Hitler and His Views
Adolf Hitler’s ideas were based on
racism and German nationalism.
Hitler and His Views (cont.)
• Adolf Hitler entered politics by joining the
German Workers’ Party in Munich.
• Hitler took over the party, which was
renamed the National Socialist German
Workers’ Party or Nazi for short.
Hitler and His Views (cont.)
• After an unsuccessful revolt against the
government, Hitler was imprisoned and
wrote Mein Kampf, which endorsed German
nationalism, strong anti-Semitism, and
anticommunism.
• Hitler expanded
the Nazi Party, and
it soon became
the largest party in
the Reichstag.
Hitler and His Views (cont.)
• Hitler won support of the right-wing elites of
Germany who, in 1933, pressured the
president to allow Hitler to become
chancellor and create a new government.
• The Enabling Act was
passed, allowing the
government to ignore
the constitution for
four years while it
issued laws to deal
with the country’s
problems.
Hitler and His Views (cont.)
• With Hitler acting as dictator, the Nazi Party
quickly brought all institutions under their
control, purged the Jews from civil service
jobs, and set up concentration camps.
• When the
president
died in 1934,
Hitler
became the
sole ruler of
Germany.
The Nazi State, 1933–1939
Hitler used anti-Semitism, economic
policy, and propaganda to build a
Nazi state.
The Nazi State, 1933–1939 (cont.)
• Hitler dreamed of creating a purely Aryan
state that would dominate the world.
• To achieve his goal of a Third
Reich, Hitler and the Nazis used
economic policies, mass
demonstrations, organizations,
and terror.
• Heinrich Himmler directed the
Schutzstaffeln, commonly called
SS, using terror and Nazi
ideology to promote the Aryan
master race.
The Nazi State, 1933–1939 (cont.)
• Hitler created public works projects to help
with the high unemployment rates and end
the Depression.
• The Nazis used
mass demonstrations
and meetings, such
as the Nuremberg
party rallies, to gain
support and evoke
excitement from the
German people.
The Nazi State, 1933–1939 (cont.)
• Under Hitler’s regime, women were seen as
wives and mothers who would bear the
children destined to see the success of the
Aryan race.
• Women were only allowed
to work in gender-specific
jobs such as nursing and
social work, but were highly
encouraged to stay at
home.
The Nazi State, 1933–1939 (cont.)
• The Nazi Party began expanding their antiSemitism policies to anti-Jewish boycotts and
new racial laws such as the Nuremberg laws.
The Nazi State, 1933–1939 (cont.)
• The Nuremberg Laws:
– defined anyone with one
Jewish grandparent as a
Jew
– excluded Jews from
German citizenship
– stripped Jews of their civil
rights
– forbade marriages
between German citizens
and Jews
The Nazi State, 1933–1939 (cont.)
– forbade Jews
from teaching
in schools and
participating in
the arts
– required Jews
to wear yellow
Stars of David
and carry
identification
cards
The Nazi State, 1933–1939 (cont.)
• On November 9, 1938, a more violent phase
began with Kristallnacht. Nazis burned
synagogues and Jewish businesses and
sent 30,000 Jews to concentration camps.
The Nazi State, 1933–1939 (cont.)
• After Kristallnacht, Jews were barred from
all public transportation and public
buildings, and were prohibited from
owning or working in any retail store.
• The SS encouraged Jews to “emigrate
from Germany.”
THE END OF SECTION 3