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Home , Erich Ludendorff

Fascism Rises in Europe (Part 2) Hitler Becomes Chancellor (Review)

• Nazis biggest pol. party in 1932 • Hitler named chancellor in 1933 by Pres. Hindenburg • Called for new elections, got majority in parli. • Turns Germ. into a totalitarian state “By naming Hitler as Reichschancellor, you have delivered up our holy Fatherland to one of the greatest [rabblerousers] of all time. I solemnly [predict] that this accursed man will plunge our Reich into the abyss and bring our nation into inconceivable misery.” -Erich Ludendorff, letter to President Hindenburg, Feb. 1, 1933 Nazi rally in the Cathedral of Light, c. 1937 Hitler Becomes Chancellor

• Banned all pol. parties, opposition arrested • SS (, protection squad) was created – loyal only to Hitler • 1934 - SS arrest and murder 100s of Hitler’s enemies • – Nazi secret police • Brutality and terror shocked Germ. into obedience SS & Gestapo Annual midnight swearing-in of Nazi SS troops , 1938 Hitler Becomes Chancellor

• Took command of the econ. – Banned strikes, no labor unions – Command econ. – Built factories, highways, manu. weapons, etc. – Cut unemployment – ppl now had jobs • Unemployment dropped from 6 mil. To 1.5 mil in 1936 • TPS: Why did Germans at first support Hitler? Hitler Becomes Chancellor

• Control of every aspect of life • Turned media into propag. tools – Press, radio, literature, painting, and film – Books that did not conform were burned • (boys) & • Believed con’t struggle brought victory to the strong Hitler Youth & League of German Girls TPS: Why do you think Hitler had German children join Nazi organizations? Hitler’s War on the

• Anti-Semitism (hatred of Jews) key to Nazi ideology • Jews were scapegoats for Germ. problems since WWI • Beginning in 1933: Nazis passed laws depriving Jews of rights • Violence against Jews increased in Germ. – sanctioned by gov’t Other Countries Fall to Dictators

• Only Euro. nations w/ • E.Euro. hit hardest strong demo. traditions when fascists took stayed democratic power in It. and Germ. – Britain – 1919 – Hungary & – France Admiral Miklos Horthy – Scandinavian countries – 1926 – & Marshal Jozef Pilsudski • w/o demo. experience – 1935 – Czechoslovakia and severe econ. was only democracy in problems – dictators E.Euro. were seen as only way to prevent instability Other Countries Fall to Dictators

• By the mid-1930s, Euro. & other powerful nations of the world were split into two camps: – Democracy & totalitarian gov’ts • Summary Q: Why did the leadership of many European nations fall to and dictators?