Key Topic 3: Nazi Control and Dictatorship, 1933-9

Question 1

what did Hindenburg see Hitler as in terms of position

Answer 1

“puppet” chancellor

Question 2

when was the Reichstag fire?

Answer 2

27th Feb 1933, exactly 4 weeks after Hitler took power, and six days before the election

Question 3

who was found inside site of Reichstag Fire and what was his political leaning?

Answer 3

Marnius Van der Lubbe, a communist, and 4 other communists

Question 4

how do Hitler and Goebbels take advantage of communists being found in the Reichstag fire?

Answer 4

they convince Hindenburg to pass the emergency powers act

Question 5

what did the passing of the emergency powers act mean for communists?

Answer 5

4000 communists were arrested, including their leader, Ernst Thalman
communist newspapers were banned
51 communists killed and many more injured
police did nothing

Question 6

what were the election stats for Nazi party in March 1933?

Answer 6

288, 44% (still not majority)

Question 7

what does Hitler do to get more votes in March 1933? what percentage does this get him?

Answer 7

coalition with DNVP gets him 51.9% (majority)

Question 8

what fraction of votes was needed to make changes to the constitution?

Answer 8

2/3 (66%)

Question 9

what did Hitler do one day after he got majority votes in March?

Answer 9

ban KPD to intimidate social democrats

Question 10

when was the enabling act passed and by how many votes?

Answer 10

march 23rd 1933.
By 444 to 94 votes

Question 11

what did the enabling act do for Hitler and his government? For how long?

Answer 11

it gave them full power, even more than Hindenburg himself, to issue decrees on their own terms.
For 4 years

Question 12

what does Gleishaltung mean?

Answer 12

coordination; everything controlled by Nazis

Question 13

what is the German word for everything being controlled and coordinated by Nazis?

Answer 13

Gleishaltung

Question 14

what day marks the end of weimar?

Answer 14

23 March 1933

Question 15

what did Hitler do to trade unions and when?

Answer 15

may 2 1933, trade unions were banned (no longer needed since a national community had been made)

Question 16

what was set up in place of trade unions and employers groups?

Answer 16

DAF (German Labour Front)

Question 17

what were trade unions?

Answer 17

a group of employees who join together to maintain and improve their conditions of employment

Question 18

what did Hitler do about the Lander (parliaments of the German states)? what could they do now?

Answer 18

he abolished them and instead replaced them with Nazi governors who could appoint and dismiss officials and judges

Question 19

why was the loyalty of the army important to Hitler?

Answer 19

support against opposition
Hindenburg was now very old- Hitler looking to combine the positions of president and chancellor
German army don’t like SA

Question 20

what was the night of the long knives?

Answer 20

Where Hitler ordered his SS guards to murder key members of the SA, including Ernst Rohm- the leader, because he feared they were getting too strong
many of hitlers other opponents were murdered in this purge

Question 21

what was the point of the night of long knives?

Answer 21

the night was intended to consolidate hitlers power and eliminate the concerns the army had about the role of the SA

Question 22

how many were killed and arrested in the night of long knives?

Answer 22

200 killed and 1100 arrested

Question 23

when was the night of long knives?

Answer 23

30th June 1934

Question 24

conflict between SA and Army:

Answer 24

SA were helping Hitler but also wanted a social revolution
army generals disliked brutality of SA
SS want to break from SA
Nazi leaders distrusted Ernst Rohm and issued warnings to hitler
Rohm wanted SA to replace the army

Question 25

what rumours spread about the SA and who by?

Answer 25

Himler and Heydrich- they said Rohm was going to overthrow the regime

Question 26

what did hitler make the soldiers do after the NofLK

Answer 26

swear a personal oath to him

Question 27

what was the SAs threat to hitler?

Answer 27

they could look to a different person to be the leader they could turn on him

Question 28

other groups were concerned about the SA?

Answer 28

catholics and jews

Question 29

who specifically is killed in the NofLK and what is the name given to this operation

Answer 29

the following were killed as a result of "operation Hummingbird": Franz von Papen Kurt von Schleicher Gregor Strasser Ernst Rohm Gustav Ritter von Kahr

Question 30

when and how did Hindenburg die?

Answer 30

2nd August 1934, from lung cancer

Question 31

how did Hindenburg's death impact Germany

Answer 31

Hitler combined chancellor and president into one more powerful position; Fuhrer and chancellor

Question 32

how many member were there in SA

Answer 32

3 million

Question 33

what happened to the Nazi Party on legal terms? and when?

Answer 33

became the only legal party in july 1933

Question 34

when was the German lawyers front set up and how many members did it gain in a year?

Answer 34

Oct 1933, 10,000 members in a year

Question 35

what was set up for maintanence of the law? who had to sign up?

Answer 35

National Socialist (Nazi) league (NSRB) all judges forced to sign up

Question 36

what was set up to try ordinary Germans for treason? when? how did hitler have control over this?

Answer 36

Set up "people's court" in 1934 and hitler checked regularly for leniency and altered sentences that were 'too light' Nazis could decide what counted

Question 37

what did judges have to wear in 1936?

Answer 37

Nazi eagle and Swastika

Question 38

how many people were in prison that hadnt committed a normal crime by 1939?

Answer 38

150,000

Question 39

what did the SS stand for and what colour shirts?

Answer 39

black shirts and schutzstaffel

Question 40

who was the leader of the SS till 1929

Answer 40

Himler

Question 41

what was the point of the SS and when were they formed?

Answer 41

act as a body guard unit for Hitler formed in 1925

Question 42

how many members did the SS have in 1934? and then in 1939?

Answer 42

1934- 50 000+ 1939- 250 000

Question 43

what kind of people were in the SS?

Answer 43

Aryan race, racially pure men with racially pure wives. 'elite' organisation with 'elite' people in it

Question 44

what was the Gestapo? when formed?

Answer 44

secret police formed in 1933

Question 45

who was in charge of the Gestapo and who took over and when?

Answer 45

Goebbels and then Himler in 1936

Question 46

what was the function of the Gestapo? was it successful?

Answer 46

to arrest and imprison those suspected of opposing the state and was successful in doing so

Question 47

what did the SD stand for? when was it formed?

Answer 47

Sicherheitsdientst. formed in 1931

Question 48

what was the purpose of the SD?

Answer 48

to find actual and potential enemies of the state and eliminate them

Question 49

who was in command of the SD?

Answer 49

Himler

Question 50

what sort of people did the SD attract?

Answer 50

professional and highly educated people Lawyers, economists, professors of politics

Question 51

what was the purpose of concentration camps?

Answer 51

to confine those who were deemed a political, ideological or racial opponents

Question 52

which groups ran concentration camps?

Answer 52

SS, SD, Gestapo. only Gestapo could arrest though

Question 53

examples of camps

Answer 53

Buchenwald Mauthausen Sachsenhausen

Question 54

how many prisoners in 1939 concentration camps?

Answer 54

150 000

Question 55

what were the types of coloured stars worn in camps?

Answer 55

yellow- jewish pink- gay red- political prisoners green- criminal blue- emigrant

Question 56

what were the conditions like in concentration camps?

Answer 56

full of disease underfed treated brutally forced labour

Question 57

reasons for hitler to use his religious followers:

Answer 57

protestants voted for hitler same views on family life and military churches= natural power base for nazis and could become stronger from them

Question 58

reasons for hitler to destroy his religious followers:

Answer 58

people who support god are less likely to support hitler religion= ethics and morals, hitler= conflict and power all other independent organisations were destroyed

Question 59

what was the relationship between christian views and nazi views?

Answer 59

antithethetical, opposite.

Question 60

how did hitler deal with his religious followers? year?

Answer 60

in 1935 he set up ministry of church affairs German faith movement (away from christianity)

Question 61

what was set up by the church to oppose hitler?

Answer 61

Pastor's Emergency League (PEL) to join churches together

Question 62

what was the agreement between nazis and catholic church?

Answer 62

concordat- they leave eachother alone

Question 63

what kind of church did the PEL set up and what was its purpose?

Answer 63

confessional church. preists and pastors refuse to obey Nazis

Question 64

what does the pope do when he speaks out against the nazis?

Answer 64

he reads out the letter "with burning anxiety"

Question 65

what book replaced the bible?

Answer 65

"mein Kampf"

Question 66

what church was set up to control protestants? how did they control them?

Answer 66

Reich church, pastors swore an oath of loyalty

Question 67

why was the ministry of churches set up?

Answer 67

to unify the churches under national socialism

Question 68

how did the changes being made by hitler religously affect the youth?

Answer 68

church schools shut down and religious youth groups shut down

Question 69

how many preists from both catholic and protestand churches were sent to concentration camps?

Answer 69

400 cath 800 prot

Question 70

what did hitler do after agreeing the concordat?

Answer 70

he broke it by interfering with the churches

Question 71

how did the nazis control the media in the 1930s?

Answer 71

Censorship of the press Control of radio broadcasts Mass rallies Use of sports events

Question 72

how did the nazis control sports in 1930s

Answer 72

1936 hosted Olympics in Berlin and used all aryan competetors to promote the aryan race

Question 73

why was hitler annoyed in the 1936 Berlin olympics?

Answer 73

a african american athlete won gold proving aryan was not the strongest always

Question 74

what were the 3 youth groups? why doesn't the fourth fall into this category?

Answer 74

Hitler Youth Edelweiss Pirates Swing Youth (White Rose groups- after 1940s so wont be asked about in exam directly)

Question 75

Hitler Youth features boys

Answer 75

BOYS: intense military training indoctrinated no time to self willing to fight

Question 76

Hitler Youth features girls

Answer 76

GIRLS: kinder, kirche, kuche stereotypical woman powerless objectified no freedom

Question 77

way that youth rebelled

Answer 77

smoking american jazz music make-up

Question 78

Edelweiss Pirates

Answer 78

wear edelweiss flower mainly teen working class boys resented military discipline american culture anti-nazi graffiti, forbidden music

Question 79

Swing Youth

Answer 79

located in large towns american and english culture smoke, drink, dance jazz music because it was jewish sometimes

Question 80

what would happen to youth listening to jazz who got caught

Answer 80

beaten, given the severest exercise then put to hard labour