Gotz Aly: The Outbreak Of War

All of Hitler’s opponents were then arrested and sent to labour camps. A secret police force was set up called Gestapo and they were given major power. All major institutions were then forced under Nazi control including the media, the boy scouts, education departments and the police. This process of coordination was called the Gleichschaltung. Following this was the Night of Long Knives in June 1934 where all of Hitler’s rivals were killed including Ernst Rohm. Shortly after Hindenburg dies and Hitler creates a new political position called Fuhrer which combined the powers of the Chancellor and the President once again giving himself more power. After Hitler got the army to swear an oath of allegiance to him personally he was now the dictator of a totalitarian state.
The main social changes Hitler introduced concerned race. Citizenship wad then determined by race which …show more content…
As Hitler wanted to prepare for war he reoccupied the Rhineland and replaced all senior military personal with commanders that supported his plans for war. In 1938 Hitler decided to invade Austria which united the 2. Gotz Aly believes this was mainly to try and benefit Germany by having access to more money as it is believed that Germany was on the verge of bankruptcy. Hitler then followed this invasion buy invading Czechoslovakia.
In terms of continuity the army was vital for Hitler’s plans as he needed it to invade his neighbours. He decided against Nazifying the hierarchy of the army and the Junker officer class continued to rule the army. He was known to admire the army and did not blame the army for losing the first world war. In the early stages of Hitler’s dictatorship, the army supported him and his ideology and swore an oath of allegiance to him. However, later when he started losing the war the army was the only ones that could oppose