Unit 1

• Hitler takes political control

  1933-34
• The Reichstag Fire was a significant event in the rise of the Nazis
• The Reichstag Fire was used by Hitler to justify the Decree for the Protection of People and State, which suspended civil liberties
• The Nazis used the Reichstag Fire to imprison opponents, disrupt opposition party election campaigns, and consolidate their power
• Election took place


  5 March 1933
• The Nazis did not win an outright majority in the 5 March 1933 election
• Gleichschaltung


  Process by which the Nazis eliminated political opposition and established a one-party state
• The Enabling Act of 23 March 1933 gave Hitler's government the power to enact laws without the Reichstag
• The Enabling Act was passed with the support of the Catholic Centre Party, despite the presence of SA and SS intimidation
• By July 1933, the Nazis were the only legal political party in Germany</b>
• New Reichstag elections held, Nazis won 50% of the vote


  November 1933
• The Night of the Long Knives in 1934 was an event where the Nazis eliminated potential rivals within the party, including the leadership of the SA
• The death of President von Hindenburg in 1934 allowed Hitler to combine the offices of Chancellor and President, becoming Führer (leader) of Germany
• The Enabling Act and other legal measures allowed Hitler to consolidate power and establish a dictatorship, despite the Nazis not winning an outright majority in the 1933 election