Times were improving, or at least appearing to improve, and the German

electorate could see little reason to switch their support to an untested,

extreme right-wing party whose leader had recently been convicted of
high treason.

FP
Why was Hitler able to become Chancellor by 1933?
The Nazis and world economic depression
The world depression transformed the prospects of the Nazi Party. In
Germany there were wage cuts, short-time working, unemployment,
homelessness, and poverty on a scale never seen before. The established
parties that made up the Weimar coalitions, such as the Social Democrats,
took the blame. In desperation, voters changed support to the parties that
had been the most critical of the Weimar coalitions, the Communists and the
Nazis. The breakthrough point for the Nazis came in the general election of
September 1930. Unemployment stood at more than two million and the
Nazis polled over six million votes, making them the second largest party in
the Reichstag next to the Social Democrats. The Communists, with more than
4.5 million votes were the third largest party.

1930 September 1932 July 1932 November

Seats % Vote Seats % Vote Seats % Vote
Nazis 107 18.3 230 37.3 196 33.1
Communists 77 13.1 89 14.3 100 16.9

▲ Table 9.11 General election results, 1930–2: the Nazi and Communist vote

Over the next 18 months, the economy continued to deteriorate and the
Nazis used every opportunity to attack the coalition government and criticise
its inability to provide effective solutions. The Nazi propaganda machine, led
by Josef Goebbels, was now working at full capacity as the Party message
was spread by thousands of posters, pamphlets, and broadsheets, while those
already faithful to the Party were invited to attend torch-lit parades and mass
rallies. The Nazis were the masters of spectacle and pageantry and seemed to
offer hopes of a brighter future. They were also masters of modern technology.
During the 1932 presidential election, when Hitler stood against Hindenburg,
the Nazi leader was flown by aeroplane from one speaking venue to the next
so that he was able to visit up to five cities on the same day.
The economic depression also boosted the fortunes of the Communist Party,
who argued that the root of the problem was the capitalist system. This played
into the hands of the Nazis who posed as the strong defenders of the existing
order. Communists were portrayed as scheming revolutionaries in league with
the Jewish community and their meetings were regularly disrupted by bands
of violent SA men. Wealthy industrialists began contributing to the Nazi Party
in order to prevent the Communists from taking power.

Chapter 9 201
 ▲ Fig. 9.9 Anti-Hitler poster from 1932 designed by John
Heartfield, a communist, who fled Germany in 1933. The text says:
▲ Fig. 9.8 Nazi election poster, “Our Last Hope: “The meaning of the Hitler salute. Motto: millions stand behind
Hitler”, 1932 me! Little man asks for big gifts”

Political manoeuvrings, 1932–3

DISCUSSION
In the general election of July 1932, with unemployment heading towards
six million, the Nazis became the largest party in the Reichstag polling What is the message of the Nazi
more than 13 million votes. Normally, the leader of the largest party could election poster in Figure 9.8?
be expected to become Chancellor, but Hindenburg had no intention of
appointing a man he had privately described as “the vulgar little corporal”.
QUICK QUESTION 6
Instead, Franz von Papen, a member of the Centre Party, was invited to form
a government. Without Nazi cooperation, however, von Papen was unable to How useful is the poster in Figure 9.9
devise a stable coalition that would be supported in the Reichstag. A second as evidence of the support for Hitler
general election was therefore held in November. and the Nazis?

Although the Nazis lost two million votes and 34 seats in this election, they
remained the largest party in the Reichstag. Von Papen found that it was
still impossible to form a stable coalition and von Schleicher, a former army
general, became Chancellor in early December. But without Nazi cooperation
von Schleicher experienced similar problems to von Papen, and it soon
became clear that he too would be unable to command a Reichstag majority.
At this point von Papen, who had become a rival of von Schleicher, began to
play the part of power broker in order to displace von Schleicher and return to
a position of political influence.
Towards the end of January 1933, von Papen managed to persuade
Hindenburg to agree to a political deal whereby Hitler would become
Chancellor with von Papen as Vice-Chancellor. Hitler was to be offered just
three Cabinet positions in a total of twelve ministers. The calculation was that,
without a majority in either the Reichstag or the government, any extreme
Nazi policies could be resisted.

202 Germany, 1918–45

 SOURCE 5
FP How did Hitler consolidate his power in 1933–4? In 1945, General Franz Halder
recalled how Hermann
When Hitler became Chancellor of Germany on 30 January 1933, his
Goering, a leading Nazi, had
influence was limited on account of the agreement made with Hindenburg
claimed responsibility for
and von Papen. He was simply the head of yet another Weimar coalition
the Reichstag Fire. Goering
government. It took approximately 18 months to convert his position into
later denied making any
one of absolute power. The first stage in this process was to call for a general
such statement during his
election to be held on 5 March. This was meant to be a free and peaceful
evidence to the Nuremberg
election, but there was much police and SA violence conducted against the
Trials. This extract has
Communists and other opposition groups. The most infamous event of the
been taken from Germany
campaign occurred one week before polling day.
1918–1945 by G. Lacey and K.
The Reichstag Fire Shephard published in 1997.
On the evening of 27 February the Reichstag building burnt down. A Dutch At a luncheon on the
Communist, van der Lubbe, was arrested in the Reichstag grounds and birthday of the Führer in 1942
charged with starting the fire. Hitler immediately claimed that this was proof the conversation turned to
of a Communist plot against the state, and persuaded President Hindenburg to the topic of the Reichstag
issue an emergency decree which suspended personal freedoms and increased building. I heard with my own
police powers. He also used the opportunity to whip up public fear against the ears when Goering interrupted
supposed Communist threat. the conversation and shouted:
“The only one who really
knows about the Reichstag
is I, because I set it on fire!”

QUICK QUESTION 7
How useful is Source 5 as evidence
of Nazi involvement in the
Reichstag Fire?

QUICK QUESTION 8
What is the message of the cartoon in
Figure 9.11?

▲ Fig. 9.10 British cartoon, “Let the German people decide”, 1 March 1933

DISCUSSION
What is the cartoonist’s view of
the March 1933 general election
in Figure 9.10?

The general election of 5 March 1933

With control of the police and extensive influence over the newspapers and
radio stations, Hitler was obviously hoping to achieve a vote of 50 per cent or
▲ Fig. 9.11 British cartoon, “The
more in the March election. That would enable him to lead a Nazi government Temporary Triangle”, Punch
Magazine, 8 February 1933

Chapter 9 203
 without coalition partners. But, in the event, the Nazis received 43.9 per cent
of the vote. This was a much higher level of support than any other party had
achieved during the years of the Weimar Republic but it meant that Hitler still
needed the support of the Nationalists.

The Enabling Act, 23 March 1933

In order to increase his powers and be able to govern without the Reichstag,
Hitler next introduced an Act which would establish his dictatorship. It
achieved the necessary two-thirds support of the Reichstag by a mixture of
threats and promises. SA and SS troops stood both inside and outside the
Kroll Opera House where the vote was held, brandishing their weapons and
chanting menacing slogans. Only the Social Democrats dared oppose the
measure which was passed by 441 votes to 94.

A legal dictatorship
Hitler was now a legal dictator. In theory he now had the powers to act as
he pleased. In practice, however, there were a variety of organisations and
institutions that could have frustrated his will or even overthrown him.
● The unions could have organised a general strike as they did to destroy the
ambitions of Wolfgang Kapp in 1920.
● The opposition parties could have regrouped and challenged the legality of
Hitler’s recent actions.
● The Civil Service could have stalled procedures and made it difficult to
introduce Nazi laws.
● The state governments could have pursued non-Nazi policies.
● The army could have organised a coup authorised by their Supreme
Commander, President Hindenburg.
Hitler had to resolve all of these potential problems before he could be in
total control.

The consolidation of power, March 1933–August 1934

Trade unions ● In May 1933, the trade unions were abolished, their leaders arrested, their premises and
equipment seized and their funds confiscated.
● A Nazi-led German Labour Front was set up in its place to which all workers had to
belong. Strike action became illegal.
Political parties ● By July 1933, all political parties apart from the Nazi Party had been banned and
Germany became a one-party state.
Civil Service ● The Civil Service was purged of all Jews and “enemies of the state” in order to make it
loyal and reliable.
The 18 state governments ● In April 1933, Nazi state governors were appointed with powers to make state laws.
State parliaments were abolished in early 1934.

▲ Table 9.12 Hitler’s measures to remove any opposition

By the spring of 1934 Hitler’s power was nearly complete, but there remained the
problem of the army. Hitler was also worried about the growing independence of
Ernst Röhm, leader of the SA. He decided to strike at the end of June.

204 Germany, 1918–45

 Reasons ● If Hitler did not send a clear signal to the army that they were to remain a special, highly-trained, professional
body, central to his plans, then there was the danger that they would launch a coup against him.
● Senior army generals had heard that Röhm was in favour of merging the army with the SA under his
leadership. These generals were upset by such rumours and unsure as to how Hitler regarded the idea.
● Hitler was beginning to see Röhm as a threat because he was expressing disappointment with Nazi
achievements and arguing in favour of a “second revolution”. This would have involved introducing radical
policies such as nationalisation which would have upset business leaders.
● Hitler needed to reassure the army and show the SA leadership who was in control.
Events ● On the night of 30 June 1934, Röhm and other SA leaders were arrested and shot. During the next two
weeks several hundred senior SA men and other rivals and potential enemies, including von Schleicher,
were also murdered by the SS.
Effects ● The army could no longer be in any doubt that Hitler favoured them in preference to the SA.
● The SA were brought firmly under the control of Hitler’s leadership.
● When President Hindenburg died on 2 August 1934, Hitler proclaimed himself Chancellor and Reich Führer.
As such he was Head of State and Commander-in-Chief of the Army. Every soldier was required to swear an
oath of personal loyalty to Adolf Hitler. Hitler’s dictatorship was now a matter of fact as well as a matter of law.

▲ Table 9.13 The Night of the Long Knives, 30 June 1934

What was the i

difference between
the SA and the SS?
● Established in 1921, the SA (also
known as the Storm Troopers or
Brownshirts) were the private
army of the Nazi Party.
● By 1934 it had become a vast
organisation with more than
two million members.
● Although often crude and
thuggish in its methods, it
had helped the Nazis in their
rise to power by terrorising
their opponents, especially
the Communists.
● The SS was formed in 1925 as a
personal bodyguard for Hitler.
● It was an elitist, highly
disciplined, and utterly
ruthless force.
● Under Himmler’s leadership,
membership increased from
a few hundred to over 50 000
between 1929 and 1933.
● Members wore black uniforms
with a skeleton head on
their caps.
▲ Fig. 9.12 SA parade through Berlin, March 1933

Chapter 9 205