Chapter 16 - The Rise Of Hitler And The Nazis In Germany Flashcards
Adolf Hitler
Born in 1889 in Austria.
Dropped out of school.
Moved to Vienna to sell art. There was anti-semitism in Vienna and Hitler considered them to be living a life of luxury while he was living in poverty.
Enlisted in the German army as he failed to pass a medical for the German army.
Awarded two Iron Crosses for Bravery.
The birth of the Nazi party
Was changed from the German Workers Party to Nationalist Socialist Workers Party.
Swastika (crooked cross) was worn on the arm of the brown shirt.
SS were Hitlers bodyguards. Led by Heinrich Himmler
SA were Hitlers attacked enemies of the Nazis. They were led by Ernst Röhm.
The Weimar Republic
Germany became the Weimar Republic after the Kaiser fled the country in 1918.
A republic is a democratic country without a King.
Weimar Republic struggled to gain support from the beginning.
To deal with the huge reparations £6600 million, the government printed more money which lead to huge inflation.
Money became worthless and many Germans lost all their savings.
Mein Kampf
Hitler wanted to overthrow the Weimar Republic by starting an uprising in Munich. It was badly organised and Hitler was arrested.
He wrote his autobiography in jail which outlined his political beliefs.
Germans and other Northern Europeans belonged to the superior Aryan race.
The Germans were the Herrenvolk which produced the best technology, art and science and were entitled to rule of the lesser people of the world.
German speaking Europeans should be united into one empire.
Communism was evil and must be destroyed.
Jews were plotting to destroy Germany and were the reason for Germans loss in WWI
From boom to bust
Support for the Nazi party had dropped as a result of an improvement in the German economy and America lent money to Germany to help with its economic recovery. Unemployment fell and Germans placed their trust back in the Weimar Republic.
The American stock markets crashed and Germany suffered as they were over dependent on the loans.
Unemployment increased from 1.3 million in 1929 to 6 million in 1932
The rise of the Nazis
Nazis blamed the Weimar Republic, Jews and communists for Germany’s ills.
Nazis promised to restore Germany’s wealth and pride and many turned to them.
SA and SS attacked opponents of hitler.
By 1932 the Nazi Party were the largest single party in the Reichstag.
President Hidenburg appointed Hitler as Chancellor of Germany on January 30th 1933
The Nazi dictatorship
Nazis took control of the police force.
Hitler banned the Communist Party when a Dutch communist set fire to the Reichstag.
Hitler passed the Enabling Law in March 1933 which meant he could rule without parliament for four years.
The Night of the Long Knives : 30 June 1934 Hitler executes leadership of the SA as he felt the showed more loyalty to Ernst Röhm.
When the President died in 1934 Hitler combined the job of the Chancellor and President into one. He was then know as der Führer.
The new Nazi regime was know as the Third Reich.
Propaganda
Josef Goebbels was the Minister for Propaganda. He controlled the media ; radio, film and newspapers. If they didn’t support Nazi beliefs they were banned or shut down.
The Nuremberg rallies were held every year to celebrate the achievements of the Nazi regime and to announce forthcoming plans.
Terror
The Gestapo were led by Heinrich Himmler and they arrested and tortured enemies of Nazism.
Concentration camps were set up for political prisoners.
The Order of Deaths Head supervised the camps.
The young in Nazi Germany
The young were indoctrinated from birth to support the Nazi beliefs
10 year old boys joined the Fungvolk and girls joined the Fungmädelbung.
14 year old boys joined the Hitler Youth. This was a huge source of pride and they were presented with a dagger saying ‘Blood and Honour’.
They were instructed in army drills and went on hikes with bags filled with stones to get strong.
Membership of a Nazi Youth made it easier to enter university of get a job in the civil service.
14-18 year old girls joined the League of German Maidens (BDM) and were trained to cook and sew.
There were separate schools for boys and girls.
A portrait of hitler was in every classroom.
The three core subjects were history, biology and sport.
The students were taught how the Aryan race was the best and was not to be mixed with lesser races.
Schoolbooks contained false information and insulted enemies of the Nazis.
Boys were encouraged to study science and technology
Schools in Nazi Germany
There were separate schools for boys and girls.
A portrait of hitler was in every classroom.
The three core subjects were history, biology and sport.
The students were taught how the Aryan race was the best and was not to be mixed with lesser races.
Schoolbooks contained false information and insulted enemies of the Nazis.
Boys were encouraged to study science and technology.
Girls had cooking and sewing classes.
Grippers were left with a useless leaving certificate which made it hard to go onto further studies in University.
Economy
1932 6 million people unemployed
1936 2 million people unemployed
1939 0 people unemployed
Public work schemes such as building autobahnen
German army was increased and large factories opened to make war materials
Married women with children were paid to encourage them to stay at home
Germany lacked oil and hitter wanted to invade the oil rich Soviet Union
A Jewish person in Nazi Germany
Less than 1%.
Boycott of Jewish shops and members of the SS and Hitler. Youth stuck posters on the windows of the shops telling Germans not to do business there.
Only a small number of Jews were allowed into university.
1935 After the Nuremberg laws Jews were not allowed to marry Germans or they faced death penalty.
They were not allowed to vote.
The had to wear a Star of David in public to be able to identify themselves as Jewish.
They were regularly attacked on streets.
1937 they were banned from entering public parks, sitting on benches, owning pets, going to the cinema and theatre.
1938 Jew shot a German in Paris.
9 November 1938 Kristallnacht (night of broken glass) SS and hitler youth smashed windows of Jewish shops and homes and burnt some
Synagogues. Ninety Jews were killed and some were sent to concentration camps.
1939 360,000+ Jews fled the country.
Jews were forbidden from leaving their houses in 1939 in WWII
They were banned from using public transport and could not own a bike or radio
The Holocaust
Mass murder of the Jews by the Nazis is WWII.
Germany invaded Czechoslovakia, Poland, the Soviet Union and there were millions of Jews.
Jews were forced to live in ghettos.
1942 Final Solution was to send all the Jews in the ghettos to concentration camps to be killed. This was led by the SS under instruction by Adolf Eichmann.
Auschwitz-Birkenau in in Poland.
Jews were separated into weak and strong. The weak, pregnant, sick, elderly and children were killed and the strong were sent to work until they were too weak.
2/3 of the Nazis were killed by 1945
