GCSE History (CCEA)

Weimar and Nazi Germany Topic Summaries

Nazi dictatorship (1933–1939)

The establishment of Hitler as Führer

  • Hitler did not yet have a majority in the Reichstag. He decided to hold another election for March 1933.
  • One week before the election, on 27 February 1933, the Reichstag building was set on fire.
  • It is unclear who started this fire; many think it was the Nazis, but the Nazis arrested a Dutch Communist named Marinus van der Lubbe.
  • Hitler capitalised on the Reichstag fire as evidence of an alleged communist plot to seize control of the government. This strengthened the public perception of Hitler as a strong leader who could defend Germany from their perceived enemies.
  • Hitler persuaded the President to sign a Decree for the Protection of the People and State that allowed the Nazis to imprison anyone they saw as political opponents.
  • Shortly after the fire, Hitler formed a coalition with the Nationalist Party that gave him a majority in parliament.
  • On 23 March 1933, Hitler passed the Enabling Act which allowed him to make laws or change the constitution without the approval of the Reichstag for the next four years.
  • The act was passed after opposition politicians were intimidated, arrested, or excluded from the vote.
  • The Enabling Act gave Hitler dictatorial powers and removed parliamentary control over government decisions. With it, democracy in Germany was effectively ended.
  • Hitler banned all political parties except for the Nazi Party by July 1933, eliminating all opposition.
  • He also abolished trade unions, arresting their leaders and removing the possibility of organised resistance amongst workers who were forced to adhere to Nazi policies.
  • When President Hindenburg died in August 1934, Hitler combined the roles of Chancellor and President.
  • He took the title of Führer, becoming the supreme leader of Germany.
  • He made the army swear an oath of loyalty to him, not the country. This completed the creation of a totalitarian dictatorship.

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