The 'Legal Revolution'

By late 1932 the Nazi Party was the largest single party in the Reichstag (although it had no overall majority) and it became obvious that no government could be formed without Nazi support. Hitler refused to take part in any Government unless he was Chancellor. President Hindenburg was at first unwilling to offer Hitler this position but when all other attempts at forming a government without the Nazi Party were unsuccessful he had to agree to Hitler's terms and so Hitler became Chancellor of Germany on 30 January 1933. Hitler had come to power by legal means but once in power it did not take him long to establish himself as a dictator.

Within 24 hours of becoming Chancellor Hitler called fresh elections. On February 27 1933 just before the election the Reichstag building burned down. Hitler blamed this on the Communist Party and used it as an excuse to persuade President Hindenburg to pass Emergency Decrees that abolished the rights of personal liberty, freedom of the press public meetings, and introduced censorship. President Hindenburg's right to pass these Emergency Decrees was one of the powers given to the President under the Weimar Constitution and of course was the power that allowed Hitler to become a dictator. Elections for the Reichstag were held in March 1933 but despite the 'Red Scare' caused by the Reichstag fire the Nazi Party failed to win an overall majority. Hitler however, used the Emergency Decrees to outlaw the Communist Party and so prevented the 81 Communist members taking their seats. This gave the Nazis an overall majority in the Reichstag. This allowed the Nazi Party to pass the Enabling Act, which granted Hitler the powers of a dictator for four years. The Nazi Party could now enact any legislation it wished to take control of Germany.

Taking Control of the Government

Whilst there is evidence to support the fact that Hitler and the Nazi Party were not in as complete control of Germany as popularly believed they have quite extensive powers. The following steps were taken to enable the Nazi Party to control all aspects of government in Germany.

The Enabling Act gave Hitler the power to rule as a dictator for four years. The Reichstag became a rubber stamp parliament. This meant that they passed any law the Nazi Party made without any opposition.

All political parties other than the Nazi Party were banned.

When President Hindenburg died in 1934 Hitler combined the powers of President and Chancellor to become the absolute ruler of Germany. He gave himself the title of Fuhrer.

In local government the Reichsrat (which represented the individual German States) was abolished and Hitler appointed 42 Gauleiters who were responsible for enforcing Nazi policies in the provinces and cities. (The chain of authority ended with 400,000 Blockleiters each of who was in charge of a block of flats or houses.)

In April 1933 Hitler passed the Civil Service Law. This stated that all non-Aryan officials of national state or municipal government could be dismissed. This also applied to anyone who's past political activity made their support for National Socialism doubtful. By 1933 60% of all important

civil service executives were members of the Nazi Party. In some areas such as the economy and the foreign office the Nazi Party took over complete control.

Dealing with Opposition

The Nazi Party tried to ensure that there was no opposition to their regime.

In July1933 Hitler banned all other political parties using the powers which the Enabling Act had given him.

In May 1933 the German trade union -movement were dissolved as Hitler regarded it as a breeding ground for communism. Unions were absorbed into the Nazi Labour Front

The legal system and the judiciary were organised to serve the needs of the Nazi Party. Appointments of judges and lawyers were tightly controlled by the State. People could be treated as having committed a crime even if they had not broken a specific law. It was enough to have acted against the will of the Fuhrer or to have offended against National Socialist ideology. Special political courts were set up for political 'crimes'. These courts were presided over by special Nazi judges and there was no appeal against their decision. A secret police called, the Gestapo was set up to hunt down and deal with Hitler's political opponents. Offenders were often sent to concentration camps with no limit specified for the sentence. This was called 'protective custody'. Many of Hitler's potential rivals in the Nazi party were dealt with in the "Night of the Long Knives". Four hundred of Hitler's perceived rivals were murdered on this night.

Control of Propaganda

Hitler placed great importance on indoctrinating young people to National Socialist ideas. Schools were adorned with Nazi pictures and swastikas, teachers were members of a special Nazi organisation called the German Teacher League. Textbooks were written in praise of the Fuhrer and his ideas. In addition to this, children from the age os six were encouraged to join one of the various Nazi Youth Movements. When a boy was fourteen he could join the Hitler Youth where he was further indoctrinated in the ideology of National Socialism and prepared for entry into the armed forces.

The Nazi Party also realised the importance of controlling the media both to ensure that criticism could not be voiced and to provide a method of issuing Nazi propaganda. The Nazi Party therefore extended its control over the press, the radio and all of the arts. Most noticeably the cinema. This meant that all information was as far as possible controlled by the party. People were encourage to buy cheap radio sets so that the Party message could be spread far and wide. Joseph Goebbels was the Nazi Minister in charge of propaganda.

The church was also closely controlled by the Nazi Party. The Catholic Church had to make an agreement with the Nazi Party that any new priest had to get Party approval.

Huge propaganda rallies were held and filmed in Munich. The Nazi Party was very aware of the affect of these visual displays on the public.

Through these methods the Nazi Party consolidated control over Germany.
 

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