To consolidate their power between 1933 and 1934, the Nazis used a number of methods to deal with a number of situations. This essay will deal with what the Nazis did to consolidate their power once gaining it in January 1933 after Adolf Hitler was appointed Chancellor. They used legal means, terror tactics, and propaganda to eliminate political opposition, suppress possibilities of forceful resistance, deal with Germany's broken economy and labor force, and promote their image and ideology within the national community. Through these methods, the National Socialists were able to successfully consolidate their power by the end of 1934.
             The Nazi's first goal, once Hitler was appointed chancellor in January 1933, was to eliminate all political opposition. This would consolidate their power over the government. The existing opposition was divided and weak, and they believed that Hitler could be controlled. They also believed they could resist his extremist demands. For example, Carl Bachem, a member of the Catholic Centre Party at the time, revealed in later years that the prevailing view within the party was that by supporting Hitler they could 'exercise a...sobering influence' upon the National Socialists. According to historian D.G. Williamson, "the potential opposition to Hitler was formidable, but it was divided and crippled by fatally underestimating the dynamism of the Nazi movement." Many parties also overestimated their influence in government. The power of the Reichstag had declined throughout the last years of Weimar, and the President began to rule by decree. Or, as historian William L. Shirer puts it, (By 1932) "political power... was concentrated in the hands of a senile President and those of a few shallow, ambitious men around him. Hitler saw this clearly, and it suited his purposes."
             As soon as Hitler became chancellor, he called for national elections to be held in March. To win these elections, he had all of the ...