Source Analysis Notes

Key Figures

Adolf Hitler

Paul von Hindenburg

Ernest Rohm

Franz von Papen

  • Vice chancellor in accordance with Hindenburg’s plan to make Hitler chancellor

Dr Joseph Goebbels

  • Head of propaganda for the Nazi Party

Heinrich Himmler

Kurt von Schleicher

  • Army officer and German politician

  • Murdered in the Night of the Long Knives

Rise in Nazi popularity after 1929

  • Role of privileged groups, including industrialists and the army

  • Authoritarian Tradition

  • Republic facing early political, economic and international issues

  • Democracy had become discredited with the failure of the Weimar political system

  • The division in the left between the communists and the socialists and their failure to work against the danger from the extreme right

  • The Nazis stayed within the legal system and sought power within the constitution

Jan 1933 Hitler becomes Chancellor

  • 1.6 million civil servants who worked for the government were required to support National Socialism

  • November 1933 all 661 seats of the Reichstag were held by the Nazi party

  • Conditions for his instatement as chancellor

    • Hitler would be Chancellor and von Papen Vice

    • Of 11 cabinet posts, only 3 would go to Nazis

      • The ministers hold powerful positions, two control the police who increase the number of SA and SS to 50,000 (known as auxiliary officers)

    • The key portfolio of Minister for economics would be given to Hugenberg (leader of DNVP)

    • Hindenburg’s own choice of von Blomberg would be Minister of Defence

  • Campaign of intimidation against communist begins with his Chancellery

Feb 1933 Reichstag Fire

  • Two main consequences

    • unleashed a massive attack on the German communists as the Nazis played on the theme of a communist conspiracy against the state

      • 4000 arrests took place the following day, including members of the Reichstag

      • Communist party (KPD) was not banned as it was needed as the focus for Hitler’s election campaign to manifest fear and become the centre of Nazi propaganda

    • Introduction of the decree For the Protection of People and State

      • Issued by President Hindenburg

      • Decree under Article 48 suspended the sections of the constitution that guaranteed the basic rights of the German people including:

        • Right to personal liberty

        • the house of every German is inviolable

        • letters are inviolable

        • censorship is forbidden

        • right to form associations

        • right to assemble peacefully

Enabling act

  • 23rd March 1933, Hitler proposed the enabling act

  • Gave the government power for the next four years to issue laws regardless of the Reichstag

  • Hitler claimed he needed these powers to deal with the problems facing the nation

  • Was passed by vote of 2/3 of the Reichstag

    • maintaining the appearance of legal power

Night of Long Knives

  • 30th June 1934

  • Rumours that Rohm was meeting with previous chancellor Schleicher to use the SA to force a change of government

  • 200 SA murdered

Death of Hindenburg

  • 2nd August 1934

  • Removed the last obstacle for Hitler’s total control of the state

  • New legislation lead the Army to take a direct pledge to Hitler rather than the Government or constitution

Gleichschaltung

Timeline

April 1933: Control of Civil Service

  • All 1.6 million civil servants who worked in government departments were required to support the philosophy of National socialism

May 1933: Abolition of German Trade Unions

  • All trade unions were declared illegal. The new German Labour Front replaced them led by high ranking Nazi Dr Robert Ley.

July 1933: Abolition of all political parties

  • all political parties were banned except the Nazi party

Jan 1934: Abolition of German States

  • This abolished the separate parliaments of German states

April 1934: Control of the legal system

  • the government set up the “People’s Court”. All judges & lawyers were expected to interpret the law by considering ‘the will of the Fuhrer’.

Description

  • Emergency decree issued under Article 48, removed the basic freedoms of German people

  • process of bringing different aspects of the German nation under the control of the Nazi Party

  • German word for “Nazifying”