CHAPTER FIVE

 

Immediate Background of the Holocaust:  The Rise of Adolph Hitler, to 1933

 

 

“He was brought to power by those who drastically underestimated his ruthlessness and malevolence.”

 

 

Historical Context:  As Germany reeled from the loss of The Great War, the reparations imposed by the Treaty of Versailles, the hole in their national pride, and the Great Depression, political groups competed to hold power.  The Weimar Republic was generally perceived as weak, and tolerant toward the “unfair” demands of the Allied victors.  The time was ripe for overthrow.  But in spite of the struggles of the Weimar regime, one thing it did accomplish was a democratic process for a people used to monarchy.  And it was this new democracy that proved Germany’s undoing…

 

 

Rationale to Teach:  It has been said “no Hitler, no Holocaust”.  Your students will have the opportunity to take what they’ve learned over the previous four units and combine it with the biography and rise to power of the man regarded by many as evil incarnate and the single person most responsible for the ills toward the Jews during the Second World War.

 

Major Topics: 

 

  1. Biography
    1. Psychological characteristics
    2. Major life events
    3. World War I
    4. Post-World War I
  2. Fascism
  3. Beer Hall Putsch
  4. Reichstag elections of the 1920’s-‘30’s
    1. Who voted Nazi?

 

 

Comment: The life of Adolph Hitler can be covered in any number of ways.  Videos abound, as do source readings and biographies.  I tend to use a combination of them all.  Students come with a basic knowledge of the man; what most don’t realize is that he gained power through legal means.  That point needs to be hammered, as it will set up your discussion later on just how many people in Germany operated under a “What’s in it for me?” position when it came to cooperating or bystanding during the events of the Shoah.  Hitler’s life is a psychologist’s dream, and his rise to power is fascinating – students will follow it like a suspense story.

 

In the Resources section are some activities that I find incredibly useful.  I really feel it’s important to shake out of the lecture mode, or the straight video mode and give the students opportunities to express their ideas, use their creativity.  Don’t get me wrong – the videos out there are very well done these days, mixing archival footage with interviews with survivors and liberators: the people who lived the events.  But today’s student seems to possess the need to have history apply to his or her own situation.

 

 

Resources:

 

Classroom notes with lines of questioning/student interaction

 

The Century: Ultimate Power.  Videocassette.  © A&E Television Networks, 2000.  This is a good video, narrated by ABC’s Peter Jennings, that describes Hitler’s and his Nazis’ rise to power, culminating in the last weeks before the Enabling Act that gave Hitler dictatorial control of Germany.  Students will comment on the “mafia” techniques the Nazis employed in consolidating their power.

 

The German Election of 1932:  Party Platforms Exercise.  Facing History and Ourselves:  Holocaust and Human Behavior, Facing History and Ourselves National Foundation, Brookline, MA, 1994 (http://www.facinghistory.org/facing/fhao2.nsf/all/Holocaust+and+Human+Behavior+PDFs/$file/HHB+Chapter+3.pdf) – begins on page 38.  This is a fantastic activity that challenges students to look at seven “typical” Germans who would have voted in the 1932 German election.  Students have a great time in discussion with this; the results simply cannot be believed by the time the lesson concludes.  NOTE:  Please emphasize to your students that this activity is in no way indicative of the outcome of the election -- while your students may decide that a large majority of the persons in these case studies would have voted for the National Socialists in 1932, the Nazis never had a majority in the Reichstag!

 

Grobman, Gary, The Holocaust: A Guide For Teachers

*   Adolf Hitler © 1990 http://remember.org/guide/Facts.root.hitler.html,

*   Nazi Fascism and the Modern Totalitarian State © 1990 http://remember.org/guide/Facts.root.nazi.html,

*   First Steps Leading To the Final Solution © 1990 http://remember.org/guide/Facts.root.solution.html. 

Grobman gives us three chapters in his internet resource for the material covered here.  Questions and student activities are included.

 

Hitler: Mein Kampf.  Videocassette. © Kit Parker Films, 1960.  Black and white video surveying the Nazis’ rise.  Covers the war years as well, and intersperses Holocaust footage; the film concludes with some very stark images from the Shoah.

 

Hitler: Seduction of a Nation.  Videocassette.  © 1989.  Another good program, this one mixes archival footage with testimony from those who were there:  Hitler’s secretary, a member of the Hitler Youth, former German soldiers.  Footage from West German attempts at apology is included, which bring the topic to the present somewhat.

 

Back to The Holocaust:  Teaching the Shoah to High School Students