The creation of a dictatorship, 1933–34 Flashcards

All 9 cards in this deck

When was the Reichstag Fire and who was blamed for it?

27 February 1933. Marinus van der Lubbe, a Dutch communist, was caught at the scene and blamed.

What powers did the Reichstag Fire Decree (Decree for the Protection of People and State, February 1933) give the Nazis?

Emergency powers suspending civil rights, so political opponents could be arrested without trial and placed in concentration camps.

What did the Enabling Act (March 1933) allow Hitler to do?

Make laws for four years without the approval of the Reichstag or the President.

True or false? The Enabling Act itself made Germany a one-party state.

False. It gave Hitler power to make laws without the Reichstag; other parties were banned by the Law Against the Formation of New Parties in July 1933.

What did the Nazis do to German trade unions in May 1933?

Banned them and replaced them with the Nazi-run German Labour Front (DAF).

Why did Hitler see Röhm and the SA as a threat by 1934?

The SA had over two million men and Röhm wanted it to take over the army, which angered army leaders and the SS.

What was the Night of the Long Knives?

A purge on 30 June 1934 in which the SS murdered Röhm, other SA leaders and opponents such as von Schleicher.

What happened when President Hindenburg died on 2 August 1934?

Hitler combined the posts of Chancellor and President to become Führer, and the army swore a personal oath of allegiance to him.

By how many votes did the Reichstag pass the Enabling Act in March 1933?

444 to 94. Only the Social Democrats voted against, while SA men packed and surrounded the building to intimidate the deputies.