The People's Dictatorship A History of Nazi Germany

Chapter 3 focuses on the transformation of Germany into a one-party dictatorship. It focuses on the period from Hitler’s appointment to the German chancellorship on January 30, 1933 to his accession to the presidency and position of “Leader” (Führer) in August 1934. Two key steps toward dictatorship were the Reichstag Fire Decree of February 28, 1933, which suspended individual rights, and the Enabling Act, which transferred lawmaking authority from the parliament to the cabinet. The chapter also examines the prohibition of political parties other than the NSDAP. On the level of German society, the chapter analyzes the process known as “coordination” (Gleichschaltung), by which organizations were taken over by Nazis. An important feature of this development was “self-coordination,” in which organizations placed themselves under Nazi leadership voluntarily. Terror and intimidation formed the background for much of this process. The chapter examines the causes and consequences of the “Night of the Long Knives” of June 30, 1934, when the leadership of the Nazi SA, as well as many others, were killed on Hitler’s order. That violent event served to stabilize the Nazi regime by eliminating challenges to Hitler’s authority from both the SA and conservative circles.