1. Aim: Trace the Causes of World War II

2. Postwar Europe
The Great War left every major European country nearly bankrupt
: Europe’s last absolute rulers had been overthrown
Many citizens of new democracies had little experience with representative government
Some countries had a dozen or more political groups
It was almost impossible for one party to win enough support to govern effectively
When no single party won a majority, a coalition government or temporary alliance of several parties was needed 2

3. The Weimar Republic The Weimar Republic had weaknesses
1919: Germany’s new democratic government was set up
Known as the Weimar Republic
The Weimar Republic had weaknesses
Germany lacked a strong democratic tradition
Postwar Germany had several major political parties & many minor ones
Millions of Germans blamed the Weimar government, not the wartime leaders for the country’s defeat & the Versailles Treaty
Germany also faced enormous economic problems
To pay the expenses of the war, the Germans had printed money
Paper money lost value & inflation set in 3

4. Hitler Rises to Power in Germany
When WWI broke out, Hitler volunteered for the German army
1919: Hitler joined a right-wing political group
Shared the belief that Germany had to overturn the Treaty of Versailles & combat communism
Grouped named National Socialist Germany Worker’s Party (NAZI)
1923: Hitler & Nazis plotted to seize power
Hitler sentenced to 5 years for treason
In prison, Hitler wrote Mein Kampf
Book asserted that Germans were a master race called “Aryans”
Non-Aryan races were inferior (Jews, Slavs) 4

5. Hitler Becomes Chancellor
1924: Hitler released from prison
Germans turned to Hitler after economy collapsed
1933: President Paul von Hindenburg named Hitler chancellor of Germany
Hitler used new power to turn Germany into a totalitarian state
Banned all other political parties
SS (Schutzstaffel) created: Elite black-uniformed unit of Nazi party
Nazis took command of the economy
New laws banned strikes, dissolved independent labor unions, & gave the government authority over business & labor
Hitler turned media into propaganda tool & burned anti-Nazi books 5

6. Hitler makes War on the Jews
Hatred of Jews or anti-Semitism was a key part of Nazi ideology
Nazis used Jews as scapegoat for all Germany’s troubles since the Great War
1933: Nazis passed laws depriving Jews of most of their rights
November 9, 1938: Nazi mobs attacked Jews in their homes and destroyed thousands of Jewish-owned buildings
Rampage called Kristallnacht or night of broken of glass 6