...To what extent did Hitler create a totalitarian state in Germany between 1933 and 1939? How would you define a totalitarian state? Well many would argue that it was a political system where the state, usually under one organisation, recognises no limits to its authority and strives to control every aspect of public and private life. This was what Hitler wanted for Germany under the control of the Nazi party. From 1933 to 1939 Hitler tried to control every aspect of Germany and its people. To create a totalitarian state Hitler would have to insure that one party and one party only controlled Germany. He would also have to ensure that he could keep the economy, the opposition, the media, the army and the police fully under his control. This essay will closely examine if he achieved this or not. Carl Freidrichs, a German historian believes that to have a totalitarian state all of these features are needed. In other words for a country to be a totalitarian state then the following features were essential. These included: suppression of all sources of opposition, total control of the media, total control of all groups in society, the total control of education, total control of the economy and finally total control of all civil life. If these things could be controlled then Hitler would have indeed created a totalitarian state. Firstly Hitler would have to crush all opposition to ensure that he could create his totalitarian state. Although Hitler had quickly established...
Words: 2135 - Pages: 9
...question of who should lead, and how they should do it. There have been a variety of answers: monarchy, democracy, aristocracy, a republic, or something entirely different. For European nations, the mid-1900s was a time of growth in one specific type of government. Totalitarianism, or dictatorships, became one of the most common types of government after World War I. Although the results of Adolf Hitler’s leadership in Nazi Germany are the most widely known, multiple dictators came to power before him. Benito Mussolini, Joseph Stalin, and Adolf Hitler all shared the same fundamentals when related to leadership. These three dictators were able to gain power in their...
Words: 862 - Pages: 4
...POWER OF HITLER AND THE THIRD REICH, THE RESULT OF PREVIOUS POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC PROBLEMS? Introduction Paragraph: Hitler was able to become Germany’s chancellor in 1933 and after 6 months he was already able to establish a dictatorship. It is surprising how such an abominable personage was able to gain total control over Germany, which had been able to become a democratic republic. As Kershaw stated, “the future of Weimar looked promising. And without the onset of the world economic crisis from 1929 it might have remained so”. Thesis: The rise to power of Hitler and the Third Reich was to a large extent the result of previous political and economic problems, such as Germany’s authoritarian origins, the minimum support the Weimar Republic had, WWI and the Great Depression. Body Paragraph 1 – Political and social structure of German authoritarian origins Germany had always favored nationalism, militarism, and anti-Semitism; all emotions in the German people that went back to Germany’s roots and history. Before the Third Reich and the Weimar Republic, Germany lived a prosperous period known as the Second Reich, during which they became a great empire due to the authoritarian traditions and the military success. This is a view extremely supported by the “structuralists”, who believe that Nazism and Hitler were simply products of German history and that they were forces that still dominated during Weimar Germany, thus...
Words: 3288 - Pages: 14
...the end of World War I, Germany was in shambles, there were many young men dead, many seriously injured, and a lot of damage to cities, factories, homes, and transportation. In the face of this devastation, the German public fell under the influence of Adolf Hitler, who was very intelligent and knew that he could teach the german people however he wanted since they were in need of great help. Adolf was born in 1889 on April 20th, as a child he gathered his anti semitic ideas in Vienna. As people would join in and discriminate against other religions, like the Jews. At a young age both of his parents ended up dying and leaving him parentless the rest of his life....
Words: 3056 - Pages: 13
...The History Of Adolf Hitler Harpravjeet Malhi World Civilization II Professor: Michael Aerio Sparks 07/29/13 Hitler had changed the lives of many people; he started form nothing and emerged to be the most famous icon in history. It is also controversy that he is the main reason World War II started. Hitler was born in Braunau am Inn, Austria, on the date of April 20, 1889. Hitler was the third son of Alois Hitler and Klara Hitler. The family moved a lot, including to Linz and other places. At the beginning of school Hitler did very well, but his marks continued to progress at a worse level as time went on. His father died when he was 14, his mother when he was 18. He tried twice to enter the Academy for Art in Vienna, but was rejected both times. Hitler in 1909 moved to Vienna and lived there from 1909 to 1913. There is controversy if Hitler had the necessities of basic life material while living there; some people believed he was destitute there. He moved to Munich, Germany in 1913 and was still there when the First World War had broken out in August 1914. Hitler was a moody child growing up and hostile to his father but he was close to his mother and was deeply affected at the time of her death in 1908 (Who was Adolf, 1998). Hitler enlisted in the German army and went to serve four years of front-line service during which he got wounded several times and he proved to be an able and brave soldier as a dispatch runner, winning the Iron Cross (First Class) on two occasions...
Words: 1769 - Pages: 8
...Kaitlyn Daignault December 2, 2012 Research Paper Hitler and Mussolini The relationship between Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini helped to instill fear throughout the rest of Europe through the 1930s and 1940s. The powerhouse duo was very similar in many ways including persuasion and public speaking; however they also had different key qualities to make them unique. Having risen to power years earlier during the 1920s, Benito Mussolini was the senior of the two, and an initial inspiration and mentor for a young Adolf Hitler. Mussolini’s ideas of a fascist Italy became a building block for Hitler and Nazi Germany. However, early on their relationship was not a good one as Mussolini saw himself as superior. Mussolini had little respect for Hitler and the Nazi Germany as a whole. He did not agree with Hitler’s beliefs regarding racialism and his desire of an Aryan race. As time continued Mussolini’s view of Nazi Germany and Hitler would change completely. As the Germans became the powerhouse of Europe, Mussolini was forced to take a backseat to Hitler throughout World War II. A young Benito Mussolini began his rise to power in Italy as early as 1918. It is then that he realized that in order for Italy to grow as a dominant force in Europe, a dictatorship was necessary. With his good looks and his persuasive speeches, a young Mussolini was able to gain the support of the Italian people. Although the content of his speeches was often incorrect, opinions contradictory...
Words: 2190 - Pages: 9
...War II Germany Research Report Kiyona Willis His/114 10-15-2012 Timothy A. Berg World War II Germany Research Report Hundreds of philosophers and historians possess many concern of how the modern world has come into being. Many issues from The Great War to World War II have effects many societies today. My paper will trace the rise of totalitarianism in Germany between 1918 and 1939, and the contrast to political developments in Great Britain, France and the United States. My paper will explain the Holocaust in context with World War II and Western ideals, including the roots of anti-Semitism and intolerance of those considered inferior in Germany also an explanation of The Final Solution. My paper talks about the aftermath of World War II in Germany. After World War I, the German government was facing thousands of difficult problems as society search for someone to blame for the defeat in the First World War. Extremists from all sides sent threats to revolts. The extreme inflation causes thousands of Germans to have faith in the German government. Hitler gains control of the Nazi party in the 1920s and organization, which is anti-Semitic. Hitler gains popular political credibility by placing the responsibility on the Jews for Germany’s defeat in the First World War. Hitler also blames Jews for Germany’s economic problems. What is less understood are the political conditions associated with the rise of Hitler and fascism? Hitler informs...
Words: 3132 - Pages: 13
...In the light of differing interpretations, how convincing is the argument that Hitler's responsibility for the outbreak of The Second World War has been exaggerated From the instant Adolf Hitler came to power in Germany from January 1933, began to challenge the Treaty of Versailles and adapt an aggressive foreign policy, which heavily contributed to the outbreak of World War Two. Some historians argue that Britain and France were to blame for the Second World War because they did not stand up to Hitler.The historian AJP Taylor argued that Hitler simply continued the aggressive foreign policy but others point out that he did not initially intend to the take back Germany's former colonies, this theory is known as the Functionalist argument. On the other hand the other theory which is the Internationalist argument, these historians such as Gerhard Weinberg argued that Hitler had a master scheme all along and that he had planned the Holocaust. The functionalist view may argue that Great Britain and France were more to blame as they did not stop Germany, eventually they turned a blind eye. Chamberlain proposed the policy of appeasement which made concessions to the dictatorial powers of Hitler, he had done this because the British armed forces were not ready for a world war with Germany in 1938. However appeasement was wrong because Hitler was a dictator who could not be trusted to keep his word, especially because he had made it clear that he wanted an Empire in the East to...
Words: 1284 - Pages: 6
...Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler was born on April 20, 1889; though Austrian by birth, Hitler became the leader of the German Nazi Party. Hitler was ruler of the party from August 2, 1934 to April 30,1945. Hitler served in the Bavarian Army, a part of the German military, during WW1. Rising through the ranks, Hitler was awarded the Iron Cross First Class. Hitler was wounded and blinded for a temporary amount of time by a British gas attack. In 1919, Hitler became part of the German Worker's Party, dubbed later as the Nazi Party, soon becoming one of it's leaders. In 1923, he tried an overthrow in Munich to seize power in Bavaria, a step necessary to the control of Germany. The revolt was terminated quickly; sending Hitler to prison for nine months. Hitler used his trial to gain national political notoriety and used his time in prison to write his memoir, Mein Kampf. The sales of the book/memoir made him a very wealthy man, though he hid that fact from the German people. After being released, Hitler restructured the Nazi Party, making it a new political force. By June of 1932, it had grown to being the biggest political party in German Parliament, the Reichstag. Though Hitler lost the 1932 presidential election to war hero Field Marshal Paul Von Hindenburg, he was able to use the power of the Nazi Party and its popularity among conservative voters to negotiate an appointment for himself as Chancellor of Germany in January 1933. His ideas of antisemitism, anti-communism and a purity-of-the-Germanic-race...
Words: 2647 - Pages: 11
...after that- Germany. (Heiden, 142)' Adolf Hitler spoke these words in 1920, soon after becoming leader of the newly named National Socialist German Workers' Party, commonly known as the Nazi Party. There are many contributing factors, which lead to Hitler's gain in power over the next thirteen years. The recent history of post-war Germany, and the events that would follow were of perfect conditions for the rise of an extremist party such as the Nazis. World War One had left Germany in defeat. Germany was put under immense pressure by the treaty of Versailles, which contributed to the disastrous and politically unstable early twenties. Hitler was a strong and manipulating character, with extraordinary leadership skills and his party was very tactical. He was very much underestimated by opposing political parties. All of these factors lead to Hitler and his Nazis' becoming the sole political party in the Reichstag in 1933. The German Empire was formed in 1871 and soon became one of Europe?s most influential countries. It dominated in industrial and military power, and the German people were proud of their achievements. Up until the end of World War One, a Kaiser ruled Germany. From 1888 the Kaiser was Wilhelm II. He was very ambitious and militaristic and a threat to other countries. The German people were very accustomed to success, and when Germany was defeated in World War One, they were shocked and angry. The Weimar Constitution was drawn up to help Germany bounce back...
Words: 2933 - Pages: 12
...Course Study Notes: hsctutoringnotes@outlook.com MODERN HISTORY Topics World War One Germany Albert Speer The Cold War 1 Course Study Notes: hsctutoringnotes@outlook.com World War One Themes War on the Western Front Home Fronts in Britain and Germany Turning Points of the War The Allied Victory 2 Course Study Notes: hsctutoringnotes@outlook.com War on the Western Front Reasons for the development of the Stalemate A stalemate is an end of a war movement. It refers to the deadlock resulting from high levels of defence. The stalemate developed from four major reasons: i. The Faults of the Schlieffen Plan ii. The Faults of Plan XVII iii. Problems with Communications and Tactics iv. Problems with the High Command • The Faults in • There was an incredible reliance on speed – quick defeat of the France and a slow response by Russia Schlieffen • Unexpectedly strong resistance by Belgian forces – sabotaged Plan railway lines • Strong resistance from French • Troops were diverted from the West to the Eastern front • The “hammer swing” was shortened, so they approached Paris from the East which was expected • The Treaty of London was disregarded as a scrap of paper • Germans weren’t adequately trained for modern warfare strategies • The Faults in • French underestimated number of soldiers available to Plan XVII Germany • French were preoccupied with revenge for Alsace-Lorraine • Insufficient forces were given to the French...
Words: 20870 - Pages: 84
...How did the Nazis influence WWII? More like how didn’t they. They started World War II. Adolf Hitler didn’t start it himself though. It was the whole Nazi party. The whole thing started because Hitler started going against the Treaty of Versailles. The Nazis did a lot before England and France reacted. They were still suffering from the effects of WWI, so they just stood back and watched. That was until the Nazis invaded Poland, that is when Churchill declared war on Germany. The Germans were also upset by the loss of World War I, but the thing that made them the maddest, is the punishment enforced on them as a result of the Treaty of Versailles. Such as redistribution of territory, reduction of Germany's fighting power and imposition of harsh conditions, which meant Germany, had to pay 6600 million-pound to the Allies in 1921. Germany thought that the punishment was too harsh. Hitler’s rule started on a night in 1932. Then German President Paul von Hindenburg was awoken with the news that he had defeated Adolf Hitler, and was reelected as president of Germany. In January of 1933 Hindenburg made Hitler Chancellor, thinking that it would keep him quiet. A year later Hindenburg died and Hitler took over Germany. Hitler proclaimed that his reign would last for a thousand years. Hitler attained power on January 30, 1933 as the result of a complex set of factors. He was...
Words: 1632 - Pages: 7
...SECTION 1: THE SUCCESSES AND FAILURES OF THE WEIMAR GOVERNMENT 1918-OCTOBER 1933 |9 November 1918 |Abdication of the Kaiser | |January 1919 |Spartacist Uprising | |February 1919 |First Weimar elections | |28 June 1919 |Treaty of Versailles signed | |July 1919 |Weimar Constitution announced | |March 1920 |Kapp Putsch signed | |January 1923 |Occupation of the Ruhr | |January-November 1923 |Hyperinflation | |8-9 November 1923 |Munich Putsch ...
Words: 13280 - Pages: 54
...How Significant was the Reichstag Fire? On the night of the 27th of February, 1933, the Reichstag building in Berlin burned down in an act declared by the Nazi Party to be the inception of a widespread communist uprising. The Reichstag Fire, as it was called, can be observed as one of the most significant events in the formation of Nazi Germany through its pivotal role in the reduction of civil liberties of Germany’s citizens and the emergence of a near dictatorial regime within the Weimar Republic. The significance of the fire lies in its role as a catalyst towards effecting the power that the Nazi Party would hold throughout the 1930’s as a result of the various decrees and laws passed in response to it. There is little doubt that the party would have come to similar power with time, but by utilising the fire as part of a communist plot to overthrow the German government, Adolf Hitler created a political and social environment susceptible to his control. The direct consequences of the fire were great, both in terms of political gain and the restriction of rights for the Nazi party’s adversaries, which at that point was predominantly the communist community. These greater holds on power were provided chiefly through the instigation of the Reichstag Decree and the Enabling Act along with the utilisation of political alliances between the police force and the Nazi Party. To understand the resounding effect of the fire, the general political environment in Germany before the...
Words: 1883 - Pages: 8
...How effective was Nazi propaganda 1933-1938? One of the main tools of Hitler’s rising Nazi regime was the scrupulous propaganda which enabled the Nazi party to keep the German people in check and under their control, exposing them to only what they saw necessary and vital for Nazi prosper. This helped raise the ideal race that the Nazis strived so wholeheartedly to create. But, how can we determine whether it was effective? To do this, we must look at the various techniques that were used by the ministry of propaganda, and to what extent they worked and helped the Nazi prosper. However, we can only speculate. We will never fully know statistics about how effective Nazi propaganda was, since there was no market research, very few non-Gestapo conducted opinion polls to look at, and even if there were many others, the information would not be accurate and the opinions affected. If there had been polls conducted, the results would have shown exactly what Goebbels and Hitler wanted people to think - this was achieved by making sure that only certain things were safe to think - and more importantly safe to say. Hitler was able to gain more and more followers and appeal to the people due to the severe state of the German economy and the critical state of the people that had no savings, no assets and practically no food. The Versailles treaty had simply been a recipe for destruction for the Weimar Republic and the crisis was the last straw leading to its demise. Hitler was the only...
Words: 3015 - Pages: 13
