6 Political Parties banned - 14 July 1933
The Law against the Formation of Parties declared the Nazi Party the only political party in Germany. All other parties were banned, and their leaders were put in prison.
7 Night of the Long Knives - 30 June 1934
The SA were the thugs who Hitler had used to help him come to power. They had defended his meetings, and attacked opponents. By 1934 there were more than a million of them.
Historians have often wondered why Hitler turned on the SA. But Hitler was in power in 1934, and there was no opposition left - the SA were an embarrassment, not an advantage. Also, Rohm, the leader of the SA, was talking about a Socialist revolution and about taking over the army. On the night of 30 June 1934 - codeword 'Hummingbird - Hitler ordered the SS to kill more than 400 SA men.
8 Führer - 19 August 1934
When Hindenburg died, Hitler took over the office of President and leader of the army (the soldiers had to swear to die for Adolf Hitler personally). Hitler called himself 'Fuhrer'.
How did Hitler consolidate power?
Hitler wasted no time in consolidating his position as Chancellor. Nazi control of the Reichstag and it's institutions was a neccesity to enable his plans. this section looks at the methods employed by Hitler in his consolidation of power.
Once the Nazi Party had taken power, or rather gained control of the Reichstag, Hitler made moves to gain control of the institutions that ran Germany on a day to Day basis. This was achieved in a number of ways.
Following his election as Chancellor, Hitler was in a position where he was the nominal leader of the Weimar republic but he did not have the majority necessary to implement his political program. To do as he wanted he required such a majority, indeed he needed the opposition to be silenced. A fire in the Reichstag buildings provided him with the ideal opportunity to take the initiative. (the fire being almost certainly started to facilitate the following actions).
The fire was publicly blamed upon the Communists. 4000 communist party members were consequently arrested and sent to concentration camps around Germany. In a stroke Hitler had annihilated the most potent threat to his leadership. This was followed, very quickly, by the Enabling Act. This measure allowed Hitler the right to rule without consultation of the Reichstag or the president. It was in effect a decree of a state of emergency. The result was the banning of all opposition parties, censorship of broadcasts and publications and a rapid replacement of Government officials who were deemed to be unsympathetic towards Nazi policy.
Such swift actions left the Nazi Party with little political opposition, certainly no legalised opposition. Hitler now had a one party state and control of most means of communication: the nazi propaganda machine could begin it's work. Even so Hitler was not entirely certain of his position. The party itself was not united behind his vision of National Socialism. On the Night of the Long Knives this situation was rectified. Hitler asserted that Rohm, the leader of the SA, had plotted to overthrow him. 400 members of the organisation were rounded up and killed. This brutal action secured the loyalty of the Armed forces, who had previously been wary of the SA's influence. Hitler was now in control of both his party and the Government. The death of President Hindenburg leaving no possibility of his authority being challenged from within Germany.
Hitler rapidly transformed the Weimar Republic into a dictatorship. The National Socialists accomplished their "revolution" within months, using a combination of legal procedure, persuasion, and terror. Because the parties forming the cabinet did not have a parliamentary majority, Hindenburg called for the dissolution of the Reichstag and set March 5, 1933, as the date for new elections. A week before election day, the Reichstag building was destroyed by fire. The Nazis blamed the fire on the Communists, and on February 28 the president, invoking Article 48 of the constitution, signed a decree that granted the Nazis the right to quash the political opposition. Authorized by the decree, the SA arrested or intimidated Socialists and Communists.
Chronology of events 1933-34
1. Hitler appointed Chancellor 30 Jan
o only 3 Nazis (Hitler, Goering, Frick) in the cabinet, with Papen as Vice Chancellor
o President Hindenburg agrees to dissolve the Reichstag and hold new elections
2. Reichstag building destroyed by fire
o probably committed by Dutch Communist Lubbe acting alone
o used by Nazis to show Communist threat
3. Emergency Decrees
o Feb 28 Decree of the Reich President for the Protection of the Nation and the State
o issued by Hindenburg using Article 48
o suspended constitutional civil rights
o secret police could hold people indefinitely in protective custody
4. Other emergency Decrees
o imprisonment without trial
o used to repress KPD
o Central Government could take over local states not keeping order
o remained throughout 3rd Reich: amounted to basic law of 3rd Reich
5. Elections March 5th 1933
o Reichstag was dissolved on the 1st Feb 1933
o Government used control of the radio, police, along with unofficial pressure, to intimidate opponents in the election
o highest ever turnout with volumes of 88.8%. Nazis attracted many new voters with their Election slogan "The battle against Marxism"
o Nazis, surprisingly, only got 44% of the votes, Nationalist allies got 8%
6. March 13th - Control of media
o Goebbels was appointed head of new Ministry for Public Enlightenment and Propaganda
o The Government took control of the radio and press
7. March 24th Enabling Act ("Law for Terminating the Suffering of the People and Nation")
o Law was passed by Reichstag who had been relocated to Opera House after fire and were surrounded by the SA/SS
o Law meant that the Cabinet (in effect, Hitler) could pass decrees without the President's involvement
8. Enabling Act continued
o Enabling Act needed 213 majority as constitutional amendment
o passed by 441 vs 94 (only SPD voted against, KPD banned. Centre supported it after Hitler made promises
o Act renewed 1938
o became virtual constitution of Third Reich
9. Law for Restoration of Professional Civil Service
o administration, courts, education purged of "alien elements", i.e. Jews, opponents
o only 5%, actually replaced
o extended to all public service resulting in the removal of thousands of Jews
10. May 1 Government granted workers May Day holiday
o turned International Labour day into "Day of National Labour"
o May 2. Trade union offices seized: all unions incorporated into new German Labour Front (DAF)
11. Employment Law - June
o major public works
12. Law against the Formation of New Parties July 14th
o KPD, SPD were already banned
o other parties had dissolved themselves
o now no new parties allowed
o Germany became a one party state
13. Concordat July 20th
o agreement between state and Vatican
o Church banned political activity
o Government protected religious freedom
14. Law for the Reconstruction of the State January 1934
o since March many state governments had been forced out by SA violence.
o Law was used to allow the Reich government to appoint Commissioners. The situation was now formalised by this law.
§ dissolved state assemblies
§ created new Reich Governors to control states
15. Night of the Long Knives June 1934
o SS shot many SA leaders and other people seen as threat
16. Hitler as dictator
o Hindenburg dies July 1934
o Hitler amalgamated position of Chancellor and president to become Fuhrer
o Army tolerated Hitler's actions and the Armed Forces swore an Oath of allegiance to Hitler in August 1934