Under Hitler's spell (goal 2)

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Under Hitler's spelln(goal 2)

At the end of this lesson...

Explain Hitlers’ National Socialism and give characteristics of it.

Explain how Hitler took over power in Germany.

Explain how Hitler formed Germany into a totalitarian state.

Wall Street Crash 1929

Because the U.S. is the biggest economy at that time it affected a lot of other countries. Also Germany is hit very hard by the crisis.

Opportunity

• Germany was hit hard by the Wall Street Crash.

• Most of Germany became unemployed.

• The Germans started to wish for a more powerful leader who could help them get out of the crisis...

1923: Hitler tried to overthrow the government. It was put down and Hitler went to prison and wrote the book Mein Kampf.

Hitler believed in discrimination, racism, anti-semitism and nationalism.

Totalitarian ideologies get more power...​

Italy: Mussolini & Fascism​

Fascism = praise one strong leader, nationalism, militarism, anti-democratic, anti-liberalism, anti-communism​

Germany: Hitler & National-Socialism​

National-Socialism = Fascism + racial theories

The NSDAP

• After his release from prison, Hitler manages to make the NSDAP (=National Socialist German Workersparty) one of the biggest parties in Germany. 

• Many people feel drawn to his ideas.

The next clip shows 4 reasons how Hitler gained more popularity

4 reasons how Hitler gained more popularity

1. Germany was humiliated and betrayed by the Treaty of Versailles

2. Hitler was a gifted public speaker

3. Fear of poverty

4. Hitler blamed 1 group for the misfortunes of Germany

The ideas of the NSDAP:

• Getting rid of the Treaty of Versailles: It was humiliating and a disgrace.
• Getting rid of the Weimar Republic: The stab-in-the-back-myth. The government has betrayed their people during WWI.
• Getting rid of the unemployment: The NSDAP helps people find a job and get and back on their feet.

But what is the NSDAP exactly?

• A nationalistic party: Hitler wants to make Germany powerful again. A country to be proud of.

• An authoritarian party: They don't believe in democracy.

Propaganda

• People weren't just drawn to Hitler's appealing campaign promises. Propaganda played a major role as well.
• Hitler himself became part of the propaganda. People are impressed by his speeches and are drawn to him.
• Hitler's colleague (and later ''minister of propaganda'') Joseph Goebbles becomes head of this propaganda campaign. 

Violence

• The Nazis use violence  to intimidate their opponents.
• They use the SA (Sturmabteilung) for this. 

Taking Power

1932: NSDAP 37% --> biggest party

Nobody trusted him, but the elites wanted to use Hitler to stop democracy --> Hitler became Reichs Chancelor 

Big mistake--> Hitler declared for new elections --> NSDAP 44%

Because of the Reichstag fire and intimidation--> 1933 the Enabling act was voted in that gave Hitler all the power

Reichstag elections July 1932

Nazis (brown) are largest parties, but don't have an overall majority

Options

Start with goal 2  (6.2)

Or:

Do the check questions first on the next slides and watch the short documentary (headphones or earbuds).

Which statement is false?

1. Thanks to the crisis, Hitler’s party grew immensely.
2. According to Hitler, poverty in Germany was caused by the Treaty of Versailles.
3. In 1928, the NSDAP was still a small political party.
4. In 1932, the NSDAP had a majority in the German parliament.

What causal relation does the chart show between the
unemployment rate and the popularity of the NSDAP?
ps, you don't need to include numbers in your answer.

The bars show the percentage of votes received by the NSDAP during the elections between 1924-1933. The line shows the unemployment rate.

Read source A
What motive could the people, described by
Hauser, have had for voting NSDAP?

Read source A
What motive could they have had for
not voting for a democratic party?

Reichstag elections March 1933

Nazis (brown) , together with another nationalist party, have an overall majority

In March 1933, tens of thousands of alleged German communists were arrested, brutally tortured and, in some cases, killed. Research shows that a large part of German population agreed on this policy. Explain the most probable reason for people agreeing with this policy.