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Germany Surrenders (WWI)
Facing too many enemies and U.S. entry into the war, Germany must surrender. -
Period: to
Rise of the Third Reich
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Treaty of Versailles
The Treaty of Versailles was one of the documents that declared peace at the end of World War I. The treaty contained extremely harsh rules & demands. Look back at your notes, what were some of the harsh terms imposed upon Germany? -
Weimar Republic is Created
In 1918, a constitution was drawn up in Weimar and it created a democratic German Republic known as the Weimar Republic or the Weimar Government. Hyperinflation in 1920 caused the Weimar Government even more trouble as nearly 6 million Germans were unemployed. The government then printed more money but this just caused the German $ to lose its value. -
Unrest in the 1920s
DATE: EARLY 1920s The main reason supposed "Saviors" like Hitler could take power was spurred largely by the German people’s frustration with dismal economic conditions and the still-festering wounds inflicted by defeat in the Great War and the harsh peace terms of the Versailles treaty -
Munich Beer Hall Putsch
The Munich Beer Hall Putsch on 11/8 + 11/9 was Hitler's attempt at revolution. About two thousand men marched to the center of Munich, using the beer hall as a base. After, Hitler was arrested & charged with treason. Hitler saw three main benefits from the failed putsch:
1) the putsch brought Hitler to the attention of the nation
2) in prison he wrote Mein Kampf
3) he realized violence wouldn't work WHAT WAS MEIN KAMPF? WHAT DO THE WORDS MEAN? -
Mein Kampf Published
After Hitler was sent to jail in 1923 after the Munich Putsch, he wrote a book called Mein Kampf (My Struggle). It was about his political ideology also combined with an autobiography. Volume 1 was published in 1925 and volume 2 was published in 1926. The aim of the book was to gain world leadership and to express his ideas about Germany's future.
Two key topics in the book include:
* Antisemitism
* Lebensraum WHAT DO THESE TWO TERMS MEAN? -
Stock Market Crash in the U.S.A.
Stock market crash, economies toppling leads to totalitarian leaders taking power in different parts of the world. As the Great Depression develops in the years to come Germans, who are already dealing with struggling economic times, want change. -
1932 Presidential Election
Hitler runs for presidency & loses KPD stands for the Communist Party of Germany NSDAP stands for the Nazi Party -
Hitler Appointed Chancellor
Hitler was appointed the Chancellor of Germany by President Hindenburg on January 30th, 1933. A Chancellor heads up the country's government. Since Hitler's Nazi Party was the largest party in the Reichstag, the president appointed Hitler to head up the government. THE REICHSTAG BUILDING IS COMPARABLE TO WHAT BUILDING IN OUR NATION'S CAPITAL? -
Hitler Addresses German Nation
After the speech, which was very popular, Hitler began immediately ordering a rapid expansion of the state police (the Gestapo) and putting Hermann Goering in charge of a new security force, composed entirely of Nazis and dedicated to stamping out whatever opposition to his party might arise. From that moment on, Nazi Germany was off and running, and there was little Hindenburg could do to stop it. -
Fire at the Reichstag
An arson attack on the Reichstag building in Berlin on 27 February 1933. Hitler uses communists as scapegoats to scare public. All power given to Hitler. Unless you opposed the Nazis, life was pretty much the usual. -
Concentration Camps Established
The Dachau concentration camp was established in March 1933. It was the first regular concentration camp established by the National Socialist (Nazi) government. -
Jewish Businesses Boycotted
The Nazis carried out the first nationwide, planned action against Jews: a boycott of Jewish businesses. Nazi spokesmen claimed the boycott was an act of revenge against both German Jews and foreigners who had criticized the Nazi regime. Fewer than 1 in 100 Germans were Jewish and they saw themselves as Germans first, even so Hitler said the Jews were Germany’s misfortune. -
Nazi Sterilization Program Heats Up
The "Law for the Prevention of Hereditarily Diseased Offspring", enacted on July 14, 1933, allowed the compulsory sterilisation of any citizen who according to the opinion of a Genetic Health Court" suffered from a list of alleged genetic disorders. LIST SOME OF THE "GENETIC DISORDERS" THAT WOULD QUALIFY YOU FOR STERILIZATION IN NAZI GERMANY. -
Hitler Leaves World Disarmament Conference
The conference was an effort by member states of the League of Nations, together with the U.S., to discuss disarmament. The talks broke down and Hitler withdrew Germany from both the Conference and the League of Nations in October 1933. -
Hitler Oath of Allegiance
The oath pledged personal loyalty to Adolf Hitler in place of loyalty to the constitution of the country. "I swear to God this sacred oath that to the Leader of the German empire and people, Adolf Hitler, supreme commander of the armed forces, I shall render unconditional obedience and that as a brave soldier I shall at all times be prepared to give my life for this oath." -
Night of the Long Knives (Operation Hummingbird)
When leaders take power through less than moral means, they eventually get paranoid of those around them. Operation Hummingbird was a purge that took place in Nazi Germany from June 30 to July 2, 1934, when the Nazi regime carried out a series of executions intended to ensure Hitler's absolute hold on power in Germany. -
Death of President Hindenburg
Hindenburg was the second president of the Weimar republic. He helped Germany through the rough times of the hyperinflation and was the leader who announced Hitler as Chancellor. He led Germany from 1925 till his death. It was on his death bed that Hitler convinced the cabinet to agree to allow the role of president and chancellor to merge. This meant that when Hindenburg died Hitler was left with all power. The role of chancellor and president were merged and Hitler was addressed as Führer. -
Triumph of the Will
The film Triumph of the Will is released. The film's overriding theme is the return of Germany as a great power, with Hitler as the leader who will bring glory to the nation. The film won awards across Europe -
Nuremburg Laws
Jews considered a separate second-class status in Germany, prohibits intermarriage with Germans. -
Lebensborn Project
The Lebensborn Project was founded by Heinrich Himmler. First it involved offering young girls who were considered 'racially pure' to breed and give birth to Aryan babies in secret. Then they would be taken to SS nurseries. In 1936, the first Lebensborn home was built to house expectant mothers, and later orphans and native babies. -
Hitler Militarizes the Rhineland
German military re-occupation of the Rhineland successfully challenges France's willingness to act in defense of the Versailles settlement. -
Berlin Olympics
Olympic Games, Hitler wanted the world to see the Nazi Renaissance. They did so by hiding their racism and easily fooled the world. THE NEXT OLYMPIC GAMES WERE SUPPOSED TO BE HELD IN TOKYO, JAPAN IN 1940. WHAT DO YOU THINK HAPPENED TO THESE GAMES? -
Hitler Youth Forced Membership
The Hitler Youth was the youth organization of the Nazi Party in Germany. Its origins dated back to 1922. Forced membership in Hitler Youth, ages 10 and up, occurred in December of 1936. WHAT DO YOU THINK THE POINT OF THE HITLER YOUTH WAS? -
Germany Annexes Austria
German troops March into Austria to annex the German-speaking nations for the Third Reich. THIS WAS A DIRECT VIOLATION OF WHAT? -
Munich Conference
Munich Conference: Britain and France grant Czechoslovakia's Sudetenland to Hitler to avoid war; Hitler had demanded the area from Czechoslovakia due to its heavy German-speaking population. Hitler gives Chamberlain his personal word on future cooperation (the height of the policy of Appeasement). -
Laws of Jewish Identificaton
initially implemented in April 1938 these new laws were put in place to assure that no Jew could be mistaken for an Aryan man. This forced all Jewish people to carry with them an identification tag showing their heritage. -
Kristallnacht
Kristallnacht, literally, "Night of Crystal," is often referred to as the "Night of Broken Glass." The name refers to the wave of violent anti-Jewish pogroms. A pogrom is an organized massacre of a particular ethnic group. -
Hitler Named Time's Man of the Year for 1938
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Hitler takes Czechoslovakia
On this day, Hitler’s forces move into & occupy Czechoslovakia. -
Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact
Nazi-Soviet Non-aggression Pact is signed in Moscow, creating an agreement between Germany and the Soviet Union that neither would attack each other in a future war. -
Eve of War
Hitler gives final orders for the invasion of Poland, which would trigger WWII on September 1st, 1939.
