nazi germany 1933-39

Reichstag Fire

Reichstag Fire

• Hitler increased Nazi support

  • Dutch communist van der Lubbe was found with matches on 27^th February 1933 and blamed for starting the fire and so beheaded

  • Hitler claimed it was proof of a Communist Revolution so arrested 4000 communist leaders

  • People liked his swift action and the NSDAP won 288 seats in the March 1933 elections

• The Decree for the Protection of People and State (Reichstag Fire Act) was passed

  • Hitler passed it on 28^th February, taking advantage of the fire to consolidate his power

  • The police had the power to search homes, arrest without trial, ban opposition meetings and it ended freedom of speech and of the press – it limited freedoms

  • KPD/SPD members were arrested and so the Nazis were at an advantage in the elections

Enabling Act

• Ended democracy in Weimar

  • On 23^rd March 1933, it suspended the Constitution so Hitler made laws without the Reichstag

  • The Reichstag only met 12 times during Hitler’s rule & it shut down local Parliaments

  • The KPD were banned from voting and other parties were intimidated – 444 voted for it

• Gave Hitler greater control and he was left unopposed

  • Hitler banned trade unions on 2^nd May to avoid strikes and arrested opposition leaders

  • He declared Germany a 1-party state in July 1933 – no opposition, he controlled the laws

  • He appointed Nazi state governors to make laws in each state for him, so he had local and national powers

Night of the Long Knives

• Hitler regained popularity from the Army, Hindenburg, and voters

  • The SA were thuggish, drunk, untrained, and unpopular – the Army didn’t want the SA to join

  • By arresting 200 SA officers on 30^th June 1934, Hitler showed he could make tough decisions

  • The Army were thankful they wouldn’t be sullied by the SA and Hindenburg/middle-class voters were glad Hitler had removed the thugs

• Hitler regained more control over the SA

  • Ernst Röhm disliked Hitler’s affiliations with businessmen and Hitler thought he was going to try and usurp him as leader; he claimed Röhm was plotting against Germany

  • Hitler executed Röhm and weakened the SA so was at less risk of being overthrown

  • He completely controlled the SA and removed un-Nazi behaviour (e.g. homosexuality)

Führer Decree

• It secured Hitler’s power

  • Hindenburg died on 2^nd August 1934 and was the only person who could sack the Chancellor

  • Hitler combined Chancellor and President into Führer and so was completely in charge

  • He couldn’t be sacked and had eradicated the Weimar Constitution 

• Hitler ensured loyalty

  • Soldiers in the army swore oaths to Hitler – they would obey him completely

  • A plebiscite gave a 90% agreement with the decree – the public mainly had confidence in him

  • Despite the SA intimidating voters, some still voted against the Decree showing some members of the public were discontented and disliked Hitler

Police state

• The Nazis gained power over the citizens

  • The law became fascist: Germans could be imprisoned without trial and opponents were killed

  • Himmler’s SS arrested political prisoners and ran concentration camps – and tortured many

  • Himmler supported racial purity: SS members had to be racially pure and heterosexual

• Citizens were terrified of the Nazis

  • Over 200 000 people were put in camps and rumours of these caused fear

  • Even friends/neighbours couldn’t be trusted as many reported friends to the Gestapo

  • Every block of flats had a leader who would report suspicious behaviour: human trust was lost

Censorship

• Allowed the Nazis to censor opposing viewpoints

  • Goebbels led Germany in censorship by stopping foreign views reaching German citizens, e.g. stopping foreign news broadcasts being picked up on radios, such as BBC News

  • Book burnings happened at universities so communist/Jewish books were destroyed – the Gestapo searched bookshops for anti-Nazi books

  • Newspapers couldn’t print anti-Nazi news and the Nazis controlled what people consumed

• Citizens were encouraged to follow Aryan ideals

  • Jazz music was banned as it was seen as black music and unsuitable for Aryans to consume

  • Art was encouraged to show Nazi ideals and modern art was banned for weakening Nazism

  • German athletes were selected to reflect Aryan strength and to show the Aryans as superior

Propaganda

• Made citizens think that Hitler was infallible

  • The Ministry of Propaganda gave positive Nazi stories to newspapers – Hitler was great etc.

  • Goebbels’ posters were simple and effective at portraying Nazi values and Hitler’s amazingness

  • There were regular Nazi parades and rallies (e.g. Hitler Youth) to stir up nationalism and loyalty

• Citizens were influenced without knowing it

  • 70% of Germans in 1939 had a (cheap) radio & Goebbels commissioned plays with Nazi values

  • Films and art included pro-Nazi messages – e.g. Aryan ideals and strong family values

  • Famous German music (e.g. Bach/Beethoven), folk songs, and marching music was played to increase nationalism

Policies towards education/ the young

• Children learnt about Hitler and became Nazi fanatics

  • In school, children studied the Nazis (e.g. their history and racial superiority in ‘Race studies’)

  • Hitler Youth made children loyal to the regime and they reported undevoted parents – there were 8 million members by 1939

  • From a young age, they were indoctrinated on racial purity and so grew up good Nazis

• Children were encouraged to be good soldiers/mothers

  • There were more PE lessons, helping boys become strong soldiers and girls good mothers

  • Girls were taught domestic science (e.g. housework and care for babies) to be ideal wives

  • Hitler Youth became compulsory in 1936 and they performed military drills for soldier training

Policies towards women

• Women were encouraged to be good mothers and wives

  • In 1933, the Law for the Encouragement of Marriage gave loans to help young couples marry

  • The Mother’s Cross was awarded for having children (8+ for a gold), encouraging procreation

  • Domestic science encouraged girls to be good mothers and the Lebensborn programmes got single women to bear children for SS men

• Ideals for women became more traditional

  • Women had more jobs in the 1920s (10% of the Reichstag was female) but this declined

  • Rather than dressing up (make-up, hair dye), women were encouraged to not wear make-up

  • Conservative values of women not smoking/drinking in public were introduced and they were unable to buy contraception

Policies towards the Churches

• By working closely, they added legitimacy to Hitler

  • Hitler signed the Concordat with the Pope in 1933, allowing Catholics to worship freely as long as the bishops swore loyalty to the Nazi regime and Christian/Nazi values fused

  • This made it seem like Hitler respected Christian traditions so there was little opposition

  • He made a Protestant (Müller) the Reichbishop in 1933; flags were displayed in Churches

• Churches lost their influence to the Nazis

  • In 1937, Hitler cut funding for Catholics, seizing property and spying on Church organisations

  • Some Protestants revolted against him (e.g. the Confessional Church) – Hitler executed them

  • Hitler wanted to be the most respected person, not God, so (with propaganda) he displaced the Church and by 1939, only 5% of Germans said they believed in God

Racial policies

• Undesirables were purged and were seen as inferior

  • In 1933, a Sterilisation Law was passed and 700 000 (e.g. with mental illnesses) were sterilised

  • The Nuremburg Laws of September 1935 meant Jews couldn’t be German citizens/vote

  • Nazis believed that Jews/gypsies were trying to corrupt Aryans: intermarriage was banned and many were put in concentration camps. Jews had to have identity cards (second class citizens)

• The public were encouraged to hate undesirables

  • Propaganda promoted the picture of Jews as corrupt/communist/capitalist (e.g. Der Stürmer)

  • The Nazis encouraged boycotts of Jewish shops on 1^st April 1933 but SA were seen as thugs

  • Kristallnacht happened on 9-10^th November 1938: the SS/SA destroyed synagogues, shops, and homes, killing 100 Jews; Jewish children were banned from school

Policies towards unemployment

• Unemployment figures were reduced

  • Unemployment fell from 4.8 million in 1933 to 0.5 million in 1938 (policies worked)

  • Jobs were created by women/Jews leaving – but Nazi propaganda made it seem great

  • Trade unions were replaced by the Labour Front (limiting strike action) – no dispute on pay/conditions and the Labour Service forced the unemployed into doing jobs

• Germany was getting ready for war

  • Hitler wanted Germany to be self-sufficient and ready for war (defying Versailles)

  • The Army grew from 100 000 in 1933 to 900 000 by 1939: boosting demand for equipment

  • Plastic production increased by 460%, creating more jobs and making Germany self-sufficient

Unemployment regimes

• The Labour Front was set up in 1933 after trade unions were banned, ensuring workers served Nazi interests. They set unemployment rights, hours, pay etc.

• Strength Through Joy was part of the Labour Front to get workers to work harder (for less pay): they offered rewards like cheap theatre/museum tickets to hard workers

• The Labour Service was set up in 1933 and forced unemployed workers to do government work for little pay/food. 

• From 1935, all young men served for 6 months in it (a form of military training) – they built public buildings and motorways (7000 miles of motorway by 1939)