GCSE History - Hitler

Explain the effects of the Enabling Act on the Weimar Republic.

One effect of the Enabling Act on the Weimar Republic was Hitler's increase in power. This was because the Enabling Act allowed him to make laws for four years without the consent of the Reichstag. This allowed him to post members of the SA and SS all around the Kroll Opera House, where the Reichstag met after their building burnt down. The laws Hitler made turned Germany into a totalitarian state, not a democracy. He banned trade unions and made strikes illegal, he also banned all opposing parties and strengthened the central government in Berlin, and weakened the local government by declaring the governors, appointed by him, would run every region.

The German revolution

1918

The German revolution was caused by their failure in WWI, and the hardship it caused, such as the blockading of the German coast, which lead to food shortages. It started when sailors refused to set sail, and eventually took over the dockyard, which sparked revolts across Germany. Soldiers refused to control the riots.

Later, thousands of Germans marched on state capital of Munich. The king feared for his life and fled. The kaiser abdicated. The SPD appointed a new Chancellor.

The first effect of this revolution was the Germans agreed on the armistice, which stated that they should withdraw from all land lost in the war. The second effect was the formation of the new government; the Weimar Republic.

The Weimar Republic

After the Kaiser left, unrest broke out. However, the new leader, Ebert, began to take control. Six moderate social democrats formed a Council of People's Representative as temporary government. This met in Weimar to create a constitution, and the new republic was called the Weimar Republic.

The Weimar Constitution

The Weimar Constitution had a bunch of strengths. It made Germany more democratic, proportional representation was used, and there were two key offices; the president and the chancellor, and power was shared between the two, so not one had all the power. The Reichstag was the dominant house of the new German republic. Any man or woman over 20 could vote for the new members of the Reichstag, which changed every 4 years. The president was reelected every 7 years, and took no part in day-to-day government (that was the chancellors job), though he chose the people who did.

Weaknesses of the constitution included the inability to make decisions because so many people had to agree. It was built on unstable foundations.

The Treaty of Versailles

Signed June 28th, 1919.

Said that Germany had to pay reparations to the allies.

Germany lost all it's colonies, and they became mandates for other countries to look after.

German military forces were cut. No submarines or air force was allowed, and everything else was reduced.

Germany lost land to France, Belgium and Poland. This land contained important supplies, such as coal and iron, of which Germany lost 50%.

The Diktat

1918

Two days after the Kaiser left, the representative of the new government signed the armistice -- an agreement to stop fighting. The allied leader then created the treaty, which Germany had 15 days to respond to. They were very opposed and called it a "Diktat", but because of their military collapse, they had to sign it, despite it's harsh conditions.

Dolchstoss

The Treaty of Versailles was particularly hard for the German people to accept, because they believed their army hadn't been defeated, and could fight on. They claimed that the army had been stabbed in the back (Dolchstoss in German), by the government. This resulted in the Weimar republic becoming less popular.

Occupation of the Ruhr

The French sent troops into the German area of the Ruhr, where they confiscated raw material and manufactured goods and industrial machinery. The German government urged passive resistance. Workers went on strike. There was even some sabotage, to which the French replied with arresting those who obstructed them. Many Germans resented what the French had done, but also hated that the Weimar Republic hadn't done anything to stop it, though they knew they were no match for the French.

This occupation was problematic because a lot of Germany's factories were based there.

Hyperinflation

The money shortages after the Treaty of Versailles meant that the price of things went up. Because the unemployment and failing factories, the government had less tax money. During 1919-23, the government had one fourth of the money they needed. So, because of this, they simply printed more money. This made it easier for the government to pay reparations, but it made inflation even worse. It was a vicious circle.

The benefits of this were that farmers got more money for their food, and businesses were able to pay off loans since they no longer had much value.

By 1923, £1 cost 20 billion marks. Foreign suppliers refused to accept makes for food

Right wing politics

Supports of capitalism, wants to keep society very stable, wants a strong government with powerful leaders, prefers the interests of the nation rather than the individual.

In Germany, they hated the communists who'd undermined the kaiser with riots and etc. and they wanted to return Germany to her former strong state. They gained support from the military and the civil service. The Nazi's, for example, were extremely right wing.

Left wing politics

Want to change society rapidly, wants everyone to be equal and give power to workers, oppose capitalism, want to abolish private ownership of land and businesses and put these in the hands of the workers.

In Germany, they wanted to give workers more power, and abolish the power of land-owning classes and the army. They wanted a government made of a workers council.

Violent political unrest

The biggest problem with the government in relation to unrest was that each political party had their own army. They recruited ex-soldiers who were unemployed and bitter about Germany's loss in the war. They were intended to protect the political groups, though they quickly caused unrest. For example, the Weimar foreign minister was killed, along with others, such as the politician who signed the surrender of Germany in 1918.

The Spartacist League

During the winter of 1918-19, there were left wing uprisings throughout Germany which set up workers and soldiers local councils around Germany. A central council of Commissars was created, claiming to be the true government. The most influential communist leaders were Rosa Luxembourg and Karl Liebknecht, organizers of the Spartacist League. On January 6, 1919, 100,000 communists demonstrated in Berlin and took over key buildings. Chancellor Ebert and his defense minister realized that they couldn't put down the revolt. They wanted to disband the Reichswehr, but forced them to work with the Freikorps in turn for remaining intact. These were able to put down the revolution. Several thousand communist supporters were arrested or killed. Rosa Luxembourg and Karl Liebknecht were killed.

The Kapp Putsch

In 1920, right wing supports of Dr. Wolfgang Kapp marched on Berlin to overthrow the Weimar Republic and bring back the kaiser. For a while, they were in control of the city. The government fled and urged people not to co-operate and go on strike. Many workers obliged. The city's water supply and such things were shut down as the capitol ground to a halt. Kapp realized that he couldn't rule and fled, but was later caught and put in prison where he died.

The Stresemann Era

Political unrest begun to calm down when a new chancellor, Gustav Stresemann was appointed. Inflation got under control, suffering was reduced and politics became more moderate.

The Rentenmark

Germany's biggest problem in 1923 was hyperinflation. Stresemann tackled this issue by abolishing the current German currency and introducing a new, temporary one; the Rentenmark, which was trusted because the people were promised land if it didn't work out. Eventually, Stresemann brought in a permanent currency; the Reichsmark. This made economy a lot better.

The Dawes Plan

Stresemann also tackled repartitions, which were too high for Germany to pay. In April, 1924, Stresemann and the Allies agreed on the Dawes Plan, which stated that annual payment plans were reduced to a reasonable level, and got economic help from America. This caused the French to leave the Ruhr, and economy to recover, as well as for unemployment to fall.

The Locarno Pact

In October, 1925, Stresemann signed the Locarno Pact with Britain, France, Italy and Belgium. Germany agreed to keep to its 1919 border with France and Belgium. In return, the Allies agreed to remove their troops from Rhineland and discuss German entry to the LON. This meant that Germany was beginning to be treated like an equal.

The League of Nations

In 1919, the Allies had founded the LON to work for world peace. Germany was excluded. However, in 1926, Stresemann persuaded them to let Germany join.

The Kellog-Briand Pact

In August 1928, Germany became one of the 65 countries to sign The Kellog-Briand Pact - an international agreement by which states promised to not use war to achieve their international aims.

The Young Plan

In August 1929, The Young Plan cut reparation payments from 6.6 billion to 2 billion with 59 more years to pay. This strengthened the Weimar republic, and made it look trustful. However, this didn't last. The payment was still high, and passed on to the next generation in the years to come. On October 23, Stresemann died of a heart attack. Then, in 1929, the world was plunged back into economic crisis.

The DAP

After the war, Hitler (who'd been a soldier in WWI) was sent by the army to check on some political groups. One of these was the DAP, or the German Workers Party. This party was bitter about the communists and socialists, who they blamed for brining down the kaiser, the Treaty and those who'd agreed to it, Jews, who they blamed for weakening the economy and the weaknesses of a government based on democracy. Although he'd been sent to spy on them, Hitler found he actually agreed with these views, and joined the party in 1919.

The 25 Point Programme

By 1920, Hitler was Drexler's (DAP founder) right hand man. The two came up with the 25 Point Programme, which included scrapping the Treaty of Versailles, expanding German borders and depriving Jews of German citizenship, and that they were willing to use force to achieve this. Hitler was a passionate speaker and attracted a lot of people.

The NSDAP

On August 7th, the DAP changed it's name to the National Socialist German Worker's Party, or NSDAP. Membership increased to 3000 during 1920, which boosted the funds and allowed them to buy a newspaper. In mid-1920, Hitler pushed Drexler aside and became the fuhrer. He gathered around him powerful people such as Ernst Rohm - a soldier, - Hermann Goering - A hero of the German air force - Julius Streicher - founder of another Nazi paper - and Rudolf Hess - A wealthy academic who later became Hitler's deputy. He also created the party's private army, the SA.

Why did Hitler launch the Munich Putsch

November, 1923

Hitler launched the Munich Putsch, an uprising against the German government. He did this to exploit the discontent caused by hyperinflation, and because he sensed that the new government would get on top of economic problems and wanted to act before unrest died down, and lastly because he was afraid they'd shut down his party.

The Munich Putsch

November 8, 1923

There was a meeting of 3000 officials of the Bavarian government in a beer hall in Munich. Here, Hitler burst in, with 600 SA stormtroopers, released a shot into the celling and stated that he was taking over the government of Bavaria. He was supported by the famous German general, Lundenoff, and claimed to want to go up against the actual government next. Eventually, the leader, police chief and head of army of Bavaria agreed to support the uprising. However, Hitler soon heard that they'd changed their minds, which wasn't good for him as the SA only had 2000 rifles. Nevertheless, he pressed on. Him and his Shock Troop marched onto the town square to declare him the president of Germany, but were met by the German police, who opened fire. A bodyguard threw himself in front of Hitler and saved his life. In all, 14 of Hitler's supports and 4 police were killed. Both Lundenoff and Hitler were arrested.

What were the results of the Munich Putsch?

While Hitler and three other leaders of the Putsch were arrested, and the NSDAP were banned, Hitler used his trial to get national publicity for his views, the ban on the NSDAP was weak and later lifted completely, and as a result of the publicity, the NSDAP won it's first seats in the Reichstag. Hitler was also released after only 9 months, during which he wrote his book; Mein Kampf, which became the guide for the Nazi party, and he realized he needed a new approach to gain power in Germany.

The SA

1921

Hiter created the SA, or stormtroopers. These were the party's private army, and were recruited from demobilized soldiers, students and the unemployed. Rohm was in charge of these 'brownshirts', whose purpose were to bodyguard and break up other groups meetings.

The SS

1925

The SS, (or shock troop) was a military group, set up as Hitler's personal body guard. They were the few chosen ones from the SA who Hitler trusted the most.

Reorganization of the Nazi party

As Hitler got out of prison, he realized he needed to reorganize his party. He appointed two efficient administrators to run Nazi headquarters; Bouhler as secretary and Schwarz as treasurer. He also split the party into regions. To fund all these, he befriended a lot of rich business men who shared his views, and donated to his cause. This allowed him to strengthen the SA, which gave the party the impression of strength and order. By 1928, the party was well organized. It had 100,000 members and Hitler was a national figure. However, when Hindenburg became president, the Weimar republic gained a better reputation. As a result, not as many people voted for the extremist parties, and the Nazis only got 2.6% of all votes.

Nazi Propaganda

Dr. Joseph Goebbels was the nazi party gauleiter for Berlin. He worked with Hitler to improve Nazi party propaganda. Together, they created scapegoats to blame for Germany's problems; the Jews, the communists and the moderate leader of the Weimar Republic - especially social democrats who'd signed the Treaty. By 1930, Hitler's speeches were reported in 120 daily or weekly Nazi newspapers. They also used more up-to-date technology, such as radio, television and records, and used airplanes to fly Hitler around Germany to speak. People liked him for his passion, the strength of his party and his views.

The Wall Street Crash

October, 1929

Share prices began to fall on the wall street stock exchange, and people's investments fell in value. Afraid to lose money, people wanted to sell their stocks before they went down. As a result of this, America asked for their loans to Germany back, as they needed the money themselves. This was very problematic for Germany, and unemployment increased. The middle class lost their saving, companies or homes. The Weimar Republic chancellor Bruning raised taxes and reduced unemployment benefit. This pleased no one. The coalition of parties Bruning depended on collapsed in 1930, and he could only govern by decree. However, the crisis was beyond the government's control.

Nazi support grows

1929-32

Because of the Great Depression, chancellor Bruning's followers left. People now relied to extremist parties to solve their problems, and in the next election, the Nazis gained power. Germany saw Hitler as a man who could unite the country under a strong leader, restore order from social unrest, scrap the Treaty and persuade other nations to treat Germany fairly. The SA was used during rallies to make them seem strong, and also tore down opposing parties posters and etc.

Why did different groups of people support the Nazis?

Working class: Liked their support for traditional German values, propaganda ensuring "work and bread"

Middle class: Saw Hitler as a strong leader who could help the country recover from the Great Depression, they were afraid of the communists who would abolish private ownership of land, they thought there'd been a moral decline in the Weimar Republic.

Farmers: Wanted to keep private ownership of their land, which the Nazi party ensured (unless you were Jewish)

Big businesses: Saw Hitler as protection from the KPD (communist party)

Young people and women: Young people liked Hitler's passion when he spoke about the future. Women saw in propaganda that voting for his party was best for their families.

The Nazis win power

1932-33

During the presidential electrons of 1932, Germany was in turmoil, because of the Depression. Because no candidate had gotten 50% of the vote, the election was redone. This time, Hindenburg was re-electred president, and Hitler got 13 million votes. Chancellor Bruning removed the SA and the SS with his presidential decree, hoping to control the Nazis. People didn't like this. A general (Von Schleicher) convinced Hindenburg to sack Bruning. Von Schleicher controlled the government from behind the scenes, and appointed Von Papen as the head of his new coalition. Von Papen was later elected chancellor. Von Papen offered the NSDAP a place in the coalition, thinking he could control them. However, they soon won 230 seats in the Reichstag, and became the largest party. Hitler tried to convince Hindenburg to make him chancellor, but he refused. Later, as a result of his lack of control in the Reichstag, Von Papen resigned. Now, a lot of wealthy people wanted Hitler as chancellor, because they thought they could control him. However, Hindenburg refused and appointed Von Schleicher chancellor. He tried to trick Hindenburg into making him head of military, but Hindenburg refused. As a result of this, he, too, was sacked.

Hitler becomes chancellor

Throughout the events from 1932-33, Von Papen had continued to plot against Von Schleicher and Hindenburg. He convinced them that Hitler became chancellor, he could control him. So, as a result, Hindenburg reluctantly gave the position to Hitler. However, Hitler's power was limited as the Weimar constitution controlled him, and the Reichstag only had 1/3 Nazis. However, he almost immediately began removing the restrictions to his power.

The Reichstag Fire

February 27, 1933

The Reichstag building was burnt down, and a young communist was blamed. He was put on trial, found guilty and executed. Hitler, however, did not think this was enough, and convinced Hindenburg to declare state of emergency. He could now legally use decrees to govern Germany.

The 1933 election

March 5, 1933

Hitler asked Hindenburg to call an election. He hoped for more Nazi seats in the Reichstag. To help his election campaign, Hitler raised millions of marks from rich businessmen, used a decree to imprison political opponents and used the SA to attack political rivals. It was a violent campaign, and 70 people died, but Nazis increased their Reichstag members to 288.

Night of the Long Knives

June 30, 1934

Hitler feared Ernst Rohm, the leader of the SA, because of the group's loyalty to him, and his disagreement with some of Hitler's policies. The German army were scared of him too, as he outnumbered them. Leaders of the SS felt the same way, and wanted their group to be more powerful. The leaders of the army warned Hitler that Rohm planned on taking control. So, Hitler arranged for Rohm and several other senior officers of the SA to be executed. Rohm was left in a cell with a gun with a single bullet, and invited to shoot himself. He didn't and was shot by the SS instead. Von Papen protested to Goering, but was told that the SS had things under control. He returned home, but the SS were rounding up suspects and arrested his staff before he got there.

Over a period of four days 400 people were shot without trial, including Von Schleicher and Gregor Strasser. Hitler was acting illegally, but got away with it, since so many people disliked the SA.

Hindenburg's death

August 2, 1934

Hindenburg died at age 87, and Hitler moved to take power. He declared himself Germany's Fuhrer - claiming that this position added the powers of the president and chancellor. He also forced an oath of loyalty to him from every soldier. A vote confirmed his position. The Weimar Republic was gone; Hitler's third Reich had begun.

The Gestapo

Set up in 1933

The Gestapo was Hitler's secret, non-uniformed police force. They were set up by Goering and placed under the control of the SS. People feared them because they wore no uniform and could blend in. They were outside the law, but no one stopped them, because no one had the power. By 1939, 150,000 people were under protective arrest for doing things the Nazi's disproved of.

Concentration Camps

The first concentration camp was opened in 1933. They were secretive, outside of cities in isolated places. Inmates were 'undesirables' such as prostitutes or Jews of whom the Nazis disapproved. These people were forced into labour. After 1939, these camps were used for the mass murder of minority groups.

The law courts

Hitler took control of the courts, and set up the National Socialist League for Maintenance of the Law, where he hired only judges who agreed with Nazi views. Hitler gave them freedom to punish people, even when they had not broken the law. He also set up a new People's Court, to hear about treason cases.

The Nazis and Christianity

The Cristian religion was one of the aspects of life repressed by Hitler's police state, because Christians preached tolerance whereas the Nazis did not. Hitler tried to control the churches, but with little luck.

The Catholic Church

1/3 of Germany's Christians were catholic. They owned their first allegiance not to Hitler but to the pope, and had their own school where they didn't teach Nazi principles. Hitler tried to reach an agreement, saying he'd confirm freedom of worship and not interfere with their schools, and the Roman Catholic church agreed that they wouldn't interfere with politics and ordered bishops to swear loyalty to the German Socialists. However, Hitler didn't keep his promise and harassed Catholic priests, closed schools and youth activities.

The Protestant Church

At first, Protestants were happy Hitler had protected them from some of the anti-Christian communists, and even allowed Nazi flags in their churches. These Protestants formed the German Christian Movement. Protestants who agreed with Hitler were allowed to continue preaching. However, many Protestants opposed him, some even spoke out against him, such as Martin Niemoller. In 1933 he set up the PEL to campaign against Nazis. In 1937, however, he was sent to a concentration camp and the PEL was banned.

The Nazis exerted control in their totalitarian state (propaganda).

This was done by propaganda. For example, a mass rally was held each year to create a sense of unity and strength. All radio stations were under Nazi control, so Hitler could broadcast his views. Cheap, mass-produced radios were sold everywhere to get the word out. Speakers were even placed in the street. Similarly, he used film. All movies were sent to Goebbles first for approval, and were shown alongside a newsreel. Some movies also had persuasive plots. Art, music and books were censored (e.g. jazz wasn't allowed because it was 'inferior') Theaters sold cheap tickets to Nazi-cultured shows. Lastly, the 1936 Berlin Olympics were used to show power (e.g. by building a huge stadium, and flawless organization)

Persecution of the Jews (Anti-Semitism)

Anti-Semitism was common in Europe because Jews stood out as different, and some Christians blamed them for the execution of Christ. When times were hard, people automatically blamed the Jews, because they were criticized for being communist, causing the failure in WWI and being selfish capitalists as many were wealthy businessmen. Hitler viewed the Aryan race superior, and the only ones worthy of life. Everyone else were sub-humans.

As soon as Nazis were in control, they banned Jewish businesses, inheritance of land, the army and restaurants.

The Nuremberg Laws

Passed on September 15th, 1935

Stated that: Jews could not be citizens, lost the right to vote and have German passports, couldn't marry German citizens.

In 1938, restrictions were increased: Jewish doctors, dentists and lawyers were forbidden from working for white, Aryan Germans, had to carry a large J (for Jew) on their identification card and had to register all possessions.

Kristallnacht

November 7, 1938: A Jew went into the German embassy in Paris and killed a German out of spite. Hitler was informed of this, and announced that if Germans took revenge on the Jews, the government wouldn't do anything about it. The result was a storm of attacks on Jews. Especially the SA took advantage of this. SS groups were ordered to organize demonstrations and imprison as many Jews as possible. At least 100 Jews were killed, and a lot of property was damaged. As a result, Jews were blamed for Kristallnacht and had to pay damages, and were banned from both shops and schools. Jews were evicted from their homes and forced to move to ghettos.

Youth and Education in Nazi Germany

Nazis believed that youth should be trained to be good Germans and Nazi, and taught Nazi policies. Boys should be educated to go to work and serve the army whereas girls were trained to be good wives and mothers, and the two genders went to separate schools. All were taught The Nuremberg Laws and the hatred of Jews. Mein Kampf became a compulsory school text. Teachers had to swear an oath of loyalty to the Nazis, and the children started each class with a "heil Hitler". Youth outside of school activities were banned, and replaced by Nazi activities, of which there were separate ones for boys and girls. Boys had Little Fellows when they were young, then Young Germans and lastly Hitler Youth. Girls had Young Maidens and League of German Maidens. All were taught fitness, thought their regimes were wildly different.

Women in Nazi Germany

During the 1920, women's roles changed. E.g. they were given the right to vote and became more likely to work and enjoy social activities. However, Nazis had a very different view of girls. They believed they should be good mothers, and that's it. They should stay healthy, learn house craft, marry, have children, raise them well and concentrate on domestic matters, not politics. The German Woman Enterprise was formed to teach girls how to be good women, and some were forced to leave their jobs. This freed up jobs for men, decreasing unemployment. Women actually got benefits if they followed these rules, such as money for getting married and having children. They even got prices based on how many kids they had. The Lebensborn was an example of a group that encouraged childbirth. Women received prices from an organization called the Mother Cross based on how many kids they had (in order to receive a gold medal, you needed to have 8 children). They also received loans, of which they could keep 1/4 for every child they had. This was because Hitler knew the only way to achieve world domination was to increase the population.

Nazi's policy towards workers (DAF)

Hitler believed that powerful trade unions could disrupt the economy so the government banned these in 1933. In their place, Hitler set up the DAF (German Labour Front), which ensured that workers served in best interest of the Nazis. They also controlled the power of the employers. It set out new employment rights for all workers in factories, mines and shipyards. It regulated working hours and pay, and had the right to punish workers.

Nazi's policy towards unemployed (RAD)

Solving unemployment was important to Hitler for many reasons; unemployed workers were often communist supporters, and were believed to weaken the nation. As a solution to unemployment, the RAD (National Labour Service) was formed. They provided manual work for the unemployed. At first it was optional but eventually it became mandatory for all young men to serve for 6 months. These men were organized along the lines of an army; the wore uniforms, lived in camps and did military drill and parades. Rates of pay were low, and food wasn't good. The men in RAD worked on roads and public buildings.

Rearmament

The Nazi policy towards the economy was organized to make Germany a strong military nation. Hitler launched a four year plan, preparing Germany for war. This plan increased spending on rearmament to 3.5 billion marks in 1933. By 1939, it was 26 billion. For this reason, Germany's production of iron and steel increased, along with it's production of plastic. The army grew to 900,000 in 1939.

In economic terms, this was great for the nation, as unemployment fell and production and profits went up.

War and Final Solution

On September 1, 1939, Germany invaded Poland. By the end of 1941, they controlled most of Europe and a large part of the USSR.

Treatment of Jews During the War

After having invaded the majority of Europe and a large part of the USSR, the Nazis didn't care about making policies acceptable by the world. The invasions also brought many more Jews under Nazi control. A lot of Jews were forced into ghettos, especially in Poland, where 50,000 of them died of cold, hunger or disease.

Einsatzgruppen

Einsatzgruppen were the SS death squads. In 1939, they followed the German army into Poland, systematically murdering anyone the Nazis found undesirable. In a village called Ponary, for example, a small committee of Jews were asked to summon local Jews for a 'relocation'. They were then marched off and shot. By 1945, Einsatzgruppen had killed 1.5 million Jews.

Wannasee Meeting and the Final Solution

January, 1942

Nazis debated the cost of murdering the Jews. For people like Goering, they provided cheap labour and their death benefited no one. Others, such as Himmel, thought the death camps were too expensive. Eventually, it was decided that all Jews should be murdered in death camps. This policy has been called the Final Solution. The Nazis met to discuss the details and agreed that all Jews should be marched to Eastern Europe. There, some were fit to be housed in labour camps and worked to death, whereas other were to be gassed.

The death camps

At first, there were six death camps. Three were converted from labour camps, and three were new. The camps were run by SS officers, but were built well away from Germany. The people who were fit did labour such as exposing of the bodies, but the majority were killed. Children, the old and sick were killed first, often told they were jus taking a shower. At first there were two gas chambers at Auschwitz, another one was built later. People near the gas vents died first, the rest took up to 20 minutes. Once they were all dead, the gas was removed and bodies disposed of. Workers were told to cut women hair, and take their jewelry and gold fillings. The bodies were cremated.

The workers were treated horribly. Some were used for medical experiments, some were burnt alive.

By 1944, when the Allies began to push Germany back, 90% of Jews in Germany, Austria and Poland were already dead.

The Home Front

From 1939-42, life in Germany was relatively undisturbed by the war. There was no fighting in the country, and the standard of living remained high, as Germany won a lot of battles.

However, from 1942, this changed, the German attack on the Soviet Union stalled, and they were pushed out of Italy. Then there were the food shortages, and the mass bombing on German cities.

Total war

February 18, 1943

The German soldiers still fighting for Stalingrad surrendered to the soviet army. Goebble's reaction was to call for 'total war'. He made a radio announcement, calling on all Germans to prove to the allies that they were not done fighting. Everything was to give away to war production: longer working hours, women began working, the closure of luxury stores and clubs, more rationing, travel restriction and the ending of any exemption for serving in the army.

The White Rose Group

Formed in 1941

The White Rose Group was a slightly more open form of resistance. It was started at the University of Munich by students. A lot of these students had served in the war and hated the pain it caused, for example Hans Scholl had seen Jews being murdered. The opposed the Nazis by peaceful means. They mailed leaflets and painted messages on walls. However, despite their peaceful protest, some of them were executed.

The Edelweiss Pirates

A lot of youth accepted Hitler's youth groups, but some rebelled. They did this by forming their own groups, mixing boys and girls and listening to 'swing' music. The boys grew their hair out, and drew anti-nazi signs on walls. The nazis thought nothing of it, until the war broke out and they became more political. After the bombing and fighting back from the rest of Europe, these young people became more daring and begun smashing factory equipment to slow down war production. Himmler ordered a roundup of these rebels, and some were publicly hung.

Religious opposition to Hitler

Some of the Protestant and Roman Catholic Church opposed Hitler. For example, Dietrich Bonhoeffer was a Protestant pastor who joined the German army to try and undermine the Nazis. He passed messages to the allies, but was eventually caught and hanged.

Military opposition to Hitler (The Stauffenberg plot)

A lot of the military opposed Hitler, and didn't like the SA or the SS. There were serval attempts on his life, the most famous one being the July Bomb Plot of 1944. Colonel Claus von Strauffenberg was one of the many senior officers who thought Hitler was leading Germany to defeat. Together, they decided to kill him. On July 20, Strauffenberg took a bomb inside a briefcase into a meeting with Hitler and placed it under the map table, before taking a phone call. However, the briefcase had been moved by an officer, and Hitler escaped with his life. Over 5,000 people were arrested for this, and 46 people, including Strauffenberg were killed.

Germany's defeat

The USA joined the Allies in December, 1941. Germany lost the battle of Stalingrad in February, 1943. In September, the Allies invaded Italy from North Africa, and France was invaded in July 1944. The Germans were in retreat. Meanwhile, the Soviet Army were advancing on Germany, and reached Berlin itself by April 1945.

Why was the Nazi regime defeated?

Germany would've won WWII, had it stopped in 1941. However, it didn't, because they couldn't defeat Britain, and Hitler decided to invade Soviet Union (which didn't end well for him), as well as the Allies' support from the USA. America had much more resources and were able to produce twice as much steel, four times as many planes and tanks and seven times as many rifles and machine guns. When the Allies invaded France, they had the aerial superiority of 70:1.

It was also dumb of Hitler to invade the USSR because it's such a huge country and it's climate made fighting difficult. He also refused to listen to his general, who told him to retreat and focus on the war in North Africa.

Additionally, he invested in the wrong scientific projects. Whereas Allies had bombs and radar, he had V1 and V2 rockets.

The fact that he didn't let women work also negatively impacted him.

Death of Hitler

In April 1945, Soviet troops surrounded Berlin. Himmel tried to negotiate peace, but Hitler refused to accept defeat. Instead, he moved to an underground bunker in Berlin. He prepared for the end by marrying his mistress and writing a will. On the 30th of April, he was found dead in his apartment, along with his newly wedded wife. He is thought to have taken cyanide capsules and shot himself. He was taken away, and his scorched remains found. Russian sources said they'd buried him in Magdeburg, where he remained for a long time. He was later cremated and his ashes flushed into a river.