Causes of the Outbreak of WWII ( ) The Rise of Hitler and Appeasement

Causes of the Rise of Hitler 1.“Stab in the Back” myth Supposedly, civilian socialist politicians panicked and gave up in WWI German soldiers did not lose WWI

Rise of Hitler (cont.) 2. Treaty of Versailles  War Guilt Clause  Humiliation  Reparations  Hurt economy  Limited Army

Rise of Hitler (cont.) 3. Adolf Hitler,  Charismatic  Great speaker  J. Goebbels  Used new media well  Planes  Propaganda  Film

Rise of Hitler (cont.) 4. The Great Depression, Germany’s Unemployment: 1929: 1.3 million 1930: 5.8 million January 1932: 6 million October 1932: 8.7 million (about 50% of work force) Industrial production: fell 42 percent from 1929 to 1932

Rise of Hitler (cont.) 5. Germany’s left-wing parties split:  Social-Democrats  Communists (USSR-backed)

Weimar period Elections results

Rise of Hitler (cont.) 6. Weimar government weak:  Chancellor Bruning stuck religiously to old- style economics, laissez-faire, slashing government spending and forcing down wages and prices.  Made Weimar’s leaders look stupid and unsympathetic to plight of the masses.

Rise of Hitler (cont.) Chronology of events: Communists started winning more support amongst workers. Lower-middle class and middle class then moved more and more right. Hitler seemed rough around the edges, but was a man of action and order, and anti-communist and a real patriot.

Rise of Hitler (cont.) 1930 Reichstag elections: Nazis won 6.5 million votes and 107 seats (of 491) Reichstag elections: Nazis won 14.5 million votes (38 percent) of Reichstag (230 seats; largest party in the Reichstag). Hitler also played down his anti-Jewish ideas and extreme racism at this time.

Rise of Hitler (cont.) Gained support from some key people in Big Business and the Army. Elites thought that they could use Hitler’s popularity, manipulate him. January 30, 1933: President Hindenburg appointed Adolf Hitler Chancellor of Germany.

Rise of Hitler (cont.) February 27, 1933: German Reichstag (Parliament) building burned. Nazis quickly blame the fire on Communists February 28, 1933: A presidential decree gives Chancellor Hitler emergency powers All 100 Communist Party members of the Reichstag are arrested. One Berlin man is given 50 lashes for being a Communist and 50 more for being a Jew

Burning of the Reichstag

Who supported Hitler? Lower-middle class: afraid of being deprived of their social status Substantial sections of the more prosperous middle classes,who fell victim to scare tactics that their businesses or possessions were subject to imminent expropriation by the Communists Disenchanted workers whose loyalty to the nation exceeded their loyalty to their class

Who supported Hitler (cont.)? Nazis attracted a broad spectrum of German citizens, apparently incompatible groups Hitler’s appeal cut across class boundaries Countryside was very pro-Nazi, small towns, not big cities Protestant north more often supported them than Catholic south

Appeasment CAUSES OF APPEASEMENT: 1.WWI, devastation, sacrifice and humiliation 2.Western powers, especially British PM Neville Chamberlain, thought he could take Hitler at his word 3.USA had slipped back into isolation, so League of Nations had no teeth 4.Many Britons thought that Versailles had been too harsh and needed to be fixed (Hitler was just making amends) 5.Many liked Hitler's anti-communism 6.Britain’s lack of military preparedness also encouraged it to stay out of any possible war

Neville Chamberlain: “Peace with honour! Peace for our time!”

March 1939: Germany occupied the rest of Czechoslovakia