Download `In deepest need Hindenburg chose Adolf Hitler for Reich

‘In deepest need Hindenburg chose Adolf Hitler for Reich Chancellor.
You too should vote for List 1’
[March 1933 election poster]
Key Topic 3: The Nazi Dictatorship, 1933-9
Name:
a.
Overview
Hindenburg felt he could control Hitler:
1. He could dismiss him at any time.
2. The November election of 1932 and had seen a slight fall in
the Nazi vote Hindenburg hoped this might continue and
he could remove Hitler at a later date.
3. The Nazis were only given 2 posts in the 12 man strong
cabinet [Hitler’s group of advisers]
 Read Radway page 26
Action/Event
Goring was
appointed
Minister of the
Interior
How it increased Hitler’s power
The Reichstag
burnt down
March 1933
Elections
The Enabling
Law
Ban on political
parties
Trade Unions
abolished
Regional
Government
Hindenburg
dies in July
1934
Army Oath
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a. The Reichstag Fire
The Reichstag was the German parliament building. In
March 1933 elections were to be held. Hitler hoped to gain
over 50% of the popular vote. To do this he needed to
convince the people that the Nazis were the best protection
Germany had against communists, Jews and aggressive
foreign powers.
On the evening of 27th February the Reichstag building was
burnt to the ground. A young Dutch communist, Marinus
van der Lubbe was arrested. He was found in the Reichstag
with matches and fire lighters. In a statement to the police
van der Lubbe declared ‘I acted alone. No one else helped me at
all’.
Hitler did not believe this and soon declared that the attack
on the Reichstag was part of a wider attempt by communists
to threaten Germany and overthrow democracy. Van der
Lubbe was put on trial with four other communists. Only
van der Lubbe was found guilty and was beheaded in
January 1934. Throughout the trial he maintained that he
had acted alone. Communist groups later claimed he was
insane in order to distance themselves from his actions.
Following the Reichstag Fire Hitler persuaded Hindenburg
to pass an emergency decree- the Law for the Protection of
People and the State. This decree suspended civil liberties- i.e.
trial by jury, warrants for arrest, the right to a trial once
arrested. This allowed the Nazis to arrest thousands of
political opponents and put them in concentration camps.
Most communist and many leading Social Democrats were
arrested with the justification that they were a threat to the
state. In the March election which followed the Nazi
proportion of the vote increased from 38% to 44%- still no
overall majority! Future meetings of the Reichstag now took
place in the Kroll Opera House.
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This type of question is worth 4 marks
Copying or paraphrasing the source will only get 1 mark.
2-3 marks are available for inferential statements [i.e. a judgment which reads between the lines
or summarise the main thrust of the source. Use words like ‘suggest’, ‘infer’ etc.
Use a separate paragraph for each inferential point and number each point.
4 marks will be awarded for inferences which are supported by direct support or quotations
from the source.
What does Source A tells us about causes of the Reichstag Fire?
Source A: A history of Germany, published in 1996
The Nazi election campaign was given a boost on 27 th February 1933 by an unexpected event. The Reichstag
burnt down. A communist called Marinus van der Lubbe was caught at the scene of the blaze. Historians
disagree about how the fire started. Some say that the Nazis started it, and accused van der Lubbe so that
they could blame the communists. Others believe van der Lubbe’s claim that he acted alone.
Whoever started the fire, it was very convenient for the Nazis. Hitler claimed it was the start of a
communist plot against the government.
Consider these three answers, giving each a mark out of 4 and comment as to why you have
awarded the mark:
Answer 1
Source A says Marinus van der Lubbe was caught at the scene of the fire. He claimed he acted
alone. This act gave the Nazis a boost and was unexpected.
The Reichstag was burnt down. Hitler claimed it was part of a communist plot to take power.
Mark:
Comment:
----4
Answer 2
The source does not say for definite who started the Fire, other than to highlight that three
theories seem to exist.
First the evidence points to the Fire being started by a communist- van der Lubbe. As the
source says, he was found at the scene and even claimed ‘he acted alone’.
Second the Nazis claimed it was not just an act by one communist- van der Lubbe, but the
work of many, since as Hitler stated it was part of a ‘communist plot’ to overthrow the
government.
Third, some claim the Nazis started the Fire- using it as an excuse to blame the communists to
attract votes.
Perhaps we may never know, but it is clear that it helped the Nazis to consolidate their power.
Mark
Comment:
----4
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Answer 3
The Reichstag Fire occurred on the 27th February 1933 and was unexpected. It was a great
blaze which left the building completely burnt. The Nazis benefited greatly from the blaze
because Hindenburg passed emergency laws which allowed the Nazi government to arrest
political opponents as threats to the security of the state.
Three possible explanations are given for the start of the Fire- it was started by van der Lubbe,
an insane communist from the Netherlands; it was started by the communists who wanted to
take control of the government; or it was started by the Nazis who wanted to blame the
communists.
It seems we don’t know who started it therefore but it did give the Nazis a boost in the
elections.
Mark
Comment:
----4
Source B: Punch Magazine, 1933
Look at the following British cartoon. Annotate and explain the meaning of the indicated details:
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Source C: Official Nazi government
statement about the Fire made on 28th
February 1933
This is without doubt the worst fire that the
German people have experienced. The
central part of the Reichstag has been
completely gutted. This is the work of
German communists who have planned to
set fire to government buildings, castles,
museums and vitally important factories.
The burning of the Reichstag was to signal
the start of bloodshed and a Communist
uprising.
Source D: Daily Telegraph, 6 December
1933
The reasoned judgment in the Reichstag
Fire trial by the judge Dr Burger was that…
Van der Lubbe was guilty of treason; the act
of arson was intended to bring about a
revolution…Lubbe could not possibly have
fired the Reichstag alone but his
accomplices are unknown.
The section part of his judgment was like an
election speech… a highly controversial
attack on the Communist Party, which was
evidently intended to please the Nazis.
b. The Passing of the Enabling Law
The March Reichstag elections increased the Nazi percentage of the vote to 44%. This was still
not enough to change the constitution to give Hitler complete power. To do this he needed a
2/3 majority in the Reichstag. In March 1933 the Reichstag did just that- 444 deputies voted for
the Enabling Law and only 94 voted against it. How did Hitler achieve this?
Source E: Results of the March 1933 election:
Source F: A Social Democrat recounts:
Nazis
Nationalists
Social Democrats
Communists
Centre Party
Others
The wide square at the front of the Kroll
Opera House was crowded with dark
masses of people. We were received with
wild choruses: ‘We want an Enabling Act!’
Youths with swastikas on their chests eyed
us insolently…calling us names like ‘Centre
Pig’ ‘Marxist Sow’. The Opera House was
crawling with SA and SS men. The
assembly hall was decorated with
swastikas.
Hitler
read
out
his
declaration…he uttered dark threats of
what would happen if the Enabling Act was
not passed…the SA hissed loudly at us
‘Shut up!’ ‘Traitors you’ll be strung up
today!’
288
52
120
81
74
32
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Answer the following question:
Explain how the Reichstag Fire allowed Hitler to strengthen his power over Germany
between the years 1933-34?
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Control of the
economy
Control of
civil service
Radio
Press
German Labour Censorship
Front
Abolition of
Parties
Propaganda
Abolition of
trade unions
One-party state
Coordination of politics and labour
PHASE ONE (1933-4)
Education
Racial Policy
One official ideology
A single mass party
Police controlled terror
Control of the media
Monopoly of arms
Adolf Hitler- Fuhrer principle
State controlled economy
Minority
suppression
HJ/BDM Indoctrination Anti-Semitism
Racial purity
Youth
TOTALITARIANISM?
Loyalty of the
army
Dominance of
the SS
Police state
KKK
Women and
the family
Coordination of cultural life and education
PHASE TWO (1933-9)
GLEICHSCHALTUNG- 'bringing into line', 'coordination'
From 1933 onwards the Nazis sought to consolidate their grip over the German state. By 1934 Phase Onecoordination of politics- had been achieved. However alongside political control the Nazis sought to create a
National Socialist community [Volk- people]. The aim was to create a new generation of Germans who thought
and acted ‘Nazi’. Phase Two would naturally take longer to achieve. The long term aim was to build a German
state ready for racial struggle [war] and conquest- e.g. against the Slavs as part of Hitler’s dreams of an empire in
the East [Lebensraum].
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c. T he Night of the Long Knives, June 1934
The Night of the Long Knives or Rohm Purge has long been a source of debate amongst historians- why did
Hitler decide to dismantle the SA which had helped the Nazis to gain power in 1933? The list of possible
benefits to Hitler was long and on the 30th June 1934 Hitler, with the SS, arrested the SA leadership
[including its leader Ernst Rohm] and had them shot the next day. Over 200 were eventually shot and
the SA reduced significantly in size and turned into effectively a boy-scouting organisation!
SA membership [Official Nazi figures]
1929
30,000
1932
445,000
1934
3,000,000
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 Read Radway pages 30-1
Why was the SA purged? Identify and explain six reasons why Hitler purged the SA.
Causes
of the
Rohm Purge
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Consequences of the Night of the Long Knives
What do the following cartoons tell us about the consequences of the purge? Annotate the
cartoons below:
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Focus On: Was Rohm really plotting to overthrow Hitler?
Skill: Assessing usefulness- content/NOP
Read through the following sources. Identify whether they agree or disagree with the theory
that Rohm was plotting to overthrow Hitler. Assess the reliability of each.
Source A: Recorded private comment by Rohm in
1934 by a Nazi who later left the party and fled to
England.
Adolf is a swine. He is betraying all of us. He is
getting matey with the Prussian generals. Adolf
knows perfectly well what I want. I’ve told him often
enough. Not a second edition of the Kaiser’s army.
Are we a revolution or aren’t we? Something new
has to be brought in…the generals are old fogies. I’m
the nucleus of the new army.
Source B: Hitler’s Reichstag speech, July 1934
explaining reasons for the purge
After the month of May, there could be no further
doubt that the Chief of Staff of the storm troopers
Ernst Rohm was busy with ambitious schemes
which, if carried out, could only lead to the most
violent disturbances… Only ruthless and bloody
intervention could prevent the revolution from
spreading.
Source E: Field Marshall von Kleist’s description of
events written after 1945.
About 24th June I was warned that an attack by the
SA on the army was imminent. On 28th June I asked
the local SA leader to come to see me. I told him I
knew of his plans. He replied that he had only put
his men on alert to resist my attack. I told the
government that I had the impression that the SA
and army were being egged on against each other by
Himmler.
Source F: Goring in a press conference, reported by
the Times on 2nd July 1934.
Goring explained that he and Herr Himmler had
been watching for weeks, even months, and had been
aware preparations for a ‘second revolution’ were
being made by ambitious SA leaders headed by
Rohm.
Source G: Anti-Rohm cartoon: If Rohm were to
marry
Source C: Vice Chancellor von Papen, June 1934
Have we experienced an anti-communist revolution
in order to carry out the programme of communism?
For any attempt to solve the social question by
nationalising property is communism.
Source D: Historian’s analysis, 1971
The smoothness with which the murders of 30 th June
were carried out is powerful proof that no Rohm plot
was imminent. There was no resistance encountered
anywhere.
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Plot?
Y/N
Explanation
Reliable? [NOP- Nature/Origin/Purpose]
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
Overall assessment:
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 Read Radway pages 34-35.
T he SS
Construct a mind map to show how the SS, Gestapo, legal system and concentration camps
made Germany a police state. Use colour/images and link factors together.
The Nazi
Police
State
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Controlling the Church
 Read Radway pages 52-3
POLICY
EFFECT
Stage 1: Control – gain as much possible control over existing Churches
Creation of a unified
Protestant Reich Church
Concordat with the Pope
Stage 2: Weaken – weaken the hold of traditional Christianity
Make Protestantism
more Nazi via German
Christians
Undermine and reduce
influence of Catholic
Church
Stage 3: Replace – replace Christianity with a true Nazi religion
Replace Christianity with
German Faith Movement
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Soviet view of Hitler and his minister of propaganda Dr. Josef Goebbels
 Radway page 36-37
What was the purpose of censorship?
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What was the purpose of propaganda?
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How were the following used to advance Nazi views?
Books and newspapers
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Radio
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Cinema and Film
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Nazi Rallies
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Images of Hitler.
Look at the following pictures and decide how Hitler is portrayed in each:
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Hitler in 1934
Hitler addresses the Nuremberg rally, 1937
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1930s election poster: Long Live Germany
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Handling Sources on Propaganda
Source A: From a report on public opinion in Germany, written in 1936
A large section of the population no longer reads a newspaper. Basically, the population has
no interest in what the newspapers say. The Nazis try to turn everyone into committed
national Socialists. They will never succeed in that. People tend to turn away from Nazi
propaganda. One cannot speak of popular enthusiasm for Nazism. Only the school children
and those young men who have not yet done military service are enthusiastic about Hitler
Source B: The Fuhrer Speaks, painting by Paul Padua, 1939 showing a German family
listening to a radio broadcast by Hitler.
Source C: From A History of the Third Reich, by a US journalist, published in 1959.
I myself was to experience how easy it was to be taken in by a lying and censored press and
radio and how difficult it was to escape propaganda in Nazi Germany. Though, unlike most
Germans, I had daily access to foreign newspapers and listened regularly to the BBC and other
foreign broadcasts, my job meant I had to check the German press and radio, meet with Nazi
officials and go to party meetings. It was surprising and sometimes worrying how a steady
stream of lies and distortions influenced my mind and often misled it.
Was Nazi propaganda effective?
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C
B
A
Source
Yes/No
Explanation
Reliable?
Assessment:
Was propaganda the main reason Hitler was able to establish a dictatorship of the Nazi Party in
the years 1935-39? Explain your answer.
You may use the following information to help with your answer:
 The use of propaganda
 The use of censorship
 The police state
 Persecution of the churches
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