Was The Use Of Censorship The Most Effective Way That Hitler Dealt With Opposition 1933

Was the use of censorship the most effective way that Hitler dealt with opposition 1933-1939?
Censorship
Night of the Long Knives
Persecution of Churches
Gestapo
Censorship had significantly aided Hitler in isolating alternative views, however, the Gestapo and the Night of the Long Knives were the most effective ways in which he dealt with opposition during 1933 and 1939 as through the Gestapo, and Hitler was able to remove political opponents by removing their rights to protest. Also, through the Night of the Long Knives, Hitler was able to appease the army and they were removed as a threat to his power.
It could be argued that censorship was the most effective way that Hitler dealt with opposition as it stopped people from alternative and liberal views from circulating as Goebbels, the Minister of Propaganda, set up a press agency to tell newspapers what the news should be and most newspapers were controlled by the Nazis. Book burnings were also organised to remove anything that opposed Nazi ideas. Censorship was effective to an extent as it worked well with propaganda to make sure that people were subjected to Nazi ideas. However, censorship was exclusive to a dictatorship and it had failed to completely silence opposing views as private grumbling and anti-Nazi propaganda was published underground. Therefore, censorship was not as effective as the Gestapo and the Night of the Long Knives because even though it had affected everyone, it did not remove more important opposition like the army who had the power to overthrow Hitler.
The Night of the Long Knives occurred in 1934 and it allowed Hitler to gain the full support of the army and dissolved the rebellious SA and their ambitious leader, Rohm. Approximately 400 SA members were killed and Rohm was executed so it set a message to other political opponents that opposition was punishable by death. This removal of the SA was done to appease the army as they were more liked by the German population and they thought that the SA were too undisciplined. The Night of the Long Knives was very effective as it neutralised potential opposition from the army because the army later took an oath of loyalty to him. Also, after appeasing the army, the only obstacle remaining was President Hindenburg so even though Hindenburg could give orders to the army to overthrow Hitler, they would not because they had taken an oath.
The Gestapo were a secret police in Germany and they tapped telephones, intercepted mail and spied on people. They were vital in the police state as they exploited the existing sense of fear so they intimidated opposition to the government. They also criminalised opposition like Sophie Scholl. In general, the police state banned political parties so they were forced to go underground and political opponents were sent to concentration camps so they were used as examples. This lead to more private grumbling rather than open opposition as people were scared that they would be treated in the same way and sent to concentration camps. In conjunction with the Night of the Long Knives, the Gestapo were very effective in dealing with opposition as they removed the most important threats to Hitler’s power: the army and political opponents. They also instilled a sense of fear amongst the German people so they would not challenge Hitler and the Nazis.
The persecution of Churches was quite effective as Hitler signed a concordat with the Catholic Church in 1933 so the Pope could not be involved in politics. He also united all Protestant churches so they were under a pro-Nazi Reich Bishop. The church was also a significant institution which gained a lot of respect and was important in community life so they had the power to challenge Hitler. This was quite effective as it neutralised the church through legal means by stopping them actively opposing him as religion provided people with a moral code that challenge Nazi ideas. However, this was only successful to an extent because even though the Church made agreements with Hitler, individual members of the Church still opposed. Also, the church could still influence people as their messages contradicted Nazi ideas as they depicted Jesus to be a saviour rather than Hitler.
Overall, censorship was not the most effective way in which Hitler dealt with opposition. However, it is very important as it eliminated alternative views which could influence people. On the other hand, the Night of the Long Knives and the Gestapo removed opposition from the army and political opponents who could overthrow Hitler as they had more power so it helped him deal with the most important sources of opposition.