How Hitler became a dictator

G2 Elective History - syllabus K230, 2027

What this lesson teaches

  • I can explain how leaders, the army and other groups helped set up authoritarian rule.

    Syllabus K230, Rise of Authoritarian Regimes, Learning Outcomes. Explain the roles of key players in the establishment of authoritarian rule.

Make a guess

Hitler became chancellor in January 1933, but he shared the cabinet with conservatives and faced a parliament and a president. How long do you think it took him to remove every check on his power?

  1. A few days, because becoming chancellor made him dictator straight away.
  2. About eighteen months, step by step, until August 1934.
  3. Around six years, finishing just before the war in 1939.
Show the answer

About eighteen months, step by step, until August 1934.

He used the Reichstag fire decree, the Enabling Act, bans on unions and parties, a purge and Hindenburg's death, one after another.

Hitler used laws and violence to remove every check on his power, step by step, between February 1933 and August 1934.

Consolidating power means making control more secure after gaining office. Hitler did this in stages.

On 27 February 1933, the Reichstag building burned. The Nazis blamed a communist plot and used it to justify an emergency decree the next day. The decree suspended civil liberties, such as free speech and protection from arrest without good reason. Opponents could now be arrested and their newspapers closed. Who planned the fire is still disputed, but how the Nazis used it is clear.

An election in March took place amid arrests and threats, yet the Nazis still did not win a majority on their own. On 23 March, the Reichstag passed the Enabling Act, formally issued on 24 March. It let Hitler's government make laws without parliament's approval. Communist members were kept out, other opponents were threatened, and other parties chose to vote for it. A vote held under these conditions was not free.

In May 1933, independent trade unions, which let workers defend their interests together, were crushed. Other parties were forced to close, and by July the Nazis were the only legal party. Workers and opponents had lost the organisations they could use to act together.

On 30 June 1934, the Night of the Long Knives began. Hitler's regime murdered SA leaders, including Ernst Rohm, and other possible rivals. Army leaders had feared the SA's ambitions, so the purge reassured the army and won its support. It also showed that even powerful Nazis were not safe.

President Hindenburg died on 2 August 1934. Hitler combined the roles of president and chancellor, and the army swore loyalty to him personally. No single event explains the dictatorship. Arrests weakened opponents, laws gave the government more power, and destroying rival organisations made resistance harder.

Put these in order

Put these steps from chancellor to dictator in order.

  • The Night of the Long Knives destroys the SA leadership.
  • After the Reichstag fire, an emergency decree suspends civil liberties.
  • Free trade unions are crushed and the Nazis become the only legal party.
  • The Reichstag passes the Enabling Act.
  • Hindenburg appoints Hitler chancellor.
  • Hindenburg dies and Hitler combines president and chancellor; the army swears loyalty to him.
Show the answer
  1. Hindenburg appoints Hitler chancellor. 30 January 1933: As chancellor, Hitler could use state power and police against opponents, and ask for emergency decrees.
  2. After the Reichstag fire, an emergency decree suspends civil liberties. 28 February 1933: With rights suspended, communists and other opponents could be arrested before the Enabling Act vote.
  3. The Reichstag passes the Enabling Act. 23 March 1933: Now the government could make laws without parliament, so it could ban rival organisations by decree.
  4. Free trade unions are crushed and the Nazis become the only legal party. May to July 1933: With unions and parties gone, the only rivals left were inside the Nazi movement, especially the SA.
  5. The Night of the Long Knives destroys the SA leadership. 30 June 1934: The purge won the army's support, so when Hindenburg died the army accepted Hitler as head of state. Hindenburg died in August 1934.
  6. Hindenburg dies and Hitler combines president and chancellor; the army swears loyalty to him.
27-28 February 1933
Reichstag fire, then a decree removing basic rights.
23 March 1933
Enabling Act lets Hitler make laws without parliament.
August 1934
Hitler becomes head of state; army swears loyalty to him.

Real examples to use

March 1933 election

Even with opponents arrested, the Nazis won 43.9 per cent and 288 seats, still not a majority on their own.

Enabling Act, 23 March 1933

Passed by 444 votes to 94. Only the Social Democrats voted against; the Communist members had been arrested or had fled.

Night of the Long Knives, 30 June to 2 July 1934

At least 85 people were murdered, including SA leader Ernst Rohm. In a vote on 19 August 1934, about 90 per cent approved Hitler becoming head of state.

Worked example: Force and law working together

The Enabling Act was passed by a large majority in March 1933.

  1. Before the vote, arrests and threats weakened the opposition.
  2. The Act then let Hitler make laws without parliament.
  3. So force helped pass the law, and the law gave more power. It was not a free decision.

Watch out for this

The Night of the Long Knives only targeted people outside the Nazi Party.

It targeted SA leaders inside Hitler's own movement, such as Ernst Rohm, as well as other rivals.

Check your understanding

What did the Enabling Act allow?

  1. It made Hitler president and head of the army in March 1933.
  2. Hitler's government could make laws without parliament's approval.
  3. It banned the other parties and made the Nazis the single legal party.
Show the answer

Hitler's government could make laws without parliament's approval.

Yes. It removed parliament's check on his power.

Sources and context

Background reading for this chapter.

  • Hitler asks for trust

    Paraphrase of Hitler's radio appeal on behalf of the new Reich government, 1 February 1933, reproduced by GHDI.

  • USHMM, Enabling Act; law translated from Reichsgesetzblatt I, 1933, p141

    Paraphrase of Articles 1-3 of the Enabling Act, promulgated 24 March 1933; text translated from the official law gazette by USHMM.

  • Wels opposes the Act

    Paraphrase of SPD leader Otto Wels' Reichstag speech, 23 March 1933, as reproduced in the German Bundestag historical exhibition, p2.

  • workers' mixed responses

    Paraphrase of a Central Germany report commissioned by the exiled Social Democratic leadership (Sopade), September 1938; published in GHDI.

  • Hitler's confidential memorandum on autarky, August 1936, GHDI

    Paraphrase of the concluding instructions in Hitler's confidential memorandum on autarky, August 1936, published in GHDI.

  • a Nazi election poster, July 1932

    An original poster drawn for these notes in the style of Nazi Party posters for the Reichstag election of 31 July 1932. It is not a copy of a real poster, but its promises match what Nazi posters of that campaign offered unemployed voters.

  • the Enabling Act, March 1933

    Extract from the "Law to remove the distress of people and State" (the Enabling Act), 24 March 1933, signed by President Hindenburg and Chancellor Hitler. English translation of document 2001-PS from Nazi Conspiracy and Aggression, volume IV, published by the US Office of Chief Counsel for Prosecution of Axis Criminality (1946); text from the Avalon Project.

  • the American ambassador reports, 30 June 1934

    Extract from a telegram from William Dodd, US Ambassador in Germany, to the Secretary of State, Berlin, 30 June 1934, 5 p.m., sent on the day the purge began. Foreign Relations of the United States, 1934, volume II, document 194. A US government document in the public domain.

  • the ambassador looks again, 2 July 1934

    Extract from a telegram from Ambassador Dodd to the Secretary of State, Berlin, 2 July 1934, two days later. Foreign Relations of the United States, 1934, volume II, document 197. A US government document in the public domain.

  • the German Foreign Minister explains, July 1934

    Extract from a telegram from Ambassador Dodd to the Secretary of State, Berlin, 6 July 1934, reporting what the German Foreign Minister, Konstantin von Neurath, told him. Foreign Relations of the United States, 1934, volume II, document 199. A US government document in the public domain.

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