Hitler and the Nazis

Question 1

Adolf Hitler’s life - the early years

Answer 1

• Born in Austria in 1889
• At sixteen he left school and went to Vienna to become a painter
• He didn’t succeed and between 1909 and 1914 he was ‘down and out’ living in the streets of Vienna
• During this period he developed a hatred for foreigners and Jews
• In 1942 Hitler joined the German army
• He found it hard to accept the armistice and completely unable to accept the Treaty of Versailles
• Despised Weimar democracy
• Looked back to the ‘glorious days’ of the Kaiser
• After WW1, Hitler stayed working for the army spying on extremist groups
• He came across the German Workers’ Party and joined in 1919

Question 2

What party did the Nazis begin as?

Answer 2

The German Workers’ Party, led by Anton Drexler

Question 3

When did Adolf Hitler join the German Worker’s Party?

Answer 3

1919

Question 4

What was the Twenty-Five Point Programme?

Answer 4

A list of 25 points produced in 1920 by the German Workers’ Party.

Question 5

What are the most important points of the Twenty-Five Point Programme? (6)

Answer 5

• The abolition of the Treaty of Versailles
• Union of Germany and Austria
• Only ‘true’ Germans to be allowed to live in Germany. Jews in particular were to be excluded.
• Large industries and businesses to be nationalised
• Generous old-age pension
• Strong central government

Question 6

What did Hitler do to Drexler in 1921?

Answer 6

Hitler removed Drexler as leader.

Question 7

What does NAZI stand for?

Answer 7

National Socialist German Workers’ Party

Question 8

What did Hitler do in 1921 that attracted people’s attention?

Answer 8

• Hitler’s energy and commitment
• Power as a speaker
• Hitler stirred nationalist passions in his audiences
• He gave them scapegoats to blame for Germany’s problems

Question 9

Who/what were the scapegoats that Hitler blamed for Germany’s problems?

Answer 9

• The Allies
• The TOV
• The ‘November Criminals’ (Socialist politicians who signed the Treaty)
• Communists
• Jews

Question 10

Why did Hitler set up the SA?

Answer 10

• Hitler’s meetings were so successful that his opponents tried to disrupt them
• To counter this, he set up the SA in 1921
• Also known as Stormtroopers or Brownshirts
• These hired thugs protected Hitler’s meetings
• The SA disrupted other meetings as well