Nazi Control and Dictatorship Flashcards
1
Q
How did Hitler consolidate his power – The Reichstag Fire?
A
- On the evening of 27th February 1933, the Reichstag Building, home to the German Parliament was burned down
- The communists were blamed for the fire because a Dutch communist was found in the building as it burned
- Hitler used the fire to the Nazi Party’s advantage in two ways,
o He expelled the communists from Parliament and arrested many communist leaders. This stopped them being able to campaign prior to the March elections
o He announced that the country was in danger from the communists during the election campaign. This encouraged many to vote for the Nazi party who were seen as anti-communist
o Hindenburg was persuaded to declare a State of Emergency using Article 48. This stopped freedom of speech and gave the police wide ranging powers to arrest people, mainly communists. - All of these actions contributed to an increased share of the vote, 44%, for the Nazi party in the March elections which when combined with their Allies, the German National People’s party gave them a majority in the Reichstag
2
Q
How did Hitler consolidate his power – The Enabling Act?
A
- Following the March General Election, Hitler and the Nazi Party had a majority in the Reichstag but they didn’t have complete control of Germany
- Hitler wanted the ability to pass laws he chose without going through the Reichstag but to make a change to the constitution required a 2/3 majority
- To gain this majority he expelled 81 Communist members from the Reichstag and ordered the SA to intimidate the opposition
- Only the Social Democrats dared to vote against the measure and the Enabling Act was passed in March 1933
- Hitler was now dictator of all Germany, he could pass laws for four years without consulting the Reichstag. The democratic Weimar Republic had been destroyed
- In May 1933, trade unions were abolished and their leaders were arrested. This enabled Hitler to destroy a group which might have opposed him. Hitler set up the German Labour Front which gave him control of German workers
- In July 1933 Hitler banned all political parties meaning the Nazi party was the only party allowed to exist. Germany was now a one-party state and democracy had been destroyed
3
Q
How did Hitler consolidate his power – The Night of the Long Knives
A
- Hitler was not entirely secure. The Army was not impressed by him and were suspicious of both the SA and its leader Rohm
- Hitler was also suspicious of Rohm as he had talked about merging the Army with the SA under his command which could have made him a potentially dangerous rival. Hitler had to choose between the Army or the SA
- In June 1934, SS men broke into the homes of Rohm and other leading figures of the SA and arrested them. Hitler accused them of plotting to overthrow and murder him. Over 400 opponents were murdered including Rohm and the previous Chancellor, von Schleicher
- This purge became known as the “Night of the Long Knives”
- President Hindenburg thanked Hitler for his actions and for stopping the treason. The Army said it was satisfied with the events of the weekend
4
Q
How did Hitler consolidate his power – Hindenburg’s Death and the Oath of Allegiance
A
- Shortly after the Night of the Long Knives, President Hindenburg died
- Hitler took over as Supreme Leader (Fűhrer) of Germany
- As Head of State and the Commander-In Chief of the Army, all soldiers was required to swear an oath of personal loyalty to Hitler
- The army agreed to stay out of politics and in return Hitler began to spend vast sums of money on rearmament and brought back conscription and began making plans to make Germany a great power again
- Hitler had now achieved total power
5
Q
How effectively did Hitler control Germany 1933-45 – The SS
A
- The SS were commanded by Himler
- The SS were Aryan’s, very highly trained and totally loyal to Hitler
- The main responsibility of the SS was to crush opposition, neutralise threats to Germany and carry out Nazi racial policies
- They had huge powers to arrest, detain without charge, interrogate and search and confiscate property
- The SS ran the Gestapo, concentration camps and the Police
- There were three important sub-divisions of the SS:
o The SD – They would investigate potential disloyalty within the party or armed forces
o The Death’s Head Unit – Responsible for the Concentration camps and the transportation and murder of the Jews
o The Waffen SS – Armoured regiments who fought alongside the regular army
6
Q
How effectively did Hitler control Germany 1933-45 – The Gestapo
A
- The Gestapo were the secret police, commanded by Heydrich
- Gestapo agents had significant powers. They could arrest people and send them to concentration camps without trial or explanation
- The Gestapo tapped phones, intercepted mail and had a network of informers listening in to people’s conversations and reporting on any signs of disloyalty
7
Q
How effectively did Hitler control Germany 1933-45 – Concentration Camps
A
- Enemies of the Nazi’s were sent to Concentration camps. These included Jews, Socialists, Communists, Trade Unionists, Churchmen and anyone else who criticized the Nazi’s
- These camps were run by the Death’s Head Units
- Prisoners were forced to do hard labour. Food was limited and prisoners suffered harsh discipline, beatings and random executions
- During the “Final Solution” these camps were used for extermination of the Jewish population
8
Q
How effectively did Hitler control Germany 1933-45 – The Police and the Courts
A
- Top jobs in the police were given to high-ranking Nazi’s reporting to Himmler
- The Nazi’s appointed and controlled the judges and the courts. The judges had to take an oath of loyalty to Hitler.
- Jewish judges and lawyers were removed and sacked
- Judges knew what was expected of them and what would happen to them if they didn’t comply. This resulted in opponents of the Nazi’s rarely receiving a fair trial
- The number of offences punishable by death increased, including listening to foreign radio stations or telling anti-Nazi jokes
9
Q
How effectively did Hitler control Germany 1933-45 – Propaganda
A
- Goebbels was Minister for Propaganda. It was his job to spread Nazi ideas and create a loyal following for Hitler
- All newspapers were brought under Nazi control. Jewish editors and journalists were sacked, and anti-Nazi papers were closed. Newspapers could only print stories favourable to the Nazi’s
- All radio stations were brought under Nazi control. Cheap radios were made available which were unable to receive foreign radio stations. Loudspeakers were put in café’s, bars and on the streets to enable everyone to hear Hitler’s speeches and important announcements
- Goebbels arranged mass rallies which included marches, torchlit processions and speeches. The most spectacular was the Nuremberg Rally. These rallies emphasised power, control and order
- The Nazi’s took control of the German Film Industry, all films had to carry a pro-Nazi message. News reels before each film told of the greatness of Hitler and the achievements of Nazi Germany
- Literature, art and the theatre were controlled. In 1933 Goebbels organised a book-burning to rid the country of books which contained ideas unacceptable to the Nazi’s. Only Nazi approved artists could show their work
- The 1936 Berlin Olympics were used as propaganda. It was an opportunity to demonstrate the achievements of the Nazi’s and the superiority of the Aryan race. The German’s topped the medal table but the star of the games was Jesse Owens, a black American sprinter who won four gold medals
10
Q
How effectively did Hitler control Germany 1933-45 – The Church and Opposition to the Nazi’s
A
- Hitler signed a Concordat with the Pope in 1933, an agreement which meant that Hitler would leave the Catholic Church and its schools alone and in return the Church would keep out of politics
- However in 1937 the Pope sent a message “With Burning Concern” which was read out in all German Catholic churches and attacked Hitler as a “mad prophet with repulsive arrogance”. Hitler responded by sending 400 priests to concentration camps
- Bishop Galen, a Catholic priest criticised the Nazi’s throughout the 1930’s. In 1941 he led a popular protest after the Nazi’s killed mentally and physically disabled people and forced them to stop. He had such strong support that the Nazi’s decided it was too risky to remove him
- Hitler tried to get all of the Protestant Churches to come together as one official Reich Church. However, many German’s felt loyalty to their local church rather than a state approved church
- Pastor Martin Niemȍller, a Protestant minister was a high profile critic of the Nazi’s in the 1930’s. He formed an alternative Protestant Church to the official Reich Church. He spent 8 years in a Nazi concentration camp for resisting the Nazi’s
11
Q
How effectively did Hitler control Germany 1933-45 – Who were other opposition groups to the Nazi’s?
A
- The main youth opposition group to the Nazi’s were the Edelweiss Pirates, based in the Rhineland. They mocked the Nazi’s through song, attacked members of the Hitler Youth, distributed anti-Nazi propaganda and scrawled anti-Nazi graffiti on walls. In 1944 they killed a Gestapo chief, resulting in 12 Edelweiss Pirates being publicly hung
- The White Rose Group was formed by students at Munich University in 1943. They published anti-Nazi leaflets and marched through the city protesting about Nazi policies. Their leaders, brother and sister Hans and Sophie Scholl were arrested and executed
- Members of the “Swing” movement rejected the influence and policies of the Nazi’s. They were interested in British and American popular music, dance and jazz which was condemned by the Nazi’s. The Nazi’s issued a handbook to help authorities identify these people
- In 1944 Army Generals led a plot called Operation Valkyrie to kill Hitler and take control of Berlin. In July 1944, Colonel von Stauffenberg used a bomb to blow up Hitler but he survived and plotters were caught and executed
