The consolidation of power

1
The consolidation of power

• January to June 1933

2
Aims of the lesson

• By the end of this lesson you should
• Understand how and why Hitler was able to
  increase his grip on power in the wake of taking
  the Chancellorship
• Evaluate Hitlers success in gaining total power
  in Germany by the summer of 1933
• Analyse the importance of each of the reasons for
  this

3
The March 1933 election

• 30th January 1933 Hitler became Chancellor and
  called an immediate election in order to gain
  total power
• Opposition meeting were interrupted and smashed
  up by the SA
• Many opponents were put in prison
• The aims was for the Nazis to get a majority in
  the Reichstag so that they could abolish it and
  establish a Nazi dictatorship

4
The Reichstag fire
5
The Reichstag Fire

• 27th February 1933 the Reichstag building was
  set alight
• Inside a young Communist called Marius Van Der
  Lubbe was caught red handed
• He was a good scapegoat
• Communist
• Foreigner

6
Van Der Lubbe Guilty or a patsy?

• He was arrested immediately after the crime and
  signed a confession
• Under torture!!!!!!!!!!
• He was mentally ill and showed signs of confusion
• Was he the guilty man or was he set up either by
  the Nazis or the Communists

7
Van Der Lubbe was part of a Communist plot

• Van Der Lubbe was part of a Communist plot to
  take over the country
• This is what the Nazis claimed
• No real evidence for this except for his
  confession gained under torture
• Why would the Communists pick such an unstable
  and unreliable arsonist to start the fire
• Too easy an idea little evidence

8
Van Der Lubbe acted alone

• Van Der Lubbe was mad and acted alone without
  help from anyone else
• Possible as there is no evidence of a Communist
  conspiracy
• This fits with most of the evidence but does not
  explain the fact that there was more than one
  fire and they were all started at the same time

9
Van Der Lubbe was helped by the Nazis

• Van Der Lubbe was set up by the Nazis he
  started off plotting alone but when this was
  discovered by the Nazis they made his task easier
• There was a tunnel from Nazi HQ to the Reichstag
• If the SA knew of the plot why did they not try
  to stop it earlier
• The most likely scenario

10
The fallout of the Reichstag fire

• Hitler claimed that the fire was proof of a
  Communist plot
• Demanded powers Law for the Protection of the
  State and the People
• Ended freedom of speech and of the press
• Opposition meeting were banned and leaders were
  put in prison without a trial

11
The Propaganda machine

• Goebbels embarked on a mass propaganda campaign
  designed to win the election decisively
• Mass rallies
• Radio broadcasts
• Posters
• Speeches
• Violence

12
The election result

• Nazis got their biggest share of the vote 44
• Still did not have a majority only 288 seats.
  Other parties had 359
• Saved by the Nationalists who had 52 seats which
  gave the Nazis a majority
• Next step was to gain total control by abolishing
  the Reichstag

13
The Enabling Law

• The Nazis needed a 2/3 majority to change the
  constitution
• March 23rd 1933 Nazis proposed the Enabling Law
• This would abolish parliament and put all real
  power in the hands of Hitler
• In effect it would mean the end of the Weimar
  Republic and Democracy

14
The passing of the Enabling Law

• To get this majority he threw the 81 Communist
  MPs into prison
• The Social Democrats were encouraged not to
  attend the vote by the SA
• The other political parties gave in and agreed to
  support the law scared
• The law was passed by 444 votes to 94
• Hitler now had total power, except .