Ho Sin Hang F.4A (12)
Having an interview with Adolf Hitler
Theme:
The main ideas of Nazism, extreme nationalist ideas, racial superiority
and totalitarianism in Germany
Objective:
By learning the story of Hitler, readers will be able to understand the
totalitarian dictatorship in Germany during 1930s to 1940s, the
anti-Jewish policy and the aggression of Hitler.
Background information:
Adolf Hitler was the leader of the Nazi Party by 1921. From 1933, he was also
appointed as the Chancellor of Germany. After becoming the chancellor, Hitler began
to strengthen his power and successfully set up a totalitarian dictatorship in Germany
within 18 months. Then, Germany was turned into a one-party dictatorship and Hitler
became the Führer (Leader) of Germany from 1934, until his death. His Nazism had
several main ideas, extreme nationalist ideas and anti-Semitism. Moreover, Hitler
pursued an aggressive expansionist foreign policy to achieve his dream of reviving the
greatness of Germany. In 1939, Germany attacked Poland and the Second World War
broke out. At the height of its power, Nazi Germany occupied most of Europe, but it
and the Axis Powers were eventually defeated by the Allies. In the final days of the
war, Hitler committed suicide in Berlin.
Adolf Hitler:
His background
Adolf Hitler was born on April 20, 1889, in Austria. Hitler was one-quarter
Jewish and he hated his father very much, who was a half-Jewish. After her
mother died, he settled in Vienna since 1910. Hitler was slowly influenced
over time by the writings of the race and anti-Semite ideologist. Hitler began
to claim the Jews were natural enemies of what he called the Aryan race.
Hitler as a
baby
Later, Hilter entered the politics by joining the German Workers’ Party. He tried to
gain the support from the Germans by giving out speeches everywhere. In 1933 and
1934, he was appointed as the Chancellor of Germany and became the leader of
Germany respectively.
Chronology of Hitler
Jan 30, 1933 – Adolf Hitler was appointed as Chancellor of Germany
April 1, 1933 – Hilter and the Nazis staged boycott of Jewish shops and businesses.
April 11, 1933 – Hitler issued a definition on a non-Aryan as "anyone descended
from non-Aryan, especially Jewish, parents or grandparents. One
parent or grandparent classifies the descendant as non-Aryan…
especially if one parent or grandparent was of the Jewish faith."
Aug 2, 1934 – German President von Hindenburg died and Hitler becomed Führer.
Aug 19, 1934 – Hitler received a 90 percent 'Yes' vote from German voters approving
his new powers.
March 7, 1936 – Hitler and Nazis occupied the Rhineland.
Sept 1, 1939 – Hitler and Nazis invaded Poland
Sept 1, 1939 – Hitler forbade the Jews in Germany to be outdoors
after 8 p.m. in winter and 9 p.m. in summer.
Sept 1, 1941 – Hitler ordered the Jews in Germany to wear yellow
stars.
Dec 11, 1941 – Hitler declared war on the United States. He said,
"Never before has there been a greater
Yellow stars on the
Jews
challenge to life, liberty and civilization."
April 30, 1945 – Hitler commited suicide in his Berlin bunker.
Interview script:
Reporter: After the Great Depression, many Germans lived in poverty and they
were unemployed. Also, Germany’s economy was very poor. How
could you get the support of the Germans at that time?
Hitler:
After the Great Depression, as you say, many Germans were
unemployed and our economy was in ruins. They suffered from
poverty and misery. At that time, I offered the Germans what they
needed most, encouragement. I gave them many promises to let them
know I was the most suitable leader at that time.
I offered many things to them; work to the unemployed, profits to
industries, social harmony and the most important, restoration of
German glory. Given these circumstances, my message of German
nationalism was very powerful. I would make Germany strong again,
end payment of the war indemnity, tear up the Treaty of Versailles, and
kill all the Jews.
Also, I believe that communism threaten the unity of society. So, I
opposed communism and this attitude gained much support from
industrialists, landlords and the middle class. I gave the thing that the
Germans needed at that time, so I could gain the support of them.
Reporter: Why did you hate the Jews? Why did you want to kill all of them and
sent them to concentration camp and gas chamber?
Hitler:
Jews was an unclean and impure race. I hated the Jews since I was a
teenager. My father was a half-Jewish, I was full of hate and discontent
for him and I was very ashamed of this. On the other
hand, I wanted to have a supreme race to rule the world
and I believed that this is the Aryan Race, white with
blond hair, blue eyes and of great intelligence. The
Nazis also thought that an
Aryan German race did not
include Jews or other
Jews in 1930s
groups of people. Also, I
believed that Jews was a
burden to the advancement of the human. I
Concentration Camp
was just helping the Germans.
Furthermore, the Jews had taken over Germany in every aspect of business. They
controlled most of the wealth and they had a lot of money. They had great success in
business. I just wanted to take away all of their shops and got back the money to
Germans. Jews were successful and were major business owners in Germany in the
1930s. I was worried about the Jews controlling most of the German economy. So, I
had to kill them in order to abandon all powerful enemies.
Reporter: Why didn’t you use the Jews to fight for you instead of killing all of
them? They could make your army become a stronger troop.
Hitler:
Jews are dirty, disgusting and blasphemous. They are
“Dirty mice”! I don’t want them to fight for me.
Moreover, the loss of WWI was all due to the serious
fault of the Jews!! The Balfour Declaration of 1917
had proved that Jews betrayed Germany in WWI.
During the WWI, members of the Zionist Jewish elite
Balfour
bartered with England and promised to bring the United States into
the war in exchange for Palestine. This must be the root cause of the
belief that the Jews contributed to the defeat and subsequent economic
rape of Germany in the post-war years.
Reporter: What were your purposes to start the WWII with Japan and Italy? Why
did you start the WWII?
Hitler:
The Treaty of Versailles humbled Germany very
much! It forced us to pay huge indemnity, which we
couldn't afford to pay. That caused huge
levels of inflation and the economy was
in ruins. It also stripped our valuable
The Treaty of
land. It forced us to disarm and took full
Versailles
responsibility for the war. What's more, it came after a
civilian government took power. We can’t stand it anymore!
So, we decided to take over the demilitarized Rhineland in
Germany
1936 in order to show our power.
Also, killing all the Jews was the best way to take over the world. I wanted to kill all
the Jews and rule over the world, so I started the WWII in order to eliminate my
enemies and achieve my dream of reviving the greatness of Germany.
High inflation in
Reporter: Why did you declare war on the United States of America? What made
you have confidence to challenge this strong enemy?
Hitler:
First of all, when I became the Chancellor of Germany in 1933, I was
keenly aware of the social fears of the western nations about a new war.
Some of my ideas of what the west would do in a political situation
were wishful thinking. These political ploys
and the resulting successes reinforced my
initial mind set of the political will. So, I
started the WWII and declared war on the
United States of America.
Moreover, our U-boat fleet went into action
U-boat in Germany
and started gaining successes against naval
and merchant ships since 1939. We could use U-boat causing great
damage to the British and French troops. Also, when we were taking
over the Rhineland in 1936, we moved in with tanks, air support, and
the infantry was largely mechanized. Our weapons had improved a lot
that could already able to challenge the USA.
~END~