Hitler - Chancellor to Fuhrer: 1933-4.

Even with questions such as this one (which seem to have a chronological feel) you must try and answer THEMATICALLY.

Introduction – signpost your themes.
Hitler moved from Chancellor to Fuhrer by using political cunning and ruthless tactics to manipulate events, he eliminated all opposition, centralized power on himself and terrorized people into submission.

Hitler manipulated events and used political cunning to exploit them to his advantage.  For example, when the Reichstag burned down in February 1933 and a Dutch Communist was caught red-handed with matches and fire-lighting materials, Hitler used it as an excuse to arrest many of his Communist opponents.  This was important because the Communist party had been the major rival to the Nazis during the various elections in the early 1930s – with many Communists arrested Hitler could secure an increase in Nazi votes by playing on people’s fear of Communism in his election campaign of March 1933.  As a result businessmen who feared Communism (as it did not allow private enterprise) or middle class people who feared increasing Communist street violence voted for the strong leadership figure of Hitler.  However, when still only 44% of the people voted Nazi, which did not give him a majority in the Reichstag, Hitler used force, arresting the 81 Communist deputies (which did give him a majority) and then he made Goering Speaker of the Reichstag. Goering’s influence and the Nazi majority were then used to control all political discussions and decision-making.
   
Hitler used ruthless tactics to capitalize on this political situation and increase his power further.  He combined Nazi strength in the Reichstag with terror tactics.   Nazi stormtroopers stopped opposition deputies going into the Reichstag, and beat up anyone who dared to speak against the crucial Enabling Law which Hitler pressurized the Reichstag to agree to.  This law dismantled the old Weimar Constitution, dissolved political parties and organizations, prevented freedom of speech and gave Hitler the power to make his own laws.  This Law made Hitler the dictator of Germany, with power to do anything he liked - legally. 
   
Having secured central power Hitler then extended his power base throughout the country.  In April he took over local government and the police and started to replace anti-Nazi teachers and University professors and in May he also closed Trade Unions offices, confiscated their money and put their leaders in prison substituting a Nazi controlled German Labour Front, which took away the workers’ right to strike.   All this meant that political opposition to Hitler fell apart due to lack of leadership and organization.  In July Hitler went even further by passing a Law against the Formation of Parties, which declared the Nazi Party the only political party in Germany.   All other parties were banned, and their leaders were put in prison.  This meant that Germany had become a one-party state and even if people had wanted to get rid of Hitler they did not have any legal means of doing so.

Combined with this Hitler also tightened his grip of ‘terror’ on the population.  For example, he set up the Gestapo (the secret police) and encouraged Germans to report opponents and 'grumblers'.   Tens of thousands of Jews, Communists, Protestants and others were arrested and sent to concentration camps for 'crimes' as small as writing anti-Nazi graffiti, possessing a banned book, or saying that business was bad.  This meant that people became too frightened to object to the increase in Hitler’s power.  This tightening of the grip of terror also included the use of the SS to eliminate Rohm and 400 of the SA in the Night of the Long Knives.  This meant that Hitler had removed a powerful and dangerous rival and had centralized the armed wing of the party on his own personal bodyguard.
   
When Hindenburg died in August 1934, Hitler used this fortunate event to combine the office of President, Chancellor and leader of the army into the role of Fuhrer and made the army swear an oath of loyalty to himself personally. Tactics and terror had ensured the elimination of all opposition but I think the power the Enabling Law gave to him was the most important element as this destroyed the Weimar Constitution and gave him the power to do everything else he wanted.