That is deep and compelling.
How Hitler and the Nazis came to power: *PART 1* (2.30 minute read)
March 13, 1932: Germany's presidential election. The German President held a lot of power, and Paul von Hindenburg had served in the post for seven years. At eighty-four years of age and in poor health, Hindenburg wanted to step down but was persuaded to put himself up for re-election when the Nazi Party leader, Adolf Hitler, entered the presidential race. (P. 96).
As an Austrian rather than a German citizen, Hitler should have been ineligible to run for president. He had also been tried and convicted of treason for his role in a failed attempt to overthrow the government in 1923. He had spent a year in prison, where he passed the time writing about a rambling book about his life and beliefs, titled "Mein Kampf," "My Struggle." But in the days leading up to the presidential election, Hitler found a loophole that allowed him to become a German citizen and run in the election. To stop Adolf Hitler from attaining the post, Hindenburg ran again. (P. 96).
In the presidential election, Hindenburg eventually won 53 percent of the votes, while Hitler received 36 percent. Dietrich breathed a sigh of relief. Yet he was greatly concerned about Hitler. Gaining 36 percent of the votes cast for president gave Hitler a lot of power, even if he wasn't president. (P. 97).
The Bonhoeffer family waited and watched as German parliamentary elections were held on July 31, 1932. When the results were announced, the Nazi Party had won nearly 38 percent of the vote and 230 seats in the Reichstag. However, it was not enough for them to rule Germany outright. In the weeks following, despite intense negotiations, it became clear that none of the other parties wanted to enter into a coalition with the Nazis, and a political stalemate ensued. As a result, a second parliamentary election was called for Nov. 6. (P. 97-99).
Later that day Dietrich had learned the results of the parliamentary elections. They were no more conclusive than those of the July election. The Nazis had won 33 percent of the votes, or 196 seats in the Reichstag; the Social Democratic Party, 121 seats; the Communist Party, 100 seats; the Catholic Center Party, 90 seats; and the Nationalistic Party, 52 seats. A range of other small parties held 32 seats among them. The Nazis had 34 seats from the July election, while the Communists had gained 11. Although Dietrich was pleased that the Nazis had lost seats in the latest election, still no single party had enough seats to form a government. (P. 99).
The weeks that followed were filled with political wrangling and rancor, but eventually Hitler and the Nazi Party wore down President Hindenburg. In an attempt to overcome the political impasse in the country, on January 30, 1933, Hindenburg appointed Hitler chancellor of a coalition government. Without the majority's vote, an Austrian criminal had become the most powerful man in Germany. Few Germans worried too much about this. They were just glad that Germany once again had a strong and vital leader. They hoped he would show the rest of Europe that Germans were strong and brave and would no longer be bullied by other countries as they had been in the Treaty of Versailles. (P. 99).
On February 27, 1933, the Reichstag, the German Parliament building, went up in flames. Nervously Dietrich watched the fire from the second-story window of his parents' house, certain that Hitler and Nazis would turn the incident to their advantage. (P. 100).
The next day the German newspapers carried the headline that a Dutch communist by the name of Marinus van der Lubbe had been found in the burned-out building. Van der Lubbe was accused of setting the fire. Instead of treating the incident as arson and allowing the German justice system to deal with the situation, the Nazi Party treated the fire as a matter of national security. Hitler whipped the German public into a frenzy of hatred towards foreigners and communists alike. Jospeh Goebbels, the Nazi propaganda minister, proclaimed, "This is the beginning of the Communist Revolution! We must not wait a minute. We will show no mercy. Every Communist official must be shot where he is found. Every Communist deputy this very night must be strung up." (P. 100).
CONT'D
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twinA (4921)
5 years ago
How Hitler and the Nazis came to power: *PART 2* (2 minute read)
On February 28, Hitler responded to the situation with the Reichstag Fire Decree. He claimed that a secret investigation had uncovered a plot by the communists to pillage and burn Berlin to the ground, murder anticommunists, and create civil war in Germany. The burning of the parliament building, Hitler said, was the first stage in this campaign of terror against the German people. Hitler then proposed a perfectly simple solution: He and the Nazi Party would take care of everything and keep everyone safe. All the German people had to do was give them the power to make decisions for them and the good of Germany. To many Germans this seemed like a great idea. They would be safe and secure, led by a strong man and a loyal party to back him up. Peace and prosperity would surely follow. (P. 100-101).
President Hindenburg quickly signed the Fire Decree into law. The decree suspended most of the civil liberties in Germany as set forth in the Weimar Constitution. This meant that the German people could not expect any privacy. Their phone calls could be tapped, their letters read, their houses searched, and their children questioned - and they had no right to protest. It also meant an end to certain freedoms. German newspapers could print only things the Nazi Party approved of. People could not assemble in groups without approval or talk about anything that was anti-Hitler or against the Nazi Party. The decree also stripped away the right of states within Germany to make their own laws - all laws now came from the Reich government and were to be obeyed without question. (P. 101).
Dietrich and his family were shocked at the speed at the way things were changing. The Nazis were right-wing extremists using emotionalism and nationalistic slogans to stir up the people. They also knew how to manipulate the German political system to their advantage, as evidenced by the way they got the Enabling Act to pass in the Reichstag on March 23, 1933. To pass, this act needed two-thirds majority of the Reichstag members to vote for it, and the Nazis had nowhere the number of seats needed for that kind of majority. However, the Reichstag Fire Decree allowed the Nazis to eliminate from contention the communists, who held one hundred seats. Through intimidation, threats, thuggery, and intense negotiation, the Nazis managed to get enough votes to pass the Enabling Act into law. (P. 101-102).
The Enabling Act was so named because it enabled the chancellor and his cabinet to enact laws in Germany without the participation of the Reichstag. In short, Hitler and his fellow Nazis could now pass laws without any parliamentary consent or control. In certain circumstances the law could deviate from the constitution. Any thought of cooperation or coalition in government had been swept away. The German people wanted to feel safe and proud again, and Adolf Hitler now had the power to do that for them. The Third Reich had begun. (P. 102).
Reference:
Benge, Janet & Benge, Geoff. Dietrich Bonhoeffer: In the Midst of Wickedness. Seattle, Washington, U.S.A.: YWAM Publishing, 2012 (Second Edition): Ch. 9, P. 96-102
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