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Nazism in Germany
- Nazism
Nazism, [a] totalitarian movement led by Adolf Hitler as head of the Nazi Party in Germany. In its intense nationalism, mass appeal, and dictatorial rule, Nazism shared many elements with Italian fascism. However, Nazism was far more extreme both in its ideas and in its practice.
Source: Britannica - The aftermath of the First World War in Germany
In Germany, impending defeat triggered a revolution and brought down the German Emperor, the Kaiser. [A] new democratic German state, The Weimar Republic, came into existence after the First World War. - Kaiser Wilhelm II reflects on his abdication (1922)Writing in 1922, the former Kaiser Wilhelm II – then living in exile in Holland – reflected on the events of late 1918 that led to his abdication.
- The Spartacist Uprising in BerlinThe Kaiser abdicated as emperor and on November 8th, 1918, a socialist republic was reluctantly proclaimed in Berlin by the moderate Social Democrat leader Friedrich Ebert, who confided to a friend that he ‘hated it like sin’, but proceeded to form a government.
THE SPARTACIST UPRISING, JANUARY 1919 © IWM (Q 7416)
- The Controversial Versailles Treaty Ended World War IThe Versailles Treaty, signed on June 28, 1919 in the Hall of Mirrors in the Palace of Versailles in Paris, was the peace settlement between Germany and the Allied Powers that officially ended World War I. However, the conditions in the treaty were so punitive upon Germany that many believe the Versailles Treaty laid the groundwork for the eventual rise of Nazis in Germany and the eruption of World War II.
- The Weimar RepublicGermany was in such a state of unrest that the first meeting of the National Assembly could not even take place in the capital city, Berlin. It met instead in the town of Weimar, earning the new nation the name ‘Weimar Republic’.
- German citizens defend democracy against Kapp Putsch, 1920In March 1920, Walther von Lüttwitz, a commanding general in the German army, and Wolfgang Kapp, a German provincial official (with the help of a few other German officials, such as Chief of Staff, General Hans von Seeckt and his collaborators in the Ministry of Defense), attempted a coup d'état (called the Kapp Putsch). The conspirators had two main aims in mind: to avoid the implementation of certain articles in the Treaty of Versailles (such as the reduction of the German army) and to replace the government of the Republic with a Rightist regime.
Putschists in Berlin. The banner warns: "Stop! Whoever proceeds will be shot"
Vantahlen, L. (1920). File:Bundesarchiv Bild 183-J0305-0600-003, Berlin, Kapp ... Retrieved from
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bundesarchiv_Bild_183-J0305-0600-003,_Berlin,_Kapp-Putsch,_Putschisten.jpg
- 1919-1923: Years of Crisis?In the early years of the Republic there were many potential threats to the new Government.
- Economic policyThis [webpage] explores how the Nazis achieved economic recovery in Germany, which was to prove so vital to their ability to carry out their plans, such as remilitarisation and territorial expansion .
- Hyperinflation in Germany, 1923In 1923 Germany experienced Hyperinflation. The value of money plummeted. Hyperinflation was caused by several things. Government policy was designed to force changes to the terms of the Treaty of Versailles. The economy was struggling. Confidence in banks and investments was low. Overseas trade was difficult. Combined, they created Hyperinflation, a situation in which money became virtually worthless.
Piles of new bank notes awaiting distribution at the Reichsbank, during the hyperinflation.
Hyperinflation in the Weimar Republic. (1923). Retrieved from
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyperinflation_in_the_Weimar_Republic#/media/File:Bundesarchiv_Bild_183-R1215-
506,_Berlin,_Reichsbank,_Geldauflieferungsstelle.jpg
- Interwar Germany: The Rise and Fall of Weimar and the Rise of HitlerThe question of how Hitler took power is often tied to how democracy in Germany failed, and this website has a series of articles outlining the ‘revolution’ of 1918 to the mid-30s, when Hitler was unassailable.
- Weimar recovery and Stresemann 1924-1929Under Stresemann’s leadership, from 1924 onwards Weimar’s economy recovered, Germany regained international credibility and social change accelerated, until the disaster of 1929’s Wall Street Crash.
- Hitler's Beer Hall Putsch
Khan Academy
- A Timeline of Hitler's Rise to Power
This timeline covers the rise of Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party, from an obscure group to rulers of Germany. - Hitler's rise to power 1919-1933Hitler joined the Nazi Party in 1919 and was influential in defining its beliefs. He also led the Munich Putsch in 1923. However, from 1924 to 1929 the unpopular party gained little electoral success.
- The early years of the Nazi Party
n the chaotic aftermath of the First World war, many small extremist political parties were formed. One, The NSDAP or Nazi Party, was eventually to takeover power in Germany. - A Short History of the Nazi PartyThe Nazi Party was a political party in Germany, led by Adolf Hitler from 1921 to 1945, whose central tenets included the supremacy of the Aryan people and blaming Jews and others for the problems within Germany.
- 'The Greatest Stupidity of My Life': Alfred Hugenberg and the Formation of the Hitler Cabinet, January 1933On the day after Adolf Hitler's installation as chancellor, Alfred
Hugenberg, the chairman of the German National People's Party
(Deutschnationale Volkspartei or DNVP) and a prominent member of
the Hitler cabinet, supposedly remarked: 'I've just committed the
greatest stupidity of my life; I have allied myself with the greatest
demagogue in world history."
- Great Depression Begins
The German economy was especially vulnerable since it was built upon foreign capital, mostly loans from America and was very dependent on foreign trade. When those loans suddenly came due and when the world market for German exports dried up, the well oiled German industrial machine quickly ground to a halt.
- The Great Depression in GermanyThe Great Depression was a worldwide economic slump that began as an American crisis.
- The Nazi rise to powerThe Nazi Party was one of a number of right-wing extremist political groups that emerged in Germany following World War I. Beginning with the onset of the Great Depression it rose rapidly from obscurity to political prominence, becoming the largest party in the German parliament in 1932.
- The making of Hitler's armyIn the run-up to World War II, Germany’s generals made concessions to their Führer that put the Reich’s military might decisively in Hitler’s grasp.
Late July 1914. A vast crowd on the Odeonsplatz in Munich, Germany, enthusiastically greets the announcement of war. - The Nazi rise to powerIn the nine years between 1924 and 1933 the Nazi Party transformed from a small, violent, revolutionary party to the largest elected party in the Reichstag.
This [article] will explain how Hitler and the Nazi Party rose to power. - The rise of HitlerFour Clickview programs on the Rise of Hitler
- Adolf Hitler Appointed Chancellor of GermanyOn January 30, 1933, Adolf Hitler was appointed as the chancellor of Germany by President Paul Von Hindenburg. Hindenburg made the appointment in an effort to keep Hitler and the Nazi Party “in check;” however, the decision would have disastrous results for Germany and the entire European continent.
- How did the Nazis consolidate their power?A timeline of how the Nazis consolidated their power
- Hitler's Enabling ActOn March 23, 1933, the newly elected members of the German Parliament (the Reichstag) met in the Kroll Opera House in Berlin to consider passing Hitler's Enabling Act. It was officially called the 'Law for Removing the Distress of the People and the Reich.'
- Hitler, Rohm and the Night of the Long KnivesArgues that Adolf Hitler's active homosexuality can be seen in his long string of close relationships with notorious members of the homosexual communities in Vienna, Austria and Munich, Germany until the 1920s. Important role of Ernst Rohm in Hitler's life from March 1919 onwards; Rohm's attribute that impressed Hitler; Cornerstones of the fascist male-bonding culture prior to 1933.
- The Reichstag FireOn February 27, 1933, the German parliament (Reichstag) building burned down. The Nazi leadership and its coalition partners used the fire to claim that Communists were planning a violent uprising. They claimed that emergency legislation was needed to prevent this. The resulting act, commonly known as the Reichstag Fire Decree, abolished a number of constitutional protections and paved the way for Nazi dictatorship.
- Paul von HindenburgPaul von Hindenburg... German field marshal during World War I and second president of the Weimar Republic (1925–34). His presidential terms were wracked by political instability, economic depression, and the rise to power of Adolf Hitler, whom he appointed chancellor in 1933.
- Life in Nazi Germany 1933-1939Nazi Germany was a totalitarian state, meaning all aspects of Germans’ lives were controlled by the government. It was also one in which those deemed ‘enemies of the state’ were ruthlessly persecuted.
- In the Ashes of THE REICHThe article interviews Hitler Youth member Armin Lehmann. When asked how did he come to join the Hitler Youth, he recalls that he was eager to join as soon as he was old enough because he would get a uniform and a hiking knife.
- German League of Girls (Bund Deutscher Mädel)In 1930 the Bund Deutscher Mädel (German League of Girls) was formed as the female branch of the Hitler Youth movement.
- How Hitler Conquered GermanyThe Nazi propaganda machine exploited ordinary Germans by encouraging them to be co-producers of a false reality.
- Nazi and East German Propaganda Guide PagePropaganda was central to Nazi Germany and the German Democratic Republic. The German Propaganda Archive includes both propaganda itself and material produced for the guidance of propagandists.
- Control and opposition in Nazi GermanyIn order to maintain his absolute power, Hitler needed to ensure the total loyalty of the people to him.
- Opposition and resistance in Nazi GermanyThe three largest groups participating in resistance against the Nazi regime were the Social Democrats, Communists and Industrial workers.
- Antisemitism
The term antisemitism was coined only in the nineteenth century, but anti-Jewish hatred and Judeophobia (fear of Jews) date back to ancient times and have a variety of causes. - Anti-SemitismClickable menu on the following topics: Background to the Holocaust; Anti-Semitism; Anti-Jewish decrees; The Yellow Star; The Jewish people: religion and culture; Anne Frank; Jewish policemen in the ghetto; Rescue and the Holocaust.
- History of the HolocaustAn interactive website with timelines of the Holocaust.
- A New Look at Germany's Postwar ReconstructionGermany's rebirth following the annihilation of World War II is nothing short of a miracle. But the country's reconstruction was not without controversy and it resulted in cities filled with modernist buildings which have not aged well.
- Nazi legacy: The troubled descendantsThe names of Himmler, Goering, Goeth and Hoess still have the power to evoke the horrors of Nazi Germany, but what is it like to live with the legacy of those surnames, and is it ever possible to move on from the terrible crimes committed by your ancestors?
- Neo-Nazi and white supremacist groups have multiplied under Trump, report findsAmerican hate groups have proliferated under Donald Trump, a watchdog said, with emboldened white supremacists sparking a counter-resurgence of black nationalists.
- Rising Neo-Nazism in AmericaIn recent news, there has been more talk about neo-Nazism groups taking a more active role in protests and/or rallies.
- Europe and nationalism: A country-by-country guide
Across Europe, nationalist and far-right parties have made significant electoral gains.
Some have taken office, others have become the main opposition voice, and even those yet to gain a political foothold have forced centrist leaders to adapt. - How the Populist Right Is Redrawing the Map of EuropeIf 2017 looked like the year when moderate politicians took back Europe, look again. The election of centrist French President Emmanuel Macron and the reelection of German Chancellor Angela Merkel mask a rising tide of anti-immigrant and populist sentiment that is sweeping aside or weakening mainstream party politics across the continent.
- The right is rising and social democracy is dying across Europe – but why?For 70 years, Germany stood apart as the only European democracy without a rightwing party of weight. Nazis old and new tried, but they faded away one by one. The centre held, with the moderate-right Christian Democrats (CDU) and the reformist-left Social Democrats (SPD) placidly alternating in power or sharing it.
Suggested Reading list
The Historical Atlas of World War II by Call Number: 940.53 SWAISBN: 9781742665764Publication Date: 2010
The Story of the Holocaust by Call Number: 940.5318 LAWISBN: 9780749633318Publication Date: 1999
Republic to Reich by Call Number: 943.08 MASISBN: 9780074717455Publication Date: 2007
- PLC Books
List of books on Nazis in Germany
