Rise of the Nazi party 1920-33 Flashcards
When was the NSDAP founded and by who?
1919, Anton Drexler
When was the 25 Points Programme published? What did it do?
1920 - outlined Nazi ideology
What is the name of the NSDAP newspaper?
Volkischer Beobachter (People’s Observer)
When and what was the conference that established the Fuhrerprinzip?
Bamberg Conference, 1926
Which was the breakthrough election for the Nazis?
May 1928
Wall Street Crash
Oct 1929
When does Bruning become Chancellor?
March 1930
What happened in March 1932?
Hindenburg beats Hitler in presidential elections
Who replaces Bruning when he resigns as Chancellor, in what month and year does he resign?
May 1932, Von Papen
When does the NSDAP become the largest party in the Reichstag?
July 1932
Who replaces von Papen and when?
November 1932, von Schleicher
What happens in the November 1932 elections for the Nazi party?
Their vote goes down
When was the Reichstag Fire?
Feb 1933
What happens in the March 1933 elections?
NSDAP still the largest party but fail to win a majority - 44%
When was the enabling act passed? What was its effective significance?
March 1933 - destroyed the constitution
When was the law that banned Jews from the civil service, what was it called?
Law for the Restoration of the Professional Civil Service (April 1933)
When were trade unions banned, what was created to replace them?
May 1933 - created German Labour Front (DAF)
When were all political parties other than the NSDAP banned?
July 1933
When was the concordat signed?
July 1933
When were the SA created?
1921
What was the main aim of the SA?
carry out political violence against communists or socialists
What attracted people to the Nazi party in the early years?
Its ‘catch all’ manifesto and radical nationalism
What was the outcome of the Munich Putsch (Nov 1923)?
17 dead and Hitler arrested
What was the significance of Hitler’s trial? When was it?
March 1924 = propaganda coup - tickets sold to watch trial
Gave them nationwide platform to spread beliefs
How many months did Hitler serve in prison?
9 months
When did Hitler write Mein Kampf?
1924 in prison
How did the Nazi party almost fade out in the mid 1920s?
Give an electoral statistic from Dec 1924
Hitler in prison, and NSDAP temporarily banned
only gained 3% of the vote
How was the party reorganised in the mid 1920s?
Into a centralised, bureaucratic entity, w/ an index of all members created
What was the significance of the Fuhrerprinzip?
Nazi movement obedient to Hitler - establishes his will as law
What did Hitler ensure all his actions were, after the Munich Putsch (Nov 1923)?
LEGAL
How did the Nazi party attempt to quell the SA, when? 2 points
1925
Von Pfeffer = new leader that implemented guidelines
Role = more mundane e.g. training and stewarding of rallies
When was the Hitler Youth and the Nazi Students’ Association founded?
1926
What happened at the 1927 Nuremberg Party Congress? 2 points
unsuitable Gauleiter replaced
Central bureaucracy further reorganised
What was the overall result in May 1928? in % and seats
2.6% and 12 seats
How is the overall result of May 1928 misleading?
Masks success in the agricultural north-west where they attracted a much higher percentage of the vote
When was the first Nazi professional body created? What was it?
Association of National Socialist Jurists, Oct 1928
When were Nazi professional bodies created for doctors, teachers, and students?
1929
What effect did the creation of Nazi professional bodies have on the movement?
allowed it to transform into a mass movement and spread propaganda at elections
What were the AA and when were they formed?
Agrarpolitischer Apparat (AA), 1930 - Nazi group that drew in peasantry
What did groups like AA do? 2 points
Infiltrated and dominated other important agrarian based orgs e.g. Reichslandsbund
Undertook propaganda activities
Give evidence from 1930 that the Nazis were popular w/ young people
1930 - more than 2/3s of the party’s members were under 40
Why was electoral success in the 1930s important for the Nazi’s rise to power?
Without it, they wouldn’t have been able to challenge for power nor would the power have been offered to them
Mid-1923 how many members did the Nazi party have?
55,000
How did the campaign against the Young Plan (1929) / Freedom Law gain the Nazis national exposure? 2 points
Included respected national political figures of the right e.g. Franz Seldte of the Stahlhelm movement
Able to present themselves as a party of national significance
How many party members and supported attended the Nuremberg rally (Aug 1929)?
200,000
How did the Depression aid Nazi propaganda?
created the context and opportunity for Nazi propaganda to be readily absorbed
Why was German industry hit particularly hard during the Depression?
Industrial growth in the 1920s had been funded by loans from the USA that were then withdrawn
When was the SS formed?
1925
How many people were unemployed in 1932?
6 mil
In what year did the German economy collapse and why?
1931 - 5 major banks went bankrupt –> Germany drained of foreign capital
How did the Depression affect voting habits?
Broke them –> people voting for those who offered radical solutions to economic problems
Why was Bruning’s March 1930 gov a turning point?
First government based on presidential power (not parliamentary) = breakdown of democracy
Significance of the Sept 1930 elections?
Triumph
go from having 12 seats –> 107
What was the consequence of the Sept 1930 elections on Nazi party membership?
Sept-Dec 1930 nearly 100,000 new members join
How did Bruning fail to deal w/ the economic crisis caused by the depression? 2 points
More concerned w/ removing reparations than unemployment
Scarred by hyperinflation (1923) to reinflate the economy and introduced austerity measures instead
How can we see the decline in the Reichstag 1930-32 by looking at laws passed by the Reichstag and by Article 48
Laws passed by the Reichstag
1930 = 98 –> 1932 = 5
Laws passed by Article 48
1930 = 5 –> 1932 = 66
What was the ‘Harzburg Front’? what did it aim to do? When did it fail?
Right-wing alliance including the Nazis
aimed to bring down Bruning’s gov
Failed oct 1931
How many seats did the Nazis win in July 1932?
230
How many seats did the Nazis win in Nov 1932?
196
How many votes did Hitler and Hindenburg poll in the second presidential ballot? (April 1932)
Hitler = 36.8% Hindenburg = 53%
What did the emergency decree of April 1932 do? Why?
Banned the SA and SS –> because of growing street violence
How did von Schleicher want to use the Nazi movement?
Use mass movement to create a military dictatorship w/ populist backing
When was the ban on the SA lifted? In time for what?
June 1932 –> in time for the Reichstag elections
When did von Papen dismiss the Prussian SPD-dominated government? What did this signify?
July 1932 –> destruction of democratic system BEFORE Hitler became Chancellor
What did von Papen’s dismissal of the Prussian SPD-dominated government in July 1932 set a precedent for?
a seizure of power under the pretence of legality (used article 48)
How did von Schleicher and von Papen enhance the Nazis legitimacy?
Prepared to ignore the violence and illegality of Nazism so that they could exploit its mass support
What kind of people formed the base of Nazi support?
Middle class –> those damaged by the economic stability
Who did the Nazis fail to attract significant votes from? 3 groups
Industrial working class, unemployed, and catholic
From 1930 onwards how was government characterised?
conducted by intrigue and deals
What did Hitler insist on in his negotiations w/ Hindenburg and von Papen (Aug 1932)
That he wouldn’t accept any position other than Chancellor
What was the outcome of the failed negotiations between Hitler and Von Papen? (aug 1932)
Reichstag dissolved on its first day (Sept 1932) as it lost a vote of no confidence 512:42
By what % did the Nazi vote fall in the Nov 1932 elections?
-4%
How is it demonstrated that, by 1933, elections were not the sole means by which power was gained?
Hitler appointed Chancellor when the Nazis were declining electorally
What did von Schleicher attempt to do when he gained office in dec 1932?
Attempted to split the Nazi party –> offered Gregor Strasser the vice-chancellorship
Why was Hindenburg eventually swayed into appointing Hitler Chancellor? 2 points
Wanted an authoritarian regime w/ base of support provided by Nazis
Believed Hitler would be controlled in a conservative-dominated cabinet
How many nazis were in the new cabinet? who?
Hitler, Frick, and Goering
What 2 main institutions stood as potential barriers to the Nazification of the political system?
civil service, press, Church, trade unions
What 4 main things enabled the Nazis to effectively consolidate power?
Collaboration
Propaganda
Terror
Veneer of legality
What was the name of KPD paramilitary wing?
Red Front Fighters’ League
Name of the SPD paramilitary wing
Reichsbanner
Why did the left not act when Hitler became Chancellor?
Believed his government wouldn’t last and there would be an inevitable economic and political collapse
In feb 1933 what led to a wave of violence against communists and socialists?
appointment of 50,000 SA, SS, and Stahlhelm members as auxiliary policemen
When did the police raid and ransack KPD HQ?
Feb 1933
How did the Nazis weaken the communists and socialists? 2 points
shut down their newspapers
SA frequently disrupted their political meetings
Why were the left unable to effectively oppose the Nazis?
Split between communists and socialists
Significance of the Reichstag Fire?
Gave Nazis opportunity to crush communists and suspend parts of the constitution to begin seizure of power
What was significant about clause 2 of the Reichstag Fire Decree?
allowed the cabinet to intervene in Lander (regional gov) –> only the president had this power before
How did Nazi propaganda portray the Reichstag Fire Decree? How was it received?
necessary in the battle against communism?
widely welcomed
By end of April 1933 how many political prisoners were in custody in Prussia?
25,000
What % of the vote did the Nazis receive in the March 1933 elections? What did this mean?
43.9% –> didn’t have the 2/3rd majority needed to alter the constitution
Who was barred from the REichstag during the March 1933 elections?
all KPD deputies
What was the significance of Potsdam Day? (March 1933)
Hitler attempt to demonstrate to the establishment that he was moderate (through speech), respected the army, and was committed to traditional German values
What law banned criticism of the regime?
the Malicious Practices Law (March 1933)
What were the 3 main terms of the Enabling Act (March 1933)?
gov gave power to pass laws to cabinet
allowed gov to alter the constitution
granted Hitler 4 years as dictator
What were the 2 main consequences of the Enabling Act? (March 1933) 2 points
Removed reichstag power
Killed the constitution
What is the German word for the policy of coordination?
Gleichschaltung
How did the Nazis coordinate political life under Nazi control? In regards to the Lander
Destroyed local state gov (dissolved March 31 1933)
Replaced w/ Reichsstatthalter (state governors) who had full powers to introduce Nazi policies
Which law brought closer together the running of party and state?
Law to Ensure the Unity of Party and State (Dec 1933)
In June 1933 what happened to the SPD and prominent socialists? 2 points
SPD officially banned and assets seized
3000 prominent socialists arrested and many killed
By Jan 1934 how was the centralisation of the state complete? 2 points
abolition of the Reichsrat
Lander made subordinate to central gov
Why did the Church pose a threat to nazi acquisition of power?
had large followings that couldn’t be intimidated out of their beliefs or attending church
By the end of 1933 what had the Nazis achieved?
destruction of political opposition
ideological domination
