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Introduction

002258-015 Which of indoctrination and repression proved most effective for consolidating Hitler's power (1933-1939)? (word count: 3814) ________________ Acknowledgements: I would like to take this opportunity to thank my supervisor, Mr Baldwin for his assistance in completing this essay. I would also like to extend my thanks to the library of my high school, for the books of quality that I had the chance to be provided of. ________________ Abstract: The purpose of this essay was to investigate which was the most effective way to consolidate Hitler?s power from 1933-1939. I referred to consolidation of power in pre-war times to see how effective indoctrination and repression were on their own that is to say without the influence of war. Through this investigation it can be seen that Hitler successfully used both propaganda and repression to give himself control over the German people. Nevertheless one mean was more successfully used than the other and from the data gathered it seems that it was indoctrination. The control that the Nazis exerted over mass media and culture enabled them to get the support of population without imposing their ideology. With indoctrination the Nazis managed to make their ideology acknowledged and adhered by everybody; allowing them to have a certain control over the German population. It shouldn?t be forgotten that the repression exercised by the Nazis on the population was a success because of the cooperation of the population. Without indoctrination Hitler wouldn?t have been able to use repression to fully consolidate his power. ________________ Contents Acknowledgments..................................................................................................................................2 Contents.................................................................................................................................................3 Abstract..................................................................................................................................................4 Introduction............................................................................................................................................5 Section 1: Indoctrination........................................................................................................................5 1. Mass Media 2. Control of Culture Section 2: Repression.............................................................................................................................8 1. Use of law 1. Reichstag fire 2. Enabling act 1. Use of force 1. Gleichschaltung 2. The lander 3. Trade unions 4. Political parties 5. The night of the long knives Section 3: Conclusion............................................................................................................................12 Bibliography..........................................................................................................................................13 ________________ The research question that I will be answering in this essay is ?which was more effective in giving the Nazis control over the German people from 1933 ...read more.

Middle

and brought him back into the building, allowing him to set his own fire in another of the building. Nevertheless the role of van der Lubbe stays mysterious. Considering the fact that the beneficiaries of this incident were mainly the Nazis, this theory could be true. Hitler made good use of this incident; he managed to make a decree for the “Protection of the People and State”[12] which was signed by Hindenburg. This decree made the KPD an outlaw and allowed the government to take all necessary measures to prevent this type of incident from happening again. This included capital punishment (article 5), life imprisonement with forced labour (concentration camps) for acts of high treason, conspiracy, poisoning, sabotage etc. This decree made the communists powerless in front of Hitler. Therefore the following week thousands of n**i’s political opponents found themselves arrested at will. Their newspapers were shut down as said before (mass media paragraph) and the SA violence increased exponentially. The Nazis took the opportunity to invade several Länder governments with or without official agreement and usually perpetrated with a lot of violence. Thus allowing the central government to strengthen, and thus allowing Hitler to consolidate his powers. Enabling act: One of laws that should be considered when you evaluate how Hitler consolidated his power is the Enabling act. Why the enabling act? Simply because it allowed Hitler to overcome the Weimar constitution, and changed the country like he wanted to. It would allow him to pass laws without needing the approval of the Reichstag.[13] Nevertheless an absolute majority was required (2/3 majority) to pass it. Even though the Nazis were the main party that didn’t mean they had this majority. In order to gain enough seats Hitler needed two things. Firstly he needed to gain support from other centre right parties. To accomplish this, a ceremony was organized by Goebbels on 21st March 1933[14] celebrating the opening of the New Reichstag, which was to be the “Reichstag of the 3rd Reich”[15]. ...read more.

Conclusion

Conclusion: Hitler was one of the most powerful and influential men of his time. He came to an insecure position (chancellor) and managed to make it the most powerful one. The road wasn?t easy but he did it. Through the use of indoctrination he managed to acquire all the different forms of communication and entertainment under his control. Through the control of mass media and culture Hitler controlled the scope of what people should know and not know, that?s how he managed to keep them under control. Nevertheless it would be unwise to say that his survival in power was only due to indoctrination, because the mind control wasn?t enough on its own to assure Hitler?s position. Other means were essential to assure this. Firstly the use of law, if you are able to pass law that make illegal become legal, then people can?t contest any of your actions; that?s what Hitler use to his benefit, by manipulating law he assured himself that all the action taken by the Nazis would be legal and thus well-viewed. Finally the use of force was essential to ensure the control of the institutions of the country, and thus the control of the population. It is to say that the Gleichschaltung contributed greatly to consolidation of hi powers. It made Hitler the leader of an all powerful party. The co-ordination of the institution allowed him to finally have everything under his own control. Once this process was accomplish Hitler?s position was fully consolidated. Regarding the question of this essay: ?Which was the more effective in giving the Nazis control over the German people repression or propaganda?? I would say that to ensure control over the German people Indoctrination played a big role in giving Hitler the control of German people as it naturally made them adhere to the n**i policies, to the opposite of repression (use of law and Gleichschaltung) which imposed the n**i will over the one of the people. Convincing someone (indoctrination) is harder than forcing him to be convinced (repression) but it is more powerful to ensure that this persons follows your will. ...read more.

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