‘the Nazi Consolidation of Power Between January 1933 and August 1934 Was Achieved Through the Use of Terror’ Assess the Validity of This View

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the challenge that although the Nazis consolidated power through legal means, this was reinforced by the use of terror. In effect, the passing of legislation legitimised the use of terror which allowed more restrictive measures to be passed through oppression.

Never the less, it should not be discarded that the Nazi Party received a great amount of luck in achieving their consolidation of power. Although the use of the Gestapo was a repressive measure that can be seen as using terror, it only employed a small workforce of 20,000 officers. In fact, it relied mainly on the general public to be informants for the Gestapo and report threats. Consequently, this use of Nazi terror was self-inflicted on the population as they fuelled the Gestapo with rumours and their suspicions which led to the persecution of civilians for simply not conforming. Without the participation and anxiety of the people, the Gestapo would have been relatively ineffective, due to its force being on such a minor scale. Although, it could be argued that this was as a result of the terror regime as by marking other people out as ‘enemies of the state’, it made it less likely that they themselves were opposing Hitler (i.e. they were covering their own tracks).

Another way in which the luck played an important role in helping the Nazis consolidate power by August 1934 was Hindenburg’s timely death on the 2nd of August. Despite his state gradually deteriorating throughout the summer, he still had some involvement in politics. He drew up a political will that specified his favour towards the restoration of the monarchy. This was a significant threat to Hitler as Hindenburg was still in overall control and had the loyalty of the army. However, after Hindenburg passed away, Hitler moved quick to announce the merging of the offices and the army created an oath of loyalty to Hitler, their new Commander-in-Chief. This allowed Hitler to reassert his ideology of the Fuhrerprinzip as he had control of both government, the state and the forces. Furthermore, through Hindenburg’s timely death (as he had already considered dismissing the Nazis if the SA were not brought under control) and Hitler’s initiative of merging the offices of President and Chancellor together, the Nazi consolidation of power was complete. Nevertheless, it should be remembered that Hitler issues a plebiscite (19th August) to authenticate the merging of the two offices by allowing the German people to vote their approval. This reinforces the possibility that consolidation was achieved through legal means.

In conclusion, it can be seen that between March 1933 and August 1934, the Nazi consolidation of power was achieved through legal means, despite terror reinforcing this. Hitler reinforced the Nazi dominance and authority through, arguably, parliamentary democracy with the March Reichstag elections of 1933 and the passing of the Enabling Act. The orchestrated plebiscite after Hindenburg’s death even asserted the population’s acceptance of Hitler’s overruling power in society and government. Although luck was a significant factor in enabling the Nazis to confirm power and intimidate people, ultimate consolidation and establishment of Hitler’s Fuhrerprinzip and Gelichschaltung was accomplished through legal means.