Nazi Control and Dictatorship 1933-39

• 1. How did the Nazis use 'Dirty Tricks' to Win in 1933?

  • Hitler needed to get 2/3 of the seats to make changes to the constitution - giving him absolute power
  • Elections of March 1933 - Hitler tried to stop other political parties from carrying out effective campaigns - they controlled the news media, and opposition meetings were banned
  • Hitler used the SA to terrorise opponents - in Feb 1933, the SA raided the Communist Party headquarters in Berlin and claimed to have found evidence that the communists were planning an uprising against the government
• 2. The Reichstag Fire:

  • In February 1933, 6 days before elections, a fire broke out in the Reichstag - Hitler blamed the Communist Party
  • He used the fire to claim communists were a threat to Germany - he also used it as an excuse to publish anti-communist conspiracy in the newspapers
  • Hindenburg issued a decree giving Hitler emergency powers to deal with the threat - many basic rights issued under the Weimar Constitution e.g freedom of speech were suspended
  • He used the powers to intimidate communist voters - the SA imprisoned nearly 4000 communist members
• 3. The Enabling Act:

  • March 1933 elections - NSDAP won 288 seats but didn't have overall majority - Hitler simply made the communist party illegal - this gave him enough support to bring in the Enabling Act, passed with threats and bargaining - this let him govern for four years without parliament
  • It was an important step in Hitler's consolidation of power - it allowed him to bring controversial legislation into force to strengthen the Nazi Party's position
• 4. What did Hitler do with the Enabling Act?

  • In May 1933, Hitler abolished Trade Unions and arrested union officials - Hitler saw Trade Unions as a threat because they had great influence over the working class - After May, they had to join the Nazi-controlled Labour Front instead
  • In July 1933, all political parties, apart from the Nazi party, were banned - the new law banned new parties from forming - Germany was officially a one-party state
• 5. Why was the SA a threat to Hitler?

  • The SA (a 'private Nazi Party army' of other 400,000 men) had helped Hitler come to power
  • But Hitler now saw the SA as a threat, because its members were loyal to Ernst Rohm, the SA's leader
  • The SA was also unpopular with the leaders of the German army and some ordinary Germans
• 6. What was the 'Night of the Long Knives'

  • Ernst Rohm was the biggest threat to Hitler - Hitler was also worried about other members of the NSDAP who opposed his views
  • In the 29th-30th June 1934, Hitler sent men to arrest or kill Rohm and others - several hundred people were killed or imprisoned including Rohm
  • Hitler claimed that those who had been killed had been plotting to overthrow the government so he declared their murders legal
  • It was a triumph - it stamped out all potential opposition and sent a powerful message to the party about Hitler's ruthlessness and his freedom over law
• 7. How did Hitler take full control of the government?

  • August 1934 - Hindenburg died - Hitler combined posts of Chancellor and President, and also made himself Commander-in-Chief of the army
  • He called himself Der Fuhrer (the leader) - start of dictatorship
  • He reorganised local government to spread Nazi regime
  • Every aspect of life was carefully controlled, and only loyal Nazis could be successful
  • The army had to war an oath of allegiance to Hitler - if not could lose jobs
• 8. Hitler making Germany a totalitarian state:

  • Hitler's Enabling Act allowed the government to read people's mail, listen in on phone calls and search homes without notice
  • The Law for the Reconstruction of the Reich (1934) gave the Nazis total power over local government
  • There were laws to sack civil servants who didn't support the nazis
  • The Sicherheitsdienst (SD) was the Nazi intelligence service - it was initially run by Reinhard Heydrich - he aimed to bring every German under continual supervision
• 9. Judicial System:

  • The nazis also made changes to the justice system - judges didn't have to be 'fair' and unbiased - instead, they were expected to make rulings that were in line with Nazi Party policy
  • In 1933, Nazis set up special courts where the basic rights of those accused were suspended - they couldn't appeal or question evidence against them
  • In 1934, Hitler established the People's Court in Berlin, which held trials for important political crimes - defendants were nearly always found guilty
• 10. Terror and Violence:

  • SS - began as Hitler's bodyguards - expanded massively under Himmler during 1930s - its members were totally loyal to Hitler and were feared for their cruelty
  • Gestapo - led by Himmler - 'protect public safety and order', method included harsh interrogations and imprisonment without trial
  • Local wardens - encouraged to report disloyalty
  • Concentration camps - Created after 1933 to hold political prisoners and other opposition
• 11. Nazi Propaganda ideas:

  • Unite Germans and convince them that Nazis would make Germany strong
  • Germans encouraged to hate countries that signed the Treaty of Versailles - the Nazis said Germany should fight to get back the territory 'stolen'
  • Goebbels created the 'Hitler Myth', which made Hitler seem like a god and the saviour of Germany ('cult of the Fuhrer')
  • Jewish people and communists cause of problems
  • Encouraged return to traditional German values
• 12. Ministry of Public Enlightenment and Propaganda:

  • 1933
  • Goebbels founded this
  • It had departments for music, theatre, film, literature and radio - all artists, writers, journalists and musicians had to register to get their work approved
• 13. Nazi use of media for propaganda:

  • Censorship of opposing messages
  • Sold cheap radios and controlled broadcasts - by 1939, 70% of households had a radio, giving Nazis a voice
  • In 1933, only 3% of German daily newspapers were controlled by the Nazis, by 1944 this was 82% - Nazis decided what was published
  • Produced hundreds of films showing strengths of Hitler and Nazis and weakness of opponents
  • Posters showing Aryan Race and idolising Hitler's power
• 14. Nazi displays:


  • One million people attended the annual 1936 Nuremberg Rally - there were displays of light and flags to greet the arrival of Hitler making him look more powerful
  • 1936 Olympics used to show off German wealth ad power
  • Nazi power also shows through art and architecture, grand new buildings appeared in Nuremberg and Berlin