Short Term Consequences Of Hitler As Chancellor Essay
What were the short term consequences of the Appointment of Hitler as Chancellor
President Hindenburg appointed Hitler Chancellor of coalition government on The 30th January 1933.
Shortly after, the first cracks began to show in the foundations of this new leadership, as after the death of President Hindenburg, Hitler combined the posts of president and chancellor. Given the fact that he was also commander-in-chief of the armed services he became the sole leader of the German country, represented by the quote “one people, one empire, one leader”.
After being appointed as Chancellor, Adolf Hitler asked President von Hindenburg to dissolve the Reichstag, as he felt it was unnecessary and would get in the way of his visions for Germany …show more content…
in the future. Therefore he wrote ‘The Enabling Act’, which would effectively give him the power of a dictator, as it would grant him the authority to enact laws without the consent of the Reichstag for four whole years.
Although Hindenburg was not completely convinced, he held a ‘general election’ on March 5 1933.
However 6 days prior to the election and not by chance the Reichstag was set on fire by a man named Marinus van der Lubbe, who was involved in communist connections. However there is little to link him to the crime, especially as it was later found that he was three-quarters blind and a pyromaniac (person who has an inner compulsion to start fires). Yet at the time the Nazi’s used this to their advantage and as propaganda against the Communist party, describing it as a communist revolution. This shook the German civilians and gained more support for Hitler and the Nazi Party. Only leading to the emergency ‘Reichstag Fire’ decree, which suspended civil rights and gave the government the power to control newspapers and arrest anyone they wanted, without a given reason. Many historians believe that this was one of the single acts, which led to the one party system, as the Nazis took advantage of this new liberty and the SA was given the freedom to attack communists in the street, as well as Hitler using the decree to have the communist representatives arrested and therefore eliminating them as a potential political threat.
However in Source A – from a historian’s account based on the testimony of Karl Ernst (the Berlin SA leader), it states that ‘there was an underground passage, built to carry the central heating system, running from Goering’s palace to the Reichstag building. Through this tunnel Karl Ernst led a small detachment of Storm troopers scattering gasoline and self-igniting chemicals. A few days before the Nazis had heard the demented communist arsonist boasting that he was going to try to set alight the Reichstag. The coincidence that the Nazis found someone who was out to do exactly what they themselves wanted, seems incredible, but it is nevertheless supported by the evidence.’
Therefore it can be seen that the Reichstag building being set alight is a consequence of Hitler coming to power, as although it was not proved at the time, the Nazis were indeed the culprits who ignited the Reichstag and not coincidently before the General elections. As Hitler knew that to pass his bill of the ‘Enabling Act’ and to get rid of any strong political threats, such as the communists, he needed a ‘shock factor’, which would scare the public and the ministers, thus walking straight into the Nazi trap.
Following this on March 23rd the Reichstag gathered to discuss the ‘Enabling Act’. Hitler needed a two-thirds majority to vote for the act, as it was considered a constitutional amendment. Somehow, through a mix of threats and promises, Hitler obtained the needed number of votes to pass it through. ‘This signalled the end of parliamentary democracy in Germany’[1].
However Source B from an account by a Social Democrat MP, who was present at the passing of the Enabling Act states, “Hitler read out his declaration in a surprisingly calm voice. Only in a few places did he raise in to a fanatical frenzy: when he demanded the public execution of van der Lubbe and when at the end of his speech, he uttered dark threats of what would happen if the Reichstag did not vote for the Enabling Act. Meanwhile the Opera House was crawling with armed SA and SS men; the assembly hall was decorated with swastikas and when we Social Democrats had taken our seats, SA and SS men lined up at the exits and along the walls behind us in a semi-circle. Their expressions boded no good”.
Thus, the passing of the Enabling Act, is a definite consequence from Hitler becoming Chancellor, as not only was it his idea of the beginning of dictatorship, it also was a test and a display of his rising power, as the Nazis made any event, no matter the scale, a parade of their greatness in showing off their uniforms, their swastikas and most importantly their leader.
The passing of the bill was most probably because of how threatened and intimidated the other parties felt, but it also relied on the fact that that day, the Reichstag seated 288 Nazis, which was the vast majority as their were 359 seats in total. (As seen in source C)
The SA became intolerant and wanted to take the Nazi regime even further by destroying big business, letting the party run the state and most importantly giving the SA control of the entire army.
At the time Ernest Roehm was the SA leader, the only man who could pose a threat to Hitler, who had over 2.5 million men at his command.
By late 1933, the SA was beginning to embarrass the new Chancellor because of the street violence and havoc they were rising.
Key Nazi Party leaders advised Hitler that it was necessary to confront Roehm.
Hitler did on June 30 1934, which became known as ‘The Night of the Long Knives’. Roehm was arrested and later shot with around another 85 SA leaders. After this the SA no longer posed a threat.
The then German courts and cabinet ‘quickly swept aside centuries of legal prevention against extra-judicial killings to demonstrate their loyalty to the regime.[2]’ This made way for a legal basis of the Nazi regime.
In September 1935, the Nuremberg Laws were announced.
‘The laws deprived Jews of their German citizenship and prevented them from marriage to non-Jews’[3].
Furthermore when a German-born Jew assassinated German diplomat- Ernst von Rath in Paris in 1938, this gave the Nazi’s and Hitler a good excuse to finally attack the Jewish
community.
One of Hitler’s main Nazi ministers, Joseph Goebbels, organised the widespread attack on November 9, which later became known as ‘Kristallnacht’, (Crystal Night).
On the night approximately 300 synagogues were destroyed, 91 Jews were murdered and around 20,000 were sent to concentration camps.
Many Historians view this night as the beginning of the ‘Final Solution’ of the elimination of all Jews.
-----------------------
[1] Nazi Germany, Alex Woolf
[2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Night_of_the_Long_Knives
[3] Nazi Germany, Alex Woolf
President Hindenburg appointed Hitler Chancellor of coalition government on The 30th January 1933.
Shortly after, the first cracks began to show in the foundations of this new leadership, as after the death of President Hindenburg, Hitler combined the posts of president and chancellor. Given the fact that he was also commander-in-chief of the armed services he became the sole leader of the German country, represented by the quote “one people, one empire, one leader”.
After being appointed as Chancellor, Adolf Hitler asked President von Hindenburg to dissolve the Reichstag, as he felt it was unnecessary and would get in the way of his visions for Germany …show more content…
in the future. Therefore he wrote ‘The Enabling Act’, which would effectively give him the power of a dictator, as it would grant him the authority to enact laws without the consent of the Reichstag for four whole years.
Although Hindenburg was not completely convinced, he held a ‘general election’ on March 5 1933.
However 6 days prior to the election and not by chance the Reichstag was set on fire by a man named Marinus van der Lubbe, who was involved in communist connections. However there is little to link him to the crime, especially as it was later found that he was three-quarters blind and a pyromaniac (person who has an inner compulsion to start fires). Yet at the time the Nazi’s used this to their advantage and as propaganda against the Communist party, describing it as a communist revolution. This shook the German civilians and gained more support for Hitler and the Nazi Party. Only leading to the emergency ‘Reichstag Fire’ decree, which suspended civil rights and gave the government the power to control newspapers and arrest anyone they wanted, without a given reason. Many historians believe that this was one of the single acts, which led to the one party system, as the Nazis took advantage of this new liberty and the SA was given the freedom to attack communists in the street, as well as Hitler using the decree to have the communist representatives arrested and therefore eliminating them as a potential political threat.
However in Source A – from a historian’s account based on the testimony of Karl Ernst (the Berlin SA leader), it states that ‘there was an underground passage, built to carry the central heating system, running from Goering’s palace to the Reichstag building. Through this tunnel Karl Ernst led a small detachment of Storm troopers scattering gasoline and self-igniting chemicals. A few days before the Nazis had heard the demented communist arsonist boasting that he was going to try to set alight the Reichstag. The coincidence that the Nazis found someone who was out to do exactly what they themselves wanted, seems incredible, but it is nevertheless supported by the evidence.’
Therefore it can be seen that the Reichstag building being set alight is a consequence of Hitler coming to power, as although it was not proved at the time, the Nazis were indeed the culprits who ignited the Reichstag and not coincidently before the General elections. As Hitler knew that to pass his bill of the ‘Enabling Act’ and to get rid of any strong political threats, such as the communists, he needed a ‘shock factor’, which would scare the public and the ministers, thus walking straight into the Nazi trap.
Following this on March 23rd the Reichstag gathered to discuss the ‘Enabling Act’. Hitler needed a two-thirds majority to vote for the act, as it was considered a constitutional amendment. Somehow, through a mix of threats and promises, Hitler obtained the needed number of votes to pass it through. ‘This signalled the end of parliamentary democracy in Germany’[1].
However Source B from an account by a Social Democrat MP, who was present at the passing of the Enabling Act states, “Hitler read out his declaration in a surprisingly calm voice. Only in a few places did he raise in to a fanatical frenzy: when he demanded the public execution of van der Lubbe and when at the end of his speech, he uttered dark threats of what would happen if the Reichstag did not vote for the Enabling Act. Meanwhile the Opera House was crawling with armed SA and SS men; the assembly hall was decorated with swastikas and when we Social Democrats had taken our seats, SA and SS men lined up at the exits and along the walls behind us in a semi-circle. Their expressions boded no good”.
Thus, the passing of the Enabling Act, is a definite consequence from Hitler becoming Chancellor, as not only was it his idea of the beginning of dictatorship, it also was a test and a display of his rising power, as the Nazis made any event, no matter the scale, a parade of their greatness in showing off their uniforms, their swastikas and most importantly their leader.
The passing of the bill was most probably because of how threatened and intimidated the other parties felt, but it also relied on the fact that that day, the Reichstag seated 288 Nazis, which was the vast majority as their were 359 seats in total. (As seen in source C)
The SA became intolerant and wanted to take the Nazi regime even further by destroying big business, letting the party run the state and most importantly giving the SA control of the entire army.
At the time Ernest Roehm was the SA leader, the only man who could pose a threat to Hitler, who had over 2.5 million men at his command.
By late 1933, the SA was beginning to embarrass the new Chancellor because of the street violence and havoc they were rising.
Key Nazi Party leaders advised Hitler that it was necessary to confront Roehm.
Hitler did on June 30 1934, which became known as ‘The Night of the Long Knives’. Roehm was arrested and later shot with around another 85 SA leaders. After this the SA no longer posed a threat.
The then German courts and cabinet ‘quickly swept aside centuries of legal prevention against extra-judicial killings to demonstrate their loyalty to the regime.[2]’ This made way for a legal basis of the Nazi regime.
In September 1935, the Nuremberg Laws were announced.
‘The laws deprived Jews of their German citizenship and prevented them from marriage to non-Jews’[3].
Furthermore when a German-born Jew assassinated German diplomat- Ernst von Rath in Paris in 1938, this gave the Nazi’s and Hitler a good excuse to finally attack the Jewish
community.
One of Hitler’s main Nazi ministers, Joseph Goebbels, organised the widespread attack on November 9, which later became known as ‘Kristallnacht’, (Crystal Night).
On the night approximately 300 synagogues were destroyed, 91 Jews were murdered and around 20,000 were sent to concentration camps.
Many Historians view this night as the beginning of the ‘Final Solution’ of the elimination of all Jews.
-----------------------
[1] Nazi Germany, Alex Woolf
[2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Night_of_the_Long_Knives
[3] Nazi Germany, Alex Woolf