The Reichstag Fire led to the Enabling Act because Hitler had managed to convince Hindenburg that it was a ‘communists uprising’. This manages Hitler to prove to Germany that communists were bad people and he would have get more votes, in the next elections. However, I also disagree with the statement ‘the Reichstag Fire more important than the Enabling Act in allowing Hitler to consolidate power’ because of other several reasons. Firstly, the Enabling Act made a Hitler a virtual dictator. Nobody could stop him, even Hindenburg.
Furthermore, it can be argued that propaganda was crucial to the maintenance of power by the Nazis as they portrayed Hitler as powerful and showed him to be good for the country, making sure people continued to show support for the Nazis and it portrayed Hitler as above all party politicking and as a figure for national focus and loyalty. This would have made sure people continued to support Hitler even after he was voted in as they would feel a kind of loyalty towards him. However, Propaganda cannot be described as the only crucial factor in the maintenance of power by the Nazis as propaganda alone cannot change an entire countries views. The introduction of new social controls further aided in the Nazi’s maintenance of power. Anti-Nazi judges were removed and replaced by those
He did not let anything stand in his way; unfortunately, the S.A was in the way. Hitler had many goals for Germany, and was able to succeed but he was only able to do that because he got rid of the S.A. Once he gained absolute power World War 2
Was the Reichstag fire the main reason why Hitler was able to establish a dictatorship in Germany by 1934? Hitler was able to establish a dictatorship in Germany by 1934 through events like the Reichstag fire but also other events. These events were the enabling act, the general election and finally the night of the long knives. The first and arguably the most key reason as to why Hitler was able to establish a dictatorship was because of the Reichstag fire. The Reichstag Fire took place on 27 February and the building burning was a dramatic development for the Nazis.
Also, the weakness and exploitation of the Weimar Constitution played a similarly important role as proportional representation and article 48 both created a path for the Nazi Party to gain influence in the Reichstag. Overall, however, the rise of the Nazi Party must be considered as the main reason for the failure of the Weimar Republic, as the Nazi’s electoral success eventually led to the political intrigues which oversaw Hitler’s appointment as chancellor in 1933 which ultimately led to their success in the March 1933 election and the passing of the enabling act in 1933, which ultimately confirmed that the Weimar Republic had failed. During the period of 1924 – 27 the Nazi party was banned as result of the Beer Hall Putsch. The dramatic increase in votes from 0.8 million in 1928, to 17.3 million in 1933, highlights just how rapid the rise of the Nazi Party was after their emergence from the ‘quiet years’ in 1927. It can be argued that this was down to the popularity of Adolf Hitler and thus led to the failure of the Weimar Republic, as his popularity paved the way for his invitation into the chancellorship, from which he was able to manipulate his way to the presidency.
This gave Hitler tremendous power within the organization as they knew they could not afford to lose him. The Party Gets a New Name In April, 1920, Hitler advocated that the party should change its name to the National Socialist German Workers Party (NSDAP). Hitler had always been hostile to socialist ideas, especially those that involved racial or sexual equality. However, socialism was a popular political philosophy in Germany after the First World War. This was reflected in the growth in the German Social Democrat Party (SDP), the largest political party in
The Nazi party now forced to think tactically and with the burning of the Reichstag building through a communist Hitler was able to blame the extremist party for the beginning of a revolution and with President Hindenburg's approval he arrested the ‘enemies of the state’. With this fortunate accident, the ‘missing’ SPD party and the agreement with Zentrum Hitler was able to get his two thirds majority to pass the Enabling Act which entitled him to pass laws without parliamentary approval. Although on the surface Hitler seemed to have a lot of control, this was not complete, due to the fact that President Hindenburg could over rule him and perhaps even terminate him as chancellor. This power, however, led to multiple sudden adjustments to Germany, after becoming a one party state by July 1933, through making the SPD party and all other competitors illegal, he continued to set loose on Germany’s very powerful and threatening trade unions. Trade unions posed a strong threat to the NSDAP due to their power in Germany, considering their support for the SPD and even KPD.
Study sources A and B; compare these sources as evidence for Hitler’s style of government. The two sources have both some differences and similarities. Sources A and B are similar in the way in which they suggest that it was insanely difficult to meet Hitler, never mind get the chance to speak to him and discuss things. This can be seen in source A when it says “Everyone with opportunity to observe it” is showing us that they must not get to see Hitler very often and when they do it will be a rare occasion and you will be lucky to see him. Source B backs up this evidence when it says “might for months on end and even years, have no opportunity of speaking to Hitler…” this strengthens the fact that Hitler was a hard man to reach.
Assess the significance of the “Night of the Long Knives” The Night of the Long Knives is significant, because it can be seen as the event that shut down Hitler’s opposition from both sides, through forcibly removing the Conservative elite and the SA as a political threat, while simultaneously gaining the armies support. The event in itself set a bad precedence for Nazi rule and can be seen as the beginning of the Nazi terror state. However, it is suggested Hitler’s removal of the SA, was necessary to stop revolution, on the other hand, it could be said the Night of the Long Knives was Hitler’s way of taking complete control of Germany. One effect of the Night of the Long Knives is its significance in the rise of the SS, led by Himmler, from its minimal standing as an extension of the SA, to independence. Bullock says that: “Himmler’s SS were now given their independence of the SA, and placed directly under Hitler’s orders with Himmler as SS Reichsfuehrer”# this source suggests that Himmler and the SS only became powerful through Hitler’s direction.
This allowed the far right to exploit the Germans hate of the treaty of Versailles and connect the treaty to democracy, so the people wouldn’t blame the loss of ww1 on the army but the democratic politician’s. This led to an increase in public support for a more authoritarian dictatorial system the strengthening the far-right. The other main reason the loss