...leaders that worsened the state as a whole but at the time appeared to be the best choice – These leaders came in the form of Adolf Hitler and the Nazis. It seemed that the German residents residing within the state were forced to relinquish their earnings for the reparation fee that was set after the First World War by the victors themselves, and with the threat of hyperinflation looming, the political chaos and disablement, and the possible Communist takeover certain parities and leaders such as Hitler offered them scapegoats and quick solutions....
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...and 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...
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...In between wars the Nazi regime emerged as a counter-force to a combination of national grievances and economic crises, alongside the promise of strength and unity. Did this occur because the desire for strength and unity was strong enough that the people were willing to surrender their civil liberties? Civil liberties, “...are personal guarantees and freedoms that the government cannot abridge, either by law or by judicial interpretation, without due process.” (Hugh Starkey, undated.) How was the Nazi party promising strength and unity, what did they say, and how did they grow at such a fast rate. What were the national grievances that the german people were facing post war and how did the Nazi regime profit off it. And what were the civil...
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...The Nazi Political Party The NAZI party also known as the National Socialist German Workers Party was founded in 1919 and ended after German surrender in 1945. The emergence of Nazi party set the world on a quick path to another war was created as a direct result of the post-World-War-One war treaty created without German involvement. For the German people The Versailles Treaty was just a continuation of hostilities with great financial consequences, loss of land and a forced reduction in their armed forces. The Germans had agreed to an armistice based on United States’ President Woodrow Wilson’s “Fourteen Points” However, when the “Big Four” Prime Ministers David Lloyd George of Great Britain, Vittorio Orlando of Italy, Georges Clemenceau of France, and President Woodrow Wilson attended the Paris conference they seemed to have created The Versailles Treaty strictly on their own terms, and established blatant...
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...1933. Berlin, Germany. Seas of people surround their new appointed chancellor, Adolf Hitler. He stood, five foot eight, poised and sharp in front of the population. His words poured from his lips, first one by one, then all at once. His face would flush, slurring words with a fiery passion. People cheered, uttering the infamous words “Heil, Hitler!” Did they understand the concept of his “revolution” of which he spoke? January 30th would be the beginning of the end for undesirables who lived within Germany, including the handicapped, the gypsies, homosexuals, and, most devastatingly, the Jewish population. These mass killings only became more intricate and efficient from 1933 to 1945, and it is obvious to say that the blame should be pinned...
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...3/20/2015 Final Examination Stable and unstable democratic outcomes may take many shapes and forms over regions and time and circumstance. Due to its nature, democracy is best fit in terms of incentives. Moreover, it is in a state’s vested interest in terms of democracy to adhere to gradual democratic change, in contrast to a political overhaul such as we see in Germany, France, and Italy. In these cases, democracy simply cannot thrive as democracy, by nature, requires gradual social change and must overcome bargaining costs and stabilizing change. The evidence that stands today, tested by the outcomes of history, maintains exactly this: democratic transition must be slow and concessional, thus mitigating the exit costs and cost of unilateral decisions or actions in terms of bargaining. Moreover, the difference between a stable and unstable democracy does not depend on education, economics, nor the middle class; rather, the success and stability of a democracy is formulated vis-à-vis it’s institutional factors. (Magagna 2/18). As actors, states are indeed rational and thus adhere to cost-benefit analyses in terms of bargaining power. In this analysis of political instability, it is evident that the sources are as follows: the potential benefits of transition exceed the costs of bargaining, fragmented party support creates a democratic deficit, linkage between democracy and redistribution, and the integration of violence unravels the social peace democracy needs to...
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...Mussolini: Benito Mussolini served as Italy’s 40th Prime Minister from 1922 until 1943. He is considered a central figure in the creation of Fascism and was both an influence on and close ally of Adolf Hitler during World War II. In 1943, Mussolini was replaced as Prime Minister and served as the head of the Italian Social Republic until his execution by Italian partisans in 1945. Adolf Hitler: Adolf Hitler was the leader of Nazi Germany from 1933 until his suicide in 1945. Hitler was responsible for starting World War II and for killing more than 11 million people during the Holocaust. He was know as the Führer of the Third Reich. As dictator of Germany, Hitler wanted to increase and strengthen the German army as well as expand Germany's territory. Although these things broke the terms of the Versailles Treaty, the treaty that officially ended World War I, other countries allowed him to do so. Since the terms of the Versailles Treaty had been harsh, other countries found it easier to be lenient than risk another bloody European war. When the Nazis attacked Poland World War II began. Nazism: "Nazi" is an abbreviation for the Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei (NSDAP), known in English as the German National Socialist Workers Party, as it existed under the control of Adolf Hitler from 1920 until the end of World War II. The party was held together primarily by authoritarianism, militarism, and belief in German ethnic and cultural supremacy. They killed many Jews due...
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...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 fire must be examined. On the 30th of January, 1933 Adolf Hitler was appointed as chancellor of Germany by President...
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...Research Essay: LENI RIEFENSTAHL a. Outline the life of the personality you have studied The German actor, filmmaker and Nazi associate, Leni Riefenstahl, has stirred one of the greatest controversies of modern times. Seen as either a Nazi propagandist or a pioneering artist of great ingenuity, the discussion regarding Riefenstahl is still a prevalent issue in today’s world. Born into a financially stable family on 22nd August 1902, Riefenstahl was reasonably sheltered from Germany’s economic and political unrest up until as well as after WWI. As a child, she was extremely passionate about dance and the theatre. Wanting to dance on stage, although acceptable to Leni’s mother, was seen as below their social status by her father. Throughout Leni’s adolescence, she caused a continuous rift between the family, as her enthusiasm for the arts never declined, leading to her secret enrolment in the Grimm-Reiter Dance School in Berlin in 1918, as well as agreeing to work as a secretary for her father’s company in order to gain his later approval for dance lessons in 1920. After being persuaded by Leni’s mother, he enrolled her in the Jutta Klamt School where Leni studied under the ballerina Eugenie Euardova. Riefenstahl’s career in dance began in October 1923 and was abruptly ended in June 1924. She performed her first solo performance at the age of 21 and received positive reviews. During her second recital she caught the interest of Max Reinhardt, a leading theatrical director...
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...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 ...
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...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...
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...The Basic Law or Grundgesetz for the Federal Republic of Germany was approved on 8 May 1949, and, with the signature of the western Allies of World War 2 on 12 May, came into effect on 23 May. The authors also ensured that human rights and human dignity was made the central and core part of the Basic Law. Key concepts in the basic law are principles of democracy, republicanism, federalism and social responsibility. These principles are constitutionally entrenched and they cannot be removed or repealed by the normal amendment process. Firstly this essay will look into what lead to the development of the new Basic Law and how the new parliamentary democracy was put into place with separation of powers into different branches of government. Secondly the essay will examine what were the specific changes from pre-1945 Germany and if which areas these changes were most visible. Here it will be important to look at the fundamentally differences from the Weimar Constitution, but also what the new Basic Law chose to keep from the Weimar Constitution. And why the authors of the Basic law felt that this was the safest way to construct a good state for all Germans where the sins of the past would never be repeated. In 1948 the three Western Allied military governors met in Frankfurt with the chief executive of the various states and “recommended” the calling of a constituent assembly by September 1, 1948, which was to draft a constitution for the three Western zones. None of the state...
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...Adolf Hitler (German: [ˈadɔlf ˈhɪtlɐ]; 20 April 1889 – 30 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was the leader of the Nazi Party (NSDAP), Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and Führer ("leader") of Nazi Germany from 1934 to 1945. He was effectively dictator of Nazi Germany, and was a central figure of World War II in Europe and the Holocaust. Hitler was a decorated veteran of World War I. He joined the precursor of the NSDAP, the German Workers' Party, in 1919 and became leader of the NSDAP in 1921. In 1923, he attempted a coup in Munich to seize power. The failed coup resulted in Hitler's imprisonment, during which time he dictated his autobiography and political manifesto Mein Kampf ("My Struggle"). After his release in 1924, Hitler gained popular support by attacking the Treaty of Versailles and promoting Pan-Germanism, anti-Semitism, and anti-communism with charismatic oratory and Nazi propaganda. Hitler frequently denounced international capitalism and communism as being part of a Jewish conspiracy. Hitler's Nazi Party became the largest elected party in the German Reichstag, leading to his appointment as chancellor in 1933. Following fresh elections won by his coalition, the Reichstag passed the Enabling Act, which began the process of transforming the Weimar Republic into Nazi Germany, a one-party dictatorship based on the totalitarian and autocratic ideology of National Socialism. Hitler aimed to eliminate Jews from Germany and establish a...
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...Holocaust Teaching is a profession that is very influential. I.L. Kandel describes how education is an instrument of social control and he was right. When Adolf Hitler came into the power of Germany the entire educational system tried to transform the youth into non-Aryan hating, militaristic, strong, and very obedient members of the Nazi society. If a government can control the educational system, it can most likely control society a lot more easily. However, some of the nationalistic views that many of the main Nazis had were brought to them during World War I in the classroom. Many classrooms celebrated the military aspect of war and they celebrated and taught nationalism for Germany. Classrooms did not really do that until the war. It was after the loss in World War I that the attitudes perpetuated by the enormous let down where teachers helped with the Nazi effort and taught the essentials to the Nazi party. Teachers did not do much to fight the Nazi effort and even though not all of them directly participated in the Holocaust, they did breed a nation of young extreme German nationalists whose ideals perpetuated the event. Extreme nationalism was a very popular topic for classrooms during and after World War I, which played a contribution to some of the main Nazis during the Nazi era. A large percentage of the Nazi base was born between 1900 and 1908 including Martin Bormann (born 1900), Rudolf Hoss (born 1900), Heinrich Himmler (born 1900), Ernst von Salomon (born 1902)...
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...TOPIC: NAZI GERMANY Propaganda, terror and coercion underpinned the creation and maintenance of the Nazi state. Consider this in the period 1933-1939. The adage that perception is often stronger than reality has never been truer than in the Nazi state of 1933-1939, where image played a colossal role in the anti-semitic and Hitler myth propaganda of Joseph Goebbels. Image manufactured the fearful aura of the Gestapo as well as the ubiquitous representation of the law, both of which created and cemented acquiescence amongst the German population. It was through the creation of perception in Nazi society that propaganda, terror and coercion underpinned the creation and maintenance of the Nazi state. Any attempt to gauge the success of Nazi propaganda in the creation and maintenance of the Nazi state is somewhat difficult, as German society during 1933-1939 was so heavily influenced by terror and coercion that reported opinion did not necessarily reflect the true sentiment of the public. Nevertheless, it would be naïve to disregard the significant role that Nazi propaganda played in ensuring that the German public were unified in their support of the government. The most crucial objective of Nazi propaganda in the creation of the Nazi state was to create a new heightened national awareness. This was done through the creation of the Volksgemeinschaft (People’s Community), an institution that established cohesive community values. In order...
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