After the Great WarPart 1: False Optimism

#1: No More War

• Woodrow Wilson’s League of Nations– Established to prevent future wars– Many nations joined- but NOT USA?!– Ultimately weak

• Kellogg-Briand Pact- agreement to outlaw war forever– …at least until someone breaks it…

#2 Roaring 20s

• Economy apparently thriving– Industry doing well– New products and marketing– Assembly line Model T in USA– Buying on credit…. :o– This would cause trouble…

#3 Women’s Suffrage

• Women had worked in factories during war• In 20s women gained suffrage (voting rights)

in:– Britain– USA– Germany

And so the world was changing . . .But it was about to change in some unexpected

ways . . .

The Great Depression

• October 1929- The Stock Market Crash• Signals the beginning of the Great Depression• Unemployment skyrockets• Worldwide economic crash• Germany hit the hardest…

Economic Depressions can have unintended side-effects . . .

Totalitarianism: How Did it Happen?

What is Fascism?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Hitler_and_Mussolini_June_1940.jpg

Eva Braun

I. What is Fascism?All forms of Fascism share some

basic features:• extreme nationalism• It glorifies action, violence, and

discipline• encourages blind loyalty to the

state• undemocratic• They reject the concepts of

“equality” and “liberty”• glorified war• sworn enemies of socialism and

communism

Fascism Spreads

• As the Great Depression spread, other nations looked to Fascist leaders to save them

• Italy- Mussolini• Spain- Franco

Germany goes Democratic:Weimar Republic

• At the end of the war in 1918, Germany was on the brink of chaos

• Kaiser William II abdicated• Moderate leaders forced to

sign the Treaty of Versailles

• 1919 The Weimar Republic:• Was led by a prime minister, or chancellor• Included a bill of rights

What went wrong in Germany?

• Germans of all classes blamed the government for the hated Treaty of Versailles

Problem #1

#2 Economic Trouble

• inflation began to spiral out of control– An item that cost 100 marks in July 1922 – In August 1923 it cost 944,000, making the mark almost

worthless– A loaf of bread or newspaper cost tens of thousands of

marks– Wages went up, but not enough, as middle class families

saw their savings wiped out• Many Germans accused Marxists and Jews of an

imaginary conspiracy to betray Germany

• The miseries of the 1923 inflation came back when the Great Depression hit

• Germans turned to an energetic leader

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Hitler_and_Mussolini_June_1940.jpg

Eva Braun

Hitler and the Rise of Nazi Germany

#3: Enter Adolf Hitler

• Hitler became the leader of the National Socialist German Workers, or Nazi, party

• The Great Depression played into his hands

• As unemployment rose, Nazi membership grew to almost a million

• He promised to end reparations, create jobs, and rearm Germany

• Hitler urged Germans to unite• He said that Germany must

expand to provide room for the “master race”

• He also argued that Germany would need a strong leader, or Fuhrer

• In 1933, other conservative politicians decided Hitler should become chancellor

Hitler and the Rise of Nazi Germany

Do Not Write- Hitler’s Third Reich• Like Mussolini, Hitler

appealed to nationalism by recalling his nation’s past glory

• Germany’s 1st Reich was the Holy Roman Empire

• Germany’s 2nd Reich was the empire of Bismarck that ended with WWI

• Hitler predicted his 3rd Reich would dominate Europe for 1,000 years

Hitler’s Plan Part 1: CONTROL

• Like Mussolini, Hitler came to power legally

Within a year, Hitler was the master of Germany. Hitler quickly:

• Suspended civil rights• Destroyed the Communists• Disbanded other political

partiesThe Nazis dominated Germany, and

Hitler dominated the Nazis, purging any perceived threats

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• To achieve his goals- brutal system of terror

• The Nazis controlled all aspects of life from government, to religion, to schools

• Elite SS troops enforced Hitler’s will

• His secret police, the Gestapo, rooted out opposition

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:%E2%80%9CGive_me_four_years%E2%80%99_time%E2%80%9D.jpg

Part 2: Help the Masses

To combat the Great Depression, Hitler launched massive public works projects

• Roads and housing were built• He began to rearm quickly (in

violation of the Treaty of Versailles)

• His programs stimulated business and reduced unemployment

Hitler and the Rise of Nazi Germany

Part 3: Nazi Ideology: Make a ScapegoatSomeone to blame!!!

• According to Hitler, Germans belonged to a superior “master race” of Aryans, or light skinned Europeans

• He claimed that Germany had not lost WWI, but were betrayed by Marxist, Jews, corrupt politicians, and business leaders

Hitler and the Rise of Nazi Germany

Part 4: “Reeducate” the Children: Nazi Youth

• Like Italian Fascists and Russian Communists, the Nazis indoctrinated their young people with their racist ideology

• Young people pledged loyalty to Germany and undertook physical fitness programs to prepare for battle

Hitler and the Rise of Nazi Germany

Part 5: CensorshipPurging German Culture

• Nazis used art and education as propaganda• School courses and textbooks were rewritten• At huge public bonfires, Nazis burned books they

disapproved of

Hitler and the Rise of Nazi Germany

Purging German Culture

• Hitler despised Christianity as “weak” and “flabby” and he planned to replace religion with his own radical creed

• The Nazis took control of all Protestant churches and shut down Catholic churches

Hitler and the Rise of Nazi Germany

Looking Ahead

• By the late 1930s, Hitler had total control of Germany, Europe’s second Fascist state

• He sought to extend his control of Germany to German control over Europe

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