Hitler comes to power

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Hitler 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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The 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.

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Look at the past elections, What other party
made gains in this election? What similarities do
they have with the Nazis?
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In 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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Presidential 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.

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Hard 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

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How 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.

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After 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.
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• 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.

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• 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.
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Hitler 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.
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The 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.
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The 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
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• 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.
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The 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.