The Nazi party Flashcards
events between 1921 and 1928
1921- Hitler became leader of nazi party
1923- SA founded. Munich putsch backfired
1924- Hitler wrote Main Kampf (outlined his ideas for nazi elections
1928- economy was good and nazi seats dropped from 32 (1924) to 12.
Nazis shifted their focus from workers to peasants and the conservative part of Germany.
some points of the 25 point programme
- abolition of T of V
- Anschluss
- anti-semitism
- nationalization of businesses and industries
- strong central gov.
Lebensraum
(living space)
expansion to Russia and Poland
positive cohesion
people who voted for the nazi party because they believed in its message and proposals
negative cohesion
people who voted for the nazi party, not because they believed in their message but because they preferred voting for them than for others
how did the depression help the nazis? and what did the nazis do
- made weimar politicians look weak: nazis seemed to be the only party capable to solve the crisis (eg. soup kitchen)
- made GER less able to pay reparations from WW1: taxes raised. made people hate t of v and the weimar rep. even more (nazis always hated both and were very explicit about that in their policies)
- increased unemployment and poverty in GER: nazis offered jobs
- increased support for communism: negative cohesion
How did Hitler become chancellor by 1933? (April 1932- November 1932)
April 1932- Hitler lost elections to Hindenburg by little
- Hindenburg didn’t want Hitler to be his chancellor
July 1932- 230 seats in Reichstag for the Nazis
- Hindenburg used emergency power (article 48) to contain unemployment - showed how weak and useless the Reichstag was
- Von Papen (chancellor at time) could no longer govern (no confidence vote) collapse of gov.
- November: new elections. 196 seats in Reichstag
What happened in January 1933?
30th Jan 1933: Hitler becomes chancellor
What helped Hitler to become chancellor?
- Hitler’s speaking skills
- Propaganda campaigns
- German general criticism of Weimar system of gov.
- nazi policies
What obstacles did Hitler face on the road to consolidate power?
- Hindenburg: did not like hitler
- Reichstag: nazi party not majority
- Trade unions: they could go on a strike in protest against any measure they disagree with.
- The army - military officials were concerned about the threat of the SA. Hitler would need the army’s side in order to impose his full authority
- The SA - large force by 1933 that could cause divisions within the Nazi party
What happened in February 1933
27th February 1933: The Reichstag Fire: Hitler blamed the Communists. demanded emergency power
28th Feb 1933: Hindenburg passed the Reichstag decree- allowed police forces to carry out searches. 4000 communists arrested
What happened in March 1933 election?
- march election campaign slogan: “The battle against Marxism
- March 1933: nazi seats rise (43.91%)
The enabling act
- March 1933
- Nazis had 288 seats in reichstag
- they formed a majority with the support of the Nationalist party
- Hitler was able to pass the enabling act which gave him the power to pass laws without the Reichstag or without consulting the president
events between April 1933 and January 1934
7 april 1933: Jews and opponents removed from civil service
2 may 1933: trade unions banned
14 July 1933: law against the formation of new parties
January 1934: All state governments were brought under central (nazi control)
the night of the long knives
30 June 1934
Hitler arrested and executed enemies and leaders of the SA (400)
Pleased the army
The army oath
2 August 1934: Hindenburg died
Hitler combined position of chancellor and president to form fuhrer
2 august 1934: army swore an oath of loyalty to Hitler as the furrier of Germany
- army promised to stay out of politics and hitler promised to rebuild German armed forces and make them into a military power once again