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Anthony Clifton
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TEACHER COMMENTS

Packet #1: Adolf Hitler

Assertion 1 Idea: The Rise of Adolf Hitler

Question 1: What was the state of Germany prior to Adolf Hitler coming to power?
Humiliated, early in 1919 they were forced to sign the Treaty of Versailles, which officially
brought the conflict to a close and imposed very harsh penalties on Germany. The country
had to cede some of its best industrial territories to the victors, pay huge reparations (moneys
to compensate for the damages suffered by its opponents), and overall lost much power and
prestige. APPROVED

Source #: 1
Citation: pg 21 Don Nardo
Question 2: How did Adolf Hitler gain support of the people?
APPROVED
Hitler developed a remarkable skill at this sort of manipulation and marveled at his own ability
to bend crowds to his will. His success as a demagogue laid in his ability to say what the
disaffected masses wanted to hear, to speak their language, to capture and exploit a
psychology of despair and invest it with a new hope for a phoenix-like resurgence of the
nation. He was able as no one else to give voice to popular hatreds, resentments, hopes, and
expectations. He spoke more stridently, more vehemently, more expressively and appealingly
than any of those with a similar ideological message.
Source #: 1
Citation: pg 25 Don Nardo
Question 3: How did Adolf Hitler solidify power? (if you dont know what solidify means, google it)
APPROVED By 1932, Hitler had enough support to run for president of Germany, though he
lost the election to Paul von Hindenburg. However, on January 30,1933, Hindenburg
appointed Hitler as chancellor of Germany. Within a year and a half, Hindenburg had died and
Hitler was able to take over both the position of president and chancellor and combine them
into one position of supreme leader, the Fhrer. After legally gaining power in Germany, Hitler
quickly began solidifying his position by putting those that disagreed with him into
concentration camps. He created massive amounts of propaganda that strengthened German
pride by blaming all their problems on communists and the jews.
Source #: 3
Citation: Jennifer Rosenburg, About History

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Assertion 2 Idea: Adolf Hitler maintenance of power
Question 1: How did Adolf Hitler improve/take steps to improve the economy?
The history of the economic crisis in Germany before the Second World War began with the
signing of the Treaty of Versailles in 1919. The WWI winners deprived the country of a part
of its territories with three-quarters of iron ore reserves. German was supposed to pay $33
billion of reparations. Germany plunged into the chaos of inflation. One US dollar cost 4.2
trillion Deutsch Marks. People were lining up for food brings bags of money along.
That was the time when Adolf Hitler urged the nation to switch to dictatorship to rescue the
nations economy. German authorities conducted a monetary reform in 1923, which made
the economy of the country grow.MOVE

Source #: 4
Citation: pravada.ru, pravada.com
Question 2: How did Adolf Hitler use his military to maintain control/expand his reign? (if
you dont know what reign means, google it)

All over Germany, the Nazis began a systematic takeover of government offices. Armed
storm troopers would barge into local government buildings, using the emergency decree to
throw out legitimate office holders, replacing them with Nazi commissioners. Now, as
democracy waned, Hitler demanded the passage of an additional law that would make
dictatorship legal. Officially entitled the Law for Removing the Distress of the people and the
Reich, this Enabling Act, as it came to be known, granted Hitler extraordinary constitutional
powers, including the ability to pass laws, control the budget, and approve treaties with
foreign governments.
Source #: 6
Citation: Philip Gavin, pg 27
Question 3: How did Adolf Hitler maintain control over the people/manipulate the people to
maintain control?
APPROVED The Nazi party controlled everything: the news media, arms, police, the armed
forces, the judiciary system, communications, travel, all levels of education from
kindergarten to universities, all cultural and religious institutions. Political indoctrination
started at a very early age, and continued by means of the Hitler Youth with the ultimate
goal of mind control. Children were exhorted in school to denounce even their own parents
for derogatory remarks about Hitler or Nazi ideology.
Source #: 6
Citation: Philip Gavin, pg 36

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Assertion 1 Idea: Adolf Hitler fall from power
Question 1: When did things begin to go terribly wrong for Adolf Hitler?
Beset by a dwindling supply of manpower and ever-increasing Allied aerial and ground
attacks, the once mighty German military machine slowly began to unravel. The war of
conquest Hitler had launched in 1939 had now evolved into a struggle to save Nazi Germany
itself from annihilation. Above all, the Germans feared the colossal Russian army steadily
inching its way toward Germany from the east. After the fall of Stalingrad, German troops in
Russia had managed to regroup and go on the defensive but were continually losing ground.
In summer 1943, Hitler decided to gamble for victory one last time in Russia, and stave off
disaster for Nazi Germany.
Source #: 7
Citation: Philip Gavin, pg 84
Question 2: How did military losses in WWII affect the stability of Adolf Hitlers rule?
As the war turned increasingly against Germany, disagreements became more frequent. Hitler
still expected to win while some generals were trying to find a less messy way of losing. None
advised against going to war with the United States. For the 1942 offensive in the east, Hitler
and his military leaders agreed on striking in the south; this project ended in disaster at
Stalingrad. A new major offensive in 1943 not only ended in defeat at Kursk but also was
followed by the first successful Red Army summer offensive.

Source #: 8
Citation: History.com
Question 3: How did the peoples loss of faith in Adolf Hitler affect his rule/control of the
country?
It was a kind of religious fervor that had nothing to do with the realities of the war situation
itself. Hitler constantly talked about will. His attitude was, if you will it, you can do it. This was
part of his appeal. People saw him as a strong figure, a man of destiny, able to convey the
absolute conviction that he was correct. He had a mission and a will to fulfill it.
Even when things were completely over for Germany, people continued to follow Hitler.

Source #: 9
Citation: PBS.com
Question 4: How does Adolf Hitler die?

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Der Fuhrer, Adolf Hitler, dictator of Germany, burrowed away in a refurbished air-raid shelter,
consumes a cyanide capsule, then shoots himself with a pistol, on this day in 1945, as his
1,000-year Reich collapses above him. Hitler had repaired to his bunker on January 16, after
deciding to remain in Berlin for the last great siege of the war. At his side were Eva Braun,
whom he married only two days before their double suicide, and his dog, an Alsatian named
Blondi.
Source #: 8
Citation: History.com