Political And Governmental Change 1933-1945

Question 1

How was Hitler able to establish political control over Germany 1933-34?

Answer 1

-30th January 1933, Hitler was sworn into office as chancellor on the understanding that his government would be a conservative one and not a nazi one
-cabinet only contained two other Nazis
-Hitler was forced to work within the Weimar system

Question 2

Limitations to Hitler’s position

Answer 2

-strong opposition parties would oppose them such as the KPD and the SPD
-Hitler’s coalition government did not have a majority of Reichstag which made is difficult to pass legislation
-the media were not under nazi control and could provide hostile coverage
-unions were strong and could organise another general strike as done in 1920

Question 3

How was Hitler able to establish political control over Germany 1933-45?

Answer 3

Conservatives were willing to work with Hitler as they believed he posed less of a threat than civil war or a communist coup. Within 24 hours of his appointment Hitler called for a fresh set of elections to strengthen their polictal position. This won the approval of Von Papen and Hindenburg

Question 4

The Reichstag Fire

Answer 4

27th February 1933, Reichstag burned down. Dutch communist Marinus van der Lubbe was arrested near the scene and was charged for treason. He was found guilty and executed despite have learning difficulties

Question 5

What were the results of the Reichstag fire?

Answer 5

-Nazis instructed police to conduct late night raids of the Homs of communists = 4,000 arrested
-Goring and Hitler persuaded the cabinet and Hindenburg to authorise an emergency decree. This suspended individual rights and freedom and gave Hitler’s government the right to enforce law
-Goebbels used the media to exaggerate the communist threat and present nazi leadership as saviour to all = public agree that the government should be granted emergency powers

Question 6

How did the Reichstag fire strengthen Hitler’s position?

Answer 6

-got rid of opposition
-increased his power

Question 7

How many seats did the nazis gain the reichstag march 1933?

Answer 7

288

Question 8

What was the Enabling Act and when was it introduced?

Answer 8

March 1933

-allowed the cabinet to introduce laws without having to pass them through Reichstag
-laws no longer needed presidential approval
-act was to last 4 years
-gave hitler the power to rule by decree

Question 9

How did the Enabling act strengthen Hitler’s position?

Answer 9

-gave him more power as he could bring laws into effect without any barriers
-he can circumvent democracy and do anything he wants

Question 10

Key nazi ideas

Answer 10

-called their ideology National Socialism
-revolved around powerful leader, strong state, intense nationalism
-racist ideology
Traditional values of authoritarian government

Question 11

What was the Night of long knives also known as?

Answer 11

Rohm Purge

Question 12

What was the night of long knives?

Answer 12

Hitler could not afford to annoy businessmen or the army, so the SS (Hitler’s personal bodyguards) murdered around 400 members of the SA

Question 13

When was the Night of Long knives?

Answer 13

June 1934

Question 14

How did the Night of long knives help hitler establish his dictatorship and why was it successful for him?

Answer 14

-warning to not oppose hitler
-violent suppression of many of Hitler’s remaining enemies which resolved some of the long-standing tensions within the new government
-gave hitler authority and scared people into believing in the Nazis

Question 15

How did the Nazis consolidate power?

Answer 15

-force and intimidation : e.g night of long knives
-compromise : e.g concordat with catholic state = Catholic Church wont oppose political and social aims of nazi party
-laws : e.g law for reconstruction and the enabling act

Question 16

What was the significant change / continuity for the power of president/chancellor?

Answer 16

-role of chancellor and president were merged into the role of the Fuhrer from August 1934

-in theory, president of weimar was already powerful

Question 17

What was the significant change / continuity for the power of parliament

Answer 17

-enabling act (used to destroy democracy) and the one party state = reichstag played only a minor role in government, 1942 = voted to dissolve itself fan dhand over power to Hitler

-use of article 48 (not used to destroy democracy

Question 18

How was Hitler able to retain political control over Germany ?

Answer 18

Appear orderly but not actually orderly

Question 19

How did hitler appear orderly when it wasn’t?

Answer 19

-forms filled in when disabled babies are born
-grouped people together

-chaos as nothing is managed well so things spiral - cumulative radicalisation
-chancellor = 5 people running Hitler’s office and want to be most liked by Hitler

Question 20

Who is known for wanting Hitler’s attention?

Answer 20

Bouller - finds a policy that hitler will like so hitler likes him = policy spirals and leads to cumulative radicalisation

Question 21

How far did Hitler retain control by changing the constitution and political system?

Answer 21

-from July 1933 a one party state
-most elections combined a plebiscite with voting list of Nazi candidates for the Reichstag = turnout and support for the Nazi government were always high (90%) or more
-regional party leaders (gautliers) became increasingly powerful

-some attempt from Hindenburg to exclude the SPD from ruling coalitions and the NSDAP was banned for a short period, mostly a full democratic system with a wide range of politcal parties
-main institutions (army, judiciary, civil service) had not been reformed in the Weimar years so often hostile to the democratic republic and dominated by conservative elites , nazis mostly left institutions untouched

Question 22

What is a plebiscite?

Answer 22

Like a referendum: yes or no vote

Question 23

What was the Four Year plan?

Answer 23

1936, an organisation which aimed to develop a new economic policy which organised labour and industrial production. This led to conflict and chaos e.g between senior ministers and officials within the government which could only be resolved by Hitler

Question 24

Prerogative state

Answer 24

A governmental system that exercises violence unchecked by any legal guarantees.

Question 25

Polycratic regime

Answer 25

-disorganisation developed over time
-Hitler transformed the government as he allowed nazi party to play a bigger role in government and creating new agencies
=1936 variety of organisations : ministries .
-many centres of power

Question 26

Cumulative radicalisation

Answer 26

-hitler was the only person who could settle disputes in government = significant impact on development of nazi government
-all power from hitler, other figures in government tried to develop policies to get hitler to like them and safeguard their position

Question 27

Gauleiters

Answer 27

-responsible for coordinating the Nazi party in Germany’s regions
-initially responsible for organising election campaigns
-during 1933 = given advisory role in the local government
-after 1934 took over as regional governors

Question 28

When was federalism formally abolished?

Answer 28

1934

Question 29

Fuhrerprinzip

Answer 29

-central principle of the nazi government during 1930s
-way in which government was organised
-leaders set direction of government without discussion or consultation in the same way that military generals issued orders to the army

Question 30

Working towards the Fuhrer

Answer 30

-senior leaders tried to spend as much time as possible with Hitler in order to discover his will
-hitler rarely set out his views in a clear or consistent manner
-nazis would try and turn Hitler’s interests into polices that the government could enact

Question 31

Gleichschaltung

Answer 31

-meaning ‘co-ordination’ : nazis make Germany more efficient and better organised
-dealing with potential threats through process of nazification
-extended nazi power over Germany through nazifying important institutions such as newspapers and trade union
-term used to hide controversial aspects

Question 32

Who was Martin Bormann?

Answer 32

-Appointed Hitler’s private secretary in 1935
-gave him power to organise diary and appointments, filter his mail and provide private briefings
-power increased in war years when he gained control over Reich Chancellery in 1941

Question 33

Heinrich Himmler

Answer 33

-leading nazi, one of the most powerful men in the third Reich
-his foundation of importance laid on appointment as Reichsfuhrer of the SS
-expanded SS = 50,000 by 1933
-leading role in Night of Long Knives
-head of Munich police and commander of all German police units outside Prussia

Question 34

Ernst Rohm

Answer 34

-leader of SA - no respect for aristocrats
-goal was to replace traditional aristocracy with a new elite made up of people who had (in his view) earned the right to lead Germany by serving on the frontline of ww1
Wanted to replace existing army with SA or give SA equal status to traditional army

Question 35

Hermann Goering

Answer 35

-most well known nazi apart from Hitler
-won awards for bravery
-elected to Reichstag in 1928, appointed speaker in 1932
-1936 = responsible for developing Four Year plan = entailed developing Germany’s war economy
-success against Poland = strengthened position in nazi party
-reputation was damaged as Luft Waffe failed to destroy British Air Force during battle of Britain in 1940 + public stating that no bombs would drop on Berlin

Question 36

Joseph Goebbels

Answer 36

-Gauleiter of Berlin
-control over media in Germany
-affair with Czech actress = lost him favour in the late 1930s but able to win approval from Hitler for his decisive action over Kristallnacht in 1938
-always loyal, rewarded by him being made ‘Reich Plenipotentiary for Total War’ in august 1944 but was too late to give him too much influence

Question 37

Example of polycratic system where there was overlapping responsibility

Answer 37

Hitler put Schact in charge of economy and then Goering for the same job

Question 38

What is an example of structures of old weimar system were left intact but new nazi organisations or projects were superimposed on them

Answer 38

-Rohm wanted to replace army with SA or give SA equal status to traditional army
-nazi power extended = nazifying institutions such as newspapers and trade unions

Question 39

Example of main policy ideas originated with hitler but he played very little part in the practicalities of carrying them out

Answer 39

-hitler known as the dictator who doesn’t dictate
-nothing managed we’ll so things spiral leading to cumulative radicalisation

Question 40

What is divided rule?

Answer 40

Creating chaos as Hitler stands above

Question 41

Nature of the nazi state

Answer 41

-never replaced institutions
-other people did it for him
-working habit don’t support what he is trying to dictate

Question 42

How did Hitler maintain political control over Germany in the war years?

Answer 42

-most important Gauleiters were made Commissioners of the Defence of the Reich in September 1939. This gave them extensive new powers
-older party members were sidelined and younger replacements , loyal to Bormann were introduced

Question 43

Army in the war years

Answer 43

-after war broke out, dissension deemed treasonable
-after night of long knives, hitler promised that the army would be the only military force in Germany. SS developed a reserve force which numbered 14,000 by 1938.
-after army bomb plot of July 1944 = major purge of army officers = estimated 200 officers were killed as a result of 2 leading generals

Question 44

How far was government changed in the war years?

Answer 44

-Nazi government in 1945
-role of the Gauleiter
-role of hitler

Question 45

Nazi governemnt 1945

Answer 45

-became even more fragmented during 1945 : Russian, American, British troops invaded Germany
-Gauleiter kept essential services going and factories operating so end of war = broken down
-destruction of roads = difficult for government to communicate

Question 46

The role of Hitler in war years

Answer 46

-no cabinet meetings in war years
-made key decisions = invasion of ussr in 1941
-allowed bormann increasing control over his diary and appointments

Question 47

Role of the Gauleiter in war years

Answer 47

-given extensive powers to control people in the region
-conflicted with existing authorities such as the central ministries
-increasing power = self-defeating as it added further complications to already chaotic nature of nazi government