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essay german help

can anybody help me with the question:

"to what extent was fear of the gestapo and SS the main reason why Hitler was able to stay in power after 1933"

im really stuck at what im supposed to look at, thanks.
Basically, the SS was a group of elite soldiers loyal to the Nazi cause, and crucial in the Nazi Policy of Gleischaltung, which roughly means, 'getting ready' - it was designed to allow Nazism to control all aspects of Germany. Many Nazi offices and depts. were set up along side existing ones in order to infiltrate and eventually absorb them into the Nazi system. The SS was able to gain control over the Civil Guard in what used to be Prussia, and the control of the police force was increased, with chiefs sacked if they were deemed not to be Nazi enough. Nazis infiltrated the top echelons of the legal, financial and adminstrative systems to ensure complete control over the country, and much the same happened when he completed the union with Austria Anschluss, and Czechoslovakia, in his claim to annex the Sudeten Germans to Germany.

Fear was used to control the populace. The SS was particularly effective in killing socialist and left-wing leaders. The Night of the Long Knives, where Hitler killed his Communist enemies and also the leader of the SA, Rohn, helped him consolidate power. (The SA was a paramilitary organisation that potentially threatened Hitler).

Another way of control was Propaganda. With the fire in the Reichstag, Hitler's claims about a deadly Communist plot were compounded and he was able to exploit the right-wing, middle class and aristocracy's fear of Socialism to help him gain support. A personality cult was also emerging and Hitler was able to inspire the masses with his superior oratorical skills.

Hitler also stayed in power by the destrruction of German democracy. After his appointment to Chancellor in 1933, he passed the Enabling Act, allowing him sole power for four years. Soon after he banned all other parties and made it illegal to create a party, and made Germany a single party state. It is also important to remember, that whilst he did operate illegally, he had done much to curb unemployment, and helped an economic recovery to which the masses could see clear eveidence of. Also was his fervent nationalism, and later on his defiance of the Treaty of Versailles and the push to create a Great Germany
again.

So overall, you want to focus on the main factors of:

- Fear
- Nazi Policy (Gleischaltung)
- Propaganda
- Destruction of Democracy

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