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Summary Edexcel a-level history: germany, : united, divided and reunited - Depth 3 The third Reich 1933-35
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Depth 3 The third Reich 1933-35Nazi consolidation of power
- Totalitarian – unrestricted centralised power
- 30th January 1933 – Hitler becomes chancellor – Has mass support and a private army the SA
which allows him to apply terror BUT controlled by conservative elites/the president who
didn’t like him as thought he was too radical – Power far from total
- Why did Hitler become chancellor?
government couldn’t control both Nazis and communists – communism a bigger
problem which Hitler could help combat - Unrest, street violence and fears of
revolution
Elites pressured Hindenburg as they thought they could control him – Von Papen as
vice chancellor
Mass support
Difficulty of minority government - 4 Chancellors 1930-32 (Muller, Bruning, von
Papen & von Schleicher) - unstable
SPD went into opposition – refused to form coalition government as didn’t want to
cut unemployment benefit which every other party did
Economic circumstance – depression and unemployment
- The position of Hitler and the Nazis 1933
Obstacles Strengths
-Hindenburg and the elites – Can fire him -Most popular/biggest party (33% of the vote Nov 1932)
-No majority/coalition rule - 3/12 cabinet members were -Shared values with the elites – anti-communist/democratic
Nazis (Hitler/Frick (interior minister controls police)/Goering -Resources of state - key cabinet posts/state media
(minister without portfolio so has no job – in Prussian region (government owned and controlled e.g. radio and
government is the Prussian interior minister) – will have to newspaper)
work with other parties -Propaganda – marches and organised events – gives people
-Public concerns (2/3 had not voted Nazi) – vote had the impression that this is a party of strength – run by Joseph
dropped Goebbels
-The Army – more loyal to Hindenburg – distrust Nazis as -Limited resistance from the Left – thought Hitler would fail
they are violent and undisciplined and they’d take power
-Other independent organisations - trade unions (strikes to -Terror and violence (SA, SS, Stahlhelm) – give impression of
disrupt economy – churches (people more loyal to them) - order
the press (free press can report badly on them) -Tactical– smarter than he’s given credit for
-International opinion
- ‘Legal revolution’ – a mix of legitimate methods and violence/intimidation
, March 1933
The Reichstag Fire and Reichstag Fire Decree
- An arson attack on the Reichstag - by lone Dutch communist party member Marinus van der
Lubbe in February 1933
- Allowed the Nazi propaganda to stir up fears of communism
- Hindenburg convinced to pass the decree ‘For the Protection of People and State’/Reichstag
fire decree - Allowed Hitler to use emergency power Article 48 and also:
Removed many freedoms (speech, assembly, press freedom)
Extended power of the Nazis to deal with communist threat
SA made auxiliary (support) police officers
Banned critical journalism
Law enforcement agencies given the power to take suspects into ‘protective
custody’ (arbitrary arrest) – within a few weeks 25,000 arrests made of communists
and socialists
The Day of Potsdam
- Reopening of the Reichstag March 1933
- Used propaganda to present themselves as a moderate conservative party - presented an
image of respectability and moderation - Event shown in cinemas and broadcast on the
radio
- Hitler wore Morning dress (suit and tie) rather than SA Nazi uniform to reassure the public
and conservative elites – Gave moderate speech - Respectful to Hindenburg, the old Kaiser’s
son and other elites in attendance – showing deference
- In the same month the first concentration camp opened in Dachau and the first political
opponents of the Nazis were detained there
The March 1933 Reichstag elections
Hitler wanted to reduce his dependence on other parties and alter the constitution
Despite feverish electioneering the Nazis only polled 43.9% - No 2/3 majority so
can’t alter the constitution
Nazis maintained the edge as they had conservative partners like the DNVP - The
KPD (communists) was banned - its 81 deputies denied their place in the Reichstag -
Many leading KPD figures moved to concentration camps (e.g. Dachau)
The Enabling Act
Didn’t have majority but pushed through enabling act which meant he could pass
laws without consulting Reichstag for four years
Used the support of other nationalist parties (used his links with von Papen) and the
Centre party (Concordat with Rome - deal with pope in which he promised to
respect the Church if they stayed out of politics)
Combined with intimidation from the SA - only the 94 SPD deputies voted against
the Act but were intimidated (Reichstag decorated with swastikas and filled with SA
members- When SPD discusses vote the SA chanted ‘we want the enabling act or
there’ll be hell to pay’)- 444 in favour
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