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.
This essay will examine the main factors that enabled Hitler to create his empire and argue that all these factors accounted to the legality of his control over every aspect of Germany’s society, enabling Hitler to establish a dictatorship. The means that enabled him to do this were the manipulation of the legal system and the control of three branches of society: the media, the unions and the army. The manipulation of the legal system formed a foundation for Hitler to establish a dictatorship. After the previous Chancellor resigned within a month, it was obvious that the Weimar system of government was not working. Hindenburg needed a Chancellor who had realistic support in the Reichstag and Hitler was given the position.
Despite some initial efforts by local prosecutors to take legal action against those who carried out the murders, which the regime rapidly quashed, it appeared that no law would constrain Hitler in his use of power. The Night of the Long Knives also sent a clear message to the public that even the most prominent Germans were not immune to arrest or even summary execution should the Nazi regime perceive them as a threat. In this manner, the purge established a pattern of violence that would characterise the Nazi regime: the use of force to establish an empire. Almost unanimously, the army applauded the Night of the Long Knives, even though the generals Kurt von Schleicher and Ferdinand von Bredow were among the victims. The ailing President Hindenburg, Germany's highly-revered military hero, sent a telegram expressing his "profoundly felt gratitude" and he congratulated Hitler for 'nipping treason in the bud'.
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
Hitler became leader of Germany because he was leader of the most popular party’ How far do you agree with this statement? By 1933 Hitler had consolidated full power over Germany, it can be argued that the main reason he was able to achieve this power was purely down to the fact that he was the leader of the most popular party. However it seems to be clear that there are other factors, which resulted in Hitler becoming leader in Germany, such as the collapse of the Weimar constitution, the effects of the Great depression and the political actions of people such as Von Papen and Schleicher. Some may argue that Hitler had become such a powerful leader due to the popularity of the Nazi party. Anti – democratic figures had seen the Nazi party as potential allies to provide popular support for an authoritarian regime.
These events created the perfect conditions for a new radical party to rise to power: The Nazis. Founded in 1919, this group appealed to ex-soldiers, lower middle-class workers and students who wanted political change. Hitler opened new party organizations for women, students, and teachers that gave more awareness to the party as well as their ideals. Hitler’s contribution to this party was quite substantial, however it would have been hard at the time to predict he would become chancellor. Historian Ian Kershaw puts Hitler’s success down to luck and chance, stating that there was nothing inevitable about Hitler’s rise to power.
Totalitarianism from Total Domination In the essay “Total Domination,” written by Hannah Arendt; she discusses Nazism in the form totalitarianism as “True Terror”. If not for the survivors of the cruel brutality of totalitarian states, it would almost be impossible to believe it ever happened. What is Totalitarianism? Totalitarianism is a form of government in our political system, which gives absolute power to one ruler (dictator) who cannot be restricted by any type of constitution or law. The rise of totalitarianism governments started before WWII, but after the Great Depression when fascism became an ideology of society.
Communists or the KDP also saw the opportunity that Hitler saw but with the democracy on its way out there was only room for one government, and Hitler new this. The ploy had so many advantages to Hitler that it would be hard to see how Hitler could not have been involved. This one event allowed him too effectively dishevel his main adversary, the foremost blockade that stopped Hitler’s dictatorship. How he went about “blaming” the communist for the event and thus eliminating them, was also a catalyst for all the events to come. By convincing Hindenburg that there was a large communist threat the country was put into a state of emergency and, with Hindenburg’s backing, Hitler was allowed to pass decrees to govern Germany anyway he liked, with the financial backing of krupp and bosch etc, which in this case is fortunate for the question at hand.
It could be argued that the Hitler attributes was the most important reason for why Hitler was appointed Chancellor in 1933. This is because with out it then people would not know who the Nazi party was or what they stood for and as a result they would gain no support or poularity. Without the Nazi Campaining then they would not get the extra support due to the communist threat because it would not be in the public eye that the Nazi's promised to deal with them. A lot of Nazi campaigning was rallys and this impressed a lot of people because of the high numbers and order and discipline shown by the Gestapo
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.