1933-1939

The Third Reich, or Nazi State, stopped the democracy that Germany had enjoyed since the end of World War I. When Hitler gained control, the German army swore an oath of loyalty to their new leader. The Third Reich gained support from a majority of Catholic and Protestant clergymen.
 * 1) **Dictatorship Under the Third Reich**

Adolf Hitler assumed control of Germany after the former president, Paul von Hindenburg, died in 1934. He made speeches saying that Germany should reject the Treaty of Versailles. He considered any non-Aryan German to be not a German. He was considered above the law and had final decisions on all foreign policy. He also controlled all legislation passed within the country.

The Third Reich was led by the belief that Germany was destined to expand eastward, by military force. Another belief was that German people were racially superior. This led the attack on "racially inferior" groups (i.e. Jewish, Gypsies). The mentally disabled and homosexuals were also targeted by the Nazis.

Under the Nazi leadership, the citizens had no basic rights. Any criticism against the government would be silenced by the Gestapo (secret police). The citizens had a constant flow of propaganda directed at them from the government.

The Gestapo had a branch of members known as the Einsatzgruppen as the task force. Their main job was to gather the Jews and other inferior people to take them to concentration camps or even be put to death. Members of the Gestapo were taught torture techniques and had no restrictions on their power and how they do their job. They could not be tried for anything to do with their police practices.

The symbol of the Nazis, the swastika, was originally a religious symbol. It is still used today in many Indian cultures. In the early 1900's, the swastika was used as a symbol of good luck. The Nazi group put it on a white disk with a red background, Each part of the flag has a different symbolism. The red stood for the social idea of Aryan pureness. The white was the nationalistic part. The swastika symbolized the struggle of the Aryan people.
 * 1) ** Early Stages of Persecution **


 * **Persecute— to oppress or harass with ill-treatment, especially because of race, religion, gender, or belief **

    
 * **In January of 1930, Adolf Hitler became the Chancellor of Germany, and the Nazi party began to take power. **
 * **Hitler, leading the Nazi party, began to put his plan of separating the Aryan Germans from Jewish Germans into action **
 * **Nazis issue a decree defining a non-Aryan as "anyone descended from non-Aryan, especially Jewsish, parents or grandparents. One parent or grandparent classifies the descendant as non-Aryan… especially if one parent or grandparent was of the Jewish faith. **
 * **Nazis opened the first  concentration camp in Oranienburg, Berlin **
 * **These first concentration camps were used for holding political opponents and Jews who were arrested and imprisoned without a trial **

 This boycott was ignored by most German citizens, and was stopped three days after being announced. Although most German citizens ignored this boycott, Adolf Hitler was persistent in his quest for an all Aryan Germany. Within the next year, a series of laws <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;"> were passed that slowly but surely decreased the rights of Jews in Germany.
 * **<span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">On April 1st of 1933, Hitler, (now dictator of Germany) ordered a boycott of all Jewish stores and businesses **
 * <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">To read the laws passed by Hitler, scroll past the first paragraph*

<span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;"> <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">
 * <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 17px; line-height: 23px;">**A massive, coordinated attack on Jews throughout the German Reich was called Kristallnacht, which means Night of Broken Glass**
 * <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 17px; line-height: 23px;">**This happened because of a 17 year old named Herschel Grynszpan who shot and killed a member of the German Embassy staff**
 * <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 15.4px; line-height: 21px;">** Jewish shops and stores had their windows smashed and contents destroyed all over Germany, Austria and other Nazi controlled areas **

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 * After this, Jews and others were stripped of their rights and considered enemies. The early stages of persecution were focusing more on emotionally hurting the Jews and others.

The Nuremberg Race Laws were put into action in 1935, which continued to narrow down the list of rights that Jews in Germany had. These laws included restrictions on marriage, and descriptions and requirements for marriage. They also included descriptions of the classification of Jewish people.



Questions:

1.) Did the Third Reich have support from the church?

2.) Compared to other groups of people, what did the Germans consider themselves?

3.) What does persecute mean?

4.) Where was the first concentration camp?

5.) What was the name of the laws that decreased Jewish rights in German?

Resources: http://www.historyplace.com/worldwar2/riseofhitler/index.htm [] [|http://www.historyplace.com/worldwar2/holocaust/timeline.html] [] []