Hitler and the Rise of Nazi Germany

1. Hitler and the Rise of Nazi Germany World Civilization

2. Germany after WWI • 1919- the Kaiser abdicated • The Weimar Republic was created. • Strain of reparations payments + Great Depression depressed Germany’s economy. • hyperinflation

3. Born in Austria-1889 Developed strong anti-Semitic feelings while living in Vienna. Rejected from art school Mother’s doctor was a Jew Many Jews were rich Fought for the Germans in WWI after Austria rejected him. Adolf Hitler’s Early Life

6. Hitler’s Background • Joined the Nazi party in 1919. • National Socialist German Workers • Arrested in 1923 for treason after he tried to stage a takeover. 9 months in jail. • Wrote Mein Kampf while in prison. • “My Struggle”

8. Mein Kampf • Main Ideas: • Germans belonged to “master race” • Jews, Serbs, Poles, etc… were enemies • All Germans should unite to form 1 great nation. • Germany should expand to gain lebensraum, or living space.

9. The Nazi Party • Nazi membership increased to 1 million. • Hitler promised to end reparations, create jobs, and rearm Germany. • Basically, make Germany great again. • Instilled strong feelings of nationalism. • Appealed to Germans b/c of horrible economy.

10. Hitler becomes Chancellor • Hitler was named chancellor of Germany in 1933 • Not popular with politicians, but better choice. • Communism was spreading rapidly; Hitler seemed the lesser of 2 evils.

11. Hitler creates a totalitarian state • Abolished all parties except Nazi party • Ended civil rights • Used military force to arrest/execute opponents • SS (Schutzstaffel) • Gestapo • All Quiet on the Western Front burned

13. Nazism and Religion “The Nazis came first for the Communists. But I wasn’t a Communist, so I didn’t speak up. Then they came for the Jews, but I wasn’t a Jew, so I didn’t speak up. Then they came for the Catholics, but I was a Protestant so I didn’t speak up. Then they came for me. By that time, there was no one left to speak up. ~Martin Niemoller, Lutheran min.

14. Hitler’s anti-Semitism • 1933- Nuremberg Laws passed • Prohibited Jews from: • Attending/teaching at German schools • Holding govt. jobs • Practicing law or medicine • Publishing books • Many Jews fled (Albert Einstein)

15. Night of the Broken Glass • Kristallnacht – Nov. 9-10, 1938 • Nazi mobs attacked Jewish communities • Homes, businesses, synagogues were damaged • Beginning of the elimination of Jews

16. Concentration Camps: Auschwitz • Auschwitz

17. Hitler disobeys Versailles Treaty • Hitler began rebuilding the military • Also sent German troops into the Rhineland • 30 mile wide buffer zone between France and Germany. • The League of Nations was supposed to enforce the Treaty of Versailles.

18. Policy of Appeasement • Why wasn’t Hitler stopped? • Hitler was encouraged by lack of response • Formed alliance with Italy and Japan. • Rome-Berlin-Tokyo Axis • The three nations became known as the Axis Powers.

20. Appeasement • 1938- Germany annexed Austria • Anschluss • 1938- Hitler demands the Sudetenland • Western region of Czechoslovakia • 3 million Germans • Czech govt. asks France for help. • Prepare for war.

21. The Munich Conference • 1938- Germany, Italy, GB, France • GB and France agree to give Hitler the Sudetenland in exchange for his promise that he would stop there. • Less than 6 months later, he had taken over all of Czechoslovakia.

23. Nazi-Soviet Pact • Nonaggression pact between Hitler and the Joseph Stalin, dictator of the Soviet Union. • NOT a friendly alliance, but one based on mutual benefit.

24. Hitler and Stalin

25. WWII Begins • Sept. 1, 1939: Germany invades Poland • GB and France had promised to protect its independence. • Sept. 3, 1939: GB and France declare war on Germany.

26. “Blitzkrieg” • Lightning War • Luftwaffe, tanks, infantry • Poland was “wiped off the map” in less than a month • Winter 1939-Spring 1940- quiet • “sitzkrieg” or “phony war”

27. Germany’s Expansion • April 1940- Hitler launched a blitzkrieg against Norway and Denmark. • Change in British leadership • Neville Chamberlain stepped down • King George VI asked Winston Churchill to take over as GB’s new Prime Minister. • Netherlands, Belgium fell next.

28. Dunkirk • May 1940- Germans came through the Ardennes Forest to France. • Bypassed the Maginot Line – system of fortifications along the German/French border. • British and French troops were trapped!

30. Dunkirk • Dunkirk- port city on the English Channel. • British sent any and all ships/boats to rescue the trapped soldiers. • Evacuated troops across the Channel to Britain amidst German air raids. • Saved 338,000 soldiers.

32. The Fall of France • France surrendered in June 1940. • Germans occupied northern France; set up a puppet govt in the South. “Vichy France”

33. Operation Sea Lion • The only major power left in Hitler’s way was Britain. • Prior to invading, he launched heavy air strikes. • Aug. 1940 – Daily bombings began. • Brilliant air battles between the Luftwaffe and the RAF.

34. The Blitz • Sept 1940-bombings on London began. • Cont. for 57 straight nights • Britain refused to surrender! • Londoners hid underground in the Subway for shelter. • Operation Sea Lion failed!

35. Hitler abandoned the idea of conquering GB for awhile. • Germany & Italy sent troops to North Africa. • GB controlled Egypt, and the Axis Powers wanted access to the oil-rich Middle East. • Erwin Rommel ~ the Desert Fox

36. Erwin Rommel

37. Next, Hitler conquered the Balkan nations. • Operation Barbarossa- Hitler’s plan to invade the Soviet Union. • He wanted the land and vast resources of this region. • Also wanted to crush communism and his powerful rival- Stalin.

38. Invasion began on June 22, 1941. • The USSR’s Red Army was not prepared. As they retreated, they burned and destroyed anything useful to the Germans. • What’s this policy called? • By December, temps in the Soviet Union had reached -40 degrees.

39. Leningrad • German army had the city surrounded. Hitler tried to starve the 2.5 million citizens living there. • Ate cattle/horse feed, cats, dogs, crows, rats, and wallpaper to survive. • Over 1 million people died.