12 - The Establishment of the Nazi Dictatorship Jan - March 1933

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  • The Establishment of the Nazi Dictatorship, Jan-March 1933
    • The Hitler Cabinet
      • 30 Jan 1933 Hindenburg appointed Hitler Chancellor
        • But the Nazis held only 3 posts in the cabinet - Papen ensured they couldn't change anything
          • Nor could Hitler become a dictator
        • In the evening he watched a parade of 100,000 Nazis marching by torchlight through Berlin
          • Organised by Goebbels to show Hitler's chancellorship was not a normal change
            • Start of a 'national revolution'
      • Papen was Vice-Chancellor + Minister of Prussia + would be present whenever Hitler met with Hindenburg
      • By March 1933 Hitler was on the way to establishing his dictatorship
      • Wilhelm Frick - interior minister for the Nazis 1933-43
        • Freiherr Von Neurath - foreign minister under Papen, continued under Hitler until 1938 after he opposed plans for German expansion
      • Genera Blomberg - Defence Minister in Hitler's first cabinet but in 1938 was removed from government
    • Nazis Use of Terror
      • Nazi Violence Against Political Opponents
        • Jan 1933 Hitler used state resources to expand the SA
          • Stormtroopers were vital in his rise to power + eliminating opposition
        • Nazi membership was 500,000 in Jan - 3 million 1 year later
        • Feb 1933 the SA and Stahlhelm were merged + became 'auxiliary police' - LEGAL
          • Police couldn't interfere with the SA
          • Unleashed an assault on trade unions + KPD offices + homes of left wing
            • Feb a Nazi shot an SPD mayor in a small town + a Communist was killed in clashes
              • These crimes were ignored by the police - the SPD paper condemning the killings was banned
                • Centre Party newspapers were banned - SA attacked party meetings
        • Frick was Minister of the Interior for the Whole Reich + Goering was Minister of the Interior in Prussia
          • Two key positions in the cabinet - Nazis could control all the police
            • Nazi legal revolution vs the revolution from below of the SA were two sides of one coin
              • Police couldn't interfere with the SA
        • First permanent concentration camp at Dachau for communists, socialists + trade unionists
          • Had accommodation for over 5000 people
        • By July 1933 over 26000 political prisoners were arrested by the SA + imprisoned in concentration camps
      • The Reichstag Fire
        • Hitler persuaded Hindenburg to dissolved the Reichstag + call an election in March
          • He believed the Nazis could win
            • By the election the KPD + SPD had been driven underground
        • 27th Feb the Reichstag building was burnt down + blamed on a young Dutch communist (Marinus Van der Lubbe
          • This justified the Nazis' preventive measures
          • Nazis claimed it was a Communist plot to start a Geran revolution
    • The Use of Legal Power
      • The Decree for the Protection of the People and the State
        • After the Reichstag fire Hitler convinced Hindenburg to sign a decree giving him 'emergency powers'
          • Suspended civil and political rights guaranteed under the Weimar Constitution
            • Arrested communists and socialists + banned their newspapers + disrupt organisations
          • Police were given increased arrest powers, detain without charge threats to the state
            • They could search private premises + government could censor publications
          • Gave the Nazis the power to take power over the State if the government refused to act against Nazi political opponents
        • SA launched a violent campaign against the 'German Bolshevik Revolution'
          • 10,000 Communists were arrested in 2 weeks
        • The KPD wasn't yet banned + could put up candidates for the election
          • But party membership was considered an act of treason with long sentences
            • Civil Servants + judges were sympathetic to the Nazis + would sentence communists harshly
      • March 1933 election
        • SA controlled the streets + spread terror
        • Nazi opponents were locked up + SPD and KPD offices were closed + funds confiscated
        • The left vcouldn't organise meetings and posters were removed as soon as they were put up
        • Nazi propaganda was all over the country in every aspect of life
        • Nearly 64% of the votes weren't for the Nazis + SPD/Communist support held up well
        • But nazis withe DNVP votes now had a Reichstag majority
    • The End of Democracy
      • Enabling Act - The Law for Removing the Distress of the People and the Reich
        • First Reichstag meeting was held in Kroll Opera House on 23 March
        • The Enabling Act was passed in the meeting - gave Hitler power to make laws without needing Reichstag approval for 4 years
          • Hitler could make foreign treaties without Reichstag approval
        • This law was a change in constitution and so needed a 2/3 majority in the Reichstag
          • KPD couldn't sit + with the DNVP vootes the centre party were the key to a Nazi win
            • Hitler told centre party he wouldn't use the power without consulting Hindenburg first  won their viote
        • This act legitimized the nazi dictatorship
        • It was presented as a temporary measure but it became permanent
        • Germany became a one party terror state
    • The State of Germany in March 1933
      • Within 2 months Hitler had established his dictatorship
      • The process of Gleichschaltung had begun
        • 'forcing into line' and coordinating
      • KPD was effectively banned + its press silenced
      • SA + ** could beat up who they wanted
        • Violent on Jews increased
      • Nazis needed to deal with the economic crisis to unite the nation behind them
      • The army retained its power + independence from the Nazis
        • Aristocratic officers who controlled it worried about the Nazi 'national revolution'
      • 3rd Feb Hitler outlined his plans for rearmament for the army + reassured the army that their authority would not be undermined
        • Army leaders helped Hitler establish his dictatorship
      • 20 Feb Hitler asked industrialists for economic help for the Nazi election campagain + secured donations of 3 million Reichsmarks
        • Big business beenfited without Communists but were scared of the radical Nazis
          • Conservative big business + army leader still had influence so Hitler couldn't risk their wrath
            • Army leaders helped Hitler establish his dictatorship
        • Hitler had to stop Nazi attacks on large capitalist enterprises
        • No formal written agreement but Hitler left these businesses untouched by Gleichschaltung

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