Nazi Control and Dictatorship 1933-39

• The Reichstag Fire was on the 27th February 1933. Hitler blamed the fire on a dutch communist called Marinus van der Lubbe. Following the Fire, Hitler passed a piece of legislation called the Enabling Act which gave him the power to pass laws without the approval of the Reichstag. Following the enabling act, 4,000 communists were arrested.
• The Reichstag votes on the Enabling Act were 444 in favour to 94 against.
• On the 14th July 1933, Germany became a single-party state
• The official Nazi Trade Union was called the German Labour Front (DAF)
• The Night of the Long Knives was on the 30th June 1934 and 400 members of the SA were killed during this. Hitler felt threatened by Rohm and believed the only way for him to gain full power would be to remove the SA.
• Following Hindenburg's death in August 1934, Hitler became Fuhrer. The German army had to swear an oath of loyalty to Hitler. A Nazi official called a 'Gauleiter' ran each region.
• Heinrich Himmler was in charge of the Nazi tools for repression, the Gestapo and the SS.
• All judges in Nazi Germany had to join the National Socialist League for the Maintenance of the Law.
• The Gestapo was the Nazi secret police service. There were 50,000 people in the Gestapo in Nazi Germany.
• The SS was established in 1925. The SS had 90,000 full-time employees and 200,000 'informal workers', who were informants passing information.
• In 1933, it is estimated that there were 40 million German Protestants. The Reich Church was founded in 1933 to try and get more Christians to support Nazi ideals. Ludwig Muller led the Reich Church.
• The Confessional Church was founded in 1934. It was a protestant church that opposed the Nazi regime. It was led by Martin Niemoller.
• In July 1933, the Concordat was signed by Hitler and the Pope. In 1937, the Pope released his encyclical, 'With burning anxiety', expressing his opposition to Nazi policies.
• Hitler installed loudspeakers in public places to convey the Nazi message.
• Nazi propaganda used posters, films, books, newspapers, radio broadcasts and rallies to spread their message.
• Goebbels was appointed as Minister of Enlightenment and Propaganda in March 1933. He set up the Reich Chamber of Culture to control all aspects of culture.
• Joseph Goebbels controlled what could be shown on film screens and what could be published in magazines or newspapers.
• Goebbels' Propaganda Ministry controlled all media outlets except for the Catholic press.
• The Nuremburg Rally was an annual Nazi rally held in Nuremberg, Germany
• The Berlin Olympics were in 1936, Hitler wanted to show the world how great the nation was.
• By 1944, 80% of German newspapers were controlled by the Nazis.
• Hitler's preferred architect was a man called Albert Speer who was a fan of classical architecture.
• In 1933, the Reich Chamber of Visual Arts and the Reich Chamber of Culture was set up.
• The Edelweiss Pirates were a youth opposition group from the Rhineland and showed resistance by attacking the Hitler Youth. In 1942, 700 members were arrested.
• The Swing Youth embraced the 'degenerate' culture of the Weimar Republic.
• The White Rose was a youth opposition group set up by Hans and Sophie Scholl during WW2.
• The Gestapo also used propaganda to control people through fear.
• The Gestapo used torture as well as imprisonment to extract information.
• The Gestapo had an extensive network of informers to report on any suspicious activity.
• Propaganda was used to create an image that the Nazis wanted people to believe about them.
• The July Plot, known as Operation Valkyrie happened in 1944. It was a plot against Hitler's rule