On This Date In History, July 2nd

On July the 2nd, 1934, Joseph Goebbels took to the radio, a message for all of Germany, that a plot to overthrow the government had been successfully thwarted. But what was this plot? What was their goal? How were they going to achieve this goal, and who was involved? On top of all that, what evidence was there that a plot was truly taking place? Was there a plot at all? Though many are aware of Hitler’s rise to power, few are aware of the events that helped him achieve his position…

The 1932 presidential election came down to Paul von Hindenburg and Adolf Hitler. Hindenburg, an 84 year old war hero, but also an ailing incumbent, was viewed by his party as the only chance to defeat Hitler and prevent the Nazi party from gaining too much power. They were right, as Hindenburg won a second term with ease. Though Hitler lost, due to the government not being able to form a majority after two separate elections in 1932, in 1933, Hindenburg named Hitler as Chancellor of Germany. With this newfound power, Hitler sought to undermine the other political parties and prevent them from forming a majority in the Reichstag. In February in 1933, just days prior to another parliament election, the Reichstag fire took place. Hitler was able to use this event to enact martial law and arrest those that opposed the Nazi party. No majority was formed in the next election, but it did not matter, as the Nazi party was the only party that was allowed to remain in existence.

On June 30th, 1934, event known as the Night of the Long Knives, began. What is most significant about this event, is who was targeted. Prior to this, it was mostly communists and liberals that were the targets of false imprisonments and assassinations. However for this event, those that were much closer to the Nazi party, or even apart of it, were targeted. The purpose for that was mostly due to their lack of loyalty, and in Ernst Röhm’s case, one of Hitler’s close friends and high ranking Nazi party member, the potential for being a rival. With support from Hitler, Himmler, and Goring, its believed that the Gestapo killed over 150 political opponents over the course of three days. For Hitler, his grasp on power became even stronger.

The last domino to fall was the death of Paul von Hindenburg. Though Hitler’s grasp on power was growing stronger, Hindenburg’s was still the most powerful man in Germany. With his ailing health and old age, Hitler was aware he would not survive the year, so he began taking steps to ensure he would have the ability to gain absolute power in Germany. When Hindenburg finally died in August of 1934, and the Night of the Long Knives a major success, with no opposition, Hitler was able to fuse the chancellorship with the presidency and he was able to become the absolute dictator of Germany.