The Legal Revolution

How the Nazis consolidated their control over the German Government

Promising Peace – through the use of Violence!

Munich Putsch Legal Means Threat of Revolution

from below Marxist Revolution Impose order Subvert existing Weimar

Constitution

The Appeal to the Conservatives

“The National Government will preserve and defend the foundations on which the strength of our nation rests. It will take under its firm protection Christianity as the basis of our morality, and the family as the nucleus of our nation. Standing above estates and classes, it will bring back to our people the consciousness of its racial and political unity, and the obligations arising therefrom. It wishes to base the education of German youth on respect for our great past and pride in our traditions. It will therefore declare merciless war on spiritual, political and cultural nihilism. Germany must not and will not sink into Communist anarchy.”

Adolf Hitler 1st February 1933 in a Radio broadcast

Structure of Weimar Government

PresidentChancellor and CabinetReichstagReichsrät (Länder)Reich Chancellery (Civil Service)

Gau(e)

The Role of Prussia A Case Study in Subversion

Berlin Heartland Germany SPD/KPD Heartland Banning of SA / Public

Meetings Von Papen’s Coup Goring as Minister of

Interior

Timeline of key events

Jan 30 Hitler Chancellor – Harzburg Front Feb 27 Reichstag Fire Feb 28 Emergency Decrees Mar 5 Elections 288 Mar 13 Ministry for Public Enlightenment &

Propaganda Mar 24 Enabling Act Nov 12 Plebiscite Jan 30 1934 Second Enabling Act

Decree for the Protection of the People and the State

28th February 1933 Article 48 Removed Freedom of Speech Protective Custody Ability to take power from Länder to ‘Restore Order’ Sold to Conservatives as Temporary Measure to deal

with Communist threat KPD still allowed to stand although repressed

– – still got 5 million votes Remained in force throughout Third Reich

March 5th elections

Government uses control of radio, police, government offices to maximise exposure and intimidate opponents

Nazi Slogan– The battle against Marxism

Highest ever turnout– 88%

Nazis only get a disappointing 44%– Nationalist allies a further 8%

Enabling Act

24th March 2/3rds majority by banning KPD

– Massive intimidation of opponents– Centre party supports (pressure from Vatican in return for

religious education) 441 to 94

Gave emergency powers for 4 years Cabinet could bypass President Renewed in 1938

Post March 1933 Elections

The Destruction of Marxism Rush to secure official posts Purges of unreliable civil servants Reich Commissioners to remaining 9 non-Nazi Lander Reich Ministry of Information and Propaganda Reichstag – not abolished – Nuremburg laws –

Announcements – propaganda tool Länder maintained but without assemblies Reich Governors appointed to coordinate with centre

Goebbel’s views on using the Weimar Constitution

“We go into the Reichstag in order to acquire the weapons of democracy from its arsenal. We become Reichstag deputies in order to paralyse the Weimar Democracy with its own assistance. If democracy is stupid enough to give us free travel privileges and allowances for this services, that is its affair. We’ll take any legal means to revolutionise the existing situation. If we succeed in putting sixty to seventy agitators of our party into the various parliaments in these elections, then in future the state itself will supply and finance our fighting machinery. We come as enemies! Like the wolf tearing into the flock of sheep, that is how we come!”

Goebbel’s 1928 Der Angriff

Treatment of Civil Service

Conservative, authoritarian tradition Law for Restoration of professional civil service Jews SPD Rush to join Nazi party Hitler promised that the party would not take

over the organs of State

Political Parties – Eliminate Enemies, Jettison Allies.

KPD hounded out of existence SPD flee to Prague – outlawed Nationalist defections to Nazi party Centre party – undercut by Vatican Concordat Schools instead of political activity July 14th Law against the Formation of New

Parties One Party State

November 1933 Elections

The Fuhrer’s List Plebiscite Intimidation and threats to non and anti voters 92% support

Second Enabling Act

January 1934 Law for the Reconstruction of the State

– Reichsrät Abolished– Länder subordinate to central government

Gauleiter to replace local government

– Constitutional amendments at will

President – six months later

The Weimar ConstitutionLeft to wither but not to die.

Reichstag - re-instated Enabling Act every four years - Nuremburg laws

Cabinet - non-Nazi members President and Chancellor roles combined Reich Chancellery (Civil Service) - designs and

implements its own laws Länder - Reich Commissioners / Gauleiter p198

Judiciary - People’s Courts and Special Courts if regular legal system too inconvenient

How did the Nazis remodel Germany?

What is a dictator? Nazi party vis-à-vis Communist party in USSR

FührerPrinzip - The Cultivated Image

Personified the Nation Understood the German People Architect of German Economic Renaissance Representative of German Justice Defender of Germany from internal and

external threats Responsible for all successes

FührerPrinzip - Reasons for Credence

A reaction to Weimar Emotional need for strong government Authoritarian tradition Extension of Nazi Party ideas on leadership Sustained by Economic and Foreign

successes Enhanced by Propaganda

The Polycratic StateGleichschaltung!

Working towards the Fuhrer Guidelines - Fuhrer’s Will Dependable Acolytes Departmental Competition Access to Hitler is key to power Diagram page 188 and 89 of Germany 1919-1939

Advantages of Hitler’s style of government

Strong emotional attachment to regime Failures can be blamed on underlings Rivals played off against each other No dominant individual can challenge Hitler Success vindicates system

Disadvantages of Hitler’s style of government

Few constraints - no checks or balances Radical momentum Yes men promoted Believe own Infallibility

cunning political skills lost

Failures question system Military disasters

Decision Making in Nazi Germany

Page 191 Nuremburg Laws Kristallnacht Euthanasia Horse Racing Who was running Germany?

When is a Socialist not a Socialist? When he is a National Socialist.

What happened to the Strasser Radical wing? Socialisation of industry? Parallels with USSR? May Day rebranded Entrepreneurs / Supporting Industries Unions / DAF Only one true secret economic desire

“Everything for the Armed Forces”

“Every publicly sponsored measure to create employment has to be considered from the point of view of whether it is necessary to render the German people again capable of bearing arms for military service. This has to be the dominant thought, always and everywhere”– Hitler

“Throwing off the Shackles of Versailles”

Promises of Rearmament popular with army Reasons for it kept vague Problem of rival SA - huge - communist threat

removed Kept deliberately separate from army “To complete the Revolution” Revolutionary phase debate

“Say what you mean Röhm”

“Adolf is a swine. He will give us all away. He only associates with the reactionaries now. Getting matey with the East Prussian generals. They’re his cronies now. Adolf knows exactly what I want. I’ve told him often enough. Not a second edition of the old imperial army. Are we revolutionaries or aren’t we? We’ve got to produce something new, don’t you see? A new discipline of organisation. The generals are a lot of old fogeys. They never had a new idea. I’m the nucleus of the new army, don’t you see that? Don’t you understand that what’s coming must be new, fresh and unused? The basis must be revolutionary. You can’t inflate it afterwards. You only get the opportunity once to make something new and big that’ll help us lift the world off its hinges. But Hitler puts me off with fair words”

– Röhm in a private interview with a local party boss, Rauschning.

Victims of the Night of the Long Knives

Health of Hindenburg April meeting on Deutschland Himmler and Göring support June 30th 1934 Röhm , Shleicher, Von Kahr, Jung (von

Papen’s adviser) 400 total Brüning escaped

Reaction to the Night of the Long Knives

Radical event to please conservative army establishment Surprisingly popular Hitler removed serious ‘second’ revolutionary threat President Hindenburg dies two months later Army content to see offices combined

– New oath “The Revolutionary Phase is over”

– Actually - the cautious phase was over– Hitler now more confident of his position – He can afford to become more radical and daring

Did Germany undergo a political revolution 1933/34?

Why did the Third Reich become more Radical post 1934?

Decay of Weimar institutions Administrative confusion led to no responsibility being

assigned Hitler’s increasing popularity

– Success breeds success– Propaganda

The Police State

Himmler’s fiefdom SS rewarded for night of the Long Knives Prussian Gestapo municipal Police centralised in 1936 SD (SS’s Security service)

Diagram on page 201

The SS enforcement of Volksgemeinschaft

Body Guard function Policing to protect the Nazi Regime

Protective Custody

Spying/informing Economic activities of SS Military role – Waffen SS Enforce Master Race ideals

– Einsatzgruppen– Cocentration Camps

Pages 202/3

Hitler’s Weltanschauung

Giving Germany a ‘distincitive’ direction

Hitler’s plans required the support of:

ArmyBusinessCivil Service

The Dual State

Regular Civil Service Supreme Reich Authorities

– Organisation Todt– SS and Police Himmler– 4 Year Plan Göring

Goebbels Ministry of Propaganda

The Dual State

Regular Civil Service Supreme Reich Authorities

– Organisation Todt– SS and Police Himmler– 4 Year Plan Göring

Goebbels Ministry of Propaganda

The Dual State

State Bureacracy– Established– No coercive power

Nazi Executive– Privileged– No finances available

Ministry of Finance– Krosigk (Non-Nazi)

The German Economic Miracle?

Unemployed reduced from 6 million to 1.8 mn Low inflation Steady growth Low wage growth Construction boom

– Housing– Infrastructure

Rearmament Comparison to Weimar

Directing the Nazi Economy:Schacht and the Ministry of Economics

Respected industrialist/banker Ex President of Reichsbank Re-negotiated Young Plan Influenced by Keynes Anti-semite - sympathetic with fascism

Trying to square the Nazi economic circle: 2 + 2 = 5

1934 Currency Crisis– Balance of Trade imbalance– Devaluation politically impossible– Introduced complicated bilateral agreements

Variable exchange rates

Rearmament costs Autarky versus International Trade Meat and Fat shortage

– Bad planning (Schacht)– Currency problem (Darré)

Göring’s Intervention

Schacht’s Miracle cures?

Wages and Prices controlled– No Trade Unions - no wage demands

Real wage rates fall between 1933 and 1936– “I will ensure that prices remain stable - for that I have the SA.

Woe to the man who puts up prices!” Hitler to Rauschning– “The first cause of the stability of our currency is the

concentration camp” Hitler to Schacht Debt and Reparations payments solved by Bruning and

von Papen Cyclical depression? Weimar Germany hit hardest - bounced back furthest? MEFO bills to put off inflation p216

The Four Year Plan:Preparation to a War Economy

Goring finding a role for himself (Police to Himmler) Influence of Stalin’s Five year plans Army (Blomberg) and Schacht over-ruled and ignored I therefore set the following tasks:

– 1) The German armed forces must be ready in four years– 2) The German economy must be fit for war within four years

Autarky– Increase production of war commodities

Food, iron, coal– Developing ersatz materials

Buna from acetylene for rubber Oil from coal

Target setting - across ministries Massive investment for armed services (Luftwaffe in particular)

The Four Year Plan:The Politicisation of the Economy

Controls Dictated– Production– Investment– Location of plants– Raw material allocation– Prices– Wages– Profit– Reinvestment

The Four Year Plan:The Nazification of the Armed Services

Goring controlled and directed all military funds New intake of soldiers Investment in new military technologies

– Tanks, luftwaffe– Challenges existing army expertise

The Four Year Plan:Goring’s Empire

Responsible for 66% of all investment in 1937/8 Big Business v Small Business Herman Goring Reichswerke p228 Ruhr Cartel Schacht’s resignation and humiliation

The Four Year Plan:Guns or Butter?

“Would you rather have butter or guns? Shall we bring in lard or iron ore? I tell you, guns makes us powerful. Butter only makes us fat.” Goring

But Hitler sensitive to reports of any food shortages Extensive use of Propaganda Autarky and Ersatz could not satisfy consumer or

strategic demands– Lebensraum