Thursday 31 March 2011
Answer this 10 mark question: 'The most important reason why Hitler was able to consolidate his power was the Reichstag Fire' How far do you agree with this statement.
Remember to write a 'balanced' answer. Show how you agree and disagree with the statement. Explain the way the reichstag Fire was important but explain the other ways Hitler was able to consolidate his power too.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
jessica v ....:) -->
ReplyDeleteI agree with this statement to some extent. Because of the Reichstag fire, which was started by a communist, Hindenburg gave Hitler emergancy powers to stop the so called communist uprising. They allowed Hitler to arrst and hold suspects with out trail and take over regional governments. However there were other important factors how Hitler consolidated his power.
Firstly Von papen decided to put Hitler as chancellor because he was a good public speaker, and he could keep an eye on him and controle him.
Also the wall street crash was a big part of Hitlers consolidation of power. This was when USAs stock market crashed and so asked for all loans to be repaid even though Germany didn't have the money. Hitler then decided to promise more jobs, reverse the treaty of versailles and make Germany more powerful. By doing so he gained more votes and support.
1934 was when the night of long knifes occured, Hitler and the SS killed everyone against him or sent them to a consentration camp. this lowered how many people was against him. it also would have acared people into having no choice but to vote and support Hitler.
to conclude the Reichstag fire was an important factor in Hitler consolidation his power but ther were also others that were just as important such as the wall street crash and night of long knifes etc.
I agree with this statement to some extent because the Reichstag Fire was where a Dutch communist named van der Lubbe was caught in the act of burning down the Reichstag in February 1933. President Hindenburg gave Hitler the power to stop the ‘communist uprising’ by making it so Hitler could arrest and hold victims with no trail, so it was a very big part in his consolidation of power.
ReplyDeleteHowever, The Wall Street Crash happened in 1929 when the USA stock markets Crashed and they asked Germany to repay the loans. People voted for Hitler because he promised to reverse the treaty of Versailles, make Germany more powerful and he would create more jobs for the people. After the Reichstag fire, later in 1933 the Reichstag met to discuss the passing of the Enabling Law. Hitler surrounded the building with Nazi Storm troopers to scare anyone who were going to vote against the law. The Reichstag passed the law so this meant that Hitler had the power to make laws without the Reichstag for a period of 4 years which meant that Hitler was now a dictator in Germany. The Night of Long Knives helped Hitler gain power in June 1934 because SS men (Hitler’s bodyguards) arrested leading figures in the SA and Hitler accused Rohm (the SA leader) of plotting to overthrow and murder him. The SS also killed or sent anyone against Hitler to concentration camps such as: Political opponents, communists, journalists and the former chancellor von Schleicher. This meant that the Nazis became the ultimate political party in Germany with no other opponents meaning that people would have to vote for him. Another event that has contributed to Hitler’s consolidation of power was the death of Hindenburg in 1934 because Hindenburg was getting old and weak so he needed Hitler on his side and because Von Papen made Hitler Chancellor (because he was a good public speaker) when Hindenburg died Hitler called himself ‘the Fuhrer’ (the leader).
To conclude, i think that the Reichstag fire did contribute to Hitler’s consolidation of power but there were other key factors such as Night of Long Knives, Wall Street Crash, the death of Hindenburg and the Enabling Act.
Lizzie W :)
Lizzie P
ReplyDeleteI agree that the Reichstag fire helped Hitler consolidate his power. However i disagree that it was the most important reason. It helped consolidate his power because he was able to blame the fire on the communists. This was because a Dutch communist named Marinus van der Lubbe was charged with starting the fire. Hitler now had a significant reason to persuade the German people that communism was wrong and didn't work. Hindenburg also gave Hitler the power to arrest anyone without a trial. Hitler then arrested 4000 communists and banned the communist deputies from having seats in the new parliment. This meant the Nazi party had the majority of seats and were therefore more powerful.
I think the Enabling Act was the most important reason why Hitler was able to consolidate his power. It allowed him to pass laws without the Reichstag. This in effect immobilised he Riechstag and turned Hitler into a dictator of Germany.
Another reason Hitler was able to consolidate his power was the Night of long knives. Hitler ordered all his opponents to be killed or sent to concentration camps. This included the leader of the SA because Hitler believed he was going to overthrow him and the ex-Chancellor von Schleicher. This eliminated any threats facing Hilter's power and meant the German people could not be turned against him.
In conclusion the Reichstag fire was a reason Hitler was able to consolidate his power but i disagree that it was the most important reason. I think the most important reason was the Enabling Act because it disabled the Riechstag.
Tom S :)
ReplyDeleteI agree with the statement to the extent that it was not the only thing that helped Hitler consolidate his power, there were other things that were just as important
One of the things that helped Hitler was the night of long knives, it let Him arrest all of his opponents, this included people who were threats to Hitler like the ex-chancellor.
Another reason why it was not the only thing that helped Hitler consolidate his power was the Enabling Act, it let Hitler pass laws, without the Reichstag.
I think that the Reichstag fire was an important thing that helped Hitler consolidate his power, but it was not the only thing. Therefore i disagree with the statement.
Leona,
ReplyDeleteI agree with this statement as I do believe that the Reichsatg fire was the most important reason why Hitler was able to consolidate his power.
The Reichstag fire happened at around midnight on 27th February 1933 when someone set fire to the Reichstag. By morning, the building had completely burnt down. But a Dutch communist (Marinus Van Der Lubbe) was caught in the act, confessed and was executed for treason and attempted murder. As aresult of this, President Hindenburg issued Hitler emergency powers to stop the "communist uprising". This allowed Hitler to arrest and hold suspects without trial and basically take over the government. The Nazis arrested 4000 communists and banned th MPs from taking their seats in parliament, making the Nazis the majority party.
However, there were also other reasons why Hitler was able to consolidate his power. Their was also the Night of the Long Knives when Hitler ordered the SS to execute Ernst Rohm and 400 other oppenents of Hitler (thus elimating the enemy), the death of Hindenburg (which Hitler took as the chance to combine the posts of President and Chancellor and declare himself the Fuhrer) and the Wall Street Crash (a collapse in the American stock market which affected the global economy, enabling Hitler to make more promises of grandeur and jobs for the unemployed).
So in conclusion, I do largely agree that the most important reason why Hitler was able to consolidate his power was the Reichsatg fire, but there were also many other reasons that contributed to his rise to power.