Nazi Control and Dictatorship 1933-39

When did Hitler did become Chancellor

How?

30 January 1933

stopped othe rpolititcla aprty camapigns

used SA to terorise oponents controleld the emdia

Hitler’s main problems in 1933

• Communists – 2nd biggest party; strong working-class support

• Hindenburg – hated Hitler, could sack him anytime

• Presidential powers – Hitler needed these to become dictator

• Röhm & SA – Röhm wanted SA as official army → risk of conflict with regular army

Reichstag Fire

• 27 Feb 1933 – Reichstag Fire by a lone Dutch communist

• Hitler accused communists of conspiracy

• 4,000 communists arrested

• Hindenburg’s Decree → Hitler gained emergency powers

• Intimidated voters; imprisoned political opponents

• Persuaded Hindenburg to call March 1933 election

• Nazis  gained 2/3 majority → able to change constitution / give himself absolute power

Enabling Act

• Reich Cabinet could pass new laws, overruling the constitution

• Hitler proposed the laws

• Germany no longer a democracy

• SA used to intimidate opponents into passing it

• Didn’t seem extreme at first (others had used Article 48 before)

Effect of Enabling act

• Local government reorganised with Nazi majorities → abolished in 1934

• Trade unions banned, replaced with German Labour Front; officials arrested

• Other political parties banned → one-party state

• Article 48 used constantly

• Constitution changed: only Hitler could make laws

Threats to Hitler

• By 1934, Hitler had near-total power but Hindenburg still alive with army support → risk of overthrow.

• Röhm + SA disliked Hitler’s policies; felt undervalued, loyal to Röhm.

• SA larger than army → seen as a threat by army

SS

Set up as Hitler’s bodyguards; later elite force of the Nazi state; recognisable in black uniforms.

The Night of the Long Knives

• Röhm + SA leaders invited to meeting → arrested, taken to Munich, and shot.

• Von Papen’s staff arrested; his home surrounded → no longer a check on Hitler.

• Von Schleicher (former chancellor) killed.

• Message: Hitler was above the law; opponents eliminated.

Why Hitler supported the army

• Better trained and disciplined than SA

• Only force that could potentially remove Hitler from power

• Supported by big business (same funders as Nazis)

• Strong enough to invade other countries

Hindenburg Death

• Army grateful for removal of Röhm; 1934 oath of loyalty to Hitler not Germany

• Combined roles of Chancellor + President → Führer.

• SA removed → gained support from ordinary people; seen as ruthless & feared.

• Opportunity to expand SS; “Heil Hitler” salute portrayed him as heroic.

What sort of Germany did Hitler want?

• Strong government – no opposition; controlled every aspect of life

• Foreign policy – aimed to destroy Treaty of Versailles; rebuilt the army

• Supporters – older people, army, middle class

• Opposition – young people, communists, political opponents; disliked life under strict control

Eugenics programme to selectively breed Germans

Nazi Police State - Police were used to control everyone’s lives

• SS – Set up by Himmler, 1925; black uniforms; controlled police; acted outside the law; had to marry “racially pure” wives; ran concentration camps.

• SD – Set up by Himmler, led by Heydrich; uniformed; spied on opponents at home and abroad.

• Gestapo – Secret police; plain clothes; led by Heydrich; spied on people, prosecuted dissenters, sent opponents to camps, used torture.

People accepted rules out of fear/ believed in their policies

Legal System

• Judges – Controlled by Hitler; all belonged to the National Socialist League for the Maintenance of the Law; favoured Nazis in decisions.

• Courts – Law courts under Nazi control; jury system abolished → only judges decided cases.

• People’s Court – Tried treason cases in secret; judges hand-picked by Nazis.

Concentrationc maps in 1933

Dachau (1933) – First camp; isolated; prisoners treated badly; forced to do hard labour.

Censorship

• Goebbels – Minister for Enlightenment and Propaganda

• Books – Public burnings of works critical of Nazis

• Media control – Radio makers and filmmakers told what was acceptable; opponents shut down

• Radio restrictions – Only radios that couldn’t receive foreign stations allowed

Propoganda

• People’s Radio – Cheap radios for poor; broadcast Hitler speeches and biased news

• Posters – Anti-Jewish, simple language

• Berlin Olympics (1936) – Promoted Aryan superiority, Nazi symbols, German power

• Newspapers – Taken over by Nazis

• Public rallies – One million attended

• Schools – Textbooks rewritten;

• Weimar ideas seen as too liberal → easier to persuade

• Censorship – Impossible to publish alternative viewpoints