Hitler in Germany

The point of this essay is to prove that although Hitler came to power within the 'letter of the law" he did not come to power within the 'spirit of the law.'

Hitler was appointed Chancellor on the 30th of January 1933, with only two other Nazis in the Cabinet, this was though to be enough to control him, by Van Papen and the conservatives. Hitler persuaded President Hindenburg to hold new elections in March 1933, in the hope he would gain an over all majority. However in the new elections Hitler controlled Prussia through Gцring (Cabinet Minister) and the other two fifths of Germany through Frick (the other Cabinet Minister). With Nazi appointed police chiefs and local government heads, the Nazis had the legal power to intimidate the electorate. By the end of February 1933 Hitler was Chancellor and in control of police and local government, all legally and not within the spirit of the constitution.

On the 27th of February 1933 a half-mad Dutch Communist called Van der Lubbe was found wondering in the ashes of the burning Reichstag. This provided the Nazis with the opportunity to persuade Hindenburg to sign an emergency decree (composed by Frick) on February the 28th, suspending civil liberties and allowing the central Government to run regional governments deemed unable to run them selves. By the end of April, twenty five thousand people had been taken into 'protective custody' in Prussia alone. Under the decree Frick was able to 'take over' areas not already controlled by Gцring. Because of the 'suicide clause' these actions were legal however they were definitely not within the democratic spirit of the constitution.

In the Reichstag elections of March 1933 the Nazis increased their control from 33.1% in December 1932 to 43.9%. This increase can be attributed to the Nazis strong stance on Communism. The Nazis were known for their hatred of Communism, the middle class voted Nazi because of that policy. Joseph Goebbels' propaganda machine was also very good at 'acquiring' votes. Nazi intimation by the now auxiliary policeman (in Prussia), the S.A. and S.S. plus the threat of unemployment by Nazi run organisations also helped increase Nazi votes. With their rightwing and Catholic allies the Nazis were now in a position to obtain power legally. Hitler clearly gained power legally as regards election results but as to how he got the results it is clear he acted both illegally and against the constitution.

The 'Enabling Act' was the law, which legalised the Nazi regime. However the Nazis needed a two-thirds majority to get the law passed. Hitler promised the Roman Catholic Church he would protect its right to preach and to have separate schools, in return he would receive the RC Centre Party's support. This was not enough by itself to secure the two-thirds majority needed. However with Communists Deputies in prison and extreme Socialists unable to take their seats in parliament, Hitler could make the two-thirds majority needed. On March the 21st 1933 the new Reichstag was opened. Goebbels turned it into a Nazi propaganda event, appeasing the Nazi faithful, intimidating what was left of the opposition and reassuring the Nazi's allies that Germany would be strong again. On March the 23rd 1933 the Kroll Opera House played host to the 'Enabling Act' debate. Goebbels orchestrated the whole event with S.A. men lining the entrance and corridors, huge Nazi banners hung from the roof and of course no Communists or extreme Socialists. Despite the courageous opposition of the S.P.D. the 'Enabling Act' was passed by four hundred and forty one votes to ninety-four. The 'Enabling Act' effectively did away with parliamentary procedure and switched all legislative powers to the Chancellor & his Cabinet. Hitler's "coup de tat" or coup by instalments was as good as sealed. The intimation and Nazi 'persuasive' tactics which gave Hitler Germany were definitely illegal and out with the spirit of the democratic constitution of Germany.

On the 7th of April 1933 Hitler began to consolidate his power using the Enabling Act. On that day laws were passed to remove political opponents and Jews from the civil service and the legal professions. From the 7th of April Jews could only practice law representing their 'own race'. Loyal Nazis replaced all judges and senior legal officers. The 1st of May (International Labour Day) was declared a national holiday. On the 2nd of May all trade unions not already merged with the D.A.F. (German Labour Front) were absorbed by the D.A.F. which was a Nazi run organisation. The trade unions had little choice as the S.A. occupied their offices and printing works. On the 22nd of June the SPD was formally outlawed. Although they had been outlawed unofficially since the Enabling Act had been passed. On the 1st of July 1933 Hitler's government negotiated the concordat with the Pope. Hitler promised to allow Catholics to preach and maintain their own schools, in return the Vatican promised to dissolve the RC Centre Party and keep priests out of politics. This was a stroke of genius by Hitler, the RC church would dissolve its own party without Hitler having to ban it and hence alienate the RC community (approximately one-third of the German population). On the 5th of July 1933 in accordance with the wishes of Hitler and the Pope the Roman Catholic Centre Party formally dissolved itself. On the 14th of July 1933 the NSDAP was declared the only single party in Germany. The Nazis were now almost totally unopposed in Germany, the revolution was as good as over no one stood in their way and all this had occurred in 6 months. As Gobbels wrote in his diary;

"All this had been achieved much more quickly than we had dared to hope."

The Nazis had only one opponent left, the army, however on the 30th of June 1934, "the Night of the Long Knives" occurred, in which Hitler gained the support of the Army. The S.S., with weapons supplied by the army, began purging the S.A. of its leaders, whom the army resented. Hitler also took this opportunity to settle a few old scores by assassinating a few 'enemies of the state'. In early August 1934 President Hindenburg died, Hitler merged the offices of Chancellor and President and became the FÑŒhrer.

Hitler Had by July 1933 destroyed all effective resistance in Germany, because of the Enabling Act it was all 'Technically' legal however it was quite clearly against the spirit of the constitution. By August 1934 he was the FÑŒhrer & Germany was a dictatorship. Thus the first

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