Each of these sections were responsible to the section above them, with Hitler at the very top of the party with ultimate authority. The Nazis also established new groups for different professions, from children, to doctors, to lawyers. These aimed to infiltrate already existing social structures, and help the party gain more members and supporters. These political changes changed the Nazi Party from a paramilitary organisation focused on overthrowing the republic by force, to one focused on gaining power through elections and popular support.
Initially most members were ex-soldiers or unemployed men. If Hitler was to gain power democratically, he needed to reform the SA.
He set out to change their reputation. A new leader, Franz von Salomon, was recruited. Rather than the violent free rein they had previously enjoyed, Salomon was stricter and gave the SA a more defined role. In , Hitler also established the Schutzstaffel , otherwise known as the SS. The SS were a small sub-division of the SA with approximately members until In , Heinrich Himmler took over the organisation, and expanded it dramatically.
By , the SS had 35, members. They terrorized and aimed to destroy any person or group that threatened this. The SA and the SS became symbols of terror. The Nazi Party used these two forces to terrify their opposition into subordination, slowly eliminate them entirely, or scare people into supporting them. Whilst the SA and the SS played their part, the Nazis primarily focused on increasing their membership through advertising the party legitimately.
They did this through simple and effective propaganda. The Nazis started advocating clear messages tailored to a broad range of people and their problems. Jews and Communists also featured heavily in the Nazi propaganda as enemies of the German people. Joseph Goebbels was key to the Nazis use of propaganda to increase their appeal. Goebbels joined the Nazi Party in and became the Gauleiter for Berlin in Goebbels used a combination of modern media, such as films and radio, and traditional campaigning tools such as posters and newspapers to reach as many people as possible.
It was through this technique that he began to build an image of Hitler as a strong, stable leader that Germany needed to become a great power again. Goebbels success eventually led to him being appointed Reich Minister of Propaganda in Germany was particularly badly affected by the Wall Street Crash because of its dependence on American loans from onwards. As the loans were recalled, the economy in Germany sunk into a deep depression. Investment in business was reduced. People in full time employment fell from twenty million in , to just over eleven million in In the same period, over 10, businesses closed every year.
As a result of this, the amount of people in poverty increased sharply. The Depression associated economic failure and a decline in living standards with the Weimar democracy. By , Germany had reached breaking point. The economic crisis, which in turn had led to widespread social and political unrest in Germany, meant that it could no longer afford to pay reparations.
This concession helped to give the economy a small boost in confidence. One example of this was the work creation schemes which began in the summer of These work creation schemes would later be expanded and reinvested in by the Nazis to combat unemployment.
These small improvements, only truly evident with the benefit of hindsight , were still at the time completely overshadowed by the poverty and widespread discontent about the general economic situation.
The political instability in the late s and early s played an important role in helping the Nazis rise to power. Political parties seemed to be putting aside their differences and coming together for the good of Germany.
But this was not how it worked out. As the aftermath of the Wall Street Crash hit Germany and unemployment spiralled, the government struggled to balance its budget. On top of its usual payments, the amount of people claiming unemployment benefits was increasing.
The SD gathered intelligence on Hitler's opponents within the Nazi party, leaders and activities of other political parties, as well as on government officials, both federal and local. In August , Nazi party deputy leader Rudolf Hess announced that the SD would henceforth be the only agency authorized to gather and analyze political intelligence in the Third Reich. Such a determination could, at a minimum, mean a job and better rations for a resident in German-occupied territory during World War II.
When the Nazis seized power in January , members of the SS numbered more than 52, As SS chief, Himmler received authority directly from Hitler to carry out ideological policies that the laws of the state might not permit. Nazi leaders justified this extra-legal chain of command and the policies initiated under its authorization by the national emergency decrees following the Reichstag Fire in and, after , by the intensified emergency created by the war.
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