The Revisionist States: The Rise of Nazis Germany Chapter 3, Part 2

Maria Anna Schicklgruber

Hitler Family Tree – Paternal

• Hitler’s paternal grandmother • Mother of Alois

Johann Georg Hiedler

– Only child of Maria – Born when she was 42 y/o and single

• Refused to name the child’s father

– So Alois Schicklgruber was entered on records

• Candidates for Alois’ Father

– Johann Georg Hiedler – Johann Nepomuk Hiedler (a.k.a. Hüttler) – Leopold Frankenberger

b. 28 Feb. 1792 d. 9 Feb. 1857 Married Maria – 10 May 1842

Johann Nepomuk Hiedler

Maria Anna Schicklgruber

(aka Hüttler)

b. 15 Apr. 1795

b. 19 Mar. 1807

d. 7 Jan. 1847

d. 17 Sep. 1888

Alois Schicklgruber (later Hitler) b. 7 Jun. 1837 d. 3 Jan. 1903

Leopold Frankenberger

Johann Georg Hiedler

Johann Nepomuk Hiedler

• Most widely accepted candidate as Alois’ father • Married Maria when Alois was 5 y/o • Never acknowledged Alois as his biological son • Ultimately recognized as the father in 1876

• Younger and wealthier bro. of Johann Georg • W/ whom Alois was sent to live at age 10

– When Alois was 39 y/o – After Johann Georg had been dead for 20 yrs. and Maria had been dead for almost 30 yrs. – After three relatives appeared w/ him to have the Church legitimize his birth – Allowed Alois to use his father’s name • Which was changed to Hitler for some reason – Could have been done simply to help Alois’ career w/in the Austrian civil service

– After the death of Maria – Led to the speculation that he was the real father • Why would he live w/ his step-uncle rather than live w/ his stepfather?!?

• Married w/ a family of his own when Alois was born

– To Eva Maria Decker • Who was 15 yrs. his senior – So had Johann Georg been sent to marry Maria so as not to cause difficulties for Johann Nepomuk?!?

• The grandfather of Klara Pölzl

– Alois’ future wife – Would have been Alois’ neice if Johann Nepomuk was his father • Explains why Klara called Alois “uncle” and Alois called Klara “niece”

• Believed to have left Alois a sizable inheritance – Allowing Alois to purchase his first property – Would he have done this for a nephew?!?

1

Hitler Family Tree – Maternal Johann Nepomuk Hiedler (aka Hüttler)

m. Eva Maria Decker b. 1792 d. 1873

b. 19 Mar. 1807 d. Sep. 1888

Johanna Hiedler (aka Hüttler)

Walburga Hiedler

b. 19 Jan. 1830 d. 8 Feb. 1906

m. Josef Romeder

b. 25 May 1828 d. 9 Jan. 1902

• 19 y/o son of a wealthy Jew from Graz, Austria

– Believed to have employed the 42-y/o Maria as a cook when she became pregnant

• Hans Frank

– Hitler’s Lawyer – Claimed to have been sent to investigate the 1930 allegation that Hitler had a Jewish ancestry • Allegations were made by Wm. Patrick Hitler

(aka Hüttler)

m. Johann Baptist Pölzl

Leopold Frankenberger

– – – –

Hitler’s nephew Son of Hitler’s half-bro. – Alois, Jr. Had been estranged from the family since running away Attempting to blackmail Hitler

– Supported the allegations Klara Pölzl b. 12 Aug. 1860 d. 21 Dec. 1908 Breast Cancer

• Claiming that the Frankenbergers had made monthly child support payments until Alois was 13 y/o

• Claiming that letters to this effect existed

– But he did not claim to have actually seen the letters

Hitler Family Tree

Wives of Alois Hitler •

•

Anna Glasl-Hörer

– – – –

50 y/o daughter of a customs official Married Alois when he was 36 y/o in 1873 Became sick and/or an invalid shortly after marriage Ultimately separated w/ Alois by mutual agreement in 1880

• B/c of all of Alois’ many love affairs Franziska “Fanni” Matzelsberger

Alois Schicklgruber (later Alois Hitler) b. 7 Jun. 1837 d. 3 Jan. 1903

m. Anna Glasl‐Hörer b. 1823 d. 6 Apr. 1883 Married Alois – 1873 Separated Alois – 7 Nov. 1880

– 19 y/o servant at the inn where Alois lived – One of the many women w/ whom Alois had an affair – Unable to marry Alois until May 1883

m. Franziska Matzelsberger

m. Klara Pölzl

“Fanni”

b. 12 Aug. 1860 d. 21 Dec. 1908

b. 1861 d. 10 Aug. 1884

Breast Cancer

Tuberculosis

Married Alois – 7 Jan. 1885

Married Alois – 22 May 1883

Alois Matzelsberger (later Alois Hitler, Jr.) b. 13 Jan. 1882 d. 20 May 1956 

• A month after Anna’s death • B/c of Catholic Church’s prohibition against divorce

Angela Hitler b. 28 Jul. 1883 d.  30 Oct. 1949 Married Leo Raubal (d. 1910) in 1903 Married Martin Hammitzsch (d. 1945) in  1936 

Leo Rudolf Raubal b. 12 Oct. 1906 d. 18 Aug. 1977

– Had two children w/ Alois

Angela Raubal “Geli” b. 4 Jan. 1908 d. 18 Sep. 1931

b. 10 Jan. 1910 d. 24 Sep. 1993

b. 20 Apr. 1889 d. 30 Apr. 1945

b. Autumn 1887 d. Autumn 1887

Suicide

Married Eva Braun in 1945

Paula Hitler b. 21 Jan. 1896 d. 1 Jun. 1960

Measles

Alois Schicklgruber

– Granddaughter of Johann Nepomuk Hiedler – Came to live w/ Alois and “Fanni” in 1883

Aug. 1884 – Married Alois in Jan. 1885 and gave birth to 1st child in May 1885 – Ultimately had 6 children w/ Alois, but only two survive to adulthood • Adolf Hitler – became a “momma’s boy” • Paula Hitler (aka Paula Wolf)

Otto Hitler

Hitler Family Tree

• Klara Pölzl

– Remained as the housekeeper after “Fanni’s” death in

Diphtheria

Adolf Hitler

b. 24 Mar. 1894 d. 2 Feb. 1900

Elfriede Raubal

Wives of Alois Hitler

birth of Angela

b. 25 Sep. 1886 d. 2 Jan. 1888

Diphtheria

Edmund Hitler

– Later became Alois Hitler, Jr., after the marriage legitimized his birth

• Angela Hitler (b. 1883)

– Became an invalid after developed a lung disorder soon after the

Ida Hitler

b. 17 May 1885 d. 8 Dec. 1887

Suicide

• Alois Matzelsberger (b. 1882)

• After the birth of Angela • Came to look after “Fanni” and the two children

Gustav Hitler

(later Alois Hitler) b. 7 Jun. 1837 d. 3 Jan. 1903

m. Anna Glasl‐Hörer b. 1823 d. 6 Apr. 1883 Married Alois – 1873 Separated Alois – 7 Nov. 1880

m. Franziska Matzelsberger

m. Klara Pölzl

“Fanni”

b. 12 Aug. 1860 d. 21 Dec. 1908

b. 1861 d. 10 Aug. 1884

Breast Cancer

Tuberculosis

Married Alois – 7 Jan. 1885

Married Alois – 22 May 1883

Alois Matzelsberger (later Alois Hitler, Jr.) b. 13 Jan. 1882 d. 20 May 1956 

Angela Hitler b. 28 Jul. 1883 d.  30 Oct. 1949 Married Leo Raubal (d. 1910) in 1903 Married Martin Hammitzsch (d. 1945) in  1936 

Leo Rudolf Raubal b. 12 Oct. 1906 d. 18 Aug. 1977

Angela Raubal “Geli” b. 4 Jan. 1908 d. 18 Sep. 1931

Gustav Hitler

Ida Hitler

b. 17 May 1885 d. 8 Dec. 1887

b. 25 Sep. 1886 d. 2 Jan. 1888

Diphtheria

Otto Hitler b. Autumn 1887 d. Autumn 1887

Diphtheria

Adolf Hitler b. 20 Apr. 1889 d. 30 Apr. 1945 Suicide

Married Eva Braun in 1945

Suicide

Edmund Hitler Elfriede Raubal b. 10 Jan. 1910 d. 24 Sep. 1993

b. 24 Mar. 1894 d. 2 Feb. 1900 Measles

Paula Hitler b. 21 Jan. 1896 d. 1 Jun. 1960

2

Adolf Hitler

Life in Vienna

• Born on Apr. 20, 1889, in Braunau, Austria • Father = Alois Hiedler

• Lived in squalor

– Changed family name to Hitler – An Austrian customs official – A very strict disciplinarian

• Mother = Klara

– From one flophouse to another

• Earned a living painting & selling postcards

– Pampered her son Adolf – One person Hitler love deeply

• Hoped to become an artist

– Went to Vienna in 1907 – Rejected by the Vienna Academy of Fine Arts

Life in Vienna • Believed to have caused his antisemitism

– Hatred of Jews

• Germans were a minority. • While he lived in squalor, Jews

were wealthy and well respected in Viennese society.

• Hitler’s mother died at this time.

– From breast cancer – Treated by a Jewish doctor – Suffered a great deal, which caused Hitler to greatly dislike the doctor and maybe Jews in general

3

Hitler in WWI

Hitler in WWI

• He moved to Bavaria in 1913

• Served as a messenger or runner

– Southern German province – Joined a Bavarian regiment

• Very brave and highly decorated

– A very dangerous job

– Iron Cross Second Class in 1914 – Iron Cross First Class in 1918

• Became a lance corporal

• Blinded by a British gas

– Equivalent to PFC in U.S. – “The Bavarian corporal”

attack in October 1918

Hitler in the Post-War Period

Problems Exploited by Hitler

• Was an Education Officer in Propaganda

• Treaty of Versailles

Office for the District Army Command – To investigate radical groups in Germany

• Sent to investigate the Nationalsozialistiche Deutsche Arbeiterpartei

– National Socialist German Workers Party – A.k.a., Nazi or NSDAP

– The Diktat – German responsibility for war, reparations, loss of territory, and disarmament

• Weimar Republic

– Democratic gov’t est. after the Kaiser’s abdication

• Hitler became Party Member #55 and would eventually become caught up in the movement and become its leader

– Blamed for the acceptance of the Diktat – Believed to be controlled by Jews – Used as a scapegoat • Someone who is blamed for all the problems

German Hyperinflation

Problems Exploited by Hitler

Year

Deutschmarks per $1

• Economic Problems

1918

4.2

1921

75

– By 1923, Germany had fallen behind in reparations and announced they would be unable to pay. Cost of a loaf of bread: Nov. 1918 – 1 mark Nov. 1923 – 163 million marks Dec. 1923 – 200 billion marks

– France & Belgian responded by occupying the Ruhr. • Major industrial area • To hold the region ransom to make Germany pay – Germany responded by printing more money. • Ruined the nation’s currency & caused hyperinflation – Period of very rapid inflation

Jan. 1923

8,695

Feb. 1923

18,000

May 1923

36,000

June 1923

160,000

July 1923

1,000,000

Nov. 1923

130,000,000,000

Dec. 1923

420,000,000,000,000

4

Hyperinflation • Wheelbarrow economy – A woman went to the store pushing a wheel-barrel full of money. She stopped at the post office & left wheel barrel outside. When she returned, $ was neatly stacked along the curb, but the wheel barrel had been stolen.

Hyperinflation • Hourly inflation

– Restaurants stopped printing menus & used blackboards so they could more easily change prices. – A person could buy and drink a cup of coffee at one price, only to find when the check came the price had doubled.

• A congressman who

visited Germany in 1923 claimed to have pd. 1.5 billion DM for dinner and left 400 million for a tip.

Hyperinflation • People burned the money. – Cheaper than buying coal!

Hyperinflation • People used money as wallpaper. – Cheaper than actual wallpaper!

Hyperinflation

Hyperinflation

• Kids played w/ the money.

• Barter economy returned – Trading one good or service for another

5

Dawes Plan Aug. 1924

• Proposed by Charles G. Dawes • Called for U.S. banks to make loans to Germany

– To stabilize currency

• Called for the Germans to

resume paying reparations – Allowing the Allies to resume repaying their war debts

• Called for the Allies to evacuate the Ruhr

“His words go like an arrow to their target; he touches each private wound on the raw, liberating the mass unconscious, expressing its innermost aspirations, telling it what it most wants to hear…. Hitler responds to the vibrations of the human heart w/ the delicacy of the seismograph.” —Otto Strasser, Hitler and I, 1940

Munich Beerhall Putsch

Consequence of Putsch

• Erich von Ludendorff

• Ludendorff acquitted of treason • Hitler convicted of treason

Nov. 9, 1923

– German hero from WWI – Sympathetic to the Nazis – Convinced Hitler to launch a putsch • Seizure of power • Coup d’état

– Sentenced to 5 yrs. in Landsberg Prison

• More of a country club – Hitler allowed his own private secretary  Rudolf Hess

– Served 9 months of the sentence

• Putsch launched at height of hyperinflation. • Nazis gained control of many gov’t buildings. – Had agreement w/ the army – Stopped by the Bavarian police opening fire as they marched thru the streets

• Man next to Hitler killed. • Hermann Göring (Goering) was wounded.

Mein Kampf (1925)

Views in Mein Kampf

• Political autobiography of Hitler – Dictated to Hess

• Mostly ignored at time • Derisively called Mein Krampf by critics – Mein Kampf = My Struggles – Mein Krampf = My Diarrhea

• Depicted Aryans as the “master race”

• Painted a picture of Jews as “parasites”

“If … the Jew is victorious over the other peoples of the world, his crown will be the funeral wreath of humanity and this planet will … move through the ether devoid of men.” —Hitler, Mein Kampf, 1925

• Desire for Lebensraum for Germany – “Living space” – To relieve the pressure of German pop. – Eastern Europe—“home of the Slavs”

6

Return to Prosperity • Prosperity began to return to Germany by the Hitler was released. • B/c of the Dawes Plan

Revival of Nazism • Great Depression – Economic disparity returned. – Nazis capitalized on discontent.

• Nazis at the Polls

– Received plurality of Reichstag

• German Parliament

• Lean days for Hitler & the Nazis – Monsignor Pacelli, the papal legate and future Pope Pius XII, assured the int’l community Hitler would never be heard from again. • Noted later, when he was the pope, that he made that assessment “before I was infallible”

German Elections Date

Seats Held

Total Seats

May 1928

12

491

Percentage 2.6

Sept. 1930

107

577

18.3

July 1932

230

608

37.3

Nov. 1932

196

584

33.1

Mar. 1933

288

647

43.9

– Lost bid for Hitler to become president

• To Paul von Hindenburg – Hero from WWI

Hitler Comes to Power

Hitler Comes to Power

• Who shall be chancellor?

• Hitler appted. chancellor on Jan. 30, 1933.

– German prime minister who ran gov’t – Franz von Papen • Hindenburg’s 1st choice • Failed to form a coalition

– Reluctantly – Papen appted. vice-chancellor • Hoping Hitler would only be a puppet

– Nazis refused to work w/ anyone but Hitler.

– General Kurt von Schleicher • Hindenburg’s 2nd choice • Also failed to form coalition

Reichstag Fire

Reichstag Fire Feb. 27, 1933

• Marinus van der Lubbe

• Hermann Göring – WWI fighter ace from Baron von Richthofen’s Flying Circus Squadron – President of Reichstag

– Overweight & addicted to the good-life (& drugs) – Primarily concerned w/ saving art treasurers and tapestries from the Reichstag as it burned

– Dutch communist – Blamed for the fire & executed

• Possibly started by the Nazis • Signified end of leg. gov't

7

Parliamentary Elections

“Enabling Act”

Mar. 5, 1933

Mar. 24, 1933

• Last free elections in Germany • Nazis won 288 out of 647 seats (43.9%) • Communists won 81 seats

• “Law to Remedy the Distress of the People and the Reich”

– Blamed for Reichstag fire and expelled • Giving the Nazis a maj. in the Reichstag (288/566 seats – 50.9%)

• Allowed Hitler to rule by decree – W/o need for Reichstag approval

German Election Results Date

Total Seats

Nazis

% Nazis

Communists

% Communists

Mar. 5, 1933

647

288

43.9

81

12.32

German Election Results – After Expulsion of the Communists Date

Total Seats

Nazis

% Nazis

Communists

% Communists

Mar. 5, 1933

566

288

50.9

—

—

• Used to outlaw all political parties except the NSDAP on July 14, 1933

Sturmabteilungen • SA or “Brownshirts” • Nazis thugs used to terrorize people in the streets

– Similar to Mussolini’s “Blackshirts”

• Led by Ernst Röhm (Roehm) – Wanted to merge SA w/ German army – Posed a potential threat – Not liked by army

8

“Night of Long Knives”

Schutzstaffeln

June 30, 1934

• SS ordered to eliminate the SA

• SS or “Blackshirts” • Served as Hitler’s bodyguards

– Röhm eliminated under guise of being homosexual. • Homosexual orgy in progress at Röhm’s chalet when raided.

• Röhm found in bed w/ a naked boy.

• Thousands of rivals rounded up. – 2,000 est. killed. – “Lucky” ones sent to Dachau. • 1st concentration camp

• Included only men w/ purest Aryan traits • Led by Heinrich Himmler

Death of Hindenburg Aug. 2, 1934

• Hindenburg’s popularity only potential restraint • Hindenburg died of lung cancer.

• Earned loyalty of the army

Death of Hindenburg • Hitler merged offices of president & chancellor

– Hitler now der Führer (Fuehrer) • “The Leader” – Supported by 90% of Germany

• Hitler announced the 1000 yr. Third Reich.

– 1st Reich = Holy Roman Empire (800-1806)

– 2nd Reich = German Empire (1871-1918)

Oath of Personal Loyalty

Hitlerjugend

• Required of every soldier • Sworn directly to Hitler

• Hitler Youth or HJ • Every German youth required to join.

“I swear by God this sacred oath, that I will render unconditional obedience to Adolf Hitler, the Führer of the German Reich and people, Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, and will be ready as a brave soldier to risk my life at any time for this oath.”

• Used to help promote Nazism – Indoctrinated w/ anti-semitism – Received physical and military training

9

Nazi Propaganda

Nazis Propaganda

• Joesph Goebbels

• Nuremburg rallies

– Minister of Info. and Propaganda

– Party rallies held each yr. in Nuremburg – Carefully choreographed

– Described as mystic experience • People lulled into a trance • Celebrated German greatness

• Der Sturmer – Party magazine

• Triumph of Will (1935)

– Documentary of rallies – Directed by Leni Riefenstahl

10

Book Burning May 10, 1933

• One attempt to “purify” German culture

• Burned “un-German” books – Albert Einstein, Sigmund Freud, Helen Keller, Ernest Hemingway, Thomas Mann

• Called “ a holocaust of books” by Newsweek

– To be consumed by fire “Where one burns books, one will, in the end, burn people.” —Heinrich Heine, German poet, 1823

1936 Olympic Games • Held in Berlin • Used as propaganda – To demonstrate rebirth of Germany – To discredit reports of harsh practices

– To demonstrate the Aryan superiority • Shattered when the American black athlete Jesse Owens won an unprecedented 4 gold medals.

Gestapo

Lebensborn

• Geheime Staatspolizei – Secret state police – Division of the SS • Commanded by Himmler

• Where select women w/ Aryan traits were sent

– To mate w/ members of the SS

• Children would be cared

• Used to silence political opponents – Usually through torture and murder

for in maternity homes and given special privileges • Hitler’s attempt to further the “super race”

11

“Ein Volk, ein Reich, ein Führer!”

“One people, one state, one leader!”

12