Title: Hitler comes to power
1Hitler comes to power
- The early 1930s witnessed the worst economic
conditions of the 20th century. In a period of
only 4 years the Nazis went from a small party of
extremists to holding absolute power within
Germany. - What is your definition of a depression
(Economically speaking) - Why does a depression cause a rise in hatred?
- Does this still happen today?
- Did you know? Hitler hated the Reichstag building
and never used it. Instead the German parliament
met across the street at the Knoll Opera House
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3The Great Depression
- The Great Depression hit by 1929. Unemployment
skyrocketed, people lost their homes, farms, and
investments. Even those with jobs had to take pay
cuts. - People now began to listen to the Nazis. There
were plenty of disillusioned people in every
social class. Hitler promised help for farmers,
jobs for factory workers, a better future for
white collar workers, and anti-communist programs
for the rich. - Membership in the Nazi party exploded from 27,000
to 178,000 by 1930. In September a new Reichstag
election was held and the Nazis exceeded even
Hitlers expectations.
4Look at the past elections, What other party
made gains in this election? What similarities do
they have with the Nazis?
5In addition to good economic times, the Nazis
also lacked an issue. Speeches about the
November Criminals and the Treaty of Versailles
could only go so far.
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8Presidential Election of 1932
- Despite being 85 years old Hindenburg was
persuaded to run for a second term as president
because many thought he was the only person who
could beat Hitler. Hitler went on a huge campaign
trail that was dubbed Hitler over Germany,
visiting many cities and making speeches to
crowds as high as 120,000. Despite the effort
Hindenburg still won, a majority of Germans were
still unwilling to vote for the Nazis.
9Hard Times Return Activity Directions
- All Groups Read the Social Democrat, Communist,
and Nazi Party Platforms Summarize each Partys
goals - Read the selection of each person and answer the
following questions. - What party would this person vote for?
- Justify your choice by identifying particular
grievances and explaining how each party will
address them
10How Hitler becomes the Leader of Germany
- In June of 1932 Hindenburg appointed a man named
Franz Von Papen to be the new Chancellor of
Germany. Von Papen called for new elections to be
held. During this time the effects of the
depression kept getting worse. - Von Papen had good intentions but was an
ineffective administrator, as a result his time
in office was only 5 months.
11After this election Hitler demanded to be named
Chancellor but President Hindenburg refused. The
Nazis made it impossible for the government to
run effectively and Von Papen resigned, being
replaced by General Kurt Von Schleicher.
12- Kurt Von Schleicher was a longtime and
influential aid to President Hindenburg. Due to
this he made many enemies who grew frustrated
over his power over Hindenburg, and few trusted
him. Von Papen blamed him for his downfall as
Chancellor. - Schleicher believed he could divide the Nazi
party and put an end to Hitler. Greggor Strasser
was a high ranking Nazi who differed from Hitler
on core objectives and was asked by Schleicher to
become Vice-Chancellor. Upon hearing this Hitler
flew into a rage and forced him to resign. - Very quickly everyone realized that Schliechers
policies were not going to work.
13- Von Papen wanted to get even with Schleicher and
also thought he could control Hitler. He met with
Hitler and proposed leading a new government with
Hitler as chancellor and himself as
Vice-Chancellor and most of the cabinet being
non-Nazis. Hindenburg agreed and on January 30,
1933 Hitler become chancellor. The Third Reich
was born - Hitlers First Step was to establish a
dictatorship and wipe out all other political
parties.
Ludendorff wrote a letter to Hindenburg that
said, I predict most solemnly that this man will
die in incredible misery. Coming generations
will curse you for naming him chancellor.
14Hitler Destroys Democracy and becomes Dictator
- In February 1933 the Reichstag building burned
down. A Dutch communist was arrested and charged
with the crime. Hitler lashed out at Communists
and had all the Communist members of the
Reichstag arrested. He also arrested many of his
political opponents and sent more than 27,000 of
them to concentration camps. The first camp,
Dachau, opens near Munich in March.
As you can imagine it was the Nazis themselves
who burnt the building, using a tunnel between
Goering's house and the Reichstag to sneak inside.
15The Enabling Act
- In order to support his war against communism
Hitler demanded broad dictatorial powers which he
called the Enabling Act. - The Enabling Act allowed laws to be passed
without consent of the Reichstag, allow Hitler to
make any change to the constitution, and the
right for Hitler to suspend all civil liberties.
All members of the Social Democrat party went
against the bill, but intimidation leads to its
passage. - By July 1933 The Nazis were able to abolish all
rival political parties. Hitler was also able to
replace most of the non-Nazi members of his
cabinet with loyal Nazis.
All the members of the Communist party couldnt
vote because the SS had sent them to
concentration camps.
16The Downfall of the SA
- The SA grew rapidly because they gave the
unemployed some purpose and a sense of
self-respect. Street fighting with communist and
other political armed groups became common. The
SA intentionally would start large brawls at
opposition rallies. In addition they would pull
fire alarms, send death threats, and even drop
mice and snakes down women's dresses to cause
confusion. Membership soared to more than 3
Million by 1932.
How big was the Army in Weimar Germany? The
army, rightfully so, feared the power of the SA.
Horst Wessel
17- There were also very serious problems with the
SA. Many of its members took the Socialist part
of the party seriously and wanted to start a
social revolution in Germany, as well as replace
the official German army with the SA, two things
Hitler had no intention of doing. He needed the
Army to fight future wars, and he needed the rich
industrialists to supply his army. - Once in power Hitler had to choose between the SA
and the army, he chose the latter.
One time the SA even went on strike and Joseph
Goebbels had to get police protection. Only after
Hitler made a tearful speech to them did they
return to work.
18The Night of Long Knives
- Hitler needed to show the Army and the
industrialists that the SA would not pose any
threat to them. On June 30, 1934, in what became
known as the Night of Long Knives, Hitler had
more than 1000 SA leaders arrested and shot,
effectively eliminating any threat to Hitlers
power. Ernst Rohm was shot by the SS after
refusing to take his own life. From this point on
the SA will play no major role in Nazi Germany
and will be totally overshadowed by the SS. - Hitler also eliminated others including Von
Schleicher and Gustav Von Khar, the former ruler
of Bavaria who betrayed him during the Beer Hall
Putsch. - On August 2, 1934 Hindenburg dies and Hitler
combines the office of chancellor and President
together, becoming the sole ruler of Germany.