Political and governmental change, 1933-45 Flashcards
When was Hitler appointed Chancellor of the Weimar Republic?
30th January 1933
How did the burning down of the Reichstag in February 1933 help Hitler consolidate his control in Germany?
- The Nazis got credit for catching the supposed arsonist, Marinus van der Lubbe.
- The Nazis were able to stir up anti-communist propaganda.
- German industrialists contributed generously to the Nazi cause as fear of communism rose.
- Hitler was able to persuade Hindenburg to declare a state of emergency, giving Hitler control of the police and power to govern Germany by decree. He passed the Decree of the Reich President for the Protection of the People and State, which suspended the civil rights of German citizens. Hitler could legally arrest political opponents and ban opposition newspapers.
- Hitler banned the communists from taking their seats in the Reichstag following the March 1933 election.
When was the Reichstag fire?
27th February 1933
What happened on February 27th 1933?
The German parliament (Reichstag) building burned down. The Nazi leadership and its coalition partners used the fire to claim that Communists were planning a violent uprising. They claimed that emergency legislation was needed to prevent this.
What was the Decree of the Reich President for the Protection of the People and State?
Commonly known as the Reichstag Fire Decree was passed on February 28th 1933, one day after the Reichstag Fire. The regulations ๐๐๐๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ป๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐ถ๐บ๐ฝ๐ผ๐ฟ๐๐ฎ๐ป๐ ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ผ๐๐ถ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป๐ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐บ๐ฎ๐ป ๐ฐ๐ผ๐ป๐๐๐ถ๐๐๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป, ๐ฒ๐๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ฎ๐น๐น๐ ๐๐ต๐ผ๐๐ฒ ๐๐ฎ๐ณ๐ฒ๐ด๐๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฑ๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ถ๐ป๐ฑ๐ถ๐๐ถ๐ฑ๐๐ฎ๐น ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ด๐ต๐๐ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ฑ๐๐ฒ ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ผ๐ฐ๐ฒ๐๐ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐น๐ฎ๐. The decree permitted the restriction of the right to assembly, freedom of speech, and freedom of the press, among other rights, and it removed all restraints on police investigations.
What did the Reichstag Fire Decree permit?
The restriction of the right to assembly, freedom of speech, and freedom of the press, among other rights, and it removed all restraints on police investigations.
With the decree in place, the regime was free to arrest and incarcerate political opponents without specific charge, dissolve political organisations, and suppress publications. The decree also gave the regime the authority to overrule state and local laws and overthrow state and local governments.
What did the Reichstag Fire Decree help to do?
Pave the way for Nazi dictatorship.
Who was found guilty of the Reichstag Fire?
Marinus van der Lubbe - confessed and claimed to have acted alone and have set the Reichstag building on fire in an attempt to rally German workers against fascist rule.
Re the Reichstag Fire, what did the Nazis do to bolster their claims?
The police also arrested three Bulgarian members of the Communist International, who were in Germany at the time, and a leading German Communist
What did Gรถring say about the Reichstag Fire?
He declared that the communists had planned a national uprising to overthrow the Weimar Republic. This hysteria helped to turn the public against the communists, one of the Nazis main opponents, and 4,000 people were imprisoned.
How many people were imprisoned after the Reichstag Fire?
4,000
How was the Reichstag Fire Decree justified?
It was justified on the false premise that the Communists were planning an uprising to overthrow the state.
Who did Hitler persuade to pass the Reichstag Fire Decree?
Hindenburg
Why was the Reichstag Fire Decree important?
Gave the Nazis a legal basis for the persecution and oppression of any opponents. The Nazis were able to suppress any opposition to their power, and were able to start the road from democracy to a dictatorship.
Why were some people in established political parties suspicious of Hitler?
Because of his lower-middle class background.
In Hitlerโs first cabinet, what did Goering do?
Used the police in Prussia to persecute left-wing political opponents and appointed 50,000 members of the SA as auxiliary police officers. The SA unleashed terror on the Nazisโ left-wing opponents and persecute Prussian Jews.
What was SA violence facilitated by?
Legal changes that Hitler made after his first few months in office e.g Reichstag Fire Decree.
Describe the causes of the Reichstag Fire.
The causes are still disputed.
Who did the Nazis blame for the Reichstag Fire?
Marinus van der Lubbe, a Dutch communist found at the scene.
What did Hitler use the Reichstag fire to do?
Exploit it - used it as a preset to crush the KPD.
Who did Goebbels, the Nazisโ Propaganda Minister, claim that Germany was under attack from after the Reichstag Fire?
The Communists
Having created a pretext for action, what steps did the Nazis take to destroy the Communists?
- The Nazis instructed police to conduct late night raids of the homes of leading Communists. As a result, over 4,000 people were arrested.
- Hitler and Goering persuaded the Cabinet and Hindenburg to authorise an emergency decree - the Decree of the Reich President for the Protection of the People and State, or the Reichstag Fire Decree.
How did the two clauses of the Decree of the Reich President for the Protection of the People and State help consolidate Nazi power?
- Clause 1 suspended individual rights and the freedom of the press. Consequently, the German people lost the right to free speech, to free assembly and to protest. Also gave government the power to put people in prison without charging them with a specific crime, to confiscate property, and to intercept post and phone calls.
- Clause 2 gave Hitlerโs government the right to enforce law and order in the German states. This extended the power of Hitlerโs government and undermined the power of Germanyโs state governments, some of which were power bases for Hitlerโs opponents.
Why was Clause 2 of the Reichstag Fire Decree important?
It extended the power of Hitlerโs government and undermined the power of Germanyโs state governments, some of which were power bases for Hitlerโs opponents.
How did Goebbelsโs propaganda justify the Reichstag Fire Decree?
- He argued that the Communist plot was extremely serious and could lead to all kinds of terrorist activities; therefore these measures were necessary to protect German citizens.
- He also argued that the Communists were planning a revolution and therefore the Decree was necessary to ensure the survival of the German state.
Did Goebbels argue the Reichstag Fire Decree was temporary or permanent in propaganda?
He argued that these powers were only temporary.
In spite of this, the suspension of individual rights lasted from February 1933 until the end of the regime in 1945.
What did Hitler persuade Hindenburg to grant him after the Reichstag Fire?
Emergency powers.
To summarise, why did the Reichstag Fire benefit the Nazis?
- Made people afraid of Communism.
- The Decree of the Reich President for the Protection of the People and State was passed, paving the way for Nazi dictatorship.
- The emergency powers meant that thousands of people who opposed the Nazis were arrested.
- Gave Hitler control over the states - could enforce law and order there.
- Hitler persuaded Hindenburg to call another election.
After the Reichstag fire, who gave financial support to the Nazis?
German industrialists - fear of communism.
Who got the credit for catching Marinus van der Lubbe?
The Nazis
In the following weeks following the Nazi takeover of power, what did the SPD/KPD do?
Neither the SPD or KPD organised an effective campaign against the new government.
SPD - thought Hitler had a legal right to rule, therefore, while they objected to his actions, they respected his position as Chancellor.
KPD - believed that Hitlerโs government would only last a few months, at which point they could take power.
Therefore, the left were unable to organised effective resistance to Hitler.
Why couldnโt unions organise a strike after Hitler starting using emergency powers?
Unions were still weak due to mass unemployment and were therefore not in a position to launch a general strike.
What were the limitations of Hitlerโs power as Chancellor in 1933?
- Civil rights were protected by the constitution.
- Nazis didnโt control the Reichstag or the States.
- The press could criticise the government.
- Hindenburg was still president.
- Army still had power.
- To pass laws, Hitler had to consult the Reichstag - the Nazis werenโt a majority party yet.
- There were only 2 Nazis in government (out of 12).
- Hindenburg had the power as President to dismiss Hitler as Chancellor - he openly disliked Hitler.
When Hitler became Chancellor in January 1933, how many Nazis were there in government?
Only 2 (out of 12)
Did Hindenburg like Hitler?
No he openly disliked Hitler
In January 1933, what did the coalition between the Nazis and the Nationalists control in the Reichstag?
About 40% of the seats in the Reichstag.
The new government needed the support of 50% of the Reichstag in order to pass laws and a two-thirds majority in order to pass laws.
What did the Hitler need in the Reichstag?
The new government needed the support of 50% of the Reichstag in order to pass laws and a two-thirds majority in order to pass laws.
What did Hitler do to call for more support in the Reichstag?
Called a new Reichstag election for March 1933, hoping to get a larger share of the vote and therefore ability to control the Reichstag.
Why did Hitler call an election in March 1933?
Hoped to get a larger share of the vote and therefore ability to control the Reichstag.
When were federal elections held?
5th March 1933
How did the Nazis manipulate the 5th March 1933 elections?
- The SA and police terrorised the Nazisโ political opponents. Members of the KPD, SPD and union leaders were put in prison, detained in โwildโ concentration camps, beaten, or in some cases killed. In total, political violence resulted in the deaths of 69 people during the campaign.
- Goering persuaded big businesses to increase funding for the Nazisโ election campaign, promising them that this would be the last election for many years. The Nazis raised more than 3 million Reichsmarks from 20 leading industrialists to help fund their campaign.
- The Nazis used their growing control of the media to create the illusion that the KPD was plotting an imminent revolution to overthrow the German state. Soldiers were sent out to patrol the streets in major cities to reinforce the idea that the government was under threat.
- Also used the radio to broadcast their anti-communist message.
- The Nazis decided not to ban the KPD until after the election in order to split the left-wing vote between the KPD and the SPD.
How many deaths did political Nazi violence lead to in the lead up to the March elections?
Deaths of 69 people
Who persuaded big businesses to increase funding for the Nazisโ election campaign in March 1933?
Goering
Goering persuaded big businesses to increase funding for the Nazisโ election campaign in March 1933 - what did this result in?
The Nazis raised more than 3 million Reichsmarks from 20 leading industrialists to help fund their campaign.
During the March 1933 election campaign, how did the Nazis use the media to manipulate people?
Used their growing control of the media to create the illusion that the KPD was plotting an imminent revolution to overthrow the German state. Soldiers were sent out to patrol the streets in major cities to reinforce the idea that the government was under threat.
During the March 1933 campaign, why did the Nazis decide not to ban the KPD?
To split the left-wing vote between the KPD and the SPD.
Results of the March 1933 election
In spite of their tactics and their best election result, the Nazis failed to get a majority of support, polling only 43.9% which 288 seats. An improvement of almost 10% from the last November election. But they still didnโt command a majority.
As part of a coalition with the DNVP however, and abolition of the KPD, they now controlled more than 50% of the seats in the Reichstag and gained a Reichstag majority, although they didnโt have the two-thirds majority necessary to change the constitution and govern alone.
What percentage of votes did the SPD and KPD get in the March 1933 elections?
SPD - 18.25%
KPD - 12.32%
89% voter turnout
How did Nazi violence during the March 1933 election campaign affect Hindenburg and von Papen?
It concerned both Hindenburg and von Papen, both of whom had hoped the Nazi campaign would have ordered an end to SA violence.
Who was Franz von Papen?
He served as the chancellor of Germany in 1932, and then as the vice-chancellor under Adolf Hitler from 1933 to 1934.
Why was Hindenburgโs concern after the March 1933 elections a problem for Hitler?
Because he had the power the remove Hitler and appoint a new chancellor.
After Hindenburgโs concern after the March 1933 elections, how did the Nazis deal with him?
- On 10th March, Hitler instructed his his followers to halt their violent acts.
- Goebbels organised a dramatic ceremony at the Potsdam Garrison Church to celebrate the opening of the new Reichstag - the Day of Potsdam. Designed to emphasise the common ground between Nazism and Hindenburgโs more traditional brand of nationalism. It persuaded Hindenburg and other leading Nationalists that the Nazi movement represented a rebirth of the best traditions of the German nation.
What did the Day of Potsdam persuade Hindenburg and other leader Nationalists?
That the Nazi movement represented a rebirth of the best traditions of the German nation.
What was the Day of Potsdam?
A ceremony that was the opening of the new Reichstag - Hitler used the inaugural celebrations of the newly elected Reichstag (parliament) for a message of propaganda.
