The Government of the Third Reich

Decision Making in the Third Reich

Key Questions

• How were decisions made in the Third Reich?

• Was Hitler ‘master of the Third Reich’ or a ‘weak dictator’?

• Was the Third Reich chaotic?

The Rise to Power

PRECONDITIONS

Germany pre WWI

Versailles

The ‘context of Weimar’

CONTRIBUTORS

Nazi Party- Early failure and regrouping

DECIDERS

Economic crisis and the breakdown of parliamentary democracy

• Frustrated Nationalism

• Disillusionment with Democracy

• Fear of Communism

• Economic Problems

The Role of Hitler

• In theory:• In theory Hitler’s power was unlimited.• Nazi Germany was a one party state and Hitler was

the undisputed leader.• Hitler was ‘Head of State’, combining the position

of Chancellor and President.• He was also Commander- in- chief of all the armed

services.

In Reality…• Impossible for one individual to control all aspects of

government.• Hitler was therefore still dependent on sympathetic

subordinates.• “He never left his room before 2pm…he disliked the study

of documents. I have sometimes secured decisions from him without him ever asking to see the relevant files.”

• Hitler was indecisive, loathed paperwork and disliked formal committee meetings.

• Hitler was portrayed as the powerful dictator by the propaganda machine, but he never showed any desire to co-ordinate government.

Schools of Thought

• INTENTIONALIST VIEW: • The traditional view- Nazi Germany was a strict

totalitarian state controlled from the centre by the sheer power of Hitler.

• The chaos seen was a result of Hitler attempting to maintain his own political authority by encouraging division and confusion on both the structure and personnel of government.

• “The point cannot be stressed too strongly, Hitler was master in the Third Reich.” Norman Rich, (1980)

• The theory of Divide.and conquer

Schools of Thought STRUCTURALIST VIEW

• Weak and indecisive dictator, chaotic- no control.• The Nazi Regime and its policies evolved from the

pressure of circumstances and that confusion in government was a true reflection of Hitler’s limitations because of the continued influence of other sources of power.

• Therefore Hitler was not in complete control.• “Unwilling to take decisions, frequently uncertain,

exclusively concerned with upholding his personal prestige and personal authority, influenced in the strongest fashion by his current entourage, in some respects a weak dictator.” Hans Mommsen, (1979)