Ch. 28.3 Guided Notes

What year was the Enabling Act passed? How did it give Hitler control of Germany?

1933; It suspended the constitution so that Hitler no longer needed the Reichstag or the president to approve his actions.

How and why did Hitler and the Nazis rise to power?

Hitler's racism and his use of extreme German nationalism, strong anti-Semitism, Social Darwinism, and anticommunism; the economic crisis that caused German voters to be open to radical leaders; Hitler used the Enabling Act, propaganda through mass media, and the implementation of terror through the SS to support his rise to power

How did Hitler manipulate the term "Aryan" for Nazi purposes?

The Nazis misused the term to identify the Aryans with the ancient Greeks and Romans and twentieth-century Germans and Scandinavians.

What was Kristallnacht?

Kristallnacht (or, the "night of shattered glass") marked the beginning of a violent phase of anti- Semitism in which Jewish synagogues and businesses were destroyed, and 30,000 Jewish males were sent to concentration camps. Following this, Jews were barred from public buildings and transportation and prohibited from owning, managing, or working in any retail store. They were encouraged to emigrate from Germany.

What did the Nazis do with their new power?

Political parties other than the Nazi Party were abolished, and all Jews were removed from civil service. The Nazis set up concentration camps for people who opposed them.

What was at the core of Hitler's ideas?

Racism, especially anti-Semitism, coupled with extreme nationalism, supported by anticommunism and Social Darwinism.

How did the Nazis promote their ideas?

They promoted the Nazi message through mass demonstrations, live spectacles, and the new mass media of radio and film

How did Hitler use economic programs and the Schutzstaffeln to strengthen the Nazis' power in Germany?

The Schutzstaffeln, or secret police, were used to maintain order through terror. A massive rearmament program led to a drastic reduction in unemployment between 1932 and 1937, which induced people to accept Nazi power.

What theory did Hitler emphasize in Mein Kampf?

The right of superior nations to overtake lesser ones and the right of superior individuals to gain authoritarian leadership over masses.

What were the Nuremberg laws?

These racial laws excluded Jews from citizenship, stripped them of civil rights, and required them to wear yellow stars and carry cards saying they were Jewish. Jews were forbidden to marry German citizens.

How did the economic climate in Germany help the Nazis rise to power? When did this occur?

Unemployment had increased dramatically between 1931 and 1932, increasing German dissatisfaction with the Weimar Republic. This occurred in 1933.