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How was Hitler able to consolidate his power over Germany? - Coggle Diagram
How was Hitler able to consolidate his power over Germany?
Although the chancellor of Germany, Hitler wanted to expand the control and influence of the Nazi Party over Germany
He had to slowly eliminate and get rid of potential enemies and rivals that would/could stop him from achieving his power
Step 3 - Gleichschaltung (Totalitarian state), Jul 1933
Nazi Officials took control of local governments, trade unions were dissolved and their leaders imprisoned, SA and SS would brutally deal with anyone that stepped out of line
This united the entire German Federation under Hitler's rule of Nazi control, and completely eliminated every opponent in the nation
Step 4 - Night of the Long Knives
Nazi leaders such as Heinrich Himmler, Herman Goering and Joseph Goebbels felt that Ernst Rohm and the SA was becoming too powerful. The army agreed as well, as Rohm always talked harshly about taking over the army
The conspired and managed to convince Hitler that the SA posed a threat , Hitler agreed to get rid of him, but the army needed to swear an oath and allegiance to him
Under Hitler's orders, the SS arrested and killed Rohm and other SA leaders, along with other political opponents who angered Hitler. Power of SA was broken and subjected to the SS
This showed the purging of rivals within the Nazi Party, and also established the SS's power under Himmler in Germany
Step 2 - The Enabling Act, 23 Mar 1933
When the Enabling Act was to be voted on, SA nd SS men surrounded the building, only allowing Nazis and their supporters to enter
After the bill for the Enabling Act was passed, Communist Party and Social Democrat Party was banned from taking part in future elections
Enabling Act also allowed Hitler to pass laws without consent of the Reichstag, thus generally increasing his political authority
This allowed Hitler to eliminate all of his political rivals at once, making the Nazi Party the only legal political group, for as long as he would rule. It also gave him complete authority that was far greater than the Reichstag, making him the ultimate figure of power in Germany
Step 1 - The Reichstag Fire, 27 Feb 1933
The Reichstag building (German parliament) was set on fire, and was blamed on a Dutch communist (Marinus Van De Lubbe) who was there at the time. Hitler used this as an excuse and blamed this entire situation on the communists. This allowed him to send his SA men to break up and arrest leaders of the German Communist Party
Originally, the Nazi party was not very popular among the German public, earning only less than 10% of the population's votes. Thus, Hitler used this situation to his advantage and used this opportunity to get rid of one of his political rivals competing against him in the election, allowed Nazis to win 44% of votes in 1933 elections
Hitler also convinced German president Hindenburg to invoke Article 48 to establish emergency powers, and to sign the Fire Decree on 28 Feb 1933
Gave Hitler temporary authority, allowed him to send his SA men to shut down and arrest the communist party leaders, as well as to suspend civil liberties such as freedom of press and freedom to assemble in public. Those who spoke against Hitler were also beaten up
Step 5 - Creation of Fuhrer Position
After President Hindenburg's death in 1934, Hitler merged the powers of the president and chancellor to form a new position known as "Fuhrer"
Following all these incidents, Hitler had successfully achieved total and full control over Germany