Hitler used laws and violence to remove every check on his power, step by step, between February 1933 and August 1934.
Consolidating power means making control more secure after gaining office. Hitler did this in stages.
On 27 February 1933, the Reichstag building burned. The Nazis blamed a communist plot and used it to justify an emergency decree the next day. The decree suspended civil liberties, such as free speech and protection from arrest without good reason. Opponents could now be arrested and their newspapers closed. Who planned the fire is still disputed, but how the Nazis used it is clear.
An election in March took place amid arrests and threats, yet the Nazis still did not win a majority on their own. On 23 March, the Reichstag passed the Enabling Act, formally issued on 24 March. It let Hitler's government make laws without parliament's approval. Communist members were kept out, other opponents were threatened, and other parties chose to vote for it. A vote held under these conditions was not free.
In May 1933, independent trade unions, which let workers defend their interests together, were crushed. Other parties were forced to close, and by July the Nazis were the only legal party. Workers and opponents had lost the organisations they could use to act together.
On 30 June 1934, the Night of the Long Knives began. Hitler's regime murdered SA leaders, including Ernst Rohm, and other possible rivals. Army leaders had feared the SA's ambitions, so the purge reassured the army and won its support. It also showed that even powerful Nazis were not safe.
President Hindenburg died on 2 August 1934. Hitler combined the roles of president and chancellor, and the army swore loyalty to him personally. No single event explains the dictatorship. Arrests weakened opponents, laws gave the government more power, and destroying rival organisations made resistance harder.
- 27-28 February 1933
- Reichstag fire, then a decree removing basic rights.
- 23 March 1933
- Enabling Act lets Hitler make laws without parliament.
- August 1934
- Hitler becomes head of state; army swears loyalty to him.
Worked example: Force and law working together
The Enabling Act was passed by a large majority in March 1933.
- Before the vote, arrests and threats weakened the opposition.
- The Act then let Hitler make laws without parliament.
- So force helped pass the law, and the law gave more power. It was not a free decision.
Watch out for this
The Night of the Long Knives only targeted people outside the Nazi Party.
It targeted SA leaders inside Hitler's own movement, such as Ernst Rohm, as well as other rivals.
Check your understanding
What did the Enabling Act allow?
- It made the Nazis the only party at once.
- It made Hitler president in March 1933.
- Hitler's government could make laws without parliament's approval.