Establishing a Dictatorship

• Hitler Gained Power in Elections... with the aid of a Political Deal

  1)By April 1932, conditions had worsened. The country was desperate for a strong government. 

  2) President Hindenburg had to stand for re-election because his term of office had run out. He was a national hero, but Hitler decided to run against him. Despite claiming he'd win easily, Hindenburg didn't win a majority in the first election. In the second ballot he won 53%, beating Hitler's 36.8%.
• Hitler Gained Power in Elections... with the aid of a Political Deal

  3) In July 1932, the Nazis won 230 seats in the elections for the Reichstag more than any other party.Hitler demanded to be made Chancellor, but Hindenburg didn't trust Hitler and refused to appoint him 

  4) Then in the election of November 1932, the Nazis seemed to be losing popularity - they lost 34 seats 

  5) But Hitler struck a deal with another politician, Franz von Papen - if Papen would persuade Hindenburg to make Hitler Chancellor, Hitler would make Papen Vice-Chancellor.
• Hitler Gained Power in Elections... with the aid of a Political Deal

  6) Hindenburg agreed to Papen's suggestion, thinking that he could control Hitler. But Hitler used his new powers to call another election in March 1933, hoping to make the Nazis even stronger in the Reichstag.

  -Hindenburg hoped that Hitler would be less extreme once he was actually in power. He also hoped that Hitler wouldn't be able to repair the economy– meaning he might be able to regain popularity and power.
• The Nazis used Dirty Tricks to Win in 1933

  1. In the elections of 1933, the Nazis took no chances:

  -They controlled the news media, and opposition meetings were banned.

  -They used the SA to terrorise opponents.

  -When a fire broke out in the Reichstag building, Hitler blamed the communists. He used the fire to claim that communists were a threat to the country and to whip up anti-communist feelings. Hitler was even given emergency powers to deal with the supposed communist threat - he used these powers to intimidate communist voters.
• The Nazis used Dirty Tricks to Win in 1933

  2) The Nazis won 288 seats but didn't have an overall majority. So Hitler simply made the Communist Party (who had 81 seats) illegal. 

  3) This gave him enough support in parliament to bring in the Enabling Act, passed with threats and bargaining in March 1933. This let him govern for four years without parliament.

  4) Trade unions were banned in May 1933. Then in July 1933, all political parties, apart from the Nazi party, were banned. Germany had become a one-party state.