In March 1933, the Reichstag passed the Enabling Act giving Hitler the power to make laws without parliament. (a) Describe how Hitler became Chancellor of G...

(a) Describe how Hitler became Chancellor of Germany in January 1933. [4 marks]

• President Hindenburg appointed Adolf Hitler as Chancellor of Germany on 30 January 1933, after the Nazi Party (NSDAP) had become the largest party in the Reichstag following the elections of July and November 1932.
• Former Chancellor Franz von Papen and other conservative politicians persuaded Hindenburg that Hitler could be controlled within a coalition government. They believed they could use Hitler's popular support while limiting his power.
• The previous chancellors, Papen and Kurt von Schleicher, had both failed to form stable governments. Germany had been governed by presidential decree under Article 48, and political deadlock made a new approach necessary.
• Hitler was appointed head of a coalition government with only two other Nazi cabinet members (Wilhelm Frick and Hermann Goering). The conservatives believed their majority in the cabinet would keep Hitler in check.

(b) Why was the Enabling Act of March 1933 important for Hitler? [6 marks]

• Legal dictatorship: The Enabling Act (Law for the Removal of the Distress of People and Reich), passed on 23 March 1933, allowed Hitler to pass laws for four years without the approval of the Reichstag or the President. This effectively ended democratic government in Germany and made Hitler a legal dictator.
• Constitutional bypass: Hitler could now bypass the Weimar Constitution without any parliamentary opposition. He no longer needed the support of coalition partners to govern.
• Reichstag Fire pretext: The Act was passed in the wake of the Reichstag Fire (27 February 1933), which Hitler blamed on the communists. The fire gave him the pretext to issue the Decree for the Protection of People and State, suspending civil liberties and allowing the arrest of communist and some socialist deputies.
• Intimidation of opponents: SA (Sturmabteilung) members surrounded the Kroll Opera House where the vote took place, intimidating deputies. Communist deputies had already been arrested or excluded.
• Centre Party support: Only the Social Democrats (SPD) voted against the Act. The Centre Party voted in favour after Hitler promised to protect Catholic rights and institutions.
• Legal foundation for dictatorship: The Act gave Hitler's subsequent measures a veneer of legality, making it harder for opponents to challenge his authority on constitutional grounds.

(c) How far had Hitler established a dictatorship in Germany by the end of 1933? [10 marks]

Arguments that Hitler had largely established a dictatorship:

• The Enabling Act gave Hitler the power to make laws without parliament, effectively making him a dictator.
• Political parties were banned in July 1933 through the Law against the Formation of New Parties, making Germany a one-party state.
• Trade unions were abolished on 2 May 1933 and replaced by the German Labour Front (DAF), removing organised opposition from the working class.
• The civil service was purged through the Law for the Restoration of the Professional Civil Service (April 1933), which dismissed Jewish and politically unreliable officials.
• State governments were brought under central control through the process of Gleichschaltung (coordination). Reich Governors were appointed to oversee the states.
• Freedom of the press was suppressed, and political opponents were being sent to concentration camps such as Dachau (opened March 1933).

Arguments that his power was not yet absolute:

• The army (Reichswehr) remained independent and owed its loyalty to President Hindenburg, not to Hitler. Hitler still needed the army's support and could not afford to alienate the military leadership.
• President Hindenburg was still alive and held constitutional authority, including the power to dismiss the Chancellor.
• The SA under Ernst Rohm was a potential rival power base. Rohm wanted a 'second revolution' and the merger of the SA with the army, which threatened both the military establishment and Hitler's own authority.
• The churches had not yet been fully brought under control. The Concordat with the Vatican (July 1933) was a compromise rather than complete domination.
• Some conservative elites, including those who had brought Hitler to power, still believed they could influence or control him.

Conclusion: By the end of 1933, Hitler had made enormous progress towards establishing a dictatorship. He had destroyed parliamentary democracy, banned opposition parties, abolished trade unions, and begun the process of Gleichschaltung. However, his power was not yet absolute. It was the events of 1934 - the Night of the Long Knives (30 June 1934) and Hindenburg's death (2 August 1934) - that completed the establishment of his dictatorship when he combined the offices of Chancellor and President as Fuhrer.