Nazi Dictatorship 1933-39

• How Hitler became dictator in 1934:

  1. Reichstag fire
  2. Enabling act
  3. Night of the Long Knives
  4. Death of Hindenburg
• Reichstag fire:

  • 27th Feb 1933 - Reichstag burns down
  • Van Der Lubbe, a communist, is arrested at the scene (there are rumours the Nazis did it)
  • Hitler claimed there was a communist plot to destroy Germany
  • He declared a State of Emergency
  • He persuaded Hindenburg to sign 'The Reichstag Decree' meaning the Nazis could arrest anyone suspected of opposing them
  • He used Article 48 to ban the Communists
• The Enabling Act 1933:

  • Hitler could make laws without the Reichstag for 4 years - it actually lasted until 1945
  • April 1933 - he created the 'People's Courts' to control the justice system
  • May 1933 - he bans trade unions
  • July 1933 - he bans all political parties except the Nazis
• The Night of the Long Knives:

  • Hitler feared threats from his own party e.g the SA
  • SA were 3 million loyal to Röhm (not Hitler)
  • 1934 - with support of army and SS, Hitler orders arrests of SA 'traitors'
  • 30th June 1934 - SS arrest 400 SA leaders along with Röhm and other threats such as Von Papen.
  • Some are imprisoned and some are executed
• Death of Hindenburg:

  • 2nd Aug 1934 - Hindenburg dies
  • Hitler combines role of president and chancellor into the 'Fuhrer of the Third Reich'
  • Hitler orders the army to swear and oath to him. He is the complete ruler of Germany
• The Nazi Police State:

  • Gestapo
  • SS
  • Concentration camps
  • Legal system
• Gestapo:

  • Started 1933
  • Secret plainclothes police
  • Used torture, raids etc to find enemies of the Nazis
  • Could imprison people without trial
  • 1939 - 150,000 arrested for opposition to Nazis
• SS:

  • Started 1925
  • Black uniforms
  • Hitler's elite protection force
  • 1929 - Himmler runs in and expands it to 50,000 men
• Concentration camps:

  • Set up to punish political opponents
  • Developed into places to hold 'undesirables' (Jews, homosexuals, gypsies)
  • 1st was Dachau, set up in 1933
  • By 1939 there were 6, with 20,000 prisoners
• Legal system:

  • Enabling Act meant that Nazis could make any laws
  • 'People's Court' - Nazi judges, no juries, secret trials
  • 1933-39 - 534 executed from 'People's Court'
• Propaganda:

  • Rallies at Nuremburg - huge spectacles of Naxi power. 1934 - 200,000 attended
  • All films included a 45 minute Nazi 'news' reel
  • Nazis controlled all newspapers
  • Cheap radios made so everyone listened to Nazi broadcasts
  • 1936 Olympics used to showcase 'Aryan superiority'
• Censorship:

  • All anti-Nazi ideas banned
  • Millions of books burnt. 1933 - 20,000 Jewish/communist books burnt
  • All art had to be pro-Nazi
  • Jazz music banned
• Fuhrer Cult:

  • Showed Hitler as a brave veteran and German hero
  • Aimed to make people idolise Hitler
• Religion:

  • Hitler believed it was a threat as eople would follow God instead of him
  • He knew attacking the church would cause opposition from many German people (2/3 Protestant, 1/3 Catholic)
• Catholic church:

  • Concordat 1933 - agreement between Hitler and Pope that Hitler would allow Catholics to worship if they didn't interfere with politics
  • Concordat failed because Hitler interfered with the church by banning youth groups, arresting priests, and enforcing Nazi curriculum
  • 1937 - Pope criticised Nazis so Hitler sent 400 priests to concentration camps
  • 1939 - all Catholic schools closed
• Protestant church:

  • 1934 - Nazis set up the German Faith Movement, replacing Christian teachings with pagan ones
  • The Reich Church 1936 - brought all protestants churches under Nazi control and swapped the Bible for 'Mein Kampf'
• Controlling the church - The Nazis didn't manage to fully control the church, but they did weaken church resistance
• Youth opposition:

  • Edelweiss pirates - working class youths who wore American style clothing and went on hikes and camping. Often attacked and mocked Hitler Youth
  • Swing youth - wealthier youths who held parties and followed American culture and music
  • However these were small groups whose opposition was limited
• Church opposition:

  • 1934 - Confessors Church set up, a protestant Church opposed to the Reich Church. 6,000 joined but many were sent to concentration camps
  • Martin Niemoller - set up Pastors Emergency League against Nazis. 7,000 joined but Niemoller was arrested by Gestapo and spent the war in Dachau