1. THE APPEAL OF THE
NAZIS
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ISTORY/MWH/GERMANY/NAZIBELIEFSREV2.SHTML

2. • The crisis of 1923 led to ordinary Germans
supporting more extreme parties such as the
Nazis, which only began in 1919 as a small political
group. The Nazis appeared to offer a better future
and something for everyone which gave
them widespread appeal.

3. NAZI IDEOLOGY
• In 1919, Adolf Hitler joined a small right-wing group
called the German Workers' Party. He took over as
its leader, and changed its name to the National
Socialists (Nazis).
• The party developed a 25-Point Programme, which
- after the failure of the Munich Putsch in 1924 - Hitler
explained further in his book 'Mein Kampf'.

5. NAZI IDEOLOGY
• Lebensraum - the need for 'living space' for the German
nation to expand.
• A strong Germany - the Treaty of Versailles should be
abolished and all German-speaking people united in
one country.
• Führer - the idea that there should be a single leader
with complete power rather than a democracy.
• Social Darwinism - the idea that the Aryan race was
superior and Jews were 'subhuman'.
• Autarky - the idea that Germany should be
economically self-sufficient.
• Germany was in danger - from Communists and Jews,
who had to be destroyed.

6. NAZI IDEOLOGY
• In the 1920s, the Nazis tried to be all things to all people.
The 25-Point Programme had policies that were:
• Socialist - eg farmers should be given their land; pensions
should improve; and public industries such as electricity
and water should be owned by the state.
• Nationalist - all German-speaking people should be
united in one country; the Treaty of Versailles should be
abolished; and there should be special laws for
foreigners.
• Racist - Jews should not be German citizens and
immigration should be stopped.
• Fascist - a strong central government and control of the
newspapers.

7. NAZI IDEOLOGY
The Nazis did not appeal to:
• working men who voted Communist
• intellectuals such as students and university
professors
They were popular with:
• nationalists and racists
• farmers
• lower middle-class people such as plumbers and
shopkeepers who were worried about the chaos
Germany was in
• rich people worried by the threat from Communism

8. NAZI PROPAGANDA
• Hitler put Josef Goebbels in charge of Nazi propaganda.
Methods of campaigning that the Nazis used in the
1920s included radio, mass rallies, newspapers (eg 'Der
Sturmer'), Hitler's speeches, and posters.
• The Nazis used crude slogans to introduce these ideas
and to make them appeal to the ordinary people of
Germany.
*Propaganda: a type of advertising for an idea or
cause, produced by supporters or opponents of that idea
or cause. It is usually produced to influence how the
people of a nation think.

9. NAZI PROPAGANDA
Look at the posters above. These slogans were targeted at specific groups
- can you work out who these slogans were meant to appeal to?
Work means bread
German women, think of
your children! Vote for Hitler!

10. NAZI PROPAGANDA
Look at the posters above. These slogans were targeted at specific groups
- can you work out who these slogans were meant to appeal to?
The Jewish Wirepuller
Victory or Bolshevism

11. NAZI PROPAGANDA
Look at the posters above. These slogans were targeted at specific groups
- can you work out who these slogans were meant to appeal to?
Work means bread
• Unemployed German
people

12. NAZI PROPAGANDA
Look at the posters above. These slogans were targeted at specific groups
- can you work out who these slogans were meant to appeal to?
German women, think of
your children! Vote for Hitler!
• Mothers and Women

13. NAZI PROPAGANDA
Look at the posters above. These slogans were targeted at specific groups
- can you work out who these slogans were meant to appeal to?
The Jewish Wirepuller
• Racists
• The picture shows a fat
Jewish employer
controlling the German
workers’ lives

14. NAZI PROPAGANDA
Look at the posters above. These slogans were targeted at specific groups
- can you work out who these slogans were meant to appeal to?
Victory or Bolshevism
• Rich German people
• Because they feared that
the Communists would
nationalise their farms
and factories

15. REVISION TIP AND ANSWER
PREPARATION
Revision tip
• You are unlikely to be asked to describe what the Nazis
believed. Concentrate more on understanding how the
Nazis tried to get their message across (eg by using
propaganda). This will help you explain how Hitler came
to power.
Answer preparation
As part of your revision, think about the arguments and
facts you would use to explain:
• What the Nazis believed.
• How the Nazis tried to appeal to different groups of
people.

16. CHECK-UP TEST
1. What was the Nazi party first called?
• National Socialists
• German Workers' Party
• German Nationalists Party
2. In these points from the Nazis' 25-Point Programme, which
is an example of the "Nationalist" element of Nazi beliefs:
• The state should control the newspapers.
• All German people should be united in one country.
• Jews should not be German citizens.
3. In these points from the Nazis' 25-Point Programme, which
is an example of the socialist element of early Nazi beliefs:
• There should be special laws for foreigners.
• There should be a strong central government.
• Public industries should be owned by the state.
4. In these points from the Nazis' 25-Point Programme, which
is an example of the racist element of Nazi beliefs:
• Jews should not be German citizens.
• Farmers should own their own land.
• Immigration should be stopped.
5. What was the book in which Hitler outlined his political
ideas after the failure of the Munich Putsch in 1923:
• Mein Kampf
• Mien Kampf
• Mien Kapmf
6. What name did Hitler use for the single leader with
complete power whom he said should control the
German state?
• Fürher
• Führer
• Fürhur
7. What was "lebensraum"?
• living space
• The desire to expand the German empire.
• a "Greater Germany"
8. What is the name for the theory that only the fittest
races would survive?
• National Darwinism
• Social Darwinism
• National Socialism
9. Which of these races was "untermensch", according
to the Nazis?
• Germans
• Swedes
• Slavs
10. What was the name for the theory that said that
Germany should be self-sufficient?
• Autarchy
• Artarchy
• Autarky

17. CHECK-UP TEST
1. What was the Nazi party first called?
• National Socialists
• German Workers' Party
• German Nationalists Party
2. In these points from the Nazis' 25-Point Programme, which
is an example of the "Nationalist" element of Nazi beliefs:
• The state should control the newspapers.
• All German people should be united in one country.
• Jews should not be German citizens.
3. In these points from the Nazis' 25-Point Programme, which
is an example of the socialist element of early Nazi beliefs:
• There should be special laws for foreigners.
• There should be a strong central government.
• Public industries should be owned by the state.
4. In these points from the Nazis' 25-Point Programme, which
is an example of the racist element of Nazi beliefs:
• Jews should not be German citizens.
• Farmers should own their own land.
• Immigration should be stopped.
5. What was the book in which Hitler outlined his political
ideas after the failure of the Munich Putsch in 1923:
• Mein Kampf
• Mien Kampf
• Mien Kapmf
6. What name did Hitler use for the single leader with
complete power whom he said should control the
German state?
• Fürher
• Führer
• Fürhur
7. What was "lebensraum"?
• living space
• The desire to expand the German empire.
• a "Greater Germany"
8. What is the name for the theory that only the fittest
races would survive?
• National Darwinism
• Social Darwinism
• National Socialism
9. Which of these races was "untermensch", according
to the Nazis?
• Germans
• Swedes
• Slavs
10. What was the name for the theory that said that
Germany should be self-sufficient?
• Autarchy
• Artarchy
• Autarky