C2: Case Study of Nazi Germany (2261 ELECTIVE HISTORY)

CHAPTER 2: THE CONSOLIDATION OF NAZI RULE IN GERMANY The Reichstag Fire (27 February 1933) - On 27 February 1933 , the Reichstag building was burnt down by a lone and mentally unstable communist. - Hitler immediately declared that the fire was the beginning of a communist uprising. He persuaded Hindenburg to pass the Decree for the Protection of People and State, giving Hitler sweeping emergency powers. - The SA and SS (Police) arrested 4000 communists - Opposition party meetings, newspapers and radio broadcasts were also banned. - This made it difficult for the opposition parties to campaign. - In the elections of 5 March, the Nazis gained 288 seats. They had 52% of the seats. The Enabling Act (24 March 1933) - Hitler wanted to introduce a new measure called the Enabling Act, which would allow him to make and pass laws without consulting the Reichstag. - Only the SPD voted against Hitler during the elections. (Since the communists were in prison) - The Enabling Act was passed on 24 March. Gleichschaltung (April-July 1933) - Hitler continued to strengthen his power in a process called Gleichschaltung , or Coordination. - This involved bringing all aspects of the state under Nazi control. - April 1933: Hitler passed a law which banned Jews from the civil service. - May 1933: Trade unions were banned, and all local councils had to have a Nazi majority. - By July , Hitler passed a law banning all other political parties, resulting in Germany being a one-party state.

The Night of the Long Knives (29-30 June 1934) - By the middle of 1934, Hitler was starting to see the SA (particularly its leader, Ernst Rohm) as a threat. - The members of the SA were fiercely loyal to Rohm and supported his calls to tax elite groups, but Hitler had been put into power by said elite groups. - The army commanders also became suspicious of the SA and were unsettled by Rohm’s talk of making the SA into a second German army. - On the weekend of 29-30 June 1934 , squads of SS men arrested Rohm and other leading figures in the SA. Hitler accused Rohm of plotting to overthrow and murder him. Rohm and possibly as many as 400 others were executed. This purge came to be infamously known as the Night of the Long Knives. - Although the SA was not disbanded afterwards, it lost much of its prestige and influence. Many of its members were absorbed into the army and the SS. - The SA was not the sole target of the purge. Hitler also targeted his old rivals. For example, von Papen was placed under house arrest. Hitler offered him the post of ambassador to Austria. Von Papen accepted the offer. The Army and the Oath of Allegiance (2 August 1934) - Soon after the Night of the Long Knives, Hindenburg died. The only figure who could rival Hitler's authority was now gone. - Hitler took over as Fuehrer (Supreme Leader) of Germany. - On 2 August 1934 , the entire army swore an oath of personal loyalty to Hitler. The army agreed to stay out of politics and to serve him. In return, Hitler spent vast sums on rearmament, brought back conscription and made plans to make Germany a great military power again.

LIFE UNDER NAZI RULE NAZI ECONOMIC POLICIES - Hitler had promised the German people he would get them back to Work and restore the economy The situation was terrible with around five million unemployed in 1933, but Hitler was fortunate that the worst of the Depression was already over by then. Even so, there was no doubt that the Nazis acted with energy and commitment to solve some of the main problems. - Germany’s finances were organised to fund a huge programme of work creation. - The Reich Labour Service sent men on public works projects and conservation programmes, in particular to build a network of highways or autobahns. Railways were extended or built from scratch. - There were major house-building programmes and new public building projects such as the Reich Chancellery in Berlin. - Hitler appointed Hjalmar Schacht first as President of the Reichsbank in March 1933, then in August 1934 as Economics Minister. By using state regulations such as deficit financing borrowing money from the public through loan bonds with the promise of paying them back in the future he played a critical role in the economic recovery and in stabilising German finances to fund grand programmes. - These measures were effective in reducing unemployment and were welcomed by most Germans. Rearmament and the Move to a War Economy One of Hitler's most cherished plans was rearmament. - In 1935, he reintroduced conscription for the German army. - In 1936, he announced a Four-Year Plan under the control of Goering. The plan aimed to get the German economy ready for war within four years. Priority had to be given to rearmament and Germany had to be made as self-sufficient as possible in food and industrial production, a policy known as autarky. Goering proceeded to manage the economy through a series of regulations that controlled most aspects of labour, prices and raw materials - setting new targets that the private industries had to match. - The conscription reduced unemployment. - The need for weapons equipment and uniforms created jobs in the coal mines, steel mills and textile mills. - Engineers and designers gained new opportunities, particularly when Hitler decreed that Germany would have a world-class air force (the Luftwaffe). - Besides bringing about economic recovery, these measures boosted Hitler's popularity because they renewed national pride. Germans began to feel that their country was finally emerging from the humiliation of WWI and the Treaty of Versailles Germany was now able to put itself on an equal footing with the other great powers.

Living Standards in Nazi Germany - Big companies benefitted the most from Nazi rule. As these companies flourished, so did their managers. Their incomes rose much faster than those of their workers. - However, life in Nazi Germany was not always as prosperous and comfortable as experienced by the big businesses or as the propaganda machine liked to portray. For groups such as the farmers and middle classes, it was a mixed picture. Working Conditions in Germany - Propaganda praised the workers and tried to associate them with Hitler (often called Germany's "First Worker"). Hitler fulfled his promise to lower unemployment, which helped to ensure Nazi popularity among industrial workers. - He also tried to win their loyalty with various initiatives. Schemes such as Strength Through Joy (Kraft durch Freude or KdF) gave them cheap theatre and cinema tickets, organised courses, trips and sports events, and even offered discounted cruises on luxury liners. - By 1939, over 50 million Germans had been on a KdF holiday. Another important scheme was the Beauty of Labour (Schonheit der Arbeit) movement. This improved