Affidavit_Diels (1)

The Nazi Germany Sourcebook

Overview

  • Authors: Roderick Stackelberg and Sally A. Winkle

  • Publisher: Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group, London and New York

Context of Nazi Ascendancy

  • The document discusses strategies to gain and consolidate power by the Nazis, emphasizing a need for complete power before confronting opponents.

  • Key Strategies:

    • Winning elections: Focus on gaining sufficient seats in government to solidify power.

    • Preparation for struggle: Any struggles against the opposition to be initiated only after securing internal strength.

    • Long-term planning: The outcome of current actions may have profound implications for decades in German history.

Terror and Political Oppression

  • Nazi Rise to Power: Legal ascent followed by violent repression of political opponents, especially leftists like Communists and Social Democrats.

  • Key Figure: Rudolf Diels, a former head of the Gestapo, recounts the initial violence against political opponents following Hitler's rise.

Key Events

  • Reichstag Fire (February 27-28, 1933):

    • Resulted in a decree suspending civil liberties and enabling the Nazi crackdown on Communists.

    • It was portrayed as a preemptive response against a Communist uprising, facilitating the arrest of opposition leaders, particularly leftists.

The Reichstag Fire Decree (February 28, 1933)

  • Legislative Impact:

    • The decree suspended several articles of the German constitution covering:

      • Freedom of expression

      • Right to assembly

      • Right to privacy in communication

    • Allowed law enforcement to operate freely, establishing a legal environment for the persecution of dissent.

  • Application:

    • Used to justify arrests under the guise of "protective custody" and to suppress opposition by branding dissenters as subversives.

    • Enabled the Nazi party to secure a necessary majority for the passage of the Enabling Act by eliminating the electoral competition from Communist members.

The Gestapo and Political Purges

  • Gestapo's Role:

    • Originally founded by Hermann Göring, led to a significant increase in arrests and extrajudicial killings of political opponents.

    • Rudolf Diels described the escalating violence and intimidation tactics instituted by the Gestapo after Himmler took control.

  • Notable Purges:

    • The "Blood Purge" of June 30, 1934, which involved political assassinations of figures who posed a challenge to Nazi rule, such as Gregor Strasser and Kurt von Schleicher.

  • Impact of Fear:

    • The Gestapo became synonymous with the regime's brutality; common citizens lived in fear of arbitrary arrest and punishment.

Conclusion

  • The consolidation of Nazi power involved both legal and extralegal means, including the manipulation of electoral processes, the use of violence and intimidation against political opponents, and the manipulation of legal frameworks to suppress dissent.