Note
Studied by 1 personnazis in the wilderness 1924-1929
What did Hitler write whilst in jail after the Munich Putsch?
a
Mein Kampf (My Struggle)
2
q
What key change did Hitler make during his time in jail?
a
He decided the Nazis needed to take power democratically - not violently
3
q
The Nazis fought their first election in May 1924. How many seats did they win?
a
32 seats
4
q
How many seats did the Nazis win in 1928?
a
12 seats
5
q
How many seats did the Nazis win in July 1932?
a
230 seats
6
q
How many seats did the Nazis win in November 1932?
a
196 seats
7
q
After the Nazis won 32 seats in the May 1924 elections, what did Hitler establish?
a
Local networks of Nazis such as The Hitler Youth and the Nazi Students’ League
8
q
Which key event allowed the Nazis to dramatically increase the number of seats they had in the Reichstag?
a
The Great Depression
9
q
What happened to the Nazis’ vote share at the end of 1932?
a
It began to decline (230 seats down to 196 seats)
10
q
Which other extremist party also gained during the Great Depression?
a
The Communist Party
11
q
Between 1924-28, the Nazis were appealing to workers, but in 1928 their poor election showing convinced them they needed to look elsewhere. Which groups did they target?
a
peasant farmers in northern Germany
middle-class shopkeepers
small business people in rural towns
12
q
Who did not - despite the Nazis’ name - generally support the Nazis?
a
Workers. They mostly supported the Social Democratic Party (SPD) or, sometimes, the Communists
13
q
Roughly what percentage of Germany’s population lived in rural areas?
a
35%
14
q
What contrast did the Nazis emphasise between the cities and rural areas?
a
They depicted cities as decadent, immoral and crime-ridden (and blamed the Jews for this)
They depicted rural areas as being morally pure - where ‘true Germans’ (Aryans) could live a simple and honest life
15
q
What did the Nazis promise rural peasants?
a
To help agriculture if they came to power
16
q
What did Hitler enlarge in 1925?
a
The SA (Brownshirts)
17
q
When did Hitler enlarge the SA?
a
In 1925
18
q
What percentage of the SA came from the unemployed?
a
About 55%
19
q
What were many SA members?
a
Ex-servicemen who had fought in the war
20
q
What did Hitler also establish in 1925?
a
The SS - Hitler’s elite, personal bodyguard who were fanatically loyal to Hitler
21
q
Who did Hitler put in charge of Nazi propaganda?
a
Joseph Goebbels
22
q
What did Goebbels believe about appealing to ‘the masses’?
a
That it was more effective to appeal to people’s emotions (as opposed to their reason)
23
q
What forms of propaganda did the Nazis use?
a
posters
leaflets
films
radio broadcasts
rallies
24
q
Why was there no electoral breakthrough in 1928, despite all the hard work of the Nazis to change their strategy?
a
Germany was prospering under Stresemann. Few Germans were interested in extreme parties.
25
q
How many members did the Nazis have by 1928?
a
100,000
26
q
Was state was the Nazi Party in by 1929?
a
Although they had relatively little support, they were highly organised around a charismatic and emotive speaker - Hitler.
They were well-positioned to seize the opportunity presented to them by the Wall St. Crash and Great Depression
27
q
What did American journalist William Shirer say about Nazism in 1928?
a
“Nazism appears to be a dying cause…One scarcely hears of Hitler except as the butt of jokes.”