Consolidation of Nazi Power 1933-1934
Account for the initial consolidation of Nazi power in 1933 - 1934
Due to the failure of the Weimar Republic and general public dissatisfaction arising from poor economic conditions exacerbated by the Treaty of Versailles, coupled with the 1929 Wall Street Crash, German citizens were understandably desperate for change. Until this point in time the Nazi party, and Hitler, had been essentially unpopular. However, the economic situation ensured Hitler’s increasing popularity as the people looked toward more extreme but non-communist ideals. The initial consolidation of Nazi power in 1933 arose from key events such as the support of the Nationalist Party with the Nazis to form a coalition government, implementation of the Enabling Law, removal of external and internal opposition, and President Hindenburg’s death. Hitler’s key principles and therefore the foundation of German Nazism revolved around anti-semitism, (hatred of Jews), and the racial supremacy of the Aryrian race. Nazi strategies were largely based around intimidation and brutality and during World War two, the Holocaust resulted in the extermination of six million Jews. Furthermore, according to Historians Collier and Pedley, Hitler believed that the Treaty of Versailles had destroyed the Aryrian destiny of expanding German territory into the east, and he despised democracy and therefore the Weimar Republic. Hitler also believed that one leader should dominate the county and the Nazi party in a concept known as Fuhrer-prinzip. Until 1930, the Nazi party had been a relatively minor party. However in the 1930 election, the Nazi’s popularity dramatically increased accounting for 14.4% of the vote, or 107 seats in the Reichstag. This meant that the vote had increased from 800,000 in 1928 to 6.4 million votes in 1930. The consolidation of Nazi power was in some ways aided by the economic collapse in 1931 and the consequent suspension of the reparation payments by the Allies. Hitler’s
Due to the failure of the Weimar Republic and general public dissatisfaction arising from poor economic conditions exacerbated by the Treaty of Versailles, coupled with the 1929 Wall Street Crash, German citizens were understandably desperate for change. Until this point in time the Nazi party, and Hitler, had been essentially unpopular. However, the economic situation ensured Hitler’s increasing popularity as the people looked toward more extreme but non-communist ideals. The initial consolidation of Nazi power in 1933 arose from key events such as the support of the Nationalist Party with the Nazis to form a coalition government, implementation of the Enabling Law, removal of external and internal opposition, and President Hindenburg’s death. Hitler’s key principles and therefore the foundation of German Nazism revolved around anti-semitism, (hatred of Jews), and the racial supremacy of the Aryrian race. Nazi strategies were largely based around intimidation and brutality and during World War two, the Holocaust resulted in the extermination of six million Jews. Furthermore, according to Historians Collier and Pedley, Hitler believed that the Treaty of Versailles had destroyed the Aryrian destiny of expanding German territory into the east, and he despised democracy and therefore the Weimar Republic. Hitler also believed that one leader should dominate the county and the Nazi party in a concept known as Fuhrer-prinzip. Until 1930, the Nazi party had been a relatively minor party. However in the 1930 election, the Nazi’s popularity dramatically increased accounting for 14.4% of the vote, or 107 seats in the Reichstag. This meant that the vote had increased from 800,000 in 1928 to 6.4 million votes in 1930. The consolidation of Nazi power was in some ways aided by the economic collapse in 1931 and the consequent suspension of the reparation payments by the Allies. Hitler’s