1. Fill in source record sheet Fill in form
Plan of action for next 2 weeks
Me today – forms and start Hitler’s dictatorship
Miss Paxman Thurs/Fri – treatment of minorities and causes/events of the Holocaust
Me Monday – Hitler’s dictatorship
Thurs next week – revision/exam skills
Fri next week – mock
Retakes

2. How would you describe it?
How is Hitler’s dictatorship best explained? C aim – to begin considering the three interpretations and give evidence for them B/A aim – to begin considering the three interpretations and give evidence to substantially support and challenge them
How would you describe it?
Totalitarian
Chaotic plurocracy
Weak dictator
How are these connected?

3. Totalitarian Dictatorship
If we wish to define political power in the volkisch Reich correctly, we must not speak of ‘state power’ but of ‘Führer power’. For it is not the state as an impersonal entity which is the source of political power, but rather political power is given to the Führer as the executor of the nation’s common will. Führer power is comprehensive and total: it unites within itself all means of creative political activity: it embraces all spheres of national life. E Huber, leading Nazi theorist
What evidence can you think of to support these interpretations?
What evidence can you think of to challenge these interpretations?
The caption means Ein Volk (one people), Ein Reich (one country) Ein Führer (one leader).

4. Does this show that Hitler was an All-Powerful Dictator?
This photograph was in the Topography of Terror Museum. Himmler is walking with Hitler.
Underneath it was a caption stating that ‘Himmler consulted with Hitler in the build up to the Holocaust. Every decision leading up to the Holocaust was personally taken by Hitler.’
Does this show that Hitler was an All-Powerful Dictator?
Do you believe this caption?
Why would the Topography of Terror Museum state this?

5. Debate Read pp. 183-209 in your pink book.
Add to a mind-map showing that Hitler was a totalitarian dictator
Ext – What suggests that Hitler’s dictatorship was not totalitarian?
Debate

6. Other mean’s of controlling people’s lives
Evidence to suggest Hitler was an all-powerful dictator. It is often stated that Hitler had control over all areas of people’s lives. Complete this diagram to demonstrate this.
Bureaucratic Control
Political Control
Military Control
Legal Control
Other mean’s of controlling people’s lives

7. Intentionalist Dictator
In the 1950s most historians felt that Nazi Germany had been a totalitarian dictatorship as there was...
An official ideology
A single mass party
Terroristic control by the policy
Monopoly of the media and arms
Central control of the economy
However, this concept was developed in the atmosphere of the Cold War against Stalinist Russia and shortly after WWII. Historians were very quick to find parallels between Stalinist Russia and Hitler’s Germany in an effort to criticise Russia. However, there were limits to the organisation, unity and control over people’s lives
Intentionalist Dictator
Others argue that ‘Hitler was master in the Third Reich’ but don’t believe it went as far as a totalitarian dictatorship. They acknowledge that there was division and confusion in Hitler’s Germany – but this was created deliberately by Hitler to help him rule and was a consequence of his monarch style of ruling. Hitler was responsible for the big decisions – e.g. In foreign policy. He only tolerated personally loyal Nazis – e.g. Hitler. Schacht was removed as soon as he didn’t conform to Hitler’s wishes any more.

8. What problems were there with this style of dictatorship?
Decision making became a chaotic system of ambitious men trying to please the Fuhrer and become more powerful. Decisions were usually made by whoever managed to get Hitler’s approval at the top, or convince the others that they had it. This created such chaos that in the Chancellery in Berlin there were five Chancellery offices – the highest office in Germany, all claiming to represent Hitler.
Lammers was head of the Reich Chancellery and was often the only route to Hitler, he had a lot of power for what Hitler actually heard. Proposed laws had to be submitted through Lammers.