History

How Hitler consolidated power 1933-1934

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In January 1933 Hitler became chancellor of Germany and by August 1934, he had declared himself Führer - the leader of Germany. What happened during this time that allowed Hitler to take the ultimate position of authority?

Summary

Dates and events 1933-1934

Date	Event
27 Feb 1933	Reichstag Fire - the Reichstag [Reichstag: German parliament in Berlin. ] building is set on fire. A Dutch Communist, van der Lubbe, is caught red-handed in the burning building.
5 Mar 1933	General Election - only 44 per cent of the population vote for the Nazis, who win 288 seats in the Reichstag.
23 Mar 1933	Enabling Act - the SA [SA : Also known as Storm Troopers or Brownshirts. A military style organisation of the Nazi party formed in 1921 under Hitler. ] intimidates all the remaining non-Nazi deputies. The Reichstag votes to give Hitler the right to make his own laws.
26 April 1933	Local government is reorganised - the country is carved up into 42 Gaus, which are run by a Gauleiter. These Gaus are separated into areas, localities and blocks of flats run by a Blockleiter. Hitler sets up the Gestapo.
2 May 1933	Trade unions are abolished and their leaders arrested.
20 June 1933	Concordat - Hitler makes an agreement with the Pope who sees him as someone who can destroy communism. This agreement allows Hitler to take over political power in Germany as long as he leaves the Catholic Church alone.
14 July 1933	Political parties are banned - only the Nazi party is allowed to exist.
24 April 1934	People's Courts - Hitler sets up the Nazi people's courts where judges have to swear an oath of loyalty to the Nazis.
30 June 1934	Night of the Long Knives - some SA leaders are demanding that the Nazi party carry out its socialist agenda, and that the SA take over the army. Hitler cannot afford to annoy the businessmen or the army, so the SS [SS: Also known as the Blackshirts. A German police/ military style organisation created to serve as the personal bodyguards of Adolf Hitler. In Hitler's Germany they eventually controlled the intelligence, security and police forces, and extermination of those they considered undesirable. ] murders perhaps 400 of the SA members, including its leader Röhm, along with a number of Hitler's other opponents.
19 Aug 1934	Führer - when Hindenburg dies, Hitler declares himself jointly president, chancellor and head of the army.