Hitler, Adolf authoritarianism He had also developed a deep hatred of left-wing politics, and it was no coincidence that his anti-Semitism developed along with his political beliefs, as many of the advocates of socialism and communism were Jews The army employed Hitler as a political officer, and he freely gave vent to his feelings in the charged atmosphere following the humiliating Versailles Treaty of June 28, 1919 The treaty signed by the German politicians was a peace dictated by others, and German humiliation was complete Hitler was to report the activities of the Deutsche Arbeiterpartei (DAP, German Workers’ Party), and he soon found that the party ideals of extreme nationalism and anti-Semitism were in line with his own beliefs With his excellent skill of delivery, Hitler impressed the members and joined the DAP Thus, the political career of Hitler began in September 1919 He was soon placed in charge of propaganda and recruited fellow soldiers from the army who had also been disillusioned with the Treaty of Versailles NAZI PARTY All the blame for Germany’s woes was put on the Jews, communists, and inefficient political leadership of the Weimar Republic Hitler made the symbol of the party the swastika (symbolizing victory for the Aryan race) with a red background (symbolizing the social idea) and enclosed in a white circle (symbolizing the national idea) Hitler changed the name of the DAP to the National Socialist German Workers’ Party (NSDAP, Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei), Nazi for short As chairperson of the party, Hitler was addressed as the führer (leader) The Weimar Republic received a severe blow in January 1923, when France and Belgium occupied the Ruhr industrial area and brought the German economy to a standstill Hitler tried to exploit the situation with the Beer Hall Putsch of November in Bavaria, but the coup failed and the führer was imprisoned During his period of incarceration, he wrote Mein Kampf (My struggle) The memoir-cum-doctrinal Nazi guide book spelled out an agenda for an expanded Germany inhabited by a pure Aryan race and excluding Jews and other unwanted people Hitler was biding his time and realized that he could attain power through the ballot box The collapse of the New York Stock Market on October 23, 1929, and the consequent worldwide Great Depression affected the German economy The unemployment figure rose from 1.30 million to nearly million by the end of 1930 Hitler exploited the deteriorating economic situ- 149 ation He had assured the top industrialists, by issuing a pamphlet entitled The Road to Resurgence, that the Nazi Party was not against the wealthy His promise of suppression of trade unionism and building up of the army was music to the ears of big industrialists His technique of propaganda and rabble-rousing speeches appealed to the workers The political elite began to accept him because of his emphasis on legality In the 1932 elections Hitler’s party was the strongest in Germany, with 40 percent of the votes The Reich president, Paul von Hindenburg (1847–1934), was persuaded by conservative leaders and Nazi supporters to appoint Hitler chancellor in January 1933 Nazi political opponents were subdued by mass demonstrations in favor of Hitler and terrorized by the brown-shirted SA, the Sturmabteilung (storm troopers), and the black-uniformed ss, the Schutzstaffel (security echelon) In March an act that granted dictatorial power to Hitler was passed After four months all political parties were banned save the Nazi Party, and the common form of greeting became “Heil Hitler” with an outstretched right arm A ministry of propaganda was instituted under Joseph Goebbels (1897–1945) On June 30, 1934, Hitler carried out a purge in the Nazi Party by murdering his opponents in the “night of the long knives.” With the death of Hindenburg in August, Hitler, with the title of führer, was the supreme leader of Germany The legal system was virtually nonexistent, and the Geheime Staatspolizei (the Gestapo, the secret state police), formed by Hermann Göring (1893–1946), threw the anti-Nazis into concentration camps A rearmament and public housing program were initiated The economy revived, and the unemployment figures went down Germany became 83 percent self-sufficient in agriculture by fixing farm prices and wages, banning the sale of farms of less than 312 acres, and reclaiming uncultivated lands Industrial recovery was achieved by the Four-Year Plans of 1933 and 1936 The ministry of economics distributed raw materials and regulated prices, imports, and exports Hitler’s popularity soared, while Germany had been transformed into an authoritarian state Hitler struck against the Jews, which culminated in the Nazis’ sending them into gas chambers and concentration camps during World War II The Nuremberg laws of September 1935 denied the Jews citizenship and the right to marry non-Jews Hitler’s policies led to large-scale Jewish migration to different parts of the world The November 1938 pogrom against the Jews resulted in massacre, looting of property, the forcing of