Hitler and the Rise of Nazi Germany

The Weimar Republic rise & Fall As WWI ended and the Germany was on the brink of chaos, the Kaiser abdicates the throne and they are forced the sign the Treaty of Versailles. In 1919, German leaders drafted a new constitution and created the Weimar Republic. The new constitution set up a chancellor or a prime minister to lead the country. It also gave women the right to vote and included a bill of rights.

The New Government Faced Problems -Political: Many small political factions formed and fought for political power and dominance -Economic: In attempt to calm protesting workers the government printed money to pay them which caused widespread inflation. The German mark becomes worthless. For example an item that cost 100 marks in July 1922 cost 944,000 marks by August 1923. -With the help of Western powers the bring inflation under control

Hitler Rise In November 1923, a German army veteran and leader of an extremist party, Adolf Hitler, tried to stage a coup in Munich. His coup failed and was sentenced to five years in jail although he only serves nine months. -From a young age he held anti-Semitic beliefs or hatred of the Jews.

The Nazi Party’s Rise to Power While imprisoned Hitler wrote the book Mein Kampf (“My Struggle”) it outlined key Nazi goals and ideology such as: Germans belonged to a superior master race known as the “Aryan”, light skinned Europeans which great enemies were Jews. In order for Germany to become a great nation they needed Lebensraum or living space for its people. Slavs and other inferior races must bow to the needs of the Aryans.

Hitler Comes to Power Soon after Hitler was released to from jail he won support from millions of Germans. He promised to end reparations, create jobs, and defy the Treaty of Versailles by rearming Germany. - In 1933 Hitler was appointed Chancellor and within a year he becomes dictator of Germany.

The Third Reich Controls Germany Hitler calls he “new” empire the Third Reich: the official name that the Nazi party gave to its regime in Germany, which held power from 1933 to 1945. He stated that Germany’s master race would dominate Europe for more than a thousand years. In order to combat the economic depression Hitler was going through he instituted public works programs. To strengthen the country he rearmed Germany.

Germany Becomes a Totalitarian State In order to achieve his goal of a thousand year Reich Hitler instituted a brutal totalitarian rule. He used the SS, black uniformed troops and the Gestapo, secret police to enforce his will.

The Campaign Against the Jews Begins In 1935, the Nazis created the Nuremberg Laws, which deprived Jews of German citizenship and placed severe restrictions on them. Prohibited Jews form attending or teaching at German schools and universities, holding government jobs, practicing law or medicine, or publishing books.

The Night of Broken Glass On November 7, 1938, a young Jew whose parents had been mistreated in Germany shot and wounded a German diplomat in Paris. Hitler used this incident as an excuse to stage a attack on all Jews, “Kristallnacht” or “the night of the broken glass” in which thousands of Jewish communities were damaged/destroyed.

THE FINAL Solution Soon after Hitler and other Nazi leaders come up with the “Final Solution”: the extermination of all Jews https://www.ushmm.org/learn/timeline-of-events/1939- 1941/hitler-speech-to-german-parliament

Nazi Youth - In attempt to spread Nazi ideology Hitler created the Hitler Youth: in which German children pledged absolute loyalty to Germany and undertook physical fitness programs to prepare for war.

Women In Germany Women’s role in the Third Reich was to stay at home and produce “Aryan” children for the Führer .