Hitler's Consolidation of Power
Hitler's consolidation of power - Reichstag Fire; Election of March 1933; Enabling Act; Elimination of political opposition political parties, Trade Unions. Night of the Long Knives; death of Hindenburg; Hitler becomes Fόhrer. One party law and order the SS and Gestapo. Control of education, youth movements and the media; censorship and propaganda.
Make sure you have detailed factual knowledge about AND HAVE THOUGHT ABOUT the following issues and topics:
ESTABLISHMENT OF A NAZI DICTATORSHIP 1. The STORY of Hitler's consolidation of power. 2. The reasons why Hitler had all-power in Germany
and that you are able to explain:
ESTABLISHMENT OF A NAZI DICTATORSHIP
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Revision Focus This is a Paper 2 topic, so you need to have factual KNOWLEDGE IN DEPTH but also a degree of understanding which will allow you in the exam to write MULTI-CAUSAL EXPLANATIONS of the key issues. Linkse-books on Hitler's Consolidation of power and his Apparatus of Power.
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Hitler's Consolidation of Power(There were EIGHT steps to total power, which you just need to learn - sorry:)
(Rigged General Election Leads To Psychopath Nazi Fuhrer) 1. Reichstag Fire (Feb 1933) A Dutch Communist, van der Lubbe, burned down the Reichstag. Hitler to imprison many Communist leaders, which stopped them campaigning. Hitler set up the Nazi People's Courts (where the judges did as Hitler wanted).
2. General Election (Mar 1933) 44 per cent of the population voted for the Nazis - NOT a majority. Hitler immediately arrested the 80 Communist deputies gave Hitler the majority he needed to pass the Enabling Act
3. Enabling Act (Mar 1933) The SA bullied all the non-Nazi deputies. The Reichstag voted Hitler the right to make the laws. made Hitler an absolute dictator
4. Local govt (Apr 1933) Hitler reorganised the local government of Germany under Nazi 'Gauleiters'. Each block of flats was run by a 'Blockleiter'. Hitler set up the Gestapo.
5. Trade unions (May 1933) Trade Unions were abolished Their leaders were arrested. Instead Hitler set up the German Labour Front
6. Political parties (July 1933) Hitler banned all other political parties. made Germany a one-party state - only the Nazi party is allowed. destroyed democracy - Germans could no longer get rid of Hitler in an election.
7. Night of the Long Knives (June 1934)
The SA leader
8.
Fόhrer
(Aug 1934)
Hindenburg died,
Hitler
declared himself Fuhrer (leader)
combined the roles of
president, chancellor and head of the army.
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How did Hitler Control Germany?(There were SEVEN methods of control, which you need to learn - sorry again:)
(Overdo The Power - You Worthless Ranting Rogue) 1. One-Party State After 1933 all other parties were banned It was an offence to belong to another Party Their leaders were put in prison.
2. Terror The Nazis set up the Gestapo and the SS to arrest opponents and 'grumblers'.
Jews,
Communists, gypsies, homosexuals, alcoholics and prostitutes were sent
to concentration camps for 'crimes' as small as saying that business was bad.
3. Propaganda Run by Josef Goebbels - he used book-burning, censorship, cinema, Mein Kampf, newspapers, posters, Olympic Games, rallies, and Hitler's speeches. Cult of personality - to make Germans worship Adolf Hitler. Every family got a cheap radio.
4. Youth School lessons included hidden indoctrination - eg getting children to laugh at Jews. German boys had to attend the Hitler Youth (exciting activities and Nazi indoctrination). German girls went to the BDM to learn how to be good mothers, and to love Hitler.
5. Workforce
The German Labour Front took away the right to strike. The National Labour Service sent men on public works programmes. To keep the workers happy, the Nazis set up the 'Strength Through Joy' (which offered good workers picnics, free trips to the cinema and a few free holidays).
6. Religion Hitler promised the Pope he would leave the Roman Catholic Church alone if it stayed out of politics.
Protestants and Jehovah's Witnesses who opposed the Nazis were sent to
concentration camps. Hitler started his own 'German Church'.
7. Racism Hitler said Jews and gypsies were untermensch.
The
Racial Purity Law (1935) forbade marriage between Germans and Jews. Kristallnacht (9-10 November 1938)
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