Getting rid of the Opposition

Lesson Objectives

• To see how Hitler overcame the opposition facing him in order to consolidate his position of power within Nazi Germany

Problems still facing Hitler in 1933

• Political opposition

Although Chancellor, Hitler and the Nazi Party still faced political opposition in the Reichstag and did not hold a majority

• The SA

By 1933/34, the SA was a huge organisation with over 2 million members. Although they had been instrumental in helping the Nazi’s rise to power, the SA was becoming very powerful and it’s leader Ernst Rohm was a possible threat to Hitler’s authority

• Hindenburg

Although Hitler had been made Chancellor in 1933, President Hindenburg was still suspicious of Hitler and did not trust him

The SA (Sturm Abteilung - Storm Section)

• In 1921 Adolf Hitler formed his own private army. The SA (also known as stormtroopers or brownshirts) were instructed to disrupt the meetings of political opponents and to protect Hitler from revenge attacks. Captain Ernst Rohm of the Bavarian Army played an important role in recruiting these men, and became the SA's first leader with a great deal of power.Ernst Rohm

What was the SS?

• Private bodyguards for Hitler & NSDAP leaders

• Expanded from 500-50,000

• Elite squadron – Aryan ‘supermen’

• After June 1934, Night of Long Knives became main instrument of terror once SA had been taken care of

What was the Gestapo?

• Originally Prussian secret police, run by Goering

• June 1936, became branch of SS run by Himmler

• Tapped phones, intercepted mail, received denunciations from informers

Goering

Himmler

Reichstag fire, 27th Feb 1933• On the evening of Feb 27th 1933, an event took place that was to shape

Germany’s political structure for the next 12 years and ultimately hand Hitler the control he needed to become the Dictator of Germany

• That night, Dutch Communist Van Der Lubbe was caught outside the Reichstag building and arrested and charged with arson

• In the aftermath of the fire, Hitler was able to convince Hindenburg to pass the Reichstag Fire Decree which was designed to temporarily suspend civil liberties and allow greater control against enemies of the state. (That night alone over 4000 Communist leaders were arrested and imprisoned). Hitler was also able to use his new powers to have greater control over political opposition in the forthcoming March elections

• The Reichstag fire certainly proved very advantageous for the Nazis but Historians still disagree over who was really responsible for the Reichstag fire – was it a cleverly masterminded Nazi plot to tighten political control or did Hitler and the Nazis simply manipulate this event to suit their needs?

Problems and Solutions

• Problem - Political opposition

Although Chancellor, Hitler and the Nazi Party still faced political opposition in the Reichstag and did not hold a majority

• Solution – Enabling Act• Following elections in March 1933 the Nazis enjoyed their best ever

result however this was still not enough to give them a majority vote. Hitler wanted to introduce an Enabling Law which would place all power in his hands and allow him to pass laws without having to consult the Reichstag effectively allowing him to create a dictatorship. However, passing this Law through the Reichstag (without a majority) was going to be tough.

5th March Election

Problems and Solutions

• Without a majority, Hitler had to find a way of ensuring that the Reichstag passed the Enabling Act. He therefore did the following:

• 1. Banned the Communists – under his new emergency powers this was quite simple as many communists had already been imprisoned or intimidated following the Reichstag fire

• 2. Intimidate the Social Democrats – many SDs and other parties were intimidated by the SA and many were scared into voting for the Enabling Act.

• >> As a result, on the 23rd March 1933 the Reichstag PASSED the ENABLING ACT by 444 votes to 94 thus marking the start of the Nazi revolution

Problems still facing Hitler in 1933

• Political opposition

Although Chancellor, Hitler and the Nazi Party still faced political opposition in the Reichstag and did not hold a majority

• The SA

By 1933/34, the SA was a huge organisation with over 2 million members. Although they had been instrumental in helping the Nazi’s rise to power, the SA was becoming very powerful and it’s leader Ernst Rohm was a possible threat to Hitler’s authority

• Hindenburg

Although Hitler had been made Chancellor in 1933, President Hindenburg was still suspicious of Hitler and did not trust him

Problems and Solutions• Problem – The power of the SA

Under the leadership of Ernst Rohm, the SA had become an incredibly powerful force by 1934 with over 2.5million members. Rohm wanted to replace the German army with the SA. Hitler knew that in doing this, Rohm would have complete military control of Germany and would pose a huge threat to Hitler’s power

• Solution – The Night of the Long Knives• In June 1934, Hitler ordered the SA to go on leave for the entire month.• On 29th June Hitler called a meeting of SA leaders in Wiesee, Bavaria for the following day.• Hitler then ordered Himmler and Goering to eliminate the threat posed by the leaders of the

SA. • On 30th June, between 150-200 SA leaders including Rohm and former Chancellor Von

Schleicher were either arrested or executed at the Hotel Hanselbauer. Rohm was executed in prison 2 days later after refusing to commit suicide. Kurt von Schleicher, who had preceded Hitler as chancellor, was also shot.

• Altogether, it’s thought that as many as 400 people were killed in the Night of the Long Knives.

Problems still facing Hitler in 1933

• Political opposition

Although Chancellor, Hitler and the Nazi Party still faced political opposition in the Reichstag and did not hold a majority

• The SA

By 1933/34, the SA was a huge organisation with over 2 million members. Although they had been instrumental in helping the Nazi’s rise to power, the SA was becoming very powerful and it’s leader Ernst Rohm was a possible threat to Hitler’s authority

• Hindenburg

Although Hitler had been made Chancellor in 1933, President Hindenburg was still suspicious of Hitler and did not trust him

Problems and Solutions

• Problem – Opposition of Hindenburg

• Solution – On 2nd August 1934 President Hindenburg died. Within hours, Hitler had declared himself President and was now Commander in Chief of the German Armed Forces as well as Chancellor of the Reichstag. He combined the offices of President and Chancellor and declared himself ‘Führer’ (leader) of the new Third Reich making the whole of the army swear an oath of loyalty to him personally.

• With this final step, Hitler’s power was unquestionable and his consolidation of power complete

Problems still facing Hitler in 1933

• Political opposition

Although Chancellor, Hitler and the Nazi Party still faced political opposition in the Reichstag and did not hold a majority

• The SA

By 1933/34, the SA was a huge organisation with over 2 million members. Although they had been instrumental in helping the Nazi’s rise to power, the SA was becoming very powerful and it’s leader Ernst Rohm was a possible threat to Hitler’s authority

• Hindenburg

Although Hitler had been made Chancellor in 1933, President Hindenburg was still suspicious of Hitler and did not trust him

Lesson Objectives

• To see how Hitler overcame the opposition facing him in order to consolidate his position of power within Nazi Germany

Plenary

• Explain how the words below relate to the Nazi consolidation of power (using a full sentence)

• Van der lubbe• enabling act• emergency decree• Rohm• Hindenburg• Majority• Threat• Fuhrer• Opposition• SS