‘Hitler was able to establish a dictatorship because he banned other political parties.’ Do you agree? Explain your answer. ‘Hitler was able to establish a dictatorship because he banned other political parties.’ Do you agree? Explain your answer. ‘Hitler was able to establish a dictatorship because he banned other political parties.’ Do you agree?
Soon other major German ports like Kiel and Hamburg were under the control of the navy. This made the Prince and Kaiser worry that a revolution might occur and so they decide to abdicate Kaiser and Prince leaving the control of Germany in Friedrich Elbert. This means the Government had more of a control over Germany and could make changes to keep the people happy and prevent revolution. Moreover in the October reform Ludendorff realised that Germany was loosing the war and so he wanted to shift the blame from the army government and land owners and at the same time get the best possible peace terms. Germany terns from autocracy to constitutional monarchy as the blame would be on the newly formed government the Reichstag.
With the Nazi Party now firmly rooted in the political scene, Hitler sought to combine his power through the implementation of the Enabling Act; this law would effectively abolish any trace of power held by the Reichstag and the president. The introduction of the Gleichschaltung from 1933 to 1934 allowed a widespread reconfiguration of all areas of German life and thus saw the Nazification of the nation, enforcing the extent to which Nazi ideology had permeated the scope of German society and the limitless parameters of Hitler’s authority. This was assisted by the intimidation inspired by Hitler’s SA and SS, who successfully eliminated any opposition of the Nazi state. Finally, however, it was the support of the Reichswehr that would pave the rule of Nazism in Germany, which was only obtained as a result of the Night of the Long Knives, where the threat of usurpation by the SA was abolished and Hitler’s ruler ship in the event of Hindenburg’s death was guaranteed. The conservative parties and elites made up of the army, right-wing parties, politicians, businessmen and Junkers had a major role in the
The rise of totalitarianism governments started before WWII, but after the Great Depression when fascism became an ideology of society. Socialist leaders told the people what they wanted to hear. These leaders not only took advantage of their powers, but became totalitarian dictators of communism and Nazism states. In 1933 Hitler became the dictator and ruler of Germany. Hitler was known for his totalitarian government, which referenced his act based on Darwism.
In Nazi Germany the police were allowed to arrest anyone they suspected to be a threat to the party and anyone who openly opposed Nazi in public would be tortured, even to death. The SS largely helped Hitler to eliminate political rivals and was loyal till his death compared to the army and without such support, Hitler would face serious political challenges and lose much public support. The propaganda also played an important role in helping Hitler advertising his political ideology and ideas. The Nazi propaganda department was led by Joseph Goebbels, a Ph.D. in philosophy. Radio, newspapers, magazines, books, theatre, films, music and art were all supervised.
This was a ‘catch-all’ name conforming to the aim of the party: to have as many supporters as possible and appeal to the Pan Germans and Working class. Hitler therefore redefined socialism by placing the word 'National' before it. He claimed he was only in favor of equality for those who had "German blood". Jews and other "aliens" would lose their rights of citizenship, and immigration of non-Germans should be brought to an end. After the failure of the Knapp Putsch the Freikorps were disbanded and Hitler got a few key members to act as an army for the party, giving them the name of the S.A, and instructing them to disrupt the meetings of political opponents and protect Hitler from revenge attacks.
Hitler persuaded Hindenburg to call a fresh general election for 5 March 1933, arguing that the NSDAP had been unable to form a coalition with the Centre Party. At the end of February the Reichstag burned down. Hitler immediately blamed the Communists, whipped up anti-Communist hysteria and banned them from taking part in the forthcoming elections. (It was widely believed that the Nazis were responsible for the fire). On 23 March 1933 the Reichstag passed the Enabling Law by a two-thirds majority (444 out of 647 - only the SPD voted against (94)) and enabled the Chancellor to rule by decree without even the need for approval by the President.
This ulitmately potrays the brutality of the Nazis, which effectively contributed to their consolidation of power. After to the Reichstag fire on the 27th of February, the police were given the powers to detain suspects for an indifinate period without reference to the courts. This allowed the Nazi’s to justify the arrest, imprisonment and often torture
Indeed, Hitler did not act unconstitutionally by declaring himself Fuhrer as the enabling act gave him dictatorial power via democratic means. Moreover, the emergency decree given after the Reichstag fire “for the protection of people and state” gave the police the power to detain without charge, a tool which was used to great effect by Hitler to quell any political opposition that arose after the Nazi seizure of power. The total legislative power afforded to the Nazis as a result of the enabling act allowed for the Communist Party to be banned, as well as the SPD, whilst the remaining parties faded away in fear of the same fate. By manipulating the constitution Hitler had eliminated all opposition to the Nazi regime and therefore organised and democratic insurrection in Nazi Germany was effectively impossible, thus consolidating Nazi power. Whilst the danger of any organised political opposition to the Nazis had been successfully crushed by the enabling act and subsequent legislation, there was still the chance that a populist uprising of the people could take down the regime if it had enough support.
The Night of the Long Knives Describe and explain how and why Hitler consolidated his power by eliminating opposition and accommodating support in this event. Between 1929 and 1933, a series of events brought Adolf Hitler to power in the crumbling Weimar Republic; now facing economic crisis and political disunity. Although encountering great opposition from the general public and, particularly, the left wing, within a year of his appointment Hitler had already removed most, if not all, of the surrounding disapproval. However, even though opposition from the outside had been terminated, there still remained dangers from within the government and the Nazi Party itself. On one side, Hitler needed to gain the approval of the Reichswehr and, on the other; he had to reassert his power by eliminating any threat of opposition from the SA and its leader, Ernst Röhm.