Download Independence High School Global History Regents Mr. Wisell Unit 3

Independence High School
Global History Regents
Mr. Wisell
Unit 3: A Half-Century of Crisis and Achievement
CW 3-10: Hitler and Nazi Germany
(Assignment B)
Who Was Adolf Hitler and What Did He Believe In?
Adolf Hitler was born in Austria on April 20, 1889. He lived in the capital of
Austria, Vienna, where he first developed his views about government and
society.
Hitler was a racist. He was especially racist towards Jews. This is called antSemitism. Hitler was also an extreme nationalist. He believed that German and
Austrian people were members of the same nation. He called them the Aryan
race. He believed everyone who was not an Aryan should leave Germany.
Hitler served for four years in the Austrian army during World War I. When the
war ended, he decided to enter politics. In 1919 he joined the German Worker’s
Party, which was a nationalist political party. By 1921, he had taken control of the
party and renamed it the Nazi Party. The Nazi Party was a fascist political party.
He formed a party militia called the Brownshirts. They trained like members of
the military.
In November 1923, Hitler tried to lead an uprising in Munich, a city in Germany.
He wanted to overthrow the government and take control. He did not succeed
and was arrested. While he was in jail he wrote his famous book Mein Kampf,
which means My Struggle.
In his book, Hitler wrote down all his ideas about anti-Semitism, German
nationalism, and also anticommunism. He believed that Aryan people were
superior to all other people. He wrote that superior people like Aryans should
have more lebensraum, which means “living space” in German.
How Did Hitler Take Power in Germany?
When Hitler got out of jail he decided that it would be better to take power in
Germany legally. He wanted to recruit more people into the Nazi Party. By 1932,
the Nazi Party had over 800,000 members. The Nazi Party was the most popular
political party in Germany.
The Nazi Party was popular because Germany’s economy was so bad in the early
1930s. Inflation and unemployment were very high. Hitler promised to make a
new Germany. Hitler would throw big rallies with millions of supporters. He
would give long speeches about how the Nazi Party would make Germany rich
and powerful again.
In 1933, the president of Germany, President Hindenburg made Hitler the
chancellor of Germany. Hindenburg was a weak president and very old. He was
afraid of Hitler and the Nazi Party. On March 23, 1933, the German Parliament,
called the Reichstag passed the Enabling Act. This act gave Hitler the power to
do whatever he wanted for four years to deal with Germany’s problems.
Hitler immediately made all political parties except the Nazi Party illegal. He
removed from government all Jewish people and anyone who did not support
him. He set up large prison camps called concentration camps for people who
opposed him.
Hindenburg died in 1934. Hitler abolished (got rid of) the position of President.
As Chancellor, Hitler now had complete control of Germany. He took the title of
Fuhrer, or “Leader.”
How Did Hitler Run Germany From 1933-1939?
Hitler had one major goal. He wanted the Aryan race to dominate Europe and the
rest of the world. He wanted to start a new German Empire. He believed there
had already been two German Empires (the Holy Roman Empire and the German
Empire from 1871 to 1918). He wanted to make a third Germany Empire called
the Third Reich. “Reich” is German for “Empire.”
Hitler knew that in order to create the Third Reich he needed the complete
support of all the German people. He used a lot of propaganda to get the German
people to support him. He used terror against people who did not support him.
He created a secret police force called the SS. The SS was led by Heinrich
Himmler. The SS arrested, tortured, and executed people who opposed Hitler
and the Nazi Party.
Hitler also worked to improve the German economy. He stopped making the
reparation payments to Britain and France. He hired Germany companies to build
new roads, bridges, and tunnels in Germany. He also rearmed Germany by
ordering German companies to build more planes, tanks, boats, and guns. His
policies worked. In 1932, 6 million people were unemployed in Germany. By
1937, fewer than 500,000 people were unemployed.
Hitler and the Nazis also persecuted Jews in Germany. Hitler blamed Jews for
why Germany lost World War I. He also blamed Jews for all the unemployment
and inflation in Germany.
In September 1935 Hitler passed the Nuremburg Laws. These laws took German
citizenship away from German Jews. They made it illegal for Jews to marry nonJews. All Jewish people had to wear a yellow Star of David on their clothes to
identify themselves as Jews. If they didn’t wear the Star of David they would be
sent to a concentration camp.
On November 9, 1938, the SS led an attack on Jewish businesses throughout
Germany. They burned synagogues and destroyed over seven thousand Jewish
businesses. At least 100 Jews were killed. Thirty thousand Jews were sent to
concentration camps. This night was called Kristallnacht, which means the
“night of shattered glass” because of all the destruction.
After Kristallnacht, more anti-Semitic laws were passed. Jews were not allowed to
use public transportation and were not allowed into any public buildings like
hospitals or schools. Jews could not work in any retail stores. The SS encouraged
Jews to leave Germany. Many German Jews, like Albert Einstein, left Germany
and came to the United States.
Independence High School
Global History Regents
Mr. Wisell
Unit 3: A Half-Century of Crisis and Achievement
CW 3-10: Hitler and Nazi Germany
(Assignment B)
1. What were Hitler’s main ideas?
2. How did Hitler take power in Germany?
3. How did Hitler fix the German economy?
4. How did the Nazis persecute Jews in Germany?
Write the letter of the answer that correctly completes each
sentence.
5. The Nazi Party was a ____ political party.
A. liberal
B. republican
C. communist
6. In 1933, Hindenburg made Hitler the ____ of Germany.
D. fascist
A. chancellor
senator
B. president
C. prime minister
D.
7. The ____ gave Hitler the power to do whatever he wanted in 1933.
A. president
Act
B. Nazi Act
C. Power Act
D. Enabling
8. Hitler created a secret police force called the ____.
A. OVRA
B. FBI
C. SS
D. KGB
9. The ____ took German citizenship away from German Jews, made it illegal for
Jews to marry non-Jews, and required Jews to wear yellow Stars of David on their
clothes.
A. Enabling Act B. Nuremburg Laws
C. Kristallnacht D. SS
10. After ____, Jews were not allowed to enter public buildings, could not use
public transportation, and were encouraged to leave Germany.
A. Kristallnacht B. Nuremburg Laws
C. Enabling Act D. World War I