Consolidation of Nazi power 1933-1934
From Chancellor to Dictator: 1933–1934
Hitler became Chancellor on 30 January 1933 but was not yet a dictator. He led a cabinet in which only two other Nazis held posts; conservatives believed they could manage him. Over the next eighteen months Hitler systematically dismantled every constitutional check on his power — exploiting crisis, manufacturing consent and eliminating rivals with ruthless efficiency.
The Reichstag Fire
On 27 February 1933 the Reichstag building was set on fire. A young Dutch communist, Marinus van der Lubbe, was found at the scene and subsequently convicted and executed. The Nazis immediately blamed a communist conspiracy and used the fire to demand emergency powers. The following day — 28 February — Hindenburg signed the Reichstag Fire Decree, suspending the civil liberties guaranteed by the Weimar constitution: freedom of the press, freedom of assembly, privacy of communications.
Whether the Nazis themselves started the fire, or whether van der Lubbe acted alone, remains debated by historians. What is certain is that the Nazis used the fire with extraordinary political skill, arresting Communist and Social Democrat leaders in the days that followed and suppressing their campaigning before the elections of 5 March 1933.
The Enabling Act, passed on 23 March 1933, gave Hitler the power to make laws without the Reichstag for four years. It required a two-thirds majority — achieved by arresting Communist deputies, intimidating Social Democrat deputies, and securing Catholic Centre Party support.
The Enabling Act and the End of the Weimar Constitution
The election of 5 March 1933 — conducted under a climate of Nazi SA intimidation and with the Communist vote suppressed — gave the NSDAP 43.9%, still short of an outright majority. To pass the Enabling Act Hitler needed a two-thirds majority. Communist deputies were arrested and prevented from attending; Social Democrats were intimidated. Only the SPD voted against. The Catholic Centre Party, reassured by Hitler’s vague promises about Church rights, voted in favour. The Enabling Act passed 444 to 94. Parliamentary democracy in Germany was effectively over.
Gleichschaltung followed quickly: the process of bringing all institutions under Nazi control. In May 1933 trade unions were banned and replaced by the German Labour Front. In July 1933 the Law against the Formation of New Parties made Germany a one-party state. State governments were placed under Reich commissioners. The free press was destroyed.
The SA (Sturmabteilung, or Stormtroopers) had been vital to Hitler’s rise — intimidating opponents, manning the streets, projecting power. But by 1934 the SA, under its leader Ernst Röhm, had become a liability. Röhm spoke of a “second revolution” and wanted the SA to absorb the army. The regular army command — whose support Hitler needed to succeed Hindenburg — was deeply hostile to this idea.
Between 30 June and 2 July 1934, SS and Gestapo units murdered at least 85 people in the so-called Night of the Long Knives. Only about half of the named victims were SA men, and Röhm himself was shot in a Munich prison on 1 July. Other enemies — former Chancellor von Schleicher, conservative critic Edgar Jung — were also killed. Hitler justified the murders as suppressing a conspiracy. The army was grateful. The SA was permanently subordinated to the SS.
The Death of Hindenburg and the Army Oath
On 2 August 1934 President Hindenburg died. Within hours Hitler combined the offices of President and Chancellor into the new title of Führer. The same day every member of the German armed forces swore a personal oath of loyalty — not to Germany, not to the constitution, but to “Adolf Hitler, Führer of the German Reich and people.” This oath would make it psychologically and legally far harder for officers to resist or overthrow Hitler in future years.
Five consolidation steps: 28 Feb 1933 — Reichstag Fire Decree suspends civil liberties; 23 Mar 1933 — Enabling Act ends parliamentary government; May 1933 — trade unions banned; 30 Jun 1934 — Night of the Long Knives eliminates the SA; 2 Aug 1934 — Hindenburg’s death and army oath complete the dictatorship.
The speed of Nazi consolidation depended on collaboration from key institutions. The army tolerated the new regime in exchange for rearmament promises and the destruction of the SA. Civil servants stayed at their desks under Nazi oversight. The Catholic Church signed a Concordat with Hitler in July 1933, giving the Church legal protection in exchange for accepting Nazi political supremacy and withdrawing from politics — a bargain the Church later came to regret.
Outright resistance in 1933 was rare and dangerous. The Communist and Social Democrat parties — the most organised opponents — had their leaders arrested, their offices raided, their newspapers shut. Working-class Germans who had supported them now faced arrest for any open dissent. By the end of 1933 meaningful political opposition had been driven underground or destroyed entirely.