1. ADOLF HITLER
RISE TO POWER

2. NAZI PARTY Nazi Party=National Socialist German Workers’ Party
Hitler & Nazis try to overthrow German gov’t in 1923
Fails, is arrested, thrown in jail (serves 1 yr)
Writes Mein Kampf (My Struggle)
Goals
1. Rebuild military & overturn Treaty of Versailles
2. Germans are “master race”
3. lebensraum: Germany is too crowded & need more “living space” (empire)

3. Hitler’s Promises
Hitler makes promises to important groups to gain popularity
Farmers: raise prices on produce to recover losses during depression
Middle class: get rid of communists, help businesses & profits
Unemployed: jobs (public works like roads)

4. How did he take power? Through Nazi Party
1932 he is made Chancellor of Germany
President and other leaders think they can control Hitler & use his popularity for their own purposes
Takes power legally
Once in office, he calls for new elections
Burns Reichstag (parliament building) & blames Communists (smart!)
Nazi’s win by slim majority
CREATES TOTALITARIAN STATE & HAS ABSOLUTE POWER!!!

5. Style of Leadership Dictator/totalitarian state
SS (Schutzstaffel) Hitler’s police squad arrests any opposition
Bans all political parties but Nazi Party
Censorship, propaganda, book burning
Churches forbidden to criticize Nazis or gov’t
Establishes Hitler Youth
Gov’t encourages/organizes anti-semitism

6. How did he handle the economic crises?
Banned all labor strikes
Dissolved labor unions
Gov’t has authority over business & labor
Put people back to work
Unemployment dropped from 6 million to 1.5 million in 1936
Built factories, highways, weapons, & military