1. Hitler And His Henchmen

2. Der Fuhrer 1889-1945 In 1921, the National Socialist German Workers’ Party voted Hitler as leader The party attracted laborers, former soldiers and misfits They were violently nationalistic, Anti-Semitic and against democratic government The party organized a paramilitary group called the Sturm Abteilung, (SA) or Storm Troops

7. The Beer Hall Putsch In 1923, the Nazis attempted to seize the state government of Bavaria They also planned to march on Berlin The plan failed and Hitler was arrested and charged with high treason He was sentenced to 5 years in prison, but only spent 8 months in jail Hitler’s trial pushed him into the national spotlight

11. Mein Kampf While in prison, Hitler writes his first book called Mein Kampf or My Struggle Hitler will introduce his idea of the Aryan Race He believed the Aryan race should not mix blood with lesser races (Jews) Mein Kampf also showed Hitler’s ambition to absorb other Aryan people into Germany

13. Lebensraum Hitler’s ultimate goal was the conquest of Lebensraum (living space) for the German people in the Soviet Union Hitler had his eye on the Ukraine because of its agricultural land and natural resources

14. Hitler’s Henchmen

15. Joseph Goebbels 1897-1945 Minister of Propaganda -walked with a limp – deformed foot - considered entering the priesthood - Ph.D from Heidelberg University - master of persuasion and mass media - thought most people had low intellect

19. Hermann Goering 1893-1946 Flying ace who shot down 22 allied planes during WWI Goering was head of Hitler’s SA until he was severely wounded during the Beer Hall Putsch He will eventually become second only to Hitler in the Nazi leadership Goering will also lead the German air force or Luftwaffe

20. Hermann Goering 1893-1946 God gave the savior to the German people. We have faith, deep and unshakeable faith, that he [Hitler] was sent to us by God to save Germany.

23. Heinrich Himmler 1900-1945 In 1929, Himmler takes command of the Schutz Staffel or SS The SS will be responsible for guarding Hitler during his rise to power Himmler was ruthless and very dedicated to the party and Hitler

24. Heinrich Himmler 1900-1945 A man often seen as the very personification of evil. Heinrich Himmler was not only head of Hitler's SS police, but was also in charge of the death camps in the East. Although Adolf Hitler held the ultimate responsibility for what became the Holocaust, it was Heinrich Himmler who essentially laid the plans and devised the schemes that led to the killings of six million Jews.

25. Heinrich Himmler 1900-1945 He organized the first concentration camp at Dachau and began to organize the Nazi political police throughout Germany

26. Himmler Speech to SS Officers, 1943 "Our principle must be absolute for the SS man: we must be honest, decent, loyal, and comradely to members of our own blood and to no-one else. What happens to the Russians, what happens to the Czechs, is a matter of utter indifference to me. Such good blood of our own kind as there may be among the nations we shall acquire for ourselves, if necessary by taking away the children and bringing them up among us. Whether the other people live in comfort or perish of hunger interests me only in so far as we need them as slaves for our culture. Whether or not 10,000 Russian women collapse from exhaustion while digging a trench interests me only in so far as the tank ditch is completed for Germany."

33. The Nazis: Mengele Dr. Mengele was the best- known of the Nazi doctors. Known as “The Angel of Death,” Mengele made selections at Auschwitz. In addition, he conducted experiments on twins intended to improve the Aryan race.

34. Who were the victims? In addition to the Jews, Gypsies, and the handicapped were major targets for Nazi anger. They were seen as a serious biological threat to the purity of the Aryan race and therefore had to be exterminated. The greatest number were from Poland.

35. The VictimsThe Victims Millions more, including Soviet prisoners of war, political dissidents, homosexuals, and Jehovah’s Witnesses, suffered repression and death at the hands of the Nazis.

36. Why did the Germans target others?Why did the Germans target others? The Nazis believed that the Germans were “racially superior” to these enemies. In addition to their “racial inferiority,” the Jews were blamed for Germany’s defeat in World War I, for its economic problems, and for the spread of Communism in Europe.

37. Why the Gypsies and Handicapped?Why the Gypsies and Handicapped? According to the Nazis, Gypsies and the handicapped shared the Jews’ racial inferiority. The best way to deal with such “inferior races”? Exterminate them. The plan for this extermination was called the Final Solution.

38. Why the others?Why the others? Poles and other Slavic peoples were also considered inferior and were destined to serve as slave labor for their German masters. Communists, Socialists, Jehovah’s Witnesses, homosexuals, and Free Masons were imprisoned and often killed on political and behavioral grounds.

39. Albert Speer 1905-1981 Speer joins the Nazi party in 1932 and also becomes a member of the SS Hitler asks Speer to organize the Nuremberg Rally of 1934 Speer then becomes Minister of Armaments in 1942 He is best known as the “Nazi Architect”

44. Rudolph Hess 1894-1987 Appointed Deputy Fuhrer and became the number 3 man in Hitler’s Germany Joined the Nazi Party in 1920 and was well known as a brawler Hess will rise through the Nazi party and be completely loyal to Hitler’s ideals

47. Heydrich was the principle figure in the development of the “final solution” Nicknames – The Blonde Beast, and Hangman Heydrich Joins the Nazi Party in 1931 Heydrich proceeded to create the intelligence gathering organization known as the SD (Sicherheitsdienst), or SS Security Service st), or SS Securityst), or SS Security 1904- 1942 Reinhard Heydrich

48. Reinhard Heydrich was one of Hitler's most ruthless Nazis and second in importance only to Heinrich Himmler in the Nazi SS organization and the principle planner of the Final Solution. There was even talk of his one day succeeding Adolf Hitler.

51. Adolf Eichmann 1906-1962 Headed Gestapo Department IV B4 for Jewish Affairs Served as a self proclaimed 'Jewish specialist' He was the man responsible for keeping the trains rolling from all over Europe to death camps during the Final Solution. He was caught on May 11, 1960 Found guilty on all counts, sentenced to death and hanged at Ramleh Prison, May 31, 1962.

54. Ernst Rohm 1887-1934 Rohm participated in the 1923 Beer Hall Putsch Rohm took the SA and began to organize and train them in a strict military fashion. Rohm was shot in his prison cell after he refused to commit suicide. Hitler later said that he was sorry that he had to destroy Rohm.