Consolidation of power: the Reichstag Fire, the Enabling Act of 1933, the end of other parties, the Night of the Long Knives and the death of Hindenburg in 1934.

What this dot point is asking

You need to explain how Hitler turned the post of Chancellor, which he gained in January 1933, into a one-party dictatorship by August 1934. CCEA examiners reward precise knowledge of the key steps, the Reichstag Fire, the Enabling Act, the removal of rivals, the Night of the Long Knives and the death of Hindenburg, and a judgement that ranks the legal and the violent steps in creating the dictatorship.

The Reichstag Fire and the Enabling Act

Hitler was appointed Chancellor on 30 January 1933, but the Nazis did not have a majority and Hitler was not yet a dictator. He moved quickly to change that.

Removing rivals

With emergency powers in hand, the Nazis dismantled opposition.

• Trade unions were banned in May 1933 and replaced by the Nazi German Labour Front.
• Other political parties were banned or dissolved, and in July 1933 Germany was declared a one-party state.
• Local government was brought under Nazi control through a process of coordination known as Gleichschaltung.

By the second half of 1933, organised opposition had been swept away by a mixture of legal measures and intimidation.

The Night of the Long Knives

The greatest remaining threat came from within the Nazi movement, from the SA (the brownshirts) and their leader Ernst Rohm, who commanded a huge force and wanted a "second revolution". The army and conservative elites distrusted the SA, and Hitler needed the army's loyalty.

The death of Hindenburg

When President Hindenburg died in August 1934, Hitler merged the offices of Chancellor and President, taking the title Fuhrer (leader). He also made every soldier swear a personal oath of loyalty to Hitler himself, not to the constitution. With the army bound to him and all rivals gone, Hitler's dictatorship was complete within nineteen months of becoming Chancellor.

Examples in context

Model causation paragraph. "The Enabling Act of March 1933 was the decisive legal step in making Hitler a dictator, because it let him make laws without the Reichstag and so bypass democracy entirely. Yet it was not enough alone. The Reichstag Fire Decree had first crippled the communists, the banning of parties and unions removed organised opposition, and the Night of the Long Knives destroyed the SA and won the army's trust. The final check fell with Hindenburg's death in August 1934, when Hitler became Fuhrer and the army swore loyalty to him. The Enabling Act was the key legal move, but Hindenburg's death removed the last restraint." This scores highly because it ranks the legal step against the removal of the final check, with precise evidence.

Try this

Q1. What did the Enabling Act of March 1933 allow Hitler to do? [2 marks]

• Cue. To make laws without the Reichstag for four years, the legal foundation of the dictatorship.

Q2. What was the Night of the Long Knives? [2 marks]

• Cue. A purge in 1934 in which the SS murdered the SA leader Ernst Rohm and other rivals, removing the SA and pleasing the army.

Q3. What did Hitler do when Hindenburg died in August 1934? [3 marks]

• Cue. He merged Chancellor and President as Fuhrer and made the army swear a personal oath of loyalty to him.