Transcript 3. Web – A2 GCE Hist 6HI03 – Consolidation of Power – 1933

REVIEW – Due Thursday, February 19th :
Rise of the Nazis –
OBJ 1. Describe how support for the Nazis grew in the
late 1920s and early 1930s. (30)
Federal States of
the Weimar
Republic
5. Groups instrumental to Hitler’s rise:
Deutschland erwache
http://www.forvo.com/search/Erwache/
Adolf Hitler - speech (English Subtitles) 10 min 42 sec
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nH0Et56Hxt4
TOPIC: Intro to Rise of the Nazis - Origins to 1928
OBJECTIVES: 1. Describe how support for the Nazis grew in the late 1920s and early 1930s.
The Nazis celebrate Hitler’s appointment as Chancellor in 1933.
EXAM PRACTICE - p. 59 Edexcel Revision Book
EXAM PRACTICE - p. 59
Edexcel Revision Book Develop the Detail (DD)
DATE: February 10, 2015
TOPIC: Nazis - Consolidation of Power - 1933
OBJECTIVE:
3. Describe how the Nazis consolidated power by the end of 1933.
REVIEW:
• Events of 1932 - SA / Heinrich Brüning / Prussian Coup d'état / von
Papen-Hitler discussions / Reichstag (Sept and Nov) / Democracy
• Hitler out-manoeuvres von Papen and General Kurt von Schleicher
• Propaganda and Groups instrumental to the Rise of the Nazis - middle
and upper classes, some workers, small town and rural areas (Agrar
Politischer Apparat - AA), Protestants, business leaders (Paul Reusch
and Kurt von Schröder) and industrialist organisations.
• Twenty-Five Point Programme presented in February 1920, was a
manifesto written by Anton Drexler and Adolf Hitler, calling for
revising TOV, ending reparations, Lebensraum, Volksgemeinschaft (a
national community); and anti-Semitism.
http://www.forvo.com/word/
TOPIC: Nazis - Consolidation of Power - 1933
OBJECTIVE: 3. Describe how the Nazis consolidated power by the end of 1933.
WEBSITE RESOURCES:
NSDAP 1920-33
http://quizlet.com/23982963/nsdap-1920-33-flash-cards/
Hitler’s ‘Appeal to the German People’ broadcast on Feb 1, 1933:
http://www.hitler.org/speeches/02-01-33.html
TOPIC: Nazis - Consolidation of Power - 1933
OBJECTIVE: 3. Describe how the Nazis consolidated power by the end of 1933.
KNOWLEDGE DEVELOPMENT:
1. Why was Hitler appointed Chancellor in January 1933? p. 127 Skill Build
2. What obstacles did Hitler face in his desire to create a Nazi
dictatorship? Look for five and explain. p. 127
3. How did the Nazis deal with these obstacles and consolidate power by
the end of 1933? p. 128 - 130
4. Why were the Nazis able to destroy communist opposition so quickly at
the start of 1933 (by the end of March)? p. 129 - 130 Skill Build
TOPIC: Nazis - Consolidation of Power - 1933
OBJECTIVE: 3. Describe how the Nazis consolidated power by the end of 1933.
KD ANSWERS / NOTES:
1-1. Hitler was appointed Chancellor for many reasons, including his
political maneuvering, appeal and exploitation of the circumstances.
• In August 1932 van Papen and Hitler held talks about the Nazis joining the
government. Hitler demanded one position - Chancellor.
• After SA men were convicted of murdering Communists in Upper Silesia,
Hitler persuaded van Papen to commute their death sentences to life in
prison - another example of Nazism's use of violence, and influence over van
Papen.
• Negotiations between Hitler and van Papen failed. The Reichstag was
dissolved on Sept 12th after a vote of no confidence on van Papen’s
government, 512 to 42.
TOPIC: Nazis - Consolidation of Power - 1933
OBJECTIVE: 3. Describe how the Nazis consolidated power by the end of 1933.
KD ANSWERS / NOTES:
1-2. Hitler was appointed Chancellor for many reasons, including his
political maneuvering, appeal and exploitation of the circumstances.
• The Nazis lost 34 seats in the November elections of 1932 but democratic
politics already were undermined and the election reinforced the political
stalemate.
• Hindenburg wanted to rule by decree and refused to consider Hitler for
Chancellor until the NSDAP had a majority in the Reichstag.
• van Papen was dismissed and von Schleicher
appointed Dec 3rd.
• von Schleicher attempted to draw the Nazis into
a coalition by offering Vice-Chancellorship to
Gregor Strasser. http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/gregor_strasser.htm
TOPIC: Nazis - Consolidation of Power - 1933
OBJECTIVE: 3. Describe how the Nazis consolidated power by the end of 1933.
KD ANSWERS / NOTES:
1-3. Hitler was appointed Chancellor for many reasons, including his
political maneuvering, appeal and exploitation of the circumstances.
• Business leaders (Paul Reusch and Kurt von Schröder) were
determined to to see an authoritarian government and played an
important role in bringing Hitler and van papen together once again in
Jan 1933.
• Business leaders were joined by the Agrarian League and industrilaist
organisations. They had an impact on Hindenburg, who saw that von
Schleicher could not get support to form a coalition government.
• von Schleicher was dismissed on Jan 27 and Hitler appointed on Jan
30th. Hindenburg was swayed to appoint Hitler because the Nazis had
a popular broad base of support and a new government could be
installed peacefully.
TOPIC: Nazis - Consolidation of Power - 1933
OBJECTIVE: 3. Describe how the Nazis consolidated power by the end of 1933.
KD ANSWERS / NOTES:
2-1. Obstacles Hitler faced to create a Nazi dictatorship: p. 127
• The Nazis needed to be ‘perceived’ as legitimate, law-abiding and
respectable.
• Hitler was Chancellor of the Wiemar Republic and forced to lead a
cross-party cabinet (Adolf Hitler: Chancellor; Franz von Papen - Vice-Chancellor;
Wilhelm Frick (NSDAP) - Minister of the Interior; Hemann Göering (NSDAP) - Minister without
Portfolio and later Min. for Air; Alfred Hugenberg (DNVP - German Nationalist Party) Minister of Economics; Hjalmar Schacht - Pres. of the Reichsbank and Economics Minister
General Werner von Blomberg (no party affiliation) - Minister of Defence; MORE ON THE
NEXT SLIDES).
• von Hindenburg was the most powerful figure in Germany and
didn’t like Hitler (reports that after meeting Hitler for the first time
in October 1931, von Hindenburg referred to Hitler as ‘that Austrian
corporal’, or ‘that Bohemian corporal’).
• von Hindenburg also had the support of the ARMY.
TOPIC: Nazis - Consolidation of Power - 1933
OBJECTIVE: 3. Describe how the Nazis consolidated power by the end of 1933.
Hitler was Chancellor of the Wiemar Republic and forced to lead a
cross-party cabinet.
TOPIC: Nazis - Consolidation of Power - 1933
OBJECTIVE: 3. Describe how the Nazis consolidated power by the end of 1933.
KNOWLEDGE DEVELOPMENT:
Hitler’s First Cabinet - http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/hitler_first_cabinet.htm:
• Adolf Hitler: Chancellor
• Franz von Papen: Vice-Chancellor
• Wilhelm Frick (NSDAP): Minister of the Interior
• Hemann Göering (NSDAP): Minister without Portfolio and later Min. for Air
• Alfred Hugenberg (DNVP - German Nationalist Party): Minister of Economics
• General Werner von Blomberg (no party affiliation): Minister of Defence
• Hjalmar Schacht - Pres. of the Reichsbank and Economics Minister
• Franz Seldte (DNVP - German Nationalist Party): Minister of Labour
• Constantin Freiherr von Neurath (no party affiliation): Foreign Minister
• Lutz Graf Schwerin von Krosigk (no party affiliation): Minister of Finance
• Franz Gűnter (DNVP - German Nationalist Party): Minister of Justice
• Paul Freiherr von Eltz-Rűhenach (no party affiliation): Minister of
Communication
TOPIC: Nazis - Consolidation of Power - 1933
OBJECTIVE: 3. Describe how the Nazis consolidated power by the end of 1933.
KD ANSWERS / NOTES:
2-2. Obstacles Hitler faced to create a Nazi dictatorship: p. 127
• Hitler was constrained by a number of institutions: Reichstag, local
governments, civil servants, churches, the press and trade unions
(KPD).
• The Communists movement presented a real challenge. In both
elections of 1932 the KPD increased their Reichstag seats:
1928
Communists (KPD)
54
Sep 1930 July 1932
77
89
Nov 1932
100
The Red Front Fighters’ League (Rotfrontkämpferbund ) matched the SA.
• The Socialists (SPD) were remained strong and used their
paramilitary wing (Reichbanner) to dominate streets in Prussia.
1928
Social Democrats (SPD)
153
Sep 1930 July 1932
143
133
Nov 1932
121
• Hitler had to deliver a solution to the economic problems!
TOPIC: Nazis - Consolidation of Power - 1933
OBJECTIVE: 3. Describe how the Nazis consolidated power by the end of 1933.
KD ANSWERS / NOTES:
3. Nazis dealt with obstacles / consolidate power by end of 1933: p. 128 - 130
• Nazis deployed propaganda to ‘deceive’ the nation from their ‘real
intentions.’
• They used posters, leaflets, rallies, speeches, radio and film. DNVP
leader, Alfred Hugenberg, put his newspapers and radio stations at
Nazi disposal.
• The Nazi propaganda was tailored to different audiences:
 Messages about bread and work were deployed to working
classes.
 Messages about the Weimar Republic’s lax morals were tailored
to conservative mothers.
 Small shopkeepers were targeted with Anti-Semitic messages.
TOPIC: Nazis - Consolidation of Power - 1933
OBJECTIVE: 3. Describe how the Nazis consolidated power by the end of 1933.
KD ANSWERS / NOTES:
3. Nazis dealt with obstacles / consolidate power by end of 1933: p. 128 - 130
• Goebbels cultivated an image of Hitler as a saviour, at a time when
people were losing faith in politicians.
• They used terror and violence (50,000 SA ‘volunteer’ policemen were
appointed on February 22, 1933) but were well aware that revolution had
to be achieved by ‘legal’ means.
• Hitler had his ‘Appeal to the German People’ broadcast on Feb 1.
http://www.hitler.org/speeches/02-01-33.html
• On Feb 10th Hitler gave his Reich Chancellor speech to the nation
from the Sports Palace in Berlin and made it clear that he wanted to
destroy the ‘Marxist threat.’
TOPIC: Nazis - Consolidation of Power - 1933
OBJECTIVE: 3. Describe how the Nazis consolidated power by the end of 1933.
KD ANSWERS / NOTES:
3. Nazis dealt with obstacles / consolidate power by end of 1933: p. 128 - 130
• On Feb 22nd, Reich Commissioner, Hemann Göering issued a decree
in Prussia that the police would be reinforced (50,000 SA ‘volunteers’)
since many believed the perceived threat of Communist takeover.
• Gleichschaltung (coordination) - term used to describe the method
used by the Nazis to attract non-Nazi groups against ‘undesirables’
like the Communists. http://www.forvo.com/word/gleichschaltung/#de
TOPIC: Nazis - Consolidation of Power - 1933
OBJECTIVE: 3. Describe how the Nazis consolidated power by the end of 1933.
KD ANSWERS / NOTES:
4. Nazis able to destroy communist opposition so quickly / by the end of
March, 1933: p. 129 - 130 Skill Build
• Communists (KPD) and Socialists (SPD) miscalculated and misread
Hitler’s appointments as Chancellor.
• With so many Chancellors being removed, they viewed his
appointment as a sign of deteriorating democratic-capitalism, and
decided to wait for the impending failure.
• Communists were targeted by Hemann Göering on February 22nd
and 24th claiming a communist conspiracy to seize power by force.
• Communists and Socialists were divided and the Nazis targeted their
means to react effectively:
 violence might play into Nazi claims of conspiracy
 Nazis and SA closed down newspapers and disrupted political
meetings.
TOPIC: Nazis - Consolidation of Power - 1933
OBJECTIVE: 3. Describe how the Nazis consolidated power by the end of 1933.
KD ANSWERS / NOTES:
4. Nazis able to destroy communist opposition so quickly / by the end of
March, 1933: p. 129 - 130 Skill Build
• On February 27th, Dutchman, Marinus van der Lubbe set fire to the
Reichstag to protest the repression of workers. The Nazis ignored
‘facts’ and claimed the fire was set by communists.
• It gave the Nazis legal means to seizing power by issuing emergency
decree ‘For the Protection of People and State’ on Feb 28th.
 Freedom of speech, press, and freedom of assembly under the
Weimar constitution were suspended. Habeas Corpus (requires a
person under arrest to be brought before a judge or into court) was suspended
and ‘suspects’ could be detained indefinitely.
• Clause 2 of the decree allowed the cabinet to take control of State
governments (Länder = a single state of the German Federal
system).
TOPIC: Nazis - Consolidation of Power - 1933
OBJECTIVE: 3. Describe how the Nazis consolidated power by the end of 1933.
KD ANSWERS / NOTES:
4. Nazis able to destroy communist opposition so quickly / by the end of
March, 1933: p. 129 - 130 Skill Build
• Goebbels used the Nazi propaganda machine to portray the decree
as a necessary step in the battle to save Germany from the
communists.
• The decree was widely welcomed and was a foreshadowing of Nazi
plans to collapse the rule of law, but using legal means to do so.
• Hitler had no intention of ‘following the law’ and said to his cabinet
on Feb 28th that the struggle against communists ‘must not be
dependent on judicial considerations’.
• On March 3rd Ernst Thälmann (KPD) was arrested
and by the end of April, 25,000 political prisoners
were in custody in Prussia alone.
TOPIC: Nazis - Consolidation of Power - 1933
OBJECTIVE: 3. Describe how the Nazis consolidated power by the end of 1933.
VIDEO ANALYSIS:
Adolf Hitler - speech (English Subtitles) from the
1935 Nazi Film, Triumph of the Will.
10 min 42 sec
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nH0Et56Hxt4
Made by Leni Riefenstahl, it chronicles the 1934
Nazi Party Congress in Nuremberg. Attended by
more than 700,000 Nazi supporters, the film
contains excerpts from speeches given by Nazi
leaders, including portions of speeches by Hitler,
Rudolf Hess, and Julius Streicher. It also shows
footage of massed Sturmabteilung (SA) and
Schutzstaffel (SS) troops. Hitler commissioned the film and served as an
unofficial executive producer.
TOPIC: Nazis - Consolidation of Power - 1933
OBJECTIVE: 3. Describe how the Nazis consolidated power by the end of 1933.
ADDITIONAL NOTES / RESOURCES:
1. Read pages 141 - 150, Weimar & Nazi Germany
It traces the events from Hitler’s appointment as Chancellor to
the collapse of Weimar democracy.
2. Use pages 149 and 150 to review the key players and events that
destroyed Weimar democracy.
3. Read pages 151 - 160, Weimar & Nazi Germany
It explores the historical interpretations of Weimar Germany in the
period, 1918 - 1933.
TOPIC: Nazis - Consolidation of
Power - 1933
OBJECTIVE: 3. Describe how the
Nazis consolidated power by
the end of 1933.
REVIEW NOTES:
Weimar & Nazi Germany p. 146 - Agree or Disagree
statements a - n.
TOPIC: Nazis - Consolidation of Power - 1933
OBJECTIVE: 3. Describe how the Nazis consolidated power by the end of 1933.
REVIEW NOTES: Weimar & Nazi Germany - p. 149 and 150 - key players and events that destroyed
Weimar democracy.
TOPIC: Nazis - Consolidation of Power - 1933
OBJECTIVE: 3. Describe how the Nazis consolidated power by the end of 1933.
REVIEW NOTES: Weimar & Nazi Germany - p. 149 and 150 - key players and events that destroyed Weimar
democracy.
REVIEW NOTES: Weimar & Nazi Germany - p. 150 - key events that destroyed Weimar democracy.
DATE: February 12 - 16, 2015
TOPIC: Nazis - Consolidation of Power - 1933
OBJECTIVE:
3. Describe how the Nazis consolidated power by the end of 1933.
REVIEW:
• Hitler was appointed Chancellor for many reasons
• Hitler’s Cabinet
• Obstacles Hitler faced to create a Nazi dictatorship
• Nazis dealt with obstacles - deployed propaganda, terror and violence
• Feb 10th , 22nd, 24th, 27th, 28th(‘For the Protection of People and
State’ and Clause 2), March 3rd (Ernst Thälmann - KPD), March 5th
TOPIC: Nazis - Consolidation of Power - 1933
OBJECTIVE: 3. Describe how the Nazis consolidated power by the end of 1933.
KNOWLEDGE DEVELOPMENT:
1. The Nazis secured 288 seats (of 647 - 43.9%) of the vote in the March,
1933 Reichstag elections, and their DNVP allies - 52 seats.
What was their next challenge and how did they deal with it? p. 130
2. The Nazis were desperate to portray themselves as a respectable party.
How did Hitler use the Reichstag opening on Potsdam Day, March 21st?
p. 130 - 131
3. WHOA! Describe the significance of and events for passing of the
Enabling Act (Ermächtigungsgesetz) of March 23, 1933. p. 131
http://www.forvo.com/search/Erm%C3%A4chtigungsgesetz/
4. What steps did Hitler take to coordinate (Gleichschaltung) ALL aspects
of German political and social life? p. 131 - 132
TOPIC: Nazis - Consolidation of Power - 1933
OBJECTIVE: 3. Describe how the Nazis consolidated power by the end of 1933.
Election day, March 5,
1933: police officer and
SS man on patrol in Berlin
TOPIC: Nazis - Consolidation of Power - 1933
OBJECTIVE: 3. Describe how the Nazis consolidated power by the end of 1933.
KD ANSWERS / NOTES:
1. March 5, 1933 - Nazis secured 288 seats and their DNVP allies, 52.
Next challenge and how they dealt with it: p. 130
• The Nazis needed votes to alter the Weimar Constitution. 2/3 of the
vote in the Reichstag was needed with at least 2/3 its deputies
present. Essentially Hitler needed 432 votes, which was unlikely.
• They used Clause 2 (allowed the cabinet to take control of State governments - Länder
- of the German Federal system) to bar all communist KPD
deputies (81, representing 4.8 million voters) from the
Reichstag.
• The process of destroying political opposition
was underway. Heinrich Himmler (SS) set up
Dachau on March 22nd as a prison for political
opponents in ‘PROTECTIVE CUSTODY’.
Dachau
Established in March 1933, the Dachau concentration camp was the first regular
concentration camp established by the National Socialist (Nazi) government.
Heinrich Himmler, in his capacity as police president of Munich, officially
described the camp as "the first concentration camp for political prisoners." It
was located on the grounds of an abandoned munitions factory near the
northeastern part of the town of Dachau, about 10 miles northwest of Munich
in southern Germany.
KNOWLEDGE DEVELOPMENT:
1. The Nazis secured 288 seats (of 647 - 43.9%) of the vote in the March,
1933 Reichstag elections, and their DNVP allies - 52 seats.
TOPIC: Nazis - Consolidation of Power - 1933
OBJECTIVE: 3. Describe how the Nazis consolidated power by the end of 1933.
KD ANSWERS / NOTES:
2. Nazis were desperate for respect. Potsdam Day, March 21st: p. 130 - 131
• Hitler bowed deeply in front of von Hindenburg and made a speech
of impressive moderation.
• Hitler was cleverly able to conceal his intended ‘nationalist
revolution’ by impressing von Hindenburg and the elites.
• von Hindenburg, son of Kaiser Wilhelm II and many leading generals
witnessed Hitler commit to traditional German values.
• REALITY was not lost on the same day as the MALICIOUS PRACTICES
LAW banned criticism of the regime and its policies.
• But Hitler still needed 2/3 of the seats in the Reichstag to change the
constitution - and the Enabling Act did that on March 23rd.
KNOWLEDGE DEVELOPMENT:
2. Reichstag opening on Potsdam Day, March 21st:
Hitler pays his respects to President von Hindenburg. On 21 March, the new
Reichstag was constituted with an opening ceremony held at Potsdam's
garrison church. This "Day of Potsdam" was staged to demonstrate
reconciliation and unity between the revolutionary Nazi movement and "Old
Prussia" with its elites and virtues. Hitler appeared in a tail coat and humbly
greeted the aged President Hindenburg.
TOPIC: Nazis - Consolidation of Power - 1933
OBJECTIVE: 3. Describe how the Nazis consolidated power by the end of 1933.
KD ANSWERS / NOTES:
3. Significance of Enabling Act of March 23, 1933:
• The formal title for the Enabling Act was the ‘Law to Remedy the
Distress of People and Reich’.
• Passed in the Reichstag 444 to 94, it allowed the Cabinet to
introduce legislation without it first going through the Reichstag.
 Basically the Reichstag Deputies voted to allow themselves to be
bypassed.
 Any legislation passed by the Cabinet did not need presidential
approval either.
• The act had a lifespan of four years before it had to be renewed via
the Reichstag – something that happened on two separate occasions
with an even more Nazified Reichstag and with what was effectively
open voting.
TOPIC: Nazis - Consolidation of Power - 1933
OBJECTIVE: 3. Describe how the Nazis consolidated power by the end of 1933.
KD ANSWERS / NOTES:
3. Events for passing of the Enabling Act (Law to Remedy the Distress of People and Reich’) : p. 131
• The Nazis had 288 seats in the Reichstag and needed 432 (two-thirds) to
override the constitution.
• The KPD had won 81 seats in the March election but they were barred from
the Reichstag (Feb 28th’s emergency decree ‘For the Protection of
People and State’ and Clause 2). To change the constitution, at least
2/3rds of the chamber had to be present and then 2/3rds a vote
obtained. Since 81 seats were vacated, Reichstag speaker, Hemann
Göering, changed the 2/3rds present from 647 to 566. This now
meant that only 378 votes were needed out of 566 seats to change
the constitution.
OBJECTIVE: 3. Describe how the Nazis consolidated power by the end of 1933.
KD ANSWERS / NOTES:
3. Events for passing of the Enabling Act (Law to Remedy the Distress of People and Reich’) : p. 131
•To get the required 378 votes, the Nazis turned to their DNVP allies, with
52 seats. Then they turned to the Catholic, Centre Party, who had 74
seats. Not surprisingly, Ludwig Cass and his Catholic Centre Party agreed
to support the Enabling Act for the following reasons:
1) Self Interests - Hitler assured Cass that the Nazis would NOT
affect the Church’s position in German society.
2) von Papen, as Vice Chancellor, was a Catholic and leading
member of the Centre Party who reassured Catholics.
3) Hitler promised NOT to interfere with Catholic education.
4) Many Catholics were intimidated by SA threats and did NOT
want to suffer the same fate as the Communists.
•
Despite opposition by the socialist SPD, the Enabling Act was
passed 444 to 94. Democracy was officially ‘killed’ in Nazi
Germany.
TOPIC: Nazis - Consolidation of Power - 1933
OBJECTIVE: 3. Describe how the Nazis consolidated power by the end of 1933.
KD ANSWERS / NOTES:
4. Steps Hitler took to coordinate (Gleichschaltung) ALL - German life: p. 131 - 132
• March 31, 1933 - all local state governments (Länder) were dissolved
and ordered to reconvene with numbers that reflected the recent
election (which banned communists).
• New state governors - Reichsstatthalter (http://www.forvo.com/search/Reichsstatthalter/)
- were appointed with full powers to introduce Nazi policies.
• April 7, 1933 - Law for the Restoration of the Professional Civil
Service: Jews and political opponents were thrown out of civil
Service jobs.
• May 2, 1933 - Socialist Trade Union Organisation (ADGB) was
disbanded. Others voluntarily disbanded (Christian Trade Union).
• May 10, 1933 - The German Labour Front (DAF) was set up under Dr.
Robert Ley, forcing professional groups to join Nazi organisations.
TOPIC: Nazis - Consolidation of Power - 1933
OBJECTIVE: 3. Describe how the Nazis consolidated power by the end of 1933.
KD ANSWERS / NOTES:
4. Steps Hitler took to coordinate (Gleichschaltung) ALL - German life: p. 131 - 132.
• June 22, 1933 - the SPD was officially banned. Some fled abroad and
those that resisted paid a heavy price - 3,000 arrested and 100 killed
in Köpenich.
• July 4, 1933 - the Catholic Centre Party disbanded. It signed the
Reich Concordat (Reichskonkordat) on July 20th agreeing to give up all
political activity, but retaining their right to worship and congregate.
• July 14, 1933 - The National Socialist German Workers' Party (German:
Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei, abbreviated NSDAP) was
declared the ONLY legal political party in Germany.
• Dec 1, 1933 - Law to Ensure the Unity of the Party and State
• January 1934 - the upper house of the Reichstag (Reichsrat) was
abolished.
TOPIC: Effectiveness of the Nazi State - 1933 to 1939
OBJECTIVES: 7. Describe the arguments for Nazi state efficiently reflecting the Führer’s will.
KD ANSWERS / NOTES 7:
6. Hitler - ALL the POWER - 3 steps to assumption of power:
• Aug 1, 1934 - Law of the Head of State of the German Reich was
signed by Hitler’s leading ministers.
• Aug 2, 1934 - von Hindenburg died.
• Hitler absorbed the powers of Chancellor and President as Führer of
Germany.
• Aug 2, 1934 - General Blomberg gets the army to swear allegiance.
• Aug 19, 1934 - a plebiscite was held where 89% of Germans voted to
reform the constitution.
• All these steps saw Hitler assume power (under the guise of legality);
yet his role would change thereafter, as well as the functioning of
the government diminished. The 72 Cabinet meetings in 1933 saw
none by 1938.