Nazi Consolidation Of Power In 1933 Was Primarily

1284 Words6 Pages
‘Nazi consolidation of power in 1933 was primarily due to the use of terror and violence how far do you agree with the judgement?’ To a certain extent the Nazi consolidation of power in 1933 was due to the use of terror and violence. However the terror and violence was very limited this is because they weren’t in a strong enough position to exert terror and violence. However Nazi propaganda against the communists made the Germans despise the Nazis therefore allowing Nazis to consolidate power. On the other hand the Nazi party’s policy of legality and the threat of communism are important in explaining how the Nazis were able to destroy political opposition and become dominant and consolidate power in 1933. Legality was a policy where Hitler’s objective was to legally consolidate power which was suitable and pleased most of the German people. The Nazis policy of legality was vital in giving the Nazis legal means to begin the seizure of power and thereby consolidate their power. This was to gain support from the majority of the population of Germany. This was evident from the result of the Reichstag fire which was a clever act by Hitler. The Reichstag Fire allowed the Nazis to legally consolidate their power this was by issuing the emergency decree ‘For the protection of the people and state’ on 28th February. The result of this was freedom of speech; press and assembly in the Weimar constitution were suspended. Also the decree enabled the cabinet to intervene in local governments of the states. This showed a clear shift in power which allowed the Nazis to therefore consolidate their power as they were also able to simultaneously hide the collapse in the rule of law by keeping a legal front. Due the decree being extremely popular the Nazis therefore gained more results this was evident as they gained 228 seats in a high electoral success in the general elections
Open Document