Transcript Hitler*s Inner Circle

Do Now:
Who was responsible for
the Holocaust?
vocabulary: some can be nouns or verbs
 Aryan: used in Nazism to designate a supposed master race of non-
Jewish Caucasians usually having Nordic features such as blue eyes
and blonde hair.
 Nazi: a member of the National Socialist German Workers' Party
that controlled Germany from 1933 to 1945 under Adolf Hitler.
 Pogrom: an organized massacre of helpless people; specifically
: such a massacre of Jews
 Collaborator: To cooperate treasonably, as with an enemy
occupation force in one's country or to participate in wrongdoing.
Vocabulary: some can be nouns or verbs
 Perpetrator: someone who has
committed a crime or a violent or harmful
act.
 Bystander: a person who is standing near
but not taking part in what is happening
but does nothing to help
 Upstander: Someone who defends or
stands up for a cause, individual or belief
vocabulary
 Kristallnacht: "Night of Broken Glass."
The name refers to the wave of violent
anti-Jewish pograms which took place on
November 9-10, 1938 throughout
Germany, annexed Austria, & in areas of
the Sudetenland in Czechoslovakia by
recently occupied by German troops.
Hitler’s Inner Circle
Objective: TWW understand
that Adolf Hitler wasn’t solely
responsible for the atrocities of
the Holocaust by investigating
his inner circle of collaborators
Rudolf Hess
WWI infantry soldier & pilot
Joined Nazi Party 1923, is
arrested & imprisoned with
Hitler where he assists in
editing Mein Kampf
Once out of jail he becomes
Hitler’s personal aid until 1933
when Hitler rises to power &
appoints Hess deputy leader
of the Nazi party.
Rudolf Hess
 He later served as a
cabinet minister, and
signed all laws passed by
the Nazi regime.
’41 he tries to convince
British leaders that peace
was possible with
Germany. Hess was
arrested England. Hess
was held in England until
the end of the war.
Rudolf Hess
 Nuremberg Trial ‘46 he was
acquitted of crimes against
humanity and war crimes, but
was found guilty of crimes
against peace & was
sentenced to life
imprisonment. Hess was
jailed alone in the Spandau
Prison in West Berlin, under
the joint authority of the
United States, Great Britain,
Soviet Union, and France. He
committed suicide in 1987.
Martin Bormann
 chief of staff for Rudolf Hess, Hitler's
deputy, in ’33. Bormann as a close
assistant to Hitler. Following Hess' flight
to Great Britain, Bormann became head
of the Party Chancellery ’41 & in ‘43,
Secretary to the Fuehrer. He
contributed to many domestic policies,
including the murder of the Jews, the
"euthanasia" effort, the plunder of
artwork, & the expansion of forcedlabor programs. He also signed a series
of orders of deportation of Jews to the
east.
Martin Bormann
 Bormann died in an effort to
flee Berlin in the last days of
World War II, but many thought
he escaped. He was tried in
absentia at Nuremberg &
sentenced to death. West
German authorities officially
declared him dead in ‘73 after
his remains were discovered
and positively identified.
Adolf Eichmann
 SS officer who played a major
role in the annihilation of
European Jewry was head of the
Jewish section in the Gestapo
 Berlin in January ’42 participated
in the initial discussions
concerning the “Final Solution.”
On Heydrich's orders, Eichmann
organized the Wannsee
Conference to coordinate the
murders
Adolf Eichmann
 Once the "Final Solution" was
launched, Eichmann's office issued
the orders regarding when and
where deportations were to occur.
He and his staff also designed the
regiment for rounding up Jews and
confiscating their property.
Eichmann himself paid several visits
to extermination camps to monitor
their efficiency and progress, and
was directly responsible for the
Theresienstadt Ghetto.
Adolf Eichmann
 After the war, Eichmann
escaped to Argentina. He
lived there undetected
until ’60 when the Israeli
Security Service captured
him. He was tried in
Jerusalem in ’61 Eichmann
was found guilty &
sentenced to death. He
was hanged on June
,1.1962
Joseph Mengele
 German doctor and SS Officer
who served as chief physician at
Auschwitz (Largest
concentration camp 3 camps in
Auschwitz) from ’43—44.
Mengele was in charge of the
camp's selection process,
choosing who would live and
who would die. He sent about
400,000 people to their deaths
in the gas chambers.
Joseph Mengele
 He was also responsible for
horrific pseudo-scientific
medical experiments
performed on camp prisoners,
whose purpose it was to prove
the superiority of the Aryan
race. Mengele used human
beings as guinea pigs, to study
their resistance and reaction to
heat, cold, sterilization and
pain. He was particularly
interested in babies, young
twins and dwarfs.
Joseph Mengele
 He joined the Nazis in ’37 &
the SS in ’38 Mengele served
in the Waffen-SS medical
corps. by May ‘43he was
stationed at Auschwitz where
he worked until the camp's
evacuation in January . He
moved to Mauthausen, after
which he disappeared to
Brazil aided by a Catholic
Priest who had baptized him
given Mengele a new name &
birth certificate.
Hermann Goering
 WWI fighter pilot joined
Nazi party ’22 after
befriending Hitler
 commander of the Storm
Troopers (SA), the party's
private army & founder of
the Nazi Gestapo, and
Commander of the
German Air Force.
Hermann Goering
 ‘36 Goering was put in charge
of Hitler's 4 Year Plan, an
economic program to
revitalize the German army
and economy within 4 years in
anticipation of war. Goering
was given extensive powers
within the economic sphere;
one of his responsibilities was
the confiscation of Jewish
property.
Hermann Goering
 ‘41 Goering set the stage for
the “Final Solution" when he
gave orders to make
preparations to resolve the
"Jewish question" in Europe.
 Self declared Fuehrer after
Hitler’s suicide. Goering was
convicted as a war criminal at
the Nuremberg Trials & was
sentenced to death, but
poisoned himself in his cell
hours before his execution.
Heinrich Himmler
 Leader of the SS and Chief of German
Police, an architect of the “Final
Solution”, and one of Hitler’s main
advisors. Next to Hitler, Himmler
emerged as the most powerful man in
Nazi Germany.
 At 17 Himmler joined the army, but
never saw action in WWI went to
college & studied economics, he
worked as a salesman and a chicken
farmer & also became involved with the
newly formed Nazi Party.
Heinrich Himmler
 appointed police president in Munich
and head of the political police
throughout Bavaria. This gave him
the authority to enlarge SS
membership, organize the Security
Service (SD)
 ’33 Himmler established Dachau, the
1st concentration camp. Within a few
years Himmler was made
commander of the entire police force
throughout the Reich; he was given
the titles Reichsfuehrer-SS and Chief
of the German Police. In
1938Himmler orchestrated the
Kristallnacht pogrom of November
.9--10
Heinrich Himmler
 After the Germans
surrendered,
Himmler tried to
escape Germany,
but was caught by
British soldiers. He
committed suicide
in ’45 before he
could be brought
to trial as a war
criminal.
Joseph Goebbels
 Nazi Minister of Propaganda.
 Due to his clubfoot, Goebbels
was unable to serve in WWI.
Instead he earned a doctorate
in literature and philosophy, &
joins the Nazis in ’24 works as
editor of the party journal. He
gains a reputation as a
dynamic speaker and
propagandist.
Joseph Goebbels
 His goal was to "Nazify" the art &
culture of Germany. He ordered all "unGerman" books burnt on May ,10.1933
He used radio & propaganda films to
win over supporters. In November of
‘38 it was Goebbels' idea to exploit the
murder of a German diplomat in
France, by a Jewish youth (Herschel
Grynszpan), in order to stage a violent
pogrom against the Jews of Germany.
He gave this violent outburst its name
Kristallnacht. (Night of Broken Glass)
Joseph Goebbels
 Goebbels was true believer &
fan of Adolf Hitler but Hitler
did not always return the
admiration. As the war was
about to end, Hitler named
Goebbels his successor but
Goebbels refused. The day
after Hitler’s suicide in his
bunker, Goebbels and his wife
followed suit, after ordering
the execution of their 6
children.
Reinhard Heydrich
 Nazi SS leader who was a key
player in the planning and
execution of the “Final Solution”.
Heydrich served as head of the
Nazi Security Police (SIPO), the
Security Service (SD), and the
Reich Security Main Office
(Reichssicherheitshauptamt,
RSHA).
 Dishonorably discharged from
German Navy w/Aryan looks
Reinhard Heydrich
 Heydrich reigned over the
blackmail & information- getting
that helped Himmler gain control
over the Gestapo. In ‘36 Heydrich
became executive director of the
Gestapo, while retaining control
of the SD. These two posts gave
him unlimited power to send
"enemies of the Reich" such as
Jews to concentration camps.
Reinhard Heydrich
 May‘42, as he traveled,
unguarded, to the airport to
visit Hitler, 2 Czech parachute
agents rolled a hand grenade
under Heydrich's vehicle.
Though not killed by the blast
itself, grenade splinters in his
leg and lower back led to an
infection that killed him on
June 4, 1942.
Albert Speer
 Hitler’s architect and German Minister of
Armaments from ’42-45.
 Joined Nazi Party in ’31 by ‘34 Speer
became Hitler's personal architect. He
was charged with creating architectural
plans for Berlin & building a permanent
structure for party events by ’37 he was
named inspector general of construction
in Berlin. In this position, he gained
access to the apartments vacated by
Berlin's Jews.
Albert Speer
 ‘43 made Minister of Armaments and
War Production. In both these posts,
he utilized forced laborers and
confiscated Jewish property to
achieve his goals. He raised
armaments production to an
extraordinary level, even as Allied air
attacks were increasing.
 By the end of the war, Speer and
Hitler had fallen out. He even claimed
that he planned to assassinate Hitler,
but there’s little proof.
Albert Speer
 After the war, Speer was put on trial at
Nuremberg & charged with war crimes
& for using forced laborers &
concentration camp prisoners in his
work. Unlike most other war crimes
defendants, Speer admitted
responsibility for the actions of the
Nazis, even those he claimed he was not
aware of. Claiming that he knew
nothing about the mass exterminations
in Eastern Europe, he expressed regret
for his crimes & was found guilty&
sentenced to 20 years in prison--presumably, a light sentence due to his
admission of guilt & regret. After his
release, Speer published a remorseful
memoir. Died ‘81 in London.
Joachim Von Ribbentrop
 Foreign Minister of Nazi Germany
from ’38 –’ 45.
A liquor exporter who paid for
permission to add the noble "von"
to his name, Ribbentrop joined
the Nazis ‘32.
 Negotiated Germany’s alliance
with Italy and Japan in ‘36 (aka
Axis ) From ‘36 to 38 Ribbentrop
served as Germany's ambassador
to England.
Joachim Von Ribbentrop
 just days before the German army
invaded Poland kicking off World
War II, Ribbentrop reached the
peak of his career with the signing
of the Nazi-Soviet Pact. As Hitler
was no longer interested in
diplomacy. Ribbentrop's attempt
to convince Hitler not to betray
the Nazi-Soviet Pact fell on deaf
ears, and less than 2 years
German troops invaded the
Soviet Union in June 1941.
Joachim Von Ribbentrop
 Unlike many other Nazis,
Ribbentrop was not an
extreme antisemite, and did
not completely understand
how serious Hitler was about
solving the "Jewish question"
in Europe until ‘43. To
impress Hitler, Ribbentrop
embarked upon a campaign
to pressure Germany's allies
others to allow the
deportation of their local
Jews.
 After the war,
Ribbentrop was
convicted at the
Nuremberg trial and
sentenced to death.
He was hanged in
‘46.
Wilhelm Keitel
 Chief of Staff of the German Armed
Forces High Command & responsible
for crimes committed by the armed
forces while waging war & authorized
the support & participation of German
troops in these crimes, including the
murder of the European Jews. Keitel
was found guilty on all four counts
(conspiracy, crimes against peace, war
crimes, & crimes against humanity) &
sentenced to death. He was hanged in
‘46.