Hitler and the Rise of the Nazi Party

1
Hitler and the Rise of the Nazi Party Part I

• Chapter 13.5

2
Weimar Republic

• After WWI, German leaders set up a democratic
  government known as the Weimar Republic
• Weimar constitution established a parliamentary
  system led by a chancellor
• Constitution gave women the right to vote and
  included a bill of rights
• New German republic faced severe economic problems

3
Economic Crisis

• When Germany could not make its war reparations,
  France seized the coal-rich Ruhr Valley
• Government actions led to inflation and
  skyrocketing consumer prices
• The German deutschmark was virtually worthless
• Many middle-class families lost their life
  savings
• The German government was weak and ineffective to
  solve the economic crisis to stabilize the German
  mark

4
Worthless German Mark
The value of the German mark plummeted. It often
took shoppers wheelbarrows of money to go
shopping for milk or bread.
An item that cost 100 marks in 1922 cost 944,000
marks in 1923 one year later!
5
Hyperinflation

• When associated with depressions, hyperinflation
  often occurs when there is a large increase in
  the money supply not supported by gross domestic
  product (GDP) growth, resulting in an imbalance
  in the supply and demand for the money. Left
  unchecked this causes prices to increase, as the
  currency loses its value.When associated with
  wars, hyperinflation often occurs when there is a
  loss of confidence in a currency's ability to
  maintain its value in the aftermath. Because of
  this, sellers demand a risk premium to accept the
  currency, and they do this by raising their
  prices.One of the most famous examples of
  hyperinflation occurred in Germany between
  January 1922 and November 1923. By some
  estimates, the average price level increased by a
  factor of 20 billion, doubling every 28 hours.
• Source http//www.investopedia.com/terms/h/hyper
  inflation.aspixzz2M3fUBYh0

6
Brief Video

• Watch this video to learn about monetary
  inflation
• http//www.investopedia.com/video/play/monetary-in
  flation/axzz2M3eXOU1r

7
Dawes Plan

• 1924 USA convinced France to lower German war
  reparation payments
• France withdrew French forces from the Ruhr
  Valley
• USA lent money to Germany to help the German
  economy recover
• German inflation was brought under control with
  Western assistance

8
Adolf Hitler

• Born in 1889 in Austria
• Moved to Vienna at age 18
• Developed anti-semitic attitude
  (hatred/prejudice) against Jews while in Vienna
• Fought with German army in WWI
• After WWI, Hitler hated the weak Weimar
  government that accepted the terms of the Treaty
  of Versailles
• He became leader of the National Socialists, or
  Nazi Party

9
Austria
10
Mein Kampf

• 1923 Hitler was arrested and imprisoned for
  treason
• While in prison, Hitler wrote Mein Kampf (My
  Struggle)
• Mein Kampf explained Nazi goals, beliefs, and
  prejudices
• Mein Kampf represented Hitlers obsessions 1)
  extreme nationalism, 2) racism, and 3)
  anti-semitism
• Hitler blamed Jews, Marxists, corrupt politicians
  and crooked business leaders for Germanys defeat
  in WWI

11
Mein Kampf
12
Aryans

• Hitler believed in a master race called Aryans
• Aryans were light-skinned Europeans
• Hitler felt Aryans were the enemies of the Jews,
  long persecuted by Christians in history
• Hitler branded Judaism as a separate race, not a
  religion
• Hitler defined a Jewish person if they had at
  least one Jewish grandparent

13
Aryan Race Propaganda
14
Lebensraum

• Hitler dreamed that all German-speaking people
  would unite into one nation
• Germany needed lebensraum living space to
  expand in order to accommodate all the new people
  that would live inside the new Germany
• Inferior races (dark-skinned) and Slavs would
  have to vacate to make room for the German empire
• Hitler takes on the title Fuhrer (leader)

15
Lebensraum Propaganda
The German invasion of Russia in 1941 was the
first step of Hitler's attempt to acquire more
land (lebensraum) for the German people to
populate.
16
Powerpoint Questions Part I15 points

• 1. What was the name of the German government
  established after WWI?
• 2. Identify the leader of the new German
  republic.
• 3. What did France do when Germany refused to
  make war reparations?
• 4. Describe what happened to the value of the
  German deutschmark (currency).
• 5. What is the term called when there is a loss
  of confidence in a currency's ability to maintain
  its value following a war?

17
Powerpoint Questions Part I

• 6. What was the name of the American plan that
  helped the German economy recover?
• 7. What was the name of the book that Hitler
  authored?
• 8. Identify the three obsessions represented in
  Hitlers book.
• 9. The master race were known as ________.
• 10. How did Hitler define a Jew?
• 11. Name Hitlers program for expanding the
  German empire.
• 12. What title does Hitler give himself? What
  does it mean? (2 points)