Embedded Files
Illinois Social Science Standards
Illinois Social Science Standards
SS.H.1.6-8.LC: Classify series of historical events and developments as examples of change and/or continuity.
SS.H.1.6-8.MdC: Analyze connections among events and developments in broader historical contexts.
SS.H.1.6-8.MC: Use questions generated about individuals and groups to analyze why they, and the developments they shaped, are seen as historically significant.
Critical Thinking Topic:
Critical Thinking Topic:
How did Adolf Hitler, a totalitarian leader, disguise his intentions to become a totalitarian ruler?
Important Vocabulary:
Propaganda - information, especially of a biased or misleading nature, used to promote or publicize a particular political cause or point of view.
Martyr - a person who is killed because of their religion or other beliefs.
Stormtroopers (SA) - Hitler's Private Army
Guard Squadron (SS) - Hitler's bodyguards
League of German Girls (BDM) - girls youth group in Nazi Germany.
Treaty of Versailles - the treaty that ended World War I, which forced Germany to accept full blame for the war.
Reparations - payments to fix wrongs done to another.
Antisemitism - hostility to or prejudice against Jews.
Ahnenpass - the German word for "ancestor passport" was also the document that Nazi Germany used to prove one's Aryan lineage of citizens of Nazi Germany.
Aryan Race - Nazi name for a supposed superior race of people.
Anti-Semitism - hostility to or prejudice against Jews.
Mischling - the German term for a person with mixed Jewish ancestry.
How did Hitler Rise to Power
Critical Thinking Skills: Political Cartoon
Critical Thinking Skills: Political Cartoon
Study the political Cartoon, identify what is happening in this cartoon, and explain what message the artist is trying to send.
Study the political Cartoon, identify what is happening in this cartoon, and explain what message the artist is trying to send.
Chapter Summary: Foreward
Chapter Summary: Foreward
When Susan Bartoletti wrote the book Hitler Youth: Growing Up In Hitler's Shadow, her purpose was not to give a historical account of Hitler. Rather her goal was to show her readers what it was like to be a child living in Nazi Germany as Hitler rose to power. The instability and economic problems of Germany had caused many to seek a new leader who might promise change and a stronger Germany. Hitler started with the German youth, encouraging them to join his Hitler Youth programs. After joining the self-sacrificing German youths helped to get Hitler and other Nazi leaders elected by campaigning and distributing leaflets. As Susan Bartoletti put it, "This [book] is their story."
Chapter Summary: Introduction
Chapter Summary: Introduction
The Murder of Herbert Norkus
The Murder of Herbert Norkus
Herbert Norkus was a fourteen year old member of the Hitler Youth. Herbert's family had faced real hardships through the 1920s and early 1930s. His mother had died due to an illness, while his father worked diligently at a factory job that did not pay well. After the death of his monther, who was against the idea of him joining the Hitler Youth, his family allowed him to join. They hoped it would help his self-esteem and give him a sense of discipline. As a member of the HItler Youth, HErbert distributed propaganda in order to promote the Nazi party. Working in small teams, Herbert and his friends who were also members of the Hitler Youth went up and down the streets distributing pamphlets. DUring one early morning in January, 1932 Herbert Norkus was doing just that when a group of communist boys attacked him. Running from door to door he pleaded for help, but no one answered. WHen the communist gang caught up with Herbert they stabbed him multiple times, killing him in the streets. Herbert Norkus was celebrated as a martyr who sacrificed themselves for the Nazi cause, motivating more to come to join the Hitler Youth. Soon after his death the Nazi party became one of the largest political parties in Germany. On October 2, 1932, Adolf Hitler mentioned the sacrifice of Norkus and many others who had worked so hard to support the Nazi party. Hitler's ideas of building a greater and more powerful Germany gave many youth motivation to further support the Nazi party.
Chapter Summary: Chapter 1
Chapter Summary: Chapter 1
Hitler's Rise to Power
Hitler's Rise to Power
On Monday, January 30, 1933, Adolf Hitler had risen in power in Germany. Having been appointed as Germany's Chancellor, he was now the second-most powerful man in Germany. Spectators from all across Germany welcomed their new government leader in a massive parade. Many children and adults came out to catch a glimpse of the man promising to make Germany a strong nation once again. His message of hope and strength encouraged many young people, who were tired of the struggle and poverty facing Germany to join the Hitler Youth and the League of German Girls. Germany struggled after World War I, and the Treaty of Versailles only worsened this by forcing Germans to pay reparations for the damages done. Germany was humiliated by the war, and when the Great Depression struck in 1929 American banks withdrew their loans to Germany. This caused an already weak economy to collapse. Unemployment by 1933 was at an all-time high. Adolf Hitler promised to rebuild Germany, strengthen it, and unify all German-speaking people in Europe into a "Greater Germany." Hitler took advantage of their anti-semitism in Germany, which is a hatred of Jewish people. This hatred gave many Germans someone to blame. He referred to the Jews as Parasites. In 1933, "no one could have predicted the fate of Jews" in Germany.
Hitler's Triumph (1933)Copy of Nazi Congress in Nuremberg, Germany (1936)Ceremony At Reichstag (1933)Adolf Hitler ... Assumes Bismark's Mantle! (1933)Chapter Summary: Chapter 2
Chapter Summary: Chapter 2
Organizing the Hitler Youth
Organizing the Hitler Youth
As the popularity of Adolf Hitler increased, so did the popularity of the Hitler Youth. German children flocked to the Hitler Youth for its adventure, excitement, and feeling of power. The Nazi Party tightened its control over Germany while it banned all other youth organizations, and confiscated records of these organizations, and targeted those members. Boys in the Hitler Youth practiced marching, camping, survival skill s, shooting, grenade throwing, and fighting. Girls in the Hitler Youth also worked on strength training, nursing, household training, and other social work skills. Germany took more power by banning the freedom of speech, press, and assembly, and began targeting those that questioned, ridiculed, or spoke out against the Nazi ideas. Catholic Priests were attacked and murdered, parents who did not allow their children to join the Hitler Youth were threatened, and non-Hitler Youth members were attacked in the streets. As American reporter Kenneth Roberts stated, "German youth is Hitler Youth."
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