The Rise of the Nazi Party and its consolidation of power between 1933 and 1934

Question 1

when did the wall street crash happen + how did it impact America

Answer 1

• October 1929 in America
  > once the bubble burst, American investors lost $400 million in a month

Question 2

how did the wall street crash affect Germany

Answer 2

• Germany’s industries heavily relied on loans from America + so they suffered greatly as the loans which helped boost the economy, were now dried up

Question 3

how did the great depression affect Germany

Answer 3

• the depression caused Germany’s exports to decline + resulted in serious unemployment
  > between 1928 - 1932 employment rose from 0.7 million to 5.6 million
  > many shops began to sell at ‘any reasonable price’
  > prices of farm products tumbled
  > German agriculture suffered, causing distress to farmers who were in debt

Question 4

what were the economic effects of the Depression on Germany

Answer 4

• trade - exports fell by 55%
• industry - production reduced by 42%
• farming - produce prices fell by 23%
• banking - 5 major banks collapsed
  - 50,000 businesses went bankrupt

Question 5

between 1928 - 1932 by how much did the rate of unemployment increase

Answer 5

• 1928 = 0.7 million
  1932 = 5.6 million

Question 6

what were the Weimar Republic’s solution to economic depression + what did it result in

Answer 6

• raise taxes
• cut wages
• reduce unemployment benefit
  > resulted in the Germans being angry + frustrated with their democratic government
  > there was an increasing use of Article 48 by President Hindenburg

Question 7

how did Hitler organise his party after being released from prison

Answer 7

• his party was recognised as a regional basis with each branch (Gau) placed under control of a party leader (Gauleiter)
• Hitler youth movement 1926
• SA organised + smaller unit SS introduced to protect Hitler
• Joseph Goebbels - propaganda expert - Gauleiter of Berlin

Question 8

what were the Nazi Party membership rates in the years 1925 - 1928

Answer 8

• 1925 = 27,000
• 1926 = 49,000
• 1927 = 72,000
• 1928 = 108,000

Question 9

how many seats did Nazis vs Communists have in Reichstag in 1930 + July 1932

Answer 9

1930:
- Nazi = 107 Comm = 77
July 1932:
- Nazi = 203 Comm = 89
> Nazi party was the single largest party in Reichstag

Question 10

when did Hitler run to be elected as President + what was the outcome

Answer 10

• March 1932
  > lost to Hindenburg by 6 million votes
  > this was after a national campaign across all regions of Germany
  > Hitler was made to look like a credible leader

Question 11

what were the reasons of the growth of the Nazi Party

Answer 11

• very well organised: ex-soldiers well trained + local workers too
• propaganda: trained locals in propaganda + propaganda whipped fear & hatred of communists + promised to make G great again
• SA’s violent campaign intimidated Hitler’s opponents
• support of industrialists (anti-communists): received financial banking from them
• technology: used to spread propaganda - radios, Hitler flying around country
• workers promised jobs, higher pays etc
• Nazis flexible with promises, if something lost them votes they would drop it
• Hitler: charismatic public speaker = ppl respected him, strong powerful leader
• weakness of opposition who underestimated Nazis

Question 12

when did Hitler become Chancellor

Answer 12

30 January 1933

Question 13

how did Hitler become chancellor of Germany - step by step

Answer 13

• July 1932 Nazi party had 37% of votes + were largest party but didn’t have majority to control Reichstag
• P. Hindenburg made his friend Von Papen the chancellor
• Von Papen was removed + Von Schleicher became chancellor
• Von paper wanted revenge + regain power so made a deal with Hitler to form a new coalition government where Hitler would be chancellor + Von Papen would be vice chancellor
• Von Papen persuaded Hindenburg to appoint Hitler as Chancellor + Papen would control and supervise Hitler’s policies
  > Hindenburg agreed but in the government of 12 ministers, only 3 were Nazis - an attempt to limit the influence of the Nazi on the government

Question 14

as soon as Hitler became chancellor what did he do

Answer 14

• call an election because he wanted to get rid of his coalition government and form a dictatorship

Question 15

in what ways was the 1933 election violent + brutal

Answer 15

• Nazi used its position to hinder opponents
• communists weren’t allowed to demonstrate + their newspapers were restricted
• SA terrorised left-winged opponents
• over 2 million brownshirts
  > one step at a time Hitler destroyed the democratic system which had governed Germany since end of WWI

Question 16

when did the Reichstag Fire happen

Answer 16

27 February 1933

Question 17

what was the Reichstag Fire

Answer 17

• the Reichstag building burned down
  > the Nazis blamed a Dutch communist Marius van der Lubbe for causing the fire

Question 18

how did the Reichstag Fire increase Hitler’s power

Answer 18

• with evidence of a communist plot, he prevented communist parties from campaigning
  + arrested 4000 members of the communist party
• persuaded Hindenburg to grant him the ‘Emergency Powers - the law for the protection of people and state’ which allowed him to remove basic human rights such as freedom of speech
• closed the Social Democratic Party’s newspapers
• gave police the right to arrest anyone without a fixed trial

Question 19

on 5th March 1933 elections what happened + how was this solved

Answer 19

• despite Nazis being the biggest party they lacked a majority which meant he couldn’t rule without support of other political parties
  > however he banned the Communist party from taking their seats in Reichstag
  > he also made a deal with Centre + National Parties to help him get a majority

Question 20

when was The Enabling Act passed

Answer 20

23 March 1933

Question 21

what was The Enabling Act

Answer 21

• Hitler + his ministers could make new rules without approval of Reichstag for 4 yrs
  > they could rule by decree, without P. Hindenburg’s approval

Question 22

what event occurred on 1 April 1933

Answer 22

• one day boycott of Jewish owned shops

Question 23

what happened on 1 May 1933 + how did it increase Hitler’s power

Answer 23

• trade unions arrested + leaders arrested
  > now Hitler isn’t imposed by any threats from the Trade Union

Question 24

when did the concordat happen + how did it increase Hitler’s power

Answer 24

• 20 June 1933
  > Hitler + Pope make agreement that Hitler can take political power in Germany as long as he leaves the Catholic Church alone

Question 25

what happened on 14 July 1933 + how did it increase Hitler’s power

Answer 25

• Political parties were banned - only Nazi Party is allowed to exists
  > gives Hitler complete power as his party can now rule and do whatever he wants

Question 26

when did the Night of the Long Knives happen

Answer 26

30 June 1934

Question 27

what happened on the Night of the Long Knives + how did it increase Hitler’s power

Answer 27

• SA leaders demanded that Nazi party carry out its socialist agenda + SA take over German army
  > Hitler + many of his allies didn’t like this and he was persuaded by his allied to destroy the SA
  > on the night of the long knives around 400 SA members were killed, including the leader Ernst Rohm
  > Hitler’s other opponents were also killed

Question 28

when did Hindenburg die

Answer 28

2 August 1934

Question 29

what happened after Hindenburg died

Answer 29

• Hitler declared himself jointly President and Chancellor
  > he became the Fuhrer
• all military personnel in Germany sore a new oath of allegiance to Hitler as Fuhrer
  > 19 August

Question 30

who were the SS

Answer 30

• originally they were Hitler’s personal bodyguard service
• but after they helped destroy the SA their role changed as they became main means of terrorising + intimidating Germans into obedience

Question 31

who were the SS leader

Answer 31

Heinrich Himmler

Question 32

what did the SS control

Answer 32

the concentration camps

Question 33

what were concentration camps

Answer 33

• used as prisons
  > opponents of the regime were taken here for questioning, torture, hard labour and ‘re education’
  > at first no death camps but later they became the scene of mass genocide

Question 34

who were the Gestapo + what did they do

Answer 34

• Nazi secret police
  > they monitored German population for sign of opposition / resistance to Nazi rule
  > regular German people would inform on their fellow citizens
  > it was the Gestapo who opponents of Nazism most feared

Question 35

who were the SD +their leader + their roles

Answer 35

• intelligence gathering
  > they were the security service for Hitler + other top Nazis
• led by Reinhard Heydrich

Question 36

why were Nazi election posters so effective

Answer 36

• swastika - symbol
• Germans depicted as strong with help of Nazis - they promised to restore German pride
• made simple appealing promises ‘work and bread’
• you didn’t need to read, just look at the posters
  -simple message - Nazi will destroy ToV, communism, unemployment