HISTORICAL CONTEXT

 Nazi party started by Hitler – 1921  New Nazi constitution  Attempted overthrow of government – Munich (Beer Hall) Putsch – 8 November, 1923  Hitler jailed

 Writing of Mein Kampf  Beginning of the attempt to be voted into power.  By 1932 – Nazi party largest party in Reichstag  1933 – Hitler Chancellor

chancellor Reichstag fire Enabling Act Night of the Long Knives Death of Hindenburg Oath by Armed forces Fuhrer

FearWomenYouthEducationRepression Racial Policies Foreign Policy Work and Unemployed LeisurePropaganda

“[There is]…the tendency of human societies to single out certain individuals and place them in positions of authority, and to find justifications for doing so. (Lipman – The Allure of Toxic Leaders)

It was all due to the faith of one man! Yes, you who called us godless, we found our faith in Adolf Hitler, and through him found God once again. That is the greatness of our day, that is our good fortune! (German Propaganda Archive) In Upper Bavaria 'unreserved recognition for the energy, cleverness, and courage of the Fuhrer could reportedly be heard everywhere. (Kershaw) After 1934 he was seen as the upholder of public morality, cleansing public life of the dissolute immorality and corruption of the SA leaders. (Kershaw) Many genuinely believed that matters, especially if unpalatable, were deliberately kept from Hitler, and that if he learned of them he would act swiftly to set things right.

Hitler, and Hitler alone, seemed in the end to stand in the eyes of many Germans between them and total annihilation. (Lindner) He used simple, straightforward language that ordinary people could understand, short sentences, powerful, emotive slogans... There were no qualifications in what he said; everything was absolute, uncompromising, irrevocable, undeviating, unalterable, final. He seemed... to speak straight from the heart, and to express their own deepest fear and desire. (Brooks – The Rise of Nazi Germany) He speaks his heart, and therefore reaches the hearts of those who hear him. (Goebbels) Hitler's used systematic image control. Such actions contributed to the personality cult in that they promoted a strong image of Hitler.

 Excellent public speaker  Propaganda machine – he was totally in control of his own image.  Seen by the people as “father”

TO 1945

 The Nuremberg Trials were a series of military tribunals  The first and best known of these trials was the Trial of the Major War Criminals before the International Military Tribunal ( IMT ), which tried 24 of the most important captured leaders of Nazi Germany, though several key architects of the war (such as Adolf Hitler, Heinrich Himmler, and Joseph Goebbels) had committed suicide before the trials began.

 The crimes these men were tried for were:  Participation in a common plan or conspiracy for the accomplishment of a crime against peace  Planning, initiating and waging wars of aggression and other crimes against peace  War crimes  Crimes against humanity

 Speer was found guilty of the last 2 charges and sentenced to 20 years imprisonment.  /wiki/File: _21_Nazi_Chiefs_Gui lty.ogv /wiki/File: _21_Nazi_Chiefs_Gui lty.ogv