Nazi Germany - The Consolidation of Power 1933-34

Nick Clarke - -

Nazi Germany – The Consolidation of Power 1933-34

The Legal Revolution

1/ Von Papen felt able to boast to a friend following Hitler’s appointment as Chancellor in January 1333 saying “In two months we’ll have pushed Hitler into a corner so hard that he’ll be squeaking” because he felt that he had limited Hitler’s power in the government as there were only two other Nazi’s in the government, and the President Hiddenburg was very weary of Hitler.

2/ Hitler’s position was not as strong at the outset of his Chancellorship because there were only three Nazi’s including himself, there others being Wilhelm Frick and Hermann Göring, in the government of nine members which made it very difficult for Hitler to get his own way. He also did not have the two-thirds majority that he required to make decision without the Reichstag. President Hiddenburg also openly resented Hitler.

3/ Despite not having a strong position at the start of Hitler’s Chancellorship the Nazi’s and Hitler did have many advantages. The Nazi party was the biggest in Germany and the policy of ignoring them had failed over the past year as it just lead to ineffective governments led by Von Papen and Schleicher as they could not function effectively without the Nazi party due its sheer size. The Nazi’s following Hitler’s appointment now had the country’s resources so they launched a huge propaganda led by Goebbels. In his diary he wrote “The struggle is a light one now” because he had the entire media at his disposal. It also meant they had much more money from the state and following Hitler’s election the donations to party from big businesses increased dramatically. Göring also had control over the police so it was integrated by the Gestapo. Hitler also had great political skill and his determination to become the fuehrer of Germany with the use of mass rallies and his famed speeches.

4/ Hitler called for new Reichstag Elections within 24 hours of his Chancellorship because he felt the party could gain an immediate two-thirds majority which would allow him to pass acts without the interference of the Reichstag. This would also mean the party would not have to rely on the co-illation with the Centre Party and therefore there would be no further conditions placed on him.

The Reichstag Election of 5 March 1933

1/ In the run up to the Reichstag elections violence was rife, with the SA and SS having an extra 50,000 men drafted in. ...

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The Reichstag Election of 5 March 1933

1/ In the run up to the Reichstag elections violence was rife, with the SA and SS having an extra 50,000 men drafted in. Opposition meetings were broken up especially the SPD and Communists meetings, by the SA and SS and 69 people died in the five-week campaign.

2/ Despite this atmosphere of hate and aggression the Nazi’s used it to their advantage. Hitler made an “Appeal to the German People” on 31st January 1933 where he blamed the violence on the democratic government and the terrorist activities of the communists. He tried to build up support for the party by claiming that the only way to end the violence and restore the national pride of Germany.

3/ The Nazi financial state improved significantly following Hitler becoming chancellor because big businesses began investing money to try and strengthen the position of the Nazis to make them more resistant to the threat of communism. They also had the treasury of Germany to use how they wanted.

4/ On the 27th February 1933, the Reichstag building was set on fire and a Dutch communist called Van Der Lubbe was caught near by with firelighters. The next day Frick drew up the “Decree for the Protection of People and State” which was signed by Hiddenburg after Hitler persuaded him that it was burnt down in a communist plot and Hitler needed emergency powers to deal with it.

5/ The result of the decree was that just weeks before the March election Nazi political opponents were arrested and banned from the Reichstag, and violence and intimidation from the SA rose to a new height. Concentration camps were created and were filled with the Nazi parties opponents.

6/ In the March election the Nazi party increased their vote from 33.1% to 43.9% which meant they still did not have the two-thirds majority which they wanted to be able to create laws without the Reichstag, despite the intense propaganda campaign and the banning of the communists from the Reichstag. However, the 52 seats won by the Nationalist party meant that a majority was achieved.

The Enabling Act, March 1933

1/ Hitler went about legally establishing his dictatorship with the Enabling Bill, which he proposed to the Reichstag. The Bill involved the removal of the parliamentary procedure and transfer of all the powers to the Chancellor and his government for years. This meant that Hitler could gain dictatorship legally.

2/ For this Hitler was dependant on the support of the Nationalist party and the Centre party and also the communists not voting because the Bill had to gain a majority in the Reichstag. Without the support from the coalition the Bill would not gain a majority.

3/ The “revolution from below” was the actions of the SA party which created a problem for Hitler. Their thuggish actions were threatening to destroy Hitler’s image of a legal party and he could lose support from voters and the Nationalist and Centre parties.

4/ On the 21st March 1933 at the Potsdam Garrison Church, Hitler tried to remove such fears that the Centre party and Nationalist party might have by holding a ceremony to celebrate the opening of the temporary new Reichstag building. At the ceremony there was any empty seat for the Kaiser, the Crown prince, Hiddenburg and the Army’s leading generals, aligning the party with the old German regime which appealed the Nationalist party just two days before the vote on the Enabling Bill.

5/ To ensure the Enabling Act was passed, the Kroll Opera House where the new Reichstag met was lined with armed SA and SS men. Those communists not already in prison were refused entrance. A mob of SA chanted “Give us the bill or else fire and murder” further intimidating anyone who refused to vote for the Nazi’s.

6/ To gain the support of the Catholic Centre party Hitler provided an assurance that there would be no new Kulterkampf, that he would respect and uphold the morals of the Catholic Church and that he was negotiating a Concordat with the pope.

7/ The Enabling Act was passed by 444 to 94 votes with only the Social Democrats voting against the Bill.

8/ Bracher called this a legal revolution because within a few weeks, the Nazi party had given himself the powers to dismantle the German democracy, all in a legal manner despite not having a two-thirds majority in the Reichstag.