Chapter 17 Section 4
Hitler and the Rise of Nazi Germany
Setting the Scene In November 1923, a German army veteran and leader of
an extremist party, Adolf Hitler, tried to follow Mussolini's example. His brown-shirted thugs burst into a beer hall in Munich, where a political meeting was set to start. Hitler climbed onto a table and fired his pistol. "The National
Socialist revolution has begun!" he shouted.The coup failed, and Hitler was soon behind bars. But Hitler was a force that could not be ignored forever.
Within a decade, he made a new bid for power. This time, he succeeded by legal means.
Hitler's rise to power raises disturbing questions that we still debate today. Why did Germany, which had a democratic government in the 1920s, become a
totalitarian state in the 1930s? How could a ruthless, hate-filled dictator gain the enthusiastic support of many
Germans?
I. The Weimar RepublicIn 1919, the Germans created a democratic government known as the Weimar Republic
I. The Weimar RepublicThe republic faced severe problems, was politically weak, and came under constant fire from both the left and right
One of the main problems for the Weimar government was the right-wing the claim that the Army had been 'stabbed in the back' by the government
I. The Weimar RepublicWhen Germany fell behind in reparations payments, they printed huge quantities of paper money, setting off out of control inflation
I. The Weimar RepublicIn 1924, reparations payments were reduced and US loans helped the German economy recover - until the Great Depression hit
II. Adolf HitlerHitler was born in Austria in 1889, later moved to Germany, and fought in the German army during World War I
Corporal Hitler (right) with two other soldiers Little Adolf
II. Adolf HitlerIn 1919, he joined the right-wing National Socialist German Workers, or Nazi, party and soon became its leader
II. Adolf HitlerHitler organized the Nazis into fighting squads of "Storm Troopers" who battled their political enemies in the streets
Nazi storm troopers block the entrance to a Jewish-owned store in Berlin. "Germans, defend yourselves,
buy only at German shops!"
II. Adolf HitlerIn 1923, Hitler made a failed attempt to seize power in Munich and was sentenced to prison, where he wrote Mein Kampf ("My Struggle")
Scene of the "Beer Hall Putsch"
II. Adolf HitlerMein Kampf reflected extreme nationalism, racism, and anti-Semitism: Germans were a "master race" of Aryans whose greatest enemies were the Jews
II. Adolf HitlerGermany, led by a Fuhrer, must expand to gain Lebensraum (living space) and inferior races must bow to Aryan needs
II. Adolf HitlerThe Great Depression played into Hitler's hands and as unemployment rose, Nazi membership grew to almost a million
Unemployed looking for work, 1930
II. Adolf HitlerWhen Nazis and Communists won seats in the Reichstag, conservatives feared communism and elected Hitler chancellor in 1933
II. Adolf HitlerHitler suspended civil rights, destroyed the socialists and Communists, disbanded political parties, and purged the Nazi party
'They salute with both hands now'
On the night of 30 June 1934 Hitler ordered the SS to kill more than 400 SA men in what became known as the “Night of
the Long Knives”
III. Hitler's Third ReichHitler organized a system of terror, repression, and totalitarian rule - SS troops enforced his will and the Gestapo rooted out opposition
III. Hitler's Third ReichTo eliminate unemployment, Hitler created public works programs and began rearming Germany, in violation of the Versailles treaty
1933 - AutobahnGermany’s 100,000-man army surrounded by
heavily armed neighbors
III. Hitler's Third Reich"Hitler Youth" pledged absolute loyalty to Germany and undertook physical fitness programs to prepare for war
League of German Maidens
"The weak must be chiseled away. I want young men and women who can suffer pain. A young German must be as swift as a greyhound, as tough as leather, and as hard as Krupp's steel."
"Youth Serves the Führer."
III. Hitler's Third ReichNazis used education as a propaganda tool, sought to purify German culture, and sought to replace religion with Hitler’s racial creed
IV. The Campaign Against Jews BeginsHitler wanted to drive Jews from Germany and in 1935, the Nuremberg Laws placed severe restrictions on Jews
The "Nuremberg Laws" established a pseudo-scientific basis for racial discrimination
On 15 September 1935 at the Reich Party Convention in Nuremberg, Adolf Hitler announces the “Law for the Protection of German Blood and German Honour” as well as the “Reich Citizenship Law”. The “Nuremberg Laws” are used to deprive the Jewish population in Germany of its civil rights and to open all avenues to their further persecution.
IV. The Campaign Against Jews BeginsKristallnacht (Night of Broken Glass) – Nazi-led mobs attacked Jewish communities all over Germany on Nov. 9 and 10, 1938
During Kristallnacht a synagogue burns in Siegen, Germany.
November 10, 1938.
IV. The Campaign Against Jews BeginsJews were sent to concentration camps and the Nazis began making plans for the "final solution“ - the extermination of all Jews
Looking Ahead
In the 1930s, Germany became Europe's second fascist state. Germans of all classes responded to Hitler's hypnotic speeches and programs, which restored their national pride. Despite the warnings of some courageous Germans, most individuals ignored the ugly side of Nazi rule. Those who opposed Nazism were not united and were soon silenced.
While Hitler won absolute power at home, he moved boldly to expand Germany's power in Europe. In the next chapter, you will see how Nazi aggression set the stage for the largest war the world has yet seen.
