Topic 1 - Dictatorship

Question 1

How did the Nazi Party originate?

Answer 1

• The Nazi party was founded in 1919 by Anton Drexler. It was a small right-wing party with its main support in southern Germany.
• Adolf Hitler became the chairman of the party in 1921.
• On the 8th of November 1923, Hitler lead an unsuccessful takeover of power in Munich, Munich putsch, which ended up with 16 Nazis dead, Hitler jailed and the party banned for two years.
• At his trial, Hitler gained national fame for his political ideas, and in prison wrote Mein Kampf, which detailed these ideas and gave him more fame.
• Relaunching the party in 1925, the Nazis decided to take power through democracy. They remained relatively unpopular until the great depression in the early 1930s.
• Faced with high unemployment and depression the German people turned to more extreme parties like the Nazis.

Question 2

What happened in 1933?

Answer 2

The Nazis had won the majority of seats in the Reichstag and had a personal membership of over 850,000. They had emerged from their weak beginning in the 1920s to become a hugely powerful force.

Question 3

Who was Adolf Hitler?

Answer 3

An ex soldier with charisma, he could whip a crowd into a frenzy. He was portrayed as God like, and his right-wing views about race formed the backbone of the party.

Question 4

Who was Joseph Geobbels?

Answer 4

A highly educated and very anti-somatic man who realised the power of modern media. He was tasked with spreading Nazi propaganda, using newspapers, films and radios.

Question 5

Who was Ernst Röhm?

Answer 5

Fear was a key tactic of the Nazis and in order to create fear they needed force. In 1933, this came through the SA, a personal army of brown shirted storm troopers led by Röhm which was 400,000 strong.

Question 6

Who was Heinrich Himmler?

Answer 6

Fanatical about Nazi ideas he created an elite forces who of soldiers, the SS, wore black shirts and worked alongside the SA. He had strict entry requirements and its force numbered 50,000 in 1933 .

Question 7

Who was Herman Göring?

Answer 7

An ex-fighter pilot, who was second in power to Hitler. He would go on to create the Gestapo (the secret police) and command the Luftwaffe (air force).

Question 8

What problems were Germany facing in 1932-33?

Answer 8

Germany in 1932-33 was not in a good state:
- The Wall Street crash had led to a global great depression and it affected Germany badly. Unemployment soared and poverty was widespread.
- The ruling government before the Nazis, the Weimar government, appeared weak and unable to provide any solutions to this worsening situation.
- In this situation, the Nazi ideas to make Germany strong seemed very appealing and they made the most of this.

Question 9

What was the Nazi idea of bread and jobs?

Answer 9

Unemployed people are promised food and work during the depression. This would’ve been very appealing during the Depression. The Nazis would nationalise industry and educate the people ready to work to revitalise the economy.

Question 10

What was the Nazi idea of abolishing the Treaty of Versailles?

Answer 10

In 1920, after the First World War, the Weimar government had signed a treaty with the allies which meant the German army was severely reduced. Its territories were reduced and vast debts were owed. The Nazis promised to abolish these restrictions.

Question 11

What was the Nazi idea of Aryans being the supreme race?

Answer 11

The Nazis believe that there were distinct races of people. Natural Germans, Aryans were seen as racially superior to others. They saw Jewish people as non-Aryans and racially inferior, and as a result, believed Jewish people shouldn’t have the same rights or be viewed as citizens.

Question 12

What was the Nazi idea of Labensraum?

Answer 12

Many German-speaking people have been forced into other countries by the treaty of versailles. The Nazis wished to reunite these people and conquer new land in the east so that Germans could have a space to thrive.

Question 13

What was the Nazi idea of having a strong central government?

Answer 13

The Nazis believed that a strong central government was key to Germany overcoming its problems. At the head of this government would be Hitler, his powers as führer would be ultimate.

Question 14

What was the Nazi idea of destroying communism?

Answer 14

Russia had a communist revolution in 1917 and the Nazis wanted to avoid this at all costs. They saw communism as a Jewish plan to take over the world.

Question 15

What were the Restrictions to Hitlers power once he became Chancellor in 1933?

Answer 15

• The Communist party had a large amount of support that prevented the Nazi majority in the Reichstag.
• Germany was a democracy and other political parties could oppose the Nazi policies.
• The people of Germany were - potential threat as they could rise up against the Nazis.
• By July 1933 all these restrictions have been removed.

Question 16

What was the Reichstag fire?

Answer 16

On the 27th of February, 1933 the Reichstag building was set on fire by a young Dutch Communist Marinus Van der lube, was caught inside. Van der lube claimed he was working alone but many believed he was working as a part of a wider community plot. The Nazis were furious.

Question 17

How did Hitler use the Reichstag fire to remove communists?

Answer 17

• Hitler persuaded President Hindenburg (who had powers to make laws in emergency) to pass the Reichstag fire decree.
• This severely restricted civil liberties including freedom of assembly and the press as a result of this.
• 4000 communists were arrested including Ernst Thälmann the leader of the Communist Party.
  -The Communist press and meetings were banned.

Question 18

What was the Enabling Act?

Answer 18

• With the Communists removed the Nazis were confident with the success of the scheduled 5 March 1933 election.
• The SA and SS patrolled the German streets intimidating voters into support for the Nazis.
• The election result didn’t give the Nazis an outright majority they only won 288 out of the 647 seats, but forming a coalition (temporary alliance) with the Nationalists they got the extra 52 seats and the majority they desired so they could now pass any law they wish.
• On March 24, 1933 the members of the Reichstag met and Hitler introduced the enabling act which gave him the power to create any law he wished without the Reichstag.
• Surrounded by SA guards, 444 Reichstag members voted to approve the law, with only 94 Social Democrats voting against.

Question 19

What was Gleichschaltung?

Answer 19

With their newfound power, the Nazis began the process of creating a state built on fear. They called this Gleichschaltung, meaning coordination or bringing into line.

Question 20

What was the Civil Service Act?

Answer 20

On 7 April 1933 any civil servant including (teachers judges and university lecturers) who was a political opponent or a non-Aryan (mostly Jewish people) was fired from their job.

Question 21

How did they begin their Anti-Semitic constrictions?

Answer 21

Laws to restrict Jewish people began, initially preventing them from working in the legal and medical professions. On first of April 1933 a countrywide boycott (a campaign encouraging people not to use) of Jewish shops was held.

Question 22

What was the book burning?

Answer 22

Encouraged by Geobbels, burning of un-German (often Jewish or Communist) books began. In May 1933 many cities across Germany held large bonfires tended by Nazi student groups.

Question 23

What was the increased use of the SA?

Answer 23

The SA began terrorising Nazi opponents including this Jewish people,Communists, Social Democrats and trade unions. By October over 100,000 had been arrested. Some were placed in the newly built concentration camps such as the one at Dachau.

Question 24

How did the Nazis remove trade unions?

Answer 24

• Fearing a strike organised by the trade union leaders, the Nazis arrested the main leaders.
• The remaining leaders worked with the Nazis as they were promised a day of national labour (1st May) to celebrate workers. This kept them happy.
• The next day (2 May) the offices of those remaining leaders were raided and they were arrested.
• A new workers organisation, the German labour front was created and led by the Nazis to replace trade unions.

Question 25

How did the Nazi’s remove other political parties?

Answer 25

• Although democracy have been removed by the Enabling Act, other party’s still existed.
• The Social Democrats, the largest of these, were removed first. On 10 May, the Nazis announce that the Social Democrats had used funds corruptly and on 21 June banned them altogether, arresting 3000 people.
• Saying what happened to the Social Democrats other political parties now dissolved (stopped existing) rather than face the same fate.
• On 14th of July an act was passed to ban new parties.

Question 26

What were the constraints to Hitlers Power?

Answer 26

• The justice system and local government system needed to be brought into line.
• The SA, the Nazis own personal army, and the leader Ernst Rohm were growing in power.
• Conservative politicians like von Papen we’re not Nazis but still remained in the government.
• President Hindenburg still technically sat above Hitler and could veto his laws.

Question 27

What was the Peoples court?

Answer 27

• Hitler and the Nazis were getting frustrated that the courts were not doing their bidding.
• As a result they created a new type of court the People’s Court, this is a separate court outside the normal justice system to deal with political offences, a deliberately vague term.
• Only Nazi approved judges were chosen and the number of death penalties imposed increased year-on-year.

Question 28

What was the Local Government?

Answer 28

• German local government had traditionally had lots of power.
• In January 1934, the act for the reconstruction of the state gave more power to central government.
• Germany was now a highly centralised state it was split into 40 Gaue, each one run by a Gauleiter directly elected by the Nazis.

Question 29

What was the threat from the SA?

Answer 29

• By 1934 the SA were becoming increasingly violent and difficult to control.
• Rohm the leader, began openly talking of taking over the German Army who are far better organised and equipped. When Hitler rejected this idea Rohm called him the ridiculous Corporal.
• In response to the threat Hitler tasked the SS with making up evidence that Rohm and the SA we’re planning a national uprising and we’re constructing a list of politically unreliable people.

Question 30

What happened on the night of the Long Knives?

Answer 30

• On 30th of June 1934, the SA leadership met at a hotel outside Munich. Hitler and Goebbels, aided by the SS, arrested the most prominent leaders and sent them to prison. Many were killed.
• Rohm was given the option to kill him self but refused so was murdered by the SS.
• In Berlin, Goring arranged the arrest of all the conservative opponents including von Papen and von Schleicher.
• In all 85 people were murdered including 12 prominent Reichstag deputies.

Question 31

What were the Consequences of the Night of the Long Knives?

Answer 31

• The power of the SA was reduced and its membership dropped from 2.9 million in August 1934 to 1.6 million by October 1935.
• The army knew Hitler had chosen them over the SA and as a result their loyalty to the Nazis grew.
• 85 people have been murdered on 30th of June and no one was sentenced for the crime. Extrajudicial (outside the legal system) killing became acceptable with Hitler as the supreme judge of the people.
• The SS had ruthlessly carried out Hitler’s orders in the night of the Long knives. It had proved its loyalty and the SS took over from the SA as the key Nazi organisation.

Question 32

What happened after the death of Hindenburg?

Answer 32

• There was now only one final obstacle to complete power President Hindenburg.
• By late July Hindenburg’s health began to deteriorate.
• Hitler and the Nazis worked quickly to pass a law to seize the moment.
• The Act Concerning the Head of State was passed. At the moment of Hindenburg’s death the office and power of the president will be merged with Hitler’s chancellor into a new title, Fürher.
• Hindenburg died on the 2nd of August at 9 am.