Hitlers Consolidation of Power

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Hitlers Consolidation of Power
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The Legal Path to Power
In the Reichstag elections of 1924 and 1928 the
Nazi Party was unsuccessful in gaining enough
votes to be elected into the Parliament. The Nazi
Party refocused its efforts on rural Germany
(peasants, craftsmen, small businessmen).
By September of 1930 the Nazis became an
electoral threat. They were a success due to
organization, fund-raising and propaganda. By the
1932 elections the Nazi Part was the largest
party.
End it Now Vote Hitler
Conservative politicians around the President,
von Hindenburg, invited Hitler to take the
Chancellorship in the hopes of using his mass
following to strengthen the government. Hitler
accepted the office on January 30, 1933 by legal
means.
We are taking the fate of the nation in our
hands!" At the bottom, "Hitler becomes Reich
President."
"The workers have awakened!"
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Establishing the Dictatorship
When Hitler came into power the Nazis were still
the minority controlled by Conservatives. Hitler
wanted to hold new elections. However, a week
before the elections, the Reichstag building
mysteriously caught fire. Hitler blamed the
communists.
Hitler passed the Enabling Act on March 23, 1933
giving himself sole power and the right to take
away civil liberties. He banned other political
parties and trade unions. He withdrew Germany
from the League of Nations. Hitlers SS Troops
bullied, harassed, arrested imprisoned those
who went against him.
Hitler wanted to establish a pure German stock.
He attempted to eliminate hereditary ill,
disabled, Jews, gypsies and other alien people.
He needed someone to blame for Germans
problems. The real revolution in 1933 was a
revolution of values, not classes
In August 1934 President von Hindenburg died.
Hitler combined the Presidency and the
Chancellorship into one power making him Dictator
of the Third Reich.
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Enforcing Consensus
The goal is to enforce loyalty and create
consensus by emphasizing ritual. Examples are
the Hitler salute, requirement to fly the
swastika flag or Hitler pictures should be
displayed on Nazi festivals or during official
visits.
Propaganda
The Nazi party perfected the art of Propaganda to
influence the German people. It was used to show
Hitler as God like and Germanys saving grace.
It was also used to persecute others
The Eternal Jew
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Enforcing Consensus
Hitler Youth
Hitler targeted the German youth in particular,
both boys and girls. The programs stressed health
and outdoor activities, but the girl's program
stressed the home and family and the duty to bear
children. The boy's program stressed building a
healthy body and skills that would serve a future
German warrior.
These young people will learn nothing else but
how to think German and act GermanAn they will
never be free again, not in their whole lives.
"Youth Serves the Führer"
Membership in the Hitler Youth was compulsory for
all boys and girls between 10 and 18 years of
age. This required boys to join regardless of
whether somebody wanted to join or not, whether
the parents approved or not.
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The Structure of Repression
Hitler eliminated constitutional freedoms such as
freedom of speech, assembly, religion and press.
Hitler established the Gestapo (secret police).
Hitler also relied on self-policing by using
society as pressure to conform. People were also
encouraged to denunciate colleagues, neighbors
and family, some were malicious.
German-Jewish poet, Heinrich Heine, stated,
"Where books are burned, human beings are
destined to be burned too."
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Overturning Versailles
A treaty has been ratified which promised peace
but which brought in its wake endless bitterness
and oppression. Adolf Hitler, 1935
When Hitler took power he stopped paying
reparations, began to rebuild his military. He
established the Luftwaffe, the German air force.
On March 16, 1935 Hitler formally announced the
re-establishment of Germanys armed forces.
There was little protest from Europe.
Hitler planned to take over the demilitarized
Rhineland. One March 7, 1936 Hitler was
successful in fully regaining the territory