Nazi Germany 1933-39 Flashcards
When was the Reichstag fire?
-27th February 1933
What happened during and after the Reichstag fire?
- the Reichstag building was destroyed
- a dutch communist, Van der Lubbe confessed on starting the fire
What were the effects of the Reichstag fire?
- the Nazis could seize this opportunity to destroy communism
- Hitler persuaded Hindenburg to pass an emergency decree- the ‘decree for the protection of the people of the state’ which gave political power to search homes and to imprison anyone they arrested without trial
How many seats did the Nazis have after the March 1933 election?
-288 seats, still not the majority
How did Hitler get the majority?
- used emergency powers to ban communist party members from Reichstag
- Nationalist party agreed to support him as beliefs were similar
- won support of centre party by promising to protect the catholic church
What was the enabling act and what did it allow?
- marked an end to the Weimar constitution and the end of democracy in Germany
- allowed Hitler to make laws and sign treaties without approval of Reichstag
2 effects of enabling act.
- gave Hitler absolute power over Germany, Reichstag was not needed to approve any laws/treaties and used his power to get rid of all Nazi opposition. Reichstag could no longer debate but would have to listen to Hitler.
- abolished trade unions and other political parties. allowed Hitler to destroy a group that might have opposed him. It also gave Hitler the opportunity to set up the German Labour Front, which gave him control over German workers. banned all political parties meaning the only party allowed to exist was the Nazi party. This made Germany a one-party state and destroyed democracy in the country. After this action, Germans could no longer get rid of Hitler in an election.
How many members did the SA have in 1934?
-over 2 million
Why was Hitler embarrassed by the SA and why did he feel he needed to take action?
- continued to use violence and intimidation
- frequent drunken fights between SA members=loss of support from conservative Germans
- Rohm had a different view to Hitler=wanted to take measures against big businesses and socialist policies
- some people were offended by Rohm’s homosexuality
- SA wanted to take the place of the army-in 1934, SA units began stopping army convoys and confiscating their weapons
When was the night of the long knives?
-30th June 1934
What happened during the night of the long knives?
- SS arrested 200 SA officers, including Rohm=taken to Munich and executed
- 90 SA officers executed
Who else did Hitler deal with during night of long knives?
-Von Kahr and Von Schleicher
What did Hitler claim he was doing during the night of the long knives to the people of Germany?
-defending Germany against a plot led by Rohm
When did Hitler become Fuhrer of Germany?
-after Hindenburg died on the 2nd of August 1934
What did Nazi rule involve?
- it would be totalitarian (control over everyone and everything)
- indoctrination (forcing people to accept certain ideas)
- censorship
- police state, (using police to control population) SS and gestapo destroyed any opposition
What were the key forms of terror that Hitler used?
- The SS, could arrest anyone they wanted + execute them without trial. Responsible for running concentration camps
- The gestapo, power to search anyone’s home
- concentration camps, originally held political prisoners
- informers, gestapo relied on informers (50%)
How was censorship of newspapers ensured?
- editors responsible that there were no critical articles
- all owners, editors and journalists had to be members of the Reich press chamber
How was censorship of radio ensured?
-in 1934, all radio stations were brought together under the Reich radio company + could not pick up foreign broadcasts
How was censorship of the arts ensured?
- all writers, musicians and actors had to join Reich chamber of commence
- jazz music was banned as it was seen as black music and therefore inferior to the Aryan race
How did Hitler use newspapers to portray messages?
-Goebbels gave daily orders to newspaper editors telling them what stories to publish to gain popularity from German people
How did Goebbels use propaganda to gain popularity?
-Goebbels believed propaganda would be most effective if people did not think it was propaganda e.g subtle messages were put into plays and entertainment
How many households had radios by 1934?
-70%, factories were encouraged to produce radios so they would become cheaper and more affordable
What were owners of bars and restaurants ordered to do?
-install loudspeakers so they could broadcast Hitler’s speeches
How did Hitler use the arts to promote Nazi values?
- films reflected Nazi view on society + a visit to the cinema included pro-Nazi newsreels
- art was expected to show heroic German figures and promote the Aryan race and family values
How did Hitler use the 1936 Olympic games to promote Nazi values?
- used it as an opportunity to show the world the supremacy of the Aryan race
- German schools emphasised the importance of sport which was reflected in the no of medals Germany won
- however the star athlete of the games was not Aryan but a black American
How did Hitler use the school curriculum to promote Nazi values?
- Hitler believed young people’s minds were open to influence and control so he changed the curricula to emphasise Nazi ideas
- outside school hours, children were expected to attend Nazi youth groups to limit time they spent with their families which had the possibility of influencing other ideas
- wanted to ensure the next generation met Nazi ideals
What were teachers forced to do?
- join the Nazi teacher’s association or lose their jobs
- attended Nazi training camps where they learned how to pass on Nazi values to the children
