4.3 .1 and 4.3.2 The path to power

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• Leerjaar 3

4.3.1 and 4.3.2 The path to power

Make notes of the most important events / concepts!

At the end of this lesson...

• You will be able to explain why people were drawn to Hitler and the NSDAP.

Other goals this week:

• (You explain the features of National Socialism)
• (You explain how Hitler got all the power in Germany)

Germany

1924-1929

Economically, the country is doing better: 

Americans support German economy with Dawes plan

People have faith in democracy........

The people calm down and the Republic becomes more stable.

Dawes plan 1924

United States lends money to Germany. 

Germany can thus rebuild its economy and start paying the reparation payments to France (Versailles).

Things went rather well between 1924-1929.

But then..........

Wall Street crash 1929

a.k.a. 1929: Black Thursday ​

Booming economy in U.S. --> people buy shares on a loan​

1929--> stock prices go down --> people panic and sell--> prices go even further down--> people can't pay their loans anymore--> economic crisis

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...

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

Worktime

Paragraph 4.3 exercise 1, 3, 4 ,6a,8, 10

It's ok if you work in pairs and divide the questions.

Please hand in your answers so you can check them!

4.3.1: exc. 1+3

4.3.2: exc.4+6a

4.3.3: exc. 8+10

Share the answers so everyone can hand them in in the end!

Which Dutch person was accused for the Reichstagfire?

Reichstag elections July 1932

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

Flashback

Last lesson we discussed the path to power of Hitler and the NSDAP.

Try to answer the next five questions.

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.