World War 2 and Treaty of Versailles

• The Second World War occurred between 1939 and 1945.
• Germany was punished after WW1 by the Treaty of Versailles.
• The Weimar Republic and the Great Depression played a role in the Rise of the Nazis.
• Nazi-Germany developed into a fascist state.
• Nazi foreign policy had an influence.
• The Allies fought to stop Nazi foreign policy in the war.
• Hitler's hatred for certain groups led to the Holocaust.
• There was resistance to the Nazi regime.
• America entered the Second World War.

End of World War 1

• World War 1 was fought for 4 years between the Allies and the Central Forces.
• Millions were killed and wounded; there was destruction everywhere.
• Germany was defeated, and European countries negotiated peace in 1919.
• Germany was blamed for the war and was punished.
• The Treaty of Versailles ended the war with specific peace terms.

Treaty of Versailles

• The Weimar Republic had to sign the treaty with these terms:
  • Accept total blame for the war.
  • Pay damages caused by the war.
  • Give up their colonies in Africa.
  • Only allowed a small army and no air force.

Effect of the Treaty

• The Weimar Republic struggled financially, leading to inflation.
• Unemployment rose, causing anger and loss of faith in the government.

Hitler and the Nazis

• The National Socialist German Workers’ Party (Nazi) formed in 1919.
• Hitler joined and played a big role by 1921.
• The Nazis promised to create jobs, make Germany strong and united, and resist the Treaty of Versailles.
• Hitler was arrested in 1923, jailed, and freed in 1924 for working against the Weimar Republic.
• While in jail, he wrote "Mein Kampf," outlining his belief in a pure German race, nationalism, and hatred of Jews.
• Upon release, Hitler promised to seek power by legal means.
• The rise of the Nazis was helped by extreme circumstances and desperate events.

The Great Depression

• Germany could not pay the war debt after the Ruhr occupation.
• In 1924, America lent money to Germany (Dawes plan).
• In 1929, the Wall Street stock market crashed, ending America’s economic strength.
• America wanted its money back, and Germany was given 90 days to start repayments.
• This caused German companies to go bankrupt, millions of workers being laid off, and hyperinflation.
• People turned to extreme political parties like the Nazis.

Failure of Democracy in Weimar Republic

• Germans were angry at the Weimar Republic for signing the Treaty of Versailles.
• After the Wall Street crash, the government could not help people.
• The Nazis' direct and simple solutions were appealing.
• Nazi propaganda promoted unity and a sense of belonging.
• Attempts to overthrow the Weimar Republic contributed to its instability.
• The Munch Putsch (1923) resulted in Hitler going to prison.

Reasons for Public Support of the Nazi Party

• Germans suffered loss of national pride, financial hardship, and hopelessness.
• The Nazis offered hope by promising a strong, united Germany with jobs and renewed purpose.
• Propaganda played a big role, with Josef Goebels in charge.

The Election of 1932 and 1933

• The Weimar Republic lost support after the Great Depression.
• People wanted a more stable political party.
• The Nazis launched three massive election campaigns in 1930 and 1932.
• By July 1932, the Nazis had won 230 seats in the Reichstag.
• Other political parties stopped them from gaining total control of Germany.
• Powerful men supported Hitler, and President Paul von Hindenburg made Hitler chancellor of a coalition government in 1933.
• This caused the Nazi’s to get a majority vote in the 1933 elections.
• The Nazi’s got the majority vote allowing them to pass the Enabling Act.
• This act gave Hitler the power of a dictator for four years.
• Hitler used his new power to silence/control the press, ban other political parties and unions, put other leaders in jail and burn all non-Nazi books.
• Hitler succeeded in restoring Germany's pride, suppressing all opposition.
• In June 1934, Hitler had opposition leaders killed, including Ernst Rohm, in what became known as the ‘Night of the Long Knives’.
• Most of these murders were carried out by the Schutztaffel (SS) and the Gestapo (the secret police).
• Concentration camps were set up to torture and question leaders opposing Hitler.
• When President Paul von Hindenburg died in 1933, Hitler combined the roles of chancellor and president and declared himself Führer of Germany.

The Nuremberg Laws

• The Nuremburg Laws were anti-semitic laws announced at the Nuremberg rally in 1935.
• After Hitler took control of Germany in 1933, Anti – Semitism became part of the Nazi ideology.
• The Nuremburg laws classified the purity of a person based on their grandparents.
• Having four German grandparents meant being a pure German, or Arian.
• Having three or four grandparents of Jewish descent meant being classified as a Jew.
• Two Jewish grandparents meant being a Mischling, or of mixed blood.
• The Nuremburg laws deprived Jews of their German citizenship, and marriage between a Jew and a German were banned.
• Marriage between Jews and Germans was unlawful because Hitler wanted a pure German Arian race of Übermensch (Master Race).
• The Arians were seen as the strong, muscled, neat, blue – eyed, blond-hair type.
• Hitler’s hatred for the Jewish nation was called anti-semitism.
• Other groups persecuted by the Nazis included Jehovah's Witnesses, Roma (gypsies), homosexuals, Slavs, Black People, and people with disabilities.

Kristallnacht

• By 1938, the Nazis launched a program against all Jews.
• On November 9th, 1938, the SS killed at least 100 Jews and sent about 300,000 to concentration camps.
• The SS burned hundreds of synagogues and broke 7,500 windows of Jewish shops.
• This night was known as Kristallnacht because of all the broken glass.
• Kristallnacht is generally known as the beginning of the systematic persecution of the Jews.
• After Kristallnacht, many laws removed Jews from German life.
• Jewish people were not allowed to use public restrooms or have a career and were paid very low wages.

Nazi Germany as an Example of a Fascist State

• In a fascist state, the nation is regarded as the most important.
• People are bound together by communal descent, culture, and national pride.
• Paramilitary organizations like the SS and Gestapo threaten all opposition with extreme violence.
• Discipline is strict, and everyone has to adapt to the rules.
• A fascist state is the opposite of a democratic state.

The Second World War: Europe

• The Nazi policies restored German pride after the Treaty of Versailles.
• Nazi pride was taken to the extreme, and other countries started to fear Hitler’s expansionistic policies.
• Nazi expansionism didn't tolerate any 'inferior' groups.
• Expansionism is a policy where a state wants to expand its territories, usually through military force.

The Nazi's Aggressive Expansionist Policy of Lebensraum

• Lebensraum literary means ‘living space’.
• The Nazis believed that they needed more room for the German population to grow.
• In Mein Kampf, Hitler said that the inferior Slavic nation needed to make space for the superior German nation.
• In 1938, Hitler united Austria and Germany.
• The Allies, Britain and France, did nothing to stop him, even though it violated the Treaty of Versailles.
• Hitler continued to annex many other nations until reaching the border of Poland.
• The Allies decided that if Hitler invaded Poland, they would declare war on Germany.

Axis Powers vs Allies

• In 1938, Hitler united Austria and Germany, then infiltrated parts of Czechoslovakia.
• When Hitler reached the border of Poland, the Allies (France and Britain) said that they would declare war if he attacked Poland.
• The Axis powers were established in 1936 and consisted of Germany, Japan, and Italy.
• When Germany invaded Poland in 1939, the Allies (Britain and France) declared war on them.
• Germany invaded the Netherlands and France but could not invade Britain, so Germany invaded Russia instead.
• Invading Russia was a mistake; thousands of German soldiers died in the Russian winter, and Russia joined the Allies.
• Hitler never defeated Communist Russia under Joseph Stalin.
• The defeat of the German army in Stalingrad (Russia) was seen as a turning point in the Second World War.