Hitler had secured the support of the army with the Röhm Purge of June 30, 1934. German president Paul von Hindenburg died in August 1934.
They aimed to appeal to convinced National Socialists and non-Nazi Germans, and also to undercut anti-Nazi sentiment. With great success, Nazi officials used extensive propaganda, carefully crafted to appeal when necessary to more general national, economic, and social goals. The Nazis also mobilized support from among the civil service elite by making good on electoral promises to tear up the Versailles Treaty, restore Germany to the ranks of the Great Powers, bring the nation out of the depression, take back the streets from criminals and subversives, crush the communist threat, and open career opportunities for young professionals. The Nazis were also particularly successful in mobilizing support from among Germany's educated and professional elites, including the legal, law enforcement, education, and medical professions. The Nazi regime also attempted to "coordinate" the German churches and, although not entirely successful, won support from a majority of Catholic and Protestant clergymen. Within six months, the Nazis either banned or forced into “voluntary” dissolution all other political parties, including their coalition partner, the German Nationalists.Ĭulture, the economy, education, and law all came under Nazi control. In the first months of Hitler's chancellorship, the Nazis instituted a policy of "coordination"-the alignment of individuals and institutions with Nazi goals. It proclaimed a state of emergency in a decree that suspended constitutional civil rights and enabled Hitler to decree further legislation without parliamentary confirmation. After a suspicious fire in the Reichstag (the German Parliament), on February 28, 1933, the government claimed falsely that the fire was the signal for a communist effort to overthrow the state. Suspension of Basic Civil Rightsįollowing the appointment of Adolf Hitler as chancellor on January 30, 1933, the leaders of the new government (a coalition of Nazis and German Nationalists) moved quickly to suspend basic civil rights for all Germans. These years were also marked by leaders who, lacking firm commitment to democracy, were willing to invoke emergency legislation as a substitute for parliamentary consent. The last years of the Weimar Republic were plagued by political deadlock, increasing political street violence, and economic depression. It brought an end to the Weimar Republic, a parliamentary democracy established in defeated Germany after World War I. The Nazi rise to power marked the beginning of the Third Reich.
Both inside and outside Germany, the term “Third Reich” was often used to describe the Nazi regime in Germany from January 30, 1933, to May 8, 1945.
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