10 Questions
What was the core of Hitler's political ideas?
Racism, especially anti-Semitism
What was the name of the party Hitler joined in 1919?
German Workers' Party
What was the name of the book written by Hitler while in prison?
Mein Kampf
What was the name of the uprising staged by Hitler against the government in Munich in 1923?
The Beer Hall Putsch
What was the term used by Hitler to describe the right of 'superior' nations to expand?
Lebensraum
What realization did Hitler come to while in prison?
That the Nazi Party would need to attain power legally
What was a crucial factor in the Nazi rise to power in Germany?
Germany's economic difficulties
What law gave the German government the power to ignore the constitution for four years?
The Enabling Act
What was the result of the Nazi Party's purging of the civil service?
The elimination of Jews and democratic elements from the civil service
What was the result of Hitler's consolidation of power by the end of the summer of 1933?
The establishment of a totalitarian state
Study Notes
Hitler's Early Life and Ideology
- Adolf Hitler was born in Austria in 1889
- He failed in school and traveled to Vienna to become an artist but was rejected by the academy
- He developed his basic political ideas in Vienna, with racism and anti-Semitism at the core
- He was an extreme nationalist who believed in the effective use of propaganda and terror
Rise of the Nazi Party
- Hitler joined the German Workers' Party in 1919, which was later renamed the National Socialist German Workers' Party (NSDAP) or Nazi
- By 1921, he had taken total control of the party
- The party had 55,000 members and 15,000 in the party militia, known as the SA, Storm Troops, or Brownshirts, by 1923
- Hitler staged an armed uprising against the government in Munich in November 1923, known as the Beer Hall Putsch, but was quickly crushed and sentenced to prison
- In prison, he wrote Mein Kampf, which linked extreme German nationalism, anti-Semitism, and anticommunism with a Social Darwinian theory of struggle
Mein Kampf and Nazi Ideology
- Mein Kampf emphasized the right of "superior" nations to Lebensraum ("living space") through expansion
- It also upheld the right of "superior" individuals to gain authoritarian leadership over the masses
Rise of Nazism
- Hitler realized that the Nazis would have to attain power legally, not by violent overthrow, after his failed uprising
- By 1929, the Nazi Party had a national party organization and had become the largest party in the Reichstag by 1932
- Germany's economic difficulties, including rising unemployment, contributed to the Nazi rise to power
- Hitler promised a new Germany that appealed to nationalism and militarism
The Nazis Take Control
- After 1930, the German government ruled by decree with the support of President Hindenburg
- The right-wing elites of Germany looked to Hitler for leadership, and he became chancellor in 1933
- The Enabling Act of 1933 gave the government the power to ignore the constitution for four years, effectively making Hitler a dictator
- The Nazis quickly brought all institutions under their control, purged the civil service of democratic elements and Jews, and set up concentration camps for opponents
- By the end of the summer of 1933, Hitler had established the basis for a totalitarian state
Learn about the life and ideologies of Adolf Hitler, the founder of Nazism, including his racist and nationalist beliefs, and his use of propaganda and terror. From his failed art career to his experiences in World War I, understand the events that shaped his political ideas.
Make Your Own Quizzes and Flashcards
Convert your notes into interactive study material.
Get started for free
