Download Hitler`s Rise to Power

HITLER’S RISE TO POWER:
Setting the stage for world war ii
1914
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Two major European alliances:
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TRIPLE ALLIANCE (CENTRAL POWERS):
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GERMANY
AUSTRIA
ITALY
TRIPLE ENTENTE (ALLIED POWERS):
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BRITAIN
FRANCE
RUSSIA
TRIPLE ENTENTE
TRIPLE ALLIANCE
JUNE 28, 1914
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Archduke Ferdinand, heir to Austria’s throne,
and his wife Sophie led a parade through the streets
of Sarajevo, Bosnia.
Serbians resented Austria for taking the province of
Bosnia from Serbia in 1908.
An 18-year-old student from the Serbian Nationalist
Society fired into Ferdinand’s open carriage, killing
Ferdinand and Sophie.
JUNE 28, 1914
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Austria immediately declared war on Serbia. What follows
shows the sequence of events from that point.
Italy ignored the Alliance and
supported the Entente; it fought
poorly and won little; in 1922
Mussolini took over the country.
Fighting Begins 1914
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Britain launched a naval blockade against Germany. Germany
declared it would attack any ship (passenger or warship) if it
entered the war zone around Britain.
In 1915, the British passenger ship Lusitania was attacked (sunk in
18 minutes) by a German
submarine. 1,200 people
died, 128 Americans.
April 2, 1917
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President Woodrow Wilson of
the United States declared war on
Germany after it sunk five
American ships.
November 11, 1918
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ARMISTICE (lay down weapons) was signed by warring countries as
Germany was pushed back to its borders.
President Wilson proposed that nations settle their disputes by
negotiations in the future—never by war.
Proposed the establishment of a League of Nations, which later
became the United Nations after WWII. Germany was not allowed to
join.
June 28, 1919
Europe declined Wilson’s plan as being too soft.
 The Triple Entente BLAMED GERMANY for ALL of the war
damage—loss of life and property—throughout Europe,
especially in France.
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Germany Forced to Sign the
Treaty of Versailles in 1919
 Accept TOTAL BLAME for starting WW I (complete humiliation)
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Give up 13% of its land (overseas colonies in Asia and Africa were given to
France, England, and others)
Severely restrict its military (100,000 army soldiers, no submarines)
 Owe $25 billion in war reparations (pay for damages) to the Allied
countries—132 thousand million gold marks
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Results for Germany
By 1921, Germany suffered from “hyper-inflation” where prices were
rising five-fold in one week.
 Inflation was caused by printing money to finance the war debt and
social welfare programs
 The middle classes suffered the most since inflation wiped out their
savings.
1914
4 marks = $1 U.S. dollar
1919
65 marks = $1 U.S. dollar
1922 17,972 marks = $1 U.S. dollar
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Results for Germany
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After America’s 1929 stock market crash, Germany fell into a Great
Depression—people lost their jobs and the economy spiraled even
more.
1929 Unemployment = 8.5%
1932 Unemployment = 29.9%
What does this have to do
with Adolf Hitler and WWII?
Corporal Hitler served in the German Army, fought on the Front Line,
and received many medals for valor.
 When the 1918 Armistice was signed, the German Army was never
forced to “surrender.” Some Germans, including Hitler, believed that
the German Army could have fought on to victory.
 Hitler and other German soldiers felt betrayed by the German
politicians who signed the Treaty of Versailles, calling them the
“November Criminals.”
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Hitler Rises to Power
1918 - 1933
Hitler molded the German Workers’ Party into the National
Socialist German Workers’ Party, or NAZI Party, for short.
It became a paramilitary group with the aim of bringing down
the existing Weimar government with no respect for the
democratic process
NSDAP Party Platform 1920
Dismantle Versailles Treaty
Create a Greater Germany with its original borders
Establish a “national community” without political parties or a
parliament
Allow only citizens of German blood to be members in the national
community
Hitler took over the NSDAP in 1921
Hitler Rises to Power
1923
In 1923, Hitler and the NSDAP tried to take power in a coup
d’état by marching on Berlin
He was arrested and sentenced five years; he served only one
At his trial, he was portrayed as the “patriotic” victim who was
fighting for Germany, gaining many supporters
Hitler Rises to Power
1920’s to 1933
The Nazi Party went the legitimate route; because of the social
unrest and unstable government, the Party gained many
supporters.
Hitler was elected Chancellor in 1933 with the rise of the Nazi
Party. Once in office, Germany became a dictatorship.
Hitler Rises to Power
February 1933
In February 1933, Parliament (Reichstag) was burned
down
Hitler persuaded President Hindenburg to sign a
decree for the “protection of the people and the state”
Hitler Rises to Power
February 1933
This decree suspended freedom of thought, the press, association,
secrecy of written correspondence, inviolability of the home
The death penalty was reintroduced
Arrest for reasons of security was legalized, allowing political enemies to
be held
Hitler Rises to Power
June 30, 1933
Night of the Long Knives
Ernst Rohm was head of the SA, the militia part of the NSDAP—street thugs
that wanted revolution and violence
Hitler needed the backing of the regular German army to solidify his power
In one night, Rohm and 100 other
SA members were murdered
Violence and illegality had now
been established as instruments of
government
Hitler Rises to Power
July 14, 1933
A law was passed sanctioning ONE PARTY and one alone—
the NAZIS.
Autonomy of all local and regional governments were abolished
Parliament (Reichstag) would only meet a few times to bless Hitler’s
decrees
With President Hindenburg’s death, Hitler declared himself President of
the Reich, Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces, and Chancellor.
Hitler Rises to Power
1933
Hitler took the title “Führer” (leader) and called his government
the Third Reich (empire that would last 1000 years).
Hitler promised to bring back German pride and rebuild their
economy. Posters said “Hitler: Our Last Hope.”
Hitler Rises to Power
1918 - 1933
Hitler wrote the book Mein Kampf (My Struggle) in 1923,
which described his life and political ideas. It became the
manifesto of the Nazi movement.
He was one of the first politicians to use radio to reach an
audience of millions. He was also a brilliant speaker.
Official Nazi Program
NSDAP platform base, PLUS:
Hatred of the Jewish people became the focus of the Nazi
program.
Of its 25 points, 8 were about Jews.
No Jew could be a German citizen.
Jews were less than human.
Jews started WWI.
Jews must be driven away or completely destroyed.
Start of World War II
Hitler began to defy the Treaty of
Versailles by building back the German
Army.
1938, Hitler invaded parts of Czechoslovakia and annexed Austria. The world
said “okay.”
In 1939, Hitler invaded Poland: England and France declared war on
Germany.
EUROPE: Eve of WWII, 1939
NAZI OCCUPATION by 1942
ALLIES vs. AXIS POWERS
 Allied Powers:
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Great Britain (Winston Churchill)
France (Charles DeGaul)
United States (Franklin D. Roosevelt)
Russia (Joseph Stalin)
 Axis Powers:
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Germany (Adolf Hitler)
Italy (Benito Mussolini)
Japan (Emperor Hirohito)
U.S. ENTERS WWII
 December 7, 1941
 “A day that will live in infamy.”
 Japan bombs Pearl Harbor, Hawaii
 U.S. declares war on Japan and Germany.
ANNE FRANK’S FAMILY
 Otto Frank moved his family out of Germany in
1933 after Hitler came to power.
 They moved to Holland.
 Holland was invaded by the Nazis in 1940.