Social Studies-Mr. Schroeder

The Reichstag FireFebruary 27, 1933

On the night of February 27, 1933, the German parliament building (Reichstag) burned down as a result of arson. The Nazi-controlled government blamed the Communist party for the disaster, claiming it as an act of protest against the government.

As a result, on February 28, Adolf Hitler secured permission from the German president, Hindenburg, to set forth the “Decree for the Protection of the People and the State, which suspended the right to assembly, freedom of speech, freedom of the press, and other basic rights held by Germans at the time. Additionally, this act granted Hitler’s regime the power to arrest political opponents without probable cause and prohibit other political parties.

Law to Remedy the Distress of the People and the Reich (Enabling Act)

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March 24, 1933

In setting this order in motion, Hitler allowed himself to enact any law, including those in violation of the German constitution, without consent of the parliament and the president.

The law required a 2/3 majority in parliament to pass, which the Nazi Party comfortably held. This law prevented any remaining Communists and Social Democrats from participating in governmental affairs, and Hitler’s storm troopers and SS officers arrested them. They were placed in “protective” detainment camps, run by the Nazi party. The German Supreme Court upheld the law, citing that neither of the opposition parties was present to vote on the law.

“Night of the Long Knives”June 30, 1934

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Fearing any opposition from the SA (storm troopers), Hitler ordered the detention and execution of 150 of its members, including Hitler’s close friend and party co-founder, Ernst Röhm. Röhm was suspected to be a committed socialist, and was also found to be homosexual, which was highly frowned upon, according to Nazi ideology. Hitler feared that, under Röhm’s leadership, the SA was too powerful and would try to revolt against the Nazi party.

Hitler hoped that this swift action would set the millions of SA members in line, paving the way for them to either join the SS guards or be executed as well.

Expansion of the Military

The Treaty of Versailles, drafted by the Allies following World War I, vastly decreased Germany’s military prowess. The army was only to consist of 100,000 men, no tanks. The air force was to be dismantled, and German

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soldiers were not allowed with 50 kilometers of Germany’s western borders. Hitler sought to ignore these rules.

February 26, 1935Creation of the Luftwaffe (Air Force)

Hitler ordered his right-hand man, Hermann Göring, to establish the air force.

March 1935Enlargement of the Army

In defiance to the Treaty of Versailles, Hitler called for conscription to the armed forces—all men from aged 21-34 were required to join the army.

March 1936Rhineland Occupation

Remember the part about Germany having no military presence in the West? Hitler broke that rule, too. Troops swarmed into western Germany at this time.

Nuremberg LawsSeptember 15, 1935

Drafted and proclaimed in the German city of Nuremberg, this set of laws was the first pertaining to Jewish people and those who associated with them. The laws stated the following:

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German Jews were denied of their German citizenship. Non-Jews were not to marry or have romantic relationships with practicing

Jews or people with Jewish blood. Any person with three or more grandparents of Jewish blood was

considered a Jew, even if those grandparents had chosen not to practice the faith.

In addition, on October 18, all Germans were required to gain a license of “fitness for marriage,” proving they carried no hereditary illnesses that would prevent them from producing completely healthy offspring.

Finally, on November 14, the law was extended to include the prohibition of marriage and romantic relations between white Germans and “racially suspect” people, including Gypsies (Roma) and Blacks.

March 14, 1938Anschluss (Annexation) of Austria

Nazi ideology called for a “greater German unification,” meaning that all German-speaking peoples should live together within the same land. Austria, a German-speaking nation and Hitler’s childhood home, welcomed the Nazis into their homeland, despite some resistance by Austrian fascists, who condemned

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anti-Semitism.

Kristallnacht-Night of Broken GlassNight of November 9-10, 1938

Upon Hitler’s direct orders, the SA (storm troopers) destroyed thousands of Jewish businesses and synagogues (places of worship). Shops were looted and burned. Jews were dragged into the streets and beaten publicly as citizens watched in entertainment. Books written by Jewish authors were burned in the streets. Firefighters were instructed not to extinguish the fires; rather, they

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were to ensure that nearby German structures remained intact. Additionally, the SA ravaged Jewish cemeteries.

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Storm Troopers flee after burning Jewish businesses

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A Jewish shop in Vienna tagged with Nazi graffiti