KT3 Nazi Control and Dictatorship

• When were elections scheduled for in 1933?

  March
• When was the Reichstag fire?

  27th February 1933
• Who was accused of starting the Reichstag fire?

  Marinus van der Lubbe, a Dutch Communist
• What happened to van der Lubbe?

  He was tried and executed for arson
• How did the Reichstag fire give Hitler an advantage?

  • It caused anti-communist sentiment and the Nazis encouraged this in their propaganda, including publishing anti-communist theories in their newspapers
  • Hindenburg allowed Hitler emergency powers to deal with the Communist threat
  • Wealthy businessmen who feared communism poured millions into the Nazi campaign
• How did Hitler deal with the communist threat following the Reichstag fire?

  • Communists were expelled from Parliament
  • 4000 communists were arrested
  • Communists could not campaign for the upcoming elections
• How much of the vote did the Nazis win in the March 1933 elections?

  44 % or 238 seats
• How much of the vote did the KPD win in the March 1933 elections?

  12 % or 81 seats
• Why did the KPD not take their seats in the Reichstag following the March 1933 elections?

  Hitler banned them from doing so using his emergency powers
• How did the Nazis achieve a majority in the Reichstag in the March 1933 elections?

  The DNVP supported them
• What was the majority required for the Nazis to be able to change the Constitution?

  2 thirds
• When was the Enabling Act passed?

  23rd March 1933
• How were Reichstag members intimidated into voting for the Enabling Act?

  The SS were inside the chamber and the SA were outside chanting aggressively
• How many Reichstag members voted for the Enabling Act and how many didn't?

  444 voted for it 94 voted against it
• What did the Enabling Act allow Hitler to do?

  Make laws and sign treaties with foreign without the approval of the Reichstag, he used it to wipe out opposition as well as grassroot opponents
• When was the Law Against the Formation of Parties passed?

  14th July 1933
• What did the Law Against the Formation of Parties mean?


  No political party was legal other than the Nazis
• What happened as a result of the Law Against the Formation of Parties?

  Most parties dissolved themselves rather than being arrested
• How much of the vote did Nazis win in the December 1933 elections thanks to the Law Against the Formation of Parties?

  90 %
• How did Hitler change local government under the Enabling Act?

  The local government officials of the 18 regions had significant power but Hitler abolished this in January 1934 and he replaced them with his own appointments
• When were trade unions banned using the Enabling Act?

  May 1933
• Why did Hitler feel threatened by trade unions?

  Because they had the support of the working class
• What was the DAF?

  The German Labour Front which was created to control workers' rights and if you did not have a workbook from the DAF you were unemployed
• Who ran the DAF?

  Robert Ley
• How many members did the SA have by 1933?

  3 million
• Why did Hitler want to get rid of the SA?

  • A large portion of the SA were working class and supported socialist policies but Hitler felt this would damage his reputation with middle and upper class voters
  • Himmler and Goering resented Rohm's power- The SS were nominally under Rohm and Himmler wanted independence and Goering's Gestapo also came under Rohm
  • Germany's army was still limited to 100000, Hitler and army generals feared Rohm wanted to control the army
  • Hitler doubted Rohm's loyalty and the SS warned Hitler of a plot being hatched by Rohm
• How many members did the SS have in 1934?

  52000
• How much of the SA were working class men who supported socialist policies?

  60 %
• When was the Night of the Long Knives?

  30th June 1934
• What happened on the Night of the Long Knives?

  Hitler called together 100 top SA leaders, the SS arrested them and overnight Rohm and the others were executed
• Who else was targeted on the Night of the Long Knives?

  • Gregor Strasser, a leading member of the socialist side of the Nazi party
  • Von Schleicher, the previous chancellor
  • Von Kahr, a politician who turned on Hitler during the Munich Putsch
  • Von Papen's staff but not himself because he was still vice-chancellor
• How did Hitler make his illegal actions on the Night of the Long Knives legal?

  He passed a law on the 3rd of July 1934 making them legal
• How did Hitler justify his actions on the Night of the Long Knives?

  He claimed the victims were plotting to overthrow the government and he was protecting Germany
• How did Goebbels use the Night of the Long Knives as propaganda?

  He portrayed the strength of the Fuhrer and the police agencies while painting the victims as traitors and criminals
• When did Hindenburg die?

  1934
• What did Hitler combine the roles of president and chancellor into?

  Der Fuhrer of Germany
• What is a Plebiscite?


  A people's vote
• What did Hitler do after becoming chancellor?

  • He made the army take an oath of allegiance to him as their Commander-in-Chief
  • A Plebiscite was held and 90% voted to confirm Hitler as Fuhrer
• When was the Plebiscite held after Hitler became Fuhrer?

  19th August 1934
• What were police officials allowed to do by 1936?

  • Read people's letters
  • Listen to phone calls
  • Search people's homes