4.7  Nazism and Hitler

Conditions that led to Nazi Germany's Rejection of Liberalism


Before World War I (1914-1918), Kaiser (king) Wilhelm II ruled Germany. Although Wilhelm was not an absolute monarch, he did not agree with democratic principles. After Germany was defeated in World War I in 1918, Wilhelm II abdicated. Germany adopted the principles of a liberal democracy, which included free and open elections and the freedom to establish and belong to any political party. The President was the head of state, and the Reichstag was their new parliament. However, the democratic Weimar Republic (the official name for Germany from 1919 to 1933) did not gain the trust of German citizens.

The government of the Weimar Republic failed to win the people's trust for two reasons:

  1. When WWI ended in 1918, Germany was left with no choice but to sign the Treaty of Versailles and to take the blame for having caused the war. As a result, the Allies forced Germany to pay reparations to European countries affected by the war. The German people were angry with their leaders for having signed the treaty.

  2. Some economic issues angered the Germans. Suffering from a war-torn economy, the government printed more money to pay its debts. This action led to inflation and a rise in the price of goods.

However, the German government was able to restore confidence in the economy for a time. The United States loaned money to Germany to help it pay the required reparations. The German economy prospered until the Great Depression began in 1929. The Depression worsened significantly the economic situation for Germany. With the Great Depression, Germany spiraled into economic chaos. Add the crippling war reparations and a strong nationalistic desire and Germany had become vulnerable to any strong leader who wanted to take over the reigns of power.


Read "Setting the Stage for Fascism in Germany" on pages 174-176 of your textbook, Understandings of Ideologies. These pages will further your understanding of the concept of Nazi Germany's rejection of liberalism.

You should make notes, either on paper or on your computer, about what you have read. You may want to read the tutorial How to Make Notes. When you are finished the tutorial, return here to continue this unit.

Adolf Hitler (1889-1945)


Adolf Hitler, who was dictator of Germany from 1933-1945, used the model for fascism set by Mussolini. Hitler developed and led German fascism in the Nazi movement, also known as Nazism.

Hitler was born in Austria into a poor family. When World War I was declared in 1914, Hitler fought as a German soldier. Hitler had long admired Germany, and during the war he became a passionate German patriot, although he did not become a German citizen until 1932. Hitler found the war to be "the greatest of all experiences", and afterwards, he was praised for his bravery by some of his commanding officers.


Please watch the following video explaining How did Hitler Rise to Power.

 



As leader of the Nazi Party, Hitler had to recruit new members and expand his political party. In the beginning, he spoke mainly in beer halls. He created and organized a special task force of thugs known as the Storm Troopers who wore brown shirts and made sure that no one disturbed or opposed Hitler as he spoke. Hitler was a charismatic speaker who spoke to the German people about what they cared about the most:

  • German pride and nationalism

  • improvement of Germany's wrecked economy

  • blame on those that caused Germany to lose WWI

  • fear of communist revolution

  • need for a strong leader


In 1923, Hitler attempted to take over the German government by force. His attempted overthrow of the government failed and he was jailed for eight months. In jail, he wrote a book titled Mein Kampf, which was published in 1925. Part autobiography and part revolutionary tract, the book sold more than five million copies. In this book, he outlined how he was going to come to power and build a strong German government that would unite all German people. He explained how he would be the true ruler of Germany, and he also outlined how he meant to deal with the Jews.


He was planning his leadership along with Germany's rise to global domination and his genocidal plan known as the Final Solution.

"The [Nazi party] should not become a constable of public opinion, but must dominate it. It must not become a servant of the masses, but their master!"  Adolf Hitler, Mein Kampf


The Basic Ideology of the Nazis included the following:

  1. Lebensraum: German for "living space"; more room was needed to include all Germans outside Germany into one state Reversal of the Treaty of Versailles: (in defiance of the Treaty) Anschluss: reunite Germany and Austria Rearmament: increase the size of Germany's military forces (militarism) Militarize the Rhineland: put German troops into this area of Germany
  1. Aryan Supremacy: anti-semitism (hatred and opposition to Jewish people) by making Jews the scapegoats for Germany's problems
  1. Reversal of the Treaty of Versailles: (in defiance of the Treaty)
    • Anschluss: reunite Germany and Austria
    • Rearmament: increase the size of Germany's military forces (militarism)
    • Militarize the Rhineland: put German troops into this area of Germany     
  1. National Socialism (Nazism or fascism):
  • Absolute loyalty to Hitler and to Germany
  • Racial purity ("pure blood" Germans only); any others to be eliminated
  • Equality for all racially pure German citizens only
  • State control of economy (the government controls the economy)
  • Absolute obedience to Hitler
  1. Self-Sufficient Germany: an independent and economically strong Germany


Hitler and his Nazi Party were able to convince Germans to support them because the Nazis promised

  • to get rid of the Treaty of Versailles

  • to rebuild the German economy

  • to reduce political instability in Germany

  • to make Germany strong in the international community

  • to get rid of communism in Germany


After Hitler was in control of Germany, he took over all the powers of government to become a dictator. He became known as "Der Führer" (The Leader). The state (in other words, Hitler) was to have supreme power over the people. He used propaganda, force, and terror to convince anyone who disagreed with his program. The Gestapo, or secret police, eliminated any opposition to the Nazi Party. The SS (the State Security Police) became Hitler's personal bodyguards.

A picture of Hiter and Mussolini standing together after they sign an alliance treaty
Hitler's fascist ideology of expansionism led Nazi Germany into a world war against not only liberal democracies but the communist Soviet Union as well. Before being defeated in 1945, Germany had occupied much of Europe and killed millions.

Please watch the following video explaining World War II:

 
 
A picture of women and children Jewish Halocaust victims arriving at a concentration camp.
Jewish women and children from Subcarpathian Russia await selection on the ramp at the Nazi concentration camp Auschwitz-Birkenau.

© Courtesy U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum

Hitler had a long hatred for the Jews. He was a fascist and blamed the Jews for Germany's loss of World War I and the economic difficulties in Germany. Hitler considered Jews to be the least desirable people in Germany. Later, he took this hatred to levels never seen before.

The Nazis believed that the German people belonged to a "pure Aryan race" that was superior to all other races of people. They believed that it was their task to rule over inferior races. The Nazis were extremely anti-Semitic; that is, they were totally opposed to Jewish people and denied them all rights. Anti-Jewish propaganda was everywhere, trying to convince Germans that the Jewish people were responsible for Germany's problems. Eventually, the Nazis introduced a plan of genocide to exterminate all Jews, called the Final Solution.

Auschwitz-Birkenau, now a memorial museum in Poland, was the site of a Nazi concentration camp where an estimated 2 million people were put to death. There were many other concentration camps. In total, 6 million Jews were killed.

©Courtesy http://www.upthebanner.com


Please watch the following video explain Nazism:

 

The Final Solution was the term the Nazis used for their genocidal plan to exterminate the Jewish race. Concentration camp survivors refer to it as the Holocaust.

 In the Nazi concentration camps as pictured above, those who were deemed unfit to work — the old, the young, the sick, the weak — were sent to the gas chambers where they were killed with poison gas and their bodies burned.

Those who were deemed fit were put to work building weapons for the German army. Conditions in the concentration camps were inhumane. Having already lost their relatives and being imprisoned just for being Jewish or undesirable (gypsies and other groups the Nazis believed were inferior), inmates were subjected to unsanitary living quarters, starvation, and beatings; they were worked to death while living with the constant everyday threat of death.


What do you think?

  • Was Hitler's rejection of liberalism justified?

  • Was his version of fascism for Germany a valid one?         




Read "Hitler and Rise of Nazism" on pages 176-180 of your textbook, Understandings of Ideologies. These pages will further your understanding of the concept of Nazi Germany's rejection of liberalism.

You should make notes, either on paper or on your computer, about what you have read. You may want to read the tutorial How to Make Notes. When you are finished the tutorial, return here to continue this unit.

Watch the video below on The Political Spectrum.