Hitler’s Rise to Power

Government establishes complete control of all aspects of the state
(political, military, economy, social, cultural) Form of Dictatorship
Few Individual freedoms

Highly nationalistic (flags, salutes, rallies, uniforms)

Strict controls and laws

Military state (secret police, army, military)

Censorship (opposing literature and ideas)

Propaganda (State controlled media – radio, newspapers, posters)

One leader (dictator); charismatic

Total conformity of people to ideas and leader

Terror and Fear

Contestant #1
I am a womanizer, have
self-interested policies
and unfortunately suffer
from ailing health.
Contestant #2
I have a drinking habit and
a defiant tongue or attitude
Contestant #3
I am a decorated war hero,
do not drink and want
to create a stable economy
Contestant #1
Contestant #2
Contestant #3
What was Hitler’s Early Life Like
Born to Alois and Klara Hitler
in Austria.
 Mother dies - Hitler blames
her Jewish doctor for her
death.
 Wanted to be an artist – not
accepted into the Vienna
Academy of Art
 Paternal Grandfather Jewish

Hitler’s Paintings
Hitlers failure in Art school in
Vienna
Couldn’t paint/draw faces. Is this a pretty
good indicator that he had issues ?
 What group of people would you guess
ran the art schools that wouldn’t admit
Hitler ?

How did WWI Influence Hitler?

He served in German Army:
 wounded
and received two Iron
Crosses for bravery.
 First success in his life –Made him
love military

Blamed Germany’s defeat on
Jews, Communists, and
“November Criminals” - signers
of TOV
Why did Hitler Join the German
Workers Party?
Army Sent Hitler to
investigate in 1919.
 Gave a speech denouncing
the TOV, Jews and
Communists
 Asked to Join

The “Stabbed-in-the-Back” Theory
Disgruntled German WWI veterans
What is the NAZI Party?

German Workers Party
changed to National Socialist
German Workers Party “NAZI” Party
 Fascist beliefs
 Drafted a platform of 25
points
 Swastika – ancient symbol
meaning good luck
What was the Beer Hall Putsch?

October 30, 1923
Failed NAZI Party
Revolution- Hitler
imprisoned
 While there he
writes a book

Hitler in Landesberg Prison
What is Mein Kampf?
“Mein Kampf” = “My
Struggle”
 Blueprint for
Germany’s future

Racism - hatred for
Jews Scapegoat for
2. Germanys problems
2. Lebensraum (living
space) expansion of
Germany’s border
3. World Domination
1.
What Problems did Germany’s
government have after WWI?

Weimar Republic –
democracy established after
WWI
 Faced Political opposition
from


communist
fascists
What economic problems did the
Weimar Republic have after WWI?
•Reparations – repayments for war damages to Allies
Caused:
•High Unemployment
•Starvation
•Desperation….
What is Hyperinflation?
US
Jan 1918
 Jan 1922
 Jan 1923
 Dec 1923

$1
$1
$1
$1
German
=
=
=
=
$5.21
$191.81
$17, 972
$4.2 T
Hyperinflation - soaring inflation
(increase in prices due to too much
money and too few goods)
Ripe for change
The German Mark
What did Hitler offer to the German
people?
•Promises, Promises
Nationalists - Restore
Germany to Greatness
Wealthy Industrialist – stop
communism
Workers – end unemployment
•Blamed Others for Germany’s
Problems
Jews
November Criminals
Weimar Republic
•Great speaker
Abolish the
Treaty of
Versailles!
Thought that the Treaty of Versailles
was unjust and humiliating

German Army limited to

Germany had to pay reparations
to allies

Accept war guilt

Germany lost
% of its
territories and colonies


The Rhineland was demilitarised
Anschluss (union) with Austria
was forbidden

Germans were forced to live in
Czechoslavakia (the
Sudentenland) and Poland
(including Danzig)
How does Hitler become Chancellor?

“Brownshirts”– Hitler’s private army

used fear tactics to eliminate opposition

Used speeches and propaganda to
gain support

Nazi Party gains votes in Reichtag
(German Legislature):
 1930 = 18% of vote
 1932 = 37% of vote

Hitler appointed Chancellor (Prime
Minister) in 1933
How did Hitler Gain Total Power?

“Reichstag fire” Set by Nazi’s blamed on communists -Hitler
vowed to fight them

Ended democracy in Germany
What actions did Hitler take as Der
Furher – The Leader?

Ignored the TOV



Rebuilt Army & Opened Weapons
Factories
Stopped reparations payments
Economy improved


New Jobs - military sector
Decreased unemployment

Eliminated political opposition

Began planning for expansion of
the Third Reich (Third Empire)
What was the Jewish Problem?

Hitler’s belief that Aryan
German’s were the “Master
Race” – blond hair, blue eyes,
strong and disciplined

Blamed Germany’s problems
on the Jewish

Racism and propaganda used
to create distrust and hatred
against Jews and non-Aryans.
This Nazi propaganda poster reads,
‘Behind the enemy powers: the Jew.
“The Eternal Jew”
Depiction of a Jew holding gold coins in one hand
and a whip in the other. Under his arm is a map of
the world, with the imprint of the hammer and
sickle. Posters like this promoted a sharp rise in
anti-Semitic feelings, and in some cases violence
against the Jewish community.
NAZI PROPAGANDA AGAINST THE DISABLED
This frame from a filmstrip shows that the money needed to support a person with a
hereditary disease can support an entire family of healthy Germans for the same
amount of time.
Worlds Greatest
Pep Rallies
January 1933 – Adolph Hitler becomes Chancellor (Primeminister) of
Germany
A strong leader declared to the German people that he would restore
German pride, rebuild their shattered country and have vengeance for the
Treaty of Versailles.


Hitler was lionized as
“der Fuehrer”, and the
3rd Reich born
His pol. popularity grew
b/c of ongoing
propaganda, eco. growth
(autobahn), foreign
policy “successes”…
a
massive state propaganda
program was implemented,
inc. Nuremberg Rallies
 Goebbels,
as Min. of Truth and
Enlightenment, created the “Big
Lie”
 Unacceptable ideas were
stamped out – the “Burning of
the Books”(Censorship)
D-1
What actions did Hitler take to solve
the “Jewish Problem”

1935 Nuremburg Laws






Stipped Jews of Citizenship
Can’t Hold Public Office
Barred From Schools
Boycott Jewish Businesses
Banned non-Jews from
marriage to Jews
1938 Kristallnacht




Jews attacked on streets
Jewish businesses vandalized
Burned Synagogues
Many Jews shot or sent to
prison camps
D-2,3
Formative
1.
What did the people
want?
What did Hitler Offer?
2. Name and explain three ways Hitler gained control of Germany
3. Name 3 problems Germany had after WWI
I am Adolf Hitler the leader (der Fuhrer)
or dictator of Germany from 1933 to
1945.
What is Nazism?
• extremely fascist , nationalistic and
totalitarian
• based on beliefs of the National
Socialist German Workers Party
• belief in the racial superiority of the
Aryan, the “master race”
• belief that all Germans should have
“lebensraum” or living space in Europe
•Violent hatred towards Jews and
blamed Germany’s problems on them
1938 Time Man of the Year
D-4
What
do you
think
America
thought
of him ?
From foot-soldier to Führer

Hitler’s rise from corporal to
Fuhrer was remarkable




Sixteen years (1917-1933) separate
these two pictures
Hitler’s rise is unprecedented in
history
From defeated and demoralized
corporal to one of the most powerful
men on the planet
Key Question: How far was Hitler
responsible for the outbreak of the
Second World War?
5
Lebensraum
6

Germany's future, Hitler declared,
entirely depended on meeting its need
for more Lebensraum -living space;
the German nation had a right to a
larger share of land. The question was
where the space could be acquired "at
the lowest cost." The answer lay not
in overseas colonies but in Europe
itself, "in immediate proximity to the
Reich."

Hitler’s ‘Greater Germany’ would have
a population of over 85 million

Germany’s land would be insufficent
to feed this many people

Hitler intended to expand Eastwards
towards Poland and Russia. Russians
and Poles were Slavs – Hitler believed
them to be inferior and so Germany
was entitled to take their land.
Hitler’s Actions: Timeline
DATE
ACTION
1933
Took (G) out of League of Nations
Began rearming (G)
1934
Tried to take over Austria but Mussolini prevented him
1935
Held massive rearmament rally in (G)
1936
Reintroduced conscription
Sent troops into Rhineland
Made anti-Communist alliance w/ Japan
1937
Tried out (G)’s new weapons in the Spanish Civil War
Made anti-Communist alliance w/ Italy
1938
Took over Austria
Took over the Sudetenland area of Czechoslovakia
1939
Invaded the rest of Czechoslovakia
Invaded Poland
WAR!
Rearmament
8
• 1933:
– 1000s of unemployed drafted into army
– Reduced unemployment & built military
– Claimed only reason to rearm was because
other nations had not disarmed
– Withdrew from L of N (Like Japan earlier)
• 1934:
– L of N disarmament conference fails
– L of N members not willing to disarm
– Members used military to reduce
unemployment, not willing to change
• 1935:
– Massive ‘Proclamation of Freedom to
Rearm Rally’
Rearmament
9
• 1936:
– H reintroduces conscription
• Rearmament popular w/ Germans
– Nazi support increased dramatically
– Pride restored to nation
– Humiliation of T of V partially erased
• Britain helped dismantle Versailles
– 1935: signed agreement allowing (G) a navy
35% as large of (E) navy (violation!!!)
– (E) believed restrictions on (G) in T of V too
strict, (G) not able to defend itself
– (E) feared Central Europe was too weak to
face growing Soviet power
– (France) really hacked off, but what could
they do?
Proportion of German spending
that went to armaments, 1935-1940
38
40
10
35
30
23
25
20
16.6
12.4
15
10
11.8
7.4
5
0
1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940
per cent
German armed forces in 1932 and 1939
(950,000
)
(8,250)
(95)
(30)
(100,000
)
(36)
1932
1939
Warships
1932
1939
Aircraft
1932
1939
Soldiers
1)
Fill out the first row of your ‘Versailles Chart’
2)
What factors allowed Hitler to get away with rearming Germany?
Reasons and Reactions
13
Britain sympathized with
Germany, believing that the
He needed larger armies to
Treaty of Versailles
protect Germany, and large had been too unfair
armies also provided jobs and on them. They also believed that a
strong Germany would act as
solved unemployment
a barrier against Communism.
problems caused by
The French were angry
The Great Depression.
with Britain, but there was
little they could do.
IVIL WAR IN SPAIN
14
E-OCCUPATION OF THE RHINELAND
NSCHLUSS WITH AUSTRIA
UDENTENLAND CRISIS
ITLER TAKES OVER REST OF CZECHOSLAVAKIA
TALY AND GERMANY FORM PACT
AZI-SOVIET PACT
ERMANY INVADE POLAND
C
The Spanish Civil War
E-1,2
• 1936: Civil War!
– Republican government & Pro-government
Communist forces fought right-wing
(Fascist) rebels General Francisco Franco
– Hitler saw war as opportunity to fight
communism & give troops combat
experience
• 1937: Guernica!
– (G) ‘Condor Legion’ (Luftwaffe) purposely
targeted civilians to demoralize enemy
– League of Nations looked on w/o interfering
Remilitarization of the Rhineland
R
E-3,4,5
• Rhineland a key industrial region
– Coal, steel, iron center (needed for
rearmament)
• March 1936: Hitler’s first major risk
– Ordered troops moved into Rhineland
– Direct violation of T of V
– Direct violation of Locarno Treaties (1925)
• If Allies responded H would be humiliated
– Probable loss of power / military coup
• Why did Hitler do it?
– (France) & (Russia) just signed mutual
defense pact
– Hitler claimed (G) was under threat from
(Fra) & (Rus)
– H knew (England) felt T of V too harsh
– (England) would probably not intervene
Reasons and Reactions
France and Russia had made
a treaty to protect each other from
Germany. Hitler said that he
should be allowed to place
troops on his own frontier.
6
France was going through an internal
political crisis at the time and there
was no political leadership to
concentrate against Nazi Germany.
Britain generally supported the view
that Nazi Germany was only
going into her own "backyard" and
that this section of Versailles did not
need to be enforced in the mid-1930’s.
It was believed that Germany was
behaving in a reasonable and
understandable manner.
Anschluss(Reuniting former German
A territory) with Austria, 1938
• Hitler’s homeland, Austria
– Mainly ethnic Germans
– Many supported anschluss
– Hitler failed in 1934 because Mussolini
opposed
– Hitler succeeded in 1938 (Mussolini now ally)
• Strong Nazi Party in Austria
& (G) should be united
7-13
– H had (A) Nazis riot & protest, demanding
anschluss
– H pressured (A) Chancellor Schuschnigg to
agree to anschluss
– Schuschnigg asked for (Eng) & (Fra) help, got
no support
– March 1938: Schuschnigg ordered plebiscite
but Hitler, fearing loss, sent troops in
– Under watchful eye of (G) army anschluss
plebiscite was 99.75% in favor (har har har)
Reasons and Reactions
France and Britain refused to help Austria.
The British prime Minister Neville
Chamberlain felt the Treaty of Versailles
was wrong and that Austria
and Germany should be united. This
was justified by the fact that they
were both German speaking nations.
There were lots of German people
Hitler was now even more convinced that
living in Austria and Hitler said the Britain and France would not
people of Austria wanted to unite Stand in his way in the future.
with Germany.
Austria was economically weak
and Hitler promised to solve
this problem.
S
Sudentenland 1938
14,15,16
The Sudetenland contained 2 million German speakers
They had NEVER been part of Germany (Austrian before 1919)
Hitler demanded ‘selfgovernment’ for the
Sudeten Germans
The Czechs were outraged…
Chamberlain flew to
Germany twice &
agreed
Then Mussolini called a
conference at Munich
Hitler then
demanded that the
Sudetenland be
given to Germany
Chamberlain hesitated…
The Czechs were not invited!
Britain, France, Italy & Germany agreed
to give the Sudetenland to Germany
Sudetenland Continued – The ‘Peace of Paper’
At Munich, Chamberlain and Hitler signed a separate treaty. It
promised that Britain and Germany would never go to war with
each other again…
17
It means
“Peace
in our
Time”
It’s just a
piece of
paper – the
old man
wanted my
autograph
so I gave it
to him
18
They chose
between war and
dishonor. They
chose dishonor.
They will have
war!
Churchill
H
– Czechoslovakia March 1939
Hitler promised at Munich that he did not want any more land
In March 1939 Germany invaded the rest of Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia was an independent state, it had no German minority
They guarantee to defend Poland if it is attacked
Stalin Panics
He thinks GB & France are letting Hitler move east to attack him!
Decides to buy time to re-build shattered Red Army…
19,20,21
The Anti-Comintern Pact, 1936-7
I
• Hitler found he had friends
– Mussolini also heavily involved in Spanish
Civil War
– Japan despised communism & Soviet power
in Asia
– 1936: (Ger) & (Japan) sign anti-Comintern
pact
– 1937: (Italy) joined pact
– ‘Comintern meant Stalin’s ‘Communist
International’ organization which promoted
world-wide communism
– (Ger) (Italy) (Japan) united against Soviet
Union
– New alliance called ‘Axis’ alliance. The
name stuck
22,23,24
N
– Nazi-Soviet Pact August 1939
I can’t invade Poland if
Britain & France attack
me in the West AND the
USSR attacks me from
the East
I can’t fight Germany
yet – I’ve just purged
my Red Army! And
Britain & France
won’t help ME!
So…
They signed the Nazi-Soviet Pact
25,26,27
They promised not to attack each other
In secret they promised to divide Poland between them
G
Invasion of Poland
September 1939
1st September – Germany invades Poland
Britain and France give 48 hrs to withdraw
3rd September – Britain and France declare war on Germany
28
Was Appeasement the right
policy?
It was the wrong
policy because it
encouraged Hitler.
It was the right
policy because
Britain was not
ready for war.
Why did war break out in
Europe in 1939?
It was all Hitler’s fault.
He planned it step by
step.
It wasn’t Hitler’s fault.
He was a gambler, not
a planner ..
IVIL WAR IN SPAIN
E-OCCUPATION OF THE RHINELAND
NSCHLUSS WITH AUSTRIA
UDENTENLAND CRISIS
ITLER TAKES OVER REST OF CZECHOSLAVAKIA
TALY AND GERMANY FORM PACT
AZI-SOVIET PACT
ERMANY INVADE POLAND
Mussolini
Italy
Problems After WWI
460,000 Soldiers killed
 Heavy debt
 Dissatisfaction with TOV - Britain and
France didn’t give Italy the land they
promised in the Treaty of London
 Governments were coalitions that couldn’t
make decisions

Problems Continue
Value of lira declined
 Price of bread rose
 Shortage of Coal
 Rising unemployment
let to unrest in cities
 Peasants seize lands

Mussolini Gains Power
Promises to solve Italy’s
problems
 Something for everyone:





Nationalists – recreate the Roman
Empire
Landowners – protect private
property
Workers – full unemployment
Blackshirts
Mussolin’s Followers
 Used Force to gain power

March on Rome
1922
“Either the government
will be given to us or
we shall seize it by
marching on Rome”
 20,000 Blackshirts in a
planned Coup d’etat
 King Victor Emmanuel
fears Civil War - names
Mussolini Prime Minister

“Il Duce” – The Leader





Solved Unemployment
Problem
Restored Patriotism and
Nationalism
Recaptured Italy’s
Greatness
“Made the Trains Run on
Time
Limited Individual
Freedoms
Rise of Militarism in Japan
What Problems did Japan have after
WWI?
Weak Constitutional Monarchy
 Conflicts with west over
immigration policies and
TOV/LON
 Population Explosion



35M to 60 M
Need land for farming and living
space
Industrial Revolution = need
for more raw materials
 Economic Problems due to
Great Depression

What type of government evolved in
Japan?
Civilian government had
no control over military
 Militarism influenced all
aspects of society
 Military gradually gains
control of the
government

 Hirohito
figurehead
 Tojo as Military General
and Leader of Japan
What were Japan’s Military and
Nationalist Goals?

Solve Countries Problems
through foreign
expansion

Pacific empire rich in raw
materials and living
space

Begin in 1931 – Invasion
of Manchuria
1931 Attack on Manchuria
What was the Rape of Nanking?
Formative

What problems did Japan have after
WWI?

Which group in Japan gained political
power after WWI?