Hitler 1

• Few Germans would have predicted that Hitler would become leader of Germany as the Nazi Party did not appear to be going anywhere

  1928
• The stock market in Wall Street crashed, plunging the world into economic depression

  October 1929
• Nazi Party support increased dramatically and they gained 107 seats in the Reichstag


  1930
• Hitler lost the Presidential Elections, but still managed to gain nearly 13.5m votes


  April 1932
• The Nazis were the largest party in the Reichstag with 230 seats


  July 1932
• Hitler is appointed Chancellor after both von Papen and von Schleicher fail to gain sufficient support in the Reichstag


  January 1933
• The USA has massive financial problems when shares on the New York Stock Exchange crash in value


  This causes problems in many countries. People lack confidence in businesses and there is a decline in world trade
• US banks recall the Dawes Plan loans given to Germany


  German business is hit very hard, as they are reliant on these loans
• Demand for German goods drops

  German firms go bankrupt
• Many Germans are forced to live in poverty. They have less money to spend on goods


  Unemployment rises. By 1933 there are 6m unemployed
• In 1931 a major Austrian bank, Kredit Anstaldt, collapsed. This had a knock-on effect on German banks, so the crisis deepened
• Muller's coalition collapsed in 1930, as they disagreed on how to deal with the depression
• Bruning replaced Muller. He cut benefits and increased taxes, as he was worried about hyperinflation happening again. This led to him being called the "hunger chancellor"
• Hitler's Leadership skills


  • He would keep people waiting at his rallies, therefore building up the sense of anticipation
  • He promised to bring down unemployment and smash Communism
  • If the Nazis found an idea was losing them support they would change it
• Nazi Propaganda


  • The SA setup soup kitchens for the unemployed and spread propaganda
  • Hitler flew between cities, allowing him to speak at as many as 5 cities in one day during the Presidential elections of April 1932
• Von Schleicher had tried to split the Nazis by offering Gregor Strasser the role of vice-Chancellor, after the number of Nazi seats had gone down from 230 in July 1932 to 196 in November 1932
• Hitler attacked Strasser's disloyalty in a meeting in December 1932, Strasser resigned from the party and the plan failed
• The Reichstag Fire building in Berlin was destroyed by fire. Marinus van der Lubbe, a Dutch Communist was found at the scene. He appeared to have been acting alone, but the Nazis claimed that this was the start of a Communist plot to take over Germany
• That night 4000 Communist leaders were arrested by the police. The next day Hitler persuaded von Hindenburg to grant him emergency powers (The Decree for the Protection of People and State)
• Thousands of people who opposed the Nazi party were arrested. The Nazis also banned meetings held by their political opponents and closed down their newspapers
• The Nazis used the police and the SA to put pressure on their political opponents. More than 50 opponents of the Nazis were killed and many injured
• Propaganda also played a large role, including the use of radio to broadcast their anti-Communist message. This helped the Nazis achieve their best ever election result, with 44% of the vote
• The Enabling Law


  1. Hitler wanted the power to pass laws without going through the Reichstag, or the President

  2. To achieve this the Communist Party were prevented from entering the temporary parliament in the Kroll Opera House by the SA

  3. The Centre Party were persuaded to support Hitler, as he said that he would protect the Catholic Church and Catholic schools

  4. Only the Social Democrats voted against it

  5. The Enabling Law was passed by 444 votes to 94
• The Reichstag had voted itself out of existence, ending Weimar democracy. Germany was now a dictatorship, where Hitler and his advisors would make all the important decisions
• Trade Union offices were taken over and union leader arrested. All trade unions were merged into one organisation, the new German Labour Front (DAF). The DAF was controlled by the Nazis
• A law introduced that banned people from forming a new political parties. By this stage the Social Democrats and the Communist Party had already been banned. Other political parties had broken up. This new law meant that no new parties could be set up to challenge the Nazis. There was now only one party in Germany
• The Night of the Long Knives

  1. SA leaders were dragged from their beds, taken to Nazi headquarters and shot dead

  2. Rohm was also arrested. When he refused to kill himself, he was executed

  3. An estimated 200 people were killed, including von Schleicher, Gregor Strasser and von Kahr
• When Hindenburg died, Hitler made himself President as well as Chancellor. Hitler's new title was "Fuhrer". He was now undisputed head of the government
• The army took an oath of personal loyalty to Hitler. Hitler was now Supreme Commander of the armed forces. All German soldiers swore to obey Hitler and to risk their life for him at any time