Hitler and Nazi Germany - nazi consolidation of power

Hitler and Nazi Germany
Nazi
consolidation
of power,
1933-34

In today’s class, I am learning to:
• Describe the events which led to the
Nazis taking power in Germany
• Explain how the Nazis consolidated
their power in Germany
Nazi consolidation of power

At the start of 1932 they were still the smallest party
in the Reichstag. However by the end of 1934, the
Nazis had absolute control of Germany.

Nazi support had been
increasing since 1928.
Political and economic
crises in Germany had
encouraged the people to
back more extreme parties.
Changes to Nazi party
structure and organisation
had also gained more
followers.

In July 1932, elections were
held to the Reichstag. The
Nazis emerged as the
largest party, gaining 37%
of votes.
In November 1932 a
second Reichstag election
was held. The Nazis were
again the biggest party,
winning 33% of votes.

The increase in support for
the Nazis – and also the
crises which damaged
Germany – increased the
pressure to make Hitler part
of the government.
Finally in January 1933,
President Hindenburg
appointed Hitler as German
Chancellor.

Hindenburg didn’t like
Hitler. He made him
Chancellor to try and stop
Hitler making promises he
didn’t have to keep.
Franz von Papen, Hitler’s
vice chancellor, said “we’ve
hired him”, meaning he
believed Hitler would be
easy to control.

Instead it was Hitler that
soon took full control of
Germany. He did this due to
issues such as:
• The Reichstag Fire
• The Enabling Act
• Control of the Churches
• Night of the Long Knives
• Death of Hindenburg

The Reichstag Fire
In March 1933 another
Reichstag election was to be
held. On 27 February (one
week before the election) the
Reichstag was burned down.
The fire was blamed on a
Dutch Communist, Marinus
van der Lubbe, although some
people suspected the Nazis.

After the Fire, the Reichstag
Fire Decree was passed, giving
Hitler a range of powers.
These powers included:
• Arresting political
opponents
• Newspapers could be
censored or shut down
• People’s private letters
could be read

The Reichstag Fire Decree
remained part of German
law until 1945.
This helped secure the Nazis’
hold on power because it
gave Hitler the powers to
stop political opposition.
He even made the SA and SS
part of Germany’s police.

The Enabling Act
The Nazis increased their
support in the March
election. They gained 44% of
the vote, confirming their
place as the largest party,
but still short of a majority.
At first the Nazis would be
forced to work with other
political parties.

On 24 March 1933, Hitler
persuaded other parties to
support the Enabling Act.
This law gave Hitler the
ability to pass laws
without agreement from
the Reichstag, although
Hitler pledged he would
only occasionally make use
of this power.

However once Hitler had
this power he used it to
remove other groups that
might oppose him.
In May 1933 Hitler banned
workplace trade unions
and in July 1933 he
outlawed all political
parties, apart from the
Nazis.

Control of the Churches
After banning trade unions
and political parties, the
Churches were the only
mass groups that might be
able to oppose the Nazis.
Hitler worried that if he took
legal action against them
that Germans might stand
up against the Nazis.

Instead, in July 1933, Hitler
signed a Concordat with the
Catholic Church.
This agreement guaranteed
that the Nazis would leave
alone Church organisations
(such as schools and youth
groups), and the Catholic
Church would not interfere
in politics.

There were different
Protestant Churches in
Germany, arguably making
each one easier to control.
Hitler tried to replace these
Churches with a Nazi-
approved Reich Church,
which taught religious
beliefs from a Nazi
perspective.

Night of the Long Knives
As Hitler increased his
control of Germany, his main
worries about possible
opposition came from
within the Nazi Party.
He especially feared a
takeover by Ernst Rohm, the
leader of the SA.

On 30 June 1934, Hitler
began Operation
Hummingbird, better
known as the Night of the
Long Knives.
This involved the SS
arresting and executing
potential Nazi opponents
of Hitler. It lasted until 2
July 1934. Anti-Nazi poster

Around 100 people died,
including Ernst Rohm and
former Chancellor Schleicher.
At first German newspapers
were banned from reporting
about the event.
Later Hitler claimed the men
had been plotting with
France and used the Enabling
Act to make the killings legal.

The Nazis received a huge
boost to their power from
the Night of the Long Knives.
As well as removing possible
opponents, the German
military and President
backed Hitler’s actions.
Ordinary Germans were also
scared about what might
happen to them.

Death of Hindenburg
Although Hitler was very
powerful, he still worried
about the influence of
President Hindenburg.
The German President was a
national hero due to his war
exploits, so Hitler’s actions
were sometimes limited by
Hindenburg.

However Hindenburg was
very old, and he died age 86
in August 1934.
After his death Hitler
merged the offices of
Chancellor and President,
creating the role of Fuhrer.
He now had complete
control of Germany, without
major opposition.

Hitler even made the
German Army swear an oath
of personal loyalty to him,
not to Germany or even the
titles that he held.
Control of the police, army
and groups like the SS meant
that there could be no
serious attempts to remove
Hitler from power.

Hitler and Nazi Germany - nazi consolidation of power

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Hitler and Nazi Germany - nazi consolidation of power