Nazi control and dictatorship: 1933-1939

Question 1

What events occurred from 27th February - 5th March 1933 which helped Hitler gain power?

Answer 1

-On 27 February, A Dutch Communist, Van der Lubbe, was caught burning down the Reichstag
-Hitler used to the fire to persuade Hindenburg to pass an emergency law restricting personal liberty. He was able to imprison many communist leaders, which stopped them from campaigning
-Days later 44 percent of the population voted for the Nazis, who won 288 seats in the Reichstag however this was not an overall majority. Hitler had to join with the nationalists to form a majority. However he gained this through intimidation
-It gave them enough seats to pass the enabling act

Question 2

What occurred on 23 March 1933 which helped Hitler gain power?

Answer 2

-The Enabling Act was passed the 2/3rds majority by the Reichstag to give Hitler the right to make laws without the Reichstag’s approval for four years
-It gave Hitler absolute power to make laws, which enabled him to destroy all opposition to his rule. This removed the Reichstag as possible opposition

Question 3

What event occurred on the 7th April 1933 which helped Hitler gain power?

Answer 3

-Nazi officials were put in charge of all local government. Foreigner’s were removed from civil service, courts and education
-Got rid of any potential opposition in positions that could prove influential like judge. They also got rid of people who were ‘undesirable’

Question 4

What event occurred on the 2nd May 1933 which helped Hitler gain power?

Answer 4

-Trade unions were banned, German workers were expected to join the New German Labour Front (DAF)
-Trade unions could unite people to protest, so getting rid of them removed this potential opposition, they destroyed a form of sympathy and support for their arch-enemies, the communists

Question 5

What happened on July 14 1933 which helped Hitler gain power?

Answer 5

-Political parties were banned, only the Nazi party was allowed to exist
-Germany was a one-party state and destroyed democracy, they got rid of other parties as a source of opposition

Question 6

What happened in January 1934 which helped Hitler gain power?

Answer 6

-All state governments were taken over
-Hitler could centralise all policy, and make sure different states listened to him and did as he wished. It encouraged more nationalism, possible disagreement was lessened as the state governments couldn’t lead people as they had once

Question 7

What happened on June 30 1934 which helped Hitler gain power?

Answer 7

-The night of long knives
-Many leaders of the SA, including Rohm, were demanding the Nazi party carry out its social agenda and the SA should take over the army
-Hitler could not afford to annoy businessmen or the army so he deployed his SS to murder 400 members of the SA, including Rohm, along with a number of Hitler’s other opponents like the previous chancellor, Von Schleicher and Gregor Strasser, a high class Nazi and von Kahr, the old state commissioner of Bavaria who called for a ban on the Nazi party at 2:55am during the munch putsch
-This destroyed all opposition to Hitler within the Nazi party and gave all power to the SS. It would show the rest of the world what a tyrant Hitler was. This removed any internal Nazi Party opposition to Hitler

Question 8

What happened on the 19th August 1934 which gave Hitler power?

Answer 8

-Hindenburg died, meaning Hitler became Fuhrer
-He declared himself jointly as president, chancellor and head of the army
-Members of the army had to swear a personal oath of allegiance to Hitler not Germany
-This made Hitler the absolute ruler of Germany, neutralised any sources of opposition to Hitler within the army

Question 9

What were other ways Hitler extended his power?

Answer 9

-The local government was reorganised with Nazi officials in charge of each area
-An Concordat/agreement was signed with the pope, which allowed Hitler to increase his power in Germany with no opposition from the Catholic church, as long as he left them alone
-People’s courts were set up which meant judges had to swear an oath of loyalty to the Nazis

Question 10

What were the SS?

Answer 10

-The Schutzstaffel
-Led by Heinrich Himmler
-Was the most important and oversaw the others
-Initially set up as Hitler’s personal bodyguard service, the SS was loyal to the Fuhrer
-It later set up concentration camps, where ‘enemies of state’ were sent

Question 11

What was the gestapo?

Answer 11

-Directed by Reinhard Heydrich
-Was the Nazi’s secret police force
-It monitored the German population for signs of opposition or resistance, which was greatly helped by German people informing on their fellow citizens

Question 12

What was the SD?

Answer 12

-The Sicherheitsdienst
-The intelligence gathering agency of the SS
-Responsible for the security of Hitler and other top Nazis
-Led by Reinhard Heydrich

Question 13

How did the Nazis control the legal system?

Answer 13

-Judges had to swear an oath of loyalty to Hitler and were expected to act always in the interests of the Nazi state
-All lawyers had to join the Nazi Lawyers’ association, which meant they could be controlled
-The role of defence lawyers in criminal trials were weakened
-Standard punishments were abolished and local prosecutors could decide what penalties to give
-The changes halved the number of criminal offences between 1933 and 1939, whilst the number of crimes that carried the death penalty increased from 3 to 46
-Many criminals weren’t released after there sentences but instead moved to concentration camps

Question 14

Why was the church a threat to Nazism?

Answer 14

-There were approximately 45 Million Protestants and 22 Million Catholics in Germany in 1933
-It was thrust due to its emphasis on peace

Question 15

What did Hitler do to control the churches?

Answer 15

-He created a state Reich church under the leadership of the Nazi Bishop Ludwig Muller, to unify the different branches of Protestantism
-This enabled the Nazis to use a group called the ‘German Christians’ within the Reich church to promote Nazi idea
-In 1933, Hitler agreed a Concordat with the pope, which said that he would not interfere in the running of the catholic church, if it stayed out of political matters
-However, Hitler did not keep to his side of the bargain as he attempted to infiltrate the church

Question 16

What were the Nazi attempts to suppress the churches?

Answer 16

-The Reich church attempted to ban the use of the Old Testament in religious services as it was considered a ‘Jewish book’
-Eight hundred pastors of the confessional church were arrested and sent to concentration camps
-They tried to stop Catholics using the crucifix in church, though his attempt was unsuccessful
-Catholic schools and organisations were suppressed, with German children being educated in state schools and being taught a Nazi curriculum, as well as being expected to join the branches of the Hitler youth
-Catholic newspapers were banned and 400 priests were sent to Dachau concentration camp

Question 17

What was the impact of the Nazis actions on the church?

Answer 17

-In 1937, Hitler was forced to return control of the church to the old protestant leadership, in return making them stay out of positives
-Attendance at catholic churches, increased substantially under the Nazis especially during WW2, Hitler’s attempts to reduce religious influence was unsuccessful
-Both protestant and catholic clergy played a large role in opposing Hitler and the Nazis, however often paying a high price

Question 18

How did the Nazi party keep a constant presence in the lives of German people?

Answer 18

-The Swastika appeared on every government uniform and public building
-Pictures of Hitler displayed everywhere
-Germans having to greet each other with a ‘Heil Hitler’ raised arm salute

Question 19

How did the Nazis try and brainwash the German people?

Answer 19

-Created the Ministry of Enlightenment and Propaganda, headed by Joseph Goebbels
-Censorship of the press- All newspapers are controlled by the government and could only print stories favourable to the Nazi regime
-Control of radio broadcasts- People’s radios were sold cheaply so most Germans could afford one, all radio output was controlled by Goebbel’ ministry through the Reich Broadcasting Corporation
-Mass Rallies- These public displays of support for Nazism involved, music, speeches and demonstrations of Germany’s strength. The biggest one was held each year at Nuremburg
-Use of sport events- Berlin hosted the olympics in 1936. Which the Nazis used as an opportunity to showcase the success of the regime and to demonstrate the superiority of the Aryan race, the victories of the African-American athlete Jesse Owens for the USA infuriated the Nazis
-Loudspeakers in public places blared out Nazi propaganda, information received the message of Aryan racial superiority whilst demonising the Jews

Question 20

What was the Nazi’s control of Art?

Answer 20

-The Weimar period saw a flourish of German art, much of which was very abstract
-Hitler saw modern art as ‘degenerate’ and over 6500 works of art were removed from display across Germany
-Hitler encouraged ‘Aryan art’ instead, which showed the physical and militaristic power of Germany and the Aryan race

Question 21

What was the Nazi’s control of architecture?

Answer 21

-Hitler was interested and believed it could be used to project the power of the Nazi regime
-The most important architect at that period was Albert Speer, who redesigned Berlin, as well as designing the stadium at Nuremburg

Question 22

How did Hitler control Literature?

Answer 22

-The Nazis organised mass book burnings in 1933, which saw mainly Jewish authors’ works destroyed

Question 23

How did Nazi’s control theatre?

Answer 23

-Works by certain playwrights were banned
-Nazi-produced political plays and musicals were not popular so the regime allowed plays like Shakespeare to be allowed

Question 24

How did the Nazi’s control Film?

Answer 24

Goebbels saw films as a form of escapism for Germans
-Directors such as Leni Riefenstahl created patriotic films such as the Triumph of the Will

Question 25

How did the Nazis control music?

Answer 25

-In classical music, works by Jewish composer were banned and the German composer wagner was promoted

Question 26

What was the support like for the Nazi regime?

Answer 26

-The Nazis were incredibly popular when they came to powering many Germans welcomed stability and economic growth the regime brought, this was something the Weimar could not do
-Restored Germany’s international prestige through rearmament and the dismantling of the TOV
-The scale of propaganda meant more Germans became Nazi members and convinced of Hitler’s greatness

Question 27

What was the opposition from Protestantism?

Answer 27

-Many pastors led by Martin Niemoller formed the confessional church in opposition to Hitler’s Reich church
-Niemoller was held in a concentration camp during the period of 1937-1945 and 800 clergy were sent to camps
-Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a pastor and member of the confessional church, was executed after being linked to the 1944 bomb plot
-In 1937, Hitler returned the churches independence in return of staying out of politics

Question 28

What was the opposition from the catholics?

Answer 28

-Despite the Concordat, some catholic priests opposed Hitler, in 1937, the popes message ‘with burning concern’ attacked Hitler as a ‘mad prophet with repulsive arrogance’ and was read in every catholic church
-The archbishop of Munster, von Galen, let a successful campaign to end euthanasia of mentally-disabled people
-400 German catholic priests were imprisoned in Dachau concentration camps

Question 29

What were some opposition from the youth?

Answer 29

-The Edelweiss pirates- Based in the Rhineland and created by Barthel Schink, reacted to the discipline of the Hitler youth by daubing anti-Nazi slogans and singing pre-1933 folk songs, over 700 were arrested in 1942 and in 1944, 12 executed after killing the Gestapo chief
-The white rose group- Formed by students at Munich university in 1943, they published anti-Nazi leaflets and marched in protests through the city. Its leaders, siblings Hans and Sophie Scholl were arrested and sentenced to the guillotine
-‘Swing Youth’ and ‘Jazz Youth’ groups were formed, they rejected nazi values, drank alcohol, and danced to jazz. The Nazis rejected Jazz music as degenerate using their racial ideas against this cultural development, they were closed monitored by the Gestapo, who regularly raided illegal jazz clubs

Question 30

What were other sources of opposition and resistance?

Answer 30

-Came from German workers often helped by communists who posted anti-nazi posters and graffiti, or organised strikes
-In Dortmund, the vast majority of men imprisoned were industrial workers for strikes they caused in 1935 and in 1936
-In 1944, a group of army officers tried to assassinate Hitler, Colonel Stauffenberg planted the bomb at a meeting, it exploded but Hitler survived
-Stauffenberg was shot the same day and 5,000 people were executed because of it