Adolph
Hitler, b April 20, 1889 Austria, after mother's death to Vienna 1908
to study art, failed to be admitted to Academy of Fine Arts, 1913 moved
to Munich, 1914 joined army, won the Iron Cross, 1918 joined the
Freikorps, 1919 German Workers' Party.
1923. Hitler and Ernst Julius
Röhm formed paramilitary SA [Sturmabteilung] brownshirts within
the party, November 8-9 Beer Hall Putsch failed.
1924. Hitler in prison writes Mein
Kampf,
defining ideology of the movement
1925. Hitler emerges from prison and takes over the National
Socialist German Workers' Party
1925-29. Nazi campaigns against reparations, labor militancy and
strikes, communism
1932. May Hindenburg defeated Hitler 53% to 37%, July
Reichstag elections so similar Nazi strenth; November 6 election, Nazi
vote fell to 33%.
1933. Jan. 30 Hitler made Chancellor in hopes of stabilizing the
conservative coalition, industrialists drawn to rearmament
politices. March 5, newly legitimized Nazis got 43.9% of
vote.
- March
21. Malicious Practices Act started the mass arrests of communists and
socialists.
- March
22. Daucau concentration camp opened.
- March
23. Ennabling Act made Hitler dictator and eleminates other parties,
including other conservative parties.
- April
26. Having detached police and intelligence depatments from the police
and staffed them with Nazis, Hermann Göringmerged the two as the
Gestapo [Geheime Staatspolizei].
- May
10. book burning
- Sept.
27. Reichstag fire, Communists blamed.
- Oct.
14. Germany left League of Nations and disarmament conference.
1934.
- June
30. "Night of the Long Knives. Hitler murdered Röhm,
slaughter of the SA, replacing old Nazi brownshirts with Heinrich
Himmler's SS [Schutzstaffel] and Reinhard
Heydrich's SD [Sicherheitsdienst] as internal
security forces.
- August
2. Hindenburg died and Hitler became Supreme Commander of the armed
forces.
1935-39. German embarks on active
expansion through brinksmanship, coerced treaties, threats, and
preemptive occupations.
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