Hitler and the Rise of the Nazi Party – Part II

Chapter 13.5

Adolf Hitler

� Hitler was released from prison after one year

� Many Germans believed that energetic leader Adolf Hitler would solve Germany’s economic problems and high unemployment

� As the head of the Nazi Party, Hitler promised to end reparations, create jobs, and re-arm Germany in defiance of the terms of the Treaty of Versailles

� Hitler was legally elected chancellor in 1933

� Within one year he was dictator over the new fascist state in Germany

Germans Attracted to Nazism

� 1) war veterans

� 2) workers

� 3) lower middle classes

� 4) small town Germans

� 5) business people

Adolf Hitler

Hitler’s first steps as dictator

� Suspended civil rights

� Destroyed socialists and Communists

� Outlawed other political parties

� Hitler executed disloyal Nazi Party members

� Hitler demanded absolute obedience

The German Reichs

� First Reich – Medieval Holy Roman Empire

� Second Reich – Bismarck’s German Empire (1871) following German unification

� Third Reich – Hitler’s German empire predicted to last 1000 years (it lasted from 1933-1945)

Third Reich

� To appeal to nationalism and recall Germany’s glorious past, Hitler called his government the Third Reich (Reich = empire)

� To combat the Depression, Hitler launched a public works program (e.g., highways, housing projects)

� In violation of the Versailles Treaty, Hitler re-armed Germany

� Hitler wanted to unite Germany and Austria because both countries speak German

� Where was the League of Nations to stop this???

Totalitarianism

� Hitler organized a brutal system of terror, repression, and totalitarian rule

� Nazis controlled all aspects of German life (government, religion, education, etc.)

� Nazis used the Gestapo, the secret police, to enforce the will of the Nazi Party

� The Gestapo purged any person who opposed the Nazi Party

Nuremberg Laws

� A fanatical anti-Semite, Hitler set out to expel the Jews from Germany

� Hitler blamed the Jews for Germany’s problems

� In 1935, the Nazis passed the Nuremberg Laws, which deprived Jews of German citizenship and placed severe restrictions on them

� The Nazis indoctrinated German youth and rewrote textbooks to reflect Nazi racial views

Examples of Nuremberg Laws

� Jews prohibited from marrying non-Jews

� Jews could not attend German schools

� Jews could not teach at schools or universities

� Jews banned from holding government jobs

� Jews prohibited from practicing law or medicine

� Jews could not publish books

� The Nazis began a terror campaign against Jews – many fled for their lives

Instructional chart issued to help bureaucrats distinguish Jews from Mischlinge (mixed race persons) and Aryans. The white figures are Aryans; the black figures Jews; and the shaded figures Mischlinge.

Chart to Define if You are Jewish

Kristallnacht (Night of Broken Glass)

� 1938 – Young Jew named Herschel Grynszpan killed a German diplomat in Paris

� Nazis retaliated by destroying Jewish synagogues, Jewish books, religious symbols, and Jewish businesses on November 9-10, 1938

� Nazi thugs attacked Jews throughout Germany

Kristallnacht

Video

� Watch this video about Kristallnacht:

� http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SCj9RJU2Y1Y

Nazi Cultural and Societal Influences

� Hitler also limited women’s roles and encouraged “pure-blooded Aryan”(blond hair, blue eyes) women to bear many children to raise the birthrate

� He sought to purge German culture of what he believed were corrupt influences

� Nazis denounced modern art and jazz, but glorified German artists and myths

� Jazz music was condemned for its African roots

Hitler and Religion

� Hitler despised Christianity as “weak”

� Hitler wanted to replace religion with racial beliefs

� He combined all Protestant sects into a single state church

� Nazis closed Catholic schools

� Although many clergy either supported the new regime or remained silent, some courageously spoke out against Hitler’s government

Authoritarian Rule in Germany

� Like Germany, most new nations in Eastern Europe slid from systems of democracy to authoritarian rule

� Economic problems and ethnic tensions contributed to instability and helped fascist rulers to gain power

� The new dictators promised to keep order, and won the backing of the military and the wealthy

� They also supported the growth of anti-semitism – using Jewish people as scapegoats of national problems

Powerpoint Questions – Part II(18 points)

1. What did many Germans believe about Hitler?

2. What three things did Hitler promise to do as head of the Nazi Party? (3 points)

3. How did Hitler become the chancellor of Germany?

4. Why was Germany defined as a fascist state?

5. What steps did Hitler take as dictator (5 points)?

6. What did Hitler do that violated the Treaty of Versailles?

Powerpoint Questions – Part II(18 points)

7. Identify the German secret police force.

8. What laws deprived German Jews of citizenship and placed severe restrictions on them?

9. Identify and describe the events of November 9-10, 1938.

10. What were Aryan women obligated to do?

11. Why did Hitler dislike jazz music?

12. With what did Hitler want to replace religion?

The End