Weimar Germany- Dictatorship and nazi control Flashcards
The Reichstag fire, February 1933
On the 27th of February 1933, the Reichstag building was burned down. A Dutch communist was put on trial and found guilty of starting the fire. Hitler used this to blame the communist party.
Hitler persuaded Hindenburg to activate article 48, in a time of emergency, that allowed hitter to rule by decree, unchallenged and it allowed the police to detain people without trial.
The enabling act, March 1933
This allowed hitler to make laws without the Reichstag’s consent. This allowed hitler to:
Remove further opposition to the nazi government, including banning all trade unions, merging them all into the German labour front.
He also banned all other political parties. By July 1933, Germany was a one-party state.
The night of the long knives, 30 June 1934
The SA led by Rohm was a threat to hitler’s power. He removed this threat by purging the SA in the night of the long knives.
Reasons for the night of the long knives
The SA were increasingly out of control at a time when hitler was trying to establish a dictatorship through legal methods.
Rohm wanted a social revolution: to bring about greater equality in society.
Leading nazis such as Himmler were concerned about Rohm’s growing influence. Himmler wanted to replace the SA with his own SS.
Events of the night of the long knives
Hitler arranged a meeting with Rohm and 100 other SA leaders. They were arrested by the SS, taken to Munich and shot.
About 400 people were murdered in the purge.
Results of the night of the long knives
Hitler got rid of would be opponents
The SA now had a minor role
After Hindenburg died in August 1934, the army leaders swore an oath of allegiance to hitler, giving him unconditional obedience.
How did hitler get the role of fuhrer
After Hindenburg’s death, hitler declared himself ‘fuhrer’, combining the post of chancellor and president.
He called a referendum and more than 90 per cent of the voters agreed and backed him
The police state
The nazis created a police state through the use of different agencies- creating a terror amongst German people
The SS (Protection squad)
Led by himmler, the SS were responsible for the removal of all opposition and became the main means of intimidating German people.
By 1934, the SS had more than 50,000 members, growing to 250,000 by 1939.
The gestapo(secret police)
Set up in 1933 by Goering, in 1936 the Gestapo came under the control of himmler and the SS.
It could arrest and imprison without trial those suspected of opposing the state.
Only it had the power to send political opponents to concentration camps.
The SD
Set up in 1931, the SD was the intelligence agency of the nazi party under the command of himmler.
Its main aim was to find actual and potential enemies of the nazi party ensure that they were removed
Concentration camps- established in 1933 to detain political prisoners
These were run by the SS and SD.
Prion eras were classified into different categories through the use of different coloured triangles.
By 1939, there were more than 150,000 people under arrest for political offences.
Nazi control of the legal system
Hitler wanted to ensure that all laws were interpreted in a nazi fashion:
All judges had to become members of the nationalist socialist league for the maintenance of law which meant nazi views were upheld in the courts.
In 1934, the people’s court was established to try cases of treason and the judges were loyal nazis.
In October 1933, the German lawyers front was established. Lawyers had to swear that they would follow the course of the fuhrer.
Nazi polices towards the churches
In Germany, about 2/3 of the people were Protestant and one 1/3 was Roman Catholic.
The Catholic Church
Hitler was determined to reduce the influence of the Catholic Church:
Hitler said people were rather Christian or German, not both which opposed people’s allegiance to the pope.
Hitler wanted to stop the catholic schools and organisations whose message to the young was opposing the nazi regime.
