THE THIRD REICH

WARM UP1. After WWI, what was the name of the German republic?2. What happened after the fire at the Reichstag?3. What was the Nazi policy of “coordination”?4. Name one example of the policy of coordination.5. What did Hitler believe about race?6. What role did women play in Hitler’s ideal republic?7. What ethnic group other than the Jews did the Nazis target?8. Could Germans criticize the Nazis openly? Why or why not?9. Think back to last class. What was the Holocaust? 10. Today, we will learn about the role of propaganda in the Nazi regime. What is

propaganda? Can you think of an example?

VOICES FROM HITLER’S ARMY

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LHvJhk9hUZY&NR=1&feature=endscreen

“THIRD REICH”

Meaning third empire in GermanImagined the rule of Hitler in Germany as the

beginning of the third great empire to last for a thousand years

ORIGINS OF NAZI TAKE-OVER

Treaty of Versailles Ended WWI; Germans forced to sign in 1919 Aimed to punish Germans Took away land, forced Germany to pay huge sums

of money as reparations, blamed Germany for starting the war, reduced army vastly

Germans were surprised- the public didn’t know they lost the war that badly

FAILURES OF THE WEIMAR REPUBLIC

When a new government, the Weimar Republic, tried to establish a democratic course, extreme political parties from both the right and the left struggled violently for control.

The new regime could neither handle the depressed economy, which included hyperinflation, nor the rampant lawlessness and disorder.

ADOLF HITLER

"When I returned from the War, I brought back home with me my experiences at the front; out of them I built my National Socialist community”- Hitler

Hitler hated Jews, Bolsheviks and even Democrats. He was embittered by the results of WWI and thought the country had been stabbed in the back by the November Criminals (German government leaders who signed the Armistice).

THE NAZIS

Hitler expanded the German Worker’s Party, re-naming it the National Socialist German Workers' Party or Nazi party. He became the leader of the party and promoted:National prideMilitarismRacial Purity

EARLY FAILURE

Adolf Hitler's attempt at an armed overthrow of local authorities in Munich, known as the Beer Hall Putsch, failed miserably.The Nazi Party seemed doomed to fail and its leaders were put on trial.

However, Hitler used his trial as an opportunity to criticize the German government. He was well-received in the courtroom and offered a limited sentence. In jail, he authored Mein Kempf.

NAZIS RISING

After release from prison, Hitler rebuilt the Nazi party.

In 1925 Conservative military hero Paul von Hindenburg was elected German president.

The Nazi Party began building a mass movement. From 27,000 members in 1925, the Party grew to 108,000 in 1929.

The Nazi Party established a propaganda arm, a militia, and auxiliary groups for children, women and men of various professions- i.e. teachers, lawyers, and doctors.

TAKEOVER OF POWER, 1933

In the wake of world-wide economic depression, president Hindenburg created a new government, made up of a chancellor and cabinet ministers, to rule by emergency decrees instead of by laws passed by the Reichstag.In January 1933 Hindenburg reluctantly agreed to appoint Hitler as chancellor.

REICHSTAG FIRE

In February 1933, the German Reichstag (the meeting place of German Parliament) was destroyed by fire. The plot and execution was almost certainly due to the Nazis but they pointed the finger at the Communists.

ASCENSION TO POWER

In March 1933 the Enabling Act passed—powers of legislation passed to Hitler’s cabinet for four years, making him virtual dictator.

Hitler banned all political parties except the Nazi party. In July 1934 Hitler named himself Fuehrer and Reich Chancellor

after the death of President Hindenburg.

NAZI ACTIONS

An instructional chart distinguishes individuals with pure German blood, “Aryan”, (left column), Mixed blood (second and third columns), and Jews (right two columns), as defined in the Nuremberg Laws. Jews were not allowed to marry people of the defined Aryan race.

Nazis slowly removed rights from Jews and other groups they considered inferior. The Nuremberg Laws of 1935 restricted future German citizenship to those of German or kindred blood, and excluded those deemed to be racially Jewish or Roma.

KRISTALLNACHT

The Kristallnacht Pogrom of November 9-10, 1938.

Considered the beginning of the Holocaust.

75,000 Jewish shops were destroyed and 400 synagogues were burnt. Many Jews were killed and 30,000 sent to concentration camps.

VIOLENCE ACCELERATES

With the German invasion of Poland, WWII officially begins. Jewish population moved into concentration camps in large

numbers. The Holocaust: a mass genocide of approximately six

million Jews. During the Nazi reign, huge numbers of other victims targeted groups were murdered as well, including homosexuals, handicapped people, Romani people, and political prisoners.

THE HOLOCAUST

“One day when I was able to get up, I decided to look at myself in the mirror on the opposite wall. I had not seen myself since the ghetto. From the depths of the mirror, a corpse was contemplating me. The look in his eyes as he gazed at me has never left me.” ― Elie Wiesel, Night

HOW DID GERMANS LET IT HAPPEN?

Other political parties were outlawed. Labor unions were disbanded and replaced by the Nazi Labor Front. School curricula were rewritten to inculcate Nazi ideology. Even institutions that were not controlled by Nazis, such as churches, felt

strong Nazi influence. Through all such groups, people were encouraged to spy on each other and

to report disloyalty.

HITLER YOUTH

“I begin with the young,” said Hitler. “We older ones are used up but my magnificent youngsters! Are there finer ones anywhere in the world? Look at all these men and boys! What material. With them I can make a new world.” By 1939, more than seven million German boys and girls belonged to the Hitler Youth.

PROPAGANDA IN NAZI GERMANY Following the Nazi seizure of power in 1933, Hitler

established a Reich Ministry of Public Enlightenment and Propaganda headed by Joseph Goebbels..

The Nazis controlled all media outlets. They carried on a continual propaganda campaign to

maintain support for their programs and for their ideology.