HITLER AND NAZISM IN GERMANY (1921-1945)

Eastview High School – AP European History

McKay, et al., 8th edition – Ch29 Section 4

Essential Questions

What conditions exist in Germany which afford the opportunity for Hitler to come to power?

Why don’t other European countries check Hitler’s aggressive acts and policies?

Why do the German people follow Hitler’s plan of a ‘final solution’?

The Roots of Nazism

A. Hitler was born in Austria, was a school dropout, and was rejected by the Imperial art school.

B. Hitler became a fanatical nationalist while in Vienna, where he absorbed anti-Semitic and racist ideas.

C. He adopted the ideas of some fanatical Christians (e.g. Lueger) that capitalism and liberalism resulted in excessive individualism.

D. He became obsessed with anti-Semitism and racism, and believed that Jews and Marxists lost the First World War for Germany.

1. He believed in a Jewish-Marxian plot to destroy German culture.

The Nazi Party

A. By 1921, he had reshaped the tiny extremist German Workers’ group into the Nazi party, using the mass rally as a particularly effective tool of propaganda.

1. The party grew rapidly.

2. Hitler and the party attempted to overthrow the Weimar government, but he was defeated and sent to jail (1923).

Hitler’s Road to Power

A. The trial after Hitler’s attempted coup brought him much publicity, but the Nazi party remained small until 1929.

1. Written in jail, his autobiography, Mein Kampf, was an outline of his desire to achieve German racial supremacy and domination of Europe, under the leadership of a dictator (Fuhrer).

2. The depression made the Nazi party attractive to the lower middle class and to young people, who were seized by panic as unemployment soared and Communists made election gains.

The German Reichstag

A. By 1932, the Nazi party was the largest in the Reichstag.

B. The Weimar government’s orthodox economic policies intensified the economic collapse and convinced the middle class that its leaders were incompetent; hence, they welcomed Hitler’s attacks on the republican system.

C. Another reason Hitler won is that the Communists welcomed Hitler as the last breath of monopoly capitalism.

D. Hitler was a skilled politician, a master of propaganda and mass psychology who generated enormous emotional support with his speeches.

E. Conservative and nationalistic politicians believed that they could control Hitler; Hitler was legally appointed chancellor in 1933.

The German Reichstag in Berlin

The Nazi State & Society

A. The Enabling Act of March 1933 gave Hitler absolute dictatorial power.

B. Nazis took over every aspect of German life—political, social, economic, cultural, and intellectual.

C. Germany became a one-party state; only the Nazi party was legal.

D. Strikes were forbidden and labor unions abolished.

E. Publishing houses and universities were brought under Nazi control, and life became violently anti-intellectual.

F. Hitler took over total control of the military by purging the storm troopers.

G. The Gestapo, or secret police, used terror and purges to strengthen Hitler’s hold on power.

H. Hitler set out to eliminate the Jews.

I. The Nuremberg Laws (1935) deprived Jews of their citizenship.

J. Jews were constant victims of violence and outrages.

Hitler’s Popularity

A. Hitler promised and delivered economic recovery through public works projects and military spending.

B. Unemployment dropped and the standard of living rose.

C. Those who were not Jews, Slavs, Gypsies, Jehovah’s Witnesses, communists, or homosexuals experienced greater opportunities and equality.

D. Hitler reduced Germany’s traditional class distinctions; the old ruling elites had to give way to lower-middle-class people in Hitler’s reign.

E. Yet few historians believe that Hitler brought on a real social revolution: The well-educated classes held on to their advantaged position, and women remained largely housewives and mothers.

F. He appealed to Germans for nationalistic reasons.

G. Communists, trade unionists, and some Christians opposed Hitler; many who opposed him were executed.

“We National Socialists believe that in political affairs Adolf Hitler is infallible.”

- Herman Goering

Questions for your review

1. What was the common link between Nazi Germany, Stalinist Soviet Union, and Fascist Italy?

2. How did Chancellor Bruning attempt to cope with the Great Depression? What was the result?

3. What were the main themes that Hitler outlined in Mein Kampf?4. What was the most important factor that contributed to Hitler’s

success in his rise to power?5. According to historian D. Goldhagen, who were willing

accomplices in the “final solution”?6. What was the Enabling Act and how did it come about?7. Why does Hitler purge the SA?8. What was the purpose of the Nuremberg Laws?9. How does Hitler bring about economic recovery?10. What was the status of women under Hitler’s reign?11. How did Hitler appeal to the masses? What happened to those

who opposed him?