Nazi Dictatorship, 1933-1939

Question 1

Reichstag fire date

Answer 1

February 1933

Question 2

Key features of the Reichstag fire

Answer 2

• Persuaded Hindenburg to dissolve Reichstag and hold another election to get more Nazis in (Nazis were in control of media and police)
• During election campaign, the Reichstag was burnt down
• Dutch communist arrested, so communists blamed
• Hitler persuaded Hindenburg to pass the emergency decree

Question 3

Effects of the Reichstag fire

Answer 3

• Persuaded Hindenburg to pass emergency decree which suspended freedom of press, assembly and speech- Nazis had power to search houses, confiscate property, and arrest and send to concentration camps without trial
• 4,000 communists sent to jail
• Still didn’t have majority, so joined with nationalist party to create govt

Question 4

Enabling Act date

Answer 4

March 1933

Question 5

Key features of the Enabling act

Answer 5

• Would give him right to create laws without Reichstag’s support for the next four years
• Needed two thirds of Reichstag to vote for the act, so SA intimidated opposition with threats and violence, and communists were banned
• Enabling act passed with 444 votes to 94

Question 6

Effects of the Enabling act

Answer 6

• Nazis arrested thousands of trade union officials, unions were banned, and workers became part of the German Labour Front
• Made Germany a one party state
• Political opponents sent to concentration camps
• Stayed in place for 4 years (renewed twice so in pace for 12 years)

Question 7

Night of the Long Knives date

Answer 7

June 1934

Question 8

Causes of the Night of the Long Knives

Answer 8

• Army were suspicious and saw SA as rivals, so wouldn’t support Hitler
• SA were badly disciplined
• Hitler feared Rohm’s power over SA- potential rival
• Rohm was a rumoured closet homosexual and was lenient to communists

Question 9

Key features of the Night of the Long Knives

Answer 9

• SS men broke into homes of SA leaders and arrested them

- Over 400 men were executed

Question 10

Effects of the Night of the Long Knives

Answer 10

• SA disbanded and members absorbed by army and SS
• Gained support of army
• Emergency decree stayed in place for 12 years

Question 11

Date of Hindenburg’s death

Answer 11

August 1934

Question 12

Effects of Hindenburg’s death

Answer 12

• Hindenburg died and Hitler became Supreme Leader (Fuhrer) of Germany
• Army swore oath of personal allegiance to Hitler as Fuhrer, army agreed to stay out of politics and serve Hitler

Question 13

Why did Hitler attack churches?

Answer 13

• Threat, stood in the way of total control
• Religious beliefs controlled people too much (behaviour and attitude) - could conflict with Nazi ideas
• People worshipping a God would be less likely to worship Hitler
• Churches could spread anti-Nazi ideas

Question 14

Hitler and the Catholic Church

Answer 14

• One third of Germans
• Signed concordat with Hitler in 1933 (agreed to leave each other alone)
• Attacked because of conflicting beliefs and the fact that they were too powerful, ended up being persecuted and put in concentration camps
• Allowed some to speak out because Hitler didn’t want them to become matyrs

Question 15

Hitler and the Protestant Church

Answer 15

• Two thirds of Germans- largest organisation in Germany, bigger than Nazi party
• United under one Reich church in 1933 under a pro Nazi bishop, wore Nazi style uniform

Question 16

Hitler and Jehovah’s Witnesses

Answer 16

• 30,000 in Germany
• Refused to comply with Nazi rules
• Put in concentration camps- one third died

Question 17

What were the five sections of the Nazi police state?

Answer 17

SS, Gestapo, SA, concentration camps, law courts

Question 18

Features of SS

Answer 18

• Led by Himmler, with 50,000 members
• Protected Nazi meetings, provided control through intimidation and fear
• Fine examples of Aryan race, expected to marry racially pure wives

Question 19

Features of Gestapo

Answer 19

• Led by Heydrich
• Arrested and imprisoned those suspected of opposing the state- eliminated possible overthrowals, often without trials
• Sometimes overstepped their boundaries

Question 20

Features of SA

Answer 20

• Led by Rohm, with 3 million members
• Intimidated and threatened opposition
• Ended on Night of the Long Knives

Question 21

Features of concentration camps

Answer 21

• Led by Himmler, ran by SS
• 8 had been formed by 1939
• Prison camps for criminals (Jews, other religious groups, political prisoners, sexual offenders, workshy, homosexuals), often using them for forced slave labour
• Easy place to put any removed opponents

Question 22

Features of law courts

Answer 22

• 10,000 members of German Lawyers Front
• Enforced Nazi law- all judges were Nazis
• No trial by Jury

Question 23

Who was in charge of censorship and propaganda?

Answer 23

Goebbels

Question 24

Censorship key features

Answer 24

• No books published without Goebbels permission
• 1933 book burning- over 20,000 books burnt that contained ideas unacceptable to Nazis
• Only Nazi approved painters could show their work
• Newspapers closely controlled- not allowed to print anti-Nazi ideas- became dull
• All films had to carry a pro-Nazi message
• Newsreels full of Hitler’s greatness and Nazi achievements were shown before films- people often arrived late to miss these

Question 25

Propaganda key features

Answer 25

• Nuremburg Rallies- Took place in summer annually,
• Bands, marches, Hitler’s speeches
• Brought excitement, sense of belonging to a great movement, powerful state
• Showed military power
• Posters put up all over Germany
• Used radio to get his speeches heard, made radios cheap- 1939 70% had radios

Question 26

Berlin Olympics, 1936 key features

Answer 26

• 1936 Olympics- Included a ‘token Jew’ in German team to silence anti-semitism reports
• Supposed to show superiority of Aryan race
• Grand vision, efficiency, power, achievement
• Foreign visitors were not used to such blatant propaganda so were shocked by devotion to Hitler
• Black athlete Jesse Owens became the star of the games

Question 27

Appeal of Hitler to Germans

Answer 27

• War hero- patriotic- wanted a strong Germany
• Saved Germans from times of hardship
• Ordinary man- related to them
• Modern and dynamic- airplanes and radios
• Charismatic- other politicians lacked charisma

Question 28

Law against formation of new parties

Answer 28

1933, became a one party state