Transcript The Coming of the Third Reich: Nazi Consolidation & Terror

HI136 The History of Germany
Lecture 11
The Coming of the Third Reich:
Nazi Consolidation & Terror
The 1933 Election
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New elections called within 24 hours of Hitler becoming Chancellor.
The election campaign took place in an atmosphere of violence and
intimidation.
The Nazis used their access to the organs of the state to get their
message across & intimidate their opponents.
31 Jan. 1933: Hitler’s ‘Appeal to the German People’ – blamed
Germany’s problems on the Communists and presented his
government as a ‘National Uprising’ that would restore German
pride & unity.
As Minister of the Interior of Prussia Göring recruited 500,000 extra
police in Germany’s largest state, most of them drawn from the
ranks of the SA and the SS.
Violence & intimidation of political opponents – SPD and KPD
meetings broken up, voters intimidated etc. 69 people killed during
the 5 week campaign.
The Reichstag Fire
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27 Feb. 1933: The Reichstag
burned down.
An unemployed Dutch bricklayer
named Marius van der Lubbe
arrested.
The Nazis claimed this was part of
a Communist plot.
‘Decree for the Protection of the
People and the State’: suspended
civil liberties & increased the
power of central government – the
Nazis
rounded
up
political
opponants.
Van der Lubbe & Bulgarian
Communist Georgi Dimitrov put on
trial for the fire.
But on-going debate about who
was responsible.
Election Results, 5 March 1933
Party
NSDAP
Votes
43,90%
DNVP
8,00%
DVP
1,10%
BVP
2,70%
Zentrum
Deutsche Staatspartei
11,20%
0,90%
SPD
18,30%
KPD
12,30%
Other
1,60%
The ‘Day of Potsdam’, 21 March 1933
The Enabling Law
(Ermächtigungsgesetz)
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Without the two-thirds majority in the Reichstag necessary to
change the Constitution, Hitler proposed an ‘Enabling Law’ that
would enable him the government to pass legislation without the
approval of either parliament or the President.
23 March 1933: ‘Law for the Removal of Distress from People and
the Reich’
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Article 1: In addition to the procedure prescribed by the constitution [i.e.
decision by parliament], laws of the Reich may also be enacted by the
government of the Reich. This includes laws as referred to by Articles
85 sentence 2 and Article 87 of the constitution.
Article 2: Laws enacted by the government of the Reich may deviate
from the constitution as long as they do not affect the institutions of the
Reichstag and the Reichsrat. The rights of the President remain
undisturbed.
Gleichschaltung
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After the passage of the Enabling Law the Nazis acted to ‘coordinate’ as many areas of German life as possible and bring them
into line with Nazi ideology.
April 1933: Laws passed enabling Nazi-dominated State
governments to pass legislation without the approval of provincial
parliaments.
Jan. 1934: State parliaments abolished & local government
subordinated to the federal Minister of the Interior.
2 May 1933: Leading Trade Unionists arrested & workers’
organizations merged to form the Deutscher Arbeitsfront (German
Labour Front, DAF).
22 June 1933: The SPD officially banned.
June-July 1933: Other political parties dissolved themselves.
14 July 1933: The Nazi Party proclaimed the only legal political party
in Germany.
The Night of the Long Knives,
30 June 1934
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Ernst Röhm (1887-1934)
Pressure from the party rank-andfile (and particularly from within
the SA) for a ‘second revolution’.
Fears that the radicalism of the SA
would bring about a military coup
against the Nazis.
This led to a purge of the party on
30 June 1934 – the SS carried out
raids against targets across
Germany. Critics of the regime
such as Vice-Chancellor Papen
were arrested, while old enemies
such as Gregor Strasser & Gustav
Ritter von Kahr were summarily
executed. Over 1000 people were
arrested & at least 85 killed.
Party and State
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In theory Germany was a one party state & that party
had a monopoly on power.
Dec. 1933: ‘Law to ensure the Unity of the Party and the
State’ declared that the party and state were inseparably
linked, but exact relationship still vague.
In practice parallel organizations & institutions.
Party and State
Soucre: R. Overy, The Penguin Historical Atlas of the Third Reich (1996)
Party and State
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In theory Germany was a one party state & that party
had a monopoly on power.
Dec. 1933: ‘Law to ensure the Unity of the Party and the
State’ declared that the party and state were inseparably
linked, but exact relationship still vague.
In practice parallel organizations & institutions.
Attempts to extend control over the organs of the State
from the mid-1930s onwards:
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In 1935 Deputy Fuhrer Rudolf Hess given special powers to vet
the appointment & promotion of civil servants.
From 1939 all civil servants had to be Party members.
Department of Internal Party Affairs.
Department for Affairs of State.
The Role of Hitler
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August 1934: After the death of
Hindenburg the posts of President
& Chancellor were combined &
Hitler formally adopted the title
Fuhrer.
He was both Head of State &
Head of Government, as well as
Commander-in-Chief of the armed
forces, head of the civil service &
party leader.
In theory he had unlimited power.
But the demands of running a
country as large as Germany &
Hitler’s personality and lifestyle
meant his actual influence was
more limited.
One of the central debates
surrounds Hitler’s role.
“I swear by God this sacred oath: I will render
unconditional obedience to Adolf Hitler, the
Führer of the German nation and people,
Supreme Commander of the armed forces, and
will be ready as a true soldier to risk my life at
any time for this oath”.
Military Oath of Allegiance
Relations with the Army
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General Werner von Fritsch (centre) and
General Werner von Blomberg (right), 1 June 1934
The Army one of the few
institutions with the power to
challenge the Nazi regime.
It
enjoyed
a
degree
of
independence until 1937.
Feb. 1938: War Minister Werner
von Blomberg & Commander-inChief of the Army General von
Fritsch dismissed.
Reorganization of the Army
command to bring it under Nazi
control.
The post of War Minister
abolished,
Hitler
assumed
personal command of the armed
forces. 16 generals retired & 44
transferred.
Reichsführer-SS Heinrich Himmler
(1900-1945)
SS-Obergruppenführer Reinhard
Heydrich (1904-1942)
Himmler
Reichsführer SS
Chief of Police
SS
Ordnungspolizei
(order police)
Municipal police
Sipo
Security Police
Heydrich
Kripo
Gestapo
Criminal Police Secret state police
SD
Security Service
Heydrich
Foreign
intelligence
Domestic
intelligence
The Debate on the Functioning of
the Third Reich
Intentionalist Interpretation
1.Hitler's role
Functionalist Interpretation
Strong dictator; can implement Weak dictator; depends on
his will
competing organizations
2.Structure of the
Obedience to the dictator
state
Four competing and relatively
independent power blocks:
economy, army, Nazi party/SS,
state administration
Hitler's will
3.Implementation Long-term planning
of policies
Realization of long-term goals
Primacy of ideology
Spontaneous initiatives of
organizations, improvisation,
primacy of opportunism
4.Critique
Too personalistic, too much
centred on Hitler, too rational,
too apologetic of Germans in
general
Ignores deliberate policies and
the popularity of Hitler,
overestimates independence of
single organizations and
apparatuses, too much focused
on anonymous structures
Synthesis (according to Bracher and Jäckel): Hitler derived much of his
strength from the rivalry and the overlapping responsibilities of state and
party institutions. He thus could assume the role of a mediator. Single
offices competed to win him over to their policies. Often they tried to
implement what was considered to be his wish ...
http://www.colby.edu/personal/r/rmscheck/GermanyE5.html
Current consensus (Ian Kershaw) (see Hinton: Weimar & Nazi
Germany, p. 190)
Hitler is the key activator
Policy reflects Hitler‘s overall vision
His decisions are accepted by rivals
Mobiliser and legitimator but not necessarily initiator of many
policies