Nazi Germany 1933-45

• Mnemonic for the periods:

  In Germany Rose (the) Nazis

  • 1918-24 - Instability
  • 1924-29 - Golden years
  • 1929-33 - Rise of Hitler
  • 1933-45 - Nazi rule
• 1933-39


  •  the Nazis tried to influence every part of German life
• 1933-1939 Economy:

  • Hitler claimed that he had dramatically reduced unemployment figures under the Nazis.
  • Rearmament created jobs
  • national service meant young men were not counted as being unemployed
  • women and Jews were not counted in the figures at all
  • living standards did not improve
  • workers expected to take part in nazi party schemes
  • Strength Through Joy - cheap holidays but had to give up on trade union right
  • wanted to achieve autarky
  • economic self-sufficiency
  • economy geared towards preparing for war
  • workers expected to work long hours, modest pay
• 1933-39 Social Policy:


  • Women:
  • Follow the “3 Ks”: Kinder, Küche, Kirche (Children, Kitchen, Church).
  • Raise children for the Reich’s future.
  • Leave work; rewarded for having many children.
  • Young People:
  • Targeted by Nazi propaganda.
  • School curriculum promoted Nazi ideas.
  • Required to join groups like Hitler Youth and League of German Maidens
  • Religion:
  • Created the Reich Church to align with Nazi beliefs.
  • Restricted Catholic Church despite a 1933 agreement.
• 1933-39 Persecution:


  • nazi ideology centred around the belief that the Aryan Race was superior
  • all other races were sub-human
  • believed that any weaknesses, e.g. disabilities, should be weeded out to maintain racial purity
  • groups that the nazis did not like were targeted + persecuted
  • persecuted by 'euthanasia', imprisonment in concentration camps and loss of civil rights
  • Jews were mainly targeted
  • Jewish rights were gradually taken away as well as German citizenship
  • WW2, the Holocaust saw 6 million Jews from across Nazi-occupied Europe murdered
• How the Nazis tried to improve Employment and living standards:

  they did this by:

  • public works
  • rearmament
  • National Labour Service (NLS)
• Economic challenges and promises:

  • Germans suffered during WWI and the Depression.
  • Nazis promised economic recovery, gaining support
• Employment & Economy:

  • Hitler aimed for full employment; unemployment was nearly eliminated by 1939.
  • Attempted self-sufficiency (autarky), but it failed.
• Public Works:

  • Built hospitals, schools, and public buildings (e.g. 1936 Olympic Stadium)
  • Autobahn construction created 80,000 jobs.
• 27 February 1933 Reichstag Fire:


  • The Reichstag building caught fire in 1933.
  • The Nazis blamed communists to spread fear.
  • Over 4,000 communists were arrested.
  • Hitler got President Hindenburg to declare an emergency.
  • A new law ended freedom of the press and free speech.
  • The government could arrest people without charging them.
  • Property could be searched and taken without permission.
  • Thousands of opponents were arrested, imprisoned, and brutally tortured
• 5 March 1933 New elections 


  • Nazis used the police and SA to pressure political opponents.
  • 50 opponents were killed, and many more were injured.
  • They took control of the media and used radio for anti-communist messages.
  • Leading businessmen were persuaded to fund their election campaign.
  • The Nazis gained 44% of the vote in the election.
  • Support from the National Party gave Hitler control of over 50% of the Reichstag.
• 24 March 1933 Enabling act


  • The Enabling Act would let Hitler pass laws for 4 years without Reichstag approval.
  • To pass it, Hitler needed support from two-thirds of the Reichstag.
  • Communist members were banned from voting.
  • Some Social Democrats stayed away, fearing attacks by the SS and SA.
  • The Centre Party voted in favor after Hitler promised to protect the Catholic Church.
  • Remaining Social Democrats voted against the Act.
  • The Enabling Act was passed with 444 votes to 94
• May 1933 Trade unions taken over

  • Trade union offices were taken over, and union leaders were arrested.
  • Unions were weakened due to high unemployment.
  • They couldn’t organize a general strike.
  • All trade unions were merged into the German Labour Front (DAF).
  • The DAF was controlled by the Nazis.
• July 1933 All political parties banned

  • A new law introduced banned people from forming new political parties
  • The Social Democratic Party and the Communist Party had already been banned
  • pressure and intimidation from the nazis meant the National Party and Centre Party also broke up
  • Germany was a one-party state
• the night of long knives


  • 29 June 1934: Hitler arrested Röhm and had him killed.
  • SA leaders were captured and executed by the SS.

  Consequences:

  • Hitler gained the army’s support by promising to leave them alone.
  • Many Germans and Hindenburg praised Hitler for restoring order.
  • The SS became stronger and was controlled by Hitler.
  • The SA lost power, and Viktor Lutze became its new leader.
  • Hitler’s opponents were scared; von Papen resigned after being arrested.
  • Hitler became more confident and ruthless.
  • 3 July 1934: A law made Hitler’s actions legal.
• Hitler becomes Fuhrer


  • 2 August 1934: President Hindenburg died at age 84.
  • Hitler combined the roles of Chancellor and President, becoming the Führer.
  • 19 August 1934: Hitler held a referendum, and 90% of voters supported him.
  • 45 million Germans approved; only 4.5 million voted "no."
  • Hitler became commander-in-chief of the armed forces.
  • The army swore personal loyalty to Hitler, vowing to obey him and risk their lives for him.
  • Hitler promised to rebuild Germany's military strength:
  • Planned to rearm and reintroduce conscription.
  • The army agreed to stay out of politics and serve Hitler.
• Memory aid on how Hitler became Fuhrer


  How Hitler became chancellor:

  A - anger at the Weimar Republic

  B - bankrupt businesses

  C - coalition governments

  D - deal with Papen

  E - economic problems

  F - fear of communism

  G - Goebbels's propaganda

  H - Hitler's charisma

  Impact of the depression:

  P - poverty

  U - unemployment

  S - support for extreme political parties

  H - homelessness, crime and violence

  E - economic problems

  D - dissatisfaction with the Weimar Republic
• Reasons for Nazi racial policy and persecution Those who wouldn't work:

  • criminals
  • lived on the streets
  • drank excessively
  • people whose actions were deemed 'socially useless'
  • Were rounded up in 1933 and 500,000 of them were sent to concentration camps
• Reasons for Nazi racial policy and Persecution Disabled people


  • physical and mental disabilities
  • 350,000 of them compulsorily sterilised
  • nazis began to kill them, known as 'euthanasia', although they had no choice
  • in 1939, 5200 children were murdered
  • The euthanasia programme extended to adults, by 1941 71,000 people were murdered
  • tried to keep it secret, but became public knowledge
  • protest led by Bishop von Galen, this caused the programme to be stopped, but the killing continued in the concentration camps
• Reasons for Nazi racial policy and persecution Gay people:

  • Hitler thought gay people would weaken Germany
  • gay men savagely persecuted
  • 15,000 were arrested and sent to concentration camps
  • many castrated
  • used for experiments
  • Himmler was shocked to discover gay people in the SS and sent them to concentration camps where they were 'shot while trying to escape'
• Reasons for Nazi racial policy and persecution Political enemies:


  • Hitler wanted people to be obedient and loyal nazis
  • those who did not make Hitler their first loyalty (socialists, communists) refused due to political reasons, Jehovah's Witnesses for religious reasons.
  • all were put in concentration camps
• Reasons for Nazi racial policy and persecution 'Non-Aryan'


  • Hitler believed Aryans were the superior race and wanted to keep them "pure."
  • Aryans were banned from marrying or having children with other races, including:
  • Black people
  • Roma people
  • Jewish people
  • 385 Black Germans were forcibly sterilized.
  • Roma people were persecuted because they:
  • Weren’t Aryans.
  • Didn’t do "ordinary" work.
  • 1939: 25,000 of 30,000 Roma in Germany were killed, many at Auschwitz.
  • Across Europe, 500,000 Roma people were killed.
  • Jewish people were blamed for Germany’s problems and seen as the opposite of Aryans.
• How persecution changed Jewish lives


  • 1933, Jews made up less than 1% of Germany's population but they played an important role in society.
  • they formed:
  • 17% of bankers
  • 10% of doctors
  • 16% of lawyers
  • Hitler and the nazis took antisemitism to a new level
  • Hitler blames Jewish people for the problems in Germany
  • used bogus research to suggest that Jewish people were an 'inferior' race
  • gradually they took away their civil rights
• 1933: Boycotts and Bans


  • boycott of Jewish shops; shop windows scrawled with Jewish symbols
  • Jewish people were banned from all state jobs (civil servants, teachers, journalists, lawyers, radio announcers ...)
  • Jewish and non-Jewish children could not play together
• 1933: the Nuremberg Laws


  • Jewish people could not marry or have sex with non-Jewish people
  • all Jews lost German citizenship
  • could not vote
  • these laws came as a serious blow to Germany's Jews
  • between 1933-1939 half of Germany's Jews emigrated
• 1936: The Berlin Olympics


  • outward signs of persecution of the Jews were removed from public view during the Olympics
  • however, persecution continued especially outside of berlin