World War II’s Perpetrator Adolf Hitler

How did Adolf Hitler cause World War II?

Hitler’s Early Life ( ) Adolf Hitler was born in Braunau, Austria on April 20 th, 1889 to his mother (Klara) and father (Alois). Braunau

In 1903, Alois Hitler dies. After his father’s death, Hitler persuades his mother to allow him become an artist. In December 1907, Klara Hitler dies from breast cancer. The doctor treating Hitler’s mother was Jewish. This could have been the beginning to his anti-Semitism.

In 1908, Adolf applies to Vienna’s Academy of Arts and is rejected twice. From 1908 to 1913, Adolf lives on streets of Vienna trying to make money selling his artwork. When World War I began, Adolf flees from Austria-Hungary to Germany.

Hitler’s Rise to Power ( ) Adolf Hitler becomes a soldier for the German military in World War I. Germany loses the war and has to give up troops, land, and income (The Treaty of Versailles). *This gives Hitler the opportunity to get involved with politics In 1919, Adolf Hitler joins the German Worker’s Party (later renamed the Nazi Party). In 1923, Adolf Hitler is arrested for treason and writes Mein Kampf.

Hitler’s Rise to Power ( ) After being released from prison, Hitler got more involved with politics, enlarging the Nazi party. By 1930, the Nazi party was the second largest political party in Germany. On March 13, 1932, Hitler won enough votes to challenge President Paul von Hindenburg. In 1932, Hitler finally applied for German citizenship to help improve his chances of becoming president.

Hitler’s Rise to Power (1933) By January 28, 1933, Kurt von Schleicher resigned chancellorship, which caused Franz von Papen (previous chancellor) to urge President Hindenburg to appoint Hitler as chancellor. On January 30, 1933, Adolf Hitler took the oath of office as chancellor of Germany.

Hitler as Chancellor ( ) On February 27, 1933, a fire occurred at the Reichstag building. Hitler used this opportunity to blame the communists for the burning. The Reichstag building fire lead to Hitler issuing an executive order suspending civil rights indefinitely and giving more power to the state. Dachau, the first concentration camp, opened on March 22, This camp was originally used for political prisoners. The Enabling Act was passed, which eliminated the legislative branch and made Germany into an authoritarian state.

Hitler as Chancellor ( ) By April 1, 1933, Hitler started a nationwide boycott of Jewish businesses. Starting in 1933, Hitler used the policy of Gleichschaltung, to Nazify Germany and abolish other intrusions (Jewish business, political parties) to the Nazis. The Night of Long Knives (June 29-30, 1934): Hitler ordered the SS killing squads to eliminate the remaining SA officers. On August 2, 1934, Adolf Hitler becomes the fuhrer (leader) of Germany after President Hindenburg dies.

Hitler as Fuhrer ( ) On March 16, 1935, Hitler decided to expand the German army from 100,000 to 550,000 troops. In May 1935, Hitler’s girlfriend (Eva Braun) attempted suicide with a drug overdose. Her sister rescued her in time which led to Hitler paying more attention to her. In September 1935, Hitler presented the Nuremberg Laws, which separated the Jews from the German citizens.

Hitler as Fuhrer ( ) On March 7, 1936, Hitler ordered his troops to invade the Rhineland (western edge of 2 nd Reich Germany). After his capturing of the Rhineland, Hitler made an alliance with Emperor Hirohito (Japan) and Benito Mussolini (Italy). In March 1938, Hitler annexed Austria (anschluss) without killing one person. In September 1938, Britain, France, Germany, and Italy came into an agreement for Germany to acquire the Sudetenland, the Czechoslovakian border to Germany (Munich Agreement).

The Turn to WWII and the Holocaust ( ) On November 9, 1938, the Nazis attacked Jewish businesses and synagogues (Kristallnacht- the Night of Broken Glass). This was the first time the Jews were put in concentration camps. On November 12, 1938, Adolf Hitler orders a meeting to develop plans on “cleansing” Germany from Jewish influence.

The Turn to WWII and the Holocaust ( ) On March 14, 1939, Adolf Hitler ordered his troops to invade all of Czechoslovakia, which broke the Munich Agreement. On August 23, 1939, Adolf Hitler signed a non- aggression pact with Joseph Stalin (Soviet Union). Hitler promised Stalin that his troops would not invade them and that eastern Poland would go to the USSR. On September 1, 1939, Adolf Hitler orders his troops to invade Poland using blitzkrieg (lightning war).

Hitler and the Holocaust ( ) After the invasion of Poland, the Polish Jews were placed in ghettos, fenced in areas separating Jews and Non-Jews. Starting with the invasion of the USSR (June 1941), the Einsatzgruppen (killing squads) formed, killing mostly Russian Jews. On January 20, 1942, the Wannsee Conference takes place, where Hitler outlines the Final Solution, the extermination camps for European Jews.

Hitler and the Holocaust ( ) After the Wannsee conference, the ghettos were liquidated, which transferred the Polish Jewish people into concentration/ extermination camps such as Auschwitz, Treblinka, Chelmo, and Majdanek. From May through July 1944, the Nazis sent an occupying force into Hungary, sending their Jews to the Auschwitz death camp.

The Liberation ( ) Starting in August 1944, the Soviets liberate the concentration camps in Poland. Starting in 1945, the British and Americans liberate the concentration camps in Germany, such as Dachau and Buchenwald. On April 30, 1945, Hitler commits suicide.