line with another), a vague all-embracing aim
was set out forcibly to subordinate all the activities
of German society – government, administration,
the free press and trade unions – to Nazi bodies
set up specially to supervise them. Thus while in
some cases the old institutions remained, they
were subject to new Nazi controls. The whole
process was haphazard and new Nazi organisa-
tions proliferated, frequently in rivalry with each
other as well. Hitler in the final resort would
decide between conflicting authorities. Until he
did so there was the inevitable chaos and infight-
ing. For a time he might decide it best not to
interfere too much in a particular administra-
tive branch or, for example, leave the high
command of the army intact. The complete
process of Gleischaltung would be applied later to
the army also. Hitler insisted on his own final say,
on maintaining some of the traditional structures
as long as he thought this tactically necessary to
overcome misgivings among broad sections of the
German people or powerful groups such as the
army. His revolution would be complete but
gradual. The Nazi state was thus no efficient
monolith. Within the overall framework of accep-
tance of the Führer as leader, rivalries flourished
and independent policies were still pursued for
short periods. During the early years there were
even islands of legality and normality to confuse
opinion at home and abroad.
Among the first steps that Hitler took was to
abolish the independent powers of the federal
states in March 1933. In April a decree purged
the civil service of Jews and those of Jewish
descent, and of anyone whom the Nazis deemed
to oppose the regime’s aims. In Prussia a quarter
of the higher civil service was dismissed, includ-
ing judges who were supposed to be irremovable.
The Supreme Court in Leipzig secretly debated
whether they should make a protest at this uncon-
stitutional act, and decided on discretion. No
wonder the German public was misled by the
seeming legality of these new ‘laws’. During the
course of the summer of 1933, the remaining
independent parties were disbanded. The com-
munist leaders were already in the new concen-
tration camps. The Vatican now decided to
conclude a treaty – the Concordat – with Hitler
in a misguided effort to protect Catholic interests.
The independent trade unions were quickly
brought to heel and suppressed, and the workers
enrolled in the Nazi Labour Front. The press and
broadcasting were placed under Goebbels’ direc-
tion. The universities did not put up any real
resistance either. There were famous professors
such as the philosopher Martin Heidegger who,
at least for a short time, gave public support to
the Nazi movement. Some became ardent Nazis
out of conviction; many, for the sake of their
careers.
Academics participated in the famous burning
of the books by Jewish and anti-Nazi authors.
Many of Germany’s internationally known scien-
tists, writers and artists joined the ‘national revo-
lution’ of the Nazis. Nor were theologians
immune from the Nazi corruption: Christ became
an Aryan. The dismissed Jews, such as Albert
Einstein, began to leave the country. So did a few
Christian Germans, including the Nobel Prize-
winning writer Thomas Mann. Germany’s other
literary giant, who had also won the Nobel Prize
for literature, Gerhart Hauptmann, remained in
Nazi Germany, adorning the new regime.
Hitler was sensitive to German public opinion.
The German people, he understood, would need
to be ‘educated’ to accept the harshness and final
brutality in stages. So, when Jews were dismissed
from the civil service, some were granted their
state pensions provided they had completed at
least ten years of service. Those Jews who had
fought in the First World War or whose sons or
fathers had died in the war were temporarily
1
THE FAILURE OF DEMOCRACY AND RISE OF HITLER, 1920–34 191
Reichstag elections, 5 March 1933
Seats Percentage
of votes
National Socialists (NSDAP) 288 seats 43.9
Nationalists (DNVP and
allies) 52 seats 8.0
Centre (Zentrum) 73 seats 11.2
Socialists (SPD) 120 seats 18.3
Communists (KPD) 81 seats 12.3
Others 33 seats 6.3
