The Lean Years for Nazis

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The Lean Years for Nazis

• The 1920s were hard times for the Nazis. While
  Hitler was in jail the party had no real leader,
  and declined in popularity.
• The chaotic days of violence and hyperinflation
  were gone and the Weimar Republic experienced its
  Golden Age.
• The German Mark stabilized, unemployment was low,
  and the economy prospered. Few people wanted to
  hear Hitlers speeches anymore.

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What you should know by the end of this lesson

• 1. Know what Hitler wrote in his book, Mein
  Kampf and how this will become the blueprint
  for the Nazi policy of genocide.
• 2. Understand Hitlers new strategy to take over
  Germany and why it met with only limited success.
• 3. Identify the significance of Joseph Goebbels
  and the effect of his propaganda on the German
  people.
• 4. Understand the SS organization and its
  mentality towards the Jews.

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• From April to December 1924 Hitler was jailed on
  the outskirts of Munich in Landsberg Prison.
• He was treated more like an honored guest than an
  inmate.
• The guards let him have his own room, furniture,
  clothing, and guests whenever he wished.
• He devoted much of this time to writing his
  book, Mein Kampf in which he communicated his
  ideas to the German people.

What is the translation of the title Mein Kampf?
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Mein Kampf

• Originally Hitler wanted to call his book Four
  and a half years against Lies, Stupidity, and
  Cowardice but his friends made him change his
  mind.
• Published in 1925 its separated into two
  volumes. The first is his autobiography and talks
  about Germany and the Aryan Race. The second
  describes the Nazi Party and his vision for the
  future.
• Mein Kampf is over 600 pages and is known for
  its long winded passages. As a result very few
  people bought the book, let alone read it.
• For many people Hitler was seen as a political
  extremist who had no chance of obtaining power,
  others simply did not take the book seriously.
• Had the public become aware of his goals, and
  understood he meant to do what he said, it is
  conceivable that Hitler would never have become
  leader of Germany.

Did you Know? After Hitler came to power it was
required that all households in Germany have a
copy of Mein Kampf. This made Hitler a
millionaire, as he received a 15 royalty on
every purchase.
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Mein Kampf Editions

• Three editions
• Peoples Edition (original dust jacket, navy
  blue, gold swastika eagle)
• Wedding Edition (golden symbol given to marrying
  couples)
• Compact Edition (Red cover, combined edition
  issued by the post office to send to soliders
• Hitlers 50th birthday edition

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Mein Kampf Facts

• Hitler wrote a sequel after the 1928 elections
• Only two copies were made one was found by the
  Untied States
• Published by the United States in 2003 as
  Hitlers Second Book (Deals with Foreign
  Policy)
• In certain countries it is illegal to buy the
  book
• In certain countries it is illegal to trade the
  book (promoting Nazi Ideas)
• In the United States the book can be found in
  most book stores and libraries but it is banned
  in all school libraries
• After Hitlers death all of his estate (including
  the rights to Mein Kampf) were passed to the
  Bavarian Government
• Mein Kampf is scheduled to enter Germany public
  domain on January 1, 2016 (50 years after
  Hitlers death)
• Last time it was published in Germany was 1945
• The publication of Mein Kampf is illegal in
  Germany
• Most libraries in Germany carry a heavily edited
  version.
• Some want to reprint it and use it as a teaching
  tool

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• The main points of Mein Kampf
• First, Hitler outlined his hatred of what he
  called the worlds Twin Evils Communism and
  Judaism.
• Secondly, he spoke of the Fuhrer Principal
  whereby the nation would follow one leader with
  blind obedience and total loyalty.
• Thirdly, he spoke of the need for Lebensraum, or
  Living Space for the German people east of
  Germany. His plan was to either forcibly remove
  or kill the inhabitants of Poland and Russia and
  then use the land for German colonization.
• Most importantly, Hitler outlined his perception
  of the Jewish people. Although he does not
  literally say what should be done to the Jews, he
  conveys the budding ideas for the Holocaust.

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Mein Kampf Questions

• What does Hitler think will result in Germans
  breeding with those of a different race?
• When Hitler speaks of other races who do you
  think he is referring to?
• What 3 classifications of culture does Hitler
  describe? What examples does he give for each?
• To Hitler Jews are a ________ , not a religion
• According to Hitler what do Jews do in their
  Host Nations?
• What does Hitler see as the threat that Jews pose
  to the German race? What will they do?

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Setting a New Course

• After Hitler was released from prison in December
  1924 he set a new path for the Nazi Party.
• They would no longer be a group that seeks to
  overthrow the government in a revolution, but one
  that seeks to obtain power legally through
  democratic elections.
• For the first few years the Nazis met with only
  limited success with this policy.
• With the economy improving Germany became more
  stable, and fewer Germans were attracted to
  radical groups such as the Nazis.

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Hitlers House

• Hitler decided to spend most of this time in
  seclusion to avoid being held responsible for the
  poor performance of the Nazi Party.
• He bought a home in a rural town called
  Berchtesgaden and named it the Berghof.
  Berchtesgaden became the second capital of Nazi
  Germany complete with administrative buildings
  and homes for all the top Nazis.
• As a 50th birthday present in 1939 Hitler
  received a second home called The Eagles Nest
  just above the Berghof on top of the Bavarian
  Alps.

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Reichstag Elections of the 1920s Number of
Seats in each election
Communists Social Democrats Democrats Center Party German Peoples Party Nationalists Nazis
May 1924 62 100 81 81 45 95 32
December 1924 45 131 32 88 51 103 14
1928 54 153 25 78 45 73 12
Moderate Party favoring Democracy
Percent of Nazi Vote in Bavaria

• Questions
• How well do the non-democratic parties do in the
  elections?
• What can explain the rising number of seats for
  the Social Democratic Party?
• What can explain the dramatic drop in popularity
  of the Nazis from May to December 1924? Think
  About what was happening early in the year.

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Out with the Old, in with the New

• By this time Ludendorff became a liability for
  the Nazis. After Ludendorffs very poor showing
  in the 1925 Presidential election Hitler split
  with Ludendorff and the general retired.
• The same year a man named Joseph Goebbels came to
  Hitlers attention. As a propaganda official he
  had incredible morale boosting techniques and
  believed in rampant anti-Semitism. He was quickly
  named Nazi Propaganda Minister and held this
  title till the end of the Third Reich in 1945.
• As Minister of Propaganda in the Third Reich,
  Goebbels had complete control over the German
  media. Every newspaper, magazine, movie, and
  radio program was under his dominion.
• Using this power his was able to transform public
  opinion in Germany against the Jews in
  preparation for the Holocaust.

Ludendorff only got 2 of the vote in the
Presidential election. His friend Paul Von
Hindenburg won.
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Joseph Goebbles

• Born in 1897 in Rhineland
• Went to college at Heidelberg University
• Served in WW I for the German army
• Joined the Nazi Party in 1924
• His job was to build support in Berlin for the
  Nazi party
• He killed his family and himself in 1945
• Before Hitler died, Hitler gave his watch to
  Goebbles, claiming he was the only senior Nazi
  that had stayed with him till the end

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Quote by Goebbles

• The essence of propaganda consists in winning
  people over to an idea so sincerely, so vitally,
  that in the end they succumb to it utterly and
  can never again escape from it.

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The Influence of Goebbels in real life

• To inspire the Germans with the Nazi Party,
  Goebbels began the tradition of holding a
  national party rally in the Bavarian city of
  Nuremberg each September. The rallies grew in
  size each year until more than 2 million people
  were involved by 1938.
• Nuremberg became the spiritual center of the
  Third Reich. It had so much significance that
  after World War II American officials chose the
  city to hold the trials where the Nazis were
  convicted of crimes against humanity.

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The Power of Goebbels in fiction Jud Suss

• One of Joseph Goebbelss most successful works of
  propaganda was the film Jud Suss. Considered
  one of the most anti-Semitic films of all time it
  was viewed by more than 20 million people and was
  the most profitable German film of 1939-1940.
• The movie was shown to SS units before being
  deployed to the concentration camps, and to
  non-Jews in lands where Jews were being deported.
  Even the Nazis knew the power of the film and
  banned anyone under 13 from viewing it.

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Review Questions

• 1. What influence did Joseph Goebbels have in
  Nazi Germany? What was his goal as Minister of
  Propaganda?
• 2. What significance does the city of Nuremberg
  have?
• 3. What factors make the film Jud Suss a film
  which we cannot simply ignore in understanding
  why the Holocaust happened?

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What did you think of Jud Suss?
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The SS

• SS stands for SchutzStaffel (Protection
  Service). It was a military, police, and security
  organization of the Nazi Party, not of the
  military. It will be the SS that will carry out
  many atrocities, including the Holocaust.

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The Structure of the SS
Fighting Branch The Waffen SS Police Branch The Gestapo Security Branch The Sicherheitsdienst (SD)
This was basically a 2nd German Army. It fought along with it, but was not under Army command. This was the German Secret Police. Similar to the US Secret Service and US Marshals, but totally above the law. This was the Nazi intelligence service. Imagine the CIA and the FBI combined. It was the SD that was responsible for the concentration camps.
Reinhardt Heydrich Chief of the SD
Geheime Staatspolizei
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• To be admitted into the SS there were strict
  racial requirements. You had to prove your
  Aryan ancestry back to 1750 and have no Jewish
  ancestors. You also had to have at least four
  children, if you didnt you received a cut in
  pay. By World War II the SS had more than a
  million members.
• The Leader of the SS was Heinrich Himmler. Hitler
  will give him the task of carrying out the
  Holocaust. It was Himmler who decided to build
  the concentration camps and it was his decision
  to build the gas chambers. When Hitler issued
  orders about the Holocaust he did so verbally to
  Himmler, usually with no witnesses. It was
  Himmlers role to break the direct line of
  evidence that linked Hitler with the Holocaust.

Himmler wanted to introduce policies that even
Hitler thought went too far. Those who conspired
to kill Hitler worried about Himmler taking his
place. They had a saying which went Why kill a
madman only to have a lunatic take his place.
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How to identify an SS officer

• The SS had specific insignias which made them
  easily distinguishable from the army. The collar
  ranks were made up of either small squares or oak
  leaves, and their officers hats always had the
  Death Head Pin. If the uniform does not possess
  any of these then they were in the regular German
  Army.

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The results of propaganda on the SS

• The Nazis would thoroughly indoctrinate SS
  recruits with books such as Mein Kampf and films
  like Jus Suss.
• The leadership of the Nazi party would then ask
  SS men questions such as, How can we Germans
  defend ourselves? or What can we do before the
  Jews destroy our people?
• What answer did people like Hitler and Himmler
  want to hear?
• Using this twisted mentality Himmler wanted the
  SS to be seen as The Greatest Generation that
  must bear the hardship, do they dirty work, so
  future generations can thrive and humanity evolve
  into a more perfect form.

Fact All SS officers gave oaths of loyalty to
Hitler himself, not to Germany. They were
required to obey his word without question, no
matter what it may be.
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Did people really believe this?

• There were a small faction of fanatical Nazis who
  firmly believed the SS mentality. Evidence
  exists however that most men in the SS had
  doubts. This mentality was more the official
  ideology than what people truly believed.
• It was up to Joseph Goebbels to drill this
  mentality into the minds of millions through his
  propaganda. He had to make sure there was no one
  left in Germany that could have publicly
  countered Nazi political correctness.