1934-8-2 Hindenburg dies; Hitler = Führer

1934-8-2 Hitler → Führer of Germany after President Hindenburg dies - HiPo > .

24-6-17 Life Under Adolf Hitler: The First Years Of Nazi Germany - War Stories > .

On 2 August 1934, 86 year old German Reichspräsident Paul von Hindenburg died of lung cancer allowing Adolf Hitler to become both the Führer und Reichskanzler of the German People.

The move by Hitler effectively merged the offices of both the President and Chancellor into one role, and therefore completed what the Nazis referred to as Gleichschaltung (or ‘Co-ordination’) by establishing Hitler as both Germany's head of state and head of government.

Interfering with the post of President was illegal under the terms of the 1933 Enabling Act, and although merging the two positions under Hitler removed any political checks and balances of his personal domination of Germany, a plebiscite held seventeen days later on 19 August saw 90% of people approving of the change.

Hitler’s assumption of the role of Führer also allowed the Nazi Party to more actively pursue its promotion of the ideology of Führerprinzip. This stated that Hitler possessed absolute control over the German government. Supported by a propaganda machine that relentlessly pushed the slogan "Ein Volk, Ein Reich, Ein Führer!" which translates as ”One People, One Empire, One Leader”, the Führerprinzip also confirmed the Nazi Party’s complete control over every element of German society.

Nazi influence ranged from local government to factories and even to the management and control of schools, although in terms of government it sometimes meant that officials were reluctant to make decisions without Hitler’s personal input or approval. The Führerprinzip was also used by Nazis at the Nuremberg Trials to argue that they were not guilty of war crimes since they were only following orders.

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1935-1-13 Saar Chooses Germany ..

1935-9-15 Nürnberger Gesetze ..

1935-1-13 Saar Chooses Germany

.13th January 1935: The Saar votes to reunite with Germany in a plebiscite - HiPo > .

On 13 January 1935 the Territory of the Saar Basin voted to reunite with Germany.

In 1918 the Saar Basin was a heavily industrialised area that boasted a large number of coal mines. Following the Treaty of Versailles the area was occupied and governed by France and Britain under the auspices of the League of Nations. France was also given exclusive control of the area’s rich coal mines as part of the reparations agreement. The Treaty called for a plebiscite to decide the long-term future of the Saar region after a period of fifteen years.

By the time of the plebiscite Adolf Hitler had secured his position as the supreme leader of Germany. This had caused a number of people who opposed Nazi policies to move to the Saar Basin since it was the only part of Germany free from their rule. These people were keen for the area to remain under the League’s administration, but maintaining the status quo was unpopular with many other Germans in the area.

The Nazis launched an intensive pro-Germany campaign in the area that was led by propaganda chief Joseph Goebbels. As early as 1933, complaints that the Nazi campaign amounted to a ‘reign of terror’ had been noted by American political scientist Sarah Wambaugh who was one of the members of the commission sent to oversee the plebiscite. Although the Nazis did restrain their tactics by the end of 1934, the League of Nations still provided a peacekeeping force to monitor the plebiscite.

Voter turnout was 98% of all eligible voters, and 90.8% of them chose to re-join the German Reich. The overwhelming result surprised many observers, and acted as powerful propaganda for the Nazi Party.

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1936-3-7 Remilitarisation of the Rhineland ..
1936 Olympics ..

1936-7-26 Hitler to support Franco ..

1936-7-26 Hitler to support Franco

1936-7-18: Hitler to support Franco in Spanish Civil War - HiPo > .

On 26 July 1936 Adolf Hitler informed General Francisco Franco that Germany would support his Nationalist rebellion in Spain.

The Spanish Civil War broke out on 17 July, when an army uprising against the Second Spanish Republic that began in Morocco spread to the mainland. In the face of early rebel gains, the Republican government sought assistance from France and the USSR. Meanwhile the Nationalists turned to the right-wing governments of Germany and Italy.

Benito Mussolini, the leader of Italy, agreed to intervene in the war on the Nationalist side after being encouraged to do so by Hitler. Although both countries later signed the Non-Intervention Agreement, they continued to send troops and equipment to support Franco’s forces.

Hitler in particular had a number of reasons for getting involved. As well as it giving him the opportunity to take action against what he called ‘communist barbarism’, assisting Franco would win Germany an important ally and preferential access to Spain’s natural resources. Militarily, German involvement also provided an opportunity to test the new equipment developed since the Nazi rearmament programme began in 1933.

Both Hitler and Mussolini were concerned about the risk of the Spanish Civil War escalating into a European-wide conflict, so at first their support for the Nationalists was small-scale and consisted mainly of transporting existing Spanish troops from Morocco to the mainland. As the war progressed their involvement grew. The German Condor Legion in particular began to take an active role in the aerial bombing of Republican areas, most notably the Basque town of Guernica on 26 April 1937.