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Nazi Germany

In this lesson, students will be able to define the following terms:

Adolf HitlerNazi Party

Human Rights ViolationsThe Third Reich

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In Germany, the leaders of the WeimarRepublic were blamed for signing the

Treaty of Versailles, which ended World War I.

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Under the treaty, Germany was forcedto pay huge reparations to Britain andFrance. The reparation payments ledto a soaring inflation rate in Germanyin the early 1920s. In 1930, the Great

Depression spread to Germany.

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More than one-third of Germans losttheir jobs. The Weimar governmentcould not cope with this catastrophe.

People turned to more radical solutions.

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Adolf Hitler was theleader of the Nazi

Party. He publishedhis main ideas in his

book, Mein Kampf. Inhis book, Hitler blamedGermany’s problemson the leaders of the

Weimar Republic. Heurged Germans to

abandon democracy.

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Hitler believedthat Germans

were a superior“Aryan” race.He planned to

wipe outSlavic peopleslike the Polesto make roomfor Germansin Eastern

Europe.

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Hitler called the Jews an “evil race”

that should bedestroyed for

causing Germany’sdefeat in the

war. He saw Communism as a

Jewish plot tocontrol the world.

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Unable to cope with the Great Depression,Germany’s President appointed Hitleras chief minister in 1933. Hitler actedquickly to secure complete control of

Germany by setting the Parliament on fireand blaming the Communists.

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The German Parliament then agreed to Hitler’s request for emergency laws givinghim absolute power. Almost immediately,

Hitler used his new powers to crush allopposition.

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Hitler called his government the Third Reich or Third Empire. He turned Germany into a

totalitarian state. Hitler used his power todestroy all opposition.

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Jews were persecuted. They lost theircitizenship, were forced to wear yellow

stars on their clothing, and were barred from marrying other Germans. They

were also forced into concentration camps.

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Human rights were suppressed. Peoplewere arrested and

executed without trial.Rival political parties were

closed. People were

sent to concentration camps.

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The Gestapo or Nazi secret police arrestedopponents, who were thrown into

concentration camps where they weremistreated, tortured, and killed.

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Questions for Reflection:

• Who was Adolf Hitler and what did he believe?

• Why did many Germans blame the leaders of the Weimar Republic?

• How did the Nazis gain power?• How did the Nazis violate people’s human

rights?• How did the Third Reich differ from the

Weimar Republic?