Hello again. On January 30, 1933 Hitler was appointed Chancellor of Germany. The National Socialist German Workers Party, better known as a Nazi Party, was a minor party within the German politics until 1930. In the May 1924 elections it won 6.6% of the votes. And in those of May 1928 only 2.6% of the Germans supported it. Yet in the next elections, those of September 1930, got 18.3% of the votes, in July 1932 37.3%, and on the deciding elections of November 1932 33.1% of the Germans supported it. What can we learn from these data? A few things. First, the German political instability on the eve of Hitler's rise to power. Second, the disturbing effect the world economic crisis of 1929 had on German society. In October 1929 the Wall Street stock market crashed in what signalled the beginning of the Great Depression. All throughout the globe economies collapsed and millions lost her jobs. Yet get this worldwide crisis had a special effect on Germany, where people still remember the depression and inflation of the end of World War I. Thus in Germany this crisis was not only an economic one, but also as psychological one. It is no surprise that it resulted in political extremism in which Nazi nationalists on the one hand, and German communists on the other, gained power. Third thing we should point out regarding those figures is that, unlike what many people believe, Hitler never won a majority vote in democratic elections. His appointment to Chancellor was within the democratic system and a result of political agreements, not of a general support. The central parties could not create a stable coalition without one of the extremism parties. They had to choose between the Nazis and the communists, two parties which openly advocated dismantling democracy. German moderate leaders prefered Hitler, not only because of the fear of the communism, but also because they thought they will be able to control Hitler. They couldn't have been more wrong. Within weeks from the seizure of power, Hitler used the advanced democratic constitution of the Weimar Republic in order to destroy it. And in less than a year, Germany became Nazi Germany. As a first step, Hitler manipulated the new scene and called for new elections on March the 5th. The second step occurred less than a month after appointment of Hitler. In the late hours of February 27, 1933, the Reichstag, the German parliament building, was set on fire. Though it seems as if Herman Goering, one of the leading figures in the Nazi party and the Minister of Interior, was involved, the blame was imposed on the communists and the anarchists. More importantly, this event enabled Hitler to promote the Reichstag Fire Decree, which you reduced considerably many of the civil liberties of the German citizens and enabled Nazi authorities to imprison anyone who was [? grasped ?] by them as an enemy. Communists and other German citizens were taken in protective custody, Schutzhaft, for an unknown and unset period of time. Where could the rest of the opponents have been held? They could have been put in gaols like in any other modern country, but Hitler and the Nazi party had a problem. Unlike other dramatic changes in forms of government, Hitler did not want to provoke a revolution and simply replace existing civil apparatus with his people. Hitler wanted to enlist the German people, and it's bureaucratic system, to his Weltanschauung, his world view. But this would have taken too much time. Thus, he had to find a way to justify removal of people whom he deemed as dangerous elements, without going through the legal system. So what did the Nazi party do? They implemented a new form of detention facility for political enemies-- concentration camps. Less than two months after Hitler became chancellor, and three weeks after the Reichstag fire, Dachau, the first of many concentration camps, was established. The changing character of Nazi camps, and the different aspects of life and death created in them, demand a full standalone course. But in this framework, we must limit ourselves to a basic understanding of this system and its impact on the German society. Generally speaking, in the first years, inmates were supposedly imprisoned in the camp for their re-education. Meaning, they could be released, and some were released, only if they recognised, or pretended to recognise, the correctness of the Nazi path. Later on, and especially after 1936, to which we will refer later, releases became increasingly less common. More and more inmates were used for forced labour in the German industry, especially the military German industry. Thus, the regime used its enemies in order to promote its own interests. As soon as Nazi Germany occupied other countries, it understood it could kill two birds with one stone. Not only remove dangerous elements in the occupied countries, local political leaders, underground activists and freedom fighters, but also use them for Germany's benefits. What started in Dachau in 1933, ended in tens of thousands of camps which were erected during the war throughout Europe, in order to enslave millions of European citizens. For those of you who want to know more, please see further reading suggestions below. But returning to Hitler's first month in power and the establishment of Dachau, we should notice two more important things. First, in this stage, the inmates of the concentration camps were not Jewish, but political enemies. True, as you can see the following table, if you were a Jewish communist or a Jewish criminal, your chances to die in the camp were considered really high. Yet Jews were imprisoned in camps for their Jewishness only in 1938, as we will see later. Second, the Nazi concentration camps had a decisive role, not only in re-educating prisoners, and guards about their superiority, but also in re-educating the entire German population. Unlike the familiar punishment system of a felony, a police interrogation, a trial, a verdict, and implementation of the punishment, the Nazi Schutzsaft, protective custody, worked completely differently. People and those surrounding them did not always know why they were arrested or where they were taken, as well when and if they will ever be released. Not many really know what was going on in the camps, but all heard enough to understand it was too dangerous to ask more about it. Rumours and whispers about people who were dragged from their beds intensified the terror no less than the SR thugs who filled the streets. In March 1933, Nazi terrorism swept Germany. While disseminating fear within the German society, creating a reality that helped him win more than 43% of the votes in March 5 elections, Hitler continued to work on gaining endless political power. On the 23rd of March, 1933, the German Reichstag approved the Enabling Act, in which the parliament gave away its power and function for a restricted period, which never ended in Nazi Germany. The full legislative power was handed to the Reichskanzler, Hitler, and the government. Now, the road was paved for the true implementation of the Gleichschaltung, forcible coordination of the Nazi Party and the German state. Starting in March 1933, the Nazi Party took over the German states. Local elections were dissolved, and other results were forced on them. In April, Reichsleiters, or Reich leaders, were appointed in order to create a Nazi mechanism parallel to that of the state. Under this mechanism, Gauleiters, regional leaders of the party, leader of districts, Nazi head of cities and villages, and so on were appointed. The Nazi Party gained geographical control of Germany. Public and political life in Germany was the next target. In May 1933, all trade unions were abolished, and instead the German Labour Front, the Nazi organisation, was established. On July 14, all parties were dismantled, leaving the Nazi Party as the only legal one. Leftist youth movements were outlawed, and all the others were incorporated into the Nazi Hitlerjugend. Student organisations ceased to exist, leaving only the National Socialist German Student League. The same happened in the realm of welfare, where only the National Socialist People's Welfare remained legal, or the new National Socialists Teachers League, which replaced all former teachers' unions. In the field of culture, a Reich cultural organisation was established, and all cultural activities throughout Germany had to get the approval of its heads, and so on. The 1st of May became the day of national work, and the day Hitler gained power, the 30th of January, was declared a new national holiday. At this stage, one could not be a part of any social or professional organisation-- teachers, lawyers, or mechanics-- and avoid Nazism. The party was the state. The Nazi Party took over the states' infrastructure by blurring the dividing lines between party and state institutions and thus creating Nazi Germany, or the Third Reich. Nazi Germany was much more than a dictatorship. It was a totalitarian regime which controlled and ruled all aspects of the life of its citizens. Who they will marry, how many kids they will have, what will be their profession or where will they work-- all were the interest of the Nazi German state. The last elections ever to be held in Nazi Germany took place on November 12, 1933. Hitler won more than 92% of the vote of the German people. At the end of 1933, Hitler could look at this transformation with satisfaction. The Republic of Weimar was gone to a large extent, although the overall process of Nazification would last until 1937. How did people, German European citizens, react to this new reality? And what else changed in the later years of Nazi Germany? Those are some of the questions we will answer in our next units.
