Hitler's Consolidation of Power, 1933–1934 (AQA A Level History: Component 2: Depth study): Revision Note

Summary

• By August 1934, Hitler had removed all remaining potential curbs to his power

  • Local government was abolished and replaced by Nazi governors

  • Any members of the civil service who weren't loyal Nazis were sacked

  • All political parties other than the Nazi Party were banned

  • The leaders of the SA had been murdered, which both removed them as a threat and brought the Army leaders on Hitler's side

  • President Hindenburg had died, and Hitler combined the roles of Chancellor and President into Führer

  • All members of Germany's armed forces swore a personal oath of allegiance to Hitler

Governmental and administrative change

• The passing of the Enabling Act meant Hitler no longer needed the approval of the Reichstag to pass laws

• However, local government still existed, and an independent civil service still ran government offices

The end of local government

• The Federal Assemblies were dissolved on 31st March 1933 by the First Law for the Coordination of the Federal States

  • They were replaced by Nazi-dominated assemblies

• Nazi Reich Governors were created by the Second Coordination Law that was passed on 7th April 1933

  • These ruled over the Federal States

• On 30th January 1934, the state assemblies were permanently abolished by the Law for the Reconstruction of the Reich

The end of an independent civil service

• Many civil servants were conservative and nationalist

  • Those that weren't were forced to resign

  • They were replaced by Nazi Party members and loyalists, regardless of whether they had any government experience

The end of trade unions

• Many trade unions had links to socialist and communist parties

  • The Nazis feared their ability to organise strikes could affect their ability to rule

  • Many trade union officials were arrested

  • In May 1933, trade unions were banned and replaced with the German Labour Front

The establishment of the one-party state

• Although the Reichstag no longer met and elections were no longer held, the existence of other political parties was potentially a problem for Hitler

  • They could potentially coordinate and organise opposition to the Nazis

• The Reichstag fire had led to the suppression of the communist KPD in February 1933

  • Many of its members were arrested and imprisoned

• The socialist SPD, which was the only party to vote against the Enabling Act, was then banned in June 1933

  • The Nazis claimed it was a 'party hostile to the nation and state'

• Later in June, the nationalist DNVP voluntarily disbanded

  • At the start of July 1933, the Catholic Centre Party also disbanded after the Pope signed the Concordat with Hitler

• On 14th July, the Nazis passed the 'Law against the Formation of New Parties

  • This made all parties other than the Nazi Party illegal in Germany

The Night of the Long Knives, 1934

• The Enabling Act had allowed Hitler to remove external opposition to the Nazi Party

• Hitler was also concerned about internal opposition, particularly from the head of the SA - Ernst Röhm:

  • Röhm was a suspected homosexual, which did not align with Nazi Party values

  • Röhm led around three million SA members, around 60% of whom were unemployed by 1933

  • Röhm wanted a greater focus on supporting the working class, which contrasted with Hitler’s desire to help the rich

  • Röhm’s SA clashed with the SS, led by Heinrich Himmler and Reinhard Heydrich

• Hitler arranged a meeting with Röhm and other SA leaders on 30th June 1934:

  • Röhm and around 400 SA members were arrested

    • At least 84 were later executed

    • The executions included Röhm, von Schleicher, Gregor Strasser and von Kahr

• The public was informed that Röhm had been planning to replace Hitler, and therefore his death served the interests of the country

• The SA and Röhm in particular had concerned many of the generals in the Wehrmacht (army)

  • By ruthlessly crushing the SA, Hitler immediately won the support of many of the most important army leaders

The death of Hindenburg and the Führer state

• Paul von Hindenburg had been President of Germany since 1925

• On 2nd August 1934, he died of lung cancer aged 86

• Hitler combined the positions of president and chancellor to make himself Führer

  • In a vote 90% of the public were in favour of Hitler becoming Führer

• Hitler forced every soldier to swear an oath of allegiance to him

• This marked the end of the Weimar Republic and the beginning of Hitler’s Nazi Germany

How did Hitler consolidate power by August 1934?

• A combination of legal means, brutal murder and fortunate circumstances enabled Hitler to consolidate his grip on power by August 1934

• The Enabling Act meant he was legally entitled to alter the local government and abolish the federal assemblies

  • He was also legally entitled to ban other political parties and trade unions

• However, he removed the possible threat of the SA by ruthlessly and illegally ordering the killing of its leaders

• Hitler was also fortunate in that President Hindenburg was in his mid-eighties

  • His death from natural causes solved the issue of challenging the authority of the President

  • If Hindenburg had been a younger man, this may have continued to be a problem for the Nazis