Nazi Rule

Hitler Comes to Power In the early 1930s, the worldwide economic

depression had hit Germany hard, and millions of people were out of work.

Germany's humiliating defeat fifteen years earlier during World War I, caused the Germans to lack confidence in their weak government (Weimar Republic).

These circumstances provided the opportunity for the rise of a new leader, Adolf Hitler, and his party, the National Socialist German Workers' Party.

Hitler Comes to Power The Nazis appealed especially to the unemployed, young people, and members of the lower middle class.The party's rise to power was rapid. Before the economic depression struck the Nazis were practically unknown. In the 1932 elections, the Nazis won 33 percent of the votes, more than any other party. In January 1933 Hitler was appointed chancellor, the head of the German government, and many Germans believed that they had found a savior for their nation.

The Nazi Terror BeginsHitler moved quickly to turn Germany into a one-party dictatorship and to organize the police power necessary to enforce Nazi policies. He convinced his Cabinet to declare a state of emergency and end individual freedoms, such as freedom of press, speech, and assembly. Citezens lost the right to privacy, which meant that officials could read people's mail, listen in on telephone conversations, and search private homes without a warrant. Lured by the salary, a feeling of comradeship, and the remarkable uniforms, tens of thousands of young jobless men joined the Nazi Storm Troopers. Called the SA, these secondary policemen took to the streets to beat up and kill those against of the Nazi command. Simple fear of the SA pressured into silence other Germans who did not support the Nazis.

SS Police StateImportant information

•The SS or ( Schutzstaffel ) began as Adolf Hitler's Elite guard and Protective service.•On February 22, 1933 the SS also became the auxiliary policemen and eventually would become concentration camp guards.•Within the following years Heinrich Himmler became the chief of the SS and turned the nonparty police into the Secret State Police ( Geheime Staatspolizer ) or the Gestapo.•Months after the Gestapo were created Hitler ordered them to go door to door looking for rivals such as politicians and anyone else who opposed the Nazi rule.•Dr. Josef Mengele was also a member of the SS , was the man responsible for devising the experimentation method used on the Jews in WWII, and was known to his patients as the Angel of Death and the Angel of Auschwitz.

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Nazi Propaganda and CensorshipImportant information

After succeeding to demolish democracy in Germany the Nazi regime began a massive campaign to game the loyalty of Germans in Germany.The Nazi Propaganda Ministry, directed by Joseph Goebbels, took control of all forms of communication in Germany including: newspapers, magazines, books, public meetings, rallies, and many others.During the spring of 1933 students, professors, and librarians created a long list of books that they saw unfit to be read by Germans.On May 10, 1933 Nazis raided libraries and bookstores locating all copies of these unfit books and burned them while having parades and singing chants.They burned more than a total of 25,000 books.As a result new text books for schools were being written by the Nazis and were taught from and read by the students, furthering the Nazi hold in Germany.

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Nazi Racism•Even before Hitler became the ruler of Germany, he was spreading the ideology of a super race, or Aryans.•Starting in 1933, forced sterilizations were allowed, mostly on Gypsies and handicapped people.•2/24/1920- German political party demands racial purity.•7/18/1925- Written while he was in prison, Hitler’s Mein Kampf appears.

World War II in Europe•A new tactic called “Blitzkrieg” was introduced during WWII. It was basically the massing of planes, tanks, and artillery. This tactic defeated many of Germany’s targets.•The Nazis attacked the Soviet Union and conquered much of it, until the battle for Stalingrad.

The Murder of the HandicappedThe handicapped were considered useless to society, a threat to Aryan genetic purity, and unworthy of life.Hitler suggested that wartime “was the best time for the elimination of the incurably ill.”At the beginning of WWII the mentally and physically handicapped were targeted for murder in what was referred to as the “T-4” program or “euthanasia.” German doctors determined who would be killed and supervised the killings.Adults and older children were killed in gas chambers. Young children and infants were killed by deadly doses of drugs or starvation. The bodies were burned in crematoria. The picture is of the euthanasia killing

center in Hartheim, Austria.

The Murder of the HandicappedDespite public protests the killings continued in secret. About 200,000 were killed between 1940 and 1945.The T-4 program was the model for the killing of people in concentration camps and served as a training ground for SS members who manned the camps. October 1939- Hitler authorizes the killing of the impaired.August 3, 1941- Catholic Bishop Clemens August Graf von Galen denounces euthanasia.August 24, 1941- Hitler officially orders end to “euthanasia” killings.

The picture is of Helene Melanie Lebel. Born on September 15, 1911 in Vienna, Austria. She was killed as part of the T-4 program in 1940

because of her diagnosed schizophrenia.

German Rule in EuropeRegions in Europe were being used selfishly for the German war efforts.

-Foodstuffs, raw materials, and war stocks were confiscated.The German rule in Poland was very HARSH.

-Polish people were forced to a laborer.-Teachers, priests, and cultural figures were targeted especially.

Germany, while being occupied in western Europe, milder polices were followed.

-Netherlands – ultimately slated to become a part of Germany.-France – kept to dependent on Germany.)

In conclusion, because of the war time policies of Germany, resistance movements sprang up throughout Europe.

- Members of armed, were called partisans( member of an armed force to fight against secretly an occupying for).

- They sabotaged and demolished civilizations across Europe

Key DatesMay 16,1940

- Hans Frank – Nazi administrator of occupied Poland. He ordered the arrest of all Polish leaders.The Nazis seek to terrorize the Polish. Thousands from the population were arrested and killed.June 10, 1942

-Reinhard Heydrich- Governor of Bohemia and Moravia. In the reaction to the killing of governor. Germans decided to destroy the small village of Lidice, many residents were killed. March 24, 1944

-SS – The elite guard of the Nazi state. They shot over 300 Italians, reactions toattack on German soldiers. June 10,1944

- Ordadour-sur-Glane – The entire population was massacred. More than 600 women, men, and children were forced into a church, which was to be set ablaze.

Work CitedUnited States Holocaust Memorial Museum. "HITLER COMES TO POWER." The Holocaust: A Learning Site for Students. United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, Washington, DC, 1.21.14. Web. <http://www.ushmm.org/outreach/en/article.php?ModuleId=10007671>. United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. "THE NAZI TERROR BEGINS." The Holocaust: A Learning Site for Students. United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, Washington, DC, 1.21.14. Web.  http://www.ushmm.org/outreach/en/article.php?ModuleId=10007673.United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. "SS POLICE STATE." The Holocaust: A Learning Site for Students. United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, Washington, DC, 1.21.14. Web.  <http://www.ushmm.org/outreach/en/article.php?ModuleId=10007675>. United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. "NAZI PROPAGANDA AND CENSORSHIP." The Holocaust: A Learning Site for Students. United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, Washington, DC, 1.21.14. Web. <http://www.ushmm.org/outreach/en/article.php?ModuleId=10007677>. United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. "NAZI RACISM." The Holocaust: A Learning Site for Students. United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, Washington, DC, 1.21.14. Web. <http://www.ushmm.org/outreach/en/article.php?ModuleId=10007679>.

Work CitedUnited States Holocaust Memorial Museum. "WORLD WAR II IN EUROPE." The Holocaust: A Learning Site for Students. United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, Washington, DC, 1.21.14. Web. <http://www.ushmm.org/outreach/en/article.php?ModuleId=10007681>. United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. "GERMAN RULE IN OCCUPIED EUROPE." The Holocaust: A Learning Site for Students. United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, Washington, DC, 1.21.14. Web. http://www.ushmm.org/outreach/en/article.php?ModuleId=10007685.United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. "THE MURDER OF THE HANDICAPPED." The Holocaust: A Learning Site for Students. United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, Washington, DC, 1.21.14. Web. <http://www.ushmm.org/outreach/en/article.php?ModuleId=10007683>. United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. "THE MURDER OF THE HANDICAPPED — ID CARD." The Holocaust: A Learning Site for Students.n.p., 1.21.14. Web. <http://www.ushmm.org/outreach/en/media_oi.php?ModuleId=10007683&MediaId=260>.