Hitler and the system of government and administration

What was the image of the Fuhrer?

Of an all-powerful dictator.

Hitler was leader of the party and combined the roles of chancellor, president and commander in-chief of the armed forces.

What was Hitler’s will?

His will was law, both in the party and in Germany, at least in theory.

Was portrayed as having the vision and will to transform Germany.

However, what was the case despite Hitler destroying much of the opposition?

There were still rival systems which overlapped.

These included the central government, with the ministries and civil service, and the SS and the Nazi Party.

Why was Hitler’s role limited regarding the Third Reich?

Was no all-embracing constitution in the Third Reich.

Meant that government and law emerged in a haphazard form.

Why was Hitler's role limited in practice?

In practice, no individual could control all areas of government.

What did Hitler rely on that limited his role?

Relied on subordinates to put his wishes into practice.

Why did Hitler's own personality limit his role?

His personality and lifestyle involved long sleeping hours and absences from Berlin.

What can be said about Hitler's day to day role?

Role was limited.

What did Hitler do on the day to day?

Avoided decision making and had little contact with ministers, who had to determine his wishes.

Known as ‘working towards the Fuhrer’ and often resulted in contradictions.

What did Hitler dislike?

He disliked paperwork and committees and did not co-ordinate government.

Whay happened to the role of the Cabinet under Nazi government?

Role declined - it met 72 times in 1933, but only four times in 1936.

When was the last formal meeting of the Cabinet?

In 1938.

The lack of clear leadership often led to chaos.

What added to their problems?

War in 1939.

Hitler was away at the front, but would not allow Cabinet meetings or give committees power, as he feared they might challenge him.

How were decisions made during the war?

Decisions only made by seeing Hitler, and Martin Bormann controlled this.

What did Hitler rarely make decisions about?

Rarely made decisions outside of foreign policy, but dominated government through his charisma.

What was the role of the Nazi party and state in theory?

In theory, Germany was a one-party, totalitarian state, reinforced by propaganda.

However, in practice, this was not true: there were limits to the power of the Nazi party.

What were the 2 limits to the powers of the Nazi party?

• It never destroyed established state institutions.

• Party divisions remained.

What did Hitler not do as the bureaucracy of the state was already established and effective?

Hitler did not destroy the old institutions, such as the ministries, run by civil servants who were often conservative, or the judiciary, and he never clarified their relationship to the Nazi Party.

What did Hitlers decisions not to destroy old institutions lead to?

Led to conflict, overlap and confusion, and created dualism, where the forces of the Nazi Party, such as the Hitler Youth, SS and Gauleiters, and the German state co-existed as rival centres of power.

What were there attempts to do after 1938?

Attempts to improve party influence after 1938.

What did Rudolph Hess do to improve party influence after 1938?

Rudolf Hess, as deputy Fuhrer, insisted that civil servants had to be party members and increased party supervision.

What did Bormann create?

Created the Department for Internal Party Affairs to discipline the party structure, and the Department for Affairs of State to secure party supremacy over the state.