The Rise of Hitler Reading Guide

Name ______Date ______Period _____

THE RISE OF HITLER READING GUIDE

Directions: Use pages 479-483 in your textbook to fully answer the questions below. Some of the questions require careful thought as you read.

1. What is the message of Hitler’s Voices from the Past quote at the start of the reading?

2. According to the book, what three things did Hitler have a talent for using?

3. What does the word “Nazi” stand for?

4. What event caused Hitler to go to prison? What was the purpose of that event?

5. What are the four key philosophies expressed in Mein Kampf?

6. Explain the concept of lebensraum. How is this idea imperialistic?

7. What was the Nazi Party plan for taking over German government?

8. What is the proper name for the German parliament?

9. According to the teacher, how did German’s see Hitler?

10. Why would the right-wing Germans (industrialists, aristocrats, military officers, and bureaucrats) have feared a communist takeover, thus causing them to rally behind Hitler?

11. What political position did Hitler acquire through President Hindenburg in 1933?

12. Why was the Enabling Act important to Hitler’s control of Germany? Read all of pg.480 before answering… 13. What was the Third Reich?

14. Explain Hitler’s bold text quote on page 481 in your own words.

15. If, as Hitler said, “The time of personal happiness is over”, what do you think Hitler and Germans believed that the new epoch would be?

16. What examples of SS terror does the book give?

17. What programs did Hitler use to combat unemployment? Which was the most important?

18. How successful were Hitler’s economic programs? How was that related to his ability to rule the country? Explain.

19. How did mass demonstrations and meetings contribute to the success of the Nazi Party?

20. Explain the Nazi beliefs regarding the role and purpose of women.

21. List four effects of the Nuremberg Laws.

22. What was Kristallnacht?

23. Critical Thinking: After everything you have read it seems pretty clear that much of what the Nazis are doing is wrong. None of this is a secret – at least at some level, the world knows what is going on. Why do you think the nations of the world are not intervening to stop the blatant evils of totalitarianism in Nazi Germany?