The Establishment of Hitler’s dictatorship 1933-1934 Flashcards
Following his appointment as chancellor, what did Hitler do to try and get a majority?
he called an election for the following March
How did Hitler persuade Hindenburg to pass an emergency ‘Protection Law’?
- a week before voting day, the Reichstag burned down
- Hitler blamed it on a communist plot to take over Germany
- this law gave Hitler the power to deal with Germany’s problems and because of the Reichstag fire and apparent communist plot, Hindenburg agreed
What law was passed following the Reichstag fire concerning the communists?
- a law that banned leading communists from taking part in the election campaign
- 4000 communists were jailed and their newspapers banned
What was the result of the March 1933 election that Hitler called?
- the Nazis got more voted than ever
- they didn’t get a majority
How was the Enabling Act passed after the 1933 election?
- centre party politicians joined the Nazis
- Hitler now had a majority
- many Centre Party politicians were forced into passing the Enabling Act
What did the Enabling Act allow Hitler to do?
Make laws without the approval from the rest of the Reichstag.
How did Hitler established control following the passing of the Enabling Act until he took over as president??
- Nazis were put in charge of all local government, councils and police
- the Gestapo was formed
- the first concentration camp for political prisoners was opened in Dachau
- trade unions were banned
- all political parties were banned
- Hitler murdered his opponents in the SA during the the Night of the Long Knives
Why were the SA now a threat to Hitler?
- many SA members wanted well-paid jobs as a reward now that Hitler was in power
- Hitler was worried that Rohm (SA leader) was becoming too powerful: the SA already had more members than the German army
- Rohm wanted to combine the SA and the army and control both himself
- this alarmed Hitler and the army leaders whom hitler needed to keep happy as he’d need them to get the land Germany lost in the ToV back
How did Hitler deal with the problem of the SA?
the Night of the Long Knives
Describe the events that took place during the Night of the Long Knives.
- Hitler arranged a meeting at a hotel in Bavaria with SA leaders
- Hitler and the SS stormed into the hotel and arrested Rohm and other SA leaders. They were later shot dead
- Over the next few days around 400 political opponents were executed
What was the impact of the Night of the Long Knives?
- Rivals dead so no longer pose a threat to Hitler
- Hitler did not hide what he had done and his acts established murder as a method of the Nazi government
