Part two, Topic three: The Establishment of Hitler's Dictatorship

Question 1

What were the main factors contributing to the establishment of Hitler’s dictatorship?

Answer 1

• Reichstag Fire
• Enabling Act
• Night of the Long Knives
• Trade Unions
• Elimination of Political Opposition

Question 2

How did the Reichstag Fire help establish Hitler’s dictatorship?

Answer 2

27th February 1933

• Reichstag building destroyed by a fire
• Blamed on a Dutch communist Marinus van der Lubbe
• The Nazi’s used this to spread propaganda about the danger of communism
• 4,000 communists were arrested
• Hitler persuaded Hindenburg to pass the ‘Decree for prosecution for people and the state’ which reduced peoples’ rights and allowed people to be arrested and put in prison

SO, MORE PEOPLE DIDN’T WANT TO SUPPORT THE COMMUNISTS

Question 3

How did the Enabling act help establish Hitler’s dictatorship?

Answer 3

24th March 1933

• The enabling act gave Hitler power to be a dictator
• This allowed him to ban the communists so that he could achieve the necessary 2/3 majority vote

Question 4

How did the elimination of political opposition help to establish Hitler’s dictatorship?

Answer 4

July 1933: All political parties banned

• A law banned all political parties, other parties had already been broken up
• Germany was now a one party state
• After this action, Germans could no longer get rid of Hitler in an election

Question 5

How did Trade Unions help to establish Hitler’s dictatorship?

Answer 5

2nd May 1933

• Trade unions were abolished and their leaders arrested.
• Abolishing the trade unions allowed Hitler to destroy a group that might have opposed him.
• It also gave Hitler the opportunity to set up the German Labour Front (DAF), which gave him control over German workers.

Question 6

How did the night of the long knives help to establish Hitler’s dictatorship?

Answer 6

3th June 1934- Many members of the SA, including its leader Ernst Röhm, were demanding that the Nazi party carry out its socialist agenda and that the SA take over the army.
- Hitler could not afford to annoy businessmen or the army, so the SS (Hitler’s personal bodyguards) murdered around 400 members of the SA, including Röhm, along with a number of Hitler’s other opponents like the previous Chancellor, von Schleicher.
- This destroyed all opposition to Hitler within the Nazi Party and gave power to the brutal SS.
- It also showed the rest of the world what a tyrant Hitler was.

THIS REMOVED ANY INTERNAL NAZI PARTY OPPOSITION TO HITLER

Question 7

How did Hitler become Fuhrer?

Answer 7

Following all the factors previously mentioned….
- Hindenburg died 2nd August 1934
- Hitler combined the role of Chancellor and President to become Fuhrer