Information AboutGleichschaltung |
| CATEGORIES ABOUT GLEICHSCHALTUNG | |
| nazi germany | |
| nazi glossary | |
| german loanwords | |
|
The Nazi Party 's desire for total control required the elimination of all other forms of influence. The period from 1933 to around 1937 was characterized by the systematic elimination of non-Nazi organizations that could potentially influence people, such as Trade Union s and Political Parties . Those critical of Hitler's agenda, especially his close ties with the industry were suppressed or intimidated. The regime also assailed the influence of the Church es, for example by instituting the Ministry Of Ecclesiastical Affairs under Hanns Kerrl . Organizations that the administration could not eliminate, such as schools, came under its direct control. The ''Gleichschaltung'' included also the formation of various organisations with compulsory membership for segments of the population, in particular the youth. Boys served as apprentices in the '' Hitlerjugend '' ("Hitler Youth") beginning at the age of six, and at age 10, entered the '' Jungvolk '' ("Young Folk") and served there until entering the Hitler Youth proper at age 14. Boys remained there until age 18, at which time they entered into the ''Arbeitsdienst'' ("Labor Service") and the armed forces. Girls became part of the '' Jungmädel '' ("Young Maidens") at age 10, and at age 14 were enrolled in the '' Bund Deutscher Mädel '' ("League of German Maidens"). Girls remained in the BDM until age 21 and, upon reaching the age of 18, were sent to serve their ''Landjahr'' — a year of labor on a farm. In 1938, membership in the Hitler Youth numbered just under 8 million. For workers, an all-embracing recreational organization called '' Kraft Durch Freude '' ("Strength through Joy") was set up. In Nazi Germany, even hobbies were regimented; all private clubs (whether they be for chess, soccer, or woodworking) were brought under the control of KdF and, in turn, the Nazi Party. The ''Kraft durch Freude'' organization provided vacation trips (skiing, swimming, concerts, ocean cruises, and so forth). With some 25 million members, KdF was the largest of the many organizations established by the Nazis. SPECIFIC MEASURES In a more specific sense, ''Gleichschaltung'' refers to the legal measures taken by the government during the first months following January 30 , 1933 , when Adolf Hitler became Chancellor Of Germany . In this sense, the term was used by the Nazis themselves. #One day after the Reichstag Fire on February 27 , 1933 , the increasingly Senile President Of Germany Paul Von Hindenburg , acting at Hitler's request, issued the Reichstag Fire Decree . This decree suspended most Human Rights provided for by the 1919 Constitution of the Weimar Republic and thus allowed for the arrest of political adversaries, mostly Communists , and for general terrorizing by the SA to intimidate the voters before the upcoming election. #In this atmosphere the '' Reichstag '' general election of March 5 , 1933 took place. These yielded only a slim majority for Hitler's Coalition Government and no majority for Hitler's own Nazi Party . #When the newly-elected ''Reichstag'' first convened on March 23 , 1933 , (not including the Communist delegates, since their party had already been banned by that time) it passed the Enabling Act (''Ermächtigungsgesetz''), transferring all legislative powers to the Nazi government and, in effect, abolishing the remainder of the Weimar constitution as a whole. Soon afterwards the government banned the Social Democratic party, which had voted against the Act, while the other parties chose to dissolve themselves to avoid arrests and Concentration Camp imprisonment. # The "First ''Gleichschaltung'' Law" (''Erstes Gleichschaltungsgesetz'') ( March 31 , 1933 ) gave the governments of the '' Länder '' the same legislative powers that the ''Reich'' government had received through the Enabling Act. # A "Second ''Gleichschaltung'' Law" (''Zweites Gleichschaltungsgesetz'') ( April 7 , 1933 ) deployed one ''Reichsstatthalter'' ( Proconsul ) in each State , apart from Prussia , which had already been under Nazi control since the '' Preußenschlag '' of July 20 , 1932 . These officers were supposed to act as local President s in each state, appointing the governments. For Prussia , which comprised the vast majority of Germany anyway, Hitler reserved these rights for himself. # The trade union association ADGB ('' Allgemeiner Deutscher Gewerkschaftsbund '') was shattered on May 2 , 1933 (the day after Labor Day ), when SA and NSBO ('' Nationalsozialistische Betriebszellenorganisation '') units occupied union facilities and ADGB leaders were imprisoned. Other important associations were forced to merge with the German Labor Front (''Deutsche Arbeitsfront'' (DAF)) in the following months. # The ''Gesetz gegen die Neubildung von Parteien'' ("Law against the establishment of political parties") ( July 14 , 1933 ) forbade any creation of new political parties. # The ''Gesetz über den Neuaufbau des Reiches'' ("Law concerning the reconstruction of the ''Reich''") ( January 30 , 1934 ) abandoned the concept of a federal republic. Instead, the political institutions of the ''Länder'' were practically abolished altogether, passing all powers to the central government. A law dated February 14 , 1934 dissolved the '' Reichsrat '', the representation of the ''Länder'' at the federal level. # In the summer of 1934, Hitler instructed the SS to kill Ernst Röhm and other leaders of the Nazi party's SA , former Chancellor Kurt Von Schleicher and several aides to former Chancellor Franz Von Papen in the so-called Night Of The Long Knives ( June 30 , 1934 / July 1 , 1934 ). These measures received retrospective sanction in a special one-article Law Regarding Measures Of State Self-Defense ''(Gesetz über Maßnahmen der Staatsnotwehr)'' ( July 3 , 1934 ). # At nine o'clock in the morning of August 2 , 1934 , '' Reichspräsident '' Paul Von Hindenburg died at the age of 86. Three hours before, the government had issued a law to take effect the day of his death; this prescribed that the office of the ''Reichspräsident'' should be United with that of the ''Reichskanzler'' and that the competencies of the former should be transferred to the ''" Führer und Reichskanzler Adolf Hitler"'', as the law stated. Hitler henceforth demanded the use of that title. Thus the last Separation Of Powers were abolished. Thus, Hitler was then absolute dictator of Germany until his suicide in 1945. PHILOLOGY ''Gleichschaltung'', as a Compound Word , is better comprehended by those who speak other languages by listing its predecessory uses in German. The word ''gleich'' in German means ''alike'', ''equal'', or ''the same''; ''schaltung'' means something like ''switching''. The word Gleichschaltung had two uses in German for physical, rather than political, meanings: # A locking Clutch ; manual clutches on cars usually do not press the plates one against each other, so they lose about three percent of power; some race cars use locking clutches in which the driven plate travels at the same speed as that connected to the engine; hence it wears out faster. # A certain means of wiring an . However because of the Nazi associations of the term, its use for these physical meanings has largely been abandoned after the war. SOURCES; FURTHER READING
SEE ALSO
|
|
|