Five Brothers and a War

Hitler’s Rise to Power

Those who knew Hitler well knew what was about to happen. One of Hitler’s former supporters, dating back to the Beer Hall Putsch, former General Erich Ludendorff wrote von Hindenburg: "By appointing Hitler Chancellor of the Reich, you have handed over our sacred German Fatherland to one of the greatest demagogues of all time. I prophesy to you this evil man will plunge our Reich into the abyss and will inflict immeasurable woe on our nation. Future generations will curse you in your grave for this action," Hitler immediately wanted to solidify his powers and convinced von Hindenburg to once again dissolve the Reichstag. An election was called for March 5. In the meantime, the Nazis were changing the political landscape on a monumental scale. Police commanders were replaced. Army generals were reassured that the armed forces would be ignoring the Treaty of Versailles. Raids on Communist Party offices resulted in the capture of membership lists in order to arrest all communists. Chaos was created through rumor mongering, in order to generate sufficient fear and unease to draw voters to the strongman who could bring things back into order. While the SA intended to create one last destabilizing move—the burning of the Reichstag building—they coincidentally found a mentally-ill, Dutch communist wandering the streets of Berlin trying to burn German government buildings. Not only did they befriend 24-year-old Marinus van der Lubbe, but they actively helped him set fire to the Reichstag. The communists were immediately blamed for attempting to overthrow the republic and Hitler sought emergency powers to deal with the crisis. The decree, signed by von Hindenburg, stated, "Restrictions on personal liberty, on the right of free expression of opinion, including freedom of the press; on the rights of assembly and association; and violations of the privacy of postal, telegraphic and telephonic communications and warrants for house searches, orders for confiscations as well as restrictions on property, are also permissible beyond the legal limits otherwise prescribed." Communists were rounded up and many were murdered. The Dutch communist, van der Lubbe, was arrested, tried, convicted and beheaded. Despite all of this, the Nazis did not gain the majority in the Reichstag. They did get more than 17 million votes, or 44%. Thousands of political opponents were arrested, and many were tortured. Some were killed. Hitler proposed passing an “Enabling Act” to bring back order. The bill was officially called the "Law for Removing the Distress of the People and the Reich." The net effect of the law would be the ending of German democracy, and would legally establish Hitler as dictator.

nazi germany

Five Brothers and a War

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