Between 1933 and 1934, Hitler dismantled democracy in Germany, replacing it with a totalitarian regime through laws, violence, terror, and propaganda.
Establishing a One-Party Dictatorship
The Enabling Act
Passed on 23 March 1933, the Enabling Act was the cornerstone of Nazi legal dictatorship.
It allowed Hitler and his cabinet to enact laws without the involvement of the Reichstag or the President, effectively bypassing the Weimar Constitution.
The Nazis secured the necessary two-thirds majority by:
Banning the Communist Party (KPD) from taking their seats.
Intimidating other parties, especially the Social Democrats.
Gaining support from the Centre Party through promises which were later ignored.
Consequences:
Marked the legal death of parliamentary democracy.
Enabled rapid passage of laws consolidating Nazi power.
Provided a legal façade for the suppression of civil liberties.
Gleichschaltung (Coordination)
Gleichschaltung refers to the systematic Nazification of all aspects of German life.
Steps included:
Political parties: By July 1933, all other parties were banned; the Law Against the Formation of New Parties made the Nazi Party the sole legal political party.
Trade unions: Dissolved and replaced with the German Labour Front (DAF), eradicating independent worker representation.
Civil service and local government: Purged of Jews and political opponents; loyal Nazis installed at every level.
Culture, education, and youth groups: Brought under strict Nazi control to align society with Nazi ideology.
Gleichschaltung ensured that dissenting voices were eliminated and society was unified under Nazi ideology.
Suppression of Political Opposition
Key tactics:
Intimidation and violence by the SA (Sturmabteilung) and local Nazi groups.
Banning of rival parties, censorship of press and speech.
Dissolution of state parliaments and centralisation of power in Berlin.
The Nazi regime used arrests, imprisonments, and concentration camps to silence critics and prevent organised opposition.
The Night of the Long Knives
Background and Motives
By 1934, the SA, led by Ernst Röhm, posed a threat to Hitler’s control:
The SA’s radical agenda called for a “second revolution” threatening existing elites.
The German Army feared the SA’s ambition to absorb and replace it.
Conservatives and industrialists were alarmed by Röhm’s power.
Hitler needed the support of the Army and traditional elites to secure his regime.
The Purge (30 June – 2 July 1934)
The Night of the Long Knives was a brutal political purge.
Hitler ordered the SS and Gestapo to eliminate SA leaders and other political opponents.
Key victims:
Ernst Röhm and other SA high command.
Former Chancellor Kurt von Schleicher.
Gregor Strasser and other conservative rivals.
Outcomes and Significance
The SA’s power was broken; the SS (Schutzstaffel) emerged as the dominant paramilitary force.
The Army’s loyalty was secured; generals pledged an oath of allegiance to Hitler.
The purge demonstrated Hitler’s willingness to use extrajudicial killings to eliminate threats.
It reassured conservatives and industrialists, strengthening support for the regime.
Hitler Becomes Führer
Death of President Hindenburg
President Paul von Hindenburg died on 2 August 1934.
Hitler swiftly merged the offices of Chancellor and President.
The German Army swore a personal oath of allegiance to Hitler as Führer and Reich Chancellor.
This solidified Hitler’s absolute power; he now held supreme control over the state and military.
The Nazi Terror State
Role and Powers of the SS
The SS, led by Heinrich Himmler, evolved from Hitler’s personal bodyguard into a vast security and policing force.
Responsible for:
Running concentration camps.
Conducting surveillance and intelligence operations.
Enforcing racial policy and political repression.
The SS acted above the law and directly answered to Hitler.
The Gestapo (Secret State Police)
The Gestapo was the secret police tasked with rooting out enemies of the state.
Powers included:
Arresting suspects without trial.
Using torture and intimidation during interrogations.
Operating a widespread network of informants and denunciations.
Fear of the Gestapo stifled dissent and created an atmosphere of paranoia.
The Courts
Special Courts and the People’s Court (Volksgerichtshof) were established to try political crimes.
Judges were expected to deliver harsh sentences; many were loyal Nazis.
Fair trial rights were virtually abolished for political offenders.
Executions and long prison sentences became common for perceived disloyalty.
Opposition and Resistance
Types of Opposition
Political resistance: Remnants of Social Democrats and Communists attempted underground activity but were swiftly suppressed.
Religious dissent: Some church figures, both Protestant and Catholic, spoke against aspects of Nazi policy.
Individual acts: Ordinary Germans engaged in low-level acts like distributing leaflets or listening to banned foreign radio.
Youth dissent: Groups like the Edelweiss Pirates resisted Nazi control over youth culture.
Effectiveness and Limitations
The opposition was fragmented and lacked coordination.
Severe repression, fear of the Gestapo, and propaganda made organised resistance extremely dangerous.
While some individuals showed remarkable courage, no large-scale movement emerged until wartime conspiracies within the military.
The failure of opposition was due to:
Ruthless surveillance and punishment.
Propaganda creating public complicity or apathy.
A lack of international support for internal resistance.
The Role of Propaganda
Control and Dissemination
Led by Joseph Goebbels, the Ministry of Public Enlightenment and Propaganda ensured total control over:
Newspapers, radio broadcasts, films, and theatre.
Public rallies, posters, and educational materials.
Censorship removed dissenting voices; only Nazi-approved messages were permitted.
Purposes and Impact
Cult of personality: Hitler was portrayed as Germany’s saviour, a strong, caring leader embodying national unity.
Promotion of Nazi ideology: Propaganda spread anti-Communist, anti-Semitic, and nationalist messages.
Mobilisation: Encouraged public support for Nazi policies, including rearmament and military expansion.
Suppressing dissent: Propaganda painted opponents as traitors, justifying their persecution.
Constant repetition of slogans and imagery normalised the dictatorship and discouraged resistance.
Methods
Radio: Cheap radios (the Volksempfänger) were distributed to ensure Nazi broadcasts reached every home.
Film and theatre: Movies glorified the regime and demonised enemies.
Mass rallies: Orchestrated events, such as the Nuremberg Rallies, fostered unity and displayed Nazi strength.
Education: Schools indoctrinated youth with loyalty to Hitler and Nazi racial theories.
By combining legal manipulation, ruthless violence, pervasive terror, and persuasive propaganda, Hitler swiftly transformed Germany into a one-party totalitarian state, crushing opposition and controlling every aspect of public and private life.
FAQ
Before the Night of the Long Knives, the SA, or Sturmabteilung, was essential to the Nazi rise to power. Acting as the party’s paramilitary wing, the SA intimidated political opponents, disrupted opposition meetings, and contributed heavily to the atmosphere of fear that weakened the Weimar Republic’s democratic institutions. By 1934, the SA had grown enormously under Ernst Röhm’s leadership, boasting over three million members, far outnumbering the German Army. Röhm envisioned the SA replacing the Army as Germany’s principal military force and wanted further social revolution favouring workers. This radicalism conflicted with Hitler’s need to reassure conservative elites, industrialists, and the Army leadership, who feared the SA’s power and socialist inclinations. As the Nazis transitioned from a revolutionary movement to a governing party, the violent and unruly SA threatened internal stability and external support. Eliminating the SA’s threat through the purge preserved Hitler’s alliance with the Army and conservative establishment.
The Nazis systematically dismantled judicial independence to align the legal system with their dictatorship. After securing the Enabling Act, the regime introduced measures to purge the judiciary of perceived political opponents and Jews, ensuring that remaining judges were either Nazi Party members or sympathetic to its ideology. Special Courts were created in 1933 to handle political offences swiftly and harshly, bypassing traditional legal safeguards. In 1934, the People’s Court (Volksgerichtshof) was established specifically for cases of treason and political crimes; it became infamous for its biased trials and high rate of death sentences. Judges faced severe pressure to deliver verdicts favourable to Nazi policy, and legal decisions often ignored evidence and due process. Law students were indoctrinated with Nazi principles, ensuring future legal practitioners were ideologically compliant. By controlling legal education, promotions, and court structures, the Nazis transformed the judiciary into a tool of state terror, silencing dissent and enforcing total obedience.
Although the Gestapo is often depicted as an all-seeing secret police force, its relatively small size meant it depended heavily on ordinary Germans to monitor and report ‘suspicious’ activities. Many Germans willingly denounced neighbours, colleagues, or even family members for expressing anti-Nazi sentiments, telling jokes about Hitler, or listening to foreign broadcasts. These denunciations often stemmed from personal grudges, jealousy, or a desire to prove loyalty to the regime. The Gestapo actively encouraged this culture of fear and mistrust by publicising high-profile arrests and punishments. Such publicised cases deterred dissent and motivated further denunciations. Consequently, the Gestapo’s success lay not just in its own operations but in the self-policing behaviour of society, which amplified its reach and control. This widespread citizen complicity ensured that people thought twice before criticising the regime, creating an environment where even private conversations could have deadly consequences if overheard and reported to the authorities.
Hitler was highly strategic in winning over Germany’s conservative elites and the Army, understanding that their support was crucial to his regime’s survival. Initially, he reassured industrialists, big landowners, and traditional conservatives by emphasising anti-Communism and promising political stability. Hitler avoided radical economic upheaval that might have threatened elite interests. With the Army, he was careful to respect its status and traditions, never directly confronting it until he felt secure enough. The SA’s ambitions under Röhm to absorb the Army threatened this delicate balance, which is why the Night of the Long Knives was pivotal, it eliminated the SA’s challenge and demonstrated Hitler’s alignment with the Army’s interests. Following Hindenburg’s death, Hitler secured the Army’s loyalty by merging the presidency with the chancellorship and instituting a personal oath of allegiance to him rather than to the constitution. This cultivated an image of Hitler as the guardian of traditional German values, binding the elites to his dictatorship.
During the early consolidation of power, the Nazis prioritised controlling youth to secure the regime’s future. They dismantled independent youth groups and outlawed organisations that could challenge Nazi influence, including many church and political youth clubs. By 1933, the Hitler Youth (Hitlerjugend) became the dominant youth organisation for boys, promoting military discipline, loyalty to Hitler, and racial ideology. For girls, the League of German Girls (Bund Deutscher Mädel) indoctrinated them in Nazi values, focusing on domestic skills and motherhood to support the Volksgemeinschaft ideal. Schools were synchronised with Nazi aims: curricula were revised to emphasise physical fitness, racial superiority, and unquestioning loyalty to Hitler. Teachers were pressured to join the National Socialist Teachers League, ensuring ideological alignment. Extracurricular activities, summer camps, and rallies reinforced propaganda messages outside the classroom. By monopolising leisure and education, the regime created a generation conditioned to accept Nazi principles, making opposition among youth increasingly difficult and strengthening the dictatorship’s social foundation.
Practice Questions
Explain how the Enabling Act and Gleichschaltung helped Hitler consolidate his power in Germany between 1933 and 1934.
The Enabling Act of March 1933 was vital as it legally dismantled the Reichstag’s power, allowing Hitler to pass laws independently and suppress political rivals without constitutional barriers. Gleichschaltung then ensured total Nazi control by banning other parties, dissolving trade unions, and purging civil institutions of opposition. Together, these measures eradicated pluralism, centralised authority under Hitler, and integrated German society into a one-party state. They laid the foundation for a dictatorship by eliminating democracy, silencing dissent, and embedding Nazi ideology at every level of government and daily life.
Assess the significance of the Night of the Long Knives in strengthening Hitler’s control over Germany.
The Night of the Long Knives in June 1934 was crucial in removing Hitler’s internal threats, particularly the SA and its leader Röhm, whose radicalism worried conservatives and the army. By executing SA leaders and other opponents, Hitler appeased the military, which in turn pledged loyalty to him. It demonstrated his willingness to use ruthless violence to secure his position. This purge destroyed any potential for internal Nazi dissent, strengthened the SS’s power, and reassured industrialists and conservatives, consolidating Hitler’s authority and paving the way for his assumption of the title “Führer”.
