1. History
Mystery
Use the clues to solve the history mystery…Who am I?

2. Who Am I?
 I was born on April 20, 1889 in Braunau, Austria.
 I had two older siblings who died when they were infants, one younger brother, Edmund, who
died when he was six, and one younger sister, Paula, who outlived me.
 My dad died when I was 13 and my mom died when I was 19…leaving me no relatives willing or
able to support me.
 I had a poor record in school and left before I graduated…I had ambitions to become an artist.
 In 1909, I moved to Vienna, Austria in the hopes of making a living. I sold some paintings to
provide a bit of money but it was not enough so I lived in homeless shelters and ate at soup
kitchens.
 Still penniless, I moved to Munich, Germany in 1913. When WWI broke out, I joined the army. I
was a decorated soldier earning promotions and medals of bravery. My only injury was temporary
blindness caused by a British gas attack in Ypres Salient.
 I joined the National Socialist Workers Party in 1919 and by 1921 I was a formidable leader of the
party.
 In 1923, I was arrested for treason and sentenced to five years in the Landsburg Prison. While in
prison, I dictated my thoughts and philosophies to Rudolf Hess who wrote a book.
 I became a German citizen on February 25, 1932. I ran for president but lost the election to
Hindenburg. Finally, in March 1934, Hindenburg died and I became “Fuehrer and Reich
Chancellor,” abolishing the title of president. Now, I had total control of the Nazi Party and
Germany.

3. Adolf Hitler
December 21, 1931 March 13, 1933 April 13, 1936 April 14, 1941 May 7, 1945

4. Adolf Hitler in His Teenage Years
 Didn’t work to earn his keep nor formally study
 Gained an interest in politics and history
 Twice denied admission to the Vienna Academy of Fine Arts,
rejections which angered him greatly
What if Adolf Hitler had been granted admission into this academy to study art?

5. Hitler’s Service in WWI
 Fought bravely in WWI and promoted to corporal
 Decorated with the Iron Cross Second Class and First Class
 Recommended for the award by a regimental captain who
was Jewish
Why is this ironic?
Notice the change in
the Iron Cross?

6. Adolf Hitler the Orator
 Joined German Workers’ Party after WWI
 Responsible for publicity and propaganda
 Presented to larger and larger audiences with great success
 February 1920: presented 25-point program of ideas which became the
party platform
 April 1920: changed party name to National Socialist German Workers
Party (Nazi for short)
ORATORY: skill or eloquence in
public speaking; the art of
public speaking
Why were Hitler’s oratory skills so important?

7. Origin of the Nazi Swastika
 Hitler continued to expand his influence in the party
 Formed a private group of thugs to quash disorder at party meetings and later to
break up rival party's meetings
– Sturmabteilung or S.A. - Hitler's brown shirted storm troopers
 Became regular main speaker at party events from then on
 Chose the swastika as the Nazi party emblem in summer of 1920
The word "swastika" comes from the
Sanskrit svastika - “sv" meaning "good or
well," "asti" meaning "to be,“ … translated
as “that which is associated with well-
being." Until the Nazis used this symbol,
the swastika was used by many cultures
throughout the past 3,000 years to
represent life, sun, power, strength, and
good luck. Because of the Nazis' flag, the
swastika soon became a symbol of hate,
anti-Semitism, violence, death, and murder.
The swastika is an extremely powerful symbol. The Nazis used it to murder millions of
people, but for centuries it had positive meanings. Does it now represent good or evil?

8. The swastika in the
decorative Hindu form.
Matilde Moisant in 1912 wearing a Swastika on the doorstep of an
“good-luck” swastika. Matilde was an apartment in Maharashtra, India.
American pilot, the second woman in
the country to get a pilot’s license.
The swastika is a holy symbol
in Jainism. Jainism is an
A picture of a Red Swastika ancient religion of India, also
Society member in China. now found in other countries
around the world, that
The group was active during prescribes a path of peace and
the 1920s and 1930s, similar Native American
non-violence towards all living
to the Red Cross. basketball team in 1909 beings.

9. Growth of the Nazi Party
 Hitler continued to build and strengthen Nazi Party up to November, 1923
 Plotted to overthrow the German Weimar Republic by force:
– His overthrow (coup) was unsuccessful
– Arrested for treason
 While in prison, he dictated his thoughts and philosophies to Rudolf Hess
which became the book Mein Kampf …meaning My Struggle.

10. Adolf Hitler’s Rise to Power
 Collapse of New York Stock Exchange on Wall St. in 1929 led to a
world wide depression which hit Germany especially hard:
 All loans to Germany from foreign countries dried up,
 German industrial production slumped,
 and millions were unemployed.
 Hitler campaigned hard for Nazi candidates, promising the public a
way out of their current hardship.
Why would an economic
depression lead to a
dictator like Adolf Hitler
coming to power?
In the 1930s, many German people starved to death,
like this little boy in the picture .

11. Hitler Youth and “Nazification” of Germany
 Hitler sets about the "Nazification" of Germany and release from Versailles
Treaty restrictions:
– Censorship was extreme including the press, films, radio, books and art
– All youth associations abolished and re-formed as Hitler Youth organization
Jungvolk Oath (taken by ten-year-old boys
on first entering the Hitler Youth)
"In the presence of this blood banner
which represents our Führer, I swear to
devote all my energies and my strength to
the savior of our country, Adolf Hitler. I am
willing and ready to give up my life for him,
so help me God."
Hitler Youth recruitment poster.
The wording translates to: "Youth "Every girl belongs to us"
serves the leader. All ten year- League of German
olds into the Hitler Youth." Maidens poster

12. Another Impact of Hitler’s Nazification:
Persecution of Jews in Germany
Nuremburg Laws of September 1935 persecuted and ostracized Jews from society.
 Jews no longer considered to be German citizens and therefore had no legal rights.
 Jews were no longer allowed to hold public office.
 Jews not allowed to work in the civil-service, the media, farming, teaching, the stock
exchange and eventually barred from practicing law or medicine.
 Hostility towards Jews from other Germans was encouraged; even shops began to
deny entry to Jews.
A motorcyclist reads a sign SA men carry banners which read
stating "Jews are not "Germans! Defend Yourselves! Do
welcomed here." Germany, Not Buy From Jews!" Berlin,
ca. 1935. Germany, March or April 1933.

13. Cover of an anti-Semitic German children's
book titled "Trust No Fox in the Green
Meadow and No Jew on his Oath." Germany, Illustration from an anti-Semitic
1936. children's primer. The sign reads "Jews
are not wanted here." Germany, 1936.

14. Hitler Defies the Versailles Treaty
 Army secretly tripled in size:
– from 100,000 man Versailles Treaty limit
to 300,000 men by October of 1934
 Navy strengthened:
– Hitler ordered construction of submarines
and large warships
 Hitler ordered training of air force pilots and
design of military aircraft
– creation of Luftwaffe (German Air Force)
 Openly declared the introduction of military
service and the creation of an army with 36
divisions (approx. 1/2 million men)
 All of these actions received little reaction from
Britain and France--appeasement
All the while, Hitler gave speeches proclaiming a desire for peace in Europe. A
quote from Hitler at that time: "Whoever lights the torch of war in Europe can
wish for nothing but chaos.“

15. Hitler and His Actions are Appeased
What if Britain and France had
objected to Hitler’s breaking of the
Versailles Treaty instead of
following a policy of appeasement?
APPEASEMENT is an approach to foreign relations which
attempts to maintain peace by making concessions to the
aggressor so as to prevent the aggressor from going to war.

16. So what was the big deal about the
Treaty of Versailles?