193-800: Adolf Hitler's rise to power began in the newly established Weimar Republic in September 1919 when Hitler joined the Deutsche Arbeiterpartei (DAP; German Workers' Party). He rose to a place of prominence in the early years of the party. Being one of its most popular speakers, he was made the party leader after he threatened to otherwise leave. In 1920, the DAP renamed itself to the Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei – NSDAP (National Socialist German Workers' Party, commonly known as
386-653: A Free Socialist Republic was proclaimed at the Berlin Palace . The proclamation was issued by Karl Liebknecht , co-leader with Rosa Luxemburg of the communist Spartakusbund ( Spartacus League ), a group of a few hundred supporters of the Russian Revolution that had allied itself with the USPD in 1917. On the same day, in a move that was contrary to the constitution because only the Kaiser could appoint
579-577: A Free State of Brunswick government official by Dietrich Klagges , after an earlier attempt by Wilhelm Frick to convey citizenship as a Thuringian police official failed. Ernst Röhm , in charge of the SA, put Wolf-Heinrich von Helldorff , a vehement anti-Semite, in charge of the Berlin SA. The deaths mounted, with many more on the Rotfront side, and by the end of 1931 the SA had suffered 47 deaths and
772-557: A coup d'état was the proper strategy to seize control of the German government. In May 1923, small elements loyal to Hitler within the Reichswehr helped the SA to illegally procure a barracks and its weaponry, but the order to march never came, possibly because Hitler had been warned by Army General Otto von Lossow that "he would be fired upon" by Reichswehr troops if they attempted a putsch. A pivotal moment came when Hitler led
965-594: A " Working Committee of German Associations " was founded with representatives of many groups considered "fit for good society". In 1919 the Weimar National Assembly established a parliamentary committee to inquire into the events that had led to the "outbreak, prolongation and loss of the First World War". Its results were of questionable value due to a lack of cooperation from the civil service and military and to increasing interference from
1158-471: A "war guilt lie". In line with national conservative and bourgeois right-wing parties, they accused the governing parties of having contributed to Germany's humiliation by signing the treaty and of denying it the right to self-determination. The young republic was exposed from the beginning to attacks from both the extreme right and extreme left. The Left accused the Social Democrats of betraying
1351-713: A Bavarian regiment of the German Army , although he was not yet a German citizen. For over four years (August 1914 – November 1918), Germany was a major participant in World War I. After fighting on the Western Front ended in November 1918, Hitler was discharged on 19 November from the Pasewalk hospital and returned to Munich, which at the time was in a state of socialist upheaval . Arriving on 21 November, he
1544-492: A German only. ... It was this mentality that made me draw the ultimate conclusion and do military service in the German Army. Under the threat of criminal deportation home to Austria, Hitler formally renounced his Austrian citizenship on 7 April 1925, and did not acquire German citizenship until almost seven years later; therefore, he was unable to run for public office. Hitler gained German citizenship after being appointed
1737-588: A KPD stronghold, and the two warring parties exchanged pistol and revolver fire. The German referendum of 1929 was important as it gained the Nazi Party recognition and credibility it had never had before. In the late 1920s, seeing the party's lack of breakthrough into the mainstream, Goebbels proposed that instead of focusing all of their propaganda in major cities where there was competition from other political movements, they should instead begin holding rallies in rural areas where they would be more effective. On
1930-590: A bolstering of support to the Catholic church, alienating an important religious minority. In 1878, Bismarck then introduced a number of anti-socialist laws that would be in effect from 1878 to 1890 in an attempt to alienate the Social Democratic Party . While some sections of German society were united by this, many industrial workers rallied to the SDP. Historians have expressed that as the German state
2123-631: A chancellor, Prince Max of Baden, at Ebert's request, transferred his powers as chancellor to him. In view of the mass support for more radical reforms among the workers' councils, a coalition government called the Council of the People's Deputies ( Rat der Volksbeauftragten ) was established, consisting of three MSPD and three USPD members. Led by Ebert for the MSPD and Hugo Haase for the USPD, it governed Germany from November 1918 to January 1919. Although
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#17327650211332316-514: A coalition government. The Centre Party's Heinrich Brüning was Chancellor from 1930 to 1932. Brüning and Hitler were unable to reach terms of co-operation, but Brüning himself increasingly governed with the support of the President and Army over that of the parliament. The 84-year-old President von Hindenburg , a conservative monarchist , was reluctant to take action to suppress the Nazis, while
2509-579: A coalition government; Hitler's far-right Nazi Party held two out of ten cabinet seats. Von Papen, as Vice-Chancellor and Hindenburg's confidant, was to serve as the éminence grise who would keep Hitler under control; these intentions severely underestimated Hitler's political abilities. By the end of March 1933, the Reichstag Fire Decree and the Enabling Act of 1933 were used in the perceived state of emergency to effectively grant
2702-603: A completely new constitution whereas Stalin did so. Technically the Weimar Constitution of 1919 remained in effect even after the Enabling Act, only losing force in 1945 when Germany surrendered at the end of World War II and ceased to be a sovereign state . The Enabling Act allowed the National Ministry (essentially the cabinet) to enact legislation, including laws deviating from or altering
2895-450: A fellow liaison, Georg Dufter, as a Soviet "radical rabble-rouser". Other testimony he gave to the military board of inquiry allowed them to root out other members of the military that "had been infected with revolutionary fervor." For his anti-communist views he was allowed to avoid discharge when his unit was disbanded in May 1919. In June 1919, Hitler was moved to the demobilization office of
3088-461: A finger to save the republic". Leon Trotsky was especially critical of the shifting Comintern policy position under Joseph Stalin which directed German Communists to treat Social Democrats as " social fascists ". Historian Bertrand Patenaude believed that the Comintern policy following the " Great Break " facilitated the rise of Hitler's party. The Weimar political parties failed to stop
3281-477: A general strike. The putsch quickly failed due in large part to the refusal of the ministerial bureaucracy to obey Kapp's orders. The Reichswehr, however, proved itself to be unreliable. It adopted a wait-and-see attitude under General von Seeckt, the head of the Troop Office , who said that "Reichswehr do not fire on Reichswehr". Some among the working class did not limit themselves to passive resistance to
3474-545: A later date (Article 233). In the short term it was required to pay the equivalent of 20 billion gold marks in installments through April 1921 (Article 235). The most contentious article of the treaty, the so-called War Guilt Clause , did not use the word "guilt". It stated that Germany accepted full responsibility for all the loss and damage from a war that was imposed on the Allies by the aggression of Germany and its allies ( Article 231 ). The implications of Article 231 and
3667-554: A lecture Feder delivered in an army "education" course. The audience member (in Mein Kampf , Hitler disparagingly referred to him as the "professor") asserted that Bavaria should be wholly independent from Germany and should secede from Germany and unite with Austria to form a new South German nation. The volatile Hitler arose and scolded the man, eventually causing him to leave the meeting before its adjournment. Impressed with Hitler's oratory skills, Drexler encouraged him to join
3860-587: A meeting of the Bavarian League at the Löwenbräukeller . This federalist organization objected to the centralism of the Weimar Constitution but accepted its social program. The League was led by Otto Ballerstedt , an engineer whom Hitler regarded as "my most dangerous opponent". One Nazi, Hermann Esser , climbed upon a chair and shouted that the Jews were to blame for the misfortunes of Bavaria and
4053-416: A number of notable Germans were assassinated, including socialist Kurt Eisner , who was shot dead by a German nationalist on 21 February 1919. His rival Erhard Auer was also wounded in an attack. Other acts of violence were the killings of both Major Paul Ritter von Jahreiß and the conservative MP Heinrich Osel . In this political chaos Berlin sent in the military – called the "White Guards of Capitalism" by
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#17327650211334246-437: A parliamentary system. The rebellion caused great fear among supporters of the monarchy and in the middle classes because of the soviet-style aspirations of the councils. To centrist and conservative citizens, the country looked to be on the verge of a communist revolution. By 7 November, the revolution had reached Munich , resulting in the flight of King Ludwig III of Bavaria . The MSPD decided to make use of their support at
4439-588: A peacetime army. Under the terms of the Treaty of Versailles , the new army, the Reichswehr , was limited to 100,000 men and the Reichsmarine (navy), to 15,000. The treaty prohibited an air force, submarines, large warships and armoured vehicles. The official formation of the Reichswehr took place on 1 January 1921, after the limitations had been met. The soldiers of the Reichswehr took their oath to
4632-546: A police cordon summoned to obstruct them. Sixteen Nazi Party members and four police officers were killed in the ensuing violence. Hitler briefly escaped the city but was arrested on 11 November 1923, and put on trial for high treason , which gained him widespread public attention. The trial began in February 1924. Hitler endeavored to turn the tables and put democracy and the Weimar Republic on trial as traitors to
4825-489: A proposal to the Reichstag that if passed would immediately grant all legislative powers to the cabinet, and by extension Hitler. This would in effect allow Hitler's government to act without regard to the constitution. Despite outlawing the communists and repressing other opponents, the passage of the Enabling Act was not a certainty. Hitler allied with other nationalist and conservative factions, and they steamrolled over
5018-617: A result it was the leadership of the Reichswehr with its largely anti-democratic civil service personnel that, along with the Foreign Office, determined the portrayal of the war in the Weimar Republic. All in all, there was little objective and critical questioning of the causes of the war or of Germany's responsibility for it in academia, politics or the media during the Weimar period. The official view of history continued to follow
5211-412: A rivalry. The attacks continued and reached fever pitch when SA leader Axel Schaffeld was assassinated on 1 August. As the Nazi Party was now the largest party in the Reichstag, it was entitled to select the President of the Reichstag and were able to elect Göring for the post. Energised by the success, Hitler asked to be made chancellor. Hitler was offered the job of vice-chancellor by Chancellor Papen at
5404-602: A second book that was discovered and released posthumously as the Zweites Buch . At this time the SA began a period of deliberate antagonism to the Rotfront by marching into Communist strongholds and starting violent altercations. At the end of 1928, party membership was recorded at 130,000. In March 1929, Erich Ludendorff represented the Nazi Party in the Presidential elections. He earned 280,000 votes (1.1%) and
5597-545: A speech delivered by Adolf Hitler at a Nazi Party rally in Munich on 24 February 1929. A few weeks later, the term Weimarer Republik was first used again by Hitler in a newspaper article. Only during the 1930s did the term become mainstream, both within and outside Germany. According to historian Richard J. Evans : The continued use of the term 'German Empire', Deutsches Reich , by the Weimar Republic ... conjured up an image among educated Germans that resonated far beyond
5790-484: A speech, voicing his party's support for the bill amid "concerns put aside", while Brüning notably remained silent. Only SPD chairman Otto Wels spoke against the Act, declaring that the proposed bill could not "destroy ideas which are eternal and indestructible." Kaas had still not received the written constitutional guarantees he had negotiated, but with the assurance it was being "typed up", voting began. Kaas never received
5983-479: A tone of exclusion in early Germany, which had a lasting influence on later German nationalism. Bismarck sought to prevent the religious and political divisions in early Germany by rallying the populace against a common enemy. Initially Bismarck ran a campaign against the Catholic church from 1873 to the late 1870s, referred to as Kulturkampf , questioning whether they were loyal to Berlin or other Catholic states. Instead of uniting German people, it instead resulted in
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6176-468: A workable coalition. The aggrieved Papen opened negotiations with Hitler, proposing a Nazi-Nationalist Coalition. Having nearly outmaneuvered Hitler, only to be trounced by Schleicher, Papen turned his attentions on defeating Schleicher, and concluded an agreement with Hitler. On 10 March 1931, with street violence between the Rotfront and SA increasing, breaking all previous barriers and expectations, Prussia re-enacted its ban on Brownshirts. Days after
6369-676: Is so called because the Weimar National Assembly that adopted its constitution met in Weimar from 6 February to 11 August 1919, but the name only became mainstream after 1933. Even though the National Assembly chose to retain the old name Deutsches Reich (Art. 1 of the Constitution), hardly anyone used it during the Weimar period, and no single name for the new state gained widespread acceptance. To
6562-514: Is the program of the NSDAP? Hitler : The program is not the question. The only question is power. Strasser : Power is only the means of accomplishing the program. Hitler : These are the opinions of the intellectuals. We need power! By early 1920, the DAP had grown to over 101 members, and Hitler received his membership card as member number 555 (the numbers started from 501). Hitler's considerable oratory and propaganda skills were appreciated by
6755-470: The Horst-Wessel-Lied . Goebbels seized upon the attack (and the weeks Wessel spent on his deathbed) to publicize the song, and the funeral was used as an anti-Communist propaganda opportunity for the Nazis. In May, Goebbels was convicted of "libeling" President Hindenburg and fined 800 marks. The conviction stemmed from a 1929 article by Goebbels in his newspaper Der Angriff . In June, Goebbels
6948-530: The 1848 German revolutions was named as the national flag in the Weimar Constitution . It was abolished after the entry into force of the Enabling Act of 1933, when the Nazi Party gained total power, in favour of two co-official national flags: the old black-white-red imperial tricolour and the flag of the Nazi Party . From 1935, the Nazi flag with the symbol offset became the sole national flag of
7141-521: The Allies in 1945, and was repealed by a law passed by the occupying powers in September of that year. After being appointed Chancellor of Germany on 30 January 1933, Hitler asked President von Hindenburg to dissolve the Reichstag . A general election was scheduled for 5 March 1933. A secret meeting was held between Hitler and 20 to 25 industrialists at the official residence of Hermann Göring in
7334-622: The Beer Hall Putsch , an attempted coup d'état on 8–9 November 1923. At the Bürgerbräukeller in Munich, Hitler and his deputies announced their plan: Bavarian government officials would be deposed, and Hitler installed at the head of government, with Munich then used as a base camp from which to march on Berlin. Nearly 2,000 Nazi Party members proceeded to the Marienplatz in Munich's city center, where they were met by
7527-641: The Black Reichswehr , a secret reserve networked within the Reichswehr and organised as labour battalions ( Arbeitskommandos ) to circumvent the Treaty of Versailles' 100,000 man limit on the German army. The Black Reichswehr was never involved in direct military action and was dissolved in 1923 after a group of its members attempted to overthrow the government in the Küstrin Putsch . The Reichswehr also developed far-reaching cooperation with
7720-557: The Centre Party members' votes, he would get the necessary two-thirds majority. Hitler negotiated with the Centre Party's chairman, Ludwig Kaas , a Catholic priest, finalizing an agreement by 22 March. Kaas agreed to support the Act in exchange for assurances of the Centre Party's continued existence, the protection of Catholics' civil and religious liberties, religious schools and the retention of civil servants affiliated with
7913-648: The Communists' Rotfrontkämpferbund and the Nazis' Sturmabteilung (SA). Once the Nazi dictatorship was firmly established, the Nazis themselves created a mythology surrounding their rise to power. German propaganda described this time period as either the Kampfzeit (the time of struggle) or the Kampfjahre (years of struggle). Historians have commented on the influence of German Chancellor Otto von Bismarck 's process of "negative integration" as setting
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8106-485: The Democrats suffered severe losses to the Nazis at the polls. The Social Democrats were essentially a conservative trade union party, with ineffectual leadership. The Catholic Centre Party maintained its voting block, but was preoccupied with defending its own particular interests and wrote Bullock: "through 1932–3 ... was so far from recognizing the danger of a Nazi dictatorship that it continued to negotiate with
8299-532: The German Communist Party also began campaigning and called for a revolution. Business leaders, fearful of a communist takeover, began supporting the Nazi Party. Hitler ran for the presidency in 1932 but was defeated by the incumbent Paul von Hindenburg ; nonetheless, he achieved a strong showing of second place in both rounds. Following this, in July 1932 the Nazis became the largest party in
8492-642: The July 1932 federal election , the Nazis became the largest party in the Reichstag, yet without a majority. Hitler withdrew support for Papen and demanded the Chancellorship. He was refused by Hindenburg. Papen dissolved Parliament, and the Nazi vote declined at the November election . In the aftermath of the election, Papen proposed ruling by decree while drafting a new electoral system, with an upper house. Schleicher convinced Hindenburg to sack Papen, and Schleicher himself became Chancellor, promising to form
8685-783: The Jungsturm Adolf Hitler and the Jugendbund der NSDAP ; they would later become the Hitler Youth . The other was the Stabswache (Staff Guard), which in May 1923 was renamed the Stoßtrupp-Hitler (Shock Troop-Hitler). This early incarnation of a bodyguard unit for Hitler would later become the Schutzstaffel (SS). Inspired by Benito Mussolini 's March on Rome in 1922, Hitler decided that
8878-455: The Kiel mutiny on 3 November. Sailors, soldiers and workers began electing workers' and soldiers' councils ( Arbeiter- und Soldatenräte ) modelled after the soviets of the 1917 Russian Revolution . The revolution spread throughout Germany, and participants seized military and civil power in individual cities. The power takeovers were achieved everywhere without loss of life. At the time,
9071-457: The League of Nations , which marked its reintegration into the international community. Nevertheless, especially on the political right, there remained strong and widespread resentment against the treaty and those who had signed and supported it. The Great Depression of October 1929 severely impacted Germany's tenuous progress; high unemployment and subsequent social and political unrest led to
9264-529: The May 1928 federal election , the Nazi Party achieved just 12 seats in the Reichstag. The highest provincial gain was again in Bavaria (5.1%), though in three areas the Nazis failed to gain even 1% of the vote. Overall, the party gained 2.6% of the vote (810,100 votes). Partially due to the poor results, Hitler decided that Germans needed to know more about his goals. Despite being discouraged by his publisher, he wrote
9457-796: The National Socialist Freedom Movement (NSFB) (combination of the Deutschvölkische Freiheitspartei (DVFP) and the Nazi Party (NSDAP)). In the May 1924 German federal election the party gained seats in the Reichstag, with 6.6% (1,918,329) voting for the Movement. In the December 1924 federal election , the National Socialist Freedom Movement lost 18 seats, only holding on to 14 seats, with 3% (907,242) of
9650-544: The Nazi Party ). Hitler chose this name to win over left-wing German workers. Despite the NSDAP being a right-wing party, it had many anti-capitalist and anti-bourgeois elements. Hitler later initiated a purge of these elements and reaffirmed the Nazi Party's pro-business stance. By 1922 Hitler's control over the party was unchallenged, and he attempted a coup, the Beer Hall Putsch , in Bavaria one year later. After
9843-418: The Nazi Party , was appointed as chancellor, the head of the German government. On 27 February, the German parliament building – the Reichstag – caught fire . Acting as chancellor, Hitler immediately accused the Communists of being the perpetrators of the fire and claimed the arson was part of a larger effort to overthrow the German government. Using this justification, Hitler persuaded Hindenburg to enact
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#173276502113310036-409: The Reichstag , albeit short of an absolute majority. 1933 was a pivotal year for Hitler and the Nazi Party. Traditionally, the leader of the party who held the most seats in the Reichstag was appointed Chancellor. However, President von Hindenburg was hesitant to appoint Hitler as chancellor. Following several backroom negotiations – which included industrialists, Hindenburg's son Oskar ,
10229-409: The Reichstag Fire Decree , which severely curtailed the liberties and rights of German citizens. Using the decree, Hitler began eliminating his political opponents. Following its passage, Hitler began arguing for more drastic means to curtail political opposition and proposed the Enabling Act of 1933 . Once enacted this law gave the German government the power to override individual rights prescribed by
10422-477: The Reichstag Fire Decree . The decree abolished most civil liberties, including the right to speak, assemble, protest, and due process. Using the decree, the Nazis declared a state of emergency and began a violent crackdown against their political enemies. As Hitler cleared the political arena of anyone willing to challenge him, he contended that the decree was insufficient and required sweeping policies that would safeguard his emerging dictatorship. Hitler submitted
10615-415: The Reichswehr from the control of the Reichstag . Under Seeckt the Reichswehr developed into what many historians consider a "state within the state". During the 1920 Kapp Putsch , Seeckt refused to deploy the Reichswehr against the Freikorps involved in the putsch but immediately afterwards had the Ruhr Red Army brutally suppressed during the Ruhr uprising . In 1921 the Reichswehr organized
10808-429: The Silesian Uprisings and the Greater Poland uprising in the German Province of Posen , which became part of the Second Polish Republic under the terms of the Treaty of Versailles. In the four years following the First World War, the situation of most German civilians remained dire. The post-war economic crisis was a result of lost pre-war industrial exports, the loss of imported raw materials and foodstuffs due to
11001-421: The Social Democrats in the 5 March 1933 German federal election . Germans voted in an atmosphere of extreme voter intimidation perpetrated by the Nazi Sturmabteilung (SA) militia. Contrary to popular belief, Hitler did not win an outright majority in the Reichstag as the majority of Germans did not vote for the Nazi Party. The election was a setback for the Nazis; however, it was insufficient in stopping
11194-462: The Spartacus League and the left wing of the USPD. In January, the Spartacus League, in what was known as the Spartacist uprising , took advantage of a large strike in Berlin and attempted to establish a communist government. The uprising was put down by paramilitary Freikorps units consisting of volunteer soldiers. Following bloody street fights, Rosa Luxemburg and Karl Liebknecht were summarily killed after their arrests on 15 January. With
11387-426: The Surrender of Germany in World War II. Article 9 of the German Constitution , enacted in 1949, allows for social groups to be labeled verfassungsfeindlich ("hostile to the constitution") and to be proscribed by the federal government. Political parties can be labeled enemies to the constitution only by the Bundesverfassungsgericht ( Federal Constitutional Court ), according to Art. 21 II. The idea behind
11580-399: The United States under the Dawes Plan . The German political landscape was dramatically affected by the 1929 Wall Street Crash , which hampered economic aid to Germany. The Great Depression brought the German economy to a halt and further polarized German politics. Hitler and the Nazis began to exploit the crisis and loudly criticized the ruling government. During this tumultuous time,
11773-582: The Weimar Constitution . The commander-in-chief was the Reich president , while the Reich minister of the armed forces exercised command authority. Military right of command ( Kommandogewalt ) was in the hands of the OHL. The resulting dualism between civilian power and military command was to become a heavy burden on the Republic. Whereas Reichswehr Minister Otto Gessler was content with limited political and administrative duties during his tenure (1920–1928), Colonel General Hans von Seeckt , Chief of Army Command from 1920 to 1926, succeeded in largely removing
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#173276502113311966-402: The "dominant political force on the right". An unprecedented amount of money was thrown behind the campaign and political success increased the party's momentum as it recorded over 100,000 new members in the next few months following the election. Well over one million pamphlets were produced and distributed; sixty trucks were commandeered for use in Berlin alone. In areas where Nazi campaigning
12159-444: The 1920s, Hitler and the Nazis ran on a platform consisting of anti-communism , antisemitism , and ultranationalism . Nazi party leaders vociferously criticized the ruling democratic government and the Treaty of Versailles , while proselytizing their desire to turn Germany into a world power. At this time, most Germans were indifferent to Hitler's rhetoric as the German economy was beginning to recover in large part due to loans from
12352-424: The 1930s. The Weimar Republic had a semi-presidential system . At the end of the First World War (1914–1918), Germany was exhausted and sued for peace in desperate circumstances. Awareness of imminent defeat sparked a revolution , the abdication of Kaiser Wilhelm II , formal surrender to the Allies , and the proclamation of the Weimar Republic on 9 November 1918. In its initial years, grave problems beset
12545-403: The 2nd Infantry Regiment. Around this time the German military command released an edict that the army's main priority was to "carry out, in conjunction with the police, stricter surveillance of the population ... so that the ignition of any new unrest can be discovered and extinguished." In May 1919, Karl Mayr became commander of the 6th Battalion of the guards' regiment in Munich and from 30 May
12738-421: The Act had formally given legislative powers to the government as a whole, these powers were for all intents and purposes exercised by Hitler himself. After its passage, there were no longer serious deliberations in Cabinet meetings. Its meetings became more and more infrequent after 1934, and it never met in full after 1938. Due to the great care that Hitler took to give his dictatorship an appearance of legality,
12931-457: The Act, the government had acquired the authority to enact laws without either parliamentary consent or control. These laws could (with certain exceptions) even deviate from the Constitution. The Act effectively eliminated the Reichstag as an active player in German politics. While its existence was protected by the Enabling Act, for all intents and purposes it reduced the Reichstag to a mere stage for Hitler's speeches. It only met sporadically until
13124-408: The Centre Party. It has also been suggested that some members of the SPD were intimidated by the presence of the Nazi Sturmabteilung (SA) throughout the proceedings. Some historians, such as Klaus Scholder , have maintained that Hitler also promised to negotiate a Reichskonkordat with the Holy See , a treaty that formalized the position of the Catholic Church in Germany on a national level. Kaas
13317-426: The Communists (KPD) were expected to vote against the Act. The government had already arrested all Communist and some Social Democrat deputies under the Reichstag Fire Decree. The Nazis expected the parties representing the middle class, the Junkers and business interests to vote for the measure, as they had grown weary of the instability of the Weimar Republic and would not dare to resist. Hitler believed that with
13510-456: The Communists were responsible for the fire, KPD membership was an act of treason. Thus, for all intents and purposes, the KPD was banned as of 6 March, the day after the election. Göring also declared that any deputy who was "absent without excuse" was to be considered as present, in order to overcome obstructions. Leaving nothing to chance, the Nazis used the provisions of the Reichstag Fire Decree to detain several SPD deputies. A few others saw
13703-407: The Communists, the Nazis did not formally ban the KPD right away. Not only did they fear a violent uprising, but they hoped the KPD's presence on the ballot would siphon off votes from the SPD. However, it was an open secret that the KPD deputies would never be allowed to take their seats; they were thrown in jail as quickly as the police could track them down. Courts began taking the line that since
13896-497: The DAP to the Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei – NSDAP (National Socialist German Workers' Party), later known to the rest of the world as the Nazi Party . Hitler designed the party's banner of a swastika in a white circle on a red background. He was discharged from the army in March 1920 and began working full-time for the Nazi Party. Although the NSDAP claimed that Hitler received no income from them and lived on
14089-432: The DAP. On the orders of his army superiors, Hitler applied to join the party. Within a week, Hitler received a postcard stating he had officially been accepted as a member and he should come to a "committee" meeting to discuss it. Hitler attended the "committee" meeting held at the run-down Alte Rosenbad beerhouse. Later Hitler wrote that joining the fledgling party "...was the most decisive resolve of my life. From here there
14282-679: The Distress of People and Reich ' ), was a law that gave the German Cabinet – most importantly, the Chancellor – the power to make and enforce laws without the involvement of the Reichstag or Weimar President Paul von Hindenburg , leading to the rise of Nazi Germany . Critically, the Enabling Act allowed the Chancellor to bypass the system of checks and balances in the government. In January 1933, Adolf Hitler , leader of
14475-597: The Enabling Act had been breached two weeks earlier by the " Law on the Reconstruction of the Reich " (30 January 1934), which dissolved the state parliaments, transferred the states' sovereign powers to the Reich and effectively rendered the Reichsrat irrelevant. Article 2 stated that laws passed under the Enabling Act could not affect the institutions of either chamber. In August, Hindenburg died, and Hitler seized
14668-413: The Enabling Act was renewed twice, in 1937 and 1941. However, its renewal was practically assured since all other parties were banned. Voters were presented with a single list of Nazis and Nazi-approved "guest" candidates under far-from-secret conditions. In 1942, the Reichstag passed a law giving Hitler power of life and death over every citizen, effectively extending the provisions of the Enabling Act for
14861-494: The Enabling Act was signed into law by President Paul von Hindenburg. Unless extended by the Reichstag, the act would expire after four years. With the Enabling Act now in force, the cabinet (in practice, the chancellor) could pass and enforce laws without legislative oversight. The combined effect of the Enabling Act and the Reichstag Fire Decree transformed Hitler's government into a legal dictatorship and laid
15054-552: The Enabling Act with the support of 83% of the deputies. The session took place under such intimidating conditions that even if all SPD deputies had been present, it would have still passed with 78.7% support. The same day in the evening, the Reichsrat also gave its approval, unanimously and without prior discussion. The Act was then signed into law by President Hindenburg, Hitler as Chancellor, Wilhelm Frick as Interior Minister, Konstantin von Neurath as Foreign Minister, and Lutz Graf Schwerin von Krosigk as Finance Minister. Under
15247-709: The First World War, and set the violent tone of the movement early, by forming the Sturmabteilung (SA) paramilitary. Catholic Bavaria resented rule from Protestant Berlin , and Hitler at first saw revolution in Bavaria as a means to power. An early attempt at a coup d'état, the 1923 Beer Hall Putsch in Munich , proved fruitless, however, and Hitler was imprisoned for leading the putsch. He used this time to write Mein Kampf , in which he argued that effeminate Jewish–Christian ethics were enfeebling Europe, and that Germany
15440-746: The German officer class. A rift developed between the MSPD and USPD after Ebert called upon the OHL for troops to put down a mutiny by a leftist military unit on 23/24 December 1918 in which members of the Volksmarinedivision (People's Navy Division) captured the city's garrison commander Otto Wels of the MSPD and occupied the Reich Chancellery where the Council of the People's Deputies had its offices. The ensuing street fighting left 11 Volksmarinedivision members and 56 members of
15633-538: The German people. Hitler was convicted and on 1 April sentenced to five years' imprisonment at Landsberg Prison . He received friendly treatment from the guards; he had a room with a view of the river, wore a tie, had regular visitors to his chambers, was allowed mail from supporters and was permitted the use of a private secretary. Pardoned by the Bavarian Supreme Court, he was released from jail on 20 December 1924, after serving just nine months, against
15826-554: The Head of State.). Debate within the Centre Party continued until the day of the vote, 23 March 1933, with Kaas advocating voting in favour of the act, referring to an upcoming written guarantee from Hitler, while former Chancellor Heinrich Brüning called for a rejection of the Act. The majority sided with Kaas, and Brüning agreed to maintain party cohesion by voting for the Act. The Reichstag, led by its president, Hermann Göring , changed its rules of procedure to make it easier to pass
16019-633: The KPD candidate Thälmann gained a meagre percentage of the vote (10.2% 3,706,759). At this time, the Nazi Party had just over 800,000 members. On 13 April 1932, following the presidential elections, the German government banned the Nazi Party paramilitaries, the SA and the SS, on the basis of the Emergency Decree for the Preservation of State Authority. This action was prompted by details uncovered by
16212-469: The Kaiser that Germany needed to pursue an armistice and that the majority parties in the Reichstag, not the OHL, had to take responsibility for it. Although in retreat, the German armies were still on French and Belgian territory when the war ended on 11 November. Ludendorf and Paul von Hindenburg then began proclaiming that it was the defeatism of the civilian population – especially the socialists – that had made defeat inevitable. The stab-in-the-back myth
16405-589: The Kapp Putsch. Especially in the Ruhr , where dissatisfaction with the lack of nationalisation of key industries was particularly high, councils were formed that sought to seize local power. In the Ruhr uprising , civil war-like fighting broke when the Ruhr Red Army , made up of some 50,000 armed workers, mostly adherents of the KPD and USPD, used the disruption caused by the general strike to take control of
16598-567: The Kiel barracks. The sailors and soldiers welcomed him, and he was able to defuse the situation. On 9 November 1918, the German Republic was proclaimed by MSPD member Philipp Scheidemann at the Reichstag building in Berlin, angering Friedrich Ebert , the leader of the MSPD, who thought that the question of monarchy or republic should be answered by a national assembly. Two hours later,
16791-901: The Left and supporters of the former empire led to political violence and extremism . The young republic found itself in a nearly constant economic and political crisis until 1924. The Treaty of Versailles ended the state of war between Germany and most of the Allied powers and set the conditions for peace. It was signed 28 June 1919 and can be divided into four main categories: territorial issues, disarmament, reparations and assignment of guilt. Territorially, Germany had to renounce sovereignty over its colonies and in Europe lost 65,000 sq km (25,000 sq mi) or about 13% of its former territory – including 48% of its iron and 10% of its coal resources – along with 7 million people, or 12% of its population. The Saarland
16984-403: The March 1920 Kapp Putsch , Freikorps units under General von Lüttwitz occupied the government quarter in Berlin. In an attempt to reverse the revolution and install an autocratic government, the former Prussian civil servant Wolfgang Kapp appointed himself Reich chancellor and Lüttwitz Reichswehr minister and commander-in-chief of the Reichswehr. The legal government fled Berlin and called for
17177-624: The Munich Hofbräuhaus . After Hitler had spoken for some time, the meeting erupted into a melée in which a small company of SA defeated the opposition. For his part in these events, Hitler was eventually sentenced in January 1922 to three months' imprisonment for "breach of the peace", but only spent a little over one month at Stadelheim Prison in Munich. In 1922 and early 1923, Hitler and the Nazi Party formed two organizations that would grow to have huge significance. The first began as
17370-502: The National Assembly convened in the city of Weimar , giving the future Republic its unofficial name. The Weimar Constitution created a parliamentary republic with the Reichstag elected by proportional representation . During the debates in Weimar, fighting continued sporadically across Germany. On 7 April 1919 the Bavarian Soviet Republic was declared in Munich but quickly put down by Freikorps and remnants of
17563-604: The National Assembly voted to approve the treaty on 23 June. It was signed in Paris five days later. Explaining the rise of extreme nationalist movements in Germany shortly after the war, British historian Ian Kershaw pointed to the "national disgrace" that was "felt throughout Germany at the humiliating terms imposed by the victorious Allies and reflected in the Versailles Treaty...with its confiscation of territory on
17756-660: The Nazi Party, culminating in the Night of the Long Knives . Once the purges of the Nazi Party and German government concluded, Hitler had total control over Germany. Armed with the Enabling Act, Hitler could begin German rearmament and achieve his aggressive foreign policy aims which ultimately resulted in the Second World War . The Enabling Act was renewed twice, but was rendered moot when Nazi Germany surrendered to
17949-522: The Nazi regime. By mid-March, the government began sending communists, labor union leaders, and other political dissidents to Dachau , the first Nazi concentration camp. The passing of the Enabling Act marked the formal transition from the democratic Weimar Republic to the totalitarian Nazi dictatorship. From 1933 onward, Hitler continued to consolidate and centralize power via purges and propaganda. In 1934, Hitler and Heinrich Himmler began removing non-Nazi officials together with Hitler's rivals within
18142-455: The Nazi rise. Germany's Weimar political system made it difficult for chancellors to govern with a stable parliamentary majority, and successive chancellors instead relied on the president's emergency powers to govern. In 1931 the Nazi Party altered its strategy to engage in perpetual campaigning across the country, even outside of election time. From 1931 to 1933, the Nazis combined terror tactics with conventional campaigning – Hitler criss-crossed
18335-401: The Nazis shouted demands that Ballerstedt yield the floor to Hitler. The Nazis beat up Ballerstedt and shoved him off the stage into the audience. Hitler and Esser were arrested and Hitler commented notoriously to the police commissioner, "It's all right. We got what we wanted. Ballerstedt did not speak". Less than two months later, 4 November 1921, the Nazi Party held a large public meeting in
18528-488: The Nazis". The Communists meanwhile were engaging in violent clashes with Nazis on the streets, but Moscow had directed the Communist Party to prioritise destruction of the Social Democrats, seeing more danger in them as a rival for the loyalty of the working class. Nevertheless, wrote Bullock, the heaviest responsibility lay with the German right wing, who "forsook a true conservatism" and made Hitler their partner in
18721-475: The Prussian police that indicated the SA was ready for a takeover of power by force after an election of Hitler. The lifting of the ban and staging of new elections were the price Hitler demanded in exchange for his support of a new cabinet. The law was repealed on 16 June by Franz von Papen , Chancellor of Germany as part of his agreement with Hitler. In the federal election of July 1932 , the Nazis won 37.3% of
18914-514: The Reichstag Presidential Palace, aimed at financing the election campaign of the Nazi Party . The burning of the Reichstag was depicted by the Nazis as the beginning of a communist revolution, and Hitler urged Hindenburg to pass the presidential Reichstag Fire Decree . The decree significantly curbed civil rights for German citizens and suspended freedom of press and habeas corpus rights just five days before
19107-461: The Republic, such as hyperinflation and political extremism , including political murders and two attempted seizures of power by contending paramilitaries ; internationally, it suffered isolation, reduced diplomatic standing and contentious relationships with the great powers. By 1924, a great deal of monetary and political stability was restored, and the republic enjoyed relative prosperity for
19300-530: The Rhineland and 50 kilometres (31 miles) east of the river demolished. Germany was prohibited from having an air force, tanks, poison gas, heavy artillery, submarines or dreadnoughts . A large number of its ships and all of its air-related armaments were to be surrendered. Germany had to compensate the Allied Powers for the losses and damages of the war, with the exact amount left to be determined at
19493-542: The Rotfront recorded losses of approximately 80 killed. Street fights and beer hall battles resulting in deaths occurred throughout February and April 1932, all against the backdrop of Adolf Hitler's competition in the presidential election which pitted him against the monumentally popular Hindenburg. In the first round on 13 March, Hitler had polled over 11 million votes but was still behind Hindenburg. The second and final round took place on 10 April: Hitler (36.8% 13,418,547) lost to Paul von Hindenburg (53.0% 19,359,983) while
19686-636: The Soviet Red Army , leading among other things to the secret training of German military pilots in clear violation of the Treaty of Versailles. With Seeckt's fall in 1926, the Reichswehr made a change in course for which Colonel (later General) Kurt von Schleicher was primarily responsible. The goal was to arouse broad social support for rearmament and to militarize society itself for the purpose of future warfare. Under Paul von Hindenburg's Reich presidency, Reichswehr leadership gained increasing political influence and eventually helped determine
19879-743: The Third Reich, and after World War II, both the Federal Republic of Germany and the German Democratic Republic readopted the black-red-gold flag. The coat of arms was initially based on the Reichsadler ("imperial eagle") introduced by the Paulskirche Constitution of 1849, and announced in November 1919. In 1928, a new design by Karl-Tobias Schwab was adopted as national coat of arms, which
20072-549: The Workers' and Soldiers' Council of Greater Berlin called for a National Congress of Councils ( Reichsrätekongress ) which took place from 16 to 21 December 1918. Against the opposition of the more radical members who demanded a socialist republic, Ebert, backed by the large MSPD majority at the Congress, was able to schedule the election for a provisional National Assembly that would act as an interim parliament and be given
20265-477: The abdication of Kaiser Wilhelm II was announced, marking the end of Imperial Germany and the beginning of the Weimar Republic. The armistice that ended the fighting was signed on 11 November. Germany lost the war because its allies were facing defeat and its economic resources were running out, while by late summer 1918 fresh American troops were arriving in France at the rate of 10,000 per day. Support among
20458-411: The affirmation of Ebert, those responsible were not tried before a court-martial, leading to lenient sentences, which made Ebert unpopular among radical leftists. The National Assembly election , in which women were allowed to vote for the first time, took place on 19 January 1919. The MSPD won the largest share of the votes at 37.9%, with the USPD fifth at 7.6%. To avoid the ongoing fights in Berlin,
20651-560: The ambitious Major-General Kurt von Schleicher , as Minister handling army and navy matters hoped to harness their support. With Schleicher's backing, and Hitler's stated approval, Hindenburg appointed the Catholic monarchist Franz von Papen to replace Brüning as Chancellor in June 1932. Papen had been active in the resurgence of the Harzburg Front . He had fallen out with the Centre Party. He hoped ultimately to outmaneuver Hitler. At
20844-478: The argument issued by the OHL in 1914 that Germany had been threatened by invasion and encirclement. Revising the conditions of the Versailles Treaty became the main goal of German foreign policy. The consensus opposing the "war guilt clause" did much to promote agitation against foreign countries and the Weimar Constitution. Both the DNVP and, in particular, the NSDAP questioned the entire post-war order and propagated
21037-472: The ban, SA-men shot dead two communists in a street fight, which led to a ban being placed on the public speaking of Goebbels, who sidestepped the prohibition by recording speeches and playing them to an audience in his absence. When Hitler's citizenship became a matter of public discussion in 1924, he had a public declaration printed on 16 October 1924: The loss of my Austrian citizenship is not painful to me, as I never felt as an Austrian citizen but always as
21230-489: The behest of President Hindenburg, but he refused. Hitler saw this offer as placing him in a position of "playing second fiddle" in the government. In his position of Reichstag president, Göring asked that decisive measures be taken by the government over the spate of murders of Nazi Party members. On 9 August, amendments were made to the Reichstrafgesetzbuch statute on "acts of political violence", increasing
21423-413: The bill. Under the Weimar Constitution , a quorum of two-thirds of the entire Reichstag membership was required to be present in order to bring up a constitutional amendment bill. In this case, 432 of the Reichstag's 647 deputies would have normally been required for a quorum. However, Göring reduced the quorum to 378 by not counting the 81 KPD deputies. Despite the virulent rhetoric directed against
21616-480: The cabinet, in its first post-election meeting on 15 March, draw up plans for an Enabling Act which would give the cabinet legislative power for four years. The Nazis devised the Enabling Act to gain complete political power without the need of the support of a majority in the Reichstag and without the need to bargain with their coalition partners. The Nazi regime was unique compared to its contemporaries, most famously Joseph Stalin 's, because Hitler did not seek to draft
21809-470: The collapse of Chancellor Hermann Müller's grand coalition and the beginning of the presidential cabinets . From March 1930 onwards, President Paul von Hindenburg used emergency powers to back Chancellors Heinrich Brüning , Franz von Papen and General Kurt von Schleicher . The Great Depression, exacerbated by Brüning's policy of deflation , led to a surge in unemployment . On 30 January 1933, Hindenburg appointed Adolf Hitler as Chancellor to head
22002-418: The communists. On 3 April 1919, Hitler was elected as the liaison of his military battalion and again on 15 April. During this time, he urged his unit to stay out of the fighting and not to join either side. The Bavarian Soviet Republic was officially crushed on 6 May, when Lieutenant General Burghard von Oven and his forces declared the city secure. In the aftermath of arrests and executions, Hitler denounced
22195-424: The composition of the Reich governments. As a result, the Reichswehr contributed significantly to the development of an authoritarian presidential system during the final phase of the Weimar Republic. After Adolf Hitler announced the "regaining of military sovereignty" (reintroduction of conscription etc.) in 1935, two years after his rise to power , the Reichswehr was absorbed into the new Wehrmacht . It
22388-427: The concept is the notion that even a majority rule of the people cannot be allowed to install a totalitarian or autocratic regime such as with the Enabling Act of 1933, thereby violating the principles of the German constitution. In his book, The Coming of the Third Reich , British historian Richard J. Evans argued that the Enabling Act was legally invalid. He contended that Göring had no right to arbitrarily reduce
22581-479: The constitution, and vested the Chancellor (Hitler) with emergency powers to pass and enforce laws without parliamentary oversight. The law came into force in March and by April, Hitler held de facto dictatorial powers and used them to order the construction of the first Nazi concentration camp at Dachau for communists and other political opponents. Hitler's rise to power was completed in August 1934 when, following
22774-410: The constitution, without the consent of the Reichstag. Because this law allowed for departures from the constitution, it was itself considered a constitutional amendment. Thus, its passage required the support of two-thirds of those deputies who were present and voting. A quorum of two-thirds of the entire Reichstag was required to be present in order to call up the bill. The Social Democrats (SPD) and
22967-498: The continental blockade, the loss of Germany's overseas colonies and the worsening debt balances that had been exacerbated by Germany's heavy reliance on bonds to pay for the war. The economic losses can be attributed in part to the extension of the Allied blockade of Germany until the Treaty of Versailles was signed on 28 June 1919. It is estimated that between 100,000 and 250,000 German civilians died of disease or starvation between
23160-524: The coup's failure, Hitler was arrested and put on trial. The trial proved to be a blessing in disguise for Hitler, as it garnered him national fame. Hitler was sentenced to five years in prison, but would only serve nine months. During this time, Hitler wrote Mein Kampf , which became the vade mecum of National Socialism . Once released, Hitler switched tactics, opting to instead seize power through legal and democratic means. Hitler, armed with his newfound celebrity, began furiously campaigning. During
23353-466: The death of President von Hindenburg, Hitler merged the chancellery with the presidency and became Führer , the sole leader of Germany. In retrospect, Hitler's rise to power was aided in part by his willingness to use violence in advancing his political objectives and to recruit party members willing to do the same. The party engaged in electoral battles in which Hitler participated as a speaker and organizer. Street battles and violence also erupted between
23546-554: The duration of the war. At least two, and possibly three, of the penultimate measures Hitler took to consolidate his power in 1934 violated the Enabling Act. On 14 February 1934, the Reichsrat , representing the states, was abolished by the " Law on the Abolition of the Reichsrat " even though Article 2 of the Enabling Act specifically protected the existence of both the Reichstag and the Reichsrat . It also can be argued that
23739-642: The east bank near Cologne , Mainz and Koblenz . In addition, the Rhineland and an area stretching 50 kilometers east of the Rhine was to be demilitarized. France had demanded the occupation both to protect itself from a renewed German attack and as collateral for German reparations. The occupation was to last 5 years in the British zone, 10 in the American and 15 years in the French and Belgian zones, until 1934, but
23932-433: The eastern border and even more so its 'guilt clause'." Adolf Hitler repeatedly blamed the Republic and its democracy for accepting the oppressive terms of the treaty. Article 231 of the Versailles Treaty was widely perceived not only as a legal legitimisation of reparations but also as a moral condemnation of Germany, and it triggered a storm of indignation among the German public. The hostility towards it came from across
24125-623: The election. Hitler used the decree to have the Communist Party 's offices raided and its representatives arrested, effectively eliminating them as a political force. Although they received five million more votes than in the previous election, the Nazis failed to gain an absolute majority in parliament, and depended on the 8% of seats won by their coalition partner, the German National People's Party , to reach 52% in total. To free himself from this dependency, Hitler had
24318-425: The electorate voting for Hitler's party. The Barmat Scandal was often used later in Nazi propaganda, both as an electoral strategy and as an appeal to anti-Semitism. After some reflection, Hitler had determined that power was to be achieved not through revolution outside of the government, but rather through what he called "the path of legality" within the confines of the democratic system established by Weimar. In
24511-487: The end of World War II , held no debates and enacted only a few laws. Within three months of the passage of the Enabling Act, all parties except the Nazi Party were banned or pressured into dissolving themselves, followed on 14 July by a law that made the Nazi Party the only legally permitted party in the country. With this, Hitler had fulfilled what he had promised in earlier campaign speeches: "I set for myself one aim ... to sweep these thirty parties out of Germany!" During
24704-417: The end of the war and the signing of the treaty. Many German civilians expected life to return to pre-war normality after it was lifted, but the severe food shortages continued. In 1922, for example, meat consumption had not increased since the war years. At 22 kilograms per person per year, it was less than half of the 52 kilograms consumed in 1913. German citizens felt the food shortages more deeply than during
24897-480: The enormous fall in the Papiermark 's value. After four years of war and famine, many German workers were disenchanted with the capitalist system and hoped for a new era under socialism or communism. Socialists dominated the new revolutionary government in Berlin, and numerous short-lived council republics were set up in cities across Germany. Even after they were suppressed, ideological conflicts between
25090-465: The evening of 14 January 1930, at around ten o'clock, Horst Wessel was fatally shot in the face at point-blank range by two members of the KPD in Friedrichshain . The attack occurred after an argument with his landlady, who was a member of the KPD and contacted one of her Rotfront friends, Albert Hochter, who shot Wessel. Wessel had penned a song months before which would become a Nazi anthem as
25283-406: The fees he received from public speaking at non-party events, he was actually supported financially by several wealthy patrons and party sympathisers. In 1920, a small "hall protection" squad was organised around Emil Maurice . The group was first named the "Order troops" ( Ordnertruppen ). Later in August 1921, Hitler redefined the group, which became known as the "Gymnastic and Sports Division" of
25476-448: The former chancellor Franz von Papen , and Hitler – Hindenburg acquiesced and on 30 January 1933, he formally appointed Adolf Hitler as Germany's new chancellor. Although he was chancellor, Hitler was not yet an absolute dictator. The groundwork for the Nazi dictatorship was laid when the Reichstag was set on fire in February 1933. Asserting that the communists were behind the arson, Hitler convinced von Hindenburg to pass
25669-527: The government the right to draw up the budget, approve treaties, and enact any laws whatsoever without input from the Reichstag. By the rules of pre-1933 (and post-1945, if such a law were not now unconstitutional) German legal interpretation, this means that such laws are put to vote in the Cabinet and there decided by majority vote (which was not followed). - Note the position of the Chancellor in Article 3. In
25862-544: The government, which wanted to prevent a German admission of guilt before the world public. The committee met until 1932. During the course of World War I, war reporting was the responsibility of the German General Staff and after 1918 of the Potsdam Reich Archives founded by General Hans von Seeckt , which dedicated itself to the task of "disproving" German war guilt and war crimes. As
26055-421: The grassroots level and put themselves at the front of the movement. They joined the calls for Kaiser Wilhelm II abdicate, and when he refused, Chancellor Maximilian of Baden made a public announcement that the Kaiser and Crown Prince Wilhelm had already done so. Gustav Noske (MSPD) was sent to Kiel to prevent any further unrest and took on the task of controlling the mutinous sailors and their supporters in
26248-400: The groundwork for his totalitarian regime. By July, the NSDAP was the only legally permitted party in Germany. The Reichstag from 1933 onward effectively became the rubber stamp parliament that Hitler had desired. The conservative elite, which included the vice-chancellor Franz von Papen , who miscalculated the true intention of the Nazis to monopolize state power, were soon marginalized by
26441-800: The head of the "Education and Propaganda Department" of the General Command von Oven and the Group Command No. 4 (Department Ib). In this capacity as head of the intelligence department, Mayr recruited Hitler as an undercover agent in early June 1919. Under Captain Mayr, "national thinking" courses were arranged at the Reichswehrlager Lechfeld near Augsburg , with Hitler attending from 10 to 19 July. During this time Hitler so impressed Mayr that he assigned him to an anti- Bolshevik "educational commando" as 1 of 26 instructors in
26634-465: The ideals of the labour movement because of their alliance with the old elites; the Right held the supporters of the Republic responsible for Germany's defeat in the First World War, denigrating them as "November criminals" and insinuating that the German army, which was still fighting on enemy soil when the war ended, had been stabbed in the back by them and the revolution (the stab-in-the-back myth ). In
26827-421: The industrial district. After bloody battles in which an estimated 1,000 insurgents and 200 soldiers died, Reichswehr and Freikorps units suppressed the revolt in early April. Enabling Act of 1933 Final solution Parties The Enabling Act of 1933 ( German : Ermächtigungsgesetz ), officially titled Gesetz zur Behebung der Not von Volk und Reich ( lit. ' Law to Remedy
27020-558: The institutional structures Bismarck created: the successor to the Roman Empire ; the vision of God's Empire here on earth; the universality of its claim to suzerainty ; and a more prosaic but no less powerful sense, the concept of a German state that would include all German speakers in Central Europe ;– 'one People, one Reich, one Leader', as the Nazi slogan was to put it. The black-red-gold tricolour of
27213-407: The last foreign troops evacuated the Rhineland on 30 June 1930. The treaty's disarmament provisions were intended to make the future German army incapable of offensive action. It was limited to no more than 100,000 men with only 4,000 officers and no general staff; the navy could have at most 15,000 men and 1,500 officers. The Rhineland was to be demilitarized and occupied and all fortifications in
27406-518: The letter. At this stage, the majority of deputies already supported the bill, and any deputies who might have been reluctant to vote in favour were intimidated by the SA troops surrounding the meeting. In the end, all parties except the SPD voted in favour of the Enabling Act. With the KPD banned and 26 SPD deputies arrested or in hiding, the final tally was 444 in favour of the Enabling Act against 94 (all Social Democrats) opposed. The Reichstag had adopted
27599-525: The mid-1920s, most Germans referred to their government informally as the Deutsche Republik , but for many, especially on the right, the word " Republik " was a painful reminder of a government structure that they believed had been imposed by foreign statesmen and of the expulsion of Emperor Wilhelm II in the wake of a massive national humiliation. The first recorded mention of the term Republik von Weimar (Republic of Weimar) came during
27792-467: The nation by air, while SA troops paraded in the streets, beat up opponents, and broke up their meetings. Systematic statistical analyses demonstrate that voters responded the way they do in most modern elections, which explains why certain identifiable groups turned to the Nazis and others turned away. A middle-class liberal party strong enough to block the Nazis did not exist – the People's Party and
27985-454: The negotiations between the government and the political parties, it was agreed that the government should inform the Reichstag parties of legislative measures passed under the Enabling Act. For this purpose, a working committee was set up, co-chaired by Hitler and Centre Party chairman Kaas. However, this committee met only three times without any major impact, and rapidly became a dead letter even before all other parties were banned. Though
28178-406: The new Chancellor broad power to act outside parliamentary control. Hitler promptly used these powers to thwart constitutional governance and suspend civil liberties, which brought about the swift collapse of democracy at the federal and state level, and the creation of a one-party dictatorship under his leadership. Until the end of World War II in Europe in 1945, the Nazis governed Germany under
28371-596: The new government was confirmed by the Berlin Workers' and Soldiers' Council, it was opposed by the Spartacus League. On 11 November 1918, an armistice was signed at Compiègne by German representatives. It effectively ended military operations between the Allies and Germany. It amounted to a German capitulation, without any concessions by the Allies; the naval blockade was to continue until complete peace terms were agreed on. The Executive Council of
28564-565: The next five years; this period, sometimes known as the Golden Twenties , was characterised by significant cultural flourishing, social progress, and gradual improvement in foreign relations. Under the Locarno Treaties of 1925, Germany moved toward normalising relations with its neighbours, recognising most territorial changes under the 1919 Treaty of Versailles and committing never to go to war. The following year, it joined
28757-399: The officer corps, while Groener pledged that the military would be loyal to the government and that it would help it in its fight against left-wing revolutionaries. The agreement marked the acceptance of the new government by the military, but the new Reichswehr armed forces, limited by the Treaty of Versailles to 100,000 army soldiers and 15,000 sailors, remained fully under the control of
28950-412: The old economic systems voted for the Nazis and the Communists , who made great gains at the 1930 federal election . The Nazis and Communists between them secured almost 40% of Reichstag seats, which required the moderate parties to consider negotiations with anti-democrats. "The Communists", wrote historian Alan Bullock , "openly announced that they would prefer to see the Nazis in power rather than lift
29143-558: The party ( Turn- und Sportabteilung ). By the autumn of 1921 the group was being called the Sturmabteilung ("Storm Detachment") or SA, and by November 1921 the group was officially known by that name. Also in 1920, Hitler began to lecture in Munich beer halls, particularly the Hofbräuhaus , Sterneckerbräu and Bürgerbräukeller . Only Hitler was able to bring in the crowds for the party speeches and meetings. By this time,
29336-544: The party leadership. With the support of Anton Drexler, Hitler became chief of propaganda for the party in early 1920 and his actions began to transform the party. He organised their biggest meeting yet, of 2,000 people, on 24 February 1920 in the Staatliches Hofbräuhaus in München . There Hitler announced the party's 25-point program ( see National Socialist Program ). He also engineered the name change of
29529-399: The party on 26 July as member 3,680. In the following days, Hitler spoke to several packed houses and defended himself, to thunderous applause. His strategy proved successful: at a general membership meeting, he was granted absolute powers as party chairman, with only one nay vote cast. On 14 September 1921, Hitler and a substantial number of SA members and other Nazi Party adherents disrupted
29722-492: The penalty to "lifetime imprisonment, 20 years hard labour[,] or death". Special courts were announced to try such offences. When in power less than half a year later, Hitler would use this legislation against his opponents with devastating effect. Weimar Republic The Weimar Republic , officially known as the German Reich , was a historical period of Germany from 9 November 1918 to 23 March 1933, during which it
29915-485: The police were already monitoring the speeches, and their own surviving records reveal that Hitler delivered lectures with titles such as Political Phenomenon, Jews and the Treaty of Versailles . At the end of the year, party membership was recorded at 2,000. In June 1921, while Hitler and Dietrich Eckart were on a fundraising trip to Berlin, a mutiny broke out within the Nazi Party in Munich, its organizational home. Members of its executive committee wanted to merge with
30108-629: The political spectrum, from the far right to the moderate governing parties to the KPD. After the treaty came into force, the Foreign Office continued the state's control of the debate over war guilt. The War Guilt Department financed and directed the Centre for the Study of the Causes of the War , which was to provide "scientific" support for the "campaign of innocence" abroad. For war-innocence propaganda at home,
30301-509: The popular vote (13,745,000 votes), an upswing by 19 percent, becoming the largest party in the Reichstag, with 230 out of 608 seats. Dwarfed by Hitler's electoral gains, the KPD turned away from legal means and increasingly towards violence. One resulting battle in Silesia resulted in the army being dispatched, each shot sending Germany further into a potential civil war. By this time both sides marched into each other's strongholds hoping to spark
30494-403: The population had begun to crumble in 1916, and by mid-1918 many Germans wanted an end to the war. Increasing numbers of them began to associate with the political left, such as the Social Democratic Party and the more radical Independent Social Democratic Party , which demanded an end to the war. When it became obvious to the generals that defeat was at hand, General Erich Ludendorff convinced
30687-423: The possibilities for a comprehensive understanding between church and state". However, so far no evidence for a link between the Enabling Act and the Reichskonkordat signed on 20 July 1933 has surfaced. As with most of the laws passed in the process of Gleichschaltung , the Enabling Act is quite short, especially considering its implications. The full text, in German and English, follows: Articles 1 and 4 gave
30880-430: The president of the High Court of Justice, not the chancellor, first in the line of succession to the presidency—and even then on an interim basis pending new elections. However, the Enabling Act provided no remedy for any violations of Article 2, and these actions were never challenged in court. The Enabling Act was formally declared to be repealed by the Allied Control Council in Control Council Law No. 1 , following
31073-407: The president's powers for himself in accordance with a law passed the previous day , an action confirmed via a referendum later that month . Article 2 stated that the president's powers were to remain "undisturbed" (or "unaffected", depending on the translation), which has long been interpreted to mean that it forbade Hitler from tampering with the presidency. A 1932 amendment to the constitution made
31266-443: The pretense that all the extraordinary measures and laws they implemented were constitutional; notably, there was never an attempt to replace or substantially amend the Weimar constitution . Nevertheless, Hitler's seizure of power ( Machtergreifung ) had effectively ended the republic, replacing its constitutional framework with Führerprinzip , the principle that "the Führer's word is above all written law". The Weimar Republic
31459-399: The quorum required to bring the bill up for a vote. While the Enabling Act only required the support of two-thirds of those present and voting, two-thirds of the entire Reichstag's membership had to be present in order for the legislature to consider a constitutional amendment. According to Evans, while Göring was not required to count the KPD deputies in order to get the Enabling Act passed, he
31652-432: The ratification of the Enabling Act. In order to obtain the act's passage, the Nazis implemented a strategy of coercion, bribery, and manipulation. Hitler removed any remaining political obstacles so his coalition of conservatives, nationalists, and Nazis could begin building the Nazi dictatorship. Once the Enabling Act was introduced, it was hastily passed by the Reichstag and Reichsrat on 23 March 1933. Later that day,
31845-427: The regular army dead. The USPD leaders were angered by what they believed was treachery by the MSPD, which in their view had joined with the anti-communist military to suppress the revolution. As a result, the USPD left the Council of the People's Deputies after only seven weeks. On 30 December, the split deepened when the Communist Party of Germany (KPD) was formed out of a number of radical left-wing groups, including
32038-431: The regular army. The fall of the Munich Soviet Republic to these units, many of which were on the extreme right, resulted in the growth of far-right, antisemitic movements and organisations in Bavaria , including Organisation Consul , the Nazi Party , and societies of exiled Russian monarchists. Revolutionary sentiment also arose in the eastern states where interethnic discontent between Germans and minority Poles led to
32231-412: The restaurant Fuerstenfelder Hof in Munich. While he studied the activities of the DAP, Hitler became impressed with Drexler's antisemitic, nationalist, anti-capitalist and anti-Marxist ideas. During the 12 September 1919 meeting, Hitler took umbrage with comments made by an audience member that were directed against Gottfried Feder , the speaker, a crank economist with whom Hitler was acquainted due to
32424-423: The right of the spectrum, the politically engaged rejected the new democratic model and were appalled to see the honour of the traditional word Reich associated with it. The Catholic Centre Party favoured the term Deutscher Volksstaat (German People's State), while on the moderate left, Chancellor Friedrich Ebert 's Social Democratic Party of Germany preferred Deutsche Republik (German Republic). By
32617-436: The rival German Socialist Party (DSP). Hitler returned to Munich on 11 July and angrily tendered his resignation. The committee members realised that the resignation of their leading public figure and speaker would mean the end of the party. Hitler announced he would rejoin on the condition that he would replace Drexler as party chairman and that the party headquarters would remain in Munich. The committee agreed, and he rejoined
32810-419: The socialist movement, which represented mostly labourers, was split among two major left-wing parties: the Independent Social Democratic Party of Germany (USPD), which called for immediate peace negotiations and favoured a soviet-style command economy, and the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD), also known as the Majority Social Democratic Party of Germany (MSPD), which had supported the war and favoured
33003-439: The state prosecutor's objections. Hitler used the time in Landsberg Prison to reconsider his political strategy and dictate the first volume of Mein Kampf ( My Struggle ; originally entitled Four and a Half Years of Struggle against Lies, Stupidity, and Cowardice ), principally to his deputy Rudolf Hess . After the Beer Hall Putsch, the Nazi Party was banned in Bavaria , but it participated in 1924's two elections by proxy as
33196-410: The summer of 1919. In July 1919, Hitler was appointed Verbindungsmann (intelligence agent) of an Aufklärungskommando (reconnaissance commando) of the Reichswehr , both to influence other soldiers and to infiltrate the German Workers' Party (DAP). The DAP had been formed by Anton Drexler , Karl Harrer and others, through amalgamation of other groups, on 5 January 1919 at a small gathering at
33389-417: The task of writing a democratic constitution for a parliamentary government. To ensure that the fledgling government maintained control over the country, Ebert and General Wilhelm Groener , Ludendorff's successor as leader of the Supreme Army Command (OHL), concluded the secret Ebert–Groener pact on 10 November. Over the telephone, Ebert promised that he would allow sole command of the troops to remain with
33582-406: The territorial losses especially angered the Germans. The treaty was reviled as a dictated rather than a negotiated peace. Philipp Scheidemann , then minister president of Germany, said to the Weimar National Assembly on 12 May 1919, "What hand should not wither that puts this fetter on itself and on us?" He resigned rather than accept the terms, but after the Allies threatened to resume hostilities,
33775-852: The war because the reality contrasted so starkly with their expectations. Immediate post-war industrial production fell to the levels of the 1880s, or 57 percent of its value in 1913. The 1919 per capita GDP was only 73 percent of the comparable 1913 figure. Controlled demobilisation kept unemployment initially at around one million. By January 1922, the unemployment rate had sunk to just 0.9%, but inflation caused most workers' real wages to be significantly lower than they were in 1913. The hyperinflation that peaked in late 1923 had its worst effects on government workers, whose wages did not keep pace with private sector workers, and on middle class Germans who had invested in war bonds or who relied on savings, investments or pensions for their living. What had once been substantial savings became essentially worthless due to
33968-417: The world, the final Allied offensive began in August 1918, and the position of Germany and the Central Powers deteriorated, leading them to sue for peace. After initial offers were rejected by the Allied Powers, the hunger and privation of the war years came together with the awareness of an impending military defeat to help spark the German Revolution . On 9 November 1918, a republic was proclaimed , and
34161-401: The writing on the wall and fled into exile. Later that day, the Reichstag assembled under intimidating circumstances, with SA men swarming inside and outside the chamber. Hitler's speech, which emphasised the importance of Christianity in German culture, was aimed particularly at appeasing the Centre Party's sensibilities and incorporated Kaas' requested guarantees almost verbatim. Kaas gave
34354-487: The years immediately preceding, government had relied on Article 48 emergency decrees; those had to be decided by the President; also, all laws issued in the regular manner were, not decided, but still enacted by the President. In the passing of Enabling-Act-based laws however, the President had no role to play at all (Thus creating, until Hitler effectively became President in 1934, the unique situation in German history that laws were passed entirely without any contribution by
34547-458: Was a constitutional federal republic for the first time in history; hence it is also referred to, and unofficially proclaimed itself, as the German Republic . The period's informal name is derived from the city of Weimar , which hosted the constituent assembly that established its government. In English, the republic was usually simply called "Germany", with "Weimar Republic" (a term introduced by Adolf Hitler in 1929) not commonly used until
34740-402: Was a close associate of Cardinal Pacelli, then Vatican Secretary of State (and later Pope Pius XII ). Pacelli had been pursuing a German concordat as a key policy for some years, but the instability of Weimar governments as well as the enmity of some parties to such a treaty had blocked the project. The day after the Enabling Act vote, Kaas went to Rome in order to, in his own words, "investigate
34933-433: Was and could be no turning back. ... I registered as a member of the German Workers' Party and received a provisional membership card with the number 7". Normally, enlisted army personnel were not allowed to join political parties. However, in this case, Hitler had Captain Mayr's permission to join the DAP. Further, Hitler was allowed to stay in the army and receive his weekly pay of 20 gold marks. Otto Strasser : What
35126-417: Was assigned to 7th Company of the 1st Replacement Battalion of the 2nd Infantry Regiment. In December he was reassigned to a prisoner-of-war camp in Traunstein as a guard. He remained there until the camp dissolved in January 1919, after which he returned to Munich and spent a couple weeks on guard duty at the city's main train station (Hauptbahnhof) through which soldiers had been traveling. During this time
35319-434: Was ceded to the Allied powers, and Danzig went to the League of Nations as the Free City of Danzig . The Polish Corridor left East Prussia physically separated from the rest of Germany. Under the terms of both the Armistice of 1918 and of the Treaty of Versailles, French, British, Belgian and American troops occupied the Rhineland , the area of Germany on the west bank of the Rhine river , together with bridgeheads on
35512-462: Was charged with high treason by the prosecutor in Leipzig based on statements Goebbels had made in 1927, but after a four-month investigation it came to naught. Against this backdrop, Hitler's party gained a significant victory in the Reichstag, obtaining 107 seats (18.3%, 6,409,600 votes) in the September 1930 federal election . The Nazis thereby became the second-largest party in Germany, and as historian Joseph Bendersky notes, they essentially became
35705-422: Was in need of an uncompromising strongman to restore itself and build an empire. Learning from the failed coup, he decided on the tactic of pursuing power through legal means rather than seizing control of the government by force against the state and instead proclaimed a strictly legal course. In 1914, after being granted permission from King Ludwig III of Bavaria , the 25-year-old Austrian-born Hitler enlisted in
35898-434: Was less rigorous, the total share of the vote was as low as 9%. The Great Depression was also a factor in Hitler's electoral success. Against this legal backdrop, the SA began its first major anti-Jewish action on 13 October 1930, when groups of Nazi brownshirts smashed the windows of Jewish-owned stores at Potsdamer Platz . The Wall Street Crash of 1929 heralded worldwide economic disaster. The people of Germany, tired of
36091-430: Was put under the control of the League of Nations for 15 years, and the output of the area's coal mines went to France. Alsace–Lorraine , which Prussia had annexed following the Franco-Prussian War of 1870/71, once again became French. The northern part of Schleswig-Holstein went to Denmark following a plebiscite. In the east, a significant amount of territory was lost to a restored Poland . The Memel Territory
36284-402: Was required to "recognize their existence" by counting them for purposes of the quorum needed to call it up, making his refusal to do so "an illegal act". (Even if the Communists had been present and voting, the session's atmosphere was so intimidating that the Act would have still passed with, at the very least, 68.7% support.) He also argued that the act's passage in the Reichsrat was tainted by
36477-437: Was spread by the Right throughout the 1920s and ensured that many monarchists and conservatives would refuse to support the government of what they called the "November criminals". The destabilising effect of the stab-in-the-back myth on the Weimar democracy was an important factor in the rise of National Socialism . On 29 October 1918, a rebellion broke out among sailors at Wilhelmshaven ; similar unrest then spread to become
36670-423: Was still very new at the time, it was therefore impressionable; Bismarck's strategy of confrontation rather than consensus set a tone of either being loyal to the government or an enemy of the state, which directly influenced German nationalist sentiment and the later Nazi movement. Adolf Hitler became involved with the fledgling German Workers' Party – which he would later transform into the Nazi Party – after
36863-474: Was the only candidate to poll fewer than a million votes. The battles on the streets grew increasingly violent. After the Rotfront ( Roter Frontkämpferbund ) interrupted a speech by Hitler, the SA marched into the streets of Nuremberg and killed two bystanders. Seeking revenge, the SA also stormed a Rotfront meeting on 25 August and days later the Berlin headquarters of the Communist Party of Germany (KPD) itself. In September, Goebbels led his men into Neukölln ,
37056-449: Was the unified armed forces of the Nazi regime. Germany and the Central Powers fought the Allies of WWI between 28 July 1914 and 11 November 1918. The war ended with 20 million military and civilian deaths, including 2,037,000 German soldiers and from 424,000 to 763,000 civilians, many of them from disease and starvation as a result of the Allied blockade of Germany . After four years of war on multiple fronts in Europe and around
37249-407: Was used until being replaced by the Nazi Reichsadler in 1935, and readopted by the Federal Republic of Germany in 1950. Following Germany's defeat in World War I, several million soldiers of the Imperial German Army either simply dispersed on their own or were formally demobilized. The provisional civilian government and the Supreme Army Command (OHL) planned to transfer the remaining units to
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