Hitlers Consolidation Of Power

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who was made Minister without Portfolio in the Reich cabinet also became Minister of the Interior for Prussia, Germany's largest state. He used his control over the police to harass opponents and set up the first concentration camp at Dachau outside Munich where they were imprisoned. Meanwhile Goebbels was able to control the state owned radio and use it to gain further Nazi supporters. Hitler was a more skillful politician than the naive Papen and was able to out maneuver him to gain more power. To change the rules of government (constitution) Hitler first needed a two-thirds majority in the Reichstag, but the Nazis only had 33% of the seats after the November 1932 Reichstag election. Hitler convinced Hindenburg within 24 hours of being made Chancellor of the need for new elections to finally destroy the Communist threat Hindenburg agreed as he was anti-communist The Reichstag election was set for March 1933 On 20th February Hitler met with leading industrialists in order to appeal for funding to fight the elections. He secured three million Reich marks as he emphasized the Nazi's ability to end the threat of Socialism and Communism to big business ● The election campaign was the most violent yet, with the SA openly attacking the Socialists (SPD) and Communists (KPD). In the state of Prussia where the leading Nazi Hermann Goring was Minister of the Interior 50,000 of the SA were drafted into the police force on a temporary basis. Wilhelm Frick was Minister of the Interior for the whole Reich and he instructed the police who were now under Nazi control to turn a blind eye to SA violence, but arrested those who fought back. Gangs of Stormtroopers broke up SPD and KPD political meetings and rallies. On 5th February a young Nazi shot and killed the mayor of a small town in Prussia. It has been estimated that 500 people were murdered by the SA and 100,000 imprisoned by the end of 1933. Hitler placed Goebbels in control of the state owned radio and used it for Nazi propaganda purposes. Hitler's speeches were broadcast, while the opposition were ignored or condemned. In his January 31st 'Appeal to the German people' he blamed Germany's economic problems on democracy and the forces of the left. He claimed only the Nazis could restore Germany's pride and unity. Now that Hitler was in power he found it easier to raise funds and at a meeting on 20th February 1933 with 20 leading industrialists he was given three million Reichsmarks to fight the election campaign. ● The Reichstag Fire On the 27th February a shocking incident occurred with the Reichstag being burnt down. A Dutch Communist Marinus van der Lubbe was arrested at the scene. An enraged Hitler claimed that this was the signal for a Communist uprising! The next day Hitler convinced Hindenburg to use Article 48 to pass a Decree 'For the protection of the people and state', allowing all people seen as a threat to the state to be arrested and placed in protective custody. The police and SA rounded up the leaders of the Communist KPD party and their supporters, and placed them in prisons and newly created concentration camps like the one at Dachau outside Munich established on the 8th March 1933 without trial. By July 1933 26,789 political prisoners had been arrested by the SA and imprisoned in some 70 camps Despite the tide of violence and propaganda the Nazis scored only 44% of the vote in the March election. They only had a majority in the Reichstag when they added their conservative coalition partners the DNVP To celebrate the newly elected Reichstag, on 21st March, using the Kroll Opera House as the Reichstag building had been gutted by the fire, Goebbels arranged a ceremony at Potsdam (Day of Potsdam) involving Hindenburg, the Kaiser's son- the Crown Prince and leading army generals. Hitler met Hindenburg dressed in a morning coat (the dress of the conservative elite) and humbly bowed in front of him. This gesture and day reassured the conservatives that that the Nazis were willing to work with the traditional elites in running Germany. Two days later when the Reichstag met the Communist members had all been arrested or were in hiding. Meanwhile the Catholic Centre Party ((known as the Zentrum or Z Party) were persuaded to support the law in return for Hitler's promise that the rights of the Catholic Church would be respected. Only the Socialist SPD party of those present dared oppose Hitler. ● Thus an Enabling Act was passed by 444 votes to 94 votes on March 24th allowing Hitler to make laws by decree (not using the Reichstag) for four years. The Enabling Law provided the legal foundation for the dictatorship all the way through to 1945. Hitler now had many of the powers of a dictator/however he did not yet have complete control. Hindenburg was still President and had control of the army. Gleichschaltung (coordination or marching in step) The Nazis now used their new found powers to co-ordinate and nazify Germany under their control. A decree was issued which dissolved all regional parliaments in Germany on March 31st. Their powers were given to new Reich Governors created in April 1933 and appointed by Hitler. These Reich Governors were nearly always the local Nazi Gauleiter (party leader). On the 7th April 1933 The Law for the Restoration of the Professional Civil Service gave the Nazis the power to remove Jews and political opponents from the state bureaucracy. Many civil servants began to join the Nazi Party as a means of protecting their jobs. • Germany's trade union movement represented millions of workers and many of them had links to the socialist and Catholic parties. The Nazis declared a national holiday on May 1st and the next day the SA and SS raided union offices and confiscated their funds. Many of the leaders were arrested and sent to labour camps without trial. All independent trade unions were taken over by the Nazi controlled German Labour Front (DAF) led by Robert Ley. The power of the unions had been weakened by the Depression and unemployment of their members well as continual SA street violence and intimidation. This made the organization of strikes and protests more difficult ● Night of the Long Knives June 1934 The SA represented the more radical, Socialist and working class sections of the Nazi support. They had grown rapidly as a force from 500,000 in January 1933 to around 3 million one year later. ● Soon after the destruction of their trade unions the Social Democratic Party SPD were banned on 22nd June. The KPD had already been banned. Most of the remaining parties agreed to dissolve themselves later that month including the Nazis allies the DNVP. The Catholic Centre Party dissolved themselves on July 5th 1933. With all other parties having been closed the Nazis passed a decree on July 14th which banned the formation of any new political party. Germany was now a one party state In November 1933 Nazi Reichstag candidates received 92% of the vote. ● Led by Ernst Rohm they were eager for their rewards now that the Nazis were in power. Hitler however declared after the law banning the formation of new parties in July 1933 that the national revolution was over. In August 1933 Hitler removed the SA from their role as auxiliary police. Rohm however demanded a 'Second Revolution' where the SA would merge with and take over the army/In private conversations Rohm began to criticise Hitler's attempts to reassure the elite and failure to lead a full bloodied revolution. ● Restless and frustrated SA men became involved in uncontrolled outbreaks of violence which were embarrassing to Hitler Such demands frightened the conservative elites and angered the army. Hitler now no longer needed the SA as he had the forces of the state such as the police at his disposal. Meanwhile the army remained a potential threat to Hitler as their loyalty was to the President rather than Chancellor Hitler and they could potentially remove him from power if instructed to do so. On March 17th the pressure on Hitler to act again grew as vice-Chancellor Papen made a speech at Marburg University warning against Nazi excesses. Despite Goebbels efforts to censor it, the speech was reported in the press. Hitler acted against the leadership of the SA on 30th June 1934 by arresting them using his personal bodyguard of the SS under Himmler Rohm and the SA leaders were then shot and Hitler later claimed that they were plotting treason against himself and the German state. ● Hitler becomes Fuhrer On 1st July the head of the army Blomberg gave a public vote of thanks to Hitler for breaking the power of the SA. ● Hitler also used the night to strike against the conservatives and murdered one of Papen's speech; the former chancellor General Schleicher, Gustav von Kahr leader of Bavaria at the time of the Munch Putsch and Gregor Strasser who had attempted to form a government with Schleicher in 1932. In total at least 84 were executed and 1000 were arrested. ● On July 13th Hitler delivered a speech in the Reichstag taking responsibility for the executions and claiming that he had saved the nation from an SA coup. When Hindenburg died on 2nd August 1934 at the age of 86 the army swore a personal oath of loyalty to Hitler as their new commander in chief. The offices of Chancellor and President were merged and Hitler became Fuhrer of Germany. On 19th August a plebiscite was held with 89.9% of Germans approving of the merge of the Chancellorship and Presidency. There was now no legal way of removing Hitler from power Summary of reasons for Hitler creating his dictatorship . Hitler had the support of the conservative elites including President Hindenburg, industrialists and army generals. They allowed Hitler to increase his powers as he provided strong government and eliminated the threats of Socialism and Communism. Hitler and the Nazis had the support of large sections of the German public tired of continual elections and unstable governments. Support for Weimar ● democracy had collapsed due to it being linked to defeat and economic disaster. Hitler's use of violence and intimidation against his political opponents within and outside of the party demoralised them. With the Nazis controlling the police through the Ministry of the Interior the SA had free reign on the streets. The political left was divided due to the mutual hatred between the KPD and SPD dating back to Ebert's use of the Freikorp to suppress the Spartacists. The left were further weakened by the economic depression which meant many of its ● ● ● working class supporters were unemployed/or fearful for their jobs making strikes harder to organise. Hitler made use of the law to build up his power using elections, and laws such as the Enabling Act the law against the formation of political parties. He won over the elites by eliminating the SA and claiming that only he could resist the threat of the Communists and Socialists. Both Hitler and Goebbels understood the importance of using speeches and propaganda to gain the support of many Germans for their actions. They played on many German's desires for scapegoats for Germany's problems and the need for a strong government to restore German greatness.