On March 5th 1933, a week after the Reichstag building was devastated by fire, there was yet another federal election in Germany, the third in just nine months. But this election was neither free nor fair, corrupted mainly by the brown-shirted men of the Sturmabteilung. SA troopers openly interfered in the electoral process: threatening party organisers, breaking up left-wing meetings, tearing down opposition party campaign posters and spreading scurrilous rumours about other candidates. The pro-Nazi press also whipped up hysteria about an imminent communist revolution by publishing unfounded rumours. These fears of a communist take-over, coupled with Hitler’s seemingly decisive leadership in response to the Reichstag fire, saw many citizens abandon other parties to vote for the NSDAP. The Nazis increased their share of the vote to almost 44 per cent and won a further 92 Reichstag places, giving them 288 out of 647 available seats. This was nowhere near the two-thirds majority Hitler needed to change the Weimar constitution – but he was able to configure a majority by arresting communist and social democratic politicians, then striking a deal with the Centre Party. On March 23rd the Reichstag passed the Enabling Act, giving Hitler political powers not available to a German ruler since the days of Bismarck.
Through the rest of 1933, the NSDAP transformed Germany into an authoritarian one-party state. One of their first political targets were the Landtags (German state parliaments). In March, Hitler ordered that the head of each Landtag must be an NSDAP member. The following month he appointed Nazi governors in each of the states – and like Hitler, these governors could rule by decree, bypassing the assembly. The Nazis now held sway over both nation and states; the state parliaments were as impotent as the federal Reichstag. In January 1934 the Landtags were dissolved and their sovereign powers were surrendered to the national government. The Nazis also moved on local governments and city councils, who were relieved of their control of the civilian police. On April 26th 1934 the NSDAP reorganised German local government into 32 Gaus (shires). Each Gau was run by a Gauleiter, a high-ranking Nazi official appointed by the party. By mid-1934 the Nazis controlled almost all sectors of German political life.
Next, Hitler and his advisors turned their attention to political opponents. First in their sights were the trade unions, perceived by the Nazis as a harbour for communist ideas. On May 2nd – ironically, the day after Labour Day – SA troops stormed trade union buildings and arrested key union leaders, most on trumped-up charges of corruption. Many ended up in the Dachau concentration camp, opened just weeks before. A decree abolished all existing trade unions and outlawed the formation of new unions. On May 10th 1933 a new state-run union, the Deutsche Arbeitsfront (the DAF, or German Labour Front) was established. Next came the creation of a one-party state. Between March and July 1933 most of Germany’s political parties were pressured to either merge with the NSDAP, or to ‘wind up’ voluntarily. Some, like the Catholic-led Centre Party, chose the latter option. The Social Democratic Party (SPD) refused, so in June it was declared a criminal organisation and outlawed. Hitler dealt with the remaining political parties in a decree dated July 14th 1933:
“The National Socialist German Workers’ Party constitutes the only political party in Germany … Whoever undertakes to maintain the organisation of another political party or to form a new political party shall be punished with penal servitude of up to three years or with imprisonment of between six months and three years, unless the act is subject to a heavier penalty under other regulations.”
Outlawing other parties did not cause political opposition to just vanish. But the Nazis had already taken steps to deal with troublesome groups and individuals. Earlier in 1933, Hitler authorised the construction of concentration camps: at Oranienburg, near Berlin, and Dachau, near Munich. Operated by the SS, these camps were conceived as secure holding facilities for political prisoners. Communists and trade union leaders were among the first to be arrested and detained in these camps. Later, they were also used to house other political dissidents, anti-Nazi campaigners and priests – as well as ‘undesirables’ like homosexuals, criminals, pacifists, vagrants and Jehovah’s Witnesses. The concentration camps were brutal places where inmates were subject to military-style discipline and hard labour. There were hundreds of deaths, though there were as yet no intentional extermination facilities. By 1939 both Dachau and Oranienburg held about 25,000 prisoners.
“From the beginning the Hitler government seemed to possess a dynamism and force that contrasted sharply with the paralysis of previous administrations. The vitality of the regime was reflected in the reporting style not particularly well-disposed to Nazism… a growing feeling stretching beyond existing Nazi support, that the turning point had been reached, that something at least was now being done.”
Ian Kershaw, historian
Hitler’s political supremacy was now blocked by one final obstacle: the presidency. In real terms, the ageing Hindenburg was no problem: he had approved the Reichstag Fire Decree and Enabling Act without objection, and he did not interfere in Hitler’s political reforms of 1933 (other than complaining about the treatment of Jewish World War I veterans). Hitler viewed Hindenburg as an annoying relic from a bygone era, now politically redundant. Nevertheless, he continued to show respect and deference to the old man – in public at least – to avoid any tension or difficulty with the Reichswehr. The Nazi leader also knew Hindenburg was suffering from terminal lung cancer. This eventually took his life on August 2nd 1934, removing the last vestige of the Weimar political system and clearing the way for Hitler’s political supremacy.
Shortly after Hindenburg’s death, Hitler decreed the presidency and the chancellorship were to be combined into a new office. The new leader would be titled as the Fuhrer and would act as head of state, head of government and commander of the armed forces. Hitler convened a plebiscite (vote) to seek public endorsement of this constitutional change. Almost nine-tenths of Germans approved of the measure, though there was some suggestion the plebiscite was rigged. Hitler was now Fuhrer of all Germany, and his rise – from obscure Bavarian radical to absolute dictator of the German nation – was now complete.
1. The Enabling Act gave Hitler wide-ranging powers to impose Nazi control over German government and society.
2. In April 1933 he began reducing the power of Landtags (state assemblies) which were abolished the following year.
3. Local government was also reorganised under Nazi control, with police powers passing to the SS and the Gestapo.
4. Trade unions and political parties were outlawed in mid-1933, with dissidents sent to concentration camps.
5. On the death of Hindenburg, Hitler merged the presidency and chancellorship and proclaimed himself supreme leader.
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This page was written by Jennifer Llewellyn, Jim Southey and Steve Thompson. To reference this page, use the following citation:
J. Llewellyn et al, “Extending Nazi control”, Alpha History, accessed [today’s date], https://alphahistory.com/nazigermany/extending-nazi-control/.