Hitler’s Dictatorship, 1934 (AQA GCSE History)

Hitler's Path to Dictatorship - Timeline & Summary

Hitler’s appointment as chancellor on 30th January 1933 was the first step in his taking of power and complete control of Germany.

The Reichstag Fire provided the Nazi Party with the legal means to limit and restrict the power of the KPD.

With a two-thirds majority following the March 1933 election, Hitler was able to pass the Enabling Act. This law transformed Germany into a one-party state. Opposition was silenced, trade unions banned and local governments ruled by pro-Nazi leaders.

With external opposition to Hitler and the Nazi Party greatly reduced, attention was turned to dissent within the Nazi Party. Ernst Röhm - head of the SA - had distanced himself from Hitler. The SA became increasingly frustrated by unemployment, similar to the Freikorps before the Kapp Putsch of 1920. The Night of the Long Knives purged the leaders of the SA.

The death of President Hindenburg in August 1934 confirmed the rise of Hitler to Führer. The Weimar Republic had gone and the era of Nazi Germany had begun.

The Reichstag Fire

What was Hitler's position in January 1933?

• Hitler became chancellor of Germany on 30th January 1933, but he still did not have complete control of Germany

  • The Nazi Party only controlled one-third of the Reichstag

  • Hindenburg was president of Germany

  • The Weimar Constitution limited the power of the chancellor

Events of the Reichstag Fire

• A fire destroyed the Reichstag building on 27th February 1933

  • A Dutch communist named Marinus van der Lubbe was arrested at the scene and later executed

  • The fire resulted in the arrests of around 4,000 communists

Impacts of the Reichstag Fire

• Hitler persuaded Hindenburg to pass the Reichstag Fire Decree

  • The Reichstag Fire allowed Hitler to scapegoat the Communist Party (KPD)

  • Political opponents were imprisoned legally and communist newspapers were shut down

  • The SA was able to justify using violence and intimidation towards political opponents

• The Nazi Party increased their seats to 288 in the March 1933 election, giving them a two-thirds majority in the Reichstag

The Enabling Act

• The Enabling Act became law on 24th March 1933, by 444 votes to 94

  • All 81 members of the Communist Party were absent

  • Only the SPD opposed the vote

  • Other members of the Reichstag were intimidated by the SA before the vote took place

• The Act gave the Nazi Party several powers such as:

  • as chancellor, Hitler could propose new laws

  • Hitler’s cabinet could pass these laws

  • these laws could overrule the Weimar Constitution

Impacts of the Enabling Act

• The Enabling Act was only valid for four years, but it was renewed again in 1937

• Parties in the Reichstag could no longer oppose new laws, marking an end to democratic rule in Germany

Removing public opposition

• The Enabling Act provided Hitler and the Nazi Party the power to pass laws without the consent of the Reichstag

• Hitler used the powers of the Enabling Act to remove forms of public opposition:

The Night of the Long Knives

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

• Hitler was concerned about internal opposition, particularly from the SA

• Ernst Röhm threatened the Party because he:

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

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

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

  • clashed with the SS, led by Heinrich Himmler

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

  • Röhm and around 400 SA members were arrested and later shot

  • Other opponents such as von Schleicher, Gregor Strasser and von Kahr were also arrested and killed

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

The death of Hindenburg

• 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

  • 90% of the public voted 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