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The Nazi Party and the State. Lower 6th. Key Questions. Why was the relationship between the Nazi Party and the German State unclear? How did the State institutions develop under the Third Reich? How did the Nazis seek to control the state?
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The Nazi Party and the State Lower 6th
Key Questions • Why was the relationship between the Nazi Party and the German State unclear? • How did the State institutions develop under the Third Reich? How did the Nazis seek to control the state? • How did the Nazi Party’s institutions develop under the Third Reich? Why was confusion and chaos a common theme?
Hess and Bormann • What were the roles of these two men? • How did Bormann improve the party’s structure and thus further his own personal ambitions?
The Party and the State • By mid 1933, Germany had become a one party state – totalitarian claims, reinforced by a powerful propaganda machine led many people to think the Nazi style of government was a clear well ordered system • Reality very different • Fundamentally this was down to confusion of relationship between the Party on the one hand and the apparatus of the state on the other • This clash has been given the phrase ‘Dualism’
Why didn’t the state become Nazified immediately? • Initially the leading Nazis wanted to smash the civil service (remember the earlier radical edge of the party) yet important reasons why didn’t / couldn’t • 1. The efficiency of the Civil service was well established • 2. Dilution of radical element due to the vast increase in membership by Nazis – increased threefold during the first 2 years • 3. Hitler remained unclear as to the role of either, this ambiguity is partially caused by the political unrest of these years and the need to keep different sides sweet
Reich Chancellery Responsible for ‘Coordinating’ government under the leadership of Hans – Heinrich Lammers who became increasingly important He drew up all government legislation Became the vital link between Hitler and all other organisations Yet even the most ardent of bureaucrat as Lammers found it difficult to control the growing number of organisations Govt ministries – Transport, education, education and economics – and Foreign Office Judiciary Initially hostile to Weimar and very right leaning so on one level they were happy to work with the Nazis Were not immune to being co-ordinated (although not many were replaced, indeed until 1941 Franz Gurtner was not a Nazi) Yet – Nazis introduced the following 1933 – Special Courts set up to try political offences without a jury 1934 – People’s court set up to try those cases of high treason All legal authorities lost influence to the SS who increasingly behaved above the law Dualism – State Institutions
Regional Governments • Gleichschaltung had destroyed the traditional style of federal government • Reich Governors existed simply to ‘execute the will of the supreme leadership of the Reich’ • More often than not fell to the leadership of the Gauleiters
Gauleiter • A Gauleiter was the party leader of a regional branch of the NSDAP (more commonly known as the Nazi Party) or the head of a Gau. It has since become a term used to refer to any overbearing local official, especially one prone to the dictatorial use of political or bureaucratic power • http://www.worldfuturefund.org/wffmaster/Reading/Germany/Structure%20of%20Nazi%20Govt.htm
Role and background of party determined by its background and composition and as such in 1933 there was no united structure and not really geared to the task of government E.g – Various factions such as Youth and SA had developed out of need to attract support from different sections in society – each keen to advance their own interests Party became increasingly splintered with the advent of new institutions (Four Year Plan over the economy etc) Administrative basis of Nazi rule was based on Fuhrerprinzip – which had serious flaws in making effective government Rise of the Gauleiters in the regions who felt they only had to show loyalty to the Fuhrer and as such were more interested in preserving their own interests Party Institutions
Conclusions • Bormann’s influence was profound but we must remember that…. • Even though state institutions were significantly constrained, they were never destroyed • Internal rivalries and divisions were never really overcome – linked to the fact that the independence of the Gauleiters was one of the main obstacles • Nazi party never became the pervasive dominant party as the Communists in Russia • J.Noakes – ‘Perhaps the most outstanding characteristic of the political structure was its lack of formal structure’
Next Weeks Task • You are to make a PowerPoint presentation that can be looks at the relationship between the Nazi Party and the Army and Big Business • Consider the following points • To what extent did the German Army co-operate with the Nazi Regime • What was the Blomberg – Fritsch Crisis? • How did the War result in the downfall of the German army’s authority? • How influential was big business in Nazi Germany? • Once you have considered these points and any information you have accrued, you should then consider the following question • Where did the Political Power lay in the Third Reich? (The conclusion in Laytons chapter is very good) • The PowerPoint will be assessed and uploaded onto Moodle to act as revision noted for the class, but more importantly yourselves
