Nazi Germany Use of legal methods, force, charismatic leadership, and propaganda

List use of legal methods

• Gleichschaltung

• Decree for the Protection of People and State

• Enabling Act

• Law Against the Formation of New Parties

• Law for the Reconstruction of the Reich

Describe Gleichschaltung

• appointed Chancellor on 30 January 1933

• Hitler used legal frameworks to dismantle democracy under the policy of Gleichschaltung (“coordination”)

• aligned all institutions with Nazi control.

Describe the Decree for the Protection of People and State

• Enabled by the Reichstag Fire (27 February 1933)

• Decree for the Protection of People and State suspended freedoms of press, speech, and assembly

  • within days, 4,000 Communists were arrested.

Describe the Enabling Act

Enabling Act (23 March 1933)

• gave Hitler power to legislate without Reichstag approval for four years

• passed with support from the Centre Party and intimidation by SA troops surrounding the chamber

• made Hitler a dictator within two months of becoming Chancellor.

Describe the Law Against the Formation of New Parties

Law Against the Formation of New Parties (July 1933)

• political parties and trade unions eliminated legally

• banned all parties except the NSDAP

• independent trade unions were replaced by the Nazi German Labour Front (DAF).

Describe the Law for the Reconstruction of the Reich

Law for the Reconstruction of the Reich (January 1934)

• abolished the powers of state governments

• centralised authority under Berlin

List uses of force

• the SA

• Night of the Long Knives

• Gestapo

• SS

Describe the SA

SA (Sturmabteilung)

• 3 million men by 1934

• intimidated voters

• attacked political opponents

• projected Nazi power through rallies and parades.

Describe the Night of the Long Knives

The Night of the Long Knives (30 June 1934)

• eliminated SA leader Ernst Röhm and other perceived rivals

  • At least 85 leaders were executed, including conservative critics like Schleicher.

• secured army loyalty in exchange

• planted by individuals (Himmler and Goering) in Hitler’s inner circle who framed Ernst Röhm to gain Hitler’s confidence

Describe the Gestapo

Gestapo (Secret State Police)

• created in April 1933 under Göring

• later absorbed into Himmler’s SS

• used arbitrary arrest, torture, and fear to neutralise opposition.

Describe the SS

The SS (Schutzstaffel)

• under Himmler

  • Aryan security guards

• grew from 52,000 in 1933 to 250,000 by 1939

• became the regime’s most feared instrument of terror.

List examples of charismatic leadership

• image of the Fuhrer

• “Hitler Myth”

• Hitler absolved from propaganda

Describe Hitler’s image as a Fuhrer

Hitler’s charisma and image as Führer were central to maintaining power. His speeches framed him as the saviour of Germany from communism, depression, and Versailles.

• Even after policy failures, Hitler was personally absolved in propaganda, with blame shifted onto subordinates.

Describe the “Hitler Myth”

The “Hitler Myth”

• cultivated by Goebbels

• portrayed Hitler as a superhuman leader embodying the national will, rising above party squabbles and working tirelessly for Germany.

List examples of dissemination of propaganda

• Joseph Goebbels

• Radio

• Nuremberg rallies

• Nazi films

• Press censorship

Describe Joseph Goebbels’ involvement in the dissemination of propaganda

Under Joseph Goebbels, the Ministry of Propaganda (est. March 1933) saturated public life with Nazi messaging.

Describe the use of radios

• Radio ownership increased from 4.5 million in 1932 to 16 million by 1939

• cheap “Volksempfänger” sets allowed Hitler’s speeches to reach mass audiences.

Describe Nuremberg rallies

Annual Nuremberg rallies showcased Nazi unity, discipline, and power 1933-1938

• attendance grew annually and surpassed one million by 1938

Provide an example of a Nazi film

films like Leni Riefenstahl’s Triumph of the Will (1935) glorified Hitler and the Nazi state.

The extent of press censorship

By 1939, the Nazi Eher Verlag controlled two-thirds of all German newspapers.