Steps Leading to the Final Solution
- 2. Hitler Rises to Power By July 1932, Nazis had 230 seat in the Reichstag (German parliament)
- 3. Hitler Rises to Power Radical Nazis wanted to seize power, but Hitler insisted he wanted to come to power legally. Von Papen, the chancellor in 1932, agreed to become vice-chancellor to Hitler and the rising Nazi party
- 4. Hitler Rises to Power Von Papen believed he would be able to control Hitler. He promised as vice-chancellor he would always accompany Hitler in his talks with the president. So…
- 5. Hitler Rises to Power On January 30, 1933, Hitler became chancellor at age 43 Among Hitler’s first actions was to dismantle to Communist party.
- 6. Reichstag Fire A fire destroyed the Reichstag Building on February 27, 1933. Hitler blamed the Communists. Although the case is still somewhat disputed, the fire was very likely started by the Nazis.
- 7. Reichstag Fire The Reichstag Fire symbolically destroyed the only remaining institution that could rein in Hitler’s thirst for power.
- 8. Protective Custody Rules Hitler forced President Hindenburg to sign a decree that was “For the Protection of the People and State.”
- 9. Protective Custody Rules This decree suspended all of the basic rights of citizens and imposing the death sentence for arson, sabotage resistance to the decree and disturbances to public order. Arrests could be made on suspicion, and people could be sentenced to prison without trial or the right of council.
- 10. The Enabling Act March 5, 1933, the Nazi Brown Terror broke loose. By making the Communist threat official, Hitler threw millions of Germans into a panic.
- 11. The Enabling Act Arrests multiplied while truckloads of Stormtroopers rampaged through the streets, broke into homes, rounded up victims, and took them to barracks where they were beaten and tortured.
- 12. The Enabling Act On March 23, the last Reichstag meeting took place in an opera house. Here, members were forced to pass the Enabling Act, which granted the cabinet under Hitler the authority to enact laws without the participation of the Reichstag .
- 13. The Enabling Act When President Hindenburg died in August 1934, Hitler also became commander-in-chief of the armed forces as well as President and Fuhrer of the German Reich.
- 14. The Nazi Boycott of Jewish Stores After the Enabling Act was passed, violence against Jews escalated. A boycott committee was formed and a list of businesses and individuals to be boycotted were published.
- 15. The Nazi Boycott of Jewish Stores From April 1 to April 3, Nazi pickets were posted in front of stores and factories belonging to Jews. This boycott revealed the completeness and efficiency of Nazi information on Jewish economic life.
- 16. The Nazi Boycott of Jewish Stores It also strengthened the idea that it was permissible to damage and destroy.
- 17. “ Retirement” On April 7, the German government dismissed all workers not of Aryan descent. This was the first instance of discrimination based on race.
- 18. “ Retirement” Jewish teachers, lawyers, and performers were not allowed to work The slaughter of animals for food under Jewish kosher laws were banner on April 21 st On April 25 th , Jewish admission to universities was limited to 1.5% of the total
- 19. “ Retirement” September 28 th , Jews were excluded from all artistic, dramatic, literary, and film enterprises On September 29 th , Jews could no longer own farmland Eventually, 400 specific anti-Jewish laws were passed
- 20. “ Retirement” Terror continued against Jews Many were beaten to death for being in the wrong place at the wrong time Some committed suicide while others fled to Palestine or other countries they thought would be safe
- 21. Nazi Concentration Camps In 1933, ten concentration camps were set up in Germany, the first in Dachau Their purpose was to imprison political opponents, then for specific victims such as Jews and homosexuals.
- 22. Nazi Concentration Camps Concentration camps were intended to break the prisoners as individuals and to spread terror among the population Hitler said “Terror is the most effective political instrument… there must be no weakness or tenderness.”
- 23. Instruments of Nazi Terror There were three organizations of terror in the Nazi hierarchy: The Gestapo The S.S., or the Elite Guard And the S.D., or Security Service
- 24. Instruments of Nazi Terror The Gestapo Also called the Secret State Police They were first used against political opponents The role of the Gestapo was to investigate and combat “all tendencies dangerous to the state.”
- 25. Instruments of Nazi Terror It had the authority to investigate treason, espionage and sabotage cases, and cases of criminal attacks on the Nazi Party and Germany They quickly expanded as an arm of the dreaded S.S. or “Black Shirts”
- 26. Instruments of Nazi Terror The S.S. or Elite Guard Originally set up as a protective guard for Hitler. Only those who were Hitler’s most loyal followers and racial fanatics were allowed to be a member. It ultimately developed into a vast empire of terror Membership in the S.S. reached 52,000 by 1933
- 27. Instruments of Nazi Terror The S.D., or Security Service Sub structure within the S.S., they only had about 3000 members It was the Nazi’s intelligence unit, prying into the lives of all Germans Consisted of bright, university trained men.
- 28. The Night of the Long Knives On June 30, 1934, Rohm (a Nazi commander) as well as several hundred SA troops were branded as traitors of the state, and systematically murdered. This was a purge of the Nazi party Immediately, the control of the concentration camps was handed to S.S. control
- 29. Book Burnings On May 10, 1933, in Berlin, a series of book burnings took place. Works of world class authors and Jewish writers were burned in huge bonfires under Joseph Goebbels, the Propaganda Minister.
- 30. Nuremberg Laws These laws were passed on September 15, 1935 They were a series of laws that were outline in Hitler’s book “Mein Kampf” These laws stripped Jews of all basic civil rights The laws included the following:
- 31. Nuremberg Laws Reich Citizenship Law German citizenship was reserved for those who were “a national of German or related blood” The Law for the Protection of German Blood and Honor Forbade marriage and sexual contact between Jews and Aryans
- 32. Nuremberg Laws Jews were defined as a separate race They were further defined as persons having three Jewish grandparents, two Jewish grandparents if they belonged to the Jewish religious community before September 15, 1935, or if they were married to a Jew as of that date.
- 33. Nuremberg Laws
- 34. Nuremberg Laws The Nazis now had a definition of who could be considered a Jew, leading ultimately to the destruction of European Jews.
- 35. Nuremberg Laws Once Jews could be defined and identified, they could now be segregated socially, politically, and economically from other Germans. Their property could also be confiscated.
- 36. Nuremberg Laws By the time the Nuremberg Laws were proposed, 75,000 German Jews left the country. Thousands others left because they did not fit into the profile of “Aryan” according to the Nazi party.
- 37. Nuremberg Laws About 40% of the Jews who emigrated chose Palestine as their destination. Almost 10,000, including Albert Einstein, went to the United States. Others went to Canada and South Africa, as well as other European countries.
- 38. Why Many Jews Remained in Germany Until 1935, when the Nuremberg Laws were passed, Nazis differed on what to do with German Jews. Jewish culture as well as physical survival seemed possible. The Jewish community as a whole was not threatened until 1938, and between 1933 and 1935, persecution of Jews seemed to stop.
- 39. Why Many Jews Remained in Germany In the early 1930’s, there was a general belief that the Nazi regime would not last. Jewish attachment to Germany was very strong, and they hoped for support from the non-Nazis in the German Cabinet. However, as the years passed, hope for Jewish survival in Germany dwindled, as Hitler’s plan for extermination of the Jewish population went into full effect.