Creating the dictatorship

When Hitler became Chancellor, only three of the government's ministers were Nazis. He called a new election for 5 March 1933, hoping to win a majority.

On 27 February 1933, the Reichstag building was set on fire. A young Dutch communist, Marinus van der Lubbe, was arrested. Historians still debate whether he acted alone.

Hitler claimed it was the start of a communist revolution. The next day, President Hindenburg signed an emergency decree, using Article 48. It suspended people's rights, such as free speech and a free press, and allowed the police to arrest people without trial. Thousands of communists were arrested.

In the March 1933 election, with communists arrested and the SA intimidating voters, the Nazis won 288 seats, about 44% of the vote. With their Nationalist allies, they had a majority, but not the two-thirds needed to change the constitution.

On 23 March 1933, the Reichstag voted for the Enabling Act. It allowed Hitler to make laws for four years without the Reichstag. The communists were banned from voting, the SA surrounded the building, and the Catholic Centre Party was persuaded to support it. Only the Social Democrats voted against.

Significance: Hitler now had the legal power to rule as a dictator.

Hitler used the Enabling Act to remove all opposition:

• May 1933: trade unions were banned. Their offices were taken over, and workers were put into the Nazi German Labour Front instead.
• May–July 1933: the Communist and Social Democratic parties were banned, and other parties broke themselves up.
• 14 July 1933: a law made the Nazi Party the only legal party.

Significance: within six months of becoming Chancellor, Hitler had made Germany a one-party state.

Causes: the SA, led by Ernst Röhm, had millions of members. Röhm wanted a 'second revolution', with more socialist policies, and wanted the SA to take over the army. The army's generals, whom Hitler needed, feared and hated the SA. Businessmen disliked its violence. Röhm was also a possible rival to Hitler.

Events: on 30 June 1934, the SS arrested and killed Röhm and other SA leaders. Other opponents, including the former Chancellor von Schleicher, were also killed. Hitler claimed Röhm had been plotting against him.

Consequences: the army was reassured, the SA lost its power, the SS grew, and Germans saw how ruthless Hitler could be.

On 2 August 1934, President Hindenburg died. Hitler combined the posts of Chancellor and President, and called himself Führer (leader).

The same day, every soldier in the army swore an oath of personal loyalty to Hitler himself, not to Germany or the constitution.

In a vote that August, about 90% of voters approved the change. The vote was not free: people were under pressure, and no opposition was allowed.

Significance: Hitler was now the absolute ruler of Germany.