Setting up the Nazi dictatorship through the Reichstag Fire, Enabling Act, Night of the Long Knives, the police state, censorship and propaganda
Setting up the Nazi dictatorship through the Reichstag Fire, Enabling Act, Night of the Long Knives, the police state, censorship and propaganda.
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The Schutzstaffel (SS) |
- The Nazis began to gain many votes, but they used cunning tactics to get them.
- In 1933, a fire broke out in the Reichstag building. Hitler blamed it on the Communists, claiming they had started it. Many people believed him, and mass arrests of Communists started, starting a huge opposition to the German Communist Party.
- The Nazis won 288 seats in 1933. This wasn't a majority, though, and the Communists still won 81 - so, as Hitler was Chancellor, he was able to declare the Communist Party illegal. Hitler was then able to get enough support to pass the Enabling Act from this, in March 1933. This bill allowed him to govern for four years without parliament and made all other parties illegal - giving him almost full control.
- Although he had a lot of power, Hitler still had a lot of opposition, and was worried about rivals within the Nazi party - the biggest threat being Ernst Röhm, the controller of the SA (including over 400,000 men). On 29th-30th of June 1934, Hitler sent his men to arrest Röhm and others. The night became known as the "Night of the Long Knives". Röhm, along with several hundred other people and oppositions such as Strasser and von Schleicher, were killed, stamping out any remaining opposition. President Hindenburg died a month later. This gave Hitler the combination of Chancellor and President posts, and he made himself Commander-in-Cheif of the army - from then on called Der Führer (the leader). It was the beginning of dictatorship.
- Germany became a police state. The SS (Schutzstaffel) expanded hugely under Himmler in the 1930s, working as a bodyguard for Hitler. Its members were feared by the public for their cruelty and were completely loyal to Hitler. Himmler was also in charge of the secret police - the Gestapo. After 1933, concentration camps spread across Germany to hold political prisoners and anybody else considered dangerous to the Nazis, with some later turning into death camps. People were encouraged to report disloyalty to the Nazi party, and local wardens were employed to make sure that Germans were loyal. Many were arrested by the Gestapo as a result.
- Books, newspapers and other materials were censored by the Nazis, and those who published anti-Nazi material risked execution. The Nazis used censorship to encourage nationalism and anti-Semitism, praising the work of patriotic composers such as Wagner, while banning the work of Jewish composers like Mendelssohn.
- Propaganda took over the media, with the Nazis blaming Jews and communists for most of Germany's problems in an attempt to control how people think. They controlled radio broadcasts and used films and posters to spread their message. Dr Joseph Goebbels founded the Ministry of Public Enlightenment and Propaganda in 1933, making all artists, writers, journalists and musicians having to register to get their work approved. The Nazis also organised huge rallies to present an image of power and popularity to the public - the 1936 Olympics were used as an opportunity for global publicity too.
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