Rise of Adol Hitler and World War II Notes

 The Treaty of Versailles, signed in 1919 after World War I, placed severe penalties in Germany: Germany had to
accept full responsibility for the war, pay massive reparations, give up territory, and limit its military. The economic
burden of the reparations led to high inflation, unemployment, and a struggling economy.
 November 8, 1923, Hitler, along with other Nazi Party, marched into a beer hall in Munich where government
officials were meeting. Hitler aimed to use force to take control of the government in Bavaria and then march to
Berlin to seize power. However, the coup failed.
 Appeasement was a policy used by Britain and France in the 1930s to avoid war by making concessions to aggressive
nations.
 The United Kingdom, led by Prime Minister Winston Churchill, was one of the first countries to oppose Nazi
Germany. Britain declared war on Germany on September 3, 1939, following the invasion of Poland.
 Germany’s military was powerful, using strategies like Blitzkrieg (lightning war) to swiftly overrun enemy forces.
 Adolf Hitler was born on April 20, 1889, in Braunau am Inn, Austria, a small town near the German border.
 Hitler performed poorly in school and eventually dropped out. His ambitions of becoming an artist, however, were
met with failure. In 1907, after his mother's death, he moved to Vienna with hopes of attending the prestigious
Academy of Fine Arts, but he was rejected twice, first in 1907 and again in 1908. This rejection left him feeling
humiliated and bitter, and he struggled to make a living.
 The Reichstag (parliament) building caught fire. Hitler blamed communists because he wanted to eliminate them as
an opponent and used this event to pass the Enabling Act, which gave him total dictorial power allowing him to
enact laws without approval from others. On February 27, 1933, the Reichstag building burned down.
 The war began when Germany, led by Adolf Hitler, invaded Poland on September 1, 1939. This caused Britain and
France to declare war on Germany. As this violated the guarantee that Britain and France previously given to Poland
to protect its borders.
 In 1941, Japan attacked the U.S. naval base at Pearl Harbor, leading the United States to enter the war.
 The Nazis used effective propaganda to spread their anti-Semitic message, portraying Hitler as the saviour of
Germany.
 Economic Crisis– The Great Depression (1929) led to massive unemployment and poverty, causing Germans to seek
strong leadership. Hitler promised economic recovery and job creation.
 Weakness of the Weimar Republic– The democratic government was unstable, struggling with political divisions and
frequent leadership changes, making it easy for Hitler to gain support by criticizing it.
 Nazi Propaganda and Promises– Hitler and the Nazi Party used powerful propaganda, appealing speeches, and
promises of restoring Germany’s former glory to gain public trust and support.
 Control of Media– The Nazis took control of newspapers, radio, and films to spread their ideology, ensuring only
pro-Nazi messages were heard.
 Posters and Slogans– Eye-catching posters and simple, powerful slogans reinforced loyalty to Hitler.
 Censorship and Suppression– Books and media opposing Nazi ideas were banned or burned, silencing dissent and
controlling public opinion.
 Public Rallies and Speeches– Large rallies, such as those in Nuremberg, and Hitler’s emotional speeches stirred
nationalistic pride and obedience.
 Treaty of Versailles– The harsh terms of the 1919 treaty humiliated Germany, imposing heavy reparations, territorial
losses, and military restrictions, which fuelled German resentment and a desire for revenge.
 Rise of Dictorial Leaders– Dictators like Adolf Hitler, Benito Mussolini, and Emperor Hirohito pursued aggressive
expansion, defying international agreements.
 Policy of Appeasement– Britain and France allowed Hitler to violate the Treaty of Versailles and expand German
territory (e.g., remilitarizing the Rhineland, annexing Austria, and taking the Sudetenland) to avoid war. This
encouraged further aggression.
 Failure of the League of Nations– The League was too weak to stop aggressive nations like Germany, Italy, and
Japan, failing to enforce peace.
 Invasion of Poland– On September 1, 1939, Germany invaded Poland, leading Britain and France to declare war,
officially starting World War II.
 Great depression!
World War II and The Holocaust
 Auschwitz-Birkenau – The most infamous and largest death camp, where over 1.1 million people were murdered in
gas chambers.
 The Holocaust - One of the darkest events in human history, during which millions of Jewish people and other
targeted groups were imprisoned and murdered by the Nazis.
 Heydrich played a significant role in organizing the Wannsee Conference in 1942, where high-ranking Nazi officials
secretly discussed and planned the Final Solution.
 D-Day was the Allied invasion of Normandy on June 6, 1944. It was important because it marked the beginning of
the liberation of Western Europe from Nazi control and ultimately led to the defeat of Germany.
 In 1942, the Nazis began the “Final Solution”, a plan to exterminate all Jews in Europe.
 The Final Solution led to the mass extermination of Jewish communities across Europe. Entire families, towns, and
cultures were wiped out, leaving deep scars on Jewish history and heritage.
 Concentration camps were prisons where the Nazis sent people they believed were threats to their rule. Unlike
normal prisons, people were not put in these camps because of crimes they committed but because of their race,
religion, political beliefs, or disabilities.
 Germans believed the Aryan race was superior and the Roma (Gypsies), Disabled Individuals, Soviet Prisoners of
War, Poles, Slavs, and Political Dissidents were inferior.
 The Nuremberg Trials (1945-1946) were important because they held Nazi leaders accountable for war crimes,
crimes against humanity, and genocide. These trials established the legal precedent that individuals could be
punished for crimes against international law.
 In Europe, the war ended on May 8, 1945 when Germany surrendered.
 In the Pacific (Japan), the war ended on September 2, 1945 after the United States dropped atomic bombs on
Hiroshima (August 6, 1945) and Nagasaki (August 9, 1945), leading to Japan's surrender.
 Ghettos were segregated urban areas where Jews were forced to live under terrible conditions. The Nazis used
ghettos to isolate, control, and weaken Jewish populations before deporting them to concentration and
extermination camps.
 Two major Nazi death camps were Auschwitz-Birkenau and Treblinka.
 The Nazis used gas chambers, mass shootings, starvation, forced labour, and medical experiments to systematically
kill millions of people.
 The Allied forces liberated concentration and death camps between 1944-1945. The Soviets liberated Auschwitz in
January 1945, while the Americans freed Buchenwald and Dachau in April 1945. The British liberated Bergen-Belsen.
 Consequences of the Holocaust:
 Massive Loss of Life: Around 6 million Jews and 5 million others were murdered, leading to one of the darkest
periods in history.
 Displacement and Refugee Crisis: Many survivors had nowhere to return as their homes and families were
destroyed. Some emigrated to countries like the U.S., Canada, and Israel.
 The Creation of Israel (1948): The Holocaust intensified global support for the establishment of a Jewish
homeland in Palestine, leading to the founding of Israel.
 The Allies (Britain, USA, Soviet Union, France, and others) fought against Nazi Germany, Italy, and Japan. The Soviet
Union played a major role in defeating Nazi Germany on the Eastern Front. The USA and Britain led invasions in
Africa, Italy, and France (D-Day). The Allies defeated Japan through island-hopping campaigns and atomic bombings.
 The atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki (August 1945) forced Japan to surrender. The bombs caused
massive destruction and over 200,000 deaths. The U.S. used the bombs to avoid a land invasion of Japan, which
could have caused even more deaths. The bombings demonstrated U.S. military superiority and started the nuclear
arms race. The war ended shortly after Japan’s surrender on September 2, 1945.
 In Europe after the Holocaust, millions of Jewish families were wiped out, and entire communities were destroyed.
Many survivors were left without homes, leading to a massive refugee crisis. Countries like the U.S. and Britain had
to accept displaced Holocaust survivors. The genocide also exposed the dangers of racism and anti-Semitism, leading
to increased human rights awareness. The world responded by creating the United Nations (1945) to prevent future
atrocities. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948) was adopted to protect fundamental freedoms. The
Holocaust also led to the establishment of Israel in 1948, providing a homeland for Jewish people. The Nuremberg
Trials set a legal precedent for prosecuting war crimes.