HITLERS RISE TO POWER

• Role of SA

  • They were used to disrupt the meetings of political opponents, intimidate voters and promote Nazi ideas and policies
  • The Communist Party in particular was targeted by the SA as they were an electoral threat to the Nazis
• Propaganda

  • Hitler understood the importance of propaganda
  • He made lots of speeches and travelled round Germany to meet people, trying to show that he understood their problems
• Reichstag fire

  • A fire in the Reichstag building, just four weeks after Hitler had been appointed Chancellor, and right before another election was due to take place
  • A Dutch communist named Marinus van der Lubbe was found inside and confessed to starting the fire
  • Some historians believe the fire was a Nazi plot to justify action against communists and Jews
• Hitler's rise to power

  1. Adolf Hitler served in the German army in World War One

  2. In 1919 he joined the German Workers' Party, which would go on to become the Nazi Party

  3. After a failed attempt to take over Germany in 1923, the Nazi Party took advantage of the impact of the Great Depression in 1929 to win public support

  4. Hitler was appointed German Chancellor in January 1933
• Hitler was born in Braunau, Austria, in 1889
• Growing up, Hitler aspired to be an artist but was unsuccessful in applying to Art College in Vienna
• Struggling to make a living, Hitler lived in a shelter for homeless men in Vienna and earned money by painting portraits
• Hitler moved to Munich in 1913 and joined the German army when war broke out in 1914
• During World War One, Hitler was wounded twice and awarded several medals
• In October 1918, Hitler was temporarily blinded by mustard gas
• Hitler claimed that he cried upon hearing the news that Germany had surrendered
• After the war, the army sent Hitler to Munich to spy on the German Workers' Party, an emerging political group
• In September 1919, Hitler decided to join the German Workers' Party, which was led by Anton Drexler
• In 1920, the German Workers party was renamed the National Socialist German Workers Party, which became the Nazi Party
• By 1921, Hitler had taken over the leadership of the German Workers Party
• Main beliefs of the Nazi Party

  • Antisemitism
  • Racism
  • Nationalism
  • Strong hostility towards other political systems, including democracy, socialism, and communism
• By 1923, the Nazi Party was gaining support as Germany was struggling to recover from World War One and the harsh terms that the Treaty of Versailles had inflicted upon them
• The Munich Putsch


  1. On 8 November 1923, Hitler stormed into a beer hall in Munich where a political meeting was being held by the leader of Bavaria, Gustav Kahr

  2. He had the support of German war hero General Ludendorff and persuaded Kahr to support his revolution

  3. On the morning of 9 November, Hitler marched through the streets of Berlin

  4. The police had been tipped off and Hitler fled

  5. He was arrested on 11 November
• Hitler was sentenced to 5 years in Landsberg prison, but was released after just 9 months
• While in prison, Hitler wrote a book, Mein Kampf (My Struggle), in which he set out his ideas for the future of Germany, as well as many of his antisemitic ideas
• Hitlers ideas? (racism, nationalism, antisemitism)

  These ideas were largely ignored by the German electorate until the mass unemployment caused by the Great Depression
• Hitler becomes Chancellor


  1. In 1929, the Great Depression caused a worldwide economic crash which gave Hitler an opportunity

  2. Hitler took advantage of the economic problems and blamed them on Jewish people

  3. Nazi propaganda posters claimed that Hitler would be able to find solutions to Germany's economic problems

  4. These ideas were popular and the Nazis started to win seats in the Reichstag

  5. In response, the German president, Paul von Hindenburg, decided to give Hitler the role of Chancellor, though he didn't like Hitler very much

  6. Hitler became Chancellor on 30 January 1933
• After being appointed as Chancellor, Hitler moved quickly to secure his power
• In the role of Chancellor, Hitler was able to introduce new laws in the Reichstag
• Hitler wanted to be a dictator, and to be able to pass laws on his own without the need for a vote in the Reichstag
• The Reichstag fire


  1. On 27 February 1933, there was a fire in the Reichstag building

  2. A Dutch communist named Marinus van der Lubbe was found inside and confessed to starting the fire

  3. Some historians believe the fire was a Nazi plot to justify action against communists and Jews
• Chancellor to dictator


  1. On 23 March 1933, the Nazis passed the Enabling Act, giving Hitler the right to make laws on his own without a vote in the Reichstag

  2. In August 1934, President Hindenburg died.

  3. Hitler combined the roles of Chancellor and President into one position, making himself Führer, or 'leader'
• How Hitler came to power

  • Role of SA
  • Propaganda
  • Policies
  • Reichstag fire
  • No freedom of press, no freedom of speech
  • Hitler's charisma as a speaker
• TREATY OF VERSAILLES?


  G: GUILT. Germany had to accept full responsibility for WW1.

  A: ARMY. Germanys army was disbanded. Strict limits to the size of the military

  R: REPARATIONS. £6.6BILLION in reparations was demanded

  G: GERMANY LOST LAND. All colonies were lost. Alsace Lorraine was given to France, Rhineland was demilitarised.

  L:LEAGUE OF NATIONS. The League of Nations was formed. Germany was not a member.

  E: EXTRA. No union with Austria was ever allowed again.
• TREATY OF VERSAILLES?

  The terms of the Treaty can be classified into four groups:

  • territorial - provisions that took land away from Germany
  • military - provisions that limited Germany's armed forces
  • financial and economic
  • punishment
• Germany's opinion of the Treaty of Versailles


  • They were angry that they had not been allowed to negotiate
  • They called Versailles a diktat or dictated peace
  • Germany officially denied the war-guilt clause in 1927
  • There was a revolution (the Kapp Putsch) against the treaty in Berlin in 1920
  • Germany hated reparations, and was forced to begin paying them in 1921
  • They stopped paying in 1923 (France and Belgium invaded Ruhr in response) and eventually Hitler refused to pay altogether
  • Many nationalists believed the government had sold Germany out to its enemies by ending the war too early
• The League of Nations?

  The League of Nations was set up by the Treaty of Versailles.
• Historical Sources?

  PRIMARY - made at the time of the event.

  SECONDARY - made after the period
• PRIMARY SOURCES?

  Published documents (newspapers, books, Autobiography)

  Unpublished documents (diaries, letters)

  Visual documents (Photos, cartoons, newsreels, Paintings)

  Relicks and artefacts (pottery, clothing, buildings)

  Human remains
• SECONDARY SOURCES?

  History books

  Academic studies

  Journals

  Biography
• WHY DID HITLER COME TO POWER?

  1. His charisma
  2. Economic failure - Hyperinflation, Treaty of Versailles, Reparations.
  3. Political unrest - Unpopularity of Government, 2 attempted revolutions (1919, 1920), people were ready for change.
  4. The Wall Street Crash and Great Depression 1929.
• Hitler’s rise to power can be explained using the following factors: economic failure, political unrest and Hitler’s charisma. These three factors combined together to create a situation where Hitler was able to take advantage of the weaknesses of the Weimar Republic and come to power. It would have been difficult for anyone else to do this but Hitler was particularly well placed to exploit these weaknesses.
• In January 1933, Hindenburg appointed Hitler Chancellor. Hitler became leader of Germany on 30th January 1933. In March 1933, the Reichstag passed the Enabling Act which gave Hitler total control over German politics. By July 1933, all political parties except the Nazi Party had been banned. Hitler had become the sole ruler of Germany.