Comprehensive Study Guide on the Rise and Consolidation of the Nazi Party

Origins and Rise of the Nazi Party

• Adolf Hitler's Early Background:

  • Born in Austria; moved to Germany to avoid arrest for draft evasion.

  • Enlisted in the German military in $1914$.

  • Served as a dispatch runner during World War I.

  • Achieved the top rank of corporal.

  • Wounded twice: once at the Somme in $1916$ and again at Ypres in $1918$ (due to mustard gas).

  • Military awards included the Black Wound Badge and receiving the Iron Cross twice.

• Post-War Grievances and the "Stabbed in the Back" Theory:

  • Opposition to the Treaty of Versailles, which mandated disarmament, loss of territory, reparations, and the requirement for Germany to accept full blame for the war.

  • Belief in the "Stabbed in the Back" theory, which blamed left-wing political groups, Communists, and Jews for the German defeat.

• Founding of the Party:

  • Started in $1919$ by Anton Drexler as the German Workers' Party ($DAP$).

  • Hitler initially joined as a military intelligence officer assigned to monitor the group.

  • After an impromptu speech by Hitler, Drexler invited him to join the party.

  • Hitler became an influential speaker and designed the party flag:

    • Red symbolised the social idea of the movement.

    • The swastika symbolised anti-Semitism.

    • White symbolised the national ideal.

Nazi Ideology and Mein Kampf

• Definition of Nazi Ideology:

  • Ideology is defined as a system of ideas, especially one forming the basis of economic or political theory and policy.

  • Hitler's ideology was solidified during his imprisonment in Landsberg jail, beginning April $1$, $1924$, after being convicted of treason for a failed rebellion against the Weimar Republic. Though sentenced to $5$ years, he served only $9$ months.

• Mein Kampf (My Struggle):

  • Volume 1 ($1925$): Dictated to Rudolf Hess. Focused on German Nationalism, Anti-Bolshevism, and Anti-Semitism. Hitler claimed Jews were Germany's true enemy, non-creative "cultural parasites," and part of an international conspiracy to control the world.

  • Volume 2 ($1927$): Focused on the history of the party, methods for obtaining and retaining political power, and the use of propaganda and terrorism.

• Core Ideological Tenets:

  • Aryan Superiority: The belief that the Aryan race was a master race destined to rule.

  • Anti-Semitism: A vision of a country without the Jewish religion; Jews were viewed as "subhuman."

  • Führerprinzip: The idea of a single leader with absolute power rather than a democracy.

  • Lebensraum: The need for "living space" for the German nation to expand.

  • Autarky: The goal of economic self-sufficiency.

  • Social Darwinism: Applying "survival of the fittest" to races.

  • Strong Germany: Abolition of the Treaty of Versailles and unification of all German speakers.

The 25-Point Program ($1920$)

• Public Proclamation: Proclaimed on February $24$, $1920$, in Munich for the National Socialist German Workers' Party ($NSDAP$).

• Socialist Aspects:

  • Profit-sharing in large industries.

  • Improvement of old-age pensions.

  • Nationalisation of public industries (utilities like electricity and water).

  • Land reform for small farmers.

• Nationalist Aspects:

  • Unification of all Germans in a Greater Germany.

  • Abrogation of the peace treaties of Versailles and St. Germain.

  • Demand for land and colonies to sustain the population.

• Racist/Anti-Semitic Aspects:

  • Only those of German blood can be citizens; specifically, no Jew can be a member of the race.

  • Stopping all non-German immigration; expulsion of non-Germans who entered after August $2$, $1914$.

  • Citizenship required to vote, hold office, or work in the press.

• Fascist Aspects:

  • Creation of a strong central power with unlimited authority.

The Legal Rise to Power ($1921$-$1933$)

• Economic Instability:

  • In $1921$, reparations were set at $33$ billion.

  • Hyperinflation decimated the economy. Mark to Dollar exchange rates:

    • $1921$: $4$ to $1$

    • $1922$ (High): $18,000$ to $1$

    • $1923$ (July): $160,000$ to $1$

    • $1923$ (November): $4,000,000,000$ to $1$

• Growth in Membership:

  • Early $1920$: $3,000$

  • $1929$: $109,000$

  • $1932$: $400,000$

• Electoral Statistics (Nazi Percentage of Reichstag):

  • $1924$: $3.0 \%$

  • $1928$: $2.8 \%$

  • $1930$: $18.3 \%$

  • $1932$: $37.0 \%$

  • $1933$: $44.0 \%$

• Presidential Election of $1932$:

  • Round $1$: Hitler ($30 \%$) vs. Hindenburg ($49 \%$

  • Run-off: Hitler ($36 \%$) vs. Hindenburg ($53 \%$

• Political Maneuvering:

  • Chancellor Brüening outlawed the $SA$ and $SS$. Von Schleicher helped depose Brüening.

  • Von Papen was appointed Chancellor but later persuaded Hindenburg to appoint Hitler as Chancellor with Papen as Vice-Chancellor, believing they could control Hitler.

  • Hitler was officially appointed Chancellor on January $30$, $1933$.

Consolidation of Power ($1933$-$1934$)

• The Reichstag Fire (February $27$, $1933$):

  • The parliament building was destroyed by fire. Marinus van der Lubbe, a Dutch Communist, was arrested and executed.

  • Hitler used the event to blame Communists and persuade Hindenburg to sign the Emergency Decree ("Decree for the Protection of People and State").

  • Resulted in the suspension of basic rights, detention without trial, and the arrest of approximately $4,000$ KPD members.

• The Enabling Act (March $23$, $1933$):

  • Formal name: "Law to Remedy the Distress of the People and the Reich."

  • Passed with an $83 \%$ majority ($444$ for, $94$ against).

  • Granted the Cabinet (Hitler) full legislative powers for $4$ years, effectively ending democracy and the Weimar Constitution.

• Gleichschaltung (Coordination):

  • The process of Nazifying all aspects of German life.

  • Trade Unions: Banned on May $2$, $1933$; replaced by the German Labour Front ($DAF$).

  • Political Parties: Laws passed on July $14$, $1933$, made the Nazi Party the only legal party.

  • State Governments: The eighteen Länder parliaments were abolished in January $1934$ and replaced by Reich governors.

• Night of the Long Knives (June $30$-July $2$, $1934$):

  • Purge of the $SA$ leadership (including Ernst Röhm) and other political rivals like Gregor Strasser and Kurt von Schleicher.

  • The $SS$ and Gestapo carried out extra-judicial killings (official death toll $85$, likely $800$-$1,000$).

  • Secured the support of the regular Army, which feared $SA$ competition.

• The Death of Hindenburg (August $2$, $1934$):

  • Upon Hindenburg's death, Hitler combined the offices of President and Chancellor to become "Führer."

  • The armed forces swore a personal oath of allegiance to Hitler. A plebiscite on August $19$ showed $88 \%$ support for these actions.

The Nazi Police State and Legal System

• The SS and Gestapo:

  • $SS$ (Schutzstaffel): Led by Heinrich Himmler. Became an elite organization of $250,000$ by $1939$, responsible for internal security and running concentration camps.

  • Gestapo (Geheimestaatspolizei): Secret state police established by Göring in $1933$. Could arrest and detain suspects without trial.

  • $SD$ (Sicherheitsdienst): Intelligence wing led by Reinhard Heydrich.

• Concentration Camps:

  • First opened at Dachau in March $1933$.

  • Used for "political re-education" of Communists, Socialists, and unionists.

  • Prisoners wore colored triangles for classification: red (political), pink (homosexual), black ("work-shy"/vagrants), etc.

• Judicial Control:

  • Judges had to join the National Socialist League for the Maintenance of Law ($NSRB$).

  • People's Court established in $1934$ to try cases of treason with Nazi judges and no jury.

Propaganda and Censorship

• Joseph Goebbels: Minister of Public Enlightenment and Propaganda (appointed March $1933$).

• Methods:

  • Control of Media: All editors had to follow daily instructions from the Ministry. Only members of the Reich Chamber of Culture could publish.

  • Radio: Produced the "People's Receiver" (inexpensive radio) with narrow frequencies to block foreign stations.

  • Public Rituals: Mass rallies (Nuremberg), torchlight parades, and the $1936$ Berlin Olympics used to demonstrate strength.

  • Censorship: Burning of "un-German" books (May $10$, $1933$). Works by Jews (like Albert Einstein), Communists, and pacifists were banned and destroyed.

  • Hitler Myth: Presenting Hitler as a selfless savior, a man of peace, and an economic genius while blaming failures on subordinates.

Prominent Figures in the Nazi State

• Hermann Göring: WWI hero, head of the Luftwaffe, creator of the Gestapo, and head of the Four Year Plan ($1936$).

• Rudolf Hess: Deputy Führer, took part in the Munich Putsch, helped edit Mein Kampf.

• Heinrich Himmler: Head of the $SS$ and all German police agencies by $1936$. Obsessed with racial purity.

• Reinhard Heydrich: Head of the $SD$, organized the Einsatzgruppen, and convened the Wannsee Conference.

• Albert Speer: Hitler's chief architect and Minister of Armaments ($1942$).

• Leni Riefenstahl: Filmmaker who produced "Triumph of the Will" and "Olympiad."

• Robert Ley: Head of the German Labour Front ($DAF$) and Strength Through Joy organization.

• Joachim von Ribbentrop: Foreign Minister who negotiated the Nazi-Soviet Pact.