Adolf Hitler, Chancellor of Germany during the Nazi period, came to power by bullying his way into office. He intimidated his opponents and promised the populace to make Germany powerful and proud again. The key government leaders already in office were accustomed to the democratic procedures of the Weimar Republic and unable to stand up to Hitler’s confrontational style. They meekly acquiesced while the majority of the population chose to look past some of Hitler’s misguided policies because he also promised to turn around the country’s dismal economic conditions, a result of the harsh peace terms of the 1919 Treaty of Versailles. They focused on Hitler’s immediate promises rather than his long-term agenda.
Adolf Hitler came to power by bullying his way into office. www.walled-in-berlin.com
How Adolf Hitler eliminated political opponents
The appointment of Adolf Hitler as Chancellor of the German Reich on 30 January 1933 marked the end of the Weimar Republic and of democracy in Germany. Since the Nazis had achieved only below average results in the 1932 elections in Berlin – the capital of Germany and center of German political power – it was of utmost importance to Adolf Hitler to gain full control in the city. While his people had pursued their aims primarily by means of rowdy propaganda and street violence prior to his appointment, as Reich Chancellor Adolf Hitler took full advantage of all means of state power he had at his disposal. His aim was to eliminate political opponents and establish himself as a dictator.
Only two days after Adolf Hitler had been appointed Chancellor, the elderly Reich President Paul von Hindenburg was persuaded to dissolve the Reichstag (Parliament). In protest, the Communist Party called for a general strike. Upon Hitler’s urging, Hindenburg signed an emergency decree, which stipulated that demonstrations and pamphlets of political opponents would be forbidden. A rapid extension of the state police followed. Their purpose was to take action against “enemies of the state” with firearms.
With the Reichstag Fire Decree Adolf Hitler suspended civil liberties
On 27 February 1933, barely a month after Hitler’s appointment as Chancellor, the Reichstag chambers went up in flames. The Nazi government quickly blamed the fire on a communist coup and authorized another emergency law. It was called the Reichstag Fire Decree and was enacted the very next day for “the protection of the people and state.” The emergency decree suspended most of the civil liberties set forth in the Weimar Constitution, such as freedom of speech, freedom of the press, the right of public assembly, the secrecy of the post and telephone service, and it removed all restraints on police investigations. https://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10007888 In other words, the decree provided the legal basis for the persecution of opponents of the regime. No warrant or judicial order was required, there was no right of appeal, and the arrests went into effect for an indefinite period of time. The number of people arrested rose abruptly after the Reichstag fire. Detention centers, such as the Nazi Prison Papestrasse were installed throughout the city and the country.
With the Enabling Act Adolf Hitler became a dictator
Less than a month later, on the heels of the Reichstag Fire Decree, Adolf Hitler passed another emergency law: the “Enabling Act” (Ermaechtigungsgesetz). It gave Hitler the power to enact laws without the involvement of the Reichstag. Together the two emergency laws abolished most civil liberties and transformed Hitler’s government into a legal dictatorship. The state of emergency remained in force until the end of the war in 1945. The climate of fear that spread throughout the country thwarted many potential attempts at resistance.
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Walled-In is my story of growing up in Berlin during the Cold War. Juxtaposing the events that engulfed Berlin during the Berlin Blockade, the Berlin Airlift, the Berlin Wall and Kennedy’s Berlin visit with the struggle against my equally insurmountable parental walls, Walled-In is about freedom vs. conformity, conflict vs. harmony, domination vs. submission, loyalty vs. betrayal.
Tags: Adolf Hitler, Berlin, Enabling Act, Ermaechtigungsgesetz, Nazi Prison Papestrasse, Paul von Hindenburg, Reichstag, Reichstag Fire Decree, Treaty of Versailles, Weimar Republic
