Hitler: A Brief Analysis Of How He Established A Dictatorship In Germany By 1934

Year 10 History

J. Fearns

Chien He Wong

Road to War: How Hitler established a dictatorship in Germany by August 1934 On the 30th of January 1933, Adolf Hitler was inaugurated as the Chancellor of Germany1. Within two years he had abolished the democratic Weimar Republic and imposed upon Germany a totalitarian dictatorship; rendering her a one-party state2. How did Hitler accomplish the aforementioned and how did he— initially a subordinate of Paul von Hindenburg’s— become Führer, a position wielding carte blanche authority? Prior to the Great Depression, the Nazi Party was an obscure political entity; acquiring only 2.6% of the votes in the 1928 election3. It was the Roaring Twenties era and despite the Treaty of Versailles, the German economy was flourishing— few supported or wanted to hear the doctrine and critique Hitler advocated. However, when Wall Street crashed in 1929 and U.S.A. revoked the loans the German economy was constructed upon, unemployment grew exponentially and inflation was prominent. When the Weimar failed to alleviate the economical crisis, the people turned to the extremists and radicals for alternatives and comfort. The Nazis were one such party, and Hitler one such preacher. He appealed to the leading businessmen of Germany (notably Hjalmar Schacht and Fritz Thyssen) who generally despised communist ideologies and wished to revert back to the Kaiser era: one akin to the dictatorship the Nazi Party wished to establish. These businessmen sent copious amounts of letters to President von Hindenburg, requesting for Hitler to be appointed Chancellor of Germany. Believing that Franz von Papen would contain Hitler and restrain Nazi influence in the Reichstag, 1

Stokes, Phil. “A Biography of Adolf Hitler”. Phil’s World War Two Pages. Stokes, Phil. 22nd of February 2009 2

Undisclosed author. “Hitler becomes Fuhrer”. World War Two in Europe. 1997. The History Place. 22nd of February 2009 3

University of South Florida. “The Rise of the Nazi Party”. A teacher’s guide to the Holocaust. 2005. University of South Florida. 22nd of February 2009

Year 10 History

J. Fearns

Chien He Wong

Hindenburg succumbed (he was initially reluctant). It is thus evident that through a combination of circumstance and strategic targeting of audience, Adolf Hitler assumed the position of Chancellor on January the 30th 19331. The Reichstag fire was a pivotal event that occurred on the 27th of February 1933 where a Dutch communist, Marinus van der Lubbe, allegedly set fire to the Reichstag building4. The Nazi Party accused the Communist Party of Germany (KPD) of attempting to execute a coup d’état, and thereby obtained the Reichstag Fire Decree on the 28th of February due to ‘national security concerns’5. By utilizing Article 48 of the Weimar Constitution, Hindenburg essentially granted the Nazi Party the plenary authority to ignore civil liberties — most significantly the voiding of habeas corpus— without ramifications or hindrance from any checks-and-balances system. Subsequently, the Nazi Party arrested 4000 communists including Ernst Thälmann, the leader of the KPD, and disallowed communist participation in the March elections6. This mitigation of the KPD resulted in an increase from 33% to 44% of votes in the Reichstag for the Nazi Party (a majority of 52%, including their ally the DNVP) and ultimately 92 seats were secured, thus totaling 288 Nazi seats in the Reichstag7. Although 66% of the votes were not yet attained (the required amount to pass an enabling act), Hitler’s astute decisions were exceptional as he seized this auspicious ‘time of crisis’ to virtually eliminate the Communist Party of Germany, profusely advertise the Nazi Party via a campaign against a “ruthless confrontation of the KPD” and to intimidate— legally!— the 4

Undisclosed author. “The Reichstag Burns”. The Rise of Adolf Hitler. 1997. The History Place. 22nd of February 2009 5

Rogers, Daniel E.. “The Reichstag Fire Decree”. Nazi Germany. 2005. University of South Alabama. 22nd February 2009 6

Field, A.J.. “From Chancellor to Dictator”. Weimar and Nazi Government. UnitedHosting. 22nd of February 2009 7

Felder, Raoul Lionel. “A United Germany Couldn’t be Trusted. A United Germany Couldn’t be Trusted. Raoulfelder.com. 22nd of February 2009

Year 10 History

J. Fearns

Chien He Wong

Social Democratic Party members (rivals of the enabling act Hitler wished to pass) using the SA/Stormtroopers8. The Nazi Party achieved political independence and dominance on the 23rd of March 1933 when the Enabling Act (Ermächtigungsgesetz) was passed8. The meticulous series of arrests— a euphemism for ‘extermination’— of communists and social democrats conducted by the Nazis resulted in a greatly diminished opposition to the constitutional amendment than that predicted. Hitler also managed to secure the Center Party’s votes by manipulating their chairman, Ludwig Kaas, into being a proponent of the act on the grounds that the Nazi Party preserve the religious liberties and schools of Catholicism; Hitler never fulfilled his side of the bargain. In addition, Stormtroopers were patrolling the entire vicinity when the Reichstag assembled to vote (Hitler, being the guru of etiquette he is, assured the audience that it was for their own security). Despite this, the entire SPD still voted against the act. Their attempts were futile: 441 supported the Enabling Act and only 94 did not9. In July, three months later, all political parties had been dissolved or banned, and the founding of new ones were prohibited by law. By employing a combination of incentives, intimidation and violence, the Nazi Party had procured a legal dictatorship and established a one-party state. The Night of the Long Knives (June 30th through July 2nd 1934) and the consequences thereof secured Hitler’s position as the sole authority in Germany10. The victims of this purge were Ernst Röhm, high ranking SA members, critics of the Third Reich and basically anyone who opposed the Nazi regime, be it marginally or 8

Undisclosed author. “Hitler’s Enabling Act”. World War Two in Europe. 1997. The History Place. 22nd of February 2009 9 Undisclosed author. “Hitler’s Enabling Act”. World War Two in Europe. 1997. The History Place. 22nd of February 2009 10

Simkin, John. “Night of the Long Knives”. Spartacus Educational. 1997-2003. Spartacus Educational. 23rd of February 2009

Year 10 History

J. Fearns

Chien He Wong

abundantly. The remaining SA men were incorporated into the Army. Hence, when von Hindenburg’s calculated death was finally realized, Hitler had obtained control over all militia forces (Gestapo, Army and SS) in Germany as the official German Army— which harbored a reciprocal, hostile attitude towards the SA and thus approved of the purge— swore the Hitler Oath. With vigilance at the brink of paranoia and a ruthlessness to do what need be done, Hitler proclaimed himself Führer; incumbent of both offices of chancellorship and presidency, the absolute wielder of German military power, the undisputed dictator. Through eloquence, ruthlessness, manipulation, luck, strategy, incentives and coercion, Hitler ripped the liberal democracy of the Weimar asunder and succeeded in establishing a supremacist, fascist, totalitarian state of which he was Führer. Both opportunist and strategist, Adolf Hitler— moral compass and ethical issues aside — is a historical entity to be revered. “Ein Volk, ein Reich, ein Führer”

Year 10 History

J. Fearns

Chien He Wong

Bibliography Stokes, Phil. “A Biography of Adolf Hitler”. Phil’s World War Two Pages. Stokes, Phil. 22nd of February 2009 Undisclosed author. “Hitler becomes Fuhrer”. World War Two in Europe. 1997. The History Place. 22nd of February 2009 University of South Florida. “The Rise of the Nazi Party”. A teacher’s guide to the Holocaust. 2005. University of South Florida. 22nd of February 2009 Undisclosed author. “The Reichstag Burns”. The Rise of Adolf Hitler. 1997. The History Place. 22nd of February 2009 Rogers, Daniel E.. “The Reichstag Fire Decree”. Nazi Germany. 2005. University of South Alabama. 22nd February 2009 Field, A.J.. “From Chancellor to Dictator”. Weimar and Nazi Government. UnitedHosting. 22nd of February 2009 Felder, Raoul Lionel. “A United Germany Couldn’t be Trusted. A United Germany Couldn’t be Trusted. Raoulfelder.com. 22nd of February 2009 Undisclosed author. “Hitler’s Enabling Act”. World War Two in Europe. 1997. The History Place. 22nd of February 2009 Simkin, John. “Night of the Long Knives”. Spartacus Educational. 1997-2003. Spartacus Educational. 23rd of February 2009