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SOCIAL STUDIES 10

WORLD WAR II

ADOLF HITLER AND THE NAZI PARTY

I. ADOLF HITLER

A. Early Life

-born in Braunau, Austria on April 20, 1889

-did not get along with his father (who was 52 when Hitler was born)

-strict and very impatient

-did well in elementary school

-marks fell drastically in high school (failed a year)

-interested in becoming an artist

-strongly anti-Semitic(anti-Jewish) from a very young age

-felt Jews were “unequal to Germans”

-felt that Jews were another race (sub-human)

-believed that Jews were not loyal

-convinced that Jews would never “fit in”

-quit high school without graduating

-failed entrance exam to the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna (twice)

-refused to work manual jobs

-lived in a hostel for the poor and homeless

-extremely nationalistic (strong faith in Germany and the German people

Discussion Questions

1. Why do you suppose Hitler was so strongly anti-Semitic?

2. As an Austrian, why do you think Hitler was so strongly pro-German?

B. Military Involvement

-arrested in January, 1914 for avoiding the compulsory draft

-tried to get into Austrian army but was rejected

-successfully enlisted in the German army in August, 1914

-showed bravery in battle and was awarded the Iron Cross in 1918

-other soldiers found him very strange

- a hospital psychiatrist concluded that Hitler was a “psychopathic with hysterical symptoms”

II. THE BEGINNING OF THE NAZI PARTY

-many Germans accepted the blood, pain and suffering of WW I

-many Germans strongly anti-Semitic after WW I

-Hitler became even more intolerant and openly violent after WW I

-blamed the Jewish people for Germany’s defeat (scapegoats)

-Hitler discovered his natural ability as a public speaker and was used by the government to give motivational speeches

-in 1919, Hitler joined the German Worker’s Party and changed its name to the Nationalist Socialist German Worker’s Party (NAZI)

-new party gained support from a number of wealthy businessmen afraid of a communist revolution

-Nazi party tried to get support from workers, farmers and middle class

-wanted to unite Germans across Europe

-wanted to expand German territory

-wanted to “purify” Germany by denying all foreigners their rights

-attacked wealthy businessmen, promised work for everyone

-sought to radically reform the educational system, control the press, create mass new army

-Hitler’s speeches were often the high-points of Nazi meetings

-practiced in a mirror (hand gestures, facial expressions, etc.)

-had a very good memory (two hour speeches with no notes)

-arrived late, started calmly and slowly built up excitement

-tried to build up faith in himself and the party

-Hitler gained total power of the party in 1921

-Hitler formed the SA army (“Brownshirts”) to protect himself and other party members

-WW I veterans, petty criminals, unemployed workers, unhappy young men

-Hitler arrested in 1923 for attempting to overthrow the German government (sentenced to five years, served nine months)

-wrote book Mein Kampf (“My Struggle”) in prison

Discussion Questions

1. Why do you think anti-Semitism in Germany increased after WW I?

2. What was Hitler’s main strength as a political leader? Explain.

3. Why do you think Hitler tried to get the support of wealthy businessmen if he was anti-business?

4. Which of the Nazi policies do you think was most dangerous? Explain.

5. Why do you think Hitler served such a small portion of his prison sentence?

III. THE RISE OF NAZISM (1930’s)

-German government faced serious economic depression in the 1930’s

-Great Global Depression of the 1930’s

-German government could not borrow any money from the US

-Germany had the largest percentage of unemployed workers in any industrialized country in the industrialized world

-unemployed were hungry, frustrated, angry and bored

-people were upset at a government they saw as weak and useless

-Hitler promised all things to all people

-Hitler was elected Chancellor and supreme ruler of Germany in January, 1933

Discussion Questions

1. How do you think the German people would have reacted to Nazism if the economic picture    was brighter?

2. How do you think Hitler used the economic situation in Germany to his political advantage?

IV. NAZI BELIEFS

-use of terror against enemies/opposition

-Hitler proclaimed himself “Der Fuhrer”, or “supreme leader”

-demanded complete faith of German people, total control

-extreme nationalist (blind loyalty to Germany)

-extreme racism

-belief that the German people were members of the Aryan “super race”

- “Aryans had perfect bodies, highest intelligence”

-belief that other races were inferior by nature and should serve the German “Master Race”

-Poles and Slovaks to serve as slave labour

-Jews to be considered “parasites” and “sub human”

-belief that Germany needed “lebensraum”, or “living space” (more territory)

-advocated large families and traditional roles for men and women

-awarded a metal called “Honour Cross of the German Mother” to German women having four or more children

Discussion Questions

1. Why do you think the Nazi party stressed the philosophy of the Aryan Race?

2. Why do you think the Nazi policy of territorial expansion was called

“lebensraum”?

3. Why do you think the Nazi party rewarded women for having many children?

V. NAZI PROPAGANDA

-Goebbels: Minister of Propaganda

-propaganda used to tell the German people what to think and how to act

-used radio, theatre, newspapers, banners, posters, uniforms, books, film, art, etc.

-all media supported Nazi ideas

-books not consistent with Nazi ideas were burned

-all German people were forced to join Nazi Party

-all objectors thrown in prison or killed

-all opposition parties were eliminated

-all German children were forced to join Nazi youth programmers (“Hitler Youth”)

-Nazi Party took complete control of the educational system

-to indoctrinate (brainwash) children

-textbooks were rewritten to support and reinforce Nazi beliefs

Discussion Questions

1. Why do you think it was very important for the Nazi Party to gain total control of the media (methods of mass communication)?

2. Why do you suppose the Nazi Party placed such emphasis on Germany’s youth?

3. Why do you think the Nazi Party took over complete control of the school system?

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