Hitler in Power

Ø      Hitler appealed to emotion (cruelty, pride, greed, envy) rather than reason

Ø      Master race – concept of German superiority

Ø      Anti-semitism – persecution of the Jews, put the blame on them

Ø      The Nuremberg Laws 1934 – Laws restricting Jews in society

Ø      The Final Solution – total elimination of the Jews, policy to be enacted in full force later

Ø      Scapegoats – Jews and Communists to be blamed for everything

Ø      Lebenstraum – Hitler’s concept of “living space” for all German peoples

Ø      The Night of the Long Knives 1934 – Hitler needed the support of the German army. This army did not trust the SA (brownshirts) under the command of Ernst Rohm. They did not see Rohm as being anything ofther than a thug. So Hitler arranged the murder or Rohm, who had helped Hitler come to power, and the dissolving of the SA.

Ø      With this act, Hitler now had the support of the German Army, and made the SS and the Gestapo, uner the command of Himmler, his personal army.

Ø      Propaganda – total control of the radio, and the press to inundate the minds of the German population. Movies mad by the government, with Nazi directors. All things geared towards the states. Gobbles in charge of this.

Ø      All economic resources channeled to war production with Goering in charge.

Ø      Hitler then organizes an intensely nationalist program to be used when he attains power

1.      Unite all Germans in a common state

2.      Cancellation of Versailles treaty and reparations

3.      Regain Germany’s lost colonies

4.      Full-scale rearmament

Ø      These ideas appealed to many, including the wealthy because it produced pride and patriotism and was an alternative to Communism.

Ø      1926 sees the first appearance of the Hitler Youth

Ø      By 1928, Hitler had 100,000 Nazi’s giving unconditional obedience to “Der Furher”

Hitler Seizes Power

Ø      The Nazi Party gradually increased its numbers in the Reichstag (German Parliament) between 1928-33

Ø      1928 – Nazi’s held 12 seat

Ø      1929 – World wide depression – “when times are bad, extremist political views sound good”

Ø      1929 – Nazi’s won 107 seats

Ø      Why the gain? – Middle class feared unemployment and Communism – small landowners feared tariff and trade policies of the Weimar – some people saw no alternative

Ø      1932 – 5 million Germans unemployed – Depression brought about a split in the coalition governments. Hitler promised jobs.

Ø      1932 – Allies stop collecting reparations – too late

Ø      1932 – President Von Hindenburg puts Von Pappen in as Chancellor

Ø      1932 – Nazi’s win 230 seats – Hitler demands to be next Chancellor

Ø      Another election, Nazi’s drop to 196 seats and the Communists win 100 seats

Ø      Von Pappen and Hindenburg decide to give Chancellor to Hitler because they believe they would control him

Ø      Feb 1933 – Hitler calls for another election – the SA and the SS organize terror and intimidation in the streets

Ø      Feb 27, 1933 – the Burning of the Reigchstag – likely done by Hitler, but he blamed it on a dutch communist to create the fear of a communist revolution

Ø      Asks the President for Emergency powers to deal with this “threat”

Ø      Election results – 17 million votes for the Nazi’s and a majority in government

Ø      Hitler then uses his available Emergency Powers to bring the Enabling Act in March 1933.

Ø      This would give Hitler full dictatorial powers for 4 years, he then combined the position of Chancellor and President when Hidenburg died in 1934 and became the sole dictator of the German Reich.