The Rise of Nazism and World War II

Nazi Rule

Adolf Hitler was appointed chancellor of Germany on January 30, 1933, bringing an end to German democracy. Guided by racist and authoritarian ideas, the Nazis abolished basic freedoms and sought to create a "Volk" community. In theory, a "Volk" community united all social classes and regions of Germany behind Hitler. In reality, the Third Reich quickly became a police state, where individuals were subject to arbitrary arrest and imprisonment.

In the first months of his chancellorship, Hitler began a concerted policy of "synchronization," forcing organizations, political parties, and state governments into line with Nazi goals and placing them under Nazi leadership. Culture, the economy, education, and law came under greater Nazi control. Trade unions were abolished and workers, employees, and employers were forced into Nazi organizations. By mid-July 1933, the Nazi party was the only political party permitted in Germany. The Reichstag (German parliament) became a rubber stamp for Hitler's dictatorship. The Fuehrer's will became the foundation for government policy.

The appointment of Nazi party members to government positions increased Hitler's authority over state officials. According to the Nazi party's leadership principle, authority flowed down from above and absolute obedience towards one's superior was expected at each level of the Nazi hierarchy. Hitler was master of the Third Reich.

Focus Questions

1. What kind of community did Hitler's Third Reich want to create in Germany?  Describe its goal in your own words.
2. What was the Nazi policy of "synchronization"?  Who did it affect?
3. List three to five adjectives that describe Hitler and the Third Reich based on what you've learned from this passage.

World War II in Europe

During World War II, Germany overran much of Europe using a new tactic called the "Blitzkrieg" (lightning war). Blitzkrieg involved the massing of planes, tanks, and artillery. These forces would break through enemy defenses along a narrow front. Air power prevented the enemy from closing the breach. German forces encircled opposing troops, forcing them to surrender.

Using the Blitzkrieg tactic, Germany defeated Poland (attacked in September 1939), Denmark (April 1940), Norway (April 1940), Belgium (May 1940), the Netherlands (May 1940), Luxembourg (May 1940), France (May 1940), Yugoslavia (April 1941), and Greece (April 1941). Yet Germany did not defeat Great Britain, which was protected from ground attack by the English Channel.

German forces attacked the Soviet Union in June 1941, pushing more than 600 miles to the gates of Moscow. A second German offensive in 1942 brought German soldiers to the shores of the Volga River and the city of Stalingrad. But the Soviet Union, together with Great Britain and the United States, which had entered the war against Germany in December 1941, turned the tide of battle against Germany.

In the east, the battle for Stalingrad proved a decisive turning point. After the defeat at Stalingrad in winter of 1942-43, German troops began the long retreat. In April 1945 Soviet forces entered Berlin. In the west, Allied soldiers landed on June 6, 1944 (known as D-Day) in Normandy, France. More than two million Allied soldiers poured into France. In July, Allied forces broke out of the Normandy beachhead. The Allies continued the attack into Germany. In March 1945, Allied forces crossed the Rhine, advancing into the heart of Germany.

Nazi Germany surrendered in May 1945.

Focus Questions

1. How did Germany defeat all its neighboring countries?  Describe the tactic.
2. List the countries that Germany defeated between 1939 and 1941.  What does this say about Nazi military?
3. Take a look at Map #1 under the “Maps” page. What do you see?  What does this map say about Nazi military?
4. What three countries joined together to defeat Germany?  What year did Germany surrender?

German Rule in Occupied Europe

Germany planned to annex most of the conquered eastern territories after they had been Germanized. While some areas were to serve as reservations for forced laborers, most were to be resettled by German colonists. Most German plans for resettlement were postponed until the end of the war. Meanwhile, the regions were ruthlessly exploited for the German war effort: foodstuffs, raw materials, and war stocks were confiscated. Members of the local population were drafted for forced labor in war industries or military construction projects. Millions more were deported to Germany to be used as forced laborers in German war industries or agriculture.

German rule in Poland was extremely harsh. German authorities regarded the Polish population as a supply of forced laborers. A campaign of terror was directed against members of the Polish intelligentsia, many of whom were killed or sent to the camps. Polish teachers, priests, and cultural figures, who might form the core of a resistance movement, were especially targeted for persecution. The Germans destroyed Polish cultural and scientific institutions and plundered national treasures. Poles were supplied only with starvation rations, as the bulk of the country's food was confiscated by the Germans for their home front.

In occupied western Europe, far milder policies were followed. "Germanic" countries like the Netherlands were ultimately slated to become part of Germany. Other countries, especially France, were to be kept dependent on Germany.

As a result of the wartime German policies, resistance movements sprang up throughout Europe. Members of armed, irregular forces fighting the Germans in occupied areas of Europe were called partisans. They harassed the German civilian and military authorities across Europe, engaging in sabotage, demolition, and other diversionary attacks.

Focus Questions

1. Based on the first paragraph, define what "Germanized" means in your own words.
2. Based on the information in the article, make some kind of visual diagram (web, chart, illustration, etc) to map out who was affected by Nazi German rule in occupied Europe.  Your map should indicate how the Nazi government controlled each of these groups (people, institutions, entire countries).