 At the end of World War I and under the threat of a communist revolution, Kaiser Wilhelm II abdicated  In 1919, German leaders drafted a constitution in the city of Weimar  Set up a democratic government known as the Weimar Republic  Created a parliamentary system led by a chancellor, or prime minister

 The republic faced severe problems from the start:  It was weak politically and the Weimar Republic was blamed for signing the despised Versailles Treaty  Germany fell behind on its reparations payments  France occupied the Ruhr Valley  Plagued with extremely high inflation An item that cost 100 marks in July 1922 cost 944,000 marks by August 1923  The Dawes plan of 1924  Helped lower Germany’s reparations payment

 Hitler was born in Austria in 1899  While living in Vienna, Hitler developed the fanatical anti-Semitism  Hitler later moved to Germany and fought in the German army during World War I  By 1920, he was the leader of the National Socialist German Workers (Nazi) party  Organized his supporters into fighting squads called “Storm Troopers”

 In 1923, Hitler made a failed attempt to seize power in Munich by starting a revolution at a beer hall  He was arrested and found guilty of treason  While in prison, he wrote Mein Kampf (“My Struggle”) that would become the book for Nazi goals and ideology  Reflected extreme nationalism, racism and anti- Semitism  Argued that Germans belonged to a superior “master race” of Aryans, or light-skinned Europeans, whose greatest enemies were the Jews  Claimed that Germany did not lose the war but had been betrayed by a conspiracy of Marxists, Jews, corrupt politicians and business leaders  Hitler urged Germans to unite and expand to gain Lebensraum or living space

 Found enthusiastic followers during the Great Depression  Promised an end to reparations, create jobs, and defy the Versailles treaty by rearming Germany  With the government paralyzed, both Nazis and Communists won more seats in the Reichstag  Fearing the growth of communism, conservative politicians turned to Hitler  President Paul von Hindenburg and his government thought they could control him  Hitler was elected Chancellor in 1933

 Once in power, he suspended civil rights, destroyed the socialists and Communists and disbanded other political parties  Demanded unquestioning obedience to the Nazi party and the Fuhrer  Under Hitler’s new Third Reich, he said the German master race would dominate Europe  Used terror, repression, and totalitarian rule  Elite black-uniformed SS troops enforced the Fuhrer’s will  His secret police, the Gestapo, rooted out opposition  Like Mussolini, preserved capitalism but brought big business and labor under government control

 The “Hitler Youth” was formed to pledge absolute loyalty to Germany and undertook physical fitness programs to prepare for war  Hitler saw women’s role as mothers  They were given rewards for having “pure-blooded Aryan” children  Used education as a propaganda tool  Nazis sought to purge, or purify, German culture  Condemned modern art, jazz, and new literature  Hitler sought to replace religion with his racial creed  Despised Christianity as “weak” and sought to control the churches

 On September 15, 1935, the Nuremberg Laws were passed  Jews were prohibited from marrying non-Jews  Prohibited from attending or teaching at German schools or universities  Prohibited from holding government jobs  Prohibited from practicing law or medicine  Prohibited from publishing books  On November 7, 1938, a young Jew shot and wounded a German diplomat in Paris  Hitler saw an excuse to stage an attack on all Jews  Kristallnacht, or the “Night of Broken Glass” took place on November 9-10  Nazi-led mobs attacked Jewish communities all over Germany