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Topic 12: Establishment of power and state of Germany by end of March 1933…
Topic 12: Establishment of power and state of Germany by end of March 1933
Topic 12A: The Establishment of the Nazi dictatorship, Jan-March 1933:
Appointment of Hitler as Chancellor:
AH reluctantly appointed as the new chancellor of the Republic, and was perfectly constitutional and legal- this was a legal takeover, and Nazis made it clear their aim was to destroy weimar
it looked unlikely these aims would be met due to AH being outnumbered in Cabinet, he was one of 3 Nazis in cabinet, alongside 8 nationalists and allies of the President, including Von Papen as vice-chancellor
Hitler Cabinet Jan 1933:
Chancellor- Hitler
V-Chancellor and Commissioner of Prussia: Von Papen
Minister of the Interior: Frick
Minister of the interior in Prussia: Goering
Minister of Defence: General Blomberg
Foreign Minister: Von Neurath
5 other trusted associates of Hindenburg
Evans states that Hitler had achieved his aim of a legal takeover "he had achieved office without formally destroying the
constitution and with the support of the conservative establishment and the army"
Reichstag Fire 26/02/1933:
26.2.33 Reichstag went up in flames, and a 21 yr old Dutch communist Van De Lubbe was arrested in connection and confessed- he claimed he was protesting unemployment and was carrying rags and fire lighters
however he had the mental age of a 12 year old and had learning difficulties- suggests he may not have acted alone or was manipulated
Reichstag Fire Decree 27/02/1933:
Officially Called Law for the Protection of People and the state- allowed for suspension of civil liberties and the banning of the KPD
E.G. arrested without charge, enter properties without warrant, open mail and bug telephone calls
by the end of March 1933: 20,000 communists were prisoned, and by the summer 100,000 LW opponents were
official figures say 600 died in custody through the Reichstag fire decree
Display of Power
100,000 SA and Nazi members paraded past the chancellery and Presidents office in Berlin late into
was arranged by Goebbels and was a giant show of strength, a personal triumph for AH and start of the 'National Revolution'
Signified that this was not an ordinary change of government like others in Weimar
Hindenburg who was now increasingly senile and confused, and thought that he was watching Russian prisoners march past (an event from WW1)
Goering and the SA:
was made minister of the interior in Prussia, the state covering 67% of Germany, enabling him to recruit SA as auxiliary police during the campaign for the March 1933 election
after being let loose, they rampaged the streets, beating communists and social democrats, and placed 1000s under 'protective custody'- SA membership was 500,000 in Jan 1933, and 3 million the following year
Enabling Act (23/03/1933)
Law for removing Distress from the People and the Reich (23/03/1933)- required a change of the constitution and a 2/3 majority vote in the reichstag to pass this, but AH was desperate for a full dictatorship where he wouldn't have to rely on DNVP
The 'debate' took place at Kroll Opera House and it was surrounded by 1000s of Nazis who spat and shouted at opposition MPs
Inside the opera house, SA lined the aisles pointing machine guns at SDP members- KPD MPs were in custody, Z was bullied and offered a concordat, only the SDP who dared turn up voted against it
The result of the vote was: 444-94
the SDP leader Otto Wels made a brave speech against dictatorship and was screamed at by Hitler (he carried cyanide in his pocket in case of arrest)
Most SDP members were put in 'protective custody' where many died
the Act gave Hitler the right to make his own decrees for 4 years, no longer needing Hindenburg to sign off-
EVANS- "was the legal pretext to the creation of the dictatorship)
Terror/Dachau:
Dachau opened on 22/03/1933 just outside Munich and was soon full of political opponents, mainly communists and socialists
the first concentration camp in Germany, but there were 100s of others soon- many were barracks, but even cellars and abandoned buildings used as concentration camps
By the end of the year 100,000 'useless eaters' were interned, and 100s had been murdered in protective custody
March 5th Election 1933:
Nazis: 286 seats- 44%
DNVP: 52 seats- 8%
SDP- 120 seats- 18%
Zentrums- 92 seats- 14%
KPD- 81 seats- 12%
Others: 14 seats
Nazis only have a majority with support of DNVP
Hitler stated that - "‘If we do one day achieve power, we will hold on to it, so help us God. We will never allow them to take it away from us again."
Topic 12B: The State of Germany by the end of March 1933
Hitler was a 'legal dictator', meaning he had taken complete control through constitutional methods and it had only taken him 2 months
basis of this was Reichstag Fire decree and Enabling Act, two constitutional laws that allowed for the legal dictatorship
although other parties existed, it was obvious that a 1 party state was close- KPD had been banned and SDP were being victimised and the concentration camps were the centre of political persecution
Summary Jan-March 1933:
SA were being used as auxiliary police and let off the leash, the rule of law and democracy was being undermined by the growth of a police state in Germany.
Concentration camps were springing up all across Germany, the biggest outside of Munich (Dachau)
Goebbels had been appointed to Cabinet on 13th March 1933, as Minister for Popular Enlightenment and Propaganda- with the aim of winning over the population
Gleischaltung (Nazification, and forcing non-nazis into line) was in full flow, but compromised with the elite still needed to be made
AH met with army generals and industrialists in Feb to assure them that he would not meddle in their affairs (and that the SA would be reigned in once the left was smashed)- also outlined plans for rearmament
It was clear the future was clear: no open political opposition would be tolerated, but the traditional RW elite in the army, civil service and business would remain in major influence