Assignment Assess the view that the most important element in maintaining Hitler's regime in power between 1933 and 1945 was the consent of the German people. Response INTRODUCTION At the beginning of the Third Reich, consent was utilised to its greatest, as Hitler demanded for popular legitimation to gain approval of his policies. In fact many events allowed Hitler to exercise his power, under the constant mass consultation. This view is portrayed in interpretation D Germans remained loyal' and interpretation A German people.. supported this regime'. However, other interpretations suggest that the consent given was not due to free will but to fear, propaganda and oppression. Although, elements of propaganda and people's approval aided Hitler in gaining power, the terror that was enforced by Hitler's regime maintained him in power until the end. CONSENT In order for Hitler to fill to the power vacuum left by the Weimar Republic, he needed the support of the German people which was only possible because Weimar was associated with the lost war, the humiliating peace and the social chaos that limited the number of supporters for the old regime. Furthermore, it highlighted the political apathy felt by the Germans and their growing desire for positive change which Hitler's new regime began to offer. Therefore, it is likely that in 1933, the Nazis had genuine support from the people. Interpretation D strongly infers that the consent of German people maintained Hitler in power ˜Most Germans remained loyal to the Nazi leadership and supported it voluntarily from the beginning'. This is because they were weary of the ˜instability and liberalism of the Weimar republic'1 which left them under a ˜sharp generational divide'2. Hitler unpicked this and established a ˜German nation into one people'3 where he would transfer his sectional interests and thereby working alongside with every German. One must consider that people deviated quickly into the new regime as Hitler ˜improved the economy, the removal of the supposed social threat' 4 which reassured stability and acceptance of the new regime. However, not all the nation consented due to political indifferences. These indifferences show the inefficiency of the Nazi regime to control people's lives completely. In order to fight these resistances, the Nazis used security forces, proving that terror was the most important factor that kept Hitler in power. Interpretation A would seem to suggest that the Germans only supported Hitler not only because of the new re-built Germany but because of ˜their meekness before authority' and 'the long tradition of obedience to authority'. Ralph Flenly, the author, conveys the idea that the authoritarian life offered by Hitler's regime, would be more beneficial to German citizens in the long run, which means it was unlikely that people consented but wanted a return to old ways. Robert Gellately reinforces this view by proclaiming that ˜many people longed nostalgically for a more disciplined society of the kind they identified in their minds with the era before 1914'5. Whereas, David Crew implies that this argument cannot be true as Hitler was the true upholder of ˜law and order." This view reflects that the people's consent may have been unwilling, as Germans were only trying to preserve the tradition of obedience to authority. However, interpretation B shows tradition to be of little significance and concedes support to Flenly's questioning of conse