Do Now

• What do you know about the life and "accomplishments" of Adolf Hitler?

Don't forget to turn the homework into the basket!

• Born in Austria-Hungary in 1889 to a German-speaking family, Adolf Hitler had a quiet, middle-class childhood. A poor student, he preferred drawing and painting to reading and studying. After his father died when he was 14, then his mother when he was 18, he moved to Vienna, the capital of Austria-Hungary, to work as an artist.

Adolf Hitler

• In these early years he was very poor, living only off of what he made from selling his watercolor paintings on the streets. It was while living in Vienna that he first became introduced to the ideas of anti-semitism and Aryanism, and decided to leave Austria-Hungary because it tolerated other races and religions living in its empire.

• He moved to Munich, Germany in early 1914, and joined the German army later that year after the war started. He served as a German soldier all throughout the war, fighting in the First and Third Battles of Ypres, and the Battle of the Somme, where he was wounded and received a medal for bravery.

• After the war, he joined the new, smaller Germany army, and was hired to be a spy for 2 years. His mission was to go undercover and join the German Workers Party, a political group that the army feared was trying to take over the new Weimar government. While he was a spy, Hitler grew to admire the party’s beliefs, which were anti-semitic and pro-Aryan. When his term as a spy ended, he continued being an active member of the party, and advanced in its leadership. In 1920, the party changed its name to the National Socialist German Workers Party – known in English as the Nazi Party. Just a year later, in 1921, Hitler became the leader of the party. After being appointed chairman, he designed a new flag for the group – a red background with a black swastika in a white circle in the center.

• The swastika, which has become completely associated with the Nazi Party in Europe and the United States since World War II, has a much older, more interesting history. The earliest known use of the symbol is dated from 10,000 BC, where it was found in the Ukraine, carved into a piece of decorated mammoth tusk. From then on, it has been found in human art across Europe and Asia, particularly in India and ancient Rome.

Left: ancient Viking comb from Denmark

• Over the years, it took on the meaning of a good-luck symbol, and the name “swastika” in Sanskrit, a language of ancient India, means “lucky object.” Strangely, the symbol was also used as a good-luck symbol among several Native American cultures, including the Aztecs and Hopis. It was for these associations with luck and happiness that Hitler chose the symbol to be in the center of the Nazi Party’s flag. Today, it is still used a symbol of luck in Buddhism and Hinduism.

• Once Hitler became the head of the Nazi Party, his ambition began to grow. He came to believe that he was destined to lead this group to take over Germany and became the founder of the Third Reich. This term has its origin in a concept used by German historians. The word “reich” meaning “empire,” German historians at the time often referred to the medieval Holy Roman Empire as the First Reich, then Kaiser Wilhelm’s German empire (which was defeated in World War I) as the Second Reich. In this way, Hitler saw himself as destined to become a part of German history – the founder of a new, glorious empire. He decided to put this Third Reich into motion in 1923 by taking over Munich, the capital of the German province of Bavaria.

• In early November that year, Hitler led 2,000 Nazi party members on a march to take over the capitol building in Munich, but someone had tipped off the police, who were ready and waiting for them. A short struggle ensued, in which 16 Nazi Party members and 4 policemen died. Hitler and the other party leaders were arrested and sentenced to prison, but Hitler himself only ended up serving 9 months out of his 5 year sentence. Although this first attempted rebellion was unsuccessful, it actually increased the popularity of the party and its leader among the German people, who were also unhappy with the Weimar government.

• After his release from prison, Hitler published an autobiography called “Mein Kampf” (“My Struggle” in English), detailing his beliefs and hopes for the future of Germany. The book became very successful, and Hitler travelled around the country, giving speeches and encouraging people to join the Nazi Party. By the late 1920’s, many of his speeches centered around the idea that Jews were responsible for Germany’s defeat and World War I, and all the trouble that came after it. He believed that Jews were naturally greedy and secretly hated the Aryan German people and wanted to see them suffer so they could take over. These ideas grew in popularity, appealing mostly to poor and working-class people around Germany, and by 1929, the Nazi Party had over 130,000 members.

• After the stock market crash of 1929, Germany entered an economic depression again, like most of the rest of the world, but this only served to increase Hitler and the Nazi Party’s popularity. Many people came to believe that if Hitler had been in control of Germany, not the Weimar government, the depression could have been avoided (though this is absolutely not true). In 1930, the Nazi Party won 18% of the seats in the Weimar government, by far the largest it had ever had. In 1932, Hitler unsuccessfully ran for president, but the Nazi Party still gained more seats in the government. After making a deal with the Communist Party in Germany, Hitler became the chancellor (prime minister) of Germany in January 1933.

• A month after Hitler became chancellor in January 1933, a suspicious fire broke out in the German Congress building. A young Communist party member was arrested for starting it, and he was quickly found guilty and executed. Hitler explained to the German people that this was a conspiracy by the Communists (who helped him come to power) to take over the government.

• The following day, a Decree for the Protection of People and State made it immediately illegal to be a member of the Communist Party, and thousands of people across the country were imprisoned. The decree also made it illegal to publicly oppose the Nazi Party in any way, and allowed the government to shut down newspapers and book printers that published anything against the Nazi Party or its beliefs.

• In February 1934, Austria’s government was taken over by its own local version of the Nazi Party. And in August 1934, Hitler changed his own title from Chancellor to Fuhrer (“Leader” in German). He made it a new requirement that all soldiers and government officials must now swear an oath of allegiance to Hitler himself, instead of the German Constitution.

• As part of his growing cult of personality, Hitler travelled extensively around Germany throughout 1934, explaining what he was doing to help Germany’s economy improve during the Great Depression. Borrowing many ideas from Roosevelt’s New Deal, Hitler employed millions of Germans for public works projects, like building roads, bridges, and planting trees, just like in the United States.

Key Term ID's

• A key term ID is a short but complete definition of a historical event, person, or idea.

• A good key term ID will usually be 2-3 sentences long and answer the 5 W's:

Who was involved? What was it? Where was it? When was it? Why is it important?

Muhammad Muhammad was a religious prophet who live in Saudi Arabia in the early 600's AD. He wrote his religious teachings in the Quran, which serves as the basis of the religion of Islam.

Senate The Senate is one of the two houses of the legislative branch of the United States government. It was created in the late 1700's and still exists today. Every state gets equal representation with two senators per state.

Women's suffrage Women's suffrage was when women were not able to vote. Women all around the US were involved. This let the women finally get a word in our government during the 1920's.

Benito Mussolini Benito Mussolini was a political leader in Italy during the 1910's. Benito invented fascism and put it to the test.

Aryanism Aryanism is the idea that German people are better than others because they have blue eyes, blond hair, light skin. It was in Germany and it was during the 1920's. It was important because it was a reason that lead to World War 2.

Exit Ticket

1. Describe how Hitler became the dictator of Germany. 2. Write a key term ID for swastika.