Learning Objective: To understand how Hitler consolidated his power

Starter

• Watch the clip;• How did Hitler rise

to power? (become chancellor)

• How did he consolidate (secure) his power?

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9CFWH4Fhkak

January 1933• Hitler became Chancellor in

January 1933• But he still did not have

complete power, in fact there were only two other Nazi’s in the cabinet

• Over the next months Hitler consolidated his power through a number of measures until he declared himself dictator- the Fuhrer in August 1934

Your task

• To complete the following table as we complete the ppt assessing the steps Hitler took to consolidate his powerDate Event Results How did this help

Hitler to consolidate his power?

The Reichstag fire• Hitler had become

Chancellor in January 1933, but he didn’t have much support- he called an election to try and get more Nazi’s into power so he could have a majority

• These elections were due to be held on march 5

• On 27 February 1933 shortly before the elections due in the March, the Reichstag, the German Parliament was set on fire

• Accident, coincidence or planned?

What happened in the Reichstag fire?

• The German Parliament was set on fire

• The building was completely devastated

• A half naked man- Marinus Van der Lubbe- a Communist was arrested at the scene

• Was it really Van der Lubbe? Some suggest it was started by the Nazi’s

• Years later Goering himself commented that he started the fire. They certainly used it to their advantage.

The Results• Hitler blamed the Communists for the fire• He claimed that the fire was part of a wide Communist

conspiracy and claimed it was the start of a Communist uprising

• He asked for emergency powers (article 48) to deal with the situation

• 4,000 Communists were arrested and banned from voting in the elections

How did it help Hitler?

• It allowed him to discredit his biggest opposition the Communists

• He used this incident to frighten voters and they used violence at polling stations to ensure Communists stayed away

• Hitler looked like a hero and a strong leader because he had acted decisively- people thought his harsh reaction was justified

• It also allowed him to get rid of other opponents.

The next step :The Enabling Act

• In the following elections in March the Nazi’s gained a majority

• They used this majority to pass a new law The Enabling Act

• This allowed Hitler as Chancellor to make laws without consulting the Reichstag- it really gave him dictator powers

• He now had the right to pass any law he wanted

The Law for the Protection of the People

• Hitler didn’t stop at the enabling act

• He used these powers to create another law- the law for the Protection of the people

• This banned Communists, shut down newspapers and imprisoned any one he considered an enemy. He even set up a concentration camp Dachau for these political prisoners.

• He even introduced the secret state police, the Gestapo

Controlling the Local Government

• 26 April 1933 Hitler and the Nazi’s took over control of local government and the police

• This meant that in reality he was in control over Germany and law and order- they could arrest and imprison any one they wanted. They had become in charge of law and order.

Banning the Trade Unions

• Hitler then on 2 May 1933 banned Trade unions

• These were organisations that represented workers rights

• He put the leaders in jail and confiscated their money, then made everyone join his workers organisation, the German Labour Front (DAF)

• Result: Hitler had taken away workers way of complaining about hours and pay etc. it increased his control over the people

Banning Political Parties

• 14 July 1933• All political parties

apart from the Nazi’s were banned in Germany and their leaders were put in prison

• Germany was now a one Party state.

Dealing with the last of the enemies

• By the end of 1933 Hitler had certainly become very powerful but there were still people who were a threat to his power

• The judiciary, civil service, army and SA

• One of the biggest threats to Hitler was the SA

• The SA were led by Hitler’s long time friend Ernst Rohm- they were badly disciplined and loyal to Rohm. As they got powerful Hitler saw them as a threat

• The army did not like the SA either, they felt threatened by them

• Hitler decided to get rid of the SA and side with the army to get their loyalty

The night of the Long Knives• 29-30 June 1934 Hitler acted against the SA• On the night of 30 June squads of SS soldiers broke into

the homes of Rohm and other leading figures in the SA and arrested them

• Hitler accused Rohm of plotting to over throw and murder him

• Rohm and 400 other SA soldiers were executed along with other enemies like Schliecher

• This purge was known as the night of the Long Knives.• Hindenburg thanked Hitler for taking swift actionResults- the SA threat was removed and Hitler earned the

loyalty of the army. They now swore an oath of loyalty to Hitler.

What is the message of this cartoon?

They salute with both hands, now!

• August 1934 Hindenburg died

• Hitler then combined the role of chancellor and President in one

• The Fuhrer• Hitler had completed his

rise to power. He was now dictator.

• Hitler was now the supreme leader of Germany.

Der Fuhrer!!!!!

Hitler the rise of evil

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mF_yYy-fvek&feature=related

Hitler becomes Chancellor

Hitler consolidates his power

What is the message of this cartoon? (8)

They salute with both hands, now!

Mark SchemeLevel 1- uses surface features of the cartoon only (1-2)• Its shows people saluting to Hitler

Level 2-interprets aspects of the cartoon (3)• Hitler has control of the SA

Level 2- main message of the cartoon identified (4)• The message of the cartoon is that Hitler has used terror and violence to

deal with the SA by murdering key leading members and they are no longer a threat to him.

Level four- main message supported by details of the cartoon OR message supported by contextual knowledge (5-6)

Level five- main message supported by details of the cartoon and contextual knowledge (7-8) (Refers to the Night of the Long Knives June 30 1934, killing of Rohm because he was a threat- accused of plotting to overthrow Hitler, SA had become too powerful, Hitler couldn’t be sure of their loyalty, 400 other soldiers killed, other people seen as a threat killed like Schleicher, won the army’s loyalty)

Practise questions

• What happened in the Reichstag fire? (4)

• Why was Hitler able to become Chancellor in January 1933? (6)

• ‘The most important reason why Hitler was able to consolidate his control over Germany during 1933-1934 was the ‘Night of the Long Knives’. Do you agree with this statement. Explain your answer. (10)

Mark scheme• What happened at the Reichstag fire? (4)4 accurate facts= 4 marks

• Why did Hitler become Chancellor in 1933? (6)3 reasons explained• Political manoeuvring/intrigue (Papen and

Schliecher)• Depression and Weimar inability to deal with it-

people turn to Nazi’s- disillusioned• Appeal of Nazi’s- they became the largest party

in the Reichstag- couldn’t ignore them• Weakness of Weimar-they didn’t solve the crisis

or create strong leadership- this made people disillusioned and seek alternatives

Mark scheme for 6 mark QLevel 1- (1) general comment The Nazi’s had become popular

Level 2 (2-3) identifies OR describes reasons(1 reason =2 marks, two or more reasons= 3 marks)

Level 3 (4-6) explains reasons(1 reason explained = 4 marks 2 or more reasons= 5-6 marks)One reason why Hitler became Chancellor was that the Nazi’s had

become the largest party in the reichstag. This meant that the Nazi’s had control in the Reichstag and the leaders had to account of their views. They had to be included in the government

A further reason is that Weimar leaders like Papen were willing to make deals and conspiracies with Hitler. Papen tried to outdo his enemy Schliecher by making a deal with Hitler, he would persuade Hindenburg to make Hitler Chancellor and him vice Chancellor.

A last reason is the appeal of Hitler as a strong and focal leader and a organised and popular party, they had considerable support across Germany by 1932. Hitler’s strength and message appealed to people after Weimar had failed to solve the crisis

10 mark Q• Level 1 (1) General commentOther reasons were more important• Level 2 (2-3) identifies or describes other factorsEnabling Act, Reichstag fire, Law for the

Protection of the state, banning the trade unions• Level 3 (3-5) explains one factor i.e Night of the

Long Knives• Level 4 (6-8) explains more than one factor-

other factors from knowledge • Level 5 (9-10) constructs an explanation which

considers the inter relationship between range of factors and makes a judgements on comparative importance

What is a level 5 response like?

A complex chain of factors helped Hitler to strengthen his control over Germany. The Reichstag fire helped the Nazi’s to gain control over the Reichstag. This was necessary to get approval for the legal revolution. It allowed them to blame the Communists and ban them from the Reichstag which meant that in the following March elections the Nazi’s got the majority they needed. With this majority they now passed the Enabling Act. This allowed Hitler to make laws without the Reichstag’s approval, which meant that he was literally a dictator. This helped him to gain control over the government and then he could consolidate his grip over the Party by eliminating internal opponents like Rohm and the SA who were seen as a threat, this was done in the Night of the Long Knives in July 1934. Hitler ordered the execution of Rohm and 400 other SA officials as well as other opponents like Schleicher which gave him control of the Party but also gain the support and loyalty of the army. Therefore although the Knight of the Long Knives was important in helping Hitler to consolidate his power and rid himself of his final threat, it was not as important as acts like the Enabling Act which actually gave Hitler dictatorial powers. Overall the Enabling Act was the most important factor rather than the Night of the Long Knives.