Please enable JavaScript.
Coggle requires JavaScript to display documents.
The consolidation of power (Topic 2) part 1 - Coggle Diagram
The consolidation of power (Topic 2) part 1
legal revolution
often used to describe the transformation of Germany 1933-34
Culmination of Hitlers strategy following the Munich Putch
The steps he took didn't necessarily break the letter of the constitution and cumulatively changed it beyond recognition
Hitler wanted to give his National Revolution an air of legality - all actions were defined in legal terms
he did this to maintain support of the elite
actions taken
Reichstag fire decree
Used by the Nazis to bring about the Reichstag Fire Decree 1933
Nazi propaganda became firmly anti-communist
caused a massive turnout in the 1934 elections
SS + SA were free to beat up thousands of socialists + communists
Goering was now Prussian Minister of interior
Began to Nazify the police
the enabling law 1933
Gave Hitler the ability to pass decrees without the permission of the Reichstag
how did Hitler consolidate his power after becoming Chancellor
Gleichschaltung
big businesses
controlled by Nazi policies
anti socialist policies which banned strikes
church
catholics more difficult to control - they were neutralised by signing the concordat
Protestants controlled by creation of Reichskirche
army
won over by Hitlers foreign policy ambitions
rearmament
trade unions
abolished in 1933
replaced with DAF (German labor front led by Robert lay) where membership wad compulsory
Political Parties
law for the formation of new political parties 1933
abolished parties except the NSDAP
Germany was officially a one party state
lander
1934 sate assembly's abolished
Nazi Reichsstatthalter set up
Civil service
law for the restoration of the professional civil service 1933 - dismissed
political loyalties were questioned
all leaders affiliated to National Teachers Organisation
the night of the long knives
Hitler was caught between 2 rival and powerful forces
SA consisting of 3 million committed Nazis led by his oldest political friend (Rohm)
Army - an organisation that could unseat Hitler from power and also possessed military skills vital to Hitlers foreign policy ambitions
Hitler tried to appease both sides
offered Rohm a cabinet post
failed to solve the problem
the presidential campaign forced his hand
he wanted to take the presidency without opposition
the support of the army would be integral to the regimes survival in the short term whilst in the long-term enabled him to fulfil his foreign policy ambitions
Hitler agreed to the army's demands
End talks about a second revolution
Eliminate the SA
It wasn't just Hitler that wanted to get rid of Rohm
Goering + Himmler wanted to rid themselves of a powerful rival
30.06.34
Rohm and main leaders were shot by the SS
various other scores were settled
SA were eliminated
Schleicher shot
Strasser shot
significance
Army now aligned itself behind the Nazis
they gave their oath of allegiance
Bloomberg gave Hitler a public vote of confidence
SA reduced to the role of a propaganda show-piece
He marked the emergence of the SS as the party's main institution of terror
Hitler secured his political supremacy
when Hindenburg died in Aug 1934 Hitler merged the Chancellor and President together and took the title Fuhrer
it set a precedent where German citizens would accept summary executions without protest
important step towards the Holocaust
Hitlers system of government
1933 Germany was a one party state - this was a form of totalitarianism
the reality was quite different
he faced various problems
the existence of parallel parties + state organs laid the basis for confusion
there was no drastic purge of state organs/ structures
the law for the restoration of the professional civil service was limited
Hitler was unable to clarify the role of party + state
the law to ensure the unity of party + state 1933 was vague and ambiguous
there were problems within the party
it was not unified
different groups had different aims
it had only been geared to achieving power
the party's position was improved with 2 appointments
Rudolph Hess
appointed as deputy Fuhrer - he could vet all appointments
Martin Boreman
created dept for internal party affairs and affairs of state
aimed as securing supremacy over state
Nazi Germany was more of a dual party state
this was a form of polycratic structure
a state which had many completing centres of power
Internationalists - a deliberate policy of Hitler to divide and rule his opponents
Structuralists
This confusion of governments was a reflection of Hitlers inability to govern
the role of Hitler
the law concerning the head of state
combined both roles
Hitler became the Fuhrer
He was the commander in chief of all armed services - oath of allegiance
Hitlers power went further than legal definition
it was portrayed as Fuhrer power - embraced all aspects of life
it was ubiqitous and omnomnipotent
developed into the Hitler myth
yet there were practical problems
there was no way Hitler could control all aspects of Germany
he still relied upon his subordinates to implement his policies
this ultimately weakened his power
he showed little inclination to co-ordinate govt
last cabinet meeting was 1938
therefore
Hitler became detached from reality
soon started to believe in the Hitler myth
as a result of Hitlers inaccessibility, his reluctance to give policy directives and even read documents many lower down the ranks created their own policies in the spirit of what they believed Hitler wanted
the impact
this process of 'working towards the Fuhrer' paved the way for the radicalisation of Nazi laws
Nazi officials competed for Hitlers favour - they favoured radical solutions to problems
the more they tried to please Hitler the more radical policy became
Fear and terror
this was crucial to the survival of the nazi regime
Its ability to eliminate its enemies and terrorise the population
they used a lot of methods to ensure this was carried out
concentration camps
set up in 1933 to deal with communists and socialists
by 1934 many of the camps had been shut down
by 1936 the composition of the camps began to change as the number of inmates increased - 21,000 prisoners by 1939
the majority of these people were "asocials"
people who didn't fit in
These were only during the war - the composition then changed to include POW's
Gestapo (secret police)
the Reichstag Fire Decree had given the police increasing power
Gestapo could interpret the law as they saw fit
Gestapo could put people in protective custody
imprisoning someone they considered likely to commit an offence
people were encouraged to root out the enemies of the state - asocials
therefore
was this a police state
there was an increasing number of activities that became an offence
malicious practices decree 1933
made it an offence to make critical comments against the state
yet
many ordinary Germans did not live in fear of the Gestapo
they were impressed by the regimes achievements - ending fears of communism
many approved of terror as a way of ensuring social conformity
however
recent research has shown the Gestapo to not be as omnipotent as once thought
there was only 30,000 officers for the whole of Germany - 75% of denunciations came from the public
social democrats
had a large working class support base
had an underground organisation run by an exiled party in Prague
yet many of them had been arrested and the party had been banned
trade unions
large working class support
did organise strikes in 1935
yet
T. U movements abolished - replaced with the DAF
been weakened by Gestapo arrests
elite
opposition emerged slowly
took a while for them to realise how radical Nazism
opposition emerges after 1939
church
opposition emerges slowly
they had been neutralised by the policy of Gleichaltung
signed the concordat in 1934
therefore
these actions often amounted to individual acts rather than group activity
Hitlers success in the night of the long knives showed he could get away with murder and still maintain support
how successful were the Nazis by 1939
policies and apparatus
fear + terror
Gestapo
SS
Concentration camps
propaganda
Hitler myth
Films / radio
rallies
indactrination
education
youth movements
economic and social policies
public works schemes
strength through joy
propaganda
Hitler myth
Goebbels claimed that this was the biggest achievement of the propaganda machine
propaganda played a key part in welding together the nation
Yet
Historians have challenged the view that propaganda was the war that Hitler won
there are 2 misconceptions about propaganda
it aims to change peoples views
in fact it reinforces their views
propaganda consists of lies
in fact it contains truths
therefore
propaganda simply reinforces society's existing views
in conclusion
success was essentially to do with peoples attitudes
It is hard to distinguish the extent to which peoples views were the product of Nazi propaganda or fear
Youth policy
Nazi regime attempted to transform youths on 3 levels by
ensuring school syllabuses +teachers reinforced values
creating elite Nazi schools
putting pressure on children to join Nazi youth movements
BDM / Hitler youth
syllabuses and schools
1936 all civil servants (teachers) forced to join the party - Jews excluded
all teachers were affiliated to National socialist teachers alliance (NSLB)
classrooms were adorned with Nazi flags / pictures of Hitler
\greater emphasis on PE, History, Biology - helps to explain "racial purity"
yet
education experienced the sort of confusion we saw between the party and state
there was conflict between Robert Ley, Boreman and Rudolph Hess which delayed new educational regulations
therefore
led to confusion on what to deliver
Teachers were arrested - this was more to do with confusion rather than co-operation
Nazi schools
Nazis set up a number of special schools entertained with the task of educating the future elite of Germany
Napolos
Run by the SS
Motto "Believe, obey, fight"
Adolph Hitler schools
Order castles