Persecution of Jews

Once in power, Hitler put his anti-Semitic ideas outlined in 'Mein Kampf' into operation. 

• In 1933, Jewish shops and businesses were boycotted.
• In 1934, any Jews who were employed in Civil servant jobs were fired.
• Jews were banned from Public Places.
• The Nuremburg Laws of 1935, took away the Jew's rights to be German citizens. Marriages between Jews and non-Jews were banned.
• Many Jews began to leave Germany
• In November 1938, Jewish shops and synagogues were ransacked and destroyed in Kristallnacht (Night of the Broken Glass).
• Thousands of Jews were arrested over the following weeks, and 30,000 were sent to concentration camps.
• After 1939, the Final Solution (The extermination of Jewish people) began. This resulted in 6m Jews being killed.

Persecution of Other Groups

• Anyone who was not 'Aryan' suffered under the Nazis. Including, Blacks and Gypsies.
• People not 'socially useful' were put into concentration camps. e.g. Mentally and physically ill and tramps.

How did the Depression help the Nazis? 1929

How did the Depression help the Nazis?

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What was the depression?

• In 1929 the Wall Street Crash forced US banks to recall their loans to Germany.
• German industry was hit by a fall in demand and was unable to pay back loans from the USA.
• Millions of workers were unemployed as factories closed down.
• None of the government's methods to combat the Depression had any effect, which brought out all the weaknesses of the Weimar Republic.
• Coalition Groups were formed as different parties disagreed on how to solve the depression. This lead to it being increasingly hard to setup a coalition government.
• After 1929, a presidential emergency was declared, and Germany was ruled by the President.

How did these problems help the Nazis?

The Depression was a gift to Hitler & the Nazis as for every problem the people had, the Nazis had an explanation or a promise.

• The Weimar government is weak: You need strong leadership. Hitler is your man.
• Unemployment? The Nazis will get people back to work through road-building and public works.
• Worried about the communists? Look at the Nazi's SA, they know how to deal with them.

Summary: How did the Nazis do it?

The Depression was only part of the reason that the Nazis had such success. 

• Organisation
• The Nazis were extremely organised. Most of them had been soldiers in WW1, and carried the same obedience and determination with them into the party. They has skilled leaders at almost every level.
• Propaganda
• The Nazi National leaders were masters at propaganda. They trained their local groups with propaganda skills. They knew all the tricks in the book. They stirred up violence at election meetings, just so the SA could crush it and be seen as crushing the communist threat.
• Support of the Industrialists
• Hitler made sure to become friends with some of the rich right-wing parties in order to gain large amounts of financial support.
• Use of Technology
•  Hitler made the use of radio to make sure he really brought his message home, and every home in Germany could hear him. Furthermore, he made good use of aircraft so that Hitler could give up to 4 or 5 speeches at massive rallies each day. This hugely increased the number of people supporting him.
• Promise to Voters
• Every sector of German society heard what it wanted to hear. Workers were promised jobs, Employers were promised profits, farmers were promised higher prices and shopkeepers were promised protection against competition.
• Flexibility
• The Nazis were extremely flexible with their ideas. If an idea was losing them support, they would simply no longer mention it again. For example, they said they would nationalise industry, but the industrialists did not like that, so they simply never mentioned it again. They realised it doesn't matter what you promise, as long as people trust you. Furthermore, they promised many vague things, such as 'making Germany great again'.
• Hitler
• Hitler was the Nazi's party superman. He was the driving force behind things, and he kept improving and improving. He improved his speech writing, and was displayed in propaganda as a physically strong leader. He refused to wear spectacles in public, so had his speeches written in 12mm high print.
• Weakness of Opposition
• Other parties were very weak and consistently underestimated the Nazis. They often just argued amongst themselves, rather than uniting together to overcome the Nazis.

The Nazi Party 1924-33

The Nazi Party, 1924-33

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As the German economy improved, the Nazi party made very little progress. It only held 12 seats in the Reichstag in 1925. However, during this time it gained lots of members. By 1928 it had 100,000 members. Support for the Nazis grew, especially among certain groups of Germans who were attracted by                                                                                                                               nazi ideas.

• Nationalists who wanted to destroy the Treaty of Versailles.
• Racists who hated Jews and thoughts that Germans were superior.
• Business people who feared communism.
• Young people attracted by the parades and the future hope of a 'Great Germany'.

Growth of Support from 1929 to 1933.

Effects of Depression

• The Weimar republic could not solve the problems of Depression.
• The Nazis promised to end the Depression and unemployment.
• The Nazis were well organised and used propaganda to convey their messages. 

Electoral Gains

• 1930 Reichstag Election: 107 seats won.
• July 1932 Reichstag Election: 230 seats won. Largest party.
• November 1923 Reichstag Election: 196 Won. Remains largest party.
• April 1932 Presidential Election: Hitler lost to Hidenburg, but 13 million Germans voted for him.