Adolf Hitler
After World War I, Germany was governed by a new and struggling democratic government—the Wiemar Republic. Many Germans blamed the Wiemar Republic for accepting the harsh conditions in the Treaty of Versailles. As the economy in Germany continued to flounder under the reparations payments and the depression, Germans began to call for another strong leader like Bismarck. Hitler seemed to meet those demands with his strong sense of nationalism. Hitler also promised that he would end reparations payments, he would create jobs, he would unite all Germans into one nation, he would expand Germany’s borders, and he would begin a rearmament program (a direct violation of the Treaty of Versailles).
After the Great Depression, both the Nazi Party and the Communist Party gained seats in the German legislature. Out of fear of the growing communist power, the German president asked Hitler to become the chancellor (Prime Minister) of the German legislature in 1933. The conservative politicians believed that it would be easier to control Hitler than the communists. By 1934, however, Hitler had consolidated his power and established himself as a dictator. He tried to replace religion with his own racial creed about the glory of the Aryan race (light-skinned Europeans). All Protestant sects were combined into a single state church and Catholic schools were closed. The SS, or Hitler’s personal bodyguards, helped enforce Hitler’s decisions, and the Gestapo, or the secret police, rooted out political opposition. The “Hitler Youth” was created to teach the German youth the Nazi ideology and to train them for war.
Once he came to power, Hitler fulfilled many of the promises that he had made to gain support. He began making plans for the new Third Reich or empire, in which Germans would dominate Europe. He fought unemployment by establishing a large public works program that gave tens of thousands of Germans jobs. He helped create affordable products such as the peoples’ radio and the Volkswagen (peoples’ wagon). He also began to violate the conditions of the Treaty of Versailles by starting a rearmament program and planning a way to unite Germany with its former ally Austria.
During this time period, many Germans blamed the Jews for Germany’s defeat in World War I and the country’s economic problems. Hitler had very strong anti-Semitic beliefs and he set out on a mission to remove the Jews from Germany. The Nazis passed the Nuremberg Laws in 1935. Under the Nuremberg Laws, German Jews were deprived of their German citizenship, they were prohibited from marrying non-Jews, holding government jobs, practicing law or medicine, or publishing books. After the Nuremburg Laws were passed, the Nazis released diagrams such as this one to show who was allowed to marry. The empty circles indicate full-blooded Germans and the black circles indicate full-blooded Jews.
On the night of November 9-10 in 1938, the Nazis launched an attack on Jewish communities all over Germany. This night came to be known as Kristallnacht or the “Night of Broken Glass.” In the next few years, Hitler would develop a plan for the “Final Solution” to what he considered to be the Jewish “problem.”
After World War I, Germany was governed by a new and struggling democratic government—the Wiemar Republic. Many Germans blamed the Wiemar Republic for accepting the harsh conditions in the Treaty of Versailles. As the economy in Germany continued to flounder under the reparations payments and the depression, Germans began to call for another strong leader like Bismarck. Hitler seemed to meet those demands with his strong sense of nationalism. Hitler also promised that he would end reparations payments, he would create jobs, he would unite all Germans into one nation, he would expand Germany’s borders, and he would begin a rearmament program (a direct violation of the Treaty of Versailles).
After the Great Depression, both the Nazi Party and the Communist Party gained seats in the German legislature. Out of fear of the growing communist power, the German president asked Hitler to become the chancellor (Prime Minister) of the German legislature in 1933. The conservative politicians believed that it would be easier to control Hitler than the communists. By 1934, however, Hitler had consolidated his power and established himself as a dictator. He tried to replace religion with his own racial creed about the glory of the Aryan race (light-skinned Europeans). All Protestant sects were combined into a single state church and Catholic schools were closed. The SS, or Hitler’s personal bodyguards, helped enforce Hitler’s decisions, and the Gestapo, or the secret police, rooted out political opposition. The “Hitler Youth” was created to teach the German youth the Nazi ideology and to train them for war.
Once he came to power, Hitler fulfilled many of the promises that he had made to gain support. He began making plans for the new Third Reich or empire, in which Germans would dominate Europe. He fought unemployment by establishing a large public works program that gave tens of thousands of Germans jobs. He helped create affordable products such as the peoples’ radio and the Volkswagen (peoples’ wagon). He also began to violate the conditions of the Treaty of Versailles by starting a rearmament program and planning a way to unite Germany with its former ally Austria.
During this time period, many Germans blamed the Jews for Germany’s defeat in World War I and the country’s economic problems. Hitler had very strong anti-Semitic beliefs and he set out on a mission to remove the Jews from Germany. The Nazis passed the Nuremberg Laws in 1935. Under the Nuremberg Laws, German Jews were deprived of their German citizenship, they were prohibited from marrying non-Jews, holding government jobs, practicing law or medicine, or publishing books. After the Nuremburg Laws were passed, the Nazis released diagrams such as this one to show who was allowed to marry. The empty circles indicate full-blooded Germans and the black circles indicate full-blooded Jews.
On the night of November 9-10 in 1938, the Nazis launched an attack on Jewish communities all over Germany. This night came to be known as Kristallnacht or the “Night of Broken Glass.” In the next few years, Hitler would develop a plan for the “Final Solution” to what he considered to be the Jewish “problem.”