Hitlers Rise to Fuhrer

Hitlers Rise to Fuhrer

How did Hitler go from Chancellor to Fuhrer in Germany between 1933 and 1934?

Between 1933 and 1934 there were a number of events that gave Adolf Hitler the opportunity to take control of Germany and rise from Chancellor of Germany to the Fuhrer. Hitler used many tactics and took up any chance to gain power. After he became Chancellor in January 1933, Hitler transformed his democratic position into power.   Calling an election - and taking advantage of the Reichstag fire - he got the Reichstag to pass the Enabling Act.   Then, using the power this gave him to make his own laws, he set up the Gestapo, banned Trade Unions and opposition parties and (on the Night of the Long Knives, July 1934) removed even the opposition within the Nazi Party.   

On the 27th February 1933 in Berlin there was an arson attack on the Reichstag parliament building. A thorough search conducted by the police resulted in the finding of a man called Marinus van der Lubbe. Van der Lubbe was a Dutch council communist and unemployed bricklayer who had recently arrived in Germany. The fire was used as evidence by the Nazis that the Communists were beginning a 'plot' against the German government. Van der Lubbe and four Communist leaders were then arrested. Adolf Hitler, who was made as Chancellor of Germany four weeks before on 30 January, urged President Hindenburg to pass an emergency decree in order to counter the 'ruthless confrontation of the Communist Party of Germany'. many people at the time claimed that the Nazis had burned it down, and then just blamed the Communists.    Putting blame on the communists was the first step in reigning.

On the 5th March 1933 the Nazi Party only got 44% of the population vote. This won them 288 seats in the Reichstag. However, because not enough people voted for the Nazis, Hitler put 81 Communists in prison.

The Enabling Act was passed on 23rd March 1933. The enabling act gave Hitler the power to pass his own laws without the consent of the...

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