Rise of Hitler

• Fuhrer


  Combination of the roles of Chancellor and President, with complete control over the government and military
• Dictator

  A ruler who has total power over a coutnry
• Aryan race


  White Europeans (excluding the Slavic peoples)
• Hitler was born in Austria in 1889
• Hitler

  Served in the German Army during World War I, reaching the rank of corporal.

  Joined the German Workers’ Party in 1919, emerging as a leader of the party in 1920 which was later renamed the National Socialist German Workers’ Party (NSDAP, or the Nazis)
• He set out a 25-point program in which he called for:

  • A strong central government
  • Abolition of the Treaty of Versailles
  • Unification of all Germans in a greater Germany
  • Anti-capitalist measures (e.g. land reform, profit-sharing)
  • Promotion of anti-Semitism – Jews could not be a member of the German nation
• Nazis utilised the Sturm Abteilung (SA, Brownshirts) to harass opponents.
• What was the Munich Putsch?


  When Hitler attempted to overthrow the Weimar Republic through the use of force. The attempt failed, ending in Hitler’s arrest, however the trial provided him a platform to promote his ideas, appealing to the German public. After his release in 1925, he decided to use politics to raise himself to power legally.
• In Germany, the Great Depression, unemployment and hard times led to a dramatic increase in votes for Hitler and the Nazi Party.
• In 1933, Hitler was appointed Chancellor. After President Hindenburg died, Hitler combined the roles of Chancellor and President into one role, that of the Fuhrer.
• Why did Hitler want to abolish the Treaty of Versailles?

  The Germans hated it, it was a constant reminder of their humiliation in WW1, Hitler was determined to make Germany great again
• How and why did Hitler want to expand German territory?

  He conquered land in Eastern Europe because the German population was growing and he claimed they needed more Lebensraum (living space)
• The Nazis were Fascists; the exact opposite of the Communists who ruled Russia. Hitler was determined to destroy Communism. This meant war with Russia.
• Path to Greatness:

  1933: Increase military (including manufacture of tanks), establish air force, rebuild navy

  1936: Remilitarise Rhineland

  1938: Take over Czechoslovakia and Austria
• What was the 'stab in the back myth'?

  • The belief that Germany could win another war
  • Germany only lost WWI because they were betrayed by people in Germany, specifically Jews and Communists
  • This led to the idea that Germany can win the next war if they remove the people who betrayed them before