Many factors contributed to the Nazi takeover of Germany.

Mark scheme

Marking points from the official mark scheme (Oct/Nov 2021). The mark or mark type is shown in brackets.

1. [1] Hitler gave the SA some leave.
2. [1] In June 1934, Hitler confronted Röhm.
3. [1] He arrived at a hotel in Bad Wiessee with armed SS men.
4. [1] He informed Röhm and other SA leaders they were under arrest.
5. [1] They were taken to Munich where Röhm and SA commanders were shot.
6. [1] Röhm had been offered the chance to commit suicide.
7. [1] The SS broke into the homes of SA figures.
8. [1] Over the next four days, other leaders were arrested by the SS and shot.
9. [1] It is estimated that between 200 and 400 were killed.
10. [1] Hitler had his predecessor as Chancellor, von Schleicher, murdered.
11. [1] The failed attempt to seize power in the Munich Putsch.
12. [1] Most industrial workers supported left wing parties.
13. [1] The successes of Stresemann in the economy and in foreign affairs.
14. [1] Germany seemed to be prospering without the Nazis.
15. [1] Nazi aims were irrelevant to most Germans.
16. [1] There was a lack of support from the police and army.
17. [1] Political opponents disrupted their meetings.
18. [1] The Nazi Party's ideas were not popular with most people in the 1920s.
19. [4-5] One reason the Nazi Party had little success was that, for much of the 1920s, the Weimar government seemed to be doing well. Stresemann's policies were successful and the moderate parties, which made up the Weimar coalitions, were the winners at the polls. The German electorate could see little reason to switch their support to an untested, extreme right-wing party whose leader had recently been convicted of high treason and therefore the Nazi Party achieved limited results in elections.
20. [1] Hitler blamed the Communists for the fire.
21. [1] He used it to discredit the Communists.
22. [1] Hitler said that it was the beginning of a Communist uprising.
23. [1] After the Reichstag Fire, Hitler gained an emergency decree.
24. [1] The Communists were not allowed to take their seats after the March elections.
25. [1] With no Communists in the Reichstag, the Nazis had a majority.
26. [1] The Enabling Act gave Hitler (almost) dictatorial powers.
27. [1] He could make laws without consulting the Reichstag.
28. [1] The Act enabled him to remove all opposition.
29. [1] Hitler banned the trade unions and all other political parties.
30. [1] The Nazis were given control over the State governments.
31. [1] He purged the Civil Service.
32. [1] Hitler made Goebbels Head of Propaganda.
33. [1] Hitler made a Concordat with the Catholic Church.
34. [1] He introduced an Employment Law for a public works programme.
35. [1] The Reichstag Fire allowed the Nazis to win support.
36. [7-9] The Reichstag Fire was important in Hitler's consolidation of power because it was used by Hitler to remove his main threat, the Communists. Hitler blamed the Communists for the fire and persuaded the President to pass an emergency decree. It gave the police powers to search houses, confiscate property and detain people without trial. Hitler used these powers to intimidate voters and incite public fear against the Communists.
37. [7-9] The Enabling Act was important because it effectively made Hitler a dictator. It gave him the power to make laws without the Reichstag for four years. This meant the existing constitution could be ignored. It meant the end of parliamentary democracy. Hitler used the Enabling Act to ban trade unions, to ban all political parties apart from the Nazi Party, to purge the Civil Service and take control of local government.