LIFE IN NAZI GERMANY How did Hitler and the Nazis Gain Power
in Germany? Hitler joined the German Workers’ Party after World War I. He soon took over the leadership of the party and changed its name to the National Socialist German Workers’ Party (NSDAP), popularly know as the Nazi Party. During the 1920s, the Nazi Party was small. But after the Great Depression hit
2Outline briefly the causes of Hitler’s rise to power
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Germany in 1929, the popularity of the Nazi Party soared. Soon the Nazi Party became the largest party in the Reichstag (German parliament), and in January 1933, Hitler became Chancellor (prime minister) of Germany.
Adolf Hitler, leader of Nazi Party Joseph Goebbels, responsible for propaganda
350 300 250 200 150 100 50 0
Heinrich Himmler, head of the SS
Hermann Goering, Chief of the Luftwaffe (German Air Force)
Nazis 6 million
Communists Unemployed
4 million 2 million
What does the graph tell you about the relationship between unemployment and the number of seats held by Nazis and Communists in the German parliament (Reichstag) 1928–33?