THE RISE OF HITLER

Hitler and the National Socialist Party  Born in Austria 1889 (a German speaking country) the son of a minor customs official and a peasant girl.  Hitler grew up thinking himself as part of the German race  A poor student, he never completed high school  He applied for admission to the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna twice but was rejected for lack of talent

Hitler and the National Socialist Party  Staying in Vienna until 1913, he lived first on an orphan's pension, later on small earnings from pictures he drew  Learned many ideas while living in Vienna  He read voraciously, developing anti-Jewish and antidemocratic convictions  Believed that Germans were the best people in the world

Hitler and the National Socialist Party  1913 – moved to Germany  Joined the German Army and fought in WWI  Involved in politics at the end of WWI  Continued working for the army after the war  Asked to spy on a small political party, the German Worker’s Party  Found that it held views similar to his own, so he joined it

Hitler and the National Socialist Party  Soon Hitler took over the leadership  Changed name to National Socialist German Worker’s Party  Nazi is an acronym for the party in German  Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei, NSDAP, 'Nazi' Party

Hitler and the National Socialist Party I myself, meanwhile, after innumerable attempts, had laid down a final form; a flag with a red background, a white disk, and a black swastika in the middle. After long trials I also found a definite proportion between the size of the flag and the size of the white disk, as well as the shape and thickness of the swastika. And this remained final. Adolf Hitler, Mein Kampf

Hitler and the National Socialist Party The red expressed the social thought The white the national struggle The swastika the struggle for the victory of the Aryan mankind Adolf Hitler, Mein Kampf

Hitler and the National Socialist Party  Why “nationalist”?  Wanted Germany to be strong again and to recover all the power and lands it had lost  Why “socialist”?  Attacked the rich; wanted to spread wealth more evenly across different classes

Hitler and the National Socialist Party  Aims  End the agreements of the Treaty of Versailles  Redraw Germany’s borders to include all German people  Only Germans could be citizens of Germany  No Jewish people could be members of this new Germany  Additional territories (colonies) to feed and settle surplus population  The state to take over major industries

Hitler and the National Socialist Party  As a “nationalist” party that was “socialist”, it hoped to win support from the ordinary people  The Nazi Party appealed to the man and woman in the street and also the middle and upper class  Little support in the early years  Munich putsch was a failure but his trial and arrest gave him the much needed publicity

Hitler and the National Socialist Party Mein Kampf  It was while serving time in prison that he wrote Mein Kampf (My Struggle)  After the failure of the Munich putsch, Hitler realised that he could come into power only by peaceful means  For the rest of 1920s, concentrated on the organisation of the party

Hitler and the National Socialist Party  Hitler formed several organizations to assist in spreading the Nazi propaganda  By 1929, he was in a strong position to take advantage of any crisis that might occur  Let’s look at some of his organisations

Hitler and the National Socialist Party  The SA (or brownshirts)  Private army of the Nazi Party  Used terror against his opponents  The SS (or blackshirts)  Hitler’s personal bodyguard  Also to make sure party members stay loyal

Hitler and the National Socialist Party Adolf Hitler's SS Bodyguard Regimental Standard Adolf Hitler's SA Regimental Standard Munich

Hitler and the National Socialist Party  The Gestapo (secret police)  Spied on people and persecuted people who did not follow party line  The Hitler Youth  Recruited youths by telling them that to be patriotic to their country, they had to support the Nazis Hitler Youth Organisation Flag

Reasons for the Rise of the Nazis 1.Weaknesses of the Weimar Republic -Came to power during WW1 -Signed the armistice which ended WW1 -Associated with defeat / blamed for defeat – traitors / betrayers -Very democratic - Germany not used to it -Weak leadership – coalition government -Nazis seen as most suitable alternative

Reasons for the Rise of the Nazis 2. Unfair Treaty of Versailles -Unfair terms of treaty -Insult to Germany -Nazis determined to destroy the treaty -Germans attracted to the Nazis

Reasons for the Rise of the Nazis 3. Effects of the Great Depression -Wall Street Crash -Severe economic slump in countries -Unemployment in Germany increased -Cut down in American loans -People blamed Weimar Republic and supported Nazis

Reasons for the Rise of the Nazis 4. Fear of Communism -Communist party also had much support during depression -Middle class and upper class worried of communism -Though not all supported Nazis, they funded the Nazis to get rid of the communists

Reasons for the Rise of the Nazis 5. Charismatic leadership of Hitler -A great political leader -Conducted vast rallies -Toured the country frequently -Convinced people to support the Nazis -Germany was looking for a leader – saw Hitler as the solution

Reasons for the Rise of the Nazis 6. Strength of the Nazi party -Nazi messages were simple – going back to old days -Criticised Weimar republic -Attacked communism -Portrayed as modern party e.g. Hitler travelled in plane -Well organised rallies – floodlights, military music, marches -SA and SS looked good in uniform