Hitler becomes Chancellor of Germany 30th January 1933

Today marks the anniversary of when Hitler was made Chancellor of Germany, after a series of failed attempts by others to lead a country that had been in tatters after the Wall Street Crash of 1929.  Hitler and his NSDAP party had won a majority in the Reichstag in 1932 with 37% of the vote-in a parliament that had been dogged by a series of ineffective coalition governments-on the back of a massive propaganda campaign, promising Germany's unemployed (which reached over 6 million by 1933) 'Bread and Work', with Hitler flying from city to city, parading himself as the saviour for all to see. 

The narrative goes back further than January 1933 and the preceding months of campaigning (as Hitler also stood in the Presidential election of March 1932, coming second to Hindenburg).  Hitler had been vying for control of Germany as early as the failed Munich Putsch in November 1923, at a time when Germany was going through a series of crises.  Hitler believed it would be the opportune time to seize control of the Bavarian government and declare a new republic to rival that of the struggling, and increasingly unpopular, Weimar Republic.  Hitler massively misjudged the situation as he did not get the support he anticipated nor did the Putschists have any real notion of what to do once they had taken over the local government building.  The day after, the attempted coup was put to bed when a local army force of 130 men opened fire on Hitler and his accompanying 2000 conspirators; killing 16 Nazis and wounding many more, including Hitler himself.  Two days later, Hitler was arrested and he would spend 9 months in prison for treason-a lenient sentence to say the least.  This event led Hitler to change his tactics of how to come by power in Germany from one of violence and revolution to doing it 'by the book'.  The Putsch did help Hitler in many ways as it was widely publicised, including Hitler's trial, during which he was able to air his nationalistic views.  This resonated with many in Germany as they were still reeling from the 'diktat' forced upon them in 1919. What Germany wanted, and needed, was someone to take charge and build the country back up again, even if that meant going against terms of the Treaty of Versailles.

Between 1924 and 1929 Hitler and the NSDAP struggling to gain much popular support as Germany was experiencing its 'Golden Years'.  When times are good it's not ripe for swathes of the electorate to vote for an extreme party and the moderates will do, as they are seemingly doing a good job.  However, during this time Stresemann had organised loans from the USA under the terms of the Dawes Plan and Young Plan respectively.  But in 1929 disaster struck when the USA experienced a financial crisis and recalled the loans from Germany.  This, almost overnight, plummeted Germany into a desperate state; the Great Depression had hit.  This eroded the Golden Years Germany had once experienced and unemployment rocketed.  It was during this time of hardship that people began to look to the extreme left and extreme right for answers.  Both the NSDAP and the KPD benefitted from a surge in votes and, therefore, seats in the Reichstag.  This culminated in the Nazi Party winning the majority of seats in the 1932 election.  

Despite Hitler being the leader of the largest party in the Reichstag, Hindenburg was reluctant to give him the role of Chancellor.  It was Von Papen that finally convinced Hindenburg that it was the right thing to do, under the notion that they would be able to control Hitler.  This was not to be.  What followed what a series of manoeuvrings to enable Hitler to consolidate power from as early as February 1933.  And so the history goes... 

Sophie Scholl

Sophie Scholl has been someone who I have admired for quite a while-ever since I saw the amazing 2003 Marc Rothemund film about her. The film is great and I highly recommend it to everybody! My year 9 students will watch elements of the film when we study the Second World War.
Sophie Scholl was only a young girl when Adolf Hitler came to power in Germany in 1933. Over the years Sophie witnessed the Nazi atrocities that were taking place in Germany and, after joining the BDM (which opened Sophie's eyes to what Nazism was) and becoming influenced by her father's dissenting views, she became a firm objector to Nazism.
In 1942 Sophie enrolled at Munich University to study biology and philosophy. Sophie's brother, Hans, also studied at the university and introduced Sophie to his friends. Sophie, Hans and their friends were keen lovers of art, music, literature, philosophy and theology-interests that led them to question the authority of the Nazi regime and the suppressing nature Nazi policies. The group of friends secretly discussed politics together and formed the anti-Nazi youth organisation called the 'White Rose'.
In 1942 the White Rose started to publish leaflets anonymously that called for Germans to passively resist the Nazi regime. Sophie did not take part in writing the leaflets but, after discovering what her brother and his friends were doing, insisted on helping distribute the leaflets. This was handy for the White Rose because with Sophie being female it meant she was less likely to be stopped and searched by the SS.

On 18th February 1943, Sophie took part in the distribution of the sixth leaflet that the White Rose produced. The plan was simple; Sophie and Hans would go into Munich University while morning lectures were still on to distribute the leaflets. Sophie would carry the suitcase containing the leaflets and, if asked about why she had the case, would say that she had it because she was taking laundry to her Mother in Ulm. As for the reason Sophie was at the university before leaving for Ulm, she would say that she had a lunch date with a friend before her train to Ulm was due. Sophie and Hans would put out all the leaflets and would be undiscovered. The resulting influx of students from the lecture halls into the corridors where Sophie and Hans would leave the leaflets would mean that all the leaflets would be picked up. This plan almost worked for Sophie and Hans-just before they were about to leave, after believing they had distributed all the leaflets they had in the case, Sophie noticed that there were more. Not wanting to waste them, as paper was expensive during wartime, Sophie and Hans would continue putting out the leaflets. As the bell went to signal the end of morning lectures, Sophie, without thinking, pushed a stack of leaflets off a balcony. This one careless act was witnessed by a custodian who was, or at least pretended to be, a Nazi through and through. The custodian reported Sophie and Hans to the university and both were quickly arrested.
The clip below from the film 'Sophie Scholl' shows Sophie and Hans distributing the sixth leaflet.

During Sophie's trial she was very outspoken about her actions and her abhorrence of the Nazi regime right to the end, even when the judge, the dreaded Roland Freisler, sentenced Sophie to death for treason. Sophie's bravery has earned her a lot of respect and admiration-she has become a key figure in German history because of her actions.
Instead of receiving the usual 100 days in prison, given to prisoners who had been sentenced to death before the sentence was carried out-Sophie, Hans and Christoph Probst-another member of the White Rose, were killed the very same day of their sentencing. At 17:00 Sophie was led away to the guillotine that would cut her life short-it has been recorded that her last words before her execution were: "How can we expect righteousness to prevail when there is hardly anyone willing to give himself up individually to a righteous cause. Such a fine, sunny day, and I have to go. But what does my death matter, if through us thousands of people are awakened and stirred to action?".
Sophie was a brave, intelligent, awe-inspiring young woman who was willing, along with her White Rose counterparts, to stand up for what was right and to speak out against a regime of hate. For this, Sophie has been honoured in many ways by Germany-and rightly so.

Let me know what you make of Sophie Scholl and the White Rose.