1919 - 1933 Hitlers rise to power GCSE Edexcel History

What was Mein Kampf

• an autobiography written in 1924

• a key source of info about Hitlers views

what racist views were in Mein Kampf

• Hitler believed the Aryan race was destined to rule the world

• Hitler believed Jews planned to weaken the Aryan race by intermixing

How was the Nazi party reorganised

• central HQ was in Munich

• Hitler appointed a secretary and a treasurer

• the party resembled a mini state with depts. for everything

• there was a womans section and a youth section

what document contained DAP policies

25 point programme, written in February 1920

how did the beer hall putsch go down

• politicians including Kahr were meeting in the Buergerbraeukeller Beer Hall in Munich on 8 November, 1923.

• Hitler and the SA interrupted the meeting,

• Kahr, General von Lossow (leader of the army in Bavaria) and Colonel von Seisser (head of the Bavarian police) were locked in a back room. They were forced to publically announce their support for the Nazis.

• Hitler left the beer hall in order to oversee matters elsewhere

• Ludendorff allowed the politicians to leave the beer hall.

• they immediately renounced support for the Nazis.

• The next morning the Nazis, led by Hitler and Ludendorff, marched into the centre of Munich.

• The police and army confronted them and shots were fired.

what happened after the beer hall putsch

• Hitler was put on trial, charged with treason.

• He was found guilty and sentenced to five years in prison, but was released after nine months.

• The NSDAP was banned

When was Hitler released from prison and When was the ban on the NSDAP lifted

20th Dec 1924 and 16th Feb 1925

What was the SS

• Hitler’s private army

• a small few who ate slept and breathed Nazism

• Himmler took over after Hitler made it

when and where was the Bamberg conference

Bamberg, Bavaria in 1926

why was the bamberg conference held

Hitler called a special Nazi Party conference on 14 February 1926 at Bamberg in southern Germany in response to tension between the northern and southern sections of the party.

what tensions existed between the northern/southern sections of the NSDAP in 1926

• the northern section, led by Gregor Strasser, was keen to emphasise the socialist elements of the 25-Point Programme to attract support from the workers

• the southern section more interested in the nationalist and racist policies in order to attract support from the middle classes and farmers

what was the result of the bamberg conference

• Hitler insisted that policies which could be painted as communist, such as taking land from rich noblemen, would not be pursued.

• However, the conference did reaffirm the 25-Point Programme, with its socialist ideas, as the party’s policy platform.

what reasons were there for limited Nazi support between 24-29

1. Germany was financially recovered which draws people away from extremist parties

2. Germany was in the League of Nations which diminishes support for nationalist parties

when did stresemann die

October 1929

what economical effects did the wall street crash have on Germany

• German banks lost so much that people feared their accounts would be empty

• people cued outside to withdraw money leading to banks running out and busting

• banks tried to recall loans which in turn closes industries

what social effects did the wall street crash have

• unemployment up to 6.1ms in Jan 1933

• taxes rose while benefits shrank

• those with savings found that the value of their savings crashed

• wages were cut and in 1932 were only worth 70% of wages in 1928

• shanty towns and homelessness grew

what did the govt. suggest to try fix ts

• Chancellor Heinrich Bruning (‘30-’32) proposed higher taxes to pay for benefits and then fixed time limits on benefits

• RW parties opposed higher taxes and LW parties opposed reduced benefits

• Heinrich’s policy was rejected

Why did support for the KDP and NSDAP rise following the WSC

life had become harder socially and economically and moderate parties had failed to heal Germany

how did the nazis seats grow from ‘28 - ‘32

• May ‘28 - 12 seats

• Sept ‘30 - 107 seats

• July ‘32 - 230 seats

Why did people support Hitler

• In Hitler they saw a strong leader who promised to reverse the ToV and restore order

• Hitler spoke in as many places as possible and used new campaign approaches

• The SA made the nazis seem uniform and reliable

What sections of society were the nazis targeting

• Wealthy businessmen

  • Hitler said the nazi party is their best hope at protection from communism

• Farmer

  • Hitler would only confiscate jewish farmland whereas the KPD wanted all farmland

• working-class

  • hitler promised them ‘work and bread’

• the middle class

  • they saw the nazis as a return to a traditional germany

what political developmets were there in 1932 Part 1 (upto July)

1. Hindenburg stands for re election and gets 49.6% of the votes (March)

2. Hindenburg stands again because nobody had a majority and this time wins

3. 30th May Cllr Bruning resigns after banning the SA and SS

4. 30th May Von Papen is made Cllr. suggested by Von schleicher

5. Hitler wins 230 seats in the July elections

what political developmets were there in 1932/33 Part 2 (July onwards)

1. Von papen sacked after Hitler stayed majority in November elections (196 seats)

2. Von schleicher was made Cllrout of desperation fronm Hindenburg

3. Jan 33 - Hitler became Cllr as Von schleicher wasn’t working. Von Papen was his vice in an attempt to control hitler

when was the reichstag fire

27th Feb 1933

who is said to have carried out the fire

communist supporter Van der Lubbe was caught with matches. He was arrested, he confessed and was executed

what happened after the fire

• Hitler claimed it was a communist conspiracy

• he used this to arrest 4k communists on the night of

• He then called for an election in March ‘33

How did the March ‘33 elections go down

• hitler banned communist papers and imprisoned political opponents

• Hitler won 288 seats in an election that saw 70 deaths

• Hitler then took the 81 seats off the KDP which gave the nazis 2/3 majority

What did the enabling act state

• the cabinet could pass new laws

• these laws can overrule the constitution

• Hitler is the one proposing the laws

what was the purpose of the enabling act

it was to destroy the reichstag and let hitler do what he wanted

what three things did hitler ban

• trade unions - communists and working men could use these to undermine the govt.

• other political parties - now nobody stands against him

• Local govts. - hitler instead pointed a governor to run each Lande

when was the night of the long knives

30th June 1934

why did Hitler think Rohm was a threat

• Rohm opposed hitlers policies

• Rohm increased SA numbers to 3ms and they were loyal to Rohm. Hitler could be taken down with those numbers

How did the night of long knives go down

1. hitler arranged a meeting with Rohm and other sa officials in a hotel

2. he either shot them or arrested them as they arrived

3. Later on Von papen ,Von schleicher and Strasser were killed

when did Hitler become the fuehrer

2nd of august 1934 - following the death of President hindenburg