Establishing the Dictatorship
How Hitler turned the Chancellorship into total power between 1933 and 1934: the Reichstag Fire, the Enabling Act, the banning of opposition, the Night of the Long Knives and becoming Fuhrer.
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From Chancellor to dictator 🏛️
In January 1933 Hitler became Chancellor of Germany, but he did not yet have total power. Over the following months he removed every check on his rule, step by step, using a mixture of new laws and violence. By August 1934 he was the Fuhrer, the sole leader of a one-party state. This module follows how that dictatorship was built.
Words for the takeover 🔑
Learn these four terms before you study how the dictatorship was built.
Two kinds of method 🆚
Hitler built his dictatorship using both the law and force.
Grade 9 thinking 💡
A top answer treats this as a process, not a list. Each step made the next one possible: the Reichstag Fire allowed arrests, the Enabling Act made his rule legal, and the Night of the Long Knives secured the army. Show how legal methods and terror worked together.
Match the event 🔗
- the Reichstag Fire
- the Enabling Act
- banning parties and unions
- the Night of the Long Knives
- gave an excuse to suspend civil rights and arrest communists
- let Hitler make laws without the Reichstag
- removed opposition and created a one-party state
- removed the SA leaders and won the support of the army
Match the date to the event 🧩
- 27 February 1933
- March 1933
- 30 June 1934
- August 1934
- the Reichstag Fire
- the Enabling Act is passed
- the Night of the Long Knives
- Hitler becomes Fuhrer
What did the Enabling Act do? ❓
What did the Enabling Act of 1933 allow Hitler to do?
- Make laws without the agreement of the Reichstag.
- Give every German the right to vote.
- Take personal command of the army at once.
Spot the force and terror ✅
Select the TWO steps that used force or terror.
- The Night of the Long Knives.
- Arresting communists after the Reichstag Fire.
- Passing the Enabling Act.
- Taking the title of Fuhrer after Hindenburg died.
Order the takeover 🪜
An interactive activity.
Summarise the takeover 📝
After the _____ Fire in 1933, Hitler suspended civil rights and arrested communists. The _____ Act then let him make laws without the Reichstag. He banned all other parties to create a _____ state. In 1934 the Night of the Long Knives removed the leaders of the _____. When Hindenburg died, Hitler took the title of _____.
Name the year 🔢
An interactive activity.
Find the use of force 🖍️
An interactive activity.
Legal or by force? 🧭
An interactive activity.
Explain the takeover ✍️
An interactive activity.