Creating the Totalitarian State: Germany 1933-1934

Adolf Hitler is appointed Reich Chancellor with Franz von Papen as Vice-Chancellor.

Hitler transformed the devastation of the Reichstag fire into a major turning point for the Nazi movement.

This decree suspended the basic rights of the German people in the constitution and established the basis for the totalitarian state.

In this election the Nazis increased their representation in the Reichstag winning 43.9% of the vote.

The day of Potsdam was held as a demonstration of the unity between the Old prussian elite and the Nazi movement.

This law gave the government the power to issue new laws regardless of the Reichstag.

The German trade union movement was abolished after Hitler saw that they were exercising more power over the workers than he could. The German Labour Front (DAF) was established in its place.

This Law meant that the Nazi party was the only legal political party in Germany.

Since the Nazi party was now the only legal party this was hardly an election. However, Hitler used it as an opportunity to prove the popular appeal of the ne regime.

This law abolished the independence of the state governments, converting Germany into a highly centralised state.