political change

• in feb 1933 the reichstag burned down , fire was blamed on communiss
• because of the reichstag fire hitler got to use the emergency decree
• the emergency decree allowed the secret police to hold people in protective custody , protected German people from its eneimies
• what happened after use of hitlers emergency decree?

  • mass arrests of left activities including KPD reichstag deputies
  • hitlers gov controlled the radio and police
  • SPD and zentrum parties were intimidated and issues of their newspapers were banned
• elections in march 1933:

  • NSDAP got 43.9% of vote
  • DNVP got 8%
  • between them they controlled 51.9% of the reichstag
• marinus van der lubbe was the scapegoat for the reichstag fire and gave hitler an excuse to use the emergency decree. The fire would be a communist conspiracy against Germany
• enabling act passed by the reichstag , KPD deputies absent. Deputies intimidated as the Opera House was surrounded by the SA and SS
• what was the enabling act?

  gave emergency power to the government for 4 years , allowed cabinet (Hitler) to pass decrees without presidents involvement. only SPD voted against it. Democracy was over
• by 1933 the Nazis were the only official party
• the SA murdered over 500 people and 100,000 political opponents were arrested
• from march 1933 the SA had been violently overthorwing many state governments so that the Reich government had to appoint commissioners
• may 2nd - trade union officals seized , all trade unions replacted by DAF
• how did the Nazis politically remove opponents?

  • SPD leader Otto Wels led into exile in June after party was banned
  • 14th July , Law against formation of new parties passed
  • Nov 1933 Nazis won 92% of votes
  • Jan 1933 Law for the Reconstruction of the State was passed - transferred sovereign powers of the Lander to the Reich
• night of the long knives happened in 1934
• motives behind Night of the Long Knives:

  • Himmler wanted SS removed from SA control
  • Hitler feared an elite backlash as Rohm had spoken of 'second revolution' to fulfil socialist points of 25 point programme
  • Army disliked SA , germany's military still run by the elite
• Why did the Night of the Long Knives happen?

  This was a purge of Hitler's SA and key political opponents. The SA were becoming uncontrollable and Hitler believed they were damaging the reputation of the Nazi party. He replaced them with the more disciplined, SS.
• night of the long knives lasted from 29th june to 2nd July , over 90 opponents were killed , including over 50 SA leaders
• impact of night of the long knives:

  • Hitler wins support of elites , taking control
  • SS independent of the SA and under Hitler's personal command
  • 3rd July 1934 , Hitler passes law legalising his actions and the murders of his opponents
• the 'hitler myth' is the idea in the eyes of millions of people that Hitler can do no wrong
• 2nd August 1934 - Hindenburg died
• after Hindenbrugs death , German armed forced took oaths of personal loyalty to Hitler
• depsite Hitler's image of being a strong and charismatic leader he was lazy and didn't involve himself in day to day running of Nazi state
• New People's Courts and Special Courts created in march 1933 - allowed Nazis to circumvent law
• under Himmler SS began to act alongside the state police
• 7th April 1933 - Law for the Official Reform of the Civil Service passed. 'Alien elements' (Jews and political opponents) removed from courts , education and civil service
• the existing civil service stayed in place but lost influence as the NSDAP set up its own specialist agencies to develop and execute policies
• between 1933-39 Nazis tried to develop their own bureaucracy
• from 1938 all civil servants were required to be members of the Nazi party
• department for affairs of state was established to help NSDAP supersede the state
• during ww2 the nazi government lacked structure
• weaknesses of the structure of the Nazi government:

  • lack of clear structure made them ineffective , no clear decision-making , difficult to hold individuals to account
  • demands of war economy meant new organisations needed to be created (Organisation Todt , civil and military engineering)
  • new organisations meant greater complexities and overlap , great obscurity for government
• rise of factionalism within the Nazi government such as ministries , the party itself and the army - all trying to gain power
• in 1941 hitler became commander-in-chief of the German army , wanted to be the general leading German war effort
• hitler didn't trust many of his own leading military experts
• hitler lacked military expertise , many military men claimed Hitler's interference prevented them from getting on with the war , largely Hitler relied on his instinct
• hitler's decision making:

  • drove campaign plan which German army used to involve france in 1940
  • delayed attack on Kursk in 1943 by months , delay gave Soviet Union more time to prepare
• hitler's retreat from public eye:

  • following invasion of Soviet Union , germany didn't win a lot
  • lead to fall in morale on the home front
  • 1943 Hitler withdrew from public eye
  • Goebbels assumed a more prominent position
• role of SS during war:

  • SS could act how they pleased
  • ran territories Nazis has conquered in Europe
  • operated exploitative policies
• 1944 - 900,000 people in Waffen SS (they were in charge of racial policies)
• waffen SS did mass killngs of Jews (90% of polish Jews killed) , Waffen SS established ghettos and death camps