Section 4 Nazi Dictatorship, 1933-39 PDF

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Section 4: Nazi Dictatorship, 1933-39 ‘The Nazi consolidation of power between January 1933 and August 1934 was achieved through the use of terror’. Assess the validity of this view. Upon Hitler’s appointment to chancellorship in January 1933, he faced a series of issues that needed to be addressed in order to consolidate his power. Being part of a system that adopted a separation of powers and a series of checks and balances, he faced several limits on his powers. This was arguably influenced through the use of terror, as seen in the Night of the Long Knives (NOTLK). In this, consolidation of power was achieved through the use of terror. However, consolidation of power was primarily through legislative powers and exploitation of key events such as the death of Hindenburg and the Reichstag Fire. This was potentially a more significant factor compared to the use of terror. The use of terror and violence to advance Hitler’s powers can be witnessed in the main role of the SA. Whilst Hitler exploited state resources to expand the institution and subsequently eliminate opposition. In this, the SA unleashed a reign of terror against both communist and socialists. There were continued attacks on the trade unions and KPs offices, as well as ongoing invasions on the houses of left-wing politicians. Throughout the regime, the SA was responsible for the suppression of political opponents, rounding up and imprisoning socialists, communists and trade unionists in makeshift concentration camps. By July 1933, 26,789 political prisoners had been arrested by the SA. Ergo, the use of arbitrary powers to impose attacks on political opponents created an atmosphere of terror, giving the SA a reputation of violence. In this the view that power was achieved through terror is valid because the SA was used as a primary machine in consolidating power as powers were extended to prevent possible interference by the state, allowing Hitler to intimidate political enemies. One aspect of Nazism was the systematic persecution of SA members in the NOTLK on the 30th June 1934. In this, Hitler ordered the execution of the SA and other political opponents, leading to 84 executions and over 1000 arrests. This was largely influenced by the growing threat that Rohm posed to Hitler’s authority, allegedly referring to him as ‘swine’. The call for a Second Revolution ,which consisted a merging of the SA and the army, led to the threat of Blomberg taking action. In this, the use of terror and violence acted as a turning point in Hitler’s consolidation of power as this effectively made Hitler appear as a patriotic leader who is willing to do what’s necessary for the good of the nation. This also secured the army’s support as Blomberg declared his public support for Hitler’s decisive action. This is pivotal as his use of terror and violence reduced the threat of the army, which was not a Nazified institution and retained some independence. This therefore indicates that the utilisation of violence prevented Hitler from being dismissed from his position, allowing him to successfully consolidate power, reinforcing the view power was achieved through terror. Alternatively, it would be an oversimplification to argue that Hitler’s consolidation of power was primarily through the use of terror and violence. One event that the Nazis were able to exploit and subsequently consolidate power from was the Reichstag Fire on the 27th

February 1934. Whilst there were allegations that the Nazi party sparked the fire, the fact remains that this was significant in reducing political restraints. Firstly, this allowed Hitler to enforce authoritarian measures within the legal system. For example, the Decree for the Protection of the People and the State, passed on the 28th February, suspended important civil liberties and gave the police increased powers to arrest and detain without charge. This was essentially used to arrest communists and socialists, suspending their newspapers and disrupting their meetings. This therefore hindered the Constitution and decreased possible political opposition. This demonstrates the use of legislature powers in order to consolidate power, challenging the statement that power was achieved through violence. Hitler was able to further exploit the Reichstag Fire in the March election. Through this, left funds were confiscated and meetings were disturbed, virtually making any election organisation impossible. This displayed an eroding democracy due to the excessive attempts to silence political parties, allowing Hitler to increase his powers whilst simultaneously reducing the powers of his opponents. Democracy was effectively killed off following the Enabling Act on the 24th March 1934, giving Hitler unilateral powers. In this, Hitler legitimised Nazi dictatorship largely through legislative and executive powers. This undermined the principle of checks and balances as presented in the Constitution and allowed Hitler to construct a one-party state. On that case, terror and violence is merely a by-product of the Nazi regime as opposed to a driving force in consolidating power, challenging the validity of the statement. This is because legislative and executive actions justified his actions, limiting the room for possible ramification whilst terror and violence acted as a temporary fix to opposition. Despite the Reichstag Fire acting as a catalyst to a series of legislative proposals, violence was utilised as underlying tool to enforce such proposals as frequent use of violence on opposing politicians prevailed. On the other hand, the death of President Hindenburg could be seen as the ultimate event leading to Hitler's complete consolidation of power. As long as Hindenburg remained alive, Hitler could not achieve absolute authority and obedience as in theory, Hindenburg could dismiss him from office. Following his death, Hitler merged the two roles of President and Chancellor, giving him undisputed power. As Fuhrer, Hitler’s powers were no longer dependent on the approval of his superiors. Therefore in this, Hitler's dictatorship was firmly established. On the same day, officers and soldiers of the army took an oath of allegiance to Hitler, theoretically halting possible attempts to dismiss him from his position. This demonstrates that the consolidation of power was largely due to the exploitation of key events as opposed to violence and terror. This undermines the validity of this view as by the summer of 1934, power was established through legal provisions. Overall, the period of consolidation of power had an underlying theme of violence, however this merely acted as a binding force to his authority. Power was primarily consolidated through legal action and the exploitation of key events, as seen in the Reichstag Fire and the death of Hindenburg. This consequently undermines the validity of the view that power was achieved through the use of terror as violence was essentially a tool used to enforce his authority rather than achieve it.

‘By 1939 German society was a society engaged in self-surveillance’. To what extent to do you agree with this view? In this, self surveillance is surveillance carried out by the German people as opposed to government institutions such as the police, Gestapo and SS. As a result, the state effectively established itself as all-seeing and all-knowing, and subsequently had complete obedience by the people. This can indeed be see in the Hitler Youth, workers and general public. Therefore, there were elements of self-surveillance throughout the regime that can indeed be considered. Despite this, by 1939 the regime was heavily dependent on police systems to assess opposition to Nazism. Due to the limited denunciations by the people and the influence of the terror state. The Hitler Youth became indoctrinated to engage in self-surveillance. By 1936, the Hitler youth became a government agency, allowing the state to enforce to Hitler Youth Law (1936). This stated that all of the German youth in the Reich is organized within the Hitler Youth. By 1937, hitler youth membership had grown to 5 million, allowing the regime to successfully indoctrinate the youth in accordance with the Nazi regime. Children had to swear a personal oath of allegiance to the Fuhrer, and were encouraged to inform on their parents by their teachers. Through this, the youth were effectively indoctrinated in order to engage in self-surveillance. This regulated any possible dissent from families and surrounding individuals, essentially blurring the lines between public and private life. The state has therefore successfully established itself as omnipresent, limiting the room for dissent even in within the home. This suggests that by 1939 German society was indeed engaged in self-surveillance due to the extensive indoctrinated invested in the youth organisation. The argument that German society was effectively engaged in self-surveillance due to the terror state. In this, society was engaged in self-surveillance due to fear of the Gestapo. Due to the reputation of being omnipotent and omnipresent, individuals consequently restrained non-conformist behaviour and censored their own opposing beliefs to protect themselves and their families. This displays that German society was heavily engaged in self-surveillance. Alternatively, the vast majority of information received by the Gestapo derived from Germans themselves. Suspicious behaviour was reported to ‘block leaders’, making way for the dissenter to face consequences. This shows that German society was engaged in self-surveillance as individuals played a pivotal role in the maintenance of the Gestapo as a government institution. The Gestapo had a mere role of subjecting individuals to punishments as opposed to assuming all responsibilities, reinforcing that by 1939 society was one of self-surveillance. Despite the consistent reports being forwarded to the Gestapo, denunciations were utilised as a tool to divert attention away from individuals. Reports issued were heavily motivated by personal grudges and fear (personal aversion) as opposed to genuine love and support for the regime. This indicates that society only appeared to be one of self-surveillance as in practice, reports were merely tools to ensure the safety and protection of people. This led to arbitrary arrests within the regime. Within a self-surveying state, this would insinuate that there is limited opposition due to the fear of being targeted as an enemy of the state. This was certainly not the case as there

were continued displays of resistance within different social groups in German society. This notably came from the working class who by 1937 had organised 250 strikes due to poor working conditions, despite the lack of a trade union. This shows that romanticisation towards the state wasn’t as prominent and thus not many people engaged in self-surveillance. This emphasises that self-surveillance wasn't a mass phenomenon, rather limited in scope and success as this failed to rein back resistance towards the state. This is further reinforced by the growing absenteeism and vandalization of property. This became prominent to the ergime to the extent that they enforced new legislation to prevent tis. This shows that the regime recognised resistance to the current status quo, implying that self-surveillance wasn’t widespread, and thus not utilised by German society as a whole. The notion that German society wasn’t a society of self-surveillance can be further support by the limited reports given to the Gestapo. Denunciations weren’t a mass phenomenon and therefore varied across cities. For example, the State of Lippe had no more that 292 denunciations made throughout the entire Nazi regime (1933-1945). In this, there were approximately 3-51 denunciations made annually by a population of 180,000. This demonstrates that self-surveillance was limited in scope and thus surveillance was largely conducted by the state. This can be seen by the fact that it was government institutions, the SS, who effectively regulated society. In 1936, Himmler was appointed head of the SS and the police, subsequently organising the structures to be more efficient and effective. Through this, political rivals and resistors were identified and treated ruthlessly, therefore showing how it was the state that engaged in surveillance in order to eradicate opposition. The increased number of inmates within concentrations camps represent the increasing effectivity of the state surveying resistance and opposition. Overall, it would indeed be an oversimplification to argue that German society was a society of self-surveillance due to the limited scope and success of denunciations and subsequently, resistance by the working class. This implies that society wasn’t regulated by the individuals within, rather authority from the government , as seen in the increasingly prominent police state.

‘The Nazi economic miracle between 1933 and 1939 was merely a propaganda myth.’ Assess the validity of this view. The economic miracle referred to the fact that Hitler had solved the issues that came from the Great Depression and has effectively stabilized the economy. This has been largely criticised as myth due to several factors such as invisible unemployment, the lack of trade unions and reduced workers rights. This insinuates that economic prosperity was heavily propagated and largely fictitious. Despite this, it is also important to recognise that the economic miracle can be recognised in several economic plans such as economic autarky and the rearmament efforts. The Nazi economic miracle was indeed a propaganda myth due to invisible unemployment records. In this, Richard Evans estimated that invisible unemployment was as high as 1.5 million throughout the regime. The Nation Statistics failed to recognise Jews, Communist, gypsies and those in unpaid agricultural workers as unemployed. Therefore, statistics were warped in order to portray a false image of economic recovery. For example, discriminatory policies to those deemed as the ‘untermenschen’, made way for boosted employment for the Aryan race, indicating the aryanisation of different job vacancies. This can be seen in the Law for the Restoration of the Professional Civil Service (1993), which dismissed Jews from the Civil Service, thus allowing the German population to become employed at the expense of the Jewish population. Therefore, the economic miracle between 1933 and 1939 was indeed a propaganda myth due to the omittance of social groups from the employment statistics, displaying an image of a prospering Germany. The lack of a trade union meant that workers could no longer display their grievances or complain about the working conditions. This subsequently fabricates the economic conditions of Germany. The trade union was replaced with the German Labour Front, led by Robert Ley. This means that workers had no means of improving their working conditions due to the fear of any repercussions by the terror state. Poor working conditions and wages can be displayed in the decreasing living standards. For example, German commoners were able to afford few luxuries and consumption of high value foods such as meat, fruit and eggs declined suggesting that the economic miracle was a myth. Reduced living conditions indicates a weaker economy as the state can no longer afford luxuries, focusing on the necessities. In this, the economic miracle was heavily propagated as the lack of an independent organisation to mediate conflicts left very little room for grievances to be made. The impacts of this censorship can be seen in the decreasing living standards. The fabricated economic myth can be further reinforced by the reduced workers rights. Strikes were banned in the name of patriotism as it was seen as non nationalistic, meaning that production levels were forced to maintain at a certain threshold. In 1928, the equivalent of 20,339,000 days had been lost as a result of strikes, impacting production levels and subsequently economic prosperity. This means that economic prosperity was based on the silencing of workers and complete censorship of any dissent towards working conditions. Distaste towards working conditions could not be displayed which means that the Nazi regime utilised heavy fabrication of the state of the economy in order to present an economic miracle.

Alternatively, there have been schemes adopted by the government that indicated that there was indeed an economic miracle. For example, the Four Year Plan led to economic prosperity. This aimed to achieve autarky (self-sufficiency) in food production, and vital raw materials in order to prepare Germany for war. This links into the Nazi view of national sovereignty. This led to the increased production of key commodities such as iron, steel and chemicals. Such and increase of production also leads to a greater work force due to excessive economic growth. Therefore, the economic mirale wasn’t merely a propaganda myth because Germany wouldn’t have adopted such policies in preparing a war if the economy wasn’t stable enough to do so. This is because declaring war would result in a large drain of already scarce resources. For that reason, the economic miracle was a reality rather than a myth because preparations for war indicate a strong economy ripe for the conditions of war. The Four Year Plan also brought forwards programmes that made way for greater economic stimulation. This can be seen in the rearmament programme introduced in 1935 which created jobs in the armament industries an in the military. The introduction of a national service meant that all young men spent at least 6 months in the RAD, and then were conscripted into the army. By 1939, 1.4 million men were in the army. Therefore, the policies adopted and implemented into Germany made way for a strong and stable economy. The rearmament programme reduced unemployment levels as more people were employed into armament industries as well as the military, reducing economic hardship. This reinforces the view that the economic miracle wasn’t a propaganda myth. Economic growth can also be seen outside the armament industry, such as the relief programmes. Large sums of money were spent on the building of roads and public buildings, which subsequently created jobs for the public as well as increasing industrial production. Unemployment was addressed in the Reich Labour Service which was introduced to employ unemployed men for 6 months in labour farming or construction work. This implies that the regime was effective in creating jobs and stimulating the economy . This also helped win over many doubters an sceptics to the government's side, pumping euphoria into the Third Reich supporters. This shows that the economic growth of Germany was a reality due to the measures taken by the state to address economic difficulties through the relief programs implemented. This allowed individuals a form of assistance in their economic strain. Overall, the economic miracle was largely a reality because of the relief programmes implemented by the state and the Four Year Plan which made a greater demand for a workforce, allowing more individuals to gain employment. This was further enhanced by the rearmament programmes which created more jobs in the armament industries and military. Such advances indicate and economic miracle. However, there were indeed some elements which were a propaganda myth, thus undermining the economic miracle. This can be seen in the invisible unemployment statistics. Although, this doesn’t drift from the notion that there was an economic miracle.

“The Nazi regime achieved its objectives in its policies towards the Christian churches”. Assess the validity of this view. The Nazi regime aimed to coordinate Christian Churches in accordance with the Nazi ideology. This was referred to as Gleichschaltung. Hitler wanted to achieve unity and to prevent the churches from speaking out against the regime, reducing opposition an increasing support. This is because almost all Germans were Christian and thus were greatly influenced by religion. In this, the Nazi regime made attempts to achieve its objectives towards Christian churches as seen in the Protestant churches and the Catholic Church. However, not all objectives were achiev...