These slides summarise the impact of Hitler's rule over Germany. Just like Stalin's Soviet Union, Hitler's Germany was impacted in 3 areas - political, social and economic.

1. Hitler’s Germany

2. Primary Objective
What was the impact of
Hitler’s rule over Germany?

3. Impact of
Hitler’s Rule
Political
Impact
Economic
Impact
Social
Impact

4. Political Impact
Creation of the ‘Fuhrer’ Position, Aug 1934
Night of the Long Knives, Jun 1934
One Party Rule, Jul 1933
Enabling Act, Mar 1933
Reichstag Fire, Feb 1933

5. Political Impact
Consolidation of power
How did Hitler gain absolute power over Germany in 18 months?!
Reichstag Fire  Invoked Article 48 to destroy the Communist Party
Enabling Act  Intimidated parliament into enabling the Chancellor (Hitler) to
make decisions without the President’s approval
One Party Rule  Nazi Party was made the only legal party in Germany; other
political parties and trade unions were disbanded
Night of the Long Knives  Hitler made a deal with the army: he would
exterminate the SA and the army would pledge an oath of allegiance to him
Creation of the Fuhrer position  Powers of the President and Chancellor were
combined into a new position of Fuhrer, which gave him absolute power

6. Impact of
Hitler’s Rule
Political
Impact
Economic
Impact
Social
Impact

7. Economic Impact
Under the Nazis, the German economy actually experienced
some improvement – but these improvements came at a cost
(R2S2M)
• Re-employment
• Rise of big industries
• State control of trade unions
• State organisation of leisure time
• Militarisation
Benefitted the German economy
Restricted German
workers

8. Economic Impact
R2
Re-employment Rise of big industries
• Workers employed for public
works (e.g. roads,
expressways/Autobahn, public
buildings)
• Helped to reduce
unemployment
• Provided infrastructure
and facilities for the people
• Nazis supported big industries
because they wanted Germany to
become self-sufficient
• Examples of big industries
include oil, steel, car
manufacturing, etc.
• Nazis supported industries that
produced armaments (weapons)
for war
• Big industries donated to the
Nazi Party in exchange for Nazi
assistance

9. Economic Impact
S2
State control of trade unions State control of leisure time
• Trade unions were abolished
• All workers were forced to join
the DAF (German Workers
Front, a Nazi-controlled
‘union’)
• Workers were not allowed to go
on strike or ask for better pay
• Needed government permission
to change jobs
• Economy improved
• More people had work
• Workers’ rights and benefits
were worse off
• Nazi propaganda praised
workers for their efforts
• ‘Strength through Joy’ scheme
provided cheap entertainment
• ‘Beauty of Labour’ movement
helped to improve working
conditions
• Workers had entertainment and
better factories but their
activities were controlled and
monitored carefully

10. Economic Impact
Militarisation
• Jobs were created by building
up the German military
• Conscription (compulsory
military service) meant that
many military-related jobs were
created
• Germany also created many
jobs by modernising its air
force (known as the Luftwaffe)

11. Impact of
Hitler’s Rule
Political
Impact
Economic
Impact
Social
Impact

12. Social Impact
Under Nazi Germany, social life was completely controlled
by the state. This is known as a totalitarian regime (p. 96).
(CP3)
• Censorship
• Propaganda
• (Secret) Police
• Persecution (of Jews and other minority groups)
• Impact upon women and youth

13. Social Impact
Censorship
• All works by German writers, poets, artists, etc. was screened by the Nazi
Party
• Listening to foreign news was punishable by death
• Goebbels organised book-burning events
Propaganda
• Hitler established a Ministry of Propaganda with Goebbels as its head
• Propaganda focused on Hitler’s ability to restore German pride and power
• The Nuremberg rallies were the iconic demonstrations of Nazi propaganda
Joseph Goebbels was the man tasked to control the way
the German people thought and what they believed

14. TheNurembergRallies

15. Social Impact
Secret Police
• The Schutz-Staffel (SS) created and ran concentration camps that
tortured Jews and others who disagreed with Hitler
• The Gestapo spied on and arrested people who were suspected of
being anti-Hitler  sent them to the concentration camps

16. Persecution of Jews and other minorities
• Jews were portrayed as an inferior but cunning race that
caused the problems facing Germany
• Jews were forced to wear the Star of David (see below)
• During the Night of Broken Glass, people could loot and
destroy Jewish businesses
• The Holocaust was Hitler’s systematic plan to exterminate
every single Jewish person during WWII
• Other targets included gypsies, homosexuals and
handicapped people

17. Role of Women and Youth
• Women were expected to be good wives and mothers
• Their role was to create more Aryan babies
• Excluded from politics and academics (no uni education)
• Aryan Germans between 14-18 years old were expected
to join the Hitler Youth
• 2.3 million members in 1933
• Indoctrinated with Nazi ideology
• Physical and military training for boys

18. Impact of
Hitler’s Rule
Political
Impact
Economic
Impact
Social
Impact