Nazi Germany : Impact of Hitler Flashcards
Explain how the Reishstag Fire helped Hitler achieve total power.
The Reichstag Fire was one factor which helped Hitler achieve total power. It allowed for Hitler to gain a larger share of votes to move the Nazi Party into a majority position in the Reichstag. For example, in 1933, the Reichstag building was burnt down and a Dutch communist was blamed as the arsonist. The Nazis used this as an excuse to blame the communists for the fire as an attempt to overthrow the government. The communists were the second most popular party in the Reichstag and Hitler saw this as a threat to Nazis gaining the popular vote in the Reichstag. Thus Hitler announced that the Communists were the cause of the fire and pressured President Hindenburg to declare a state of emergency in order to contain the uprising of communism. More than 4000 communists were arrested and it seemed like Hitler had saved Germany from the communist uprising. Thus, without the communist party in the Reichstag, Hitler won 44 percent of the votes and with the help of another small party, the Nazi Party managed to become the majority in the Reichstag. Therefore, Hitler’s popularity increased helping him achieve total power.
Explain how the Night of the Long Knives helped Hitler achieve total power.
The Night of the Long Knives also helped Hitler achieve total power. The Night of the Long helped Hitler weed out its opponents to his claim to leadership. For example, Ernst Rohm was the leader of the SA and had helped Hitler in the past. However, he was seen as a potential threat to Hitler’s power and decided the Ernst Rohm and the SA must be removed or the Nazis could lose support from the German Army. Thus with the excuse that the SA was on the verge of causing uprisings, the Night of the Long Knives took place in June 1934 arresting SA leaders, and killing 400 of them. Therefore, with the removal of Ernst Rohm and key SA leaders, the SA army pledged allegiance to Hitler. The military, SS, and SA were now in Hitler’s control thus the Night of the Long Knives helped Hitler achieve total power.
Hitler’s rule was not a disaster for the Germans.
Explain.
Hitler’s rule was not a disaster for the Germans as the schemes introduced by the Nazis improved their working condition and offered them work benefits.
For example, the German Labour Front (DAF) introduced schemes such as the “Strength through Joy” to which provided cheap theatre and cinema tickets, and organised sports events. A state scheme which the workers could save five Marks a week to buy a cheap car -KdF wagen was also very popular. Another scheme, “Beauty of Labour”, was also introduced to improve the working conditions of workers through introduction of low-cost canteens and washing facilities. Thus these recreation options were very popular among German workers. Therefore, the Nazi economic policies benefited Germans as they were very appealing and provided a variety of leisure and recreation options to German workers. Thus Hitler’s rule was not a disaster for the Germans.
Hitler’s rule was a disaster for the Germans. Explain.
Hitler’s rule was a disaster for the Germans, especially minority groups due to discrimination. Hitler persecution of Jews and undesirables caused much harm to them as he embarked on a systematic way to deprive them of their rights and rid Germany of them. For example, the Nuremberg Laws were introduced which stripped Jews of their rights and were no longer considered to be of German blood. Jews were not allowed to marry non-Jews and were labelled ‘enemy of the states’. Furthermore, homes of Jews and synagogues were burnt down in the Night of the Broken Glass. This led to many Germans ostracising Jews, leading to the mass killings of Jews, the Holocaust. The Holocaust killed almost 6 million Jews in concentration camps. Undesirables, gypsies, and homosexuals were treated similarly as they were seen as threats to the purity of the Aryan blood. The SS and Gestapo were responsible to carrying out the racial policies, in finding and removing threats to the Nazi Party. Therefore, Germans were kept silent through intimidation and the threat of torture, for fear of being killed in concentration camps. This allowed for the Nazis to continue persecute Jews and undesirables. This cause them great suffering, as the were excluded from German society and did not benefit from Germany’s progress and was instead killed and torture or no reason. Thus Hitler’s rule was a disaster for Germans.
