IGCSE History modules 5 and 6 (why/how was Hitler able to dominate germany by 1934)

Aryan

What Nazis considered the ‘superior race’ who were supposed to have been responsible for humanity’s positive progress. White, blue eyes, blond hair (usually)

Key Nazi beliefs

-aryans were the superior race -anti-semitism -family was one thing, people’s roles within family would never change -social Darwinism -eugenics to protect the ‘purity’ of the Aryan race

What did the Nazi party stand for in the 1920s?

-abolition of the ToV -returning to ‘traditional’ values such as farming and no more sexually explicit content/entertainment -Weimar Sucks -anti-semitism -union of Germany and Austria -good pension -nationalised large industries/businesses -only ‘true Germans’ allowed to live in Germany

Adolf Hitler

-born in Austria 1889 -did not get into art school in Vienna -fought in WWI and won an iron cross -turned to politics after WWI -deep hatred of ToV and Weimar -joined NSDAP in 1919 -named leader of NSDAP in 1921 -wanted a return to the ‘good old days’ of the Kaiser -became Chancellor in 1933 -eventually Fuhrer of Germany

Anton Drexler

-former leader of NSDAP (before 1921) -promoted Hitler through ranks quickly after seeing his potential -lead with 25 point programme

Ernst Rohm

-SA chief of staff -moulded SA into powerful paramilitary group -made Weimar look incompetent post-crash -made ordinarily Germans fear a communist revolution -Hitler himself requested he come back to the Party after he left in 1925 -killed in night of long knives

When/why/by who was the SA set up?

In 1921 by Adolf Hitler to protect Nazi meetings and disrupt other political meetings

Joseph Goebbels

-Berlin district leader (elected to Reichstag ‘28) -head of Nazi propaganda -loyal to Hitler himself, not the Party as a whole -helped exponentially grow the Nazi Party into second largest party by 1930

How did Goebbels use propaganda to make the Nazis look better?

-targeted many groups in Germany with the Fuhrer myth -used Nazi newspapers/broadcasts/speeches to make promises -focused on things that were appealing/many people wanted, even if there was no certainty of keeping that promise

Heinrich Himmler

-reichsfuhrer of the SS (‘27) -persuaded Hitler to split the SA and SS -loyal only to Hitler himself and doubted SA -took part in Munich Putsch as stormtrooper

The SD

-the intelligence division of the SS -rooted out inner-Nazi opponents and opponents in the German people -internal security service -led by Reinhard Heydrich

Herman Goering

-leader of SA -speaker of Reichstag (‘32) -led SA in Munich putsch -served Hitler as a pilot when the air force needed to be built up again

Rudolf Hess

-Hitler’s private secretary -Nazi chairman -deputy Fuhrer (‘33) -supposedly introduced the idea of lebensruam to Hitler -imprisoned after Munich Putsch and helped write Mein Kampf -oversaw all Nazi organisation -incredibly loyal to Hitler and had access to him at all times

Long term causes of the Munich Putsch

-Nazis hated ToV (saw as betrayal) -Nazis hated Weimar and what it stood for -blamed Weimar for hyperinflation and unemployment -resentment post WWI -Hitler learned from previous revolts/Italy’s fascist movement -Hitler felt lost when the war ended -extreme party support heightened post WWI

Short term causes of the Munich Putsch

-Weimar hated for hyperinflation -occupation of the Ruhr (Weimar seen as weak) -Nazi’s knew ordinary people hated Weimar too -people thought Weimar was useless -Hitler learned from previous revolts and considered this the right time -success of Italian fascist marches gave Hitler confidence that this could work

Munich Putsch consequences (for Nazis)

-Nazis could not get power by force, they had to go legally -14 SA members dead -Nazi leaders imprisoned -NSDAP banned

Munich Putsch consequences (for Weimar)

-Hitler gained a lot of publicity -Hitler wrote Mein Kampf -Hitler only served nine months in prison (he had friends in high places) -Hitler gained control over the entire Nazi party (fuhrer principle)

Nazi Strategy post-Munich Putsch

-appealed to peasant farmers and lower middle class people -contrasted ‘immoral’ cities (caused by Jewish people) with ‘pure’ farmer’s life (clean and simple) -gave SA jobs to unemployed people -Goebbels pushed propaganda extra hard -trained leaders in public speaking -SA disrupted other political meetings -SA not allowed to be disordered or ‘excessively violent’ -focus on getting people to vote for them through any means necessary

Why did the Nazis have little success before 1930?

-Weimar were too organised and had some successes -people didn’t want a repeat of WWI (Nazi violence promised further violence) -Nazis were uncoordinated and changed their policies depending on where they were -not enough hatred for Weimar in majority -control could not be seized through force -didn’t have a big enough pool of people voting for them

The Bamberg conference (1926)

-encouraged unity within the Nazi Party -encouraged nationalism rather than socialism -solved the North/South split -promoted nationalist leaders -Hitler pushed for support for himself as Fuhrer

Impacts of the Depression on Germany

-loans had to be repaid (banks went bankrupt) -reparations still had to be paid despite having no money -higher unemployment meant higher Nazi votes -industrial production fell by 40% -huge benefit cuts for unemployed -many businesses went entirely bankrupt -Stresemann dead and no one to replace him -Hindenburg ran the country with Article 48 -Reichstag got absolutely nothing done

Six reasons why Hitler was able to succeed in elections

-Nazi campaigning -Negative cohesion -Disillusionment with democracy -Communist threat -Too much decadence -Weak opposition

How did Nazi campaigning help Hitler succeed in elections?

-exposed many people to Nazi message -propaganda everywhere meant they were inescapable -man of the people/charismatic speaker Hitler convinced people -promises made with little intent to keep them -used tech to push his message

How did negative cohesion help Hitler succeed in elections?

-group fear was an incredibly powerful motivator -feared the things they promised to destroy -Nazis created scapegoats/imaginary fears to increase terror -Nazis direct opposite of middle class fear (communists) -were more scared of communism/losing their country/losing jobs than Nazism

How did German disillusionment with democracy help Hitler succeed in elections?

-major dissatisfaction with Weimar democracy meant people wanted not-Weimar -politicians did little with Depression and Nazis promised to do something -Weimar were useless and Nazis promised to take a firm hand with problems

How did the Communist threat help Hitler succeed in elections?

-people were scared of communism -communist support heightened during depression -SA working as police force contrasted with communist vs. police brawls -Nazis appeared to be the force of order and security -Nazis made directly opposed promises than those of the communists

How did Weimar decadence help Hitler succeed in elections?

-Weimar culture considered excessive/immoral/etc -Nazis promised to return to ‘traditional values’ -farmers were considered more morally pure (contrast to cities of parties etc) -people held a grudge against Weimar for their decadence and Nazis promised direct opposite

How did weak opposition help Hitler succeed in elections?

-all strong opposition was dead/unable to run as a candidate -no parties had a speaker to rival Hitler -parties thought that no one would fall for Nazi’s extravagant promises -the idea that Weimar was weak was a big part of Nazi campaigning -leftists did not improve their campaigning -lack of physical/practical action -consistent failure of Weimar

Negative cohesion

The principle of agreeing with/sharing someone’s fears. Supporting them based on that shared fear/s rather than their positive action

Political crises in Germany 1930-3

-no decisive action made by Weimar government -Nazi and Communist (extremist) votes were way up -Weimar democracy began to collapse -Hindenburg lead the country almost entirely with executive decrees

Economic crises in Germany 1930-3

-Young Plan loans recalled -reparations still demanded -industrial production fell 40% -many businesses went bankrupt -unemployment massively rose -unemployment benefits dropped

Social crises in Germany 1930-3

-divides between people deepened -no one liked Hindenburg or Weimar -the army had significant political sway -violence on the streets increased

Timeline of Hitler becoming Chancellor

Nazis won largest party in July ‘32 elections → Hitler tried to demand chancellery → Von Papen made chancellor and everyone hated him → another election called for Nov ‘32 which Nazis again won largest party (but lost 2mil votes) → Schleicher elected as Chancellor → S proposed dissolving Reichstag/declaring martial law many times → no party could effectively rule → S resigned → Hindenburg etc met with social leaders (army, politicians etc) to decide what to do → Hitler given Chancellory under a Nazi-Nationalist coalition (Hindenburg etc thought they could control Hitler, VERY WRONG)

When did Hitler become Chancellor?

30th January 1933

Why did Hitler become chancellor?

Because Hindenburg and some other politicans/high ranking army officials/other ‘trusted’ advisors/aristocrats got together behind the scenes assuming they held enough power to keep Hitler at bay. The aim was for Hitler to fix their problems while they held actual power and controlled him.

How did Hitler gain power to get the chancellery?

-his speaking skills -propaganda campaigns -criticism of Weimar -Nazi policies bringing far right together -financial support from big businesses -violence against opponents -Weimar’s failure against the Depression -leftist failure of cooperation -German distrust of democracy -Weimar’s weakness -hatred of ToV -impact of Depression -learning from his failures in 1923

Major events in Hitler’s consolidation of power

-Chancellor -Reichstag fire -1933 election -Enabling act -concordat -night of long knives -death of Hindenburg -army oath

Reichstag fire (27th Feb 1933)

-Hitler called immediate elections after taking the Chancellery -Reichstag building set on fire night of 27th feb -Maritis Van Der Lubbe (Dutch communist) blamed for the fire (caught/arrested/killed immediately) -fire blamed on a communist conspiracy -Hitler used this excuse to ban communist party -used excuse to remove freedom of press/speech -commonly speculated that the Nazis burned it themselves

Why was the Reichstag fire important?

-scapegoated communists (got them banned) -gave Hitler more power to legally restrict freedoms -eliminate major opponents -increase possibility for Nazi majority in Reichstag

The 1933 Reichstag elections

-called (by Hitler) to attempt a Nazi majority in the Reichstag -used his Chancellor powers and excessive propaganda to ensure votes -tactics included anti communism, blasting propaganda everywhere, used fear against public -won 43% of the vote -forced to join with Nationalists to take majority -communists banned

The Enabling Act (24th March 1933)

-a law that gave Hitler executive power over the country and the ability to pass laws without the approval of the Reichstag -used the SA to intimidate politicians into voting for -only SPD voted against -Nazis were put into every state government and all political parties other than Nazis were banned

Why was the Enabling Act important?

-gave Hitler, essentially, presidential powers -marked the end of Weimar’s democracy -showed that the Reichstag politicians could be scared/bribed -showed increased Nazi control/power over politics and Germany

The Concordat (20th July 1933)

-agreement with the Catholic Church’s pope that the Nazi government would protect Catholic freedoms if they stayed out of German politics -protected Catholics from discrimination -signed by Hitler and pope Pius XI -Catholics considered communism more of a threat than nazism -Hitler’s first international treaty -Nazis regularly broke the terms

Why was the Concordat important?

-showed that Catholic Church’s pope approved of Hitler -made (religious) critics less likely to speak out against Hitler -gave Hitler a reputation as a fair leader -the pope agreed with him, so he should have a modicum of respect -removed any/all Catholic opposition from political spaces

The Night of Long Knives (30th June 1934)

-most political opponents had been chased out of Germany/killed/sent to concentration camps -the Germany army disapproved of the SA’s lack of discipline and would not back Hitler because of them -Hindenburg threatened to impose martial law -a mass murder of threats to Hitler’s government (SA leaders, Von Schleicher, other opponents) -army mollified and on Hitler’s side -Hindenburg mollified and praised his action

Why was the Night of Long Knives important?

-showed Germans not to oppose Nazis or they would die -removed all major right wing opposition -smoothed relations with Hindenburg -made Hitler look like he was controlling the country -brought army over to Hitler’s side -harmed international relations showing Hitler would mass murder opponents

Death of Hindenburg (2nd August 1934)

-President Hindenburg died at 86 -using the enabling act Hitler combined President/Chancellor roles into ‘Fuhrer’ under the guise of the title of President always being Hindenburg’s -gave Hitler no limit to his power or senior to answer to

Why was the Death of Hindenburg important?

-gave Hitler power of ultimate dictator -removed obstacles to his actual plans of genocide, total power etc -no one dared to oppose Hitler -made him seem benevolent as he pretended to be protecting Hindenburg’s memory

The Army oath (2nd august 1934)

-Hitler gave himself the power of Fuhrer (President + Chancellor) -made army swear personal loyalty to him -spent lots of money on the army -reintroduced conscription -planed to make Germany a major military power again

How the Gestapo secured Hitler’s power

-found disloyal citizens -spied on people -sent people to concentration camps -kept the masses scared -secret police that weren’t so secret -scare people so they would report on one another

How the SS secured Hitler’s power

-sent people to concentration camps -enacted Nazi racial policies -spied on Nazi leaders -death’s head units oversaw concentration camps -private army that eliminated/imprisoned minorities and opponents -kept Germans under control

How concentration camps secured Hitler’s power

-ultimate threat -scared people so much they wouldn’t resist/disobey at all -no citizens would speak out -forced labour gave free labour to Nazis -beat opponents into submission

How the German police and courts secured Hitler’s power

-controlled entirely by Nazis -controlled legal ‘justice’ -unfair trials ensured opponents were locked away -police state stopped opposition in the streets -ignored crimes committed by loyal Nazis

Death’s Head units

-sub division of the SS -responsible for concentration camps -responsible for the transport and/or murder of Jewish people

Waffen-SS

-armed section of the SS which fought alongside the German army -also responsible for the protection of major figures in the Nazi Party

What happened to Nazi political opposition?

-sent to concentration camps -murdered -political parties banned -non Nazi meetings banned -discredited through propaganda -leaders put on trial/arrested

How the Nazis seized power in villages through Germany

Took over local council → searched every house under excuse of looking for guns → combined all meetings/clubs to join into one with under a Nazi → total boycott of Jewish businesses→ put unemployed to work doing hard labour → relentless, constant propaganda → residents joined the Nazis after seeing it was the only way to get anywhere