completely abolished
what was the Nazi legal system like?
- judges kept elements of the law however the Reichstag Fire decree meant that all German citizens had lost their right to a trial
- all judges had to wear the Reichsadler on their robes from 1936 (mixing of party and state)
what was the Foreign office like?
Foreign Minister = von Neurath who was a non-Nazi
however was often bypassed by von Ribbentrop who had his own foreign office agency used by Hitler until von Ribbentrop himself replaces von Neurath in 1938
what happened to the Wehrmacht after 1933?
after the oath of loyalty was made Hitler promised to give the army autonomy
most generals were right-wing and held hostile views to the communists much like the Nazis
things began to change in the build up to WW2
what was the Hossbach memorandum of 1937?
it was when Hitler declared to his generals that Germany would invade Czechoslovakia
