Learning Objective: To
understand how Hitler
consolidated his power
Starter
• Watch the clip;
• How did Hitler rise
to power? (become
chancellor)
• How did he
consolidate (secure)
his power?
• http://www.youtube.
com/watch?v=9CFW
H4Fhkak
January 1933
• Hitler became Chancellor in
January 1933
• But he still did not have
complete power, in fact there
were only two other Nazi’s in
the cabinet
• Over the next months Hitler
consolidated his power
through a number of measures
until he declared himself
dictator- the Fuhrer in August
1934
Your task
• To complete the following table as we
complete the ppt assessing the steps
Hitler took to consolidate his power
Date
Event
Results
How did this help
Hitler to consolidate
his power?
The Reichstag fire
• Hitler had become
Chancellor in January 1933,
but he didn’t have much
support- he called an
election to try and get more
Nazi’s into power so he could
have a majority
• These elections were due to
be held on march 5
• On 27 February 1933
shortly before the elections
due in the March, the
Reichstag, the German
Parliament was set on fire
• Accident, coincidence or
planned?
What happened in the Reichstag
fire?
• The German Parliament
was set on fire
• The building was
completely devastated
• A half naked man- Marinus
Van der Lubbe- a
Communist was arrested
at the scene
• Was it really Van der
Lubbe? Some suggest it
was started by the Nazi’s
• Years later Goering
himself commented that
he started the fire. They
certainly used it to their
advantage.
The Results
• Hitler blamed the Communists for the fire
• He claimed that the fire was part of a wide Communist conspiracy
and claimed it was the start of a Communist uprising
• He asked for emergency powers (article 48) to deal with the
situation
• 4,000 Communists were arrested and banned from voting in the
elections
How did it help Hitler?
• It allowed him to
discredit his biggest
opposition the Communists
• He used this incident to
frighten voters and they
used violence at polling
stations to ensure
Communists stayed away
• Hitler looked like a hero
and a strong leader
because he had acted
decisively- people thought
his harsh reaction was
justified
• It also allowed him to get
rid of other opponents.
The next step :The Enabling Act
• In the following elections in March the Nazi’s gained a
majority
• They used this majority to pass a new law The Enabling
Act
• This allowed Hitler as Chancellor to make laws without
consulting the Reichstag- it really gave him dictator
powers
• He now had the right to pass any law he wanted
The Law for the Protection of
the People
• Hitler didn’t stop at the
enabling act
• He used these powers to
create another law- the law
for the Protection of the
people
• This banned Communists,
shut down newspapers and
imprisoned any one he
considered an enemy. He
even set up a concentration
camp Dachau for these
political prisoners.
• He even introduced the
secret state police, the
Gestapo
Controlling the Local
Government
• 26 April 1933 Hitler and the Nazi’s took over
control of local government and the police
• This meant that in reality he was in control over
Germany and law and order- they could arrest
and imprison any one they wanted. They had
become in charge of law and order.
Banning the Trade Unions
• Hitler then on 2 May 1933 banned Trade
unions
• These were organisations that represented
workers rights
• He put the leaders in jail and confiscated
their money, then made everyone join his
workers organisation, the German Labour
Front (DAF)
• Result: Hitler had taken away workers way of
complaining about hours and pay etc. it
increased his control over the people
Banning Political Parties
• 14 July 1933
• All political parties
apart from the
Nazi’s were banned
in Germany and their
leaders were put in
prison
• Germany was now a
one Party state.
Dealing with the last of the
enemies
• By the end of 1933 Hitler had
certainly become very
powerful but there were still
people who were a threat to
his power
• The judiciary, civil service,
army and SA
• One of the biggest threats to
Hitler was the SA
• The SA were led by Hitler’s long
time friend Ernst Rohm- they
were badly disciplined and loyal
to Rohm. As they got powerful
Hitler saw them as a threat
• The army did not like the SA
either, they felt threatened by
them
• Hitler decided to get rid of the
SA and side with the army to get
their loyalty
The night of the Long Knives
• 29-30 June 1934 Hitler acted against the SA
• On the night of 30 June squads of SS soldiers broke
into the homes of Rohm and other leading figures in
the SA and arrested them
• Hitler accused Rohm of plotting to over throw and
murder him
• Rohm and 400 other SA soldiers were executed along
with other enemies like Schliecher
• This purge was known as the night of the Long Knives.
• Hindenburg thanked Hitler for taking swift action
Results- the SA threat was removed and Hitler earned
the loyalty of the army. They now swore an oath of
loyalty to Hitler.
What is the message of this
cartoon?
They salute with both hands, now!
Der Fuhrer!!!!!
• August 1934 Hindenburg
died
• Hitler then combined the
role of chancellor and
President in one
• The Fuhrer
• Hitler had completed his
rise to power. He was now
dictator.
• Hitler was now the
supreme leader of
Germany.
Hitler the rise of evil
http://www.youtube.co
m/watch?v=mF_yYyfvek&feature=relate
d
Hitler becomes
Chancellor
Hitler consolidates his
power
What is the message of this
cartoon? (8)
They salute with both hands, now!
Mark Scheme
Level 1- uses surface features of the cartoon only (1-2)
• Its shows people saluting to Hitler
Level 2-interprets aspects of the cartoon (3)
• Hitler has control of the SA
Level 2- main message of the cartoon identified (4)
• The message of the cartoon is that Hitler has used terror and violence
to deal with the SA by murdering key leading members and they are no
longer a threat to him.
Level four- main message supported by details of the cartoon OR message
supported by contextual knowledge (5-6)
Level five- main message supported by details of the cartoon and
contextual knowledge (7-8) (Refers to the Night of the Long Knives
June 30 1934, killing of Rohm because he was a threat- accused of
plotting to overthrow Hitler, SA had become too powerful, Hitler
couldn’t be sure of their loyalty, 400 other soldiers killed, other people
seen as a threat killed like Schleicher, won the army’s loyalty)
Practise questions
• What happened in the Reichstag fire? (4)
• Why was Hitler able to become Chancellor
in January 1933? (6)
• ‘The most important reason why Hitler was
able to consolidate his control over
Germany during 1933-1934 was the ‘Night
of the Long Knives’. Do you agree with this
statement. Explain your answer. (10)
Mark scheme
• What happened at the Reichstag fire? (4)
4 accurate facts= 4 marks
Why did Hitler become Chancellor in 1933? (6)
reasons explained
Political manoeuvring/intrigue (Papen and Schliecher)
Depression and Weimar inability to deal with itpeople turn to Nazi’s- disillusioned
• Appeal of Nazi’s- they became the largest party in
the Reichstag- couldn’t ignore them
• Weakness of Weimar-they didn’t solve the crisis or
create strong leadership- this made people
disillusioned and seek alternatives
•
3
•
•
Mark scheme for 6 mark Q
Level 1- (1) general comment
The Nazi’s had become popular
Level 2 (2-3) identifies OR describes reasons
(1 reason =2 marks, two or more reasons= 3 marks)
Level 3 (4-6) explains reasons
(1 reason explained = 4 marks 2 or more reasons= 5-6 marks)
One reason why Hitler became Chancellor was that the Nazi’s had become
the largest party in the reichstag. This meant that the Nazi’s had
control in the Reichstag and the leaders had to account of their views.
They had to be included in the government
A further reason is that Weimar leaders like Papen were willing to make
deals and conspiracies with Hitler. Papen tried to outdo his enemy
Schliecher by making a deal with Hitler, he would persuade Hindenburg
to make Hitler Chancellor and him vice Chancellor.
A last reason is the appeal of Hitler as a strong and focal leader and a
organised and popular party, they had considerable support across
Germany by 1932. Hitler’s strength and message appealed to people
after Weimar had failed to solve the crisis
10 mark Q
• Level 1 (1) General comment
Other reasons were more important
• Level 2 (2-3) identifies or describes other factors
Enabling Act, Reichstag fire, Law for the Protection
of the state, banning the trade unions
• Level 3 (3-5) explains one factor i.e Night of the
Long Knives
• Level 4 (6-8) explains more than one factor- other
factors from knowledge
• Level 5 (9-10) constructs an explanation which
considers the inter relationship between range of
factors and makes a judgements on comparative
importance
What is a level 5 response
like?
A complex chain of factors helped Hitler to strengthen his control over
Germany. The Reichstag fire helped the Nazi’s to gain control over the
Reichstag. This was necessary to get approval for the legal revolution.
It allowed them to blame the Communists and ban them from the
Reichstag which meant that in the following March elections the Nazi’s
got the majority they needed. With this majority they now passed
the Enabling Act. This allowed Hitler to make laws without the
Reichstag’s approval, which meant that he was literally a dictator. This
helped him to gain control over the government and then he could
consolidate his grip over the Party by eliminating internal opponents like
Rohm and the SA who were seen as a threat, this was done in the Night
of the Long Knives in July 1934. Hitler ordered the execution of Rohm
and 400 other SA officials as well as other opponents like Schleicher
which gave him control of the Party but also gain the support and
loyalty of the army. Therefore although the Knight of the Long
Knives was important in helping Hitler to consolidate his power and
rid himself of his final threat, it was not as important as acts like
the Enabling Act which actually gave Hitler dictatorial powers.
Overall the Enabling Act was the most important factor rather than
the Night of the Long Knives.