Nazism and Hitler

Fig. 1 - Painting by Adolf Hitler

World War I

Historians disagree about Hitler's time as a soldier during World War I. Historians used Nazi propaganda as their source of information about Hitler during World War I. In this propaganda, Hitler was a hero, but propaganda often is untrue. Recently, Dr. Thomas Weber discovered letters written by the soldiers who fought alongside Hitler. No one had touched these letters in ninety years!

In these letters, the soldiers said that Hitler was a runner. He would deliver messages from Head Quarters miles away from the fighting. The soldiers thought little of Hitler and wrote that he would starve to death in a canned food factory. Hitler was awarded an Iron Cross, but this was an award that was often given to soldiers who worked closely with older officers, not soldiers who were fighting. ¹

Fig. 2 - Hitler During World War I¹

Hitler and the Rise of Nazism

Adolf Hitler was the leader of the Nazi party from 1921 to his suicide in 1945. This political party hated anyone who was not what they considered to be "pure" Germans.

Nazism Definition

Nazism was a political belief. The goal of Nazism was to restore Germany and the "Aryan" race to their former glory.

Nazism Timeline

Let's look at this timeline of the Nazi's rise to power, then we can take a deeper dive into these events.

• 1919 The Treaty of Versailles
• 1920 Beginning of the Nazi party
• 1923 Beer Hall Putsch
  • Hitler's Arrest and Mein Kampf
• 1923 Great Depression
• 1932 Elections
• 1933 Hitler became the Chancellor
  • 1933 Burning of Reichstag
• 1933 Anti-Semitic laws
• 1934 Hitler became the Führer

Rise of Nazism

To better understand how Hitler was able to come to power we must begin at the end of World War I and the Treaty of Versailles in 1919. Germany lost to the Allies: Britain, America, and France. The Allies used this treaty to put strict and harsh rules on Germany. It had to disarm the military, could not make alliances, and had to give land to the Allies. Germany also had to take full responsibility for the war and pay reparation.

By taking full responsibility Germany had to pay the reparations on its own. Germany had allies during the war, but those countries did not have to make payments. The German government at this time was called the Weimar Republic. The Weimar Republic are the ones that signed the Versailles treaty, but they had only come into power that year.

The Germans were very upset by this. They thought it was unfair that alone had to pay an incredibly large sum to the Allies. The German Mark, German money, was losing its value as the Weimar Republic struggled to keep up with payments.

Creation of the Nazi Party

The National Socialist German Workers' Party, or the Nazis, was created in 1920 and consisted of German soldiers who returned from World War I. These soldiers were upset with the Treaty of Versailles and the Weimar Republic.

Adolf Hitler, a returning soldier, was the leader of this party by 1921. He rallied the Nazis with the "Stabbed in the Back" myth. This myth was that the Germans lost the war and accepted the Versailles Treaty because of the Jewish people. Hitler claimed that many of the original Nazi members were soldiers he fought with, but this was not true.

Nazism's Motives were to further expand Germany and "purify" the Aryan race. Hitler wanted Jewish people, Romani, and people of color to be separated from his Aryans. Hitler also wanted to separate the disabled, homosexuals, and any other group of people who were not what he considered pure.

Beer Hall Putsch

By 1923 the Nazi party had a plan to kidnap Gustav von Kahr, Commissioner of Bavaria. Von Kahr was giving a speech in a beer hall when Hitler and a few Nazis stormed in. With the help of Erich Ludendorff, Hitler was able to capture the commissioner. Later that night, Hitler left the beer hall and Ludendorff allowed Von Kahr to leave.

The next day the Nazis marched to the center of Munich where they were stopped by the police. Hitler's shoulder was dislocated during the confrontation, so he fled the scene. Hitler was arrested and served one year in prison.

Fig. 3 - Hitler (Left) in Prison Entertaining Visiting Nazis

After his arrest, Hitler became more popular with the German people. Hitler wanted the Germans to believe that this was a difficult time for him, but his prison cell was well decorated and comfortable. During this time, Hitler wrote Mein Kampf (My Struggles). This book was about Hitler's life, plans for Germany, and Anti-Semitism.

The Great Depression

In 1923 the Germans entered the Great Depression. Germany was no longer able to keep up with its reparation payments; one US dollar was worth 4 trillion marks! At this point, it was cheaper for a German to burn marks than to buy firewood. Workers were paid multiple times throughout the day so that they could spend it before the value of the mark dropped even more.

The people were desperate and looking for a new leader. Hitler was a talented speaker. He was able to win over crowds of Germans by appealing to different types of Germans in his speeches.

1932 Elections

In the 1932 election, Hitler ran for president. While he lost, the Nazi party won the majority of seats in Parliament. The winner, President Paul von Hindenburg, appointed Hitler Chancellor and put him in charge of the government. Within the same year, a government building was burned down. A communist boy claimed that he had started the fire. Hitler used this situation to convince Hindenburg to take away rights from the German people.

Nazism Germany

With this new power, Hitler reshaped Germany. He banned other political parties, had political rivals executed, and used paramilitary force to stop protests. He also passed laws meant to separate Jewish people from white Germans. In 1934, President Hindenburg died. Hitler named himself the Führer, meaning leader, and took control over Germany.