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Historical Context 1159 Views


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In an otherwise broke, depressed, and crumbling post-WWI Germany, Hitler's crazy promises appeared like a gleaming pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. Clearly people weren't exactly thinking straight.

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English Language

Transcript

00:04

Historical Context, a la Shmoop. In hindsight, it seems pretty incredible that

00:09

so many Germans lined up to support Adolf Hitler when he came to power in 1933.

00:15

Did they completely miss the crazy eyes?

00:19

Thing is, the rise of the Third Reich didn't happen in a vacuum.

00:23

Various events that took place in the early decades of the twentieth century contributed

00:28

to the German population's openness to National Socialism.

00:32

First, there was World War One. It may have been one of the most senseless conflicts in

00:38

human history, but it still managed to decimate Germany.

00:41

Also, since the Germans lost, they were forced to take sole responsibility for the war in

00:46

the Treaty of Versailles. That wasnÕt received too favorably back in Berlin.

00:51

The Treaty of Versailles also required Germany to pay 132 billion marks in reparations for

00:58

the damage caused by the war. Since that was 131 billion marks more than Germany actually

01:04

had...

01:05

...the country was obliged to pay in natural resources, like coal and beer andÉ schnitzel.

01:11

Again, the German people were less than pleased. Then, in 1923, France invaded the Ruhr<<rue-er>>,

01:17

also known as Germany's industrial heartland, because Germany had missed a reparations payment.

01:25

After struggling to come to terms with the idea that the French could do anything with

01:29

their military other than lose...

01:32

...Germany's Weimar<<vie-mar>> government ordered the workers in the Ruhr to go on strike.

01:36

This was such a bad idea, because when the government printed more money to pay the workers,

01:40

the result was hyperinflation and an economic shambles.

01:47

In November 1923, the German currency stabilized. The economy still sucked, but folks held out

01:53

hope for recovery. Imagine how they must have felt when Black Tuesday rolled around in 1929.

02:02

Germany became politically polarized, with extreme parties on the Left and the Right.

02:07

YeahÉ they had clowns to the left and jokers to the rightÉ

02:10

At any rate, most people held the Left responsible for the Treaty of Versailles and the economic

02:15

cluster-mess of the 1920s.

02:18

Anti-semitism and violence against other minority groups rose, as right-wing nutjobs, like the

02:23

National Socialists, became more popular.

02:25

According to the crazies, Jews were synonymous with the Left, and so should serve as scapegoats

02:30

for the many, many problems Germany had experienced since World War One...

02:34

...which the Germans had a significant role in starting. Boy, were these guys floating

02:39

down a river called de Nile or what? By 1933, Germans were willing to vote for

02:46

just about anyone who promised significant change...

02:49

...like a failed artist named Adolf Hitler.

02:53

The guys was a jerk, National Socialism was awful, and the Third Reich was monstrous.

03:01

But all that stuff really shouldnÕt have come out of left fieldÉ

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