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nazi early years
The Nazi state came out of the previous German government, the Weimar Republic. The Weimar Republic was like the U.S. with a legislature (the Reichstag like our Congress), a President, and a Chancellor (like our Speaker of the House) -
hitler takes control of the nazi
In 1921 Hitler declared himself the party’s fuhrer (absolute leader). He ordered the formation of an enforcement group, the Sturmabteilung (the SA, later known as the ‘Brownshirts’) to deal with opponents. -
nazi popularity
By 1928, the NSDAP was popular with farmers, small business owners, and others in the middle-class who felt ignored or betrayed by the Weimar government. -
the great depression
The Great Depression (1929) led many German voters to look to more radical parties, such as Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party. -
the chanceller deal
But Hitler was not prepared to accept anyone as chancellor, other than himself. Hitler did have one supporter, the politician Franz Von Papen. Papen believed that carefully chosen advisors could curb Hitler’s radicalness while using the voting power of the NSDAP. On January 30th 1933 Hindenburg agreed, offering the chancellorship to Adolf Hitler and inviting him to form a government. -
the fire
The boost for Hitler’s move to ultimate power was a destructive fire in the Reichstag building in Berlin (their parliament/congress building) on February 27, 1933. Investigators found flammable material scattered around the building. -
concentrating camps opening
Earlier in 1933, Hitler authorized the construction of concentration camps. These camps were conceived as secure holding facilities for political prisoners who disagreed with Nazi policies and ideas. -
the enabling act
Four weeks later, on March 23rd, 1933, the Nazis introduced the Enabling Act into the Reichstag. The Enabling Act allowed Hitler to govern without reference to the Reichstag. The chancellor and his ministers could rule by decree, bypass the constitution, initiate taxes and spending and determine foreign policy, all without legislation or Reichstag approval. The act passed 444-94. The Nazis rigged the vote by arresting dozens of members of other parties. -
hindenburg's death
Then, on August 2nd, 1934, President Hindenburg died and Hitler assumed control of the government. The new leader would be titled as the fuhrer and would act as head of state, government, and armed forces. Hitler convened a large-public vote to seek public endorsement of this constitutional change. Almost nine-tenths of Germans approved of the measure, though there was some suggestion the vote was rigged. -
rearment
In 1935, Hitler reintroduced the draft. The following year Hitler unveiled his Four-Year Plan, a schedule to prepare the nation’s military for war. By the start of 1939 Germany’s armed forces boasted more than 900,000 soldiers, 8,000 aircraft and 95 warships. -
taking over austria
By the mid-1930s Austria had its own Nazi group. Under considerable pressure from the Nazis, the Austrian chancellor held a March 1938 vote on Austrian independence. Claiming the vote was rigged, Hitler told him to relinquish power to the Austrian Nazis or face invasion. The chancellor sought help from Britain and France but he was refused, so he resigned. German forces crossed the border the next day and Hitler joined Austria and Germany under one government. -
Czechoslovakia and the Munich Agreement
Then Hitler turned his attention to the Sudetenland, a western region of Czechoslovakia inhabited mostly by German-speakers. He began claiming that Germans in the Sudetenland were being persecuted by Czechs. British prime minister Neville Chamberlain intervened, meeting the fuhrer three times in September 1938. At the first of these meetings, on September 15th, Chamberlain agreed to Hitler’s demands.
