In 1918 Adolf Hitler was a wounded corporal in the defeated German army.
In 1923 he tried to take power by force in the city of Munich. He failed and was sent to prison.
But by 1933 he was the leader of Germany.
A year later he had total power. He decided the law. Anyone who opposed him was imprisoned or killed. He started building up the armed forces, leading to the Second World War, the most devastating war in world history. Millions - mainly civilians - would die all over the world and the Nazis would try to murder all the Jews and Gypsies in Europe.
But Hitler didn't come to power by force. He was voted in.
Why?
Did Hitler come to power because of his own actions, his own skills?Or did he just take advantage of outside events that gave him opportunities?
Task 1: go to the The Rise of Hitler Quiz and answer the questions using a copy of Modern Minds. Type your name at the top of the page and print out your finished work.
Task 2: Do every stage of the Rise of Hitler interactive. At the end it takes you to other sites you can explore.
Task 3: Now answer the following question as fully as you can, backing up your argument with evidence. Did Hitler come to power because of his own actions or because of other events?
1 comment:
I think there are a lot of reasons why Hitler came to power. The reasons we all know: “Dolchstoß-Legende” and the lost German WW I . The Treaty of Versailles, which the Germans saw as a deep shame and humiliation. And there was the horrible situation in Germany after the war with unemployment and the political and social fights between different political groups (Communists and Nationalists, etc.).
But there are also special circumstances which are not that popular to the mass. Namely the secret supporters of Hitler in his early political days and also Hitler` s self-portrayal, which made him become that powerful.
When Hitler talked about himself he never claimed to be anything other than a secular politician. But that is not how he truly saw himself. His self-image is crucial. This is where his persuasiveness has its roots and it was his persuasiveness that ultimately made him so successful:
After he was injured during the WW I, he was sent to a hospital at “Pasewalk”. The official version was his so called blindness after a poisonous gas exposure. But truly the hospital was a special institution, where soldiers were treated who suffered from war neurotics. There Hitler was described as “a psychopath with hysterical symptoms” by his doctor called “Foster”. After his stay in hospital, Hitler was totally transformed. That` s also what close friends of him reported. From that day onwards he believed in “providence” and the “almighty will” (also in connection with natural laws), which he saw represented through himself. He said things like: ‘I’ve been given an order by God.’ And he truly believed it. His self-image is crucial.
During my studies in history I came across an absolutely stunning new book which contains information that I have found nowhere else. The title is: “Young Hitler”. Claus Hant, the author of the book, points out “this was only a tactical manouvre, it is not how he saw himself”. Therefore Hitler was not just the politician according to reason he claimed to be. The book also contains an appendix, which explains what latest research has uncovered about the important aspects in Hitler's development. In reality, he considered himself to be the founder of a religion. There are also some examples of his early speeches (and in Mein Kampf) in this book, where sometimes his true self-image shines through and then he calls himself a “tool of providence”. The more power he got, the less he spoke about his true beliefs. There is also lots of useful information in the website of “Young Hitler”.
And Hant also mentions the secret supporters of his early days: the so called “Thule Society”, a secret brotherhood. The spiritual concepts of these factions can be grouped under the term “Ariosophy”, coined by the Austrian seer Guido von List. They were anti-Semites and waited for a prophet or “Führer”, who will free and support the Arian race. Those Thule members not only supported Hitler with money and connections, but also mentally. They believed, that Hitler was their expected savior. Popular members of the close Nazi circle were for example Rudolf Hess, Hans Frank, Alfred Rosenberg and Dietrich Eckart. Latest history research has accepted as fact, that those individuals were members of the Thule society. At first you always need a specific little group, which totally beliefs in you, so that soon many people can follow.
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