WWII+Hilter+Page+PABP

=**Hitler’s Rise to Power **=

Childhood
Hitler had a troubled childhood. His dad, Alois Hitler, was quite brutal, and his mom, Klara Hitler, died of breast cancer in 1907. Hitler dropped out of secondary school due to poor grades and moved to Vienna after his beloved mom died. He tried to make it as an artist and applied to the Academy of Fine Arts, but was rejected due to lack of skill. From then on he sold postcards and other various paintings on the street. This is where his passion of hatred for the Jews began, as he spiraled into depression.

Hitler’s Military Life
In 1913, Hitler moved to Munich, where he got called in to be examined for the Austrian army in February, but was rejected because he was unfit. In August 1914, when WWI broke out, Hitler was somewhat eager to enlist in the 16th Bavarian Reserve Infantry. At the end of the war, he was wounded and gassed; therefore he received the Iron Cross for bravery. After finding his place in the army, Hitler's nationalism began to grow. He took Germany's loss in the war and blamed it on the betrayal of the Jews.

Treaty of Versailles
At the end of WWI, Germany ended up having to take the blame for WWII in the Treaty of Versailles. The Treaty is what ended WWI, and gave closure to the rest of the world. It was signed by Germany at the Palace of Versailles outside Paris on June 28, 1919. The Treaty left Germany to pay 33 billion dollars in reparations. It was a bill they could not afford because of the already weak economy. In 1924, American banker Charles Dawes came up with the Dawes Plan that reduced Germany’s reparation bill to 2 billion dollars with an American loan. Germany still couldn't afford it, and spiraled deeper and deeper into a depression. The Treaty also said that Germany could not keep any of its overseas colonies or border territories.

The ending of WWI was a cause of WWII because of the high amount of reparations that Germany had to pay as part of the Treaty of Versailles. This led to economic depression and a general sense of anger among the German public. Citizens started looking for someone to solve their problems, and around came Adolf Hitler. He told German citizens what they wanted to hear, whether it was true or not. Many nations that were left weakened after the war (Italy, Austria, Hungary, Bulgaria, and others) were taken over by totalitarian rulers and tensions between those and the western democracies eventually led to war.


 * The Nazi Party **

In 1919 Hitler joined the German Worker's Party, later renamed the National Socialist German Workers, or Nazi Party. Because of his strong speaking skills and persuasive ways, he became the leader of the Nazi Party in 1921. With him in power, Hitler attempted the "beer-hall putsch", and intended to overthrow the Bavarian government. Hitler’s private army, the storm troopers, were surrounded by Bavarian Officials outside of the Munich beer hall. This spread Hitler's name around Germany. He quickly fled the scene but was later found and sentenced to five years in jail. His sentence got shortened to 9 months.

While incarcerated, Hitler started writing a book titled Mein Kampf, or “My Struggle”, that was focused on his plans for Germany and what he wanted to change. The book included his strategy for world domination, and his hatred of Jews. He wanted Lebensraum, or living space, for more German speakers. When the depression hit, the book became famous and the Nazi Party grew in seats.

Chancellor of Germany
Hitler lost the Presidential election of 1932 to Paul von Hindenberg. After seeing that the Nazi Party was the largest represented party, Hindenburg had no choice but to appoint Hitler Chancellor. Growing power hungry, Hitler got the Enabling act to be passed. The Enabling act granted him four years of dictator-like powers. From there, he began to take apart all German parties and took Jews from all government jobs. In August 1934, Hindenberg died and Hitler took over his powers. Instead of being called the President, Hitler took the name, the “Führer”, or Leader, of the Third German Reich.

Additional Points
Blitzkrieg, meaning lightning war, was used by Germany in their attack against Poland and numerous other nations. The overwhelming force made it hard for the enemy to fight back. To succeed in taking over, Germany used advanced weapons and tanks, as well as a German air force.

Adolf Eichmann was a part of Hitler’s private army and the head of the Gestapo. He was partly responsible for crime against Jews and the deportation of them from their homes to concentration camps in Poland.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Anti-Semitism, or hatred towards Jews, has always been around. When WWII erupted, Anti-Semitism was taken to a whole new level. Some people thought that Jews had too much political power, and it angered them. It also contributed to the U.S and other countries not accepting Jews into their country to escape from Hitler’s harsh ways.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Josef Goebbels was appointed head of the propaganda campaign by Adolf Hitler. He was the mastermind behind the propaganda campaign that persuaded the German people. He really built up Hitler’s image and made him seem God-like. Goebbels promoted the Nazi Party by using radio stations, magazines, journals, and rallies.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Rallies were assembled to promote national socialism. Most of the rallies were held in Nuremberg. The rallies included flag ceremonies, speeches by Nazi officials, and parades. There were nine rallies that basically celebrated the Nazi party and Adolf Hitler. Many people attended these and this is part of how Hitler came to power.

=<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;">Primary Documents =

Message to Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">“Three nations in Europe and one in Africa have seen their independent existence terminated. A vast territory in another independent Nation of the Far East has been occupied by a neighboring State. Reports, which we trust are not true, insist that further acts of aggression are contemplated against still other independent nations. Plainly the world is moving toward the moment when this situation must end in catastrophe unless a more rational way of guiding events is found.” – Franklin D. Roosevelt.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">This document is the Olive Brand Petition, in which FDR writes to Benito Mussolini and Adolf Hitler. In this excerpt he speaks about the aggression and invasions of certain nations by the two. He does not want war to erupt because of their actions; he wants to resolve it to prevent a war.

111 Message to Adolf Hitler on the Poland Crisis
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">“I appeal to you in the name of the people of the United States, and I believe in the name of peace-loving men and women everywhere, to agree to the solution of the controversies existing between your Government and that of Poland through the adoption of one of the alternative methods I have proposed.” – Franklin D. Roosevelt

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">This message was a reply to the previous message FDR had sent Hitler on April 14, with no response. This document was sent to Hitler to address the invasion of Poland. FDR proposed some methods in which Hitler could use to solve his problems with Poland and his Government.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;">Works Cited
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