Zusammenfassung der Ressource
Where did power lie in the Third
Reich?
- Hitler did not embark on a major overhaul of
Germany's administrative structure
- Old institutions such as the Reichstag and Cabinet remained, but were virtually
powerless. Traditional institutions co-operated with the new regime and adapted
to the Nazi system
- Power was Concentrated in Hitler as Führer,
supposedly representing the will of the German
people
- Beneath Hitler there was a confusing array of state and party institutions, cutting
across each other's jurisdictions but all seeking to work along the lines laid down
by the führer
- Such a system of jealous rivalries served to enhance
Hitler's power
- A powerful Hitler myth developed, which portrayed Hitler as a wonderful leader, responsible for all
policy successes. This helped make him genuinely popular, and allowed the regime to become more
radical
- The Nazi Party was far less admired. It became a vehicle for careerism. It was
mainly used to activate the population; it was not a party of rule
- A complex police system developed, but its
efficiency was partly dependent upon the
co-operation of millions of Germans
- There was an array of fierce repressive machinery to
persecute non- conformists
- Nazi Germany was certainly dominated by Hitler, but was
not a smoothly run, efficient structure