Download Hitler and the Rise of Nazi Germany

Hitler and the Rise of
Nazi Germany
10.7 Students analyze the rise of totalitarian governments after
World War I.
1.
2.
3.
Understand the causes and consequences of the
Russian Revolution, including Lenin's use of
totalitarian means to seize and maintain control
(e.g., the Gulag).
Trace Stalin's rise to power in the Soviet Union and
the connection between economic policies, political
policies, the absence of a free press, and systematic
violations of human rights (e.g., the Terror Famine in
Ukraine).
Analyze the rise, aggression, and human costs of
totalitarian regimes (Fascist and Communist) in
Germany, Italy, and the Soviet Union, noting
especially their common and dissimilar traits.
From the Kaiser to Hitler
• When the Kaiser steeped down after being defeated in
World War I, Germany went into chaos. The Weimar
Republic, which was set up after the Kaiser stepped
down, had troubles cause it was being blamed for the
massive restrictions of the Versailles Peace Treaty.
• These restrictions along with the coming of the Great
Depression brought people to demand a leader who
could provide jobs and rebuild there pride. The man who
stepped up was none other than Hitler.
Adolf Hitler
• Emblematic of German
Problem:
– Only success came in war—
won a minor medal
– Believed that Germany
“stabbed in the back”
– Germany should have won the
war
– Unemployed after the war—no
jobs
– Couldn’t get into art school—
claimed only Jews got in. He
had no artistic talent
– Formed a paramilitary group
to substitute for Germany
Army—National Socialists
Adolf Hitler
•
•
In 1920, an ex-solider from
World War I, headed the
National Socialist German
Workers, or Nazi, party.
Hitler wooed the people by
telling the people the were
superior beings to other races.
He was appointed Chancellor of
Germany in 1933.
• Hitler ruled as a dictator
making Germany a one-party
state, ending civil rights, and
silenced enemies with force
Promised German People
– Stability
– Jobs
– To be Proud Again
– To Reverse the
Versailles Treaty
– To End “Weak”
Democracy
– To “Get Rid of” the
Jews
– Lebenstraum— “Living
Space for Germans”
Nazi Party Rule
• Hitler put all business under control of the government.
He did raise the standards of living for the Germans in all
aspects of life.
• Most Germans accepted the loss of freedoms and they
did not question Nazi racism. They blamed all there
troubles on the Jews. No one stopped the military
buildup cause it produced jobs and gave them food and
money.
Nazi’s win popularity in Germany
• Defeat in World War I
• Versailles Treaty—England and France “Stabbed
Germany in the Back”
• Great Depression: High Employment, Low Profits,
People Lose Savings
• German Military Tradition: Frederick the Great—Prussia;
Otto Von Bismarck—Unified Germany; Luddendorf;
Hindenburg
• Anti-Semitism—Jews as Scapegoats: “Had all the jobs”;
“Controlled Politics”; “Had all the money” (None of the
above was true but it didn’t matter)
State Police
– SA Storm Troopers (Ernst Rohm)—they wanted to get rid of Nazi’s
enemies. They were called the “Brown shirts” used more for presence
during rallie
– SS—Schutzstaffel (Heinrich Himmler)—they were called the black
shirts. Carried out most of the German atrocities during World War IIHitler’s Secret Police
Key Dates
• President Hindenburg Names
Hitler Chancellor in January
30, 1933.
• Street Violence
• February 27 Reichstag Fire—
Legislature Building Burns
Down
• March 5 New Elections: Nazis
288; Nationalists 52; Center
74; Socialists 120;
Communists 81; Others 23—
Nazis win only 44% of vote
• March 23, 1933—Reichstag
passes (with huge majority) the
Enabling Act which made
Hitler dictator until April 1,
1937
• July 14, 1933—Nazi Party was
made only legal party
• November 12, 1933 Nazis win
92% of the vote
• Main Point:
– Only at this date does
Hitler behave illegally
– July 1934-SS and Army
purge the SA and they
begin to secretly arm the
army
– 1935 Denounces Versailles
Treaty
– 1936 Remilitarizes the
Rhineland
Nazi Revolution
• June 30 “Night of the long knives” – Nazis
kill 77 people, mostly high ranking SA
members—Ernst Roehm, Gregor Strasser
• August 1 Law combining President and
Chancellor
• August 2 Death of President von
Hindenburg
• August 19 Plebiscite approves Hitler as
President with 88% voting yes
Nazi Racism
• Belief German “Aryan” Race Master Race
–
–
–
–
Jews inferior
Slavs inferior
Gypsies inferior
Eugenics-Social Darwinism run amok
• 1935 Nuremberg Laws
–
–
–
–
Identify Jews (with Yellow Star
Deprive Jews of Citizenship
Allows only so many Jews in specific jobs
Outlaw marriage and sex between Jews and nonJews
German Aggression
•
•
9 of November 1938
Night of Broken Glass or
Kristallnacht
– In response to assassination
of German diplomat in Paris:
• Nazis set synagogues on
fire
• Broke Jewish shop
windows
• Beat up Jews—91 killed;
thousands injured
• Confiscated Jewish
property
• Jews forbidden to collect
insurance
• 20,000+ Jews sent to
concentration camp
Nazi Rise To Power
World War I
•German war
debts
•Loss of
German
colonies
•Wish for
revenge
Weak
Government
•Doubts about
Weimar
Republic
•Quarrels
among political
groups
•Wish to return
to strong leader
like the Kaiser.
Economic
Problems
•Inflation
•Worldwide
depression
•Unemployment
Leadership
•Use of terror
and force
•Idea of a
super race
•Shift of blame
to minority
group