Hitler

Question 1

Who was Adolf Hitler

Answer 1

Born in 1889, and grew up in Austria. He moved to Munich, Germany when he was 24 years old. Hitler fought for Germany during WW1. He was shocked by the nation’s defeat

Question 2

Hitler enters politics

Answer 2

Hitler was angered by the Treaty of Versailles and being “stabbed in the back” by the November criminals. He joined the German Worker’s Party (DAP) in September 1919

Question 3

The Nazi Party

Answer 3

By 1920, Hitler had entered the party’s leadership and renamed it National Socialist German Worker’s Party (NSDAP), shortened to the Nazi Party
July 1921, Hitler became the leader of the Nazi Party

Question 4

The 25-point programme

Answer 4

Hitler and the founder of the Nazi Party, Anton Drexler wrote it in 1920 which had 3 aims;
- to overturn the Treaty of Versailles
- to stop democracy as a political system
- to get rid of the Jews that harmed the economy

Question 5

The SA

Answer 5

The Sturmabteilung (SA) was made up of former German soldiers who hated the Weimar Republic. They asserted Nazi power through fighting and intimidating political opponents (communists)
- led by Ernst Rohm
- Between 1930 and 1934, the SA grew from 400,000 to 3 million

Question 6

The Munich Putsch when and where

Answer 6

November 1923, Bavarian government.

Question 7

Long term causes of the Munich Putsch

Answer 7

• resentment against the Treaty of Versailles
• Hitler wanted to copy the example of Mussolini in Italy

Question 8

Immediate causes of the Munich Putsch

Answer 8

The Nazi’s were angered by the French occupation of the Ruhr. The Putsch was triggered by Stresemann calling off passive resistance
- Rohm had introduced Hitler and Ludendorff

Question 9

Events of the Munich Putsch Day 1

Answer 9

• 8 November 1923, Hitler and 600 SA troops entered a meeting of the Bavarian government in Munich
• Threatening the government leaders, Hitler forced the government to support him
• the head of the SA, Rohm took control of the local police and army headquarters
• But Ludendorff (the general who told Kaiser to abdicate) secretly let the government leaders go

Question 10

Events of the Munich Putsch Day 2-4

Answer 10

9 November 1923, Hitler marched with 1,000 SA troops and 2,000 volunteers
- Hitler wanted to make himself president
- State police met the Nazi’s. Shots were fired. 3 policemen and 16 Nazi’s were killed Ludendorff and Rohm were arrested
- 11 November 1923, Hitler was arrested for high treason

Question 11

Munich Putsch short term consequences

Answer 11

• The Nazi’s had failed
• Hitler was sentenced to 5 years (he only served for 9 months)
• The Nazi Party was banned and Hitler was not allowed to speak in public until 1927

Question 12

Munich Putsch long term consequences

Answer 12

Hitler used events to his advantage
- used his trial to give Nazi’s publicity
- the newspaper reporters would quote his defense speech, gave exposure to Nazi ideas

Question 13

Mein Kampf

Answer 13

In prison Hitler wrote his bestseller which outlined his political objectives (the need to destroy Democracy, the need for Lebensraum [expand German territory to house the population], and his beliefs about the inferiority of Jews
- Hitler realised he needed to reorganise the Nazi Party to gain success

Question 14

the Nazi’s mid 1920’s

Answer 14

• The Nazi’s suffered because the Weimar Republic was succeeding
• Germany was politically stable and had no need for extremism of the Nazi’s
• In order for the Nazi’s to achieve success, they would have to participate in the Weimar Republic’s democratic elections

Question 15

How many seats did the Nazi’s have in 2 elections

Answer 15

1924- 32 seats in the Reichstag
1928- 12 seats in the Reichstag

Question 16

Growth in Nazi membership

Answer 16

27,000 in 1925 to 130,000 in 1929

Question 17

Nazi reorganisation

Answer 17

• Hitler wanted to reorganise the Nazi Party to maximise support
• Hitler made himself the centre of the Nazi Party

Question 18

Expansion of the SA

Answer 18

Hitler grew the SA so they could intimidate opponents and and make the Nazi’s appear strong
But the SA were difficult to control

Question 19

The Wall Street Crash

Answer 19

In 1929, the Wall Street crash happened in the USA, banks lost billions of dollars
- The main reason the Great Depression affected Germany was because it caused unemployment

Question 20

Great Depression Unemployment

Answer 20

• US banks stopped loans to Germany
• German industries lost finance and laid off workers
• By 1932, 40% of workers were unemployed
• The German government had no money so they reduced unemployment benefits
• Families suffered and lost faith in democracy

Question 21

Failure of the Weimar Republic during Great Depression

Answer 21

• It became clear that the government could not solve the problem of unemployment
• Chancellor Muller could not improve Germany’s economy and neither could his replacement, Chancellor Bruning.

Question 22

Hindenburg’s response to unemployment

Answer 22

• Used article 48 which weakened the Weimar Republic

Question 23

Growth of the Nazi’s (Extremism)

Answer 23

In the economic crisis, German people turned to extremist parties to quickly solve unemployment
- The communists gained support from the working class
- The Nazi’s also gained support because they appealed to a wider group of the German population

Question 24

Growth of the Nazi’s (Hitler and intimidation)

Answer 24

The Nazi’s gained support because of Hitler’s personality
- Not only a strong leader, Hitler was a mesmerising public speaker who travelled the country to give speeches
The Nazi’s also grew due to intimidation tactics
- the SA and SS fought and eliminated political opponents but also protected the Nazi’s. This showed the strength of the Nazi’s

Question 25

Growth of the Nazi’s (Propoganda)

Answer 25

Helped to spread Nazi message;
- Hitler was presented as Germany’s saviour
- they blamed Jews for the Great Depression in Germany

Question 26

Growth of the Nazi’s (message for the workers)

Answer 26

• for businessmen, the Nazi’s would solve the Great Depression
• for the workers, the Nazi’s would give employment and food
• for farmers, the Nazi’s would protect them from Communists who could seize land

Question 27

Growth of the Nazi’s stats

Answer 27

Between 1928-1932 votes for the Nazi’s went from 2.6% to 18% in 1930, to 37% in July 1932

Question 28

Hindenburg re-elected

Answer 28

April 1932, Hindenburg was re-elected as president

Question 29

The chancellor (1932)

Answer 29

In May 1932, Chancellor Bruning resigned and was replaced by Von Papen
In July 1932, The Nazi’s became the largest party in the Reichstag
- Hitler demanded that he became chancellor but was refused

Question 30

Von Papen and Von Schleicher

Answer 30

• November 1932, the Nazis lost votes but remained the largest party in the Reichstag
• December 1932, Von papen resigned and was replaced by Von Schleicher
• Von Schleicher did not have support of the Nazi’s or the people

Question 31

How Hitler became the Chancellor

Answer 31

Von Papen persuaded Hindenburg to sack Von Schleicher and make Hitler the chancellor. They underestimated Hitler and agreed on using him as a puppet leader.
- January 1933, Hitler became the Chancellor