 In WWI, Germany was a part of the Central Powers (Triple Alliance), so they fought against Serbia, France, Britain, Russia, the United States, and eventually Italy; they fought with Austria-Hungary, Italy (only at the beginning of the war), and the Ottoman Empire.  They signed the Treaty of Versailles at the end of the war, but then strayed from its parameters – they hated it, and eventually began to disobey it.  During the War, they had a Kaiser – a type of king.  After the War, they were in a terrible state of confusion and chaos.  The Depression came around, and Germany had huge numbers of jobless citizens, as did most other great countries at the time.

 As Adolf Hitler began to form the Nazis and gain followers, he got more Germans within his grasp.  Hitler became the Fuhrer of Germany after the Weimar Republic fell, and with that, he began the Third Reich.  Hitler was legally appointed Chancellor, and a year later, became dictator.  He implements Fascism and the Nazi Party, conducting Anti-Semitism and celebrating the Aryan race.

 The Nazis were formed because there were very little jobs available in Germany, particularly after the Great Depression.  As a Fascist government, they performed stringent control on the economy and every aspect of the citizens’ lives.  Hitler created public work programs, which allowed veterans, workers, middle- class citizens & small-town Germans, and businessmen to get jobs.

 Organized totalitarian rule, which controls all areas of German life and enforced it with elite troops known as SS.  Purged own party members and brutally executed those thought to be disloyal  Set up Secret Police called Gestapo to suppress all opposition.  Built concentration camps for people considered “inferior” such as European Jews, Soviet or Polish Slavs, and enemies of the states.  Killed 12 million of these “racially inferior” people by lethal gas or by working them to death.  Controlled populations by committing savage revenges, shooting hostages, and torturing prisoners.

“The chief function of propaganda is to convince the masses, whose slowness of understanding needs to be given time so they may absorb information; and only constant repetition will finally succeed in imprinting an idea on their mind.” - Adolf Hitler, Mein Kampf  After the devastation of World War I, Hitler made promises to end reparations, create jobs, and rebel against the Treaty of Versailles by rearming Germany. This made him extremely appealing to the citizens of Germany.  Hitler completely revamped the country. School courses and textbooks were rewritten to reflect Nazi ideology. Modern art and music were condemned because it was believed to be corrupted by Jewish [and other] influence. The Third Reich combined all Protestant sects into a single state church, as well as closed all Catholic schools and muzzled the Catholic clergy.

 Literature, music, newspapers, and public events were all censored. There were even attempts to censor private mail and conversation.  Nazi influence was seen through newspapers, comics, movies, posters, etc. Anything that could be branded with Nazi ideology indeed was.

 While in prison, Hitler wrote his book, Mein Kampf – “My Struggle” – which would later become the official compilation of Nazi ideology; from Anti-Semitism, to being proud of being included in the “superior” Aryan race.  As the Nazi party grew, and Hitler took over Germany, he began to implement two elite police forces: the SS (nicknamed Super-Soldiers, according to the initials) – the general, terror-inducing patrol; and the Gestapo – a secret police force which arrested anyone not following the Nuremberg Laws (the basic laws of Nazi Germany), including being a Jew.  Hitler hypnotized his followers (which were his people and citizens – they had no choice) into not being able to notice oppression. The way he did this was surrounding every child with the idea of becoming a powerful and successful contributor to the Nazi community.

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