The rise of Hitler and the Nazis Flashcards
1
Q
What were the limitations of Hitler as chancellor?
A
- Under the Weimar constitution, Hitler’s power depended on the support of other parties. The Nazis made up a third of the Reichstag and Hitler’s cabinet of 12 only included 2 Nazis. Hindenburg also held all the presidential powers.
2
Q
What happened on the 27th of February 1933 and who was blamed for it?
A
- The Reichstag building was burned down and a communist called Van Der Lubb was blamed, having been found on the scene with matches and firelighters. He said he acted alone and was later executed by guillotine in 1934.
3
Q
How did the Reichstag fire lead to the removal of communist opposition?
A
- Hermann Goering, the Nazi chief of police, claimed that Van Der Lubb was part of a communist anti-government plot. This provided justification for the arrests of 4000 communist leaders on the night of the fire.
4
Q
What emergency decree was passed after the Reichstag fire and what did it allow for?
A
- ‘The Decree for the Protection of the People and State’ allowed the police to search homes and imprison anyone they arrested without trial. It also allowed the police ban meetings and close newspapers.
5
Q
How did Hitler encourage support for the Nazi Party during the March elections?
A
- Funding: Hitler promised to destroy communism, which secured him generous funds from industrialists.
Violence and intimidation:
Goering started to replace the police force with Nazi supporters and 50,000 SA members were recruited to be ‘police auxillaries’, essentially giving Hitler full control of the police force because SA violence was not stopped. During this election campaign, political violence resulted in around 70 deaths. SA members would break up election meetings by opposition parties and thousands of the Communist Party (KPD) or Social Democratic Party were sent to concentration camps. SA supporters were also posted outisde polling stations to intimidate citizens into voting for the Nazi party.
Propaganda and censorship:
Newspapers who didn’t support Nazism were closed and huge amounts of propaganda was released.
6
Q
Why was Hitler disappointed with the outcomes of the 1933 March elections?
A
- The Nazi Party were the largest party in the Reichstag, having won 44% of the votes, but Hitler needed a 2/3rds majority in order to change the German constitution.
7
Q
What did the Enabling Act allow for?
A
- It allowed Hitler to pass laws and to sign treaties with foreign powers without Reichstag approval.
8
Q
What was the ‘Nazi Revolution’?
A
- Hitler using his new powers to completely remove remaining opposition to his government. He did this by targeting local governments, trade unions and other political parties. In March 31st 1933, Germany’s 18 state parliaments were closed and reorganised so that Nazis held majorities in each. In January 1934, all state parliaments were abolished. In May 2nd 1933, trade union offices were stormed and their leaders arrested. The German Worker’s Front was then set up that all workers had to join. In May 1933, the Social Democrats and the Communist Party were both suspended through the Nazis occupying their party offices and taking their funds. In July 1933, a law was passed that banned all political parties except the Nazi Party.
9
Q
What were the causes of the Night of the Long Knives?
A
- The SA spoiled the image of the Nazi party. There were frequent drunken fights between SA members, which the conservative Germans didn’t like, and their behaviour embarrassed Hitler.
In 1934, the SA had grown to having over 2 million members, their growing influence upset Heinrich Himmler (head of the SS) as well as the army, which included many influential army leaders. Hitler needed the support of the army because he had plans to increase the size of their army. The SA wanted to replace the army. In 1934, SA units started stopping army convos and confiscating their weapons.
Ernst Rohm was a possible threat to Hitler and they had opposing views. Whilst Hitler wanted to gain support from big businesses for the funding they would provide, Rohm adopted more socialist policies against big businesses. Hitler claimed that the night of the long knives was to protect Germany against a plot that was to be led by Rohm.
10
Q
What happened on 30th June 1934?
A
- With the help of the SS, around 200 of the SA were arrested and taken to Munich, where around 90 of them were executed. Hitler also took this as an opportunity to take revenge on old enemies like Von Schleicher and Von Kahr, and remove Gregor Strasser, a potential rival.
11
Q
What did Hitler do after Hindenburg’s death on August 2nd 1934?
A
- President Hindenburg died on August 2nd 1934, Hitler combined the offices of the president and chancellor and declared himself the ‘Fuhrer’ of Germany. The army was made to swear an army loyalty oath to him directly, which meant that Hitler’s orders took priority over their military commanders and they had to obey him if there was a struggle for power. A plebiscite was held after a massive Nazi propaganda campaign to get the public to agree on all of these changes, Hitler gained 90% of the public vote.
12
Q
How was Hitler introduced to the German Worker’s Party and what did he change?
A
- In 1919, Hitler was working for the army to spy on extremist political parties that had gained support after the war. The German Worker’s Party (formed in January 1919 and led by Anton Drexler) was one of the parties that he was spying on, and he joined them in September 1919 after realising that he agreed with their views. In February 1920 Hitler was put in charge of propaganda and along with Drexler, rewrote the aims of the party in its 25 Point Program. The party was renamed the National Socialist German Workers’ Party (NSDAP). From the beginning of 1919 to the end of 1920, party membership had increased from 6 to 1,100. By 1921, Hitler had become the party’s leader. In 1921, he also set up the SA and the Stosstrupp. The SA was a paramilitary force led by Ernst Rohm to disrupt meetings of opposition parties and control crowds during Nazi meetings. They wore brown shirts and were provided uniforms, meals and hostel accommodation. The Strosstrup was comprised of the most trusted members of the SA to be Hitler’s own personal bodyguard.
13
Q
Why did Hitler have confidence in the success of the Munich Putsch in November 1923?
A
- Hitler knew that he would have support in Munich because the leaders of the Bavarian state government, including Gustav Von Kahr, were hostile to the Weimar government. They supported the views of the NSDAP and sometimes even ignored SA violence. Hitler also thought that his friendship with the former army general, Ludendorff, could convince the army to support the Nazi Party. This support, as well as the Nazi Party’s 20,000 members and SA made the chances of successful takeover likely. The anger towards the weakness of the Weimar Republic between the years 1918-1923 and the recent French and Belgian invasion of the Ruhr also increased Nazi Party support.
14
Q
What were the events of the Munich Putsch?
A
15
Q
How did the Munich Putsch work in favour of the Nazi party?
A
