How Did Hitler Establish a Dictatorship in Germany from 30th January 1933 to August 1934?
How Did Hitler Establish A Dictatorship In Germany From 30th January 1933 To August 1934?
On The 30th of January 1933, President Hindenburg appointed Hitler as Chancellor. In the 18 months succeeding this, Hitler became, essentially, a dictator. This essay will look at what a dictatorship is and how it operates, how the population is brought to a point where they accept a dictatorship, and examine and analyze the vital events that took place in Germany which lead to Hitler assuming dictatorial power: the Reichstag fire, the Emergency Decree, the Enabling Act, the banning of trade unions and other political parties, the Night Of The Long Knives, the death of President Hindenburg, and the German army’s oath of loyalty to Hitler. It will be argued that while all the mentioned events were crucial, ultimately, the single most important factor to Hitler’s success was the Enabling Act.
What is a dictator? A dictator is a ruler who has absolute power over a country, power that is, typically, obtained through force. Therefore, a dictatorship is when “a single person… rule over an entire country and place great restrictions on personal and economic freedom… depending on how tight of a hold the government has, it can govern where you will work… what religion you may belong to, and what schools your children will attend”.
The occurrence of the Reichstag fire was Hitler’s first step to dictatorship. One week before the general elections, on February 27th, 1933, the Reichstag buildings went up in flames. Marinus Van der Lubbe, a Dutch Communist, was found in the building with lighting equipment, and was arrested and hung. Hitler claimed it was “the beginning of a Communist uprising” - he demanded emergency powers to “deal with the situation” 2 from Hindenburg, who gave them to him. These powers were called the Emergency Decree. In conclusion, the Emergency Decree took away German people’s basic liberties – freedom of speech and assembly, freedom from arbitrary arrest
On The 30th of January 1933, President Hindenburg appointed Hitler as Chancellor. In the 18 months succeeding this, Hitler became, essentially, a dictator. This essay will look at what a dictatorship is and how it operates, how the population is brought to a point where they accept a dictatorship, and examine and analyze the vital events that took place in Germany which lead to Hitler assuming dictatorial power: the Reichstag fire, the Emergency Decree, the Enabling Act, the banning of trade unions and other political parties, the Night Of The Long Knives, the death of President Hindenburg, and the German army’s oath of loyalty to Hitler. It will be argued that while all the mentioned events were crucial, ultimately, the single most important factor to Hitler’s success was the Enabling Act.
What is a dictator? A dictator is a ruler who has absolute power over a country, power that is, typically, obtained through force. Therefore, a dictatorship is when “a single person… rule over an entire country and place great restrictions on personal and economic freedom… depending on how tight of a hold the government has, it can govern where you will work… what religion you may belong to, and what schools your children will attend”.
The occurrence of the Reichstag fire was Hitler’s first step to dictatorship. One week before the general elections, on February 27th, 1933, the Reichstag buildings went up in flames. Marinus Van der Lubbe, a Dutch Communist, was found in the building with lighting equipment, and was arrested and hung. Hitler claimed it was “the beginning of a Communist uprising” - he demanded emergency powers to “deal with the situation” 2 from Hindenburg, who gave them to him. These powers were called the Emergency Decree. In conclusion, the Emergency Decree took away German people’s basic liberties – freedom of speech and assembly, freedom from arbitrary arrest