Download Adolf Hitler

Adolf Hitler
Monday, November 17th,2014
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler (April 20, 1889 – April 30th, 1945)
• Born in Branau am Inn, AUSTRIA
• Bad relationship with his father, and after his death in 1903, Hitler dropped out
of high school
• Moved to Vienna & applied to the Academy of fine arts
• Rejected twice  1907 & 1908 because he was “unfit for painting”
• His mother died in 1907, and he ran out of $  homeless
• He moved to Munich, Germany  volunteered for the Bavarian Army in WW1
Hitler’s Time in the Army
• He served as a dispatch runner on the Western Front in France & Belgium
• Present during: Battle of Ypres, Battle of the Somme, Battle of Arras, Battle of
Passchendaele
• Wounded in the battle of the Somme
•  received medal for bravery: the Iron Cross 2nd in 1914, Iron Cross First Class 1918,
Black Wound Badge for frostbite in 1918.
• He was in the hospital when he heard about Germany’s defeat
Hitler & Politics
• Patriotic towards Germany, believed Germany was undefeated in the field &
instead the home front lost the war
• “Humiliated” with the Treaty of Versailles
• German Worker’s Party member
• GWP became the Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei :National
Socialist German Workers Party  Nazi‘s.
• Gained popularity as a speaker in beer halls between 1919- 1923
• Views: Nationalist, denounced Treaty of Versailles, opponents, & jews.
Jail Time & “Mein Kampf”
• 1923: Hitler attempted a coup on the German government, called “The Beer
Hall Putsch”  failed attempt
• He was sent to jail for TREASON (5 years, but only served just over 1 year)
• In jail, he wrote “Mein Kampf” (My struggles)
-autobiography detailing his political ideologies & plans for Germany
• He was released from prison & returned to the Nazi’s to continue
His politics
•
Rise of Nazi Germany
• Treaty of Versailles
• Stock Market Crash, 1929
Germany was in rough shape
• The Nazi party seemed promising:
• Hitler had a reputation & was a captivating speaker
• Germany was weak from the T of V & the Depression
• Nazi Party promised to reject the Versailles Treaty, strengthen the economy, and
provide jobs
• Hitler promised party would pursue political power solely through democratic
elections….
Hitler’s Rise
• Hitler was appointed Chancellor of Germany in
1933 by President Hindenburg
• After a fire in the Reichstag (parliament building),
Hitler convinced the President to pass a law which suspended basic rights and allowed
detention without trial  4,000 or more German Communists were arrested…
• Enabling Act passed through continued Communist Party banning and dirty
play
• The Enabling Act passed….turning the Nazis into a legal dictatorship
Hitler’s Secured Position
• In order to maintain his position and power, Hitler used forced and
intimidation
• Opposing parties were intimidated violently into disbanding
• Or, they were arrested and placed in concentration camps
• 14 July 1933  The Nazis are the only political party in Germany
• Fuhrer: President Hindenburg died in 1934, Hitler was able to assumed the
Head of State position : he merged presidency with chancellorship, &
became head of the army