Hitler & the Rise of Nazi Germany Ms. Garratt Honors World History

Struggles of the Weimar Republic  Hated due to signing Versailles Treaty.  Lack of democratic tradition in Germany  Weak parliamentary gov due to high # of parties.  This forced the gov to form coalition govs which easily fell apart.  It was under attack from both conservatives and liberals

Inflation  In 1923 Germany fell behind in its reparations  So France occupied the coal- rich Ruhr Valley  Workers went on strike  German gov printed huge quantities of currency to pay reparations  Result was severe inflation  German mark became almost worthless.

Recovery  Dawes Plan – US lent Germany $billions to help stabilize the German economy and pay reparations  France withdrew from Ruhr Valley  Germany began to prosper until Gt. Depression hit.  Hitler promised to restore German greatness & put the people back to work

Hitler  Despised Weimar gov & joined Nazi party in 1919  Tried to seize power in 1923  Was arrested & sent to jail where he wrote Mein Kampf (My struggle)

Landesberg Prison

Major Ideas of Mein Kampf  Extreme nationalism  Race was the single-most important factor in Nazi ideology. –The Aryans were the master race  Jews were inferior & scapegoated for long list of problems confronting Germany. Very antisemitic.  Fascist govs were all anti communist.  Lebensraum demanded by Nazis  Women and Motherhood  Slavic people as slaves to Germans

What the critics are saying about Mein Kampf

Road to Power  Gt Depression helped Hitler’s rise to power  Promised to end reparations, create jobs & rearm Germany  Gov was paralyzed by divisions & both Nazis & Communists won more seats in Reichstag  In 1933 conservative politicians asked Hitler to become chancellor  They despised him but planned to use/control him  He gained power legally

Hitler & Third Reich  Within a year he suspended civil rights  Germany became one-party state  He disbanded other political parties & sent political enemies to concentration camps.  Repudiated Versailles Treaty  Created totalitarian state  Used brutal system of terror & violence  Secret police (Gestapo) enforced Hitler’s will  Purged his own party.  Built concentration camps for those who opposed him

Totalitarian State  Single party dictatorship  State control of the economy  Police spies & state terrorism  Strict censorship & government control of the media  Use of schools & media to indoctrinate citizens  Demands unquestioning obedience to Hitler  All of these are also elements of Fascism.  What then is the difference? In fascism the element of race & nationality is paramount.  In a Communist society the goal is world revolution and elimination of nationalism

Economic Policy  Hitler used deficit spending to solve Germany’s economic problems  Started huge public works projects  Built highways, housing  Began rearming Germany in violation of Versailles Treaty  All this stimulated the economy and employed people  Preserved big business but it was under gov control along with labor  Few objected because standard of living improved

Social Policy  Indoctrination with racist ideology.  Youth groups were taught absolute loyalty to Hitler  Youth was prepared for war  Women were dismissed from upper level jobs & the university.  Told their greatest contribution was motherhood.  Lebensborn program  Aryan mothers were offered rewards for having lots of babies

Purging German Culture  Nazis denounced: –Modern art (Dada, surrealism, futurism) –Jazz –All Quiet on the Western Front (novel) –All works by Jewish authors –Mentally ill were euthanized –Homosexuals sent to concentration camps –Jews lost jobs and civil rights

What type of art is this?

Nazism & the Churches  Hitler saw Christianity as weak  Wanted to replace it with a racial creed  Combined all Protestant sects into one single state church to better control them.  Many Catholic churches were closed and the clergy was silenced  Some did support Hitler though including the Pope who recognized the Nazi regime and never uttered a complaint against what it was doing to the Jews

Some Clergy Supported Hitler

Campaign against the Jews  Nuremberg Laws 1935  Over 125 laws passed against Jews between  Kristallnacht 1938  Evian Conference 1938  Ghetto-ization  Deportation  Einsatzgruppen  Wannsee Conference – Final Solution

How Jews Torment Animals

How Jews Cheat in Business

Money is the God of the Jews

When you see a cross remember how the Jews brutally murdered Christ

How to recognize Jews?

Kristallnacht  Retaliation for murder of Nazi official in Paris  Savagely destroyed and vandalized Jewish synagogues & businesses  18,000 Jews rounded up and sent to concentration camps  After destruction of Jewish property Jewish communities were given a bill to clean it up

Synagogue in Berlin

Maps showing where synagogues were destroyed

Jewish Businesses Vandalized

Authoritarianism in Eastern Europe  Ethnic & religious rivalries persisted & undermined political stability  Agric economies lacked capital to industrialize & modernize  Instability of govs helped fascist rulers gain power  With the exception of Czechoslavakia & Finland all Eastern European govs were run by right-wing dictators

Mein Kampf