Section 4 - The Rise of the Nazis Flashcards
What was the original Nazi party name and who was the founder?
The German Workers Party (DAP) founded by Drexler after WW1
What was the actual name of the Nazi party?
the National Socialist German Workers’ Party (NASDAP)
What was the 25 point programme?
A programme that highlighted Racial ideas, anti-semitic messages, Social Darwinistic viewpoints and German nationalism alongside other Nazi ideology.
What was the Munich Putsch? (November 1923)
Early 1920 Hitler cultivated links with the elite in Munich and started to build up support for the party. He worked with Ernst Röhm to develop an armed wing if the party, the SA. In the atmosphere of crisis late 1923, Hitler attempted to over take the government. On 8 November in a beer hall in Munich, Hitler and Röhm, with the backing of ex-military leader General Ludendorff, took control of a conservative political meeting and Hitler announced a national revolution. Hitler hoped to unite right-wing nationalists in an armed march to seize control. In the event, some of the conservative politicians upon whose support Hitler had counted reported the plot to the authorities and the Bavarian police were able to stop the Putsch as its participants marched through Munich on 9 November.
What were the wilderness years?
Following the Munich Putsch failure, Hitler and other leading members of the party were imprisoned. Also the Nazi party was banned in Bavaria. The party was put under the control of Alfred Rosenberg.
From 1923 to early 1925 the party didn’t achieve much.
What were the Nazi successes once Hitler was released from jail?
Hitler was able to complete Mein Kampf, or my struggle, in jail. Sales of this book helped to support Hitler in his political work following his release.
He reconsidered his tactics following the Putsch failure. He decided to use the Weimar system to try and gain power, not through force, but by electoral success.
Following his time in jail Hitler made some significant successes:
He persuaded the Chancellor of Bavaria to lift the ban of the Nazi party in 1925.
A small bodyguard for Hitler led by Heinrich Himmler was formed, the SS.
At the Bamberg conference in 1926, Hitler asserted his authority and the führerprinzip.
Hitler established a national party network during this time. Regional party leaders, called gauleiter, were appointed and accountable to Hitler. The party structure assisted with election campaigning and the Nazi Party takeover.
Nazi organisations were set up for doctors and teachers, and an agricultural movement was established in 1930 to try to draw in the peasantry.
Only gained 2.5% of the vote though.
What was the Bamberg Conference?
Bamberg conference in 1926, Hitler asserted his authority and the führerprinzip.
What was the economic impact of the Great Depression?
Wall Street Crash September 1929 - Germany heavily dependant on US loans
Germany suffered:
National income shrunk by 39% between 1929 - 1932
Industrial production shrunk by more than 40%
The number of unemployed rose to around 6 million by 1932. 1/3 people of working age were out of work.
50’000 businesses were bankrupted.
In 1932, as the German economy collapsed, 5 major banks went bankrupt.
Homelessness and poverty increased and peoples living standards decreased . Many felt insecure and desperate.
What was the political impact of the Great Depression?
The Grand Coalition government led by Müller fell apart due to disagreements over unemployment benefits.
Post Grand Coalition, governments were minority administrations and lacked Reichstag support. Chancellor Brüning failed to get backing for its budget in July 1930. This resulted in Hindenburg dissolving the Reichstag a called a new election. Chancellor von Papen’s government lost a vote of no confidence in 1932, while Chancellor von Schleicher’s government only lasted two months.
The German political system moved in a more authoritarian direction in the years before Hitler became Chancellor. Brüning and von Papen relied extensively on emergency presidential decrees rather than the parliamentary government. There were 44 emergency decrees under article 48 in 1931 compared to just 5 in 1930. In July 1932, Hindenburg and von Papen also used Article 48 to seize control of regional government in Prussia, still the largest and most populous German state, who’s left-wing SPD-led government they objected to.
Politicians if not tale effective action to deal with the Depression. Modest reflationary measures were only started in mid-1932. German public lost faith in the political system as it failed to protect their interests. Brüning was nicknamed the ‘Hunger Chancellor’.
During the July 1932 election campaign there were 461 riots in Prussia. The SA were responsible for much of the violence as they participated in battles against communists. This street violence added to the air of discontent. Political and military leaders were aware that Hitler was the only real person who could control the SA.
What was the demographic of Nazi voters?
Most people who voted for the Nazis weren’t members.
Nazi members were generally young (two-thirds in 1930 were under 40) and male, partly because the party didn’t encourage female participation.
Woman were more likely to vote for the party than men. Hitler had a way of appealing to traditional woman who had not previously voted.
Catholics were less likely to support the Nazis than protestants, as the majority of catholic voters supported the centre party.
Urban dwellers were less likely to vote for Nazis.
31% of Nazi members were working class, but were least likely to join the Nazis due to the amount of working class people there were in Germany.
Office workers and self employed were over represented in the party.
What were key messages of Nazi propaganda?
Messages of bread and work were deployed in working-class areas.
Conservative mothers were fed information about the Weimar’s supposed low moral standards.
Anti-semitic messages were tailored to small shopkeepers.
What was used for Nazi propaganda and how effective was it?
The Nazis used posters, leaflets, rallies and speeches to disseminate their propaganda as well as modern technology, such as radio and film. Rallies focused on provoking emotion through visual, sound and emotive messages. The Nazis association with the DNVP benefited them due to their leader, Alfred Hugenberg, who had a media empire. This was put at the control of Nazi propagandists. The propaganda was key, however the vote also increased in areas that didn’t receive propaganda.
How much did Hitler’s appeal benefit the Nazis and who cultivated this image of him?
Joseph Goebbels cultivated an image for Hitler as Germany’s heroic saviour, which at a time when German politician seemed weak and ineffective, was appealing. When Hitler ran against Hindenburg in 1932, Hitlers campaign of ‘Hitler over Germany’ portrayed Hitler as dynamic and modern as he harnessed modern technology to put his message across, and innovatively travelled by airplane to campaign.
What was the response of Hindenburg once the Nazis did do well in the July 1932 election and what were Hitlers aims after this?
Following Hitlers success in the July 1932 election Hindenburg resisted appointing him. He offered him vice-chancellorship, but Hitler refused, holding out for the Chancellorship. This made it seem that Hitler just wanted power rather than a political position after he simply didn’t reply to Hindenburg’s request. Mass popularity wasn’t enough to get Hitler the appointment, it was down to some political and economic elite.
What made conservative elites support Hitler?
Conservatives in the army and big business turned to Hitler due to the political crisis. The KPD vote increased from 3.2 million (1928) to 5.9 million (1932). Hitlers aims to smash these communists appealed to some people. This resulted on influential bankers and business men to put pressure on Hindenburg to appoint Hitler. They thought they would lose wealth if there was a communist takeover. Army leaders told Hindenburg they would be unable to deal with uprisings from the SA and communist militia. They wanted the support of the SA.
Who did Hitler manipulate in order to become Chancellor?
Von Papen’s schemes against Chancellor von Schleicher, elected in December 1932. Hindenburg’s son Oscar and his state secretary, Otto Meissner, worked to persuade Hindenburg. Von Papen’s plan was to have Nazi members in the cabinet in the minority. He planned to use Hitlers popular support to give legitimacy to the authoritarian government that his own government had lacked in 1932. Von Papen would be the Vice Chancellor and assumed he would be able to control Hitler.
Why was Schleicher significant in helping Hitler gain power?
Schleicher’s plan to give the government legitimacy through working with part of the Nazi party failed so Hitler was appointed. Both Schleicher’s and von Papen’s governments failed to receive Reichstag support.
What is significant about the number of Nazi votes when Hitler was made Chancellor?
Hitler was appointed despite the decline in Nazi votes in the November 1932 election (37% to 32%), the party was still the largest within the Reichstag.
When was Hitler made Chancellor and who was the vice chancellor?
30 January 1933. Von Papen was vice chancellor and there were only two other Nazis in the cabinet.
What were the key factors involved in attaining Hitler the Chancellorship?
The Great Depression and the inability of politicians to deal with it effectively allowed Hitlers message to be hear. The Weimar Republic never seemed to have been working and after WWI the ‘stab in the back’ myth didn’t help. The sudden rise in popularity resulted in interest from conservative elites who believed they could help create a populist authoritarian government, Hitler was eventually persuaded to appoint Hitler as Chancellor. Hitler’s role as a charismatic leader, the Nazi propaganda and SA violence also contributed.
What events can be attributed to the Nazi consolidation of power?
The Reichstag Fire, Reichstag Fire Decree, The Nazi Campaign Against Fear, Elections, Opening of Dachau, Potsdam Day, the Enabling Act
What was The Reichstag Fire, 27 February 1933?
A Dutch communist is believed to have started the fire to the Reichstag building . The Nazis claimed that the fire was part of a communists conspiracy. Some believe now that the Nazis staged the fire in order to create an impression of a communist conspiracy but it is also widely thought that he Dutch operated alone. Hindenburg declared a national emergency in response to the fire and the supposed communist plot
What was The Reichstag Fire Decree and the Nazi Campaign Against the Lest, 28 February 1933
Days after the fire, President Hindenburg issued a decree (Law for the Protection of the People and State, or Reichstag Fire Decree) which suspended the parts of the Weimar constitution that included civil right:
German people and political organisations lost the right to freedom of speech, a free press and the right to freedom of association.
The right of habeas corpus (The right of a prisoner to challenge the basis of their incarceration, i.e. a person cannot be held for no reason and without the opportunity to counter allegations made) were removed, giving the ability to the police and secret police to arrest someone for any reason and withhold them indefinitely. Known as ‘protective custody’.
Mass arrests ensued and widespread attacks on communists and some on socialist and trade unionist also amassed.
How were the Elections, 5 March 1933, used to consolidate Nazi power?
Reichstag elections of March 1933 were conducted in an atmosphere of violence and intimidation, resulting in an increased vote share for the Nazis(43.5%) and a Reichstag majority for them and their conservative supporters. This gave Hitler’s government apparent legitimacy. However this vote cannot be considered fair as the SA harassed and attacked the KPD and SPD. Many members of the KPD had been arrested before the cote.
