1. Find the sources on page 178. What reasons can you infer from each source (Sources 10.12 to 10.20) as to why Hitler got away with the Night of the Long Knives?
Source 10.12:
In Source 10.12 the reason inferred as to why HItler got away with the Night of the Long Knives because it was legal. It was legal because a law was passed by the Reichstag, and the section of the phrase that says "are justifiable acts of self-defence by the state," which shows that the "state" or Germany approves Hitler's purge in the Night of the Long Knives.
Source 10.13:
In Source 10.13 the reason inferred that made Hitler’s purge at the Night of the Long Knives justifiable because Hitler is the only judge on the German people that is allowed to determine whether a person is dangerous to Germany or not. Also, Hitler says “I was responsible for the fate of the German people” which could mean that if he didn’t kill those generals of the SA and other threats that German’s fate would’ve been bad, possibly. This can be inferred because in this source it sounds like if Hitler didn’t come to the rescue than it would have been very bad for Gemany, however, we don’t know what was bad from reading this source.
Source 10.14:
In Source 10.14 the reason you can deduce as to why Hitler was able to get away from the crime he did in the Night of the Long Knives is because “Hitler has prevented a much greater bloodbath,” referring to the revolution that SA supposedly was planning. Also, the source says that Hitler was “the cleanser of the Movement,” which if you were a German and heard this you would think that Hitler cleaned Germany of the bad people, the threats; which would be perceived as a good thing.
Source 10.15:
In Source 10.15 the reason that can be assumed why Hitler was able to get away with the Night of the Long Knives is because the people felt relieved and happy that those people were killed, and now they can relax. Also, the reason for the people unrelated that were excited were seen as an accident by the Gestapo and other government reports saying the excesses “took place without the knowledge and against the will of the Fuhrer,” so the people thought that Hitler didn’t want these people dead and that it was an accident or miscommunication.
Source 10.16:
In Source 10.16 the inferred reason as to why Hitler got away with the Night of the Long Knives is because the people killed were “traitors and murderers” which makes it seem like the Night of the Long Knives was a very good thing for Germany as a way to get rid of the bad people in Germany. Basically, Hitler called the generals, people of the SA, and the others traitors and murderers of Germany, as threats to Germany, so it was okay to kill them.
Source 10.17:
In Source 10.17 the reason you can assume why Hitler got away with NOLK is because Hitler struck fear into everyone that they could also be killed under Hitler’s orders. Since they were so afraid to upset Hitler they didn’t question his reasoning because they were afraid of getting killed as well, this can be deduced from Source 10.17 because the German citizen says “After June 30th everyone was frightened,” which shows that everyone was definitely afraid of Hitler and probably too afraid to stand up to him.
Source 10.18:
The reasoning that can be deduced as to why Hitler got away with NOLK in Source 10.18 because Hindenburg says “You have saved the German nation from serious danger and for this I express to you my deeply felt gratitude and my sincere appreciation.” Since Hindenburg calls the murdered people “serious danger” and thanks Hitler it shows that Hitler influenced people so much to make them truly believe that the SA were a serious threat and that they should be thankful that Hitler ordered the army to kill them.
Source 10.19:
What can be assumed from Source 10.19 as to why Hitler was able to get away with NOLK is because everyone stood behind Hitler, nobody challenged him and everyone went with what he did and said. Also, I believe where it says “I don’t see parties, I just see Germans,” shows that the people the army killed at NOLK weren’t Germans, which justifies as NOLK being a good thing because now there’s just “pure Germans” living in Germany.
Source 10.20:
In Source 10.20 what can be deduced as to why Hitler got away with NOLK is because the Saxon businessman says “he has freed us from the Marxists (and has) got rid of the harmful influence (of the) dreadful SA,” which shows that the businessman and possibly many others believed that the SA and the others that were killed were communists and a “harmful influence” to Germany. Many people disliked communists and since Hitler described the SA and these people as communists he was able to get away with NOLK.
2. Read page 179. Why was the Night of the Long Knives so significant in Hitler's consolidation of power? (Be sure to use specific details in your answer.)
The Night of the Long Knives was so significant in Hitler’s consolidation of power because he triumphed over the Left and the Right, tamed the radicals and the SA, and won support of the army. The Left and the Right were huge threats to Hitler’s consolidation of power. If Hitler didn’t get rid of them there was a high chance that Hitler would’ve lost power because from the Left there were three million SA soldiers who were expecting a second revolution and were concerned about Hitler selling out to the right. Therefore, if the SA had their second revolution Hitler would be greatly outnumbered and would most likely lose power. Also, from the Right the army worried about the Nazi radicals, especially the SA, and the growing criticism of Nazi excesses from the army were threats to Hitler’s power. Therefore, getting rid of the SA got rid of the threat of a “second revolution” and possible overthrow, and it gave Hitler more support from the Right for getting rid of the Left, whom the Right were concerned about. Not only was he able to get rid of the Rightist threats and win support of the Left, the army, but he was also able to threaten anybody else who dared to challenge him. People, especially his opponents, became so afraid of Hitler that they were no longer threats for him. They were so afraid that they would be murdered so they no longer were extreme trying to challenge Hitler. In summary, the significance of the Night of the Long Knives was important to Hitler’s consolidation because he was able to get rid of his threats from the SA and also gain support from the powerful army to the Right.
No comments:
Post a Comment