You could have opened a flower and fruit and wine shop with all the stuff
stacked there. People were sending presents from all over Germany and
Hitler had grown visibly fatter on the proceeds”. While enjoying the gifts, Hitler sat down to work on his book entitled Mein Kampf (my struggle). This is the book in which he outlined his ideas on the future of Germany, his racial policies, preservation of the Volk, and the thousand years Reich.quotes The book was published in 1925, two years after he failed revolution. The book was not a success, selling a few thousand copies in the next few years. Readers found it boring, poorly written, and difficult to read. In his prison experience, Hitler learned one valuable lesson. This was if he hoped to gain power, he would have to obtain it through legal means. After being released from prison, it was at first difficult for Hitler to pick up from where he left off. The Dawes Plan had achieved economic stability, and the Weimar Republic had gained more respect from its people. Hitler was forbidden to make speeches, and found a rival Nazi, who was in charge of the Nazi's in the north in Germany. It was only by 1929 that Hitler received large audiences again due to the economic and political instability, which resulted from the Wall Street Crash in New York. By the 1930 elections, the Nazi's were the second largest party in Germany. In January 1933, Hitler was invited to hold the position of chancellor by Hindenburg, a position that he accepted.
Once in power, Hitler went on to establish himself as an absolute ruler. A
fire in the German Parliament building gave him a good excuse to demand
full powers. These were granted to him two days later on the 29th of
February 1933.
He was a regular reader of a small newspaper that suggested
that the Arian race was the superior race. The paper blamed Communists and
Jews for all their economic problems and Hitler agreed with those views.
Teachers had to belong to the Nazi party. Children were taught that Jews
were the source of all their problems. Since the country was in economic
chaos after the war because Germany was forced to pay billions in damages.
The Germans saw hope in Hitler. In the late 1920’s, the depression hit
which made the situation even worse.
Hitler in his speeches blamed the Jews and Communists for their
misfortunes and many listened. Unemployment was very high at that time,
standing at about 25%. Hitler also spoke out against the unfairness of the
Versailles Treaty. Germany lost a lot of its territory.
He believed the pure Arian race was destined to rule the world. He
preached that all Germans must unite in order for this goal to succeed.
While Hitler was in Vienna, he learned things which he later used to
destroy the world. He learned that the finest thing for man to do was to
conquer foreign countries, and that peace is a bad thing because it makes
man weak. He was also convinced that Germans are the master race, even
though he himself was Austrian. Hitler also took part in political ideas
which were later used in Germany. He believed a political party must know
how to use terror. He also discovered the value of appearance in politics.
He thought only a man who could attract masses of people by his eloquence
could succeed in politics. Hitler later became the greatest public speaker
in Europe.
In Vienna Hitler also learned of his hatred for Jews. "Wherever I went I
began to see Jews, and the more I saw, the more sharply they became
distinguished in my eyes from the rest of humanity. I grew sick to the
stomach, I began to hate them. I became anti-Semitic."(1) In the spring of
1913 Hitler left for Munich, Germany at the age of 24. He left Vienna to
get away from the mixture of races and to escape the military that he had
to serve in with Jews.
In 1921, the two years after he joined the party, he became
the Fuhrer which is the leader of the Nazi Party. By 1923, Hitler believed
he was strong enough to try and conquer Germany. He planned a revolt in
Munich to bring down the German republic and then to make himself the
dictator of Germany.
Hitler couldn't have had this revolt at a better time because Germany was
in an economic crisis. The businesses and mines of Germany were closed
down because the government didn't pay the reparation payments which were
written in the Treaty of Versailles.
Hitler felt it was time to overthrow the German Republic because the
German people were looking for new hopes and a new leader to help them
through their times of trouble.
Hitler and his troops stormed into a political rally and began shouting.
Hitler tried to make the leaders join him but they wouldn't. The police
arrived and broke it up. Hitler was thrown in jail for his attempt to
overthrow the government, but only served nine months of his 5-year
sentence. While in jail Hitler wrote Mein Kampf (my struggles). In this
book he wrote the plans for taking over Germany.
During the German depression the economy of West Germany wasn't getting
any better, but Hitler's chance to gain political power was. In 1930,
Hitler told the German people that Germany would not pay the reparations
and would tear up the Treaty of Versailles. He also made promises of
getting businesses back on their feet. Nazi popularity grew and in 1933
Hitler was made Chancellor. It took only one year before Hitler was made
the dictator of Germany. He quickly outlawed all political parities and
made the Nazi way the new form of government.
He began the reign as dictator by abolishing the freedom of speech, and he
persecuted Christian churches and made trouble with the Jews. He ordered
the murders of many Germans who did not agree with his ways, and had
others carted to concentration camps where they were slaughtered. He also
began to arm Germany secretly against the Peace Treaty and to get ready
for aggressive war. After Hitler had full power of all political functions
he gave himself the title, Fuhrer and Reich's Chancellor. He also became
commander in chief of the armed forces.
After its defeat in World War I, Germany was forced to give up land,
demilitarize and pay war reparations. When Germany refused to pay all that
was demanded, France and Belgium occupied the coal mines in the Ruhr
industrial area. The German government ordered the workers to strike as a
form of passive resistance. To compensate these workers the German
government printed huge amounts of new money. This led to inflation.
German currency rapidly lost value. Many people were unemployed and on the
brink of starvation.
Hitler felt it was the right time to start a revolution. On November 8,
1923, Hitler and about 600 followers attempted to take control of the
provincial Bavarian government. They lacked mass support and had no chance
against the military force of the government. The rebellion failed and
Hitler was imprisoned and sentenced to five years although he only served
one. Hitler explained his political views in his book Mein Kampf or My
Struggle.
Hitler regained control of the Nazi Party upon his release in December
1924. From 1925 to 1930 Hitler built a network of local parties over most
of Germany. He also organized the Schutzstaffel or the “SS”, a group that
performed police tasks. They carried out violent acts against Hitler’s
enemies. Unemployed young men who joined Hitler’s groups were given food,
shelter, uniforms and a sense of purpose.
The stock market crash of 1929 effected practically every nation in the
world. Germany was already suffering a post-war depression and was greatly
effected. Hitler used the suffering of the masses to gain political
support. He gained a strong following from the middle class, the workers
and the unemployed by promising to improve the economy. As economic
conditions worsened, the Nazis gained more support.
Hitler staged huge rallies and parades. His speeches called for a strong
and proud Germany.
It was in vienna that hitler was influenced by lanz von libenfels and
developed very strong nationalist and anti-semitic views. In may 1913, he
left for munich. During ww1 in august 1914, he enlisted in the army. he
fought on the western front for 4yrs and was awarded the iron cross for
bravery. he remained in the army and was given the job of spying on newly
developing political parties.
One such party was the german workers party founded by anton drexler in
1919. hitler was so impressed at the first meeting by what he saw and
heard that he decided to join the organisation. by 1920, he was leader of
this party and changed the name to the national socialist workers party,
commonly known as the nazi party.
The nazis forme their own small army called the SA(sturm abteilung). they
were easily recognised by the brown coloured shirts they wore. the SA were
used to protect the nazis at any meetings or conferences that were held.
hitler made the swastika the emblem of this party. early recruits included
ernst rohm, rudolf hess, heinrich himmler and josef goebbels. With the
weimar government facing economic and ploitical crisis in 1923, hitler
decided to make a bid for power. this came in the form a the munich
putsch.
On 8th november 1923, nazi's took over a beer hall in munich. many people
were killed. hitler was arrested two days later and was sentenced to 5yrs
in landsberg castle. he only served 9months of this sentence. while in
prison, hitler wrote his famous book 'mein kampf'- my struggle. this book
was a long boring insight into the mind of hitler and his anti-semitic
views. During his time in prison the nazi party had disintegrated , and
its members had become divided. hitler had to spend the next 4yrs
rebuilding the party and giving it a solid organisational base.
Hitler believed in a true german race devoid of impurity which could be
achieved by the elimination of all inferior races. He also believed in the
idea of 'lebensraum' or living space. From 1923 onwards the nazis grew
slowly but steadily, and there was very effective use of propaganda by
josef goebbels. he portrayed hitler as a kind man. strict censorship was
used on both the radio and in newspapers. hitler soon developed into a
brilliant speaker and knew how to catch the audiences attention and work
them into a frenzy. his listeners loved the sppeches and the spectacle.
Hitler had embarked on a nationwide campaign promising employment to the
unemployed, land to the peasants, re-armament to the army and most of all,
he promised a strong leadership. he also blamed the 'november criminals'
for the signing of the versailles treaty and he openly critiscised jews
and communists, and the weakness of the weimar germany as being a
contributory factor to germanys ills. industrialists nicknamed him ' the
man of steel'.
By 1932 the nazi party was the largest in the reichstag and soon the
number of seats rose from 12 to 288. Politicians did not trust him but the
people wanted him in charge and so in january of 1933, hitler became
chancellor of germany. As soon as hitler was given power he beagn to
dismanntle democracy. he called a general election, however on the night
of 27th of february 1933, the reichstag was set alight , 'supposedly' by a
communist. Hitler led people to believe that this was the beginning of a
communist plot to take over the country.
Hitler's idea of expansionism laid the
groundwork for his relations with them. Lebensraum or living-space, which
Hitler mentioned in his book Mein Kampf, had been a key concept for German
National Socialists. It was an old concept, not inconsistent with beliefs
held since the middle ages. Hitler believed that an increase in his
country's living-space would effectively improve the health and well-being
of his Volk. As Hitler stated in his Secret Book: "A healthy foreign
policy therefore will always keep the winning of the basis of a people's
sustenance immovably in sight as its ultimate goal."
Hitler held the rank of
corporal, and in forty-seven battles he served on the Western Front as a
dispatch runner, delivering messages back and forth between the front
lines and the officers in the rear. His courage during one of these
missions earned him the Iron Cross, a highly prized medal for bravery that
was rarely awarded to a mere corporal .
On October 13th 1918, a month before Germany surrendered to the Allies,
his good luck ran out. When Hitler and his fellow dispatch runners were
waiting in line for their food rations, British troops began lobbing high
explosive shells nearby. Some of these shells contained chlorine gas, a
deadly poison. Hitler and the others quickly put on their gas masks, but
not before they had been exposed to the fumes. By the next morning some of
the men were dead, and others, like Hitler, were suffering from breathing
and vision problems. "My eyes," wrote Hitler, "had turned to glowing
coals; it had grown dark around me".
Hitler soon regained use of his eyes, but as he was about to rejoin his
regiment, he got the terrible news of Germany's surrender. "Once again,
everything went black before my eyes, and I tottered and groped my way
back to the place where we slept and buried my burning head in the
blankets and pillows". After the war Hitler was given a job guarding a
post. It was very boring work, but provided shelter. He was then given an
undercover agent job. As a special bonus, he was allowed to attend the
University of Munich. He took many philosophical political classes.
As part of Hitler's job, he investigated a party called "the German
Workers' Party." He was disgusted how the group had no organization,
although he was in favor of many of the party's ideas. To follow up with
his job, he joined the group to make sure they were no threat to the
government. He was member number fifty-five of the German Workers' Party.
He also designed the party's flag, a white
background with a broken cross in the middle. Hitler took full leadership
of the party. Violence was now the party's trademark.
He persuaded the other party members to rent one of the largest halls in
Munich-one that seated at least 2,000 people. There Hitler made of list of
demands to the German government. Point twenty-five said, "For modern
society, a colossus with feet of clay, we shall create an unprecedented
centralization, through which we will unite all powers in the head of the
government." The audience roared its approval.
November 11, 1923 seemed like a perfect time for Hitler
to make the grab for power. It was the fifth anniversary of Germany's
surrender to the allies. At the last minute he changed the date to
November 8th. A large gathering was to be held on the outskirts of Munich.
Three important government leaders would be there. On that evening, 600
storm troopers moved in.
Hitler captured the government leaders and forced them to join him. His
3,000 men then marched to Berlin in an attempt to take it over. The German
police were waiting. Shots were fired and sixteen nazis and two policemen
lay dead. Hundreds more were wounded. Hitler was arrested and charged with
High Treason.
The trial was a "political circus". Hitler was allowed to speak for hours
at a time. During one of his speeches he said, "It is the External Court
of History ... That court will judge us ... as Germans who wanted the best
for their people and their fatherland, who wished us to fight and die. You
may pronounce us guilty ... but the Goddess who presides over the External
Court of History ... acquits us".
Hitler served only nine months of his five-year sentence. The guards gave
him a suite of several adjoining rooms where guests could come or go as
they pleased. He was sent many gifts and grew visibly fatter. He wrote a
book called Mein Kampf, or My Struggle. It was a blueprint of what he
would do in the next two decades.
The government banned the Nazi party after the revolt. There were also
many reasons for lack of Nazi activity. The Allies had loosened their grip
on the German economy. The French had left the Ruhr leaving Germany's
industries intact, and the United States pumped in millions of dollars to
stabilize Germany's economy. Most Germans were happy. In 1925, the Nazis
picked up where they left off. Ernst Rohn was given the order to reinstate
his troops. Germany held elections, but the Nazis got only three percent
of the voters support.
The depression in America caused the economic system in Germany to
plummet. Because of the harsh times, Nazis got two million more votes then
the Communist party. The election put them just
under the Democratic party and gave them 107 more seats in the House.
Hitler was planning on running for President of Germany against Paul Von
Hinderburg, a social democrat. Hitler campaigned frequently, going to
every major city and town. He was the first to use the airplane in order
to get from one campaign to the next.
By 1932 the SA troops numbered 400,000. The SA's goal was to make people
afraid, and they accomplished that with ease. One of the most popular
chants of the SA troops is as follows: "Sharpen the knives on the sidewalk
so that they can cut the enemy's body better. When the hour of revenge
strikes, we shall be ready for mass murder". The SA troops were getting
out of hand, and Hitler wanted an orderly group. He created the SS
soldiers. They were dressed in black from head to foot with a little skull
pin on their helmets. They had to swear total loyalty to Hitler.
In the election of 1932, Hitler could not beat out the eighty-five year
old President Hindenburg. However, 230 Nazi candidates held seats, and
Hitler was made Chancellor of Germany. It was the second highest position
in the German government. With only a week left till the new election,
Hitler needed an incident that might put him ahead in the polls. Two
nights later, the old courthouse, the Reichstag, began burning. The Nazis
immediately began blaming it on the Communists. This was just what the
Nazis needed to put them ahead in the race.
Hitler still was not elected to the Presidency. Using force, Hitler got
Hinderburg to pass a law that abolished freedom of speech, of the press,
and of assembly. Hitler then brought before the court the Enabling Act.
This law gave Hitler the power of a dictator for the next four years. With
violent persuasion, he got the bill passed. Germany had become a
dictatorship.
After the bills were passed, the German military feared that when Hitler
took full leadership of the country, they would lose control, and the SA
would take over. Hitler assured the military that this was not true. To
gain their trust, he gave them a list of 500 to 1000 SA leaders which they
could dispose of. In a period of two days, all the men were brought before
a firing range in a school basement and shot .
In August of 1934 President Hindenburg died. Hitler's last obstacle in his
quest for complete power was removed. Using his unlimited powers, he
combined the offices of president and chancellor. To everyone in Germany
he was now Der Fuhrer, the leader. The Reich had begun.
During this time in prison Hitler began work on his book
entitled Mein Kamph (My Struggle). The book outlines some of Hitler’s
political ideas and his views on race and Germany’s future role in world
affairs.
Hitler had a racist view of world history and the dominant theme running
through Mein Kamph was his concept of race. In Hitler’s view, civilization
and nations decline when the fail to maintain the purity of the race.
“Mixing blood and lowering of racial quality” according to Hitler is the
“sole cause for the decline of all culture, for humans do not perish from
lost wars but from the loss of that power of resistance that is
characteristic only of pure blood”*. The fundamental duty of the
government in Hitler’s mind was to preserve the racial purity of state for
only this way can the superior race maintains it dominance over inferior
races.
To Hitler, the Aryan (an earlier Indo-European race from which the Germans
were descended) was the master race and the other races were inferior. To
Hitler the Jew represented the absolute contrast to the Aryan. The Aryans
were the creators of culture and civilization, where else the Jew was the
destroyer for they had no nation or culture of their own. They were “a
parasite in the body of other nations”* contaminating the purity of the
blood, exploiting and corrupting the nation. Hitler saw a Jewish world
conspiracy and held absolute conviction that the Jews were responsible for
all the evils that had befallen Germany – defeat of in war, revolution,
economic collapse and Marxism. But above all, they as a people threatened
Hitler’s vision of a pure racial community. In Mein Kamph he wrote: “What
we must fight for is to safeguard the existence and reproduction of our
race and people, the sustenance of our children and the purity of our
blood…so that our people may mature for the fulfillment of the mission
allotted to it by the creator of the universe”*.
* Quoted from Mein Kamph, Adolf Hitler, 1924T