The Nazis would try to build a nation of pure Aryans, united by their race. As leader of the party, Hitler's wishes should be obeyed in all matters. The Great Depression caused mass unemployment in Germany. How many Germans were unemployed by the time Hitler became Chancellor in January ?
The Nazis gained seats in the Reichstag after as a result of the Depression. Which other party gained seats too? Communist Party KPD. Who was in charge of the Nazi Party's propaganda during their rise to power? Joseph Goebbels. Ernst Rohm. Gregor Strasser. While currying the favour of the German ruling class behind closed doors, the Nazis employed an economic populist and ultra-nationalist rhetoric to build their mass base. They were able to take advantage of and build upon the nationalism proffered by conservative politicians.
Many Germans perceived their country to have been the victim of the First World War, and the Nazis together with the bourgeois parties used this issue to deflect class anger away from German capital and towards perceived foreign enemies. Having supported the war themselves, the SPD could not afford to condemn it retrospectively. The party had already shown its readiness to crack down brutally on the radical left after the November revolution in and the ensuing civil-war-like battles around local revolutionary councils.
At that time the SPD had allied with the old economic and military elites of imperial Germany to defeat the revolutionary upsurge and establish a democratic republic with some social reforms, but also ensured that capitalist property relations remained untouched.
Because of this historic compromise, the Weimar Republic found itself burdened with a broad layer of military officials, judges and government clerks opposed to the republican reforms. It was precisely this layer that was open to fascist politics and moved closer and closer to the Nazis after As the majority of the population increasingly lost hope in capitalism and the republic, millions searched for a political alternative.
Because the population identified the SPD with the republic it proved impossible for it to capitalise on this widespread radicalisation, let alone channel it in a socialist direction.
The Social Democrats became victims of the economic, social and political crisis that racked the Weimar establishment and were dragged down with it. The SPD participated in a governing coalition with bourgeois and conservative parties from to He savaged the welfare state, raised indirect taxes and pushed down wages.
These measures spelled untold suffering for the millions of workers who supported the SPD. Illness increased as more and more people could no longer afford to see a doctor. The SPD, having campaigned on the left but governed on the right, were punished at the polls.
Their lack of credibility led them to go from 30 percent of the vote in to only 18 percent in The split in the labour movement between the SPD and the KPD and the lack of a united response to the capitalist crisis drove more and more of its victims into the arms of the Nazis. At its core were a quarter of a million fighters active in the brigades of the Reichsbanner Schwarz Rot Gold , a paramilitary organisation designed to protect the republic against subversion.
However, its fixation on parliamentarism and legality hindered an effective struggle against the Nazis, who did not respect the trappings of bourgeois democracy in their own quest for power. By the early s the KPD had become a mass party characterised by a high degree of internal democracy and freedom of discussion; different currents competed for influence within the party. Or should the party initiate united fronts with them against the capitalists? Even if one detested the SPD, they were still the largest political party of the working class and it was vital to prove to the membership that their leadership was not prepared to fight for them.
The initiation of united fronts would bring SPD and KPD members together in common struggle, allowing the radicalising dynamic of mass movements to push Social Democrats to the left and into the arms of the Communists. The Communist Party organisation began to change fundamentally in the mids. Freedom of discussion and internal democracy were replaced piece by piece by a mood of unquestioning discipline and authoritarian leadership. Oppositional currents were discouraged from speaking openly and eventually forced out of the party.
This disastrous line would eventually prove fatal for both the Social Democrats and the Communists. The theory of social fascism dictated that Nazis and Social Democrats were essentially two sides of the same coin. The worst of them all were the left wing Social Democrats, whose rhetoric was particularly deceptive.
According to the theory, it was impossible to fight side by side with the SPD against the Nazis under such conditions. Turning the logic of the united front on its head, SPD supporters were expected to give up their party allegiance before joining, as opposed to the united front being a first practical step towards the Communist Party. Throughout this period the leaderships of both the SPD and the KPD never came to a formal agreement regarding the fight against Nazism. This went hand in hand with a deadly underestimation of the Nazi danger.
The KPD was able to grow tremendously during the economic crisis. Its radical anti-capitalist rhetoric proved attractive to a large minority of the working class. In elections the KPD went from Its membership doubled in the same time, from , to almost , Most of this growth came from the ranks of the unemployed.
Its confrontational stance towards the SPD prevented a united struggle against the Nazis as well as the austerity imposed by the capitalist parties. It should be noted that despite employing a strategy that prevented an effective, united struggle, the Communists were at the same time those who fought the Nazis the hardest: hundreds of Communists fought in the civil-war-like street battles that became a common sight in Germany from to , costing the lives of a hundred Nazis and even more KPD members.
According to the British historian Sir Ian Kershaw, the consensus of nearly all historians is that van der Lubbe actually set the fire. Others, including William L. The decree was permitted under Article 48 of the Weimar Constitution, which gave the president the power to take emergency measures to protect public safety and order. In addition to political campaigning, the NSDAP engaged in paramilitary violence and the spread of anti-communist propaganda in the days preceding the election.
These laws could with certain exceptions deviate from the constitution. Since it would affect the constitution, the Enabling Act required a two-thirds majority to pass. Leaving nothing to chance, the Nazis used the provisions of the Reichstag Fire Decree to arrest all 81 Communist deputies in spite of their virulent campaign against the party, the Nazis allowed the KPD to contest the election and prevent several Social Democrats from attending.
Ranks of SA Nazi paramilitary men served as guards inside the building, while large groups outside opposing the proposed legislation shouted slogans and threats toward the arriving members of parliament. The position of the Centre Party, the third largest party in the Reichstag, was decisive. The Act passed by a vote of —84, with all parties except the Social Democrats voting in favor.
Having achieved full control over the legislative and executive branches of government, Hitler and his allies began to suppress the remaining opposition. The Social Democratic Party was banned and its assets seized. While many trade union delegates were in Berlin for May Day activities, SA stormtroopers demolished union offices around the country.
On May 2, , all trade unions were forced to dissolve and their leaders were arrested. Some were sent to concentration camps. By the end of June, the other parties had been intimidated into disbanding. The demands of the SA for more political and military power caused anxiety among military, industrial, and political leaders.
While the international community and some Germans were shocked by the murders, many in Germany believed Hitler was restoring order. On August 2, , Hindenburg died.
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