The Rise of Hitler: From Democracy to Dictatorship

• Geschiedenis
• Middelbare school
• vwo
• Leerjaar 3

The Rise of Hitler:

From Democracy to Dictatorship

What do you already know about
the interbellum period in Germany?

Learning Objective

At the end of the lesson, you will understand how Germany transitioned from a democracy to a dictatorship during the interbellum period, including the rise of Hitler.

The 1920s in Germany

• The Treaty of Versailles: a peace treaty signed after World War I that imposed heavy reparations and restrictions on Germany.
  
• The Weimar republic was born, but faced already problems at the start:
  
• Political problems: left-wing (progressive) and right-wing (conservative) got to fight. People did not trust democracy.
  
• Economical problems: hyperinflation, no trust in the Deutsche Mark. This caused political unrest.

Treaty of Versailles

• Germany had no (big) army
• Germany had to pay reparations
• Germany had no more colonies
• Germany became smaller

Dagger thrust legend

 Price of 1 kilo bread

• December 1921: 4 Mark
• December 1922: 163 Mark
• January 1923: 250 Mark
• April 1923: 474 Mark
• August 1923: 69.000 Mark
• November 1923: 201.000.000.000 Mark

Rise of National Socialism

• National Socialism, or Nazism, gained popularity in Germany with its extreme nationalist and anti-Semitic ideologies.
  
• The Nazi Party (Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei, NSDAP), led by Adolf Hitler, aimed to seize power and establish a totalitarian regime in Germany.
  
• The Nazis propagated a racist ideology based on the belief in Aryan supremacy and the persecution of non-Aryans.

Adolf Hitler

• Born in 1899 Austria 
• In 1913 moved to Berlin
• Rejected for the Arts Academy
• When WWI broke out, he volunteered for the army
• After WWI he decided to go into politics
• Joined the DAP which later became the NSDAP 

Bierkellerputsch 1923

- 13 months in prison

- Mein Kampf

1933

• The NSDAP won elections in 1932, but no absolute majority;
  
• The Reichstag fire in 1933 was a pivotal event used by the Nazis to consolidate power and suppress political opposition.
  
• The Nazis targeted and persecuted communist groups, using it as a justification to suppress political opposition.
  
• With new elections, Hitler gained absolute majority by making false promises to other parties.

Totalitarian one-party state

• The SA (Sturmabteilung): the parties army in brown shirts
• The SS (Schutzstaffel): Hitler's elite troops that garded the concentration camps.
• The Hitler youth (Hitlerjugend): the youth movement of which every boy and girl had to be a member. 

Discussion

Can something like what happened in the interbellum in Germany, still happen today?

• If so, what elements are there to make it happen?
• If not, why not or what's missing?