key Question 2: The rise of the Nazi party

• How did the Nazis take total control of Germany by 1934?

  Reasons for Nazi support; Hitler as Chancellor, steps to dictatorship; the creation of the police state
• In 1929, the Wall Street Crash


  Caused the American stock market to collapse
• The stock market collapse


  Affected a lot of countries in Europe
• Germany was hit particularly hard because it had borrowed a lot of money from America to pay for reparations after WW1
• It led to 6 million unemployed in Germany and 5 banks crashing
• Many Germans were starving because they could not afford food and had to go to soup kitchens
• Many middle class Germans lost all their savings and queued to try and get money back from the banks
• Hitler became popular as

  He promised to give ordinary Germany work and bread (Arbeit und Brot), and made lots of posters about this
• Hitler


  • He had passion
  • He renounced the Jews, Treaty of Versailles, coalition failure and wanted to unite the German speaking peoples
• Effective propaganda was organised by Goebbels


  1. Radio broadcasts

  2. Nazi biased newspapers

  3. Organising speaking tours for Hitler

  4. Mass rallies

  5. Focusing on the Swastika
• There was a fear of communism
• Communism had successfully taken over Russia in 1917
• Middle class Germans and industrialists saw the Nazis as the organisation able to counter the threat of communism as Hitler hated communism
• Reichstag (German parliament) building was burnt down

  27th February 1933
• Hitler's response to the Reichstag fire

  1. Persuades President Hindenburg to pass an Emergency Decree (28th February 1933)

  2. Decree says the Communists tried to burn down the German parliament

  3. Personal liberty and freedom of expression banned
• Nazi actions after the Emergency Decree

  1. Banned meetings held by political opponents

  2. Closed down their newspapers
• Enabling Act followed on from the Emergency Decree, making Hitler dictator of Germany


  23d March 1933
• Enabling Act


  Gave Hitler powers to enact laws without the involvement of the Reichstag for 4 years
• S.A. (Sturmabteilung - Nazi military group)


  • To some they represented order and were attractive
  • To others they were intimidating with 3 million men and probably made the Enabling Act possible by threats to Reichstag members
• Hitler worried about the SA getting too powerful under the leadership of Ernst Rohm


  1934
• Hitler's response to the SA threat

  1. Got rid of a lot of his opponents in the Night of the Long Knives

  2. Around 200 people (mainly political or army figures) were shot

  3. Enabled Hitler to get rid of threats from the SA and Ernst Rohm
• Weimar weakness


  • Too many coalition governments
  • Hindenberg/Bruning thought they could control Hitler and appointed him Chancellor (Bruning couldn't get a majority in the Reichstag)
• Hindenburg died


  20d August 1934
• Hitler's actions after Hindenburg's death

  1. Combined the role of President and Chancellor

  2. Declared himself 'Führer' (leader) of the new Third Reich
• The creation of the Police State

  • Nearly 17 million people in Germany had not voted for Hitler and the Nazis. For these people, the Nazis developed a policy of terror.Hitler's Gestapo police state worked on the rule that if you said nothing, no harm, could come to you. If you had doubts about the way the country was going, you kept them to yourself - or paid the price.