Frederick William Victor Albert later known as Kaiser wilam II was born in Berlin in 1859 to Princess Victoria and German Emperor Frederick III wilam II had a traumatic birth and was unfortunately born with a disability that made his left arm smaller and essentially useless wilham blamed this on his mother and historians believed that this is where wilhams hatred for the British started which grew even stronger due to a British physician that practiced electrotherapy and other absurd procedures on the future Kaiser the Kaiser was known to be intelligent but had a quick temper and a very strong personality this later caused problems in his Reign such as a Daily Telegraph Affair where the Kaiser publicly offended the British by saying you English are not M marches willham II didn't align much with the British ideals of democracy and liberalism but much rather preferred the German standards of nationalism and traditionalism willan wanted a stronger Germany to compete with his cousins SAR Nicholas II and George V which he believed was achievable by growing German Industries military and navy the constitution of the new German Empire made the Kaiser the most powerful figure in Germany as wilham was in absolute control of the army foreign policy and was able to appoint the chancellor who ran the government and was able to propose new legislation under the chancellor was the bundist Strat representatives from each German State who consented to the laws passed by the chancellor these however could be overruled by the Kaiser and finally there's the rack who were elected every 3 years or five after 1888 and could pass or reject legislation handed down by the bundist [Music] Strat the Kaiser's dream of a stronger Germany became true as it had had an economic boom from 1890 to 1924 and by the start of the 20th century Germany was mainland's Europe most powerful Nation iron and coal production in Germany doubled and Germany now produced 2/3 of Europe's steel this economic boom also saw the creation of new exciting Industries such as chemical and electrical manufacturing this rapid industrialization however wasn't all good for the Kaiser as due to an increase in the working class and poor working conditions the people now wanted change this led to a rise in socialism and in particular the rise of the Social Democratic party of Germany also known as the SPD the rise of the SPD was evident and its seats in the rice stke increased from 11 in 1887 to 81 by 1903 by 1914 3.3 million people were involved with trade unions in Germany this was a big threat to the Kaiser and his power and the possibility of a socialist Revolution threats in Germany out of the fear of promoting socialist ideals the government didn't pass in a reform which made it even worse as people got angrier and supported more radical political parties this was an endless cycle for the Kaiser as passing socialist legislation made socialist ideas more popular and not passing any legislation made socialist ideas even more popular so what was the Kaiser's response War the Kaiser hoped to distract the People by passing a series of laws to encourage nationalism and Military Pride as his workers protection act of 1891 wasn't enough wilham hoped to increase his support with the idea of w politic which was imperialist foreign policy that expanded Germany's armed forces and its territory this wasn't enough which motivated the Kaiser to pass the Navy law in 1898 the main goal of the Navy laws was to build and improve Germany's naval fleet to compete with his mortal enemy the British and its Mighty Royal Navy which had dominated the Seas for the past Century however the Secret main objective of the Navy laws was propaganda to increase patriotism and decrease the popularity of radical parties such as the SPD this was very successful as the SPD lost 36 seats in 1907 the Navy laws were effective and Germany increased its number of battleships to 19 by 1903 this caught the eye of the British who answered by designing a powerful ship that had never been seen before the HMS dreadn this started an arm race as Germany answered by ordering the construction of a dreadnots this word the British wed 11 more dreadnots the Germans didn't slow down and only offered to stop the arms race if the British entered an alliance with them Britain's Final Answer came thanks to the idea of Western Churchill who created a program that produced two dreadnots for everyone produced by the Germans the naval arms race was overall won by the British as by 1914 Germany had only produced 17 dreadnots and Britain 29 the naval laws worsened anglo-german relations and it is is argued that it possibly led to World War I as we know it as it pushed Germany closer to Austria Hungary and the British closer to the French and the Russians this is Germany in 1918 their last chance to overrun the Allies to finalize the war failed and an overpowered American Army landed in Europe making their already exhausted Army even more desperate due to a British Naval blockade that had been going on for the entire War Germany suffered food medicine and clothing shortages making the war a living hell for its troops and its civilian population I also forgot to mention that the most severe pandemic in recent history the Spanish flu or 1918 influenza was raging across the German Empire killing an estimated quarter of a million Germans by 1918 Germany was desperate this motivated General lorf to advise the Kaiser to create a new civilian government as he believed that Germany could possibly be treated more fairly if it became more democratic the Kaiser listened and tried to create a parliamentary monarchy led by Prince Max based on RAR support this failed as it was not Democratic enough on October 31st 1918 the K Mutiny occurred as Sailors refused to go on a suicidal attack against British ships many other soldiers and civilians joined this Mutiny and refused to continue the war any further by late 1918 the Kaiser lost hope and control of the army as mass strikes and riots continued on November 9th the Kaiser abdicated and escaped to the Netherlands never to return to Germany again that same day Prince Max handed over the chancellorship Tod leader Frederick Ebert and Germany for the first time was declared a republic Armistice was finally signed on November 11th 1918 marking the end of the war in January 1919 the victors met in Versa to discuss what to do with Germany and its people Germany was not invited this is what Germany lost alsa Lorraine was allocated to the French North lewick was lost to the Danish upin malady was given back to the belgians memo was lost to Lithuania and a Polish Corridor was created to separate East Prussia from the rest of Germany the industrial Heartland of the German Empire the sard coffields and the port city of denk became a free city under the control of the League of Nations to which Germany was not invited to the Allies also demilitarized the Rin land and confiscated all German overseas colonies these territorial losses meant that 12% of the German population was lost Germany also lost 75% of its iron ore 68% % of its Zink ore and 26% of its coal during the treaty the Allies agreed that Germany had to pay back War reparations which added up to 6.6 billion pounds Army restrictions were also set on Germany that prevented it from owning any tanks Air Force or submarines and limited its number of battleships to six the German Army was limited to a total of 100,000 men however what annoyed the German people the most was Claus 231 which forced Germany to accept the blame for starting and prolonging the war many saw this as unfair and insulting after the SPD gain control of the government in the 1919 elections they held their first meeting in the town of wayar hence the name of the new government the first thing that they did was set up a new Constitution and this is how it worked at the bottom there's the people everyone who was over 20 could vote the people elected the r stack whose deputies were elected based on proportional representation these representatives were elected every 4 years over the rack were the chancellor and his ministers who proposed laws to the rack the chancellor is appointed by the president who was elected every seven years by the people the President also commanded the Army and could dissolve the rack and arrange new elections the President also possessed a new power named article 48 which in case of an emergency gave the president full dictatorship like Powers I'm sure that won't cause any problems in the future was this constitution good the advantages of this constitution were that it had had fair and equal representation for everyone over 20 years old there was a balance of power and a constant rotation of leaders some disadvantages was that proportional representation led to too many parties that struggled to agree and cooperate proportional representation also allowed extremist parties that didn't believe in democracy to have a say and possibly be able to get power and finally article 48 gave too much power to the president in case of an emergency the Treaty of veride left Germany crippling depth and also took away its money-making industry this meant that Germany owed a lot of money and didn't have any way of paying it back by 1922 all the money produced by the government was being paid straight back to the Allies the lack of reparations being paid made the French impatient who in 1923 occupied the RAR with an army of 60,000 men this was a catastrophe for Germany as it lacked sufficient Army and the RAR produced 85% of its coal this stun didn't go well for the French as German Workers in the RAR went on strike and refused to work as time went by the number of soldiers increased to 100,000 the occupation lasted until 1925 the German government running even more desperate and even more in depth decided to print more money to pay back its reparations quicker this made the situation worse as printing more money causes something called inflation which makes money worth less the German government printed so much money that it caused hyperinflation this lowered the value of the mark tremendously which increased extreme poverty and made the middle class disappear years of Economic and political instability led to three significant attempts to overthrow the wayar government the first one was the spar's Revolt which was a Communist Revolution attempt led by Rosa Luxembourg and Carl Li the Revolution was not strong or organized enough to work and was stoed by the government with the help of the FR Corps who were ex soldiers and Military volunteer units the next attempt was made by the fry corpse itself who turned on the government and marched on the streets the overthrow was led by Wolf Gang cap but the Revolt was stopped as workers went on strike and marched in the streets which stopped the fry corpse the last and closest attempt was the Munich Pooch which was organized by an unknown man named Adolf Hitler and the much respected General lendorf on the 8th of November 1923 Gustaf rvor Carr the Bavarian prime minister was addressing a room full of businessmen in a beer hall in Munich out of nowhere Hitler disrupted the room accompanied by 600 Stormtroopers that surrounded the beer hole and screamed the national revolution had begun he took Carr and loo the Bavarian army officer into a side room holding them at gunpoint meanwhile Hitler had commanded the rest of his Stormtroopers to terrorize other members of the Bavarian government in different locations around the city but they were not able to control any army barracks back at the beer hole Hitler was becoming more desperate and threatened to shoot both ministers and himself if they didn't agree to pack him up they relu ly agreed and were forced to announce their support for the pooch in front of everyone after this Hitler mistakenly LED Carr and lasso go but remained with ludorf to plan the overthrow of the government and marched to Berlin the next morning unaware the Carr had tipped off the government the next cold morning Hitler and ludendorf led an army of 2,000 men to a military base in the center of Munich ludendorf was confident that the police in the military wouldn't shoot at their former Commander but he was dead wrong as the n March they were met by armed police and Bavarian soldiers who immediately shot at them Hitler stunned by the commotion fell to the ground and dislocated his shoulder he was able to escape but was caught 2 days later and imprisoned General lendorf continued to March but he was arrested right after the Munich push resulted in three dead policemen and 16 death Nazis on the 13th of August 1923 gusta stresman was appointed Chancellor of the new and unstable waymar rep Republic even though he served as Chancellor for only 3 months stresman was responsible for Shifting the Trust In The Republic and started a period many describ as a golden [Music] age from 1924 to 1929 Germany saw economic recovery and a cultural development fued by stresman policies thanks to a grand Coalition formed by various Centrist liberal parties stresman made quick but effective reforms in his short period as Chancellor his first move was to end the strikes in the were by September 1923 passive resistance was over which meant that the government was not compensating workers anymore and relations with the Allies improved his next move was to replace the old currency with the retin mark this was done in November 1923 which stabilized Germany's currency and fixed the problem of hyperinflation stresman had to step down as Chancellor as the SPD withdrew from his reshuffled government in November 1923 however he was appointed foreign minister position from which he could take action to develop Germany in August 1925 4 stresman signed the Dos plan which was a temporary measure that was designed to strengthen and stabilize Germany's economy the plan agreed that America would lend Germany 800 million marks and a 5-year payment plan was set for Germany to pay back the war reparations later in August 1929 stresman signed the young plan which was a final statement on reparations this plan was extremely helpful for Germany as it reduced payments for reparations by 67% and annual payments were spread to be paid by 1988 the plans increased the Allies trust and tremendously relieved Germany's economy however this came with a cost as Germany was now very dependent on America's economy and the dollar between 1924 and 1929 stresman also worked on a series of international agreements that set Germany on the international stage these were the packs signed in 1925 The locarno Pact was signed which was mutually agreed peace between France Germany Great Britain Belgium and Italy this pack confirmed the borders agreed on the Treaty of rise in 1926 Germany finally joined the League of Nations this increased the peace and cooperation with the allies and also gave Germany a veto on the organization also in 1926 Germany and the USSR expanded on the Treaty of rapalo which was signed to improve relations between both Nations and remove any territorial claims that each country had on each other this new treaty was called the Treaty of Berlin which agreed to maintain good relations and both countries pledge neutrality if one of them was attacked by a third party in 1928 the Kellog Bryan pact was signed which was a massive peacekeeping effort that almost all nations agre to the Nations who joined agreed to settle disputes diplomatically instead of going to war stresman final success was the end of the Allied occupation as by 1930 all Ali troops were out of the reinand these International treaties increased Germany's safety peace and cooperation however these treaties also fued extremism within Germany as many Germans felt that they had been stabbed in the bag by their own government by negotiating with the same countries that had led Germany to phisical and economic [Music] ruin economic stability and improved living standards gave German people the freedom and time to involve in Social and cultural activities many artists now had the freedom to express themselves without being killed or arrested this lack of censorship in art meant that artists such as George gross would include erotic scenes in their paintings something that was not common in Imperial Germany some art would include political statements and messages criticizing the government such as this painting by gross named the eclipse of the sun this painting critiques the violence of the German Elite by showing General ponan Hindenberg surrounded by Mindless bureaucrats to his left an industrialist carrying weapons Whispers in his ear the German people are depicted as a donkey listening with his big ears but yet blind to what is going on focused on his food the most disturbing part of the painting is under the table which shows a Young Man Behind bentle Bars and a skeleton warning future Generations this type of critique in his art shows the freedom and how unrestricted artist were during the wayar Republic other artistic movements such as bous became increasingly popular bous was an architectural movement based on Simplicity and minimalism some designs look very modern and it's surreal to think that these designs are from 1920 and not 2020 artists also Express themselves through literature as Freedom allowed writers to focus more on emotions instead of the plot for example All Quiet on the Western Front was an anti-war book that was relatable to many soldiers and widows as it showed the gruesome truths of the war Cinema and theater became increasingly popular and stars such as Marlin Dietrich Rose to fame due to their unseen sexual free and realistic nature people also felt comfortable attending clubs and cabarets in which erotic dancers were performed and drinks were served acceptance of homosexuality and even cross-dressing [Music] group during this time many groups benefited and suffered some more than others vulnerable people such as veterans orphans widows and the unemployed now benefited from State Welfare as a public assistance system was in place national unemployment insurance also helped the vulnerable however most of the systems had too many people and many did not receive the necessary help women in the vimar Republic felt Freer and had more rights now that they could vote and involve themselves in politics by 1926 there were 32 women deputies in the rice tag three times as many women as they were in the House of Commons more women joined the workplace this was as women had to fill the spots of men when they went to war and now it was seen as socially acceptable however women had no Freedom when married and had no equal pay Jewish people were more represented in society and many were successful in business and in culture such as Marin Dietrich however hatred and anti-Semitism were quite common in [Music] society although many historians consider this era to be a golden age not everybody enjoyed or participated many groups specifically Farmers did not benefit from the economic growth due to global grain Surplus and a price lump in 1925 traditionalist and conservatives view cultural development as too much and felt threatened economic hardship and changes in society caus caus something called the backlash movement which went against all the progress that the Republic was doing many of the people who supported the movement later supported the Nazi party which after 1929 would rise in popularity thanks for watching please consider liking subscribing and checking other videos [Music] as the Nazis March they were met by armed police and Bavarian soldiers who immediately shot at them Hitler stunned by the commotion fell to the ground and dislocated his shoulder he was able to escape but was caught two days later and [Music] imprisoned following his failed attempt to cease power in the beer hold PCH Hitler was arrested and sentenced to 5 years in prison his time Behind Bars was far from uncomfortable his was granted a private cell furnished with a cozy bed a table and a chair which allowed him to focus on writing his book mine camp in his book Hitler elaborated on his political ideologies and Ambitions for the future of Germany mine Camp sold over 5.2 million copies in 11 Languages by 1939 though the Nazi party had been outlawed Hitler managed to hold secret meetings with his supporters leveraging these gatherings to further organize and bolster the party's strength while vibrant Germany thrived on American money and Loans Hitler was was able to use his spare time in prison to further his political agenda and strengthen the Nazi party so all that Hitler had to do was wait for the perfect moment to October 28th 1929 a day now known as Black Monday the USS economy suffered a devastating collapse after years of speculation the repercussions were felt globally and viore Germany heavily riant of us loans was hit hard as the flow of funds abruptly ended the impact was immediate causing rampant unemployment widespread poverty and homelessness as the situation worsened the viar government faced the task of finding a solution to alleviate the crisis however the response was inadequate as they chose to raise taxes and cut wages which only served to worsen the suffering of the people this misguided strategy proved to be a fatal mistake providing alol Hitler with the perfect opportunity to cease power and set in motion the eventual downfall of German democracy [Music] between 1925 and 1928 the Nazi party experienced a significant surch in membership growing from 27,000 to an impressive 100,000 despite this the party only secured a mere 12 seats in the 1928 election the vior government was plagued with political turmoil and instability from 1928 to 1933 resulting in four national elections being held during this period Hitler saw an opportunity to increase his party's appeal ultimately leading the Nazi party's integration into mainstream German politics here are the key strategies that helped Hitler achieve this the Nazi party's imagery was uniquely striking and memorable with recognizable symbols like the Vasa the Nazi party created a powerful brand that propelled their propaganda campaigns to great success unifying the German people behind their cause one such campaign was the work and bread Campaign which resonated with over over 6 million unemployed Germans in 1932 promising them decent jobs to support their families week after week the Nazi party continued to spread its message throughout newspapers and electrifying speeches delivered by the clear face of the party Adolf Hitler his radical promises including the abolishment of the Treaty of rise and the unification of all German speaking people inspired unprecedented levels of support for the party Hitler recognized the significance of political instability on his path to power and thus established paramilitary organizations such as the infamous brown shirts or Stormtroopers also known as the sa this group employed tactics of intimidation and violence to disrupt political opponents rallies helping to boost the Nazi party support Hitler also increased interest in the Nazi party by clearly identifying the Jewish people as the convenient scapegoat for all of Germany's Problems by using them as a target for blame he effectively created a unifying force among Germans additionally Hitler further exploited the situation by including Communists and foreign powers as scapegoats back in Berlin as the 1932 elections approached the vimer government appeared increasingly disorganized and incapable of resolving Germany's critical State president Hindenberg had returned to power relying heavily on the unpopular article 48 which granted emergency powers to the president the Nazi party which had a lot of momentum emerg as the clear favor in the July 1932 elections winning 230 seats and becoming the largest political party however they lacked a majority in the rack and Hitler who requested to be Chancellor was denied by Hindenberg who did not trust him instead Hindenberg chose Von Pap from the center party as Chancellor but since he was not the leader of the largest party Von papen struggled to govern effectively and able to pass laws without a majority this led to a second election in November 1932 the Nazi party now down to 196 seats was still the leading party Von papen still failed to gain a majority and Hindenberg turned to V sler as the next Chancellor convinced that the country was in the brink of Civil War he too could not secure a majority in the right Shack leaving Hindenberg with no choice but to rule using article 48 determined to regain power Von pen met with Hitler in early January 1933 where they struck a deal where Von pen will help Hitler become Chancellor if Hitler made Von pen Vice Chancellor believing he could control him with no other options left Hindenberg reluctantly made Hitler Chancellor on January 30th 1935 [Music] in the last video we explored Hitler's rise to power from his imprisonment after the failed coup in Munich to his appointment as Chancellor in 1933 so Hitler is now Chancellor yes but that doesn't really mean anything democracy in vimer Germany still exists we still have fair and free elections freedom of the press freedom of speech and freedom of expression division of power and and the rice Jag hell even Hindenberg is here so here's how you destroy all that and overthrow democracy in five simple [Music] steps on the evening of February 27th 1933 Flames illuminated the night sky as the Bastion of German democracy the rice Jack building burned in Berlin a young Dutch communist named marinus Vander Lube was found inside the building subsequently arrested and blamed for the fire Hitler quickly seized the opportunity blaming the fire on a communist plot to overthrow the government Hitler then pressured Hindenberg to take immediate action against the Communist threat sign this restriction of civil liberties arrest and ATT attention without trial the day after the fire pvin Hindenberg signs the r fire decree issued under quite a lot of pressure by Hitler in his cabinet the decree suspended civil liberties limited freedom of the press and allowed for the arrest and imprisonment of political opponents without a trial with the suppression of political opposition and the suspension of civil liberties Hitler's government effectively eliminated many rivals and established control over key institutions the speed with which the Nazis blame the attack on the Communists and the subsequent use of the event to consolidate power has led to many historians to argue that the Nazis have something to do with the fire there is no definite evidence to determine the exact origin of the fire regardless of whether they are directly involved or not it is clear that the Nazis rapidly exploited the fire to their advantage [Music] building on the momentum gained from the rack fire decree and the Electoral success in 1933 the Nazi party introduced the enabling act to the rch on March 23rd 1933 this is what the enabling act did it granted legislative power to the cabinet effectively bypassing the rack it suspended various fundamental rights and constitutional protections including freedom of speech press assembly an association it banned trade unions and it also authorized the government to interfere with State's rights in summary the enabling act fundamentally removes the rice dech from Hitler's way funneling Powers straight to the Nazi party we have f after suppressing arresting and eliminating your opposition the next step is to control the institutions the legal Revolution also known as sh Shon the legal Revolution also known as clington was the Nazi party's effort to tighten its control over Germany by synchronizing and coordinating all aspects and institutions of German Society under Nazi control the Nazis knew about the import of image and media in controlling the country in March 1933 gobl was appointed as minister of propaganda and started controlling the media to shape public opinion and disseminate propaganda in April non-nazi newspapers were shut down or brought under Nazi control on July 14th 1933 Hitler banned and merged all political parties into the Nazi party which became the sole legal political entity in Germany Hitler also replaced existing judges and lawyers with Nazi loyalists giving him control over the legal system the Nazi party also saw the importance of religion and signed an agreement with the Vatican known as the r concordat the concordat guaranteed certain rights and protections for Catholic Church in Germany all as long as the Catholic Church would not interfere with political matters in Germany by controlling all aspects of society the Nazis were able to eliminate all opposition and ensure that their ideology and their goals were the only ones that were allowed in Germany [Music] on the night of June 29th 1934 a convoy of lores filled with SS soldiers moved quickly through the night unaware that this would be one of the most consequential and dramatic events in the consolidation of Hitler's power during what would later be called The Night of the Long Knives Hitler ordered the SS and the gapo to murder anyone he disliked or feared this list not only included political opponents but also people within the Nazi party such as Gregor straser a prominent member of the Nazi party who criticized Hitler's leadership and longtime friend and Ally Ernest Rome R was the leader of the sa but his Ambitions and calls for the sa to become a paramilitary Force in the German Army had created tension the night of the Long Knives was Hitler's way to clean the house he got rid of any political IC opponents and eliminated threats inside of the Nazi party Hitler defended his actions claiming that he was defending Germany against the plot by R and the and I quote degenerate homosexuals around him okay let's go back and check how our democracy is doing so the only thing left between Hitler and total control over Germany was an 86 yearold pvin Hindenberg who was serving as president of Germany at the time on the evening of August 2nd 1934 pvin Hindenberg died Hitler wasted no time and on the same day he merged the chancellorship with the presidency effectively erasing hindenburg's position and consolidating all power into his own hands making him the supreme leader of Germany in the next episode we will be going over part three and the experiences of Germans under the Nazi regime thanks for watching make sure to like subscribe and check out more videos leben's realm which translates to living space was a specific promise that Hitler made to the German people he emphasized the necessity of territorial expansion to enable his Aran population to settle and exploit the Region's material IAL resource specifically the ones on the east in March 1935 Hitler announced that German rearmament would commence marking a period of increased industrialization economic growth and the expansion of the German Army taking a bold step in 1936 Hitler reoccupied the reinland and shortly after formed a military alliance with bito musolini in Italy sending a message to Europe in March 1938 Hitler tested the Allied Powers by annexing Austria in an event known as the anelas in response to the Munich agreement the Allies celebrated and did absolutely nothing allowing Germany to take the sedet apart toos Slovakia just 6 months later Hitler violated the agreement making a fool out of the Allies later in August 1939 Hitler surprised the World by signing The Naz Soviet pact a non-aggression treaty that included a secret agreement to invade and divide Poland in September both Hitler and later Stalin executed their plan officially marking the start of World War II following the successful implementation of new tactics in Poland Hitler turned his attention to the west where he sought to test the capabilities of his new developed armored divisions in the low countries and eventually France although Hitler anticipated an allet attack impatience LED Germany to swiftly overrun Denmark within a mere 6 hours before launching their invasion of Norway although devastating for the Navy this maneuver secured and facilitated the crucial trade route with neutral Sweden between May and June 1940 Germany swiftly invaded the Netherlands Belgium Luxembourg and France using tactics of bleed Creak rapid and coordinated error and ground attacks that quickly overwhelmed opposing forces moving forward Italy disastrously tried to invade Greece and Yugoslavia in 1940 requiring German assistance to maintain their southern European front on the other side of the Mediterranean Italy's difficulties continued requiring Germany's support in the form of Romo and the Africa corpse meanwhile in Europe Britain took the war to disguise ultimately leading to the abandonment of operation Seine the hypo itical amphibious invasion of Britain nevertheless Hitler's confidence in his tanks and Blitz Creek tactics gave rise to operation Barbarosa in June 1941 3 million German soldiers launched a mighty invasion of the Soviet Union while initial Blitz Creek tactics once again proved successful Hitler's military and competence and ignorance halted the advance due to October's wet weather and the later harsh winter conditions this gave a Fierce and strong Soviet Army anxious for a Counterattack the perfect opportunity to start pushing back the introduction of the United States into the War following Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941 shifted the balance of power in favor of the Allies their support in North Africa Italy France and their Relentless bombing campaigns in the final stages of the war started to break German morale and strength the Battle of Stalingrad marked a turning point but the tide decisively turned with the Allied invasion of Normandy in June 1944 by May Germany was completely surrounded which meant the end of the Third Reich during his first year in power Hitler reduced unemployment by over 1/3 by 1939 unemployment was basically at 0% and the gross national income was skyrocketing how did they do this was Hitler an economic genius the Great Depression of 1929 triggered a Banking and Financial crisis in Germany the subsequent economic collapse and political instability led to the the destruction of the viar Republic in 1933 fresian power Hitler had to solve two particular issues 6 million unemployed Germans and a costly dependence on foreign Goods to fulfill his promise of work and bread Hitler hoped to transform Germany into an achy this meant a closed economy that did not engage in international trade and therefore an economically independent and self-sufficient Nation Hitler intended to do this through three specific strategies Public Works rearmament and expans expon through War let's take a closer look unemployment was tackled by setting up various organizations and public work programs to get Germany back to work some of these included the construction of hospitals schools housing dams power plants and public buildings such as the 1936 Olympic Stadium these generated jobs for Germans and drastically lowered unemployment for example the building of the autoban alone created work for 880,000 German men the Nazis were also able to lower unemployment and control their work by promoting National Services and programs for example the r or National Labor Service let's say persuaded old man between 18 and 25 to spend 6 months in nature planting trees digging and draining ditches the new daf or German labor front replaced the annoying Trade union controlling and protecting workers rights organizations like the kdf or strength through Joy provided workers with leisure activities and suppli the affordable kdf wagon to all German Workers this encouraged hard work as it provided Germans with a healthy relationship with their jobs the four-year plan of 1936 led by Harman Goring saw Hitler's first time directly intervening with the economy the plan aimed to accelerate the rearmament of the German military and worked towards creating a self-sufficient German economy and it was remarkably successful what are we doing why aren't we just copying that to Germany they have 0% unemployment why can't we just do this everywhere else around the world like the gross national product of Germany skyrocketed it look how happy these workers are of course they're all protected and they all have new cars they're all going on vacation wait why are they dressed like that yeah the the problem is it's not true at all many historians like Timothy W Mason suggested that the miraculous recovery of the labor market under Hitler was more appearance than reality the German propaganda machine proved successful once again the new organizations and programs didn't really benefit the workers that much it benefited the party the rad literally forced young men into Forest to work unionization was now lost under the Nazi control daf and no private citizen ever received to kdf Wagon the 4-year plan of 1936 with its primary focus on rearmament did contribute to a decline in unemployment as thousands were conscripted into the army numerous factories were established and it eventually had a positive impact on German economy however this apparent economic growth was often a result of statistical manipulation which was a propaganda tactic used by the Nazis in reality the German economic growth Figures were exaggerated and invisible employment was a method used to manipulate statistics through exclusions and arrests the Nazis hit the levels of unemployment those who the Nazis considered undesirable or inferior such as women and Jews were excluded from the unemployment figures which reduced the percentage significantly this practice allowed the Nazis to distort these numbers creating the false impression of reduced unemployment rates while systematically oppressing and exploiting vulnerable populations with war on the horizon Hitler understood that Germany needed to achieve full achy however in a globalized world achieving achy was virtually impossible they needed Romanian oil Swedish steel Ukrainian wheat and Indonesian rubber propaganda efforts were made to promote German Goods But ultimately Germany did not possess the resources to achieve this the outbreak of war in Germany brought hope and had a minimal effect on the German people as early victories brought an influx of raw materials and luxuries from annexed countries bolstering supplies and boosting the economy this war also created millions of jobs for German citizens for example by 1939 the vermac had reached a total of 4,2 120,000 soldiers and by 1943 it reached the peak of 9,480 th000 soldiers this meant that these jobs had to be replaced back home further lowering the unemployment rate however as the war efforts continued the civilian population and its Industries began to experience problems rationing was implemented in 1939 and the developments of strategic bombardment from 1942 to 1945 brought death and destruction to German civilians who endured bombing raids that tragically claimed around 3.5 million lives these rats by British and American bombers resulted in further food shortages and the widespread destruction of essential infrastructure by the end of the war everyone was working and all fact to rease civilian Goods production focusing solely on items required for the wor by 1944 almost all work was being done abroad by 7 million foreign slave workers welcome to the final episode of our eqa German history series but before we begin I do want to give a disclaimer as we're going to be talking about sensitive topics in this video the video will be split in three parts first we'll discuss social policies impacting women youth education religious control Aran ideology and the final solution later we will discuss the control tactics employed by figures such as goal and himler and to end the video on a more optimistic note we'll touch upon opposition and resistance groups in Nazi Germany and the end of the war let's get to it the ideal woman for the Nazi party was an Aryan unemployed family focused mother that gave birth to Future German soldiers women were meant to follow the Nazi model Kinder Kusha Kira kids kitchen Church Joseph Gobles wrote in 1929 Hitler wanted to high birth rate so that his Aran population would grow contraceptions and abortions were banned loans were given to newly married couples and medals were awarded to the mothers who had the most amount of children and these women while they weren't spawning future German soldiers joined organizations such as the German women's league which focused on teaching and practicing how to cook clean and take care of children although measures were introduced that strongly discourage women from working where were too so hundreds of thousands of of men being conscripted into the army resulting in major labor sages and empty factories women joyed the workplace and as female labor was relatively cheap the number of women employed actually Rose by 2.4 million yet the Nazi party did not conscript women to help the war effort until 1943 Hitler continually spoke of the Thousand-Year Reich and thus saw the importance of Education in controlling the country the Nazis made sure to have tight control over Schools summer camps and groups to ensure Ure the indoctrination of children into the Reich this is what a normal day of school in Nazi Germany would look like physical education played a critical role in schools with a rigorous schedule of 5 1hour lessons per week this emphasis aimed to ensure that future I mean uh children would be physically fit and prepared for potential military service in the future meanwhile young girls were sent to improve their child care and domestic skills chemistry and Mathematics were downgraded in importance leaving more space for the great history of Germany and the Nazi party and Eugen classes hidden under the label of biology the Nazis rewrote textbooks added Nazi propaganda and new classes such as race study and ideology promoting anti-semitic narratives and the glorifying of the Aryan race after school the Nazis controlled young people's free time through groups like The Hitler Youth which taught boys combat skills and weapon training and the league of German maidens which taught girls even more domestic skills like cooking child care and preparing for motherhood if you want to see an entertaining example of how children lived in Nazi Germany I would recommend watching the fantastic movie JoJo rabbit which will give you an idea of how these youth groups worked after signing the Reich concordat which you can learn more about in this video Hitler did the usual and immediately broke the agreement harassing Catholic priests and Catholic clubs all around the country the church was overall divided with some admiring and others loathing the Nazi party but Hitler knew the importance of religion and sought to control or limit the influence of Christianity the Nazis reorganized the Protestant Church in 1933 and transformed it into the Reich Church in 1933 the ministry of churches was set up Church schools were abolished and the Nazi party aimed to influence young people by promoting Hitler Youth rather than church youth groups other religions such as the Jehovah's Witnesses were sent to concentration camps and persecuted as were others such as Muslims and other religious minorities but no group suffered more during the Nazi regime than Hitler's go to scapegoat the Jewish people the treatment of Jewish people in Nazi Germany underwent a drastic transformation from being regular citizens in 1933 to being completely dehumanized and stripped of their basic rights and Humanity by the 1940s let's take a closer look at the timeline and how the Nazi party through its tactics and propaganda were able to dehumanize this group in 1933 as soon as Hitler took to power he introduced his ideas of eugenics into German society and spread the idea that the German race or Aran were the superior masteries the Nazis encouraged and rewarded anti-semitic Behavior books were Burns public public Al Jewish workers were fired and Jewish businesses were boycotted in 1935 the Newberg laws formalized anti-Semitism in Germany German citizenship was revoked for Jewish people and marriages between Jewish and non-jewish individuals were banned before 1938 Jews had faced discrimination and were subjected to anti-semitic policies in Nazi Germany but nothing compared to the events of Crystal act many see this as a turning point for the Jewish people in Nazi Germany on the 9th of November 1938 Nazi hate against the Jewish community turned physical and violent after the supposed assassination of a German ambassador to France by a Jew the SS attacked and burned Jewish homes businesses and synagogues in retaliation this caused massive amounts of damage and also included the death of 100 people many Jews were arrested and later Taken to concentration camps from the outbreak of war in 1939 until the end of the war in 1945 us people faced further prosecution and in 1941 the Nazi party was looking for a final solution to the Jewish problem as Germany expanded and adct new territories more Jewish populations fell under Nazi control therefore the organized special murder squads known as einat scupin these squads followed the advancing German armies and rounded up all Jewish communities they were forced to dig their own Graves before being shot however this horrific display of violence was not efficient enough for the nazzi death camps were built all around Poland far away from Germany and hidden from the German people when the Jewish population arrived in these camps they were split into two groups those who could work and those who couldn't the second group was sent straight to the showers which were actually gas Chambers there they were quickly murdered the first group was not spared either as they would be worked to death or sent to the gas Chambers when not useful to the German war machine by the end of the war 6 million Jews had been worked to death gassed or shot many other individuals deemed un mench which translate to racially or socially inferior were also part of this genocide Romani people Slavic people black people disabled people and homosexuals were also murdered by the Nazi party at absurd rates these inhumane and atrocious acts by the Nazi party even if accepted by part of the German population still had to be hidden from the public Hitler knew he needed tight control over what the German people believed and used three weapons to do this the [ __ ] stle better known as the SS was an organization under Hitler's right-hand man Hinrich himler who was responsible for ensuring that the population remained under control it also oversaw the Gestapo or secret police that spied on ordinary German citizens and ran concentration camps the legal system also helped the Nazis gain control all judges in Germany had to become members of the Nationalist socialist league and had to swear an oath of loyalty to the fewer however the Nazis biggest success in controlling their population was not violence or fear but propaganda under gobbles the Nazi party and Hitler became Ault the fer presented himself as a Godlike Savior for Germany that would ensure the 1,000-year Reich under his rule the Nazi propaganda machine produced all sorts of posters speeches pictures and art exhibitions and films that convinced the German people that they were on the right side of history on a lighter note let's finish the video talking about the opposition to the Nazi party and the end of the war although limited due to the tight enforcement of the gapo and the SS there was still considerable resistance inside German territory many groups were created in opposition to Hitler's Youth the white rose group stood as a beacon of non-violent resistance against the Nazi regime consisting mainly of students from the University of Munich they distributed anti-nazi leaflets advocating for Passive opposition to Hitler's dictatorship their Brave actions however were shortlived due to the arrest and execution of key members in 1943 the swing youth also existed which was a rebellious movement of young people who defied Nazi IDE ology through swing music fashion and a spirit of non-conformity they rejected the regime's norms and embraced a different cultural lifestyle as a form of protest edelis Pirates also rejected the strict control of Hitler's Youth and engage in activities promoting individual freedoms adventure and resistance often clashing with Nazi authorities unfortunately these groups were often decentralized serving more as a symbol of resistance than a direct threat to the na party's Authority the closest this resistance actually came to fr was the 1944 assassination attempt on Adolf Hitler in the heart of World War II a secret plan was brewed amongst high ranking German military leaders a daring conspiracy to end the tyranny of Adolf Hitler this secret scheme known as the July plot of 1944 was a bold attempt to assassinate Hitler tease control of the government and negotiate a favorable peace with the Allies the coupe coot named valkyri took shape In late 1943 on July 20th 1944 Lieutenant colonal Claus Von staffenberg armed with a bomb concealed in a briefcase entered a conference room at the Vol Anga field headquarters where Hitler assembled his top military personnel placing the briefcase near Hitler staffenberg detonated the bomb believing the fury had perished he hurried to Berlin to intend to cease control the blast killed a few officers but Hitler miraculously escaped serious harm leaving us with this striking image of Hitler and musolini stearing into the blast and what could have been another significant example of resistance was the 1944 waro Uprising a remarkable display of Polish resistance civilians including children bravely engaged in Street battles against the heavily armed German forces this Revolt tragically concluded after 63 days of intense fighting as polish resistance Fighters lacking outside support were faced with overwhelming German forces and surrendered in early October Paris was also a Hotpot of rebellious activities against the oppression of the Nazi party networks such as the French Resistance composed of diverse groups and individuals work to defy the occupiers and supported Allied efforts by sabotaging Gathering intelligence and Publishing underground newspapers and propaganda this spirited resistance in Paris symbolized a unified front against the oppressor contributing significantly to the eventual liberation of the city by the end of the war so this concludes the end to this study guide hopefully this video helped you revise for your exams and if it did make sure to share it with your friends and colleagues good luck and thanks for watching