Chapter 2: The Road to Dictatorship

A.
Chancellor - Prime Minister.
Reichstag - The German parliament.
Enabling Law - Law that Hitler persuaded the Reichstag to pass in 1933; allowed Hitler to make laws without asking for Reichstag consent, essentially making him Dictator of Germany.
One Party State - A state in which the ruling party is the only political party allowed (for example, Russia under Communism, Germany under Naziism, etc)
Gaulteirs - District leaders in the Nazi party; got orders from Hitler, and reported to him.
Block Leaders - Lowest member of the Nazi party structure, but very important. They were in charge of one "block" of flats or houses. They listened to local gossip and found out who the critics of the Nazis were, and got them arrested.

B)
23 March 1933 - Hitler gets the Reichstag to pass the Enabling Law --> Essentially makes him dictator of Germany.

7 April 1933 - Put Nazi officials in charge of the local governments that ran Germany's provinces --> Gives more power to the federal government, eliminates possible competition for leadership.

2 May 1933 - Closed down the trade unions, took away their funds and put their leaders in prison --> Got rid of more potential dissenters, weakened the workers making them dependent on the goodwill of the government.

14 July 1933 - Made a Law Against the Formation of New Parties, made Nazis the only party allowed in Germany -->
Nobody could break the law, because they could be sentenced to 3 years in a prison labor camp. Got rid of any dissenters legally.

30 June 1934 - Ernst Roehm and the SA leaders were arrested, taken to prison, and shot; over the next few days, 400 people met the same fate, at the hands of Hitler's SS (protection squad) --> Hitler eliminates any groups that might pose a threat from within the Nazi party.

C)
1. The authority of Hitler, who was able to pass laws without the consent of the Reichstag at this point, so if he commanded that the communists be rounded up, it was legal.
2. Obviously this is unfair, because it is a restriction of free speech.