Page 35 - Was Hitler a Riddle?

22 The British Diplomats

Palace were making the most important decisions for Germany. But none
of them fully grasped the sources and extent of the power wielded by Hitler
within the National socialist Party, or his fanaticism, which is why very few
within the diplomatic corps or among political commentators foresaw that
once he came to power he would be able to crush the opposition with as-
tonishing speed and fundamentally reorder German society within a matter
of months. Christie and a few of his colleagues suspected that Hitler would
not honor the rule of law and that he would adopt radical policies, but they
did not envision an upheaval that would turn Germany upside down.
a brief survey of the principal changes that Hitler and his party intro-
duced in the period from March to May 1933 will suffice to indicate the
radicalism and scope of Nazi policies as well as the speed with which they
were enforced. On March 23, the reichstag passed the enabling act, which
authorized the cabinet to enact laws for four years without any participation
by the legislature. as the dominant figure in the cabinet, Hitler was now in
effect the dictator of Germany, and he used his power freely. He directed
Hermann Göring, a man not known to respect the civil rights of citizens,
to take control of the Prussian police. Göring immediately proceeded to
purge the force of unreliable elements. He also ordered them to collaborate
with the sa and the ss in putting down the political left, “if necessary by
resort to the unconditional use of weapons.” Göring made a point of prom-
ising to protect policemen if they were charged with the excessive use of
force. in fact, the police were told that when they were in doubt about how
to deal with Communists, they should not hesitate to use their weapons;
otherwise they would be subject to “disciplinary punishment.”
the Gauleiters—who served as provincial or regional governors—were
given increasing power to run local affairs. the Communist and social
democratic Parties were outlawed, and many of their members, as well
as others considered opponents of the regime, were incarcerated in the
the sa (sturmabteilung), also known as Brownshirts, was established in 1921 to protect
Nazi meetings, but they were most active in street battles against leftists; they also intimidated
voters during elections and frequently attacked Jews. By 1932, sa membership had risen to
400,000 and to perhaps 2.5 million in 1933. the ss (schutzstaffel or Protections squad, also
known as Blackshirts for their uniforms) was founded by Hitler in 1925, to whom its members
always remained answerable and whose protection was their initial task. the ss was an elite
group within the Nazi movement that insisted on the most rigorous standards of racial purity
before accepting anyone into its ranks. By 1933, it had grown to 50,000 and by 1939 to about
250,000. it was headed by the notorious Heinrich Himmler and supervised the enforcement
of Nazi racial policies; administered the concentration camps; and played a major role in the
murder of Jews, Gypsies, and many others the Nazis considered undesirable for one reason or
another. the Gestapo was one of its subdivisions.