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Political system p2 - Coggle Diagram
Political system p2
Nazi gov structure p2-
Should be noted Reich Chancellery was 1 of 5 seperate offices that supported Hitler, others were:
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stages
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1st- 1934- 36-reliant on support of army and big businesses- night of long knives essentially big attempt to reassure both
2nd-1936 and 38- reduce power/ status of army/ big businesses- oct 1936- Goring put in charge of economy- 1838 scandals involving senior army members allowed Nazis to gain control
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Dual state- The relationship between the Nazi party and the state has been given the term ‘dualism’, this refers to a government system in which two forces co-exist. Even though some of the Nazi members wanted to establish the party’s control over the civil service, Nazi leadership did not wish to confront the institutions of state.
Why institutions of state not altered- Many Nazis acknowledged the bureaucracy of the German state was already efficient and staffed with well educated personnel.
A growth of March converts (those who joined immediately after Nazi consolidation of power between January and March 1933) diluted Nazi radical ideas to alter the state apparatus.
Hitler referred to the relationship between the party and state in a vague manner. He remained ambiguous when describing the role between party and state, first stating that ‘the party is inseparably linked with the state’ in 1933 before declaring the Party’s main responsibilities to organise propaganda and indoctrination two months later. Yet in September 1934 he informed party congress ‘it is not the state who commands us but rather we who command the state and declaring a year later that the Party’s role was to accomplish the tasks the state could not
Initial workings of dual system- Nazi Germany= 'dual state'- - Nazi elite didn't dissapear but hardly any changes made to top of civil service- continued to work as normal- implemented policies devised by minitered-- until 1938- not all ministers were Nazis eg Schacht remained economic minister till 1937- in early years traditional groups sought to maintain independence while Nazi governing group wanted greater control in society
Nazi gov structure- The Nazi Party consisted of the party chancellery, Nazi members and Nazi organisations. Many officials in the party held positions and administered offices of a similar nature in both party and state. For example, Goebbels was a ‘Reichsleiter’, a member of the Reichsleitung (the committee at the top of the Nazi party) and Chief of Propaganda in the NSDAP as well as Minister for propaganda. Yet Hitler also ‘invented’ new organisations or positions whose roles were caught between party and state to deal with issues as they arose.
Dual system issues- The responsibilities of these departments were not well defined and in many cases, there was often ‘overlap’ or conflict over roles between the new organisations or state offices causing chaos and confusion. In the German state the term ‘civil servant’ covered a broad range of roles.
Reich Chancellery- The Reich Chancellery was responsible for coordinating government; the Chancellery’s role became increasingly important as the cabinet declined from 1934. Lamners was head of the Reich Chancellery, helping with government legislation and bridging the gap between Hitler and other organisations. Yet Lamners found it increasingly difficult to coordinate the increasing number of organisations.
Gov ministries- Government ministries were run by leading civil servants. Yet these ministries were placed under increased pressure as the workers' roles often overlapped with Nazi offices.
Batman- The Nazi’s ensured to interfere with the justice ministry by setting up special courts without a jury for political offences and a people’s court in 1934 for cases of high treason with a jury composed entirely of Nazi members. All legal authorities lost influence to the SS who could act above the law due to the decree ‘Nacht und Nebel’ of 1941, allowing them to imprison a person without question under suspicion of them being dangerous.