© Boardworks Ltd 2003 1 of 20 How did the Nazis Consolidate Power?

© Boardworks Ltd 20031 of 20

How did the Nazis Consolidate Power?


The 1932 election campaign

In 1932, Hitler went all-out with his propaganda machine. This was because three elections were to be held, one for president and the other two for election into the Reichstag (German parliament).

Göbbels (Hitler’s propaganda minister) acquired a plane to take Hitler from one mass rally to the next, so that Hitler could make speeches across the country.


The SA played an important role too:

“Walking along the pavement ahead of me were three SA men. They all carried Nazi banners on their shoulders …The banner-staves had sharp metal points, shaped into arrow heads…” Christopher Isherwood, 1939.

By the summer of 1932, millions of Germans were ready to vote for Hitler, while the SA ruled the streets with violence. During the election campaign 99 people were killed and 1,125 wounded in street fights across Germany.


The election results

Hindenburg (no party) 19,359,000

Hitler (Nazi Party) 13,418,000

Thalmann (Communist Party) 3,706,655

1932 presidential election

July 1932 Reichstag elections

Which party was now the largest in the Reichstag?

Would you expect Hitler to now be given the job as chancellor (prime minister)? Explain.

The Nazi Party 230 seats

Social Democrats 133 seats

The Centre Party 97 seats

The Communist Party 89 seats


Power struggles in the Reichstag

President Hindenburg refused to give Hitler the post of Chancellor:

“Hindenburg replied that because of the tense situation he could not … risk transferring the power of government to a new party such as the National Socialists … which was intolerant, noisy and undisciplined.” Reichstag Minutes, 1932.

Instead, Hindenburg kept the current chancellor, von Papen, in office. Hindenburg used his power as president to make laws without the Reichstag’s consent, because von Papen had only 97 seats.


The Reichstag returned a vote of no confidence in von Papen, who organized another election in November, hoping to improve his standings in the Reichstag. Although the results were a slight improvement, the Nazis still dominated.

A leading army general, von Schleicher, then told Hindenburg that the army wouldn’t agree to von Papen staying in office. The army’s support was essential.

Who should be Chancellor next?


Hitler as chancellor

Hindenburg decided to make von Schleicher chancellor instead of von Papen. He lasted for only 57 days. The Reichstag would not agree with his decisions, so he had to ask Hindenburg to make emergency laws for him. Hindenburg refused and asked him to resign.

Hindenburg now had no choice but to make Hitler chancellor. He swore him into office on 30 January 1933. Von Papen was made vice-chancellor, and Hindenburg made sure that there were few Nazi ministers in the government.

Hitler persuaded Hindenburg to hold another election so he could get a majority in the Reichstag and so govern democratically.


The Reichstag Fire

The Nazis were determined to win the 1933 election. They held huge rallies and gave radio broadcasts. The SA came out in force.

On the night of 27 February, the Reichstag went up in flames.

Hitler, Göbbels and Göring rushed to the scene of the fire. A young communist, Marianus van der Lubbe, was caught inside the Reichstag with matches and firelighters in his pocket.

No one knows for sure whether van der Lubbe did it. He admitted to police that it was he alone. But evidence exists that Göring ordered the SA to do it, and van der Lubbe was in the Reichstag by coincidence.


Hitler issued this statement the next day:

“This act of arson is the most outrageous act yet committed by Communism in Germany…The burning of the Reichstag was to have been the signal for a bloody uprising and civil war…”

Communists came under major attack and 4,000 were arrested. Nazi propaganda increased.


The March 1933 Reichstag elections

The Nazi Party 288 seats

Social Democrats 120 seats

The Communist Party 81 seats

The Centre Party 73 seats

Others 85 seats

Who won the 1933 election?Did this mean the Nazis now had complete power? Explain your answer.

Although the Nazis didn’t have a majority, the Nationalist Party decided to join forces with them. Their 53 seats added to the Nazi’s seats meant Hitler now had over half the total seats and the Reichstag would do as Hitler wanted.


The Enabling Law

To gain total power, Hitler put the Enabling Law to the Reichstag. Only 94 members voted against it.

The law gave Hitler’s cabinet dictatorial powers until April 1937, and effectively ended parliamentary government until 1950.

Hitler now had the legal right to do what he liked with Germany. His next step was to destroy the Weimar Republic and create a strong, proud Germany – the Third Reich.

Hitler’s total power was sealed in 1934 when President Hindenburg died. Hitler adopted the title Führer, meaning leader. Hitler now took on the combined role of chancellor and president.


Maintaining authority

Although Hitler had made Germany a one-party state, this wasn’t the end to his problems.

Two million members of the Nazi Party were Storm Troopers (SA). Their leader, Ernst Röhm, wanted to make them part of the German Army. Hitler was against this idea as it would make Röhm the most powerful person in Germany. The army generals were also against the idea.Think back to the sorts of events the SA were involved in. Why do you think the army generals would not have wanted them to join and control the army?“…rearmament was too serious a business and tricky to allow thieves, drunks and sods to be involved…” an army general, 1935.

What was the solution?


The Night of the Long Knives

Pressure began to build for Hitler to do something about the SA, both from leading generals, von Papen, and other leading Nazis like Göring and Himmler.

On 30 June 1934, Hitler took action. It became known as the ‘Night of the Long Knives’.

A purge of the SA leadership was ordered, with the excuse that the SA were planning uprisings in Munich and Berlin. Hitler himself travelled to Bavaria and ordered the arrest of Röhm. Two days later Röhm was shot and around 180 leading Nazis were executed. In addition to these Nazis, around 400 political opponents were murdered, including ex-chancellor von Schleicher.

The executions were undertaken by Hitler’s personal guards, the SS (Schutzstaffel).

Was Hitler simply exchanging the SA for the SS?


The SS

The SS (Schutz-Staffel, or ‘protective squadron’) was Hitler’s personal guard of elite corps, set up in 1925. Himmler was made its leader, and he turned it into a formidable private army. By World War II it contained 500,000 members, made up of Waffen-SS (full-time and armed) and part-time members.

The SS performed state police duties and were brutal in their treatment of Jews and others in concentration camps.


After the Night of the Long Knives, the SS became the main police arm of the Nazi Party. Its key aim was to eliminate all opposition, and the SS Security Service (SD) had the specific responsibility to do this. The SD was formed by Himmler in March 1934 and placed under the command of Reinhard Heidrich.

Eventually, mainly due to controlling the concentration camp system, the SS controlled a vast economic empire and were financially independent of the state.


The Gestapo

The Gestapo was a secret police force, set up in 1933. It played a key role in eliminating opposition by creating an elaborate terror machine. It had sweeping powers to deal with people considered to be against Nazism, and used torture and terrorism to stamp out anti-Nazi resistance.

Many ordinary people used the Gestapo to get back at their neighbours or relatives, rid themselves of spouses or get hold of Jewish property. The whole system became very arbitrary, and became a great source of worry for many innocent people.

Recently, however, it has been suggested that the Gestapo was not as powerful as has previously been suggested. The Gestapo offices did not have the manpower required to undertake the large schemes devised by the Berlin Central Office.


Concentration camps

The concentration camp system was begun in 1933. It was originally set up to imprison the opponents of the Nazi state. The first camps were at Dachau, Buchenwald and Sachsenhausen, and housed Communists and Jews. Soon however, anyone who was believed to oppose the regime was sent there. This included teachers, doctors and civil servants.

The network of camps grew rapidly in number as Hitler strove to eliminate all ethnic minorities, such as gypsies; and groups on the edge of society, such as homosexuals.


Over six million people died in concentration camps. Some were subjected to medical experiments before being killed.At Maidanek, about 1.5 million people were exterminated, cremated and their ashes used to make fertilizers.

Use the information from this and the previous slides to explain why people in Germany began to outwardly support Nazism.


Hitler’s support

By 1936, Hitler’s power was absolute. The army were delighted that he had started rebuilding a powerful army and set up a new air force (the Luftwaffe). Big business liked the Nazi regime because Hitler had destroyed the trade unions, leaving business free to multiply their profits.

Germany was blossoming as Hitler had expanded health, social security and state benefits. New motorways were built, unemployment was almost wiped out and traffic-free city centres were established.

“…my mother saw a Storm Trooper parade in the streets of Heidelburg. The sight of discipline in a time of chaos, the impression of energy in an atmosphere of universal hopelessness, seems to have won her over…” Albert Speer, 1931.


Hitler’s leading men

party leader and head of state Adolf Hitler

Presidential Office – Dr Meissner

Reich Chancellery – Dr Lammers

Party Chancellery – Rudolf Hess

Führer’s personal secretary – Philipp Bouhler

the Nazi executive:

Reichsfuhrer SS and chief of the German police – Heinrich Himmler

Original head of the secret police (Gestapo) and in charge of the Luftwaffe (air force) – Hermann Göring

Minister of Propaganda and Popular Enlightenment – Joseph Göbbels

Documents

© Boardworks Ltd 2003 1 of 20 How did the Nazis Consolidate Power?