How the Nazis Reigned in Germany essays

How the Nazi's Reigned in Germany essays The assassination of Austrian Archduke Franz Ferdinand in June of 1914 ignited an immediate tightening of European alliances that resulted in a bloody World War. The people of Germany welcomed the news of the war, and the following frenzy of enlistment in the German army became known as August Madness. Germans were led to believe that they were winning the war because the government-controlled radio stations led them to believe nothing else. The end of World War I came abruptly and with unexpected results for the German citizens. Germany had lost, and harsh conditions were imposed on Germany upon the signing of the Treaty of Versailles, which formally ended World War I. Hyperinflation and increasing unemployment left German citizens desiring a savior from their current condition. Beliefs as to why Germany lost the war, and the harsh conditions imposed by the Versailles Treaty, created a post-war environment of instability which proved to be a cultivating dish where a relatively unkn own National Socialist German Workers' Party could grow, through carefully selected propaganda, into the dominant party of German politics known as the Nazis. The Versailles Treaty, signed on January 18, 1919, stripped Germany of their colonial empire and forced harsh monetary reparations to be paid by Germany to the allied powers for damages suffered during the war. The treaty also incorporated article 231, known as the War Guilt Clause, which formally placed the blame of the Great War on Germany. Article 231 had a profound effect on German psychology because Germans felt they were at no more fault than any other party involved. The final article of interest was known as the Rhineland Demilitarized Zone, which made Germany remove all troops within a thirty-mile belt of the border with France. The Nazis gained fuel for their growing movement in the form of propaganda denouncing the Versailles treaty. In their twenty-five point party platform of 192...