To what extent did Hitler consolidate power through legal means in the years 1933 to
1934?
After Hitler ascended to the Chancellorship via the backstairs intrigue on the 30th of
January 1933, amidst a backdrop of economic and political turmoil, Hitler rapidly
dismantled the Weimar democracy and installed an authoritarian dictatorship in its
place. While many of these changes were passed through legal channels, including the
Enabling Act (1933) and civil service laws, legalism often masked violence and political
machinations. The Nazis used legality as a tool of legitimacy, but their consolidation of
power relied just as heavily on intimidation, paramilitary violence and terrorising of the
opposition, which arguably became a more sustained way to increase Hitler’s grip on
power, and this became more blatant as repression in the regime became increasingly
radicalised.
The Nazis used the legal system to dismantle pluralism and the proportional
representation that had been established under the Weimar constitution, thereby giving
dictatorship a veneer of legitimacy. Hitler persuaded President Hindenburg to legally
grant him emergency powers on the 28th of February 1933 (known as the Reichstag
Fire Decree), which suspended political and civil rights founded in the Weimar
constitution. With a high turnout of 89% to demonstrate a strong mandate from the
people, te Naxis won 44% of the vote (288 seats) in the Reichstag elections on the 5th
of March 1933, becoming the largest party in the Reichstag and formed a coalition with
the DNVP to get the two-thirds majority Hitler needed to change the constitution,
ostensibly with democratic backing. By February 1933, the SA and Stalhelm merged to
form the ‘auxiliary police’ which granted them the legal authority to weaponise terror.
Perhaps the most significant piece of legislation at this time in contributing to the Nazi’s
gaining overwhelming power was the 1933 Enabling Act, which was passed with 444 to
94 votes in the Reichstag and gave Hitler the power to bypass the traditional checks of
the President and Reichstag to make laws unilaterally for four years. More Acts followed
this which focused on gleichschaltung and centralising power, such as the Law Against
the Formation of New Parties (July 1933) and the Law for the Restoration of the
Professional Civil Service (April 1933). These Acts created a facade of democracy;
Hitler knew the people were concerned about a possibility of revolution due to the
instability that unfolded after the revolution from above and below in 1918-19, so he
used legal means to assuage fears and ensure the compliance of the majority, while
using propaganda and saturating the public with the ‘Hitler Myth.’ As such, these legal
changes enabled repression, but were not purely democratic instruments, and
oftentimes the law had to be enforced through violence and terror when met with
opposition or even just the perceived threat of non-conformity.
© Humanities Unlocked. | AQA A-Level History 2025 | For personal use only. Redistribution is prohibited.
1934?
After Hitler ascended to the Chancellorship via the backstairs intrigue on the 30th of
January 1933, amidst a backdrop of economic and political turmoil, Hitler rapidly
dismantled the Weimar democracy and installed an authoritarian dictatorship in its
place. While many of these changes were passed through legal channels, including the
Enabling Act (1933) and civil service laws, legalism often masked violence and political
machinations. The Nazis used legality as a tool of legitimacy, but their consolidation of
power relied just as heavily on intimidation, paramilitary violence and terrorising of the
opposition, which arguably became a more sustained way to increase Hitler’s grip on
power, and this became more blatant as repression in the regime became increasingly
radicalised.
The Nazis used the legal system to dismantle pluralism and the proportional
representation that had been established under the Weimar constitution, thereby giving
dictatorship a veneer of legitimacy. Hitler persuaded President Hindenburg to legally
grant him emergency powers on the 28th of February 1933 (known as the Reichstag
Fire Decree), which suspended political and civil rights founded in the Weimar
constitution. With a high turnout of 89% to demonstrate a strong mandate from the
people, te Naxis won 44% of the vote (288 seats) in the Reichstag elections on the 5th
of March 1933, becoming the largest party in the Reichstag and formed a coalition with
the DNVP to get the two-thirds majority Hitler needed to change the constitution,
ostensibly with democratic backing. By February 1933, the SA and Stalhelm merged to
form the ‘auxiliary police’ which granted them the legal authority to weaponise terror.
Perhaps the most significant piece of legislation at this time in contributing to the Nazi’s
gaining overwhelming power was the 1933 Enabling Act, which was passed with 444 to
94 votes in the Reichstag and gave Hitler the power to bypass the traditional checks of
the President and Reichstag to make laws unilaterally for four years. More Acts followed
this which focused on gleichschaltung and centralising power, such as the Law Against
the Formation of New Parties (July 1933) and the Law for the Restoration of the
Professional Civil Service (April 1933). These Acts created a facade of democracy;
Hitler knew the people were concerned about a possibility of revolution due to the
instability that unfolded after the revolution from above and below in 1918-19, so he
used legal means to assuage fears and ensure the compliance of the majority, while
using propaganda and saturating the public with the ‘Hitler Myth.’ As such, these legal
changes enabled repression, but were not purely democratic instruments, and
oftentimes the law had to be enforced through violence and terror when met with
opposition or even just the perceived threat of non-conformity.
© Humanities Unlocked. | AQA A-Level History 2025 | For personal use only. Redistribution is prohibited.
