The appeal of Nazism and Communism. Flashcards
When did Hindenburg’s 7-year term of office end? and who ran against him in the re-election?
1932
His main opponent on the left was Thalmann of the KPD.
Hitler was hesitant to run but decided to do so.
Right-wing candidate Theodor Duesterberg.
What were the results of the presidential election? What did this lead to? (1932)
Hindenburg fell short of 50% of the vote needed for outright victory, this triggered a second ballot in which Duesterberg was no longer a candidate.
What were the results of the second ballot in 1932?
Hindenburg won with 53% of the vote but Hitler received nearly 37%.
What changed over the course of the elections between 1930-32?
Nazis more than doubled their support. The Nazis became the main party of protest by winning support amongst all classes and generations, across different regions of the country.
What was the Nazi ideology?
The 25-point programme of 1920, was still officially the statement of their aims in 1933 even though Hitler did not agree with most of it.
While he was in prison after the Munich beer haul putsch, Hitler started writing Mein Kampf- a statement of his ideas and aims.
He modified his policy statements according to the audience he was addressing.
What were Hitler’s views on struggle and war?
Defined his outlook in terms of struggle and claimed scientific justification for his view that struggle between races was part of the natural order of things.
He thought war would reconstruct German society.
Nazi propaganda, therefore, glorified the military virtues of courage, loyalty and self-sacrifice.
Volkgemeinschaft: Meaning.
‘People’s community’
Only Aryans could be citizens of the state, all others would be treated as ‘subjects’ of the state.
-everything would be great if you were aryan.
Why did the Nazis adopt the name ‘Nationalist Socialist Worker Party’?
(NSDAP)
This was an attempt to gain working-class support and differentiate themselves from the international socialism of the communist party.
Why did Hitler want to destroy the Weimar Republic?
It was a parliamentary democracy, he viewed it as weak, ineffective and alien to Germany’s traditions of an authoritarian government. He believed that parliamentary democracy encouraged communism.
He viewed democracy as ‘Jewish’.
As a German Nationalist, what were Hitler’s 3 main aims?
-to reverse the humiliation of the Treaty of Versailles- he called it ‘blackmail and shameful humiliation’- and restore Germany from those who had taken it.
-to establish a ‘Greater German Reich’ in which all Germans would live within the borders of the state.
-to secure for Germany food and raw materials needed to sustain it as a country.
What did Hitler blame the Jews for?
-All of Germany’s ills.
-The evils of capitalism.
-The growth of communism.
-Germany’s defeat in WW1.
-The hated Treaty of Versailles.
-Germany’s decline as a great power.
How did the Nazis and Hitler use the Jews in their propaganda?
They portrayed the Jews as the cause of all of Germany’s issues, this meant the public also started to adopt these views or more openly express their anti-semantic views.
Hitler would cater his speeches depending on who he was talking to, many meetings consisted of Nazi speakers openly encouraging hostility against Jews.
How did the Nazis portrayal of Jews effect the SA?
The rapid expansion of the SA encouraged anti-semitism and often beat up Jews on the street.
