Transcript File

Background to the Holocaust
World War I
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Drop in living standards: 20-30%
Meat consumption dropped to 12%.
Fish consumption dropped to 5%.
9 million conscripted into armed forces
Influenza and Starvation killed as many as
battlefield
• Inflation accompanied shortages of
food/fuel
World War I continued
• Workday increase to 12-13 hours
• Strikes and Food riots were regular
• After all the sacrifices made soldiers could
not understand why they surrendered. They
had been told victory was close
• Scapegoats needed to explain the loss
Scapegoats for the loss
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Democratic Politicians
Revolutionaries
Communists
Socialists
Jewish Capitalists (accused of financing the
war)
Versailles Treaty
• Germans expected to sit at the Peace
Conference Table as equals.
• Instead they were given an ultimatum:
Sign the Treaty or face renewed attack.
This caused bitter resentment
Representatives at the conference included, left to right, British prime
minister Lloyd George, Italian foreign minister Giorgio Sonnino, French
premier Georges Clemenceau, and U.S. president Woodrow Wilson.
Treaty of Versailles
• After defeating Germany in World War I, the
victorious parties found it difficult to agree on
the price Germany should pay in war
reparations. Leaders from the United States,
Britain, France, and Italy met at the Paris
Peace Conference in 1919 and drafted the
Treaty of Versailles. The treaty mandated a
number of restrictive and compensatory
measures for Germany, including massive
demilitarization and financial reparations.
Fulbrook,Mary History of Germany 1918-2000. The Divided Nation
“…a country defeated in war, reduced in territory
and status, subjected to a burden of reparations,
rankling with revisionism, lurching from one
political crisis to the next, and finally suffering a
major economic collapse…(this) ultimately
spelled the death of democracy. No one factor
alone is sufficient to explain the collapse of the
Weimar Republic ( and rise of the Nazi Party)…
Weimar Republic
The republic was established after workers and troops in the German
empire revolted in early 1918 against the government's refusal to end
World War I (1914-1918). On November 9, Emperor William II fled
the country and a provisional coalition government was formed
between the moderate Social Democrats under Friedrich Ebert and the
more radical Independent Social Democrats, who were hoping for a
more fundamental socialist revolution. The new National Assembly
met in Weimar, Thüringen, in February 1919 and wrote a constitution
that established Germany as a democratic federal republic and
provided for two houses of parliament, the Reichstag and the
Reichsrat. Ebert was elected president of the new republic.
Weimar Republic
• Ebert, Friedrich
(1871-1925),
German socialist
leader and First
president of the
post-World War I
Weimar Republic.
Immediate Tasks
• Come to terms with the Treaty of Versailles
(Tried to have it overturned)
• Achieve some semblance of civil order
• Arrange for payment of reparations
• Political Chaos
• Martial Law existed until 1924
• Left and Right Wing attempted Coups
Political Chaos
• January 1919 – Spartacist Putsch in Berlin
• Communist demonstrations in the Ruhr
• Short lived Communist Regime in Munich
(1919-1920)
• March 1920- Kapp Putsch –right wing
challenge to the government, driving it from
Berlin temporarily
Adolf Hitler
• Hitler was a “down and out tramp in Vienna in his
youth, an unknown soldier in WWI, a derelict in
Munich in the first grim postwar days (general
thought him unfit to be promoted – “lack of
leadership skills,”)and somewhat comical leader
leader of the Beer hall Putsch – spellbinder who
was not even German, but Austrian
• Shirer, William. The Rise and Fall of the Third
Reich
Hitler practiced his gestures in order to
perfect his stage presence
Hitler
• Born in Braunau on April 20, 1889
• Close to border with Germany. Hitler
became obsessed with the idea that there
should be no border
• An adequate student, Hitler opposed the
idea of becoming a civil servant, like his
father.
Adolf Hitler
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Was not always an anti-semite
Fought in WWI (2 iron crosses)
Never accepted the German loss
Love Opera especially Wagner (anti-semite)
Wagnerian myth of Dolchstoss: Germany
was never defeated but was victim of
treacherous beings of an inferior race
• (Jews and Communists)
Nazi Party Roots
Autumn 1918, Munich: A small society calling itself
the Political Workers Circle was formed by
journalist Karl Harrer and Anton Drexler – a
toolmaker in Munich Railway
Radical Right wing anti-semitic views
Attracted little attention
January 5th, 1919 German Workers Party became it’s
political arm. Drexler had ambition
Nazi Roots
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Hitler joined party in September 1919 (30)
Became the Party Chief Propaganda Officer
Executive Committee member
Hitler was actually a spy assigned to
monitor the PWC for the Bavarian
Reichsehr (army)
• Was drawn to it’s “good-will” ie antisemitism
Seizing Control of NSDAP
• Hitler influence rose in party
• Hitler published “25 Point Party Program”
A mix of anti-capitalism, anti-socialism,
anti-Semitism, corporatism and ultra-nationalism.
(de-emphasized socialist nature of party to attract
middle-class support)
Name was changed to National Socialist German
Workers Party in Summer of 1920
Swastika was adopted as the Party Symbol
Seizing Control of NSDAP
• December 1920: Dietrick Eckart, a friend of
Hitler’s purchased the independent paper
Volkischer Beobachter which was under the direct
control of the Party Propaganda leader – Hitler
• Hitler now could make personal beliefs known to
circulation of 10-15,000 in 1921
• July of 1921 NSDAP merged with German
Socialist Party to create a single unified
organization based in Berlin (to undermine Hitler)
Seizing Control of NSDAP
• Hitler resigned, leaving the party ineffective
without their best public speaker
• Set out preconditions for rejoining which
included being elected Chairman with
dictatorial powers and called for a special
conference to put the issue to a vote
• Drexler reluctantly agreed, rather than see
the party collapse
Hitler gains control
• July 29th 1921 Hitler elected First Chairman by a
vote of 543:1, The “Fuhrer” of the Nazi Party
• Retained Drexler as head of a “Reconciliation
Committee” to smooth out differences outside of
Munich
• Eckart became editor of Volkischer Beobachter
• Hitler headed the Investigation Committee – used
to purge uncooperative party members and further
own authority.
Beer Hall Putsch 1923
• Nazi’s, under Adolf Hitler, were the best
organized extremist group.
• Based out of Bavaria where many groups
opposed the democratic Weimar
Government
• Aim was to win over German army and
proclaim a wide revolt to overthrow the
Weimar Republic
The Plan
• Group of prominent businessmen were
meeting in Munich Beer Hall with Bavarian
Guest Speakers.
• Plan: Kidnap the Guest Speakers and force
them to accept Hitler as Leader.
• March on Berlin, in imitation of Mussolini’s
March on Rome
Events
November 8, 1923, Hitler and the SA troops under
Herman Goring surrounded the Hall and burst into
the meeting.
“The National Revolution has begun!…No one may leave the
hall. Unless there is immediate quiet I shall have a
machine gun posted in the gallery. The Bavarian and
Reich governments have been removed and a provisional
national government has been formed. The barracks of the
Reichswehr and police are occupied. The Army and the
police are marching on the city under the Swastika banner”
None of this was true!
Hitler’s Speech in the Hall
“I want now to fulfill the vow that I made to
myself 5 years ago when I was a blind
cripple in the military hospital: to know
neither rest nor peace until the November
criminals had been overthrown, until on the
ruins of the wretched Germany of today;
there should have arisen once more a
Germany of power, and greatness of
freedom and splendor.”
Results
• Coup failed for a number of reasons.
• Hitler attracted neither the army, nor police
force nor the population in general
• Nazi Party was banned
• German Army sent to Munich to stop Nazi
Putsch
• Hitler arrested, tried, and convicted.
Results
• Although the coup itself was a joke Hitler
gained a great deal of publicity and thus
their ideas became more widely known.
• At trial Hitler gained more publicity,
pleaded guilty and admitted he wanted to
overthrow the government.
• Described himself as a Patriot
Results
• Jury was sympathetic
• Judge had to convince them to find Hitler
guilty
• They did so only after the promise that
Hitler would be eligible for parole in 6
months
Mein Kampf
• While in Prison Hitler
wrote his book “Mein
Kampf” meaning My
Struggle. The book
was poorly written and
sold very poorly when
first released. When
Hitler became more
popular his book sold
millions of copies
Ideas presented in Mein Kampf
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Aryan Race was the master race
Jews were to blame for
Loss of the war in 1918
Versailles Treaty
Hyperinflation of 1923
Lack of jobs during the depression
Anschluss- Germany and Austria join together
Lebensraum – “Living Room” to be taken from
Russia, especially the agricultural land of the
Ukraine
Post -Prison
• Hitler continued to rise to the top of the
Nazi Party.
• Others were simultaneously vying to be top
dog.
• General Ludendorff and Ernst Rohm were
threats to Hitlers power although they held
similar extremist views
Nazi’s Expansion
• Created a Party Structure
to correspond with the 34
Reichstag Electoral
Districts headed by a
Gauleiter
• 7 Gaue for Austria,
Danzig, Saar and
Sudetenland
• Gaue divided into Kreise
(circles)
• Local groups call
Ortsgruppe
Expansion
• Sports Clubs were
founded
• Flying Clubs
introduced (helped
prepare future pilots
without violation
requirements of
Versailles Treaty
• Mass Banners
• Light Shows at Rally’s
Torch Parades at Night
• Banner Parades during
the day
• All designed to attract
young males to the
party
Nazi Expansion
• Hitler Youth League
established
• Pre-Hitler Youth (1015)
• Girls enrolled in Bund
Deutscher Maedel
• Women had program
called Frauenschaften
• …in preadolescence they
were conditioned to hate
and kill Jews. Given
daggers with engraving
“Blood and Honour”
taught to sing: “When the
Jew blood squirts from
our knives we can stab
twice as well – with Jew
blood –with Jew blood”
Expansion
• Industrialists like
Hitler’s Economic
ideas and gave huge
funds to the Nazi’s
• Financed University
Fraternities
• Hitler’s Entourage
drove the latest and
most expensive
Mercedes
• Children and adults
were indoctrinated to
be on guard against
dangerous enemies of
the state.
• Told they must have
no pity and obey
orders ruthlessly
Nazi Power
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1925 – 27,000 Nazi Party Members
1926 - 49,000
1927 – 72,000
1928 – 108,000
1929, - 178, 000
Organizational Expansion
• Hitler reorganized the
SA, his storm troopers
and the SS.
Expansion Slowed
• While true that the Nazi memberships were
growing steadily in the 1924-1928 stage, this
growth is by no means spectacular
• This was because the economy was actually quite
strong in these years. Unemployment was less
than 2%. Nazi popularity with public fell from
6.5% to 2.5 % The general public still had no real
interest in the party until the early 1930’s when the
great depression set in.
The Great Depression
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1930’s Economic Crash
Foreign loans recalled
Unemployment jumps
Middle Class still recovering from inflation of
1923
• General Loathing of Treaty of Versailles
• Resentment of those deemed to still be financially
stable
• Communist party grows in membership
Great Depression
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Middle Classes fear Communist Revolution
Weimar Government paralyzed
Weimar government seems indecisive
Hitler presents himself as a strong leader
and Nazi support grows among general
public
• Middle Class need a champion to oppose
Communism
Nazi Promises (1930 Election)
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Abrogate and overthrow the Treaty of Versailles
Ignore restrictions on military from same
To return to Germany’s “Natural Borders”
Build a strong and prosperous Germany
Create a Master Race –eliminate foreigners, Jews,
disabled and other minorities that defiled it.
• Eliminate unemployment
• Save Germany from a Bolshevik Revolution
Anti-Semitism was a cornerstone
• Hitler linked his
opposition to the Jews
with his opposition to the
Communists.
• He referred to both groups
as the “November
Criminals” responsible for
losing the war and signing
the Treaty of Versailles
Election Results 1930
• Nazi’s receive 6,371,000 votes
• Nazi’s gained 107 seats in the Reichstag
• In 1931 the Nazi Party continued to grow in
numbers and popularity as the conditions of
the great depression had not improved
Presidential Election of 1932
• President Hindenberg’s term was up
• Hitler decided to contest the election
• Went to a second ballot where Hitler
received 36.8% of the vote to Hindenberg’s
53%
• 13,418,500 to 19,360,000
General Election of 1932
• Nazis ended up with 270 seats in the Reichstag
(37.3% of Popular Vote)
• Largest party in the Reichstag
• Best results in the countryside and from lower
middle class voters in the North
• Some influence in urban areas:
• 9 % of Proletarian vote…..Berlin
• 18% of Wealthy vote…….Berlin
• 26% of Middle-Class vote.Berlin
Hitler become Chancellor
• In 1932 Hindenberg replaced Chancellor Bruning
with Franz Von Papen
• Von Papen was an aristocrat with no political
experience..Center Party Member
• In November of 1932 Von Papen resigned
• General Kurt Von Schleicher named Chancellor
• Began to investigate misuse of public funds by
landowners during land reform
• Conservative elements took alarm
• Demanded that Hitler become Chancellor
Hitler moves up, with a little help
• “the new Chancellor was found to have been more apt at
pulling wires behind the scenes than at the summit of
power. He had quarreled with too many people. Hitler,
together with Papen and the Nationalists now ranged
themselves against him; and the Communists, fighting the
Nazis in the streets and the Government by their strikes,
helped to make his rule impossible. Papen brought his
personal influence to bear on President Hindenberg.
Would not after all the best solution be to placate Hitler by
thrusting upon him the responsibilities and burdens of
office? Hindenberg at last reluctantly consented. On
January 30th, 1933, Adolf Hitler took office as Chancellor
of Germany
Initial Success of Nazi’s
• Hitler became Chancellor and Von Papen
Vice-Chancellor
• Only 2 of 12 Cabinet seats given to the
Nazi’s though.
• Wilhelm Frick became Minister of the
Interior
• Herman Gorring was a Minister without
Portfolio, but later Minister of Prussia
Questionable Rise to the Top
• Hindenberg thought a coalition Cabinet would
keep Hitler in check
• Hindenberg was wrong and within 6 months Hitler
had consolidated power in the Nazi Party
• Hitler was not appointed Chancellor because of an
electoral result, but as the results of a
constitutionally questionable deal among a small
group of conservative German politicians who had
given up on Parliamentary rule.
Consolidation of Power
• Reichstag Fire of February 27th, 1933
• Blamed on a “half mad” Dutch Communist who
was executed for the deed.
• Nazi’s said it was part of an organized Communist
Insurrection – there had been riots over
unemployment
• Nazi’s convinced President Hindenberg to sign a
decree for the “Defense of People and State”
Unrestricted Powers
• The Chancellor was thus
given almost unrestricted
powers to imprison any
political opponent.
• Suspension of Civil
Rights!
• Hitler arrested the
Communists and they
could not participate in the
March election called by
Hitler
Unrestricted Powers
• Supposed to only be temporary but were
never relinquished by Hitler.
• Used to legitimize Gestapo’s arrests
• Used to confine people to concentration
camps
• Used to circumvent the regular judicial
system
Political Reality
• In times of economic distress and social
dislocation, people often look to a demagogue to
restore order and bring back stability to the
regime.
• In this case personal interest combined with a poor
economy and allowed a person who had preached
the same ideas for years to be elevated to a
position that would have been out of his reach had
events not combined to assist in the process.
March 1933 Election
• In spite of Hitler’s arrest of the Communists and
his powerful backers the Nazi’s did NOT gain an
absolute majority in the Reichstag on March 5th
• They did,however become the largest party, by far,
with 43.9% of the vote and 288 seats in the
Reichstag.
• Communists still won 88 seats, inspite of many
being arrested
• Gained an absolute majority in cooperation with
their partners the German Nationalist Peoples
Party
The Enabling Act, March 23rd 1933
• Cornerstone of Nazi Dictatorship
• Gave Hitler power to rule by decree for four years
without the Reichstags approval
• Hitler now controlled Legislative and Executive
power
• The necessary 2/3rds of the Reichstag members
voted in favour of the law, including a few Social
Democrats
• Result: The Reichstag lost it’s power
Enabling Act
• Hitler immediately abolished all other political
parties
• All regional and local police powers were
centralized in Berlin under the Gestapo
• The Reichsrat (upper house) was abolished
• Centralization of all power within the state
• Trade Unions were abolished
• Germany was becoming a Police State
• By the end of 1933 only the Churches and the
army were potential rivals
Rise to Power
• Helped by strong arming opponents
• Legal – Like Mussolini:many Germans saw
him as a “Savior”
• Propaganda was skillfully manipulated by
Goebbels who created the image of a man who :
• Was without self interest-not married, but
loved children
• Despised wealth or class distinctions
• Cared only for Germany (Patriotic)
» Hitler’s opposition now came from within the ranks of
the Nazi Party
» Ernst Rohm who controlled the SA (paramilitary of
more than 400,000 men)
» Hitler sent his own men (SS) to arrest Rohm and his
followers.
» Several hundred killed including former Chancellor
Schleicher’
» Purge of the Nazi Party eliminated Hitler’s personal
rivals and the party’s socialist elements which were
no longer necessary to gain votes.
» June 30, 1934
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Results of the Purge
Rohm is shot the next day
SA is destroyed
Five weeks later Hindenberg dies
Hitler merges the offices of Chancellor and
President into one and calls himself Der
Fuhrer (The Leader)
» Plebiscite held soon after where 92% of the
electorate voted in favour of Hitler’s actions
» At this point a large portion of the German
population approved of the Nazi Regime.
Democracy was Dead
Fascism
• An extreme right wing, militaristic European-wide
phenomenon that arose out of the social chaos resulting
from the First World War
• Spain: Franco
• Italy: Mussolini
• Germany: Hitler (Nazism)
Nazism
• The roots of National Socialism, however, were
peculiarly German, grounded, for example, in the
Prussian tradition of military authoritarianism and
expansion; in the German romantic tradition of
hostility to rationalism, liberalism, and democracy; in
various racist doctrines according to which the Nordic
peoples, as so-called pure Aryans, were not only
physically superior to other races, but were the carriers
of a superior morality and culture; and in certain
philosophical traditions that idealized the state or
exalted the superior individual and exempted such a
person from conventional restraints.