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• reichstag fire - destruction of the communist

  • Dutch communist, Marianous van der Lubbe, confessed to starting the fire in Feb 1933
  • Goering (head of the police) said it was part of an anti-government communist plot
  • That night, 4000 communist leaders were arrested
  • This undermined their election campaign and they lost 19 seats
• reichstag fire - suspension of civil liberties

  • Hitler persuaded Hindenburg to pass the Decree for the Protection of People and State
  • Police could ban meetings, search houses, imprison people with out trial
  • The death penalty could be used for certain crimes
  • Concentration camps like Dachau were set up
  • Supposed to be temporary but lasted until 1945
• march 1933 election - nazis win

  • Nazis exploit the Decree for the protection of People and State - 50K SA become police auxillaries, Communist and Social democrats sent to concentration camps, anti-Nazi newspapers banned, intimidation at polling station
  • Nazis polled 288 seats - their best ever performance
  • This was 44% but not a clear majority of the two thirds needed to alter the constitution
• march 1933 election - enabling act

  • Hitler banned the communist and socialist parties
  • Formed a coalition with the nationalists (52 seats) and the centre party (74 seats - promised to protect the catholic church)
  • He then passed the Enabling act which ended the Weimar Constitution
• enabling act - end of democracy

  • Passed 444 votes to 94
  • Allowed Hitler to make laws, sign treaties with foreign powers without the approval of the Reichstag
  • Originally for 4 years but renewed in 1937
  • Until 1945 the Reichstag met only 12 times - and just to listen to Hitler speak
• enabling act - Nazi revolution

  • Enabling act used to remove all opposition - this was called the Nazi revolution
  • Closed down and then abolished state parliaments
  • Trade unions replaced with the German Workers' Front
  • All political parties except the Nazis banned
• night of the long knives - SA and political 


  • 1934 - SA had over 3 million members and was very powerful. Leader Rohm was a threat to Hitler. This fear was intensified by Goring and Himmler, who told Hitler that Rohm organised a potential coup
  • 29-30 June 1934 - 90 leaders of the SA, including Rohm were executed
  • The SA were dramatically reduced in size, dropping by 40% to 1.8 million by 1935
  • The Nazis also used the event to eliminate other political opponents, such as the former chancellor von Schleicher
• night of the long knives - ensures loyalty of army/SS

  • Increased power of the SS - After the Night of the Long Knives, Hitler granted the SS independent status from the SA. SS became the principal instrument of terror
  • 2nd August - The German Army decided their allegiance - The hierarchy of the German army condoned the actions of Hitler during the Night of the Long Knives
  • Hitler began to rearm
• expansion of the SS - becomes an elite organisation

  Himmler expanded the SS to over 400k by the end of 1934 - this damages their elite status

  1935 - 200k discharged on moral, physical or racial grounds and Himmler introduced a rigorous 5 years enrolment procedure

  Became a smart disciplined paramilitary force

  All recruits had to be recognisably Aryan. Ruthless and loyal to Hitler
• expansion of the SS - Principal instrument of terror

  Main role to enforce Nazi Party's racial policy and run the concentration camps

  Principal instrument of internal rule in Germany

  Can arrest people without trial and search houses without warrants

  Could be called out at short notice to deal with national emergencies like an anti-Nazi putsch or trade union dispute
• expansion of the Gestapo - used to persecute jews and other minorities

  • Gestapo had power to impose protective custody - if a person was arrested by Gestapo, lose all civil rights and no longer protected by the law
  • After Kristallnacht - Nov 1938, Gestapo became germanys major executor of anti-jewish policies
  • Eichmann’s section of Gestapo organised deportation of Jews to concentration/death camps and had direct control over concentration camp in Czechslovakia
• expansion of the Gestapo - effective secret policy established 


  • 1933 Goring formed the Gestapo - Nazi secret police
  • 1936 Himmler takes over the Gestapo as head of the unified police system
  • By 1942 had 30k officers - the Gestapo was actually a relatively small organisation with limited surveillance capacity; despite this the Gestapo proved extremely effective due to the willingness of ordinary Germans to report on fellow citizens.
  • Appointed block wardens and had a network of informers - over 50% of charges came from private informants
• expansion of the police state - increased use of apparatus of terror

  • 1933 Goring formed the Gestapo and by 1942 had 30k officers and an army of informants
  • Himmler expanded the SS to become the principal instrument of internal rule in Germany. They also run the concentration camps
  • Concentration camps set up. First one in Dachau. 200k Germans imprisoned
• expansion of the police state - fear used to control the german people

  • SS used as a demonstration, as crowd control, to enforce racial policies. 240K members by 1939 - all pure Aryan. Could arrest people without trial and search houses without warrants.
  • Gestapo had a network of informers and most charges were initiated by private citizens.
  • Camps had tough conditions such as hard labour, beatings and random executions
  • Number of crimes with the death penalty rose from 3 to 46.
• propaganda on germany - increased use of the radio

  • Goebbels believed that the radio was the ‘spiritual weapon of the totalitarian state’.
  • Factories encouraged to produce cheap radios - the people’s receiver. By 1939 70% of Germans owned a radio.
  • Owners of factories, bars and restaurants ordered to install loudspeakers to broadcast Hitler’s speeches. Goebbels had 6000 loudspeakers erected in public squares.
• propaganda on germany - german people were brainwashed

  • Huge rallies like at Nuremberg emphasised the power and glory of Germany under the Nazis.
  • Films like the Eternal Jew demonised minority groups.
  • 1936 Olympics - stadium holding 100k people built - to demonstrate the superiority of the Aryan race - Germany won the most medals.
• censorship on germany - access to arts where restricted

  • All writers, actors and musicians had to join the Reich Chamber of Commerce.
  • Jazz music was banned as it was seen as black American music.
  • Modern Art was banned as it damaged Germany and weakened nazism. The Exhibition of Degenerate Art was organised to highlight what was damaging and encourage negative feelings about this type of art.
• censorship in germany - acsees to information was restricted

  • Newspaper editors and journalists had to be members of the Reich press Chamber and were forbidden from writing critical articles.
  • In 1934 all radio stations were brought under the control of the Reich radio Company. Radios made in Germany could not pick up foreign broadcasts.
  • Gestapo could search bookshops and libraries for unacceptable literature. Students encouraged to burn books at Nazi organised rallies.
• education polices - curriculum changes

  • New subjects such as race studies were introduced which taught the superiority of the Aryan race.
  • At least 2 hours a days was spent in PE encourage physical health for boys to be soldiers and girls mothers.
  • Maths questions were used to indoctrinate with questions focussing on military problems such as the distance of bombing raids
  • Geography taught about lebensraum
• education polices - types of schools changed

  • By 1939 all religious schools had been abolished.
  • 39 National Political Institutes of Education (NALOLAs) set up to educate boys for future leadership in the Reich. Ran by the SS
  • 11 Adolf Hitler Boarding Schools created - selection based on physical appearance and leadership potential.
  • Downgrading of higher education = fewer university students. From 113k in 1933 to 57k in 1939
• policies towards young people - effects on youth groups

  • 1933 Nazis banned all other youth groups apart from the Hitler Youth.
  • 1936 Hitler Youth Law was passed - all young people had to be a member of a Nazi youth organisation.
  • Boys became Cubs at 6, Young german Boys at 10 and Hitler Youth at 14
  • Girls became Young maidens at 10 and league of German Girls at 14.
  • By 1939 - 8 mill children had joined
• policies towards young people - indoctrination

  • Children spent evenings and weekends at Hitler Youth meetings/camps
  • Learned that Hitler had saved Germany from communist traitors.
  • Learned about the importance of competition and racial purity,
  • Groups for girls emphasised crafts, childcare and how to prepare for motherhood.
  • Boys discussed political ideas and performed military drills
• polices on woman - changes to employment

  • Nazis aimed to reverse the falling birth rate and improved employment status of women in the 1920ss.
  • 1933 Law for the Encouragement of Marriage - loans to young couples if the women gave up work.
  • 1933 Civil Service guidelines = a man to be employed if a man and woman applied for the same job.
  • 1936 U-Turn as there was a shortage of labour in the factories and women were encouraged back into work
  • By 1939 the number of women working was 50% higher than it had been in 1933
• policies on woman - kinder, kirche, kuche encouraged

  • Kinder, Kirche and Kuche became the slogan which defined women’s spheres of influence.
  • German Women’s Enterprise Organisation trained women in household skills = 3.5 million members by 1939
  • Medals for mothers with gold for 8 children
  • Contraception and abortion banned
  • Lebensborn programme set up in 1935 to encourage racially pure women to have children with SS men.
• policies on the churches - catholic church

  • Hitler - tolerant of catholic church - centre party helped him pass the enabling act
  • 1933 - Concordat was singed between nazis and catholic church
  • catholic church wouldn’t get involved with political affairs and nazis would allow catholic church and youth groups to continue
  • 1937 - Pope Pius XI made a statement attacking nazis
  • in respons, hitler broke concordat
  • catholic newspapers censored, membership of catholic youth groups was illegal, catholic schools closed and some priests sent to concentrations camps
• policies on church - protestant church

  • 1933 Hitler reorganised the Protestant Church into the Reich Church. Ludwig Muller - a Nazi supporter - was made Bishop of the Reich Church. 18 pastors were sacked for refusing to support Nazi views.
  • Resistance came in the form of the Confessional Church. Set up in 1934 by Martin Neimoller and Dietrich Bonhoeffer. 5k members objected to Nazis interfering in matters of religious faith.
  • Neimoller and hundreds of Protestant clergy sent to concentration camps