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 * Hitler's Life **

Hitler was born in 1889 in Austria. Both of Hitler's parents died when he was young, his mother died when he was 13, and is father died when he was 19. Hitler was left to fend for himself. Hitler continued school however he had never achieved well. He dropped out of school when he was sixteen and applied at the Vienna School of Fine Arts. He was rejected. In 1914 Hitler moved to Munich, where he joined the military. During his time in war, he was awarded two Iron Cross medals.

The Treaty of Versailles stated that World War I was caused by Germany, and that they had to pay the debts. The debts cost about $33 billion, but the Dawes Plan reduced the debts to $2 Billion. Germany was still unable to pay the debts. Germany's dissatisfaction with this agreement is what is thought to be the cause for National Socialism in Germany. In 1935, the Chancellor Adolf Hitler canceled the military causes of the treaty. In 1935 he began militarizing Rhineland. The ending of WWI is a direct cause of WWII because Germany violated the Treaty of Versailles, causing other countries to intervene.

Hitler joined the German Workers Party, abbreviated DAP, when he got caught up in a debate the group was having while he was spying on one of their meetings. The leader of the group applauded his arguments and welcomed Hitler as the seventh member of the group. Hitler began his political career when organizing the first large scale public meeting of the DAP. After this event, Hitler had become the DAP’s public spokesman. On April 20th, 1920, the DAP changed their name to National Socialist German Workers Party. This was shortened to Nazi, the German word for nationalist.

In 1923, the Nazi party kidnapped government officials of German Bavaria. They marched with three thousand men through Munich, but army police stopped the rebels before they could reach Munich Center. Hitler ran off, but was soon captured and was found guilty of treason. He was imprisoned for 6 months and in that time he wrote //Mein Kampf ,// which became his manifesto for the Nazi party. The Nazi party received over 6 million votes in 1929, and German military and industrial leaders were approving of the Nazi party. In July 1932, the Nazis held most of the seats in the Reichstag. After much negotiation, Reichstag President Paul von Hindenburg had no other choice but to name Hitler as Chancellor.

Gestapo is an acronym for Geheim Staatspolizei, which in English means Secret State Police. The Gestapo was the political police for the Nazi party in Germany. The purpose of the Gestapo was to eliminate opposition against the Nazi party. The Gestapo was largely responsible for executed the majority of arrested Jews. The Gestapo operated outside of then normal German judicial system meaning that none of its decisions could be appealed.

The euthanasia program was established to fulfill Hitler’s goal of racial purity, in which he wanted an empire of people only of the Arian race. Euthanasia was one part of Hitler’s three part program of purification; the other two parts were direct extermination and mass sterilization. Specifically, the euthanasia program painlessly killed people suffering from genetic deformities, psychiatric illness, and mental retardation. Hitler believed people with such diseases or deformities would contaminate the Arian genes.

Blitzkrieg is a German word meaning “Lightning War”. The term is a military tactic in which the opposing force would be overwhelmed by a bombardment if different attacks. These attacks include: tanks, infantry, air assault, and artillery. One of the main purposes of Blitzkrieg was to cripple the opposing forces ability to coordinate a defense, while the attacking force kept advancing.

Schutzstaffel, mostly known as The SS, was a Nazi military organization. Schutztaffel literally means defense squadron. Lead by Heinrich Himmler, the SS evolved into a powerful army with the ideological views of Himmler. In the end of 1932, the SS had a powerful 52,000 members. An Austrian SS was formed in 1932, to prepare for the Anschluss. The Austrian SS was mainly led my Himmler, but sometimes it was independently lead by Ernst Kalktenbrunner and Arthur Setss-Inquart. The Austrian SS remained covert until after the Anschluss, until it was merged into the German SS.

The definition of propaganda is the dissemination of ideas and points of views that promotes ones cause of damage that of one’s enemies. Propaganda was widely used by all forces during WWII. Propaganda can be split into two types; white propaganda, which is based on fact, and black propaganda, which is fabricated to undermine an enemy’s morale or slow enemy military operations.


 * Primary Documents **


 * Opposing Nazi Euthanasia (1941) **– A priest, Clemens von Galen, wrote this sermon to protest Euthanasia. The sermon explains how innocent people were murdered due to their mental condition and how people should protest the hateful acts.

Clemens August Von Galen. "Opposing Nazi Euthanasia." Von Galen, Clemens August. "Three Sermons in Defiance of the Nazis." Church in History Information Centre. Available online. http://www.churchinhistory.org/pages/booklets/vongalen(n).htm. Accessed December 20, 2007. //Modern World History Online//. Facts On File, Inc. September 17, 2011


 * Testimony at Nuremberg (1946) -** A commandant of Auschwitz is on trial for major war crimes after WWII. Rudolf Franz Hoss explains how he ran the concentration camp and the techniques he used to kill hundreds of thousands people.

Höss, Rudolf Franz. "Testimony at Nuremberg Trials." In Ackermann, Marsha E., Michael Schroeder, Janice J. Terry, Jiu-Hwa Lo Upshur, and Mark F. Whitters, eds. //Encyclopedia of World History: Crisis and Achievement, 1900 to 1950//, vol. 5. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2008. //Modern World History Online//. Facts On File, Inc. September 17, 2011


 * <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Database Sources: **

Witherbee, Amy. "ADOLF HITLER." //Adolf Hitler// (2009): 1. //Biography Collection Complete//. EBSCO. Web. 18 Sept. 2011.

Biesinger, Joseph A. "euthanasia in Nazi Germany." //Germany: A Reference Guide from the Renaissance to the Present//, European Nations. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2006. //Modern World History Online//. Facts On File, Inc. September 17, 2011<http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?ItemID=WE53&iPin=GER0237&SingleRecord=True>

Axelrod, Alan. "Blitzkrieg." //Encyclopedia of World War II//, Volume I. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2007. //Modern World History Online//. Facts On File, Inc. September 17, 2011. <http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?ItemID=WE53&iPin=WWII0103SingleRecord=True>

Axelrod, Alan. "Gestapo." //Encyclopedia of World War II//, Volume I. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2007. //Modern World History Online//. Facts On File, Inc.September 17, 2011<http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?ItemID=WE53&iPin=WWII0261SingleRecord=True>

Axelrod, Alan. "Schutzstaffel (SS)." //Encyclopedia of World War II//, Volume II. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2007. //Modern World History Online//. Facts On File, Inc. September 17, 2011<http://www.fofweb.co/activelink2.asp?ItemID=WE53&iPin=WWII0575&SingleRecord=True>