Nazi Control & Dictatorship, 1933-39

• What dirty tricks did the Nazis use to win in 1933?

  • Controlled the news media and opposition meetings were banned in attempt to stop other parties from carrying out effective campaigns
  • Used the SA to terrorise opponents
  • Blaming the Reichstag fire on the Communists
• Explain the Reichstag Fire

  • A fire broke out in the Reichstag building and caused significant damage.
  • A young Dutch communist was found at the scene and arrested. He confessed to setting the fire.
  • The Nazi government quickly blamed the KPD (Communist Party) , claiming it was part of a larger plot to overthrow the state.
• What were the immediate consequences of the Reichstag Fire?

  • The Reichstag Fire Decree was issued the next day on February 28th 1933
  • It suspended civil liberties including: freedom of speech, freedom of the press, right of assembly and privacy of postal and telephone communications
  • It also allowed the Nazis to arrest political opponents
• What did Hitler do when the Nazi Party won 288 seats in the March 1933 elections, but did not have an overall majority?

  Made the Communist Party (which had 81 seats) illegal
• With making the KPD illegal, Hitler had enough support in parliament to bring in the Enabling Act. This let him govern for four years without parliament.
• Why did Hitler abolish Trade Unions and arrest union officials in May 1933?

  He saw them as a threat because they had a great influence over the working class. After May 1933, workers had to join the Nazi-controlled labour front instead.
• When were all political parties apart from the Nazis banned?

  July 1933
• Why were the SA a threat to Hitler?

  Its members were loyal to Ernst Röhm, the SA's leader. The SA was also unpopular with the leaders of the German army and with some ordinary Germans.
• Who was the biggest threat to Hitler?

  Ernst Röhm
• Explain the Night of the Long Knives

  • 29th-30th June 1934, Hitler sent men to arrest or kill Röhm and his other opponents
  • Several hundred people were killed or imprisoned
  • Hitler claimed that those who had been killed were plotting to overthrow the government, so it was legal
  • This stamped out all potential opposition within the Nazi party and sent a powerful message about Hitler's ruthlessness and brutality
• When did Hindenburg die?

  August 1934
• What did Hitler make himself after Hindenburg's death?

  • Combined Chancellor and President
  • Made himself Commander-in-Chief of the army
  • Called himself Der Führer
• How did Hitler reorganise the local government?

  • Branches of the Nazi party in 1926, called Gaue
  • These became official provinces of Germany, with a Gauleiter
  • Above them, were the Reichsleiters, who advised Hitler
• Who was in charge of propaganda?

  Goebbels
• Who was in charge of the German police?

  Himmler
• Which Law gave the Nazis total power over local governments?

  Law for the Reconstruction of the Reich
• Judges didn't have to be fair, they were expected to make rulings that were inline with the Nazi Party policy.
• In 1933, the Nazis set up special courts where the basic rights of those accused were suspended - they couldn't appeal or question evidence given against them.
• In 1934, Hitler established the People's Court in Berlin, which held trials for important political crimes.
• Who ran the SD (Nazi intelligence service)?

  Reinhard Heydrich
• Who began as a bodyguard for Hitler?

  The SS
• Who were the Gestapo?

  The secret police
• When were concentration camps created across Germany?

  After 1933
• What was the Hitler Myth?

  Hitler was a god and the saviour of Germany
• One Nazi paper claimed that Jewish people murdered children for Passover.
• What did Goebbels found in 1933?

  Ministry of Public Enlightenment and Propaganda
• All writers, journalists and musicians had to register to get their work approved.
• They sold cheap radios and controlled broadcasts. By 1939, 70% of households had a radio, which gave Nazis a voice in most people's homes.
• In 1933, only 3% of German newspapers were controlled by the Nazis. How many were controlled by 1944?

  82%
• Who was an important German director?

  Riefenstahl
• What were the annual rallies called that focused on speeches by leading Nazis?

  Nuremberg Rallies
• How many people attended the 1936 rally?

  1 million
• When was the Berlin Olympics?

  1936
• How long did the Nazis promise their empire would last?

  a thousand years
• What were children taught to believe in?

  Nazi doctrines
• • Lots of writers left Germany
  • Anti-semitic films weren't popular
• 20,000 books were burned.