Hitler’s aims and aspirations

Hitler’s aims and aspirationsBy: Sydney Howard Sophia Viteri Franco Contreras

Video

http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/nazi-party/videos/rise-of-the-nazis

If we have time :)



Introduction of a New Chancellor

● Adolf Hitler was not elected to power in Germany by an upsurge of popular demand. The Nazi Party achieved support, winning 37% of the total vote in the 1932 election. This made it the largest party in the Reichstag.

● Franz von Papen and other conservatives persuaded the German president, Field Marshal von Hindenburg, to appoint Hitler as chancellor in a coalition government. He was a powerful leader in the country, but had no experience of government. They believed they would be able to control him, while an alliance with the Nazis would bring them the support they needed in the Reichstag.

● Hitler used his position to achieve a dictatorship, partly on reports of a supposed Communist conspiracy against the state.

● Reichstag conferred dictatorial powers on him for four years. In the ‘the night of the long knives’, Hitler eliminated about a hundred rivals. Hindenburg died in August 1934 and Hitler was proclaimed Führer of the German Reich, head of state and commander of the armed forces, giving him dictatorial power over the country.

Historian Views on Hitler’s Aims

The first of these was William Shirer’s The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich, published in 1960. Shirer was

an American journalist who was posted in Europe for much of the 1930s, so he had first hand experience

of events in Germany. Shirer’s historiographical perspective was that Nazism was a logical phase in

Germany’s national development. This view has become known as the Sonderweg (‘special path’) school. It

suggests that Nazism was no accident or oddity but a deadly combination of German nationalism,

authoritarianism and militarism all of which date back to the Middle Ages. Shirer remains one of the

most influential and widely referenced historians of this determinist school.

Historian Views on Hitler’s Aims● John Toland strived for the good about Hitler. Ignoring the presumption that Hitler was ‘evil’, Toland sought to identify his

positive attributes and qualities, to understand why so many supported and even worshipped him.● Historians went further, offering sympathetic accounts of Hitler and suggesting that he had been poorly treated by history

and historians. David Irving’s controversial 1977 book Hitler’s War suggests that Hitler was very much a creature of his time, rather than a power-crazed madman. Irving’s Hitler is a ‘brilliant politician who seized government not to exploit the situation, but because the situation and the people of Germany demanded a dictator.’

● Two schools of historiographical thought about Hitler and Nazi Germany were taking shape. They were described as ‘intentionalism’ and ‘functionalism’ by left-wing historian Timothy Mason. Both offer explanations about the nature of political power, the extent of planning, the organization of the Nazi regime and the role Hitler played in decision-making.

● Intentionalist historians argue that Hitler was a powerful ruler who operated in line with a ‘master plan’; it was always his intention to start a war in Europe and exterminate European Jews.

● Functionalism suggested that Hitler’s power in the Nazi Party was over-stated and that the fuhrer had no long-term plan. Instead, Hitler was an opportunist who made decisions expediently and spontaneously, often to maintain his own grip on power.

Historian Views on Hitler’s Aims

● Karl Dietrich Bracher describes the Nazi leader as the “master of the Third Reich”.

● Though he acknowledges the Nazi state was less organized than outward appearances suggest, Bracher believes this was largely due to Hitler, who intentionally created multiple departments and encouraged competing interests.

● He did this to ‘divide and rule’, enhancing his own power by distracting those who might covet it. Bracher and other intentionalists also believe that Nazi anti-Semitism was derived from Hitler’s own personal hatreds.

● These scholars suggest the Nuremberg Laws, Nazi massacres like the Holocaust itself all directly flowed from Hitler’s hatred of Jews.

Hitler’s aims after his acceptance of the ChancellorshipWhen Hitler came to power he was determined to make Germany a great power again and to dominate Europe. He had set out his ideas in a book called Mein Kampf that he had written in prison in 1924. His main aims were

1. To destroy the Treaty of Versailles 2. To unite all German speakers together in one country.3. To expand eastwards into the East to gain land for Germany

His tactics involved using the threat of violence to achieve his aims. He realized that France and Britain were reluctant to go to war and were prepared to compromise to avoid a repeat of World War I. He was also an opportunist who often took advantage of events for his own benefit. His foreign policy successes in the 1930s were to make him a very popular figure in Germany.

As one German political opponent described: “Everybody thought that there was some justification in Hitler’s demands. All Germans hated Versailles. Hitler tore up this hateful treaty and forced France to its knees…. people said, “he’s got courage to take risks”

Map of Lost Territories

First Steps of ensuring his rule

● On March 21st, a ceremony took place designed to ease public concern over Hitler and his regime.

● Hitler gave a speech paying respect to Hindenburg and the new Nazi Reich. As a symbol of this, the old Imperial flags would soon add swastikas.

Hitler walked over to Hindenburg and bowed before him while taking hold of the his hand. This was the impression Hitler wanted to give to the world. Hindenburg signed decrees by Hitler.

1. The first offered full pardons to all Nazis in prison. 2. The second decree allowed for the arrest of anyone suspected of criticizing the

government and the Nazi Party. 3. A third decree signed only by Hitler and Papen allowed for the establishment of special

courts to try political offenders. These courts were conducted in the military style of a court-martial without a jury and usually with no counsel for the defense..

Steps took to ensure his total control of Germany● After the elections of March 5, 1933, the Nazis began a takeover of the state governments

throughout Germany, ending traditions of local political independence. Armed SA and SS barged into local government offices to throw out legitimate office holders and replace them with Nazi Reich commissioners.

● Political enemies were arrested by the thousands and put in constructed holding pens. Old army barracks and abandoned factories were used as prisons.

● Prisoners were subjected to military style drills and harsh discipline. They were often beaten and sometimes even tortured to death. This was the very beginning of the Nazi concentration camp system.

For Hitler, the goal of a legally established dictatorship was now within reach. On March 15, 1933, a cabinet meeting discussed how to block what was left of the democratic process. They wanted to get an Enabling Act passed by the Reichstag. This law would hand over the constitutional functions of the Reichstag to Hitler, including the power to make laws, control the budget and approve treaties with foreign governments. The emergency decree signed by Hindenburg made it easy for them to interfere with non-Nazi elected representatives of the people by simply arresting them.

Hitler’s aims in government & administration after 1933

● Lack of planning○ During his rise to power, Hitler offered no clear vision about the structure or organization that a Nazi

government might take. ○ Once in power he created new departments or positions, to deal with issues as they arose. ○ The Nazi’s grew with no real plan and no hierarchical backbone.

● Nazi State departments○ Over time it became a mix of bureaucracies, organizations, and offices.○ The responsibilities of these departments weren’t well defined. In many cases it was unclear who had

ultimate responsibility for a given area, so there was often overlap or conflict between two or more departments


● The Reich Chancellery ○ Overseen by Hans Lammers and Hitler’s deputy, Rudolf Hess, the chancellery was the closest

equivalent to a Nazi executive cabinet. ○ It regularly met with Hitler, playing an important role in drafting legislation and policy, and making

important decisions when Hitler wasn’t there○ The chancellery was also responsible for Hitler’s finances and his movements; anyone wanting to talk

to Hitler had to go through the chancellery.

Hans Lammers

Rudolf Hess


● The Reich Interior Ministry ○ Headed by Wilhelm Frick, then Henirich Himmler, this department of Hitler’s advisors was responsible

for overseeing the internal organization and security of Nazi Germany.○ It was to “Nazify” existing government structures and departments, ensuring they were run by party

members. ○ It also played a leading role in drafting and implementing racial laws, and suppressing other political

parties and opposition. ● The Reich Ministry for Propaganda

○ Created in 1933 and headed by Dr. Joseph Goebbels.○ Its main function was to influence and manipulate public opinion, which it did through control of

newspapers, film, and radio○ It was involved in organizing the NSDAP’s huge public rallies in Nuremberg, as well as smaller events.

Wilhelm Frick Heinrich Himmler

Dr. Joseph Goebbels


● The Reich Office of the Four-Year Plan ○ Headed by Hermann Goering, the Four-Year Plan was an economic program announced by Hitler in

1936○ It’s aim was to make Germany self-sufficient by increasing agriculture, building, public works, roads,

and production of automobiles. ○ It also intended to prepare Germany for war, by speeding up artillery and military production.

● The German Labour Front○ Headed by Dr. Robert Ley and twelve trustees, this department was not only organized and

coordinated the German workforce but it acted as a state-run union for industrial workers.○ Factory employees were expected to be German Labour Front members and it was almost impossible

to obtain a job without membership. All other unions were banned.

Hermann Goering Dr. Robert Ley


Hitler also had high ranking NSDAP members, economic advisors, civilian ministers and politicians, important academics, and other experts in his ear who could suggest an idea or policy that might win Hitler’s approval. He made decisions as he saw fit, often on a whim and without consulting other relevant branches of the government. There wasn’t any clear process of decision-making and there was little accountability.

Timeline how Hitler acquired dictatorial powers (1933-1936)

● January 30, 1933 - Hitler appointed Chancellor (Prime Minister) of Germany by President Hindenburg

● February 27, 1933 - Reichstag burns, Hitler blames it on Communists. Hitler granted emergency powers. He arrests his opponents, gets another vote, and gains the power to re-write Germany's constitution.

● March 23, 1933 - Hitler passes the Enabling Act, establishing himself as dictator

● April 1, 1933 - First concentration camps open● July 14, 1933 - Nazi Party declared only party

in Germany ● October 14, 1933 - Germany resigns from

League of Nations

● August 2, 1934 - President Hindenburg dies ● August 19,1934 - Hitler names himself Furher

(dictator) of Germany● March 16,1935 - Hitler violates the Treaty of

Versailles by introducing military conscription● September 15, 1935 - German Jews stripped

of rights by Nuremberg Race Laws ● February 10,1936 - German Gestapo (SS) is

placed above the law● March 7, 1936 - Germany marches into

Rhineland (violation of Treaty of Versailles) and League of Nations takes no action. Non-aggression treaty signed between Italy, Germany, and Japan = Axis powers

Was it an End or the Means to an End.

Hitler and the Nazi’s accumulation of power from 1933 to 1936 was merely the means to an end and part of a Hitler plan to expand Germany eastward to create “Lebensraum” for the Aryan race to grow, as he's outlined in Mein Kampf. It can be argued that Hitler’s gradual transition from Chancellor to Führer, remilitarization of Germany, and the combination of legal and the forceful suppression of Nazi opposition was the first step of Hitler’s goal to ultimately spread German control across Europe.

Hitler’s aims and aspirations

Education