Was the Reichstag fire the main reason why Hitler was able to establish a dictatorship in Germany by 1934?

by rmitchell576gmailcom (student)

Was the Reichstag fire the main reason why Hitler was able to establish a dictatorship in Germany be 1934?

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Hitler was appointed Chancellor on 30th January 1933. He was part of a democracy and had to work with President Hindenburg, who still had the majority of the power; Hindenburg had the power to change the Chancellor. In just 18 months Hitler managed to go from Chancellor to Furhrer. He managed this by creating several factors, which would help in his favour to win votes and popularity. He had by this time removed any potential threats to his position, even from within the Nazi party.

One factor which helped Hitler come to power was the Reichstag fire, it meant that the Law for the Protection of People and State could be passed. A Communist named Van der Lubbe was found on site the night of the fire; this gave Hitler the excuse to exploit his fears and hatreds towards the Communists. Hindenburg ruling by decree; this also undermines the authority of the Reichstag. Hindenburg was convinced by Hitler that the fire was a Communist conspiracy, so he passed The Law for the Protection of People and State. This law suspended human rights and in particular the right to trial before imprisonment, this was fundamental in allowing Hitler to punish any opponents to the Nazi party. Subsequently the Communists were banned from taking their 81 seats in the Reichstag; therefore there was less opposition for the Nazis.

The General election results of 1933 were also an important factor in Hitler’s road to a dictatorship. The Nazis gained 288 seats; the Communists gained 81 seats but were banned from taking them. This meant that the Nazis had a two thirds majority and allowed them to change the constitution if they wished. The Enabling Act, passed in 1933 changed the constitution; it gave Hitler power to rule by decree for four years. It only passed through the Reichstag because the Communists had been banned from their seats and the fact that the SA intimidated members of the Reichstag during ...

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Also in 1933, Hitler banned political parties and trade unions to help him seize power. He banned all political parties besides the NSDAP, this meant he had established a one party state and therefore there would be no one to oppose him the Reichstag. Trade unions are non-political organisations that hold power through their workers. Because trade unions were a potential source of opposition to Hitler; he banned them using his new powers. Therefore strikes became illegal and the government couldn’t then be overturned.

The Night of the Long Knives was also important in helping Hitler establish a dictatorship and his position in the party. By 1934 Germany was a secure one party state and Hitler had also managed to secure is position within the party as the one figurehead of Nazism by removing Rohm, the leader of the SA. This allowed Hitler to get the army on side and help him maintain his position as he was now in control of Germany. This projected an image of Hitler being a secure leader and restorer of the party’s law and order. Once Hindenburg died this was going to be crucial.

I don’t believe that the Reichstag fire was the main reason Hitler came to power because each of the factors I have included all link together with each other. The Reichstag fire triggered an immediate reaction and was a significant event which allowed Hitler to begin to gain more power. Other events, such as the Enabling Act, allowed Hitler to gain more power within Germany as he could now pass any law he wanted. The Night of Long the Knives was also an important factor because in order to be completely successful Hitler needed the army’s support. I don’t think the banning of political parties and trade unions was the most important factor, even though it stopped any strikes from taking place, I think Hitler would have still have formed a dictatorship without passing the law because he had already made a big impression on Germany. However, all the factors worked and linked together and this helped lead to the next step establishing a dictatorship. Each time something was achieved Hitler gained more and more power; this eventually resulted in Hitler running Germany as a dictator.