From Kaiser to Fuhrer: The Rise of the Nazis (4)

4.1: The rise of the Nazis

Origins
1. The German Workers Party (DAP) founded by Anton Drexler in Munich after WWI
2. Hitler joined the party and began making powerful speeches condemning the Treaty of
Versailles, Jews and Communists
3. Party renamed National Socialist German Workers' Party (NSDAP)
4. 1920,…

4.2: The early years

The Munich Putsch
1. November 1923
2. Hitler, Rohm and Ludendorff and SA announced national revolution in a beer hall in Munich
3. Bavarian police tipped off
4. Putsch was diffused easily

Wilderness years
1. Hitler guilty of treason, but only given 5 years
2. Nazis…

4.3: Economic and political crisis in Germany, 1929-1933

The economic impact of Depression
1. Following Wall Street Crash in October 1929, US economy failed, and because Germany
relied on US loans, so did Germany's
a. National income shrunk by 39%, 1929-1932
b. Industrial production declined more than 40%
c. 6…

4.4: The growth of Nazi support

Nazi Party vote
1. 1928 = 2.6% with 12 seats
2. 1930 = 18.3% with 107 seats
3. July 1932 = 37.3% with 230 seats
4. Nazi Part largest in Reichstag in 1932

Demographics
1. 2/3 members in 1930 under 40
2. Protestant more…

4.5: Support from the conservative elite

1. Hindenburg refused to appoint Hitler s Chancellor
2. Mass popularity was not sufficient for Hitler to appointed
3. Conservatives in business and the army turned to Hitler in prospect of a Communist takeover
4. KPD vote 3.2m in 1928 to 5.9m in 1933…

4.6: Nazi consolidation of power

Reichstag Fire
1. 27 February 1933
2. A Dutch communist, Lubbe, set fire to the Reichstag building
3. Nazis used this event to persuade the public the Communists were plotting against Germany
4. Hindenburg declared a national emergency

The Reichstag Fire Decree and the campaign…

4.7: Factors enabling Nazi consolidation of power

Terror
1. Reichstag Fire Decree removed people's civil rights
2. Elections of March 1933 violent
3. Enabling Act gave Hitler power to eradicate opposition by being a one-party state
4. Political left smashed by 1933
a. 150k-200k political opponents imprisoned in 1933
b.…