DoNOW!Gotomywebsiteandopenthefiletitled“RiseofHitlerandNazisinGermanyNotes”

Ontheendofthefileintheemptyspaceanswerthefollowingquestions:◦“HowdoyouthinkHitlerrosetopowerinGermany?”◦“WhydoyouthinkpeoplevotedorfollowedsomeonelikeHitler?”

TheRiseofHitlerandtheNaziParty

AdolfHitler’sEarlyLifeHitlerwasbornonApril20th,1889inAUSTRIA

Hehadapoorrelationshipwithhisfatherandwasveryclosetohismother

Hewasanaspiringpainter,andwastwicerejectedbytheAcademyofFineArtsinVienna

Itwasatthistime,in1908,thatHitlerbeganamovementbasedonthebeliefsthatGermanswerethemasterrace

HitlerinWWI HitlerpleadedtobeintheBavarian(astateinGermany)ArmyandwasgrantedhisrequestHeservedasamessengerinaregimentthatexposedhimtoenemyfire(story)HewasshotinthelegandsufferedfromapoisongasattackHewasawardedtheIronCross– thehighestmilitaryhonorinGermany

TheWeimarRepublicThegovernmentincontrolbeforetheriseoftheNazis.TheywereveryunpopularafterWWIforseveralreasons:• ItwasassociatedwiththeTreatyofVersailleswhichwasextremelyunpopularinGermany• Itwasassociatedwiththemassiveinflationandeconomicruinofthe20’s•DemocracywasnotrunningsmoothlyinGermany,thereweretoomanypartiesandnoclearmajority

• Germany had many problems after WWI:• Lost lands that contained valuable natural

resources,• 2 ½ million Germans died,• 4 million were wounded,• Industry (factories) & farms in the country had

been destroyed, and highways, bridges, & roads were demolished.

• Government worked to fix these things, but a major obstacle stood in the way…• Treaty of Versailles:

o Germany had to pay reparations (payments) to the Allied countries for war damages, which left them in massive debt.

o Germany was forbidden to have a large army or navy, many military people lost their jobs

o Germany also lost a lot of its land and colonies. The loss of colonies meant German industry had trouble getting materials for its factories.

• Prices went up as goods became scarce (less available).

• Basic items such as food and clothing were not always available.

• Men had trouble finding jobs to support their families.

• In order to pay their debt, the government decided to print more money. The value of German money became extremely inflated…

HitlerandEarlyPoliticsHitlerhelpedformtheNationalSocialistGermanWorkers’ Party(Nazi)in1919andassumedleadershipin1921BeerHallPutsch(‘pooch’)November8th,1923◦AttemptbyHitlertoseizepowerandoverthrowthegovernment.◦ TheattemptfailedandHitlerwasimprisonedforfiveyearsforhightreason.

MeinKampfHitlerwroteMeinKampf (“MyStruggle)in1925whilehewasinprison

ThisbecametheNaziideology– anditattackedJews,Communists,democracy,andtheTreatyofVersailles.ItblamedthosegroupsforallofGermany’sproblems

HitleralsowrotethatGermansneededmoreroom.HowdoyouthinkhefeltGermansshouldgetmorespace?

Thebooksold/distributed10millioncopiesbetween1925-1934

Hitler’sRisetoPowerBy1932,theNaziPartywasthebiggestpoliticalpartyandheld230seats

Hitlerroseuptheranksandwasgiventhetitleofchancellor(theleaderupGermany’slawmakingbranch)

Justbeforethe1933election,theReichstag(parliament)wasburnedtotheground.ThepresidentofGermany,fearfulforhislife, grantedthechancellorfullcontroltodealwiththeuprising.Hitlernowhadthepowertodowhathewanted.

Hitler’sRisetoPowerTheEnablingAct

Afterthe1933election,HitlerproposedtheEnablingAct,whichwouldessentiallygivehimadictatorship– anditpassed!

TheEnablingAct…◦ Bannedallpoliticalpartiesexceptone(Nazis)◦ Jewswerenotallowedtobeincivilserviceprofessions

◦ LocalandstategovernmentswerestaffedbyNazimembers

HitlerSecuresAbsolutePowerWhenthepresidentofGermanydiedin1934,ParliamentdeclaredHitlerPresident.(ratherthanholdingelections)ThemilitarysworeanoathtoHitler,notthestateHitlerhadobtainedabsolutepower,andGermanybecameknownastheThirdReich

WhyVoteforHitler?1. Truebelievers

◦ ThesepeoplesharedthesameideologyasHitlerandbelievedhewastheirsavior–fromthedepression,theJews,theCommunists,andtheTreatyofVersailles.TheywereangeredtoseetheGermanpeopleweakenedandwantedtoriseagain.

2. Ignorance◦ PeopledidnotconsiderHitlertobeareal

threat

3. Didnottakehimseriously◦ PeoplejustthoughtHitlerwas‘odd’

4. Newpartyneeded◦ Thedepressionandhyperinflation

highlightedtheneedfornewpoliticalleadership.HeseemedlikeapoliticianwhowouldgetthingsdoneforGERMANY

TheNaziPartyHistoryoftheSwastika

TheSwastikaisareligioussymbolusedbytheEgyptians,Chinese,Romanarmies,andmanyothers

TheSwastikameansgoodluck!

TheNaziPartyusedtheSwastikabecausetheyfeltithadconnectionstooriginalcastesystemsthatavoidedracialmixing

TheSwastikaisbannedinmostcountries,exceptforreligiousorscholarlyreasons

HinduismJainism Nazism

TheNaziParty

TheSA(“BrownShirts”)

Hitler’sprivatearmyTheybulliedopponentsintoobeyingtheNaziPartyhowever,onceHitlerrosetopower,hehadtheSAreplacedbyaneworganization– theSS

ErnstRohm

TheNaziPartyTheSS(“BlackShirts”)

TheSSwereHitler’sprivatebodyguardsandwereledbyHeinrichHimmlerTheyarrestedandkilledanyonewhochallengedHitlerTheSStookoverlawenforcementinGermanyandimplementedthe‘FinalSolution’ Himmler

TheNaziParty

TheGestapoTheGestapowerethesecretpoliceofNaziGermanyTheyinvestigatedtreason,espionage,andsabotagecasesagainsttheNaziPartyTheGestapoalsosetupandadministeredtheconcentrationcamps

TheNaziPartyHitlerYouthTheHitlerYouthwasanorganizationundertheNaziPartyBy1936,theyhadoverfivemillionmembersintheorganizationTheywereindoctrinatedinanti-Semitism,andevendraftedintothemilitaryranksduringWWII

TheHitlerState“OttoBauer,a56yearoldbusinessman,saidonatraininJune1942thatGermanshadtwoalternatives:tokillHitlerorbekilledbyhim.Hewasoverheardbyamarriedcouplewhoreportedhim[totheGestapo].HewasbeheadedonSeptember16,1943forcausingdiscontentandunrest.”ItwasbyusingfearthatHitlerhadstoppedfreedomofspeechandexpression–everyonehadtoobeyNazipolicy,orfacetheconsequences!