Hello, welcome to History here at Oak National Academy.

My name's Mr. Newton, and I'll be your teacher today, guiding you through the entire lesson.

Right, let's get started.

Over the next few lessons we'll be thinking about our big inquiry question.

Which events turned the tide in the story of the Second World War? This is the question we will use to investigate the unfolding events of the war, the outcome of which was not certain from the outset.

After the First World War, political unrest and poor economic conditions led many countries to develop a dictatorship as their government.

Dictatorships emerged in Germany, the Soviet Union, Italy, and Japan, for example.

Many of these dictators such as the German dictator, Adolf Hitler, followed the ideas of something called fascism.

Ultimately, in just over 20 years after the end of the First World War, the Second World War began, so historians are incredibly interested in this interwar period, the time between the end of the First World War and the beginning of the Second World War.

A time when there was a rise of fascism and dictatorship in Europe, a time when Hitler took charge of Germany and Europe descended into another world war.

By the end of this lesson, you'll be able to explain Hitler's rise to power.

Before we begin, there are a few key words that we need to understand.

The Great Depression was the period after the 1929 Wall Street Crash, which impacted trade, finance, production, and employment.

A fascist is someone who supports a system based on a very powerful leader, state control and being extremely proud of country and race and in which political opposition is not allowed.

The Third Reich is another way of saying the German Empire, from 1933 to 1945.

There had been two empires previously in the Middle Ages and just before the First World War.

Today's lesson split up into three parts.

We'll first examine the events in Germany immediately after the First World War.

Then we look at the rise of fascism and the global economic conditions created by the Great Depression before finally looking at how the fascist threats formed in Germany.

Okay, let's start with post-war Germany, weak and unstable.

In 1919, close to Paris in the Palace of Versailles, the victors of the First World War Britain, France, and America came together to negotiate the peace treaty, the Treaty of Versailles.

If you have a look at the photo on the left, it shows the leaders of the Big Four nations at the Paris Peace Conference.

On the furthest left, we can see Vittorio Orlando of Italy.

Next to him was David Lloyd George of Britain.

Then we see George Clemenceau of France and finally Woodrow Wilson of America.

They'd come together to negotiate and develop the Treaty of Versailles.

Germany was not allowed to be part of the negotiations.

It was decided that the aggression of Germany and her allies were to blame for the First World War.

The Great War, as it became known, was one of the most brutal conflicts the world had ever seen.

Millions had been killed, empires had collapsed.

There were heavy financial costs, and many people felt that a just peace would be one in which Germany could not repeat another conflict in this way.

There had been a lot of physical destruction in France, especially their industries in the northeast of the country.

Under pressure from the vengeful French Prime Minister, the treaty terms were harsh.

France pushed for a weakened Germany.

In return for peace, Germany was required to adhere to some terms that the treaty had set out.

Firstly, it was required to give up territory.

If you have a look at the map, the crosses represent some of the territory that Germany was forced to give up.

They were also forced to give up all their overseas colonies.

Germany also had to limit its military.

Its army was limited to 100,000 men, and it was forbidden from developing an air force.

Germany was to pay staggeringly high reparations for the damage it had caused, and Germany was forced, rightly or wrongly to take the full blame for causing the First World War.

These terms were dictated to the German leadership who had to accept them or face invasion.

However, the German public had little idea of how badly the war had been going for Germany.

Many Germans felt betrayed by the signing of the treaty.

They felt stabbed in the back by its new weak leadership.

Okay, let's have a check for understanding.

What did the Treaty of Versailles dictate to Germany? Select three correct answers.

A, forced to take the blame for causing the First World War, B, reduction of the army to 100,000 men, C, required to give up some of its territory, D, required to pay for a new air force.

Pause the video, select your three correct answers, and then come right back.

Okay, welcome back, and well done if you knew the correct answers were A, forced to take the blame, B, reduction of the army, and C, required to give up some of its territory.

Okay, let's continue.

One soldier who had fought in the First World War, Adolf Hitler felt deeply humiliated by the German surrender and resulting peace treaty.

Have a look at the photo on the left.

We can see three ordinary soldiers, but if you look closely, I've highlighted Adolf Hitler in purple.

At this point, Hitler was a low ranking corporal in the army.

No one could have known what this rather unassuming figure would go on to do in the 20th century.

After the war, he returned to a Germany that was in anarchy.

The Kaiser, Germany's emperor, had abdicated and new political parties had sprung up all claiming they could rebuild Germany.

One of these parties, the Communist Party, were demanding a revolution and had taken over Munich where Hitler lived.

In 1921, Hitler became the leader of a small-far right group called the National Socialist German Workers' Party.

They later became known as the Nazis.

If you have a look at the illustration on the left, it shows Hitler addressing an early meeting of his supporters in the 1920s.

Hitler became good at public speaking and his speeches began to attract a lot of attention.

Hitler's message was simple.

Germany had been betrayed by Jewish people and weak politicians.

The solution was to build a stronger nation all united under the Third Reich, a third German empire.

One to be proud of, like the two German empires previously, before the First World War had halted German progress.

This message was built on antisemitic stereotypes, but offered hope to a desperate German population.

Okay, let's have a check for understanding.

Who did Hitler blame Germany's problems on? Pause the video, have a think and then come right back.

Okay, welcome back.

So you could have said something like, he believed that Germany had been betrayed by Jewish people and weak politicians, such as the politicians that signed the Treaty of Versailles.

Why did Hitler's speeches become popular during the period of Germany's national weakness? A, he called for peace and reconciliation.

B, he praised the Treaty of Versailles.

C, he proposed to build the Third Reich.

D, he supported the democratic processes.

Pause the video, have a think and then come right back.

Okay, welcome back and well done if you knew it was C.

He proposed to build the Third Reich, the third German empire.

Okay, to help us understand the historical context of the time, what it felt like to live during those time, what were people's fears and hopes and expectations, I want to tell you a story about Carl Essa.

Carl finished his day at the factory and headed home to his family.

As he walked down the cobbled street, he noticed a small crowd outside his local beer hall.

A poster on the wall read, build a greater Germany stronger and united.

Carl decided to step inside to see what was happening.

The beer hall glowed with the dim light of gas lights and cigarettes smoke filled the air.

People were crowded around long wooden tables having animated discussions.

Waiters weaved through the crowd carrying trays of beer.

The brass band petered out and all conversations came to an abrupt halt.

The room was suddenly silenced except for a voice coming from the stage.

The man on stage announced that he was a court for who had been in the trenches of the great war.

Suddenly the speaker raised his voice until his words boomed through the room.

Pleased by his words, the crowd stamped and cheered.

The speaker's eyes blazed and a lock of hair fell across his sweaty forehead.

His words seemed to ring louder and louder, words of strength and unity in a time of chaos.

Words a father might use to reassure a fearful child, words a sea captain would shout to his crew to overcome the storm.

Unexpectedly, tears began to build in Carl's eyes.

Carl asked for the speaker's name and the lady next to him replied, his name is Adolf Hitler.

He's one of us.

He's the one who will restore Germany.

Carl was an ordinary factory worker with little interest in politics.

As even he could see that this man represented a passion and strength that could catch fire across a country that had felt humiliated since the end of the war.

However, there was more hardship to come.

Okay, let's have a quick check for understanding.

Why was Carl Esser so moved by Hitler's speech? Pause the video, have a think and then come right back.

Okay, welcome back.

So you could have said something like, the speech was passionate and full of emotion.

It was clear that Hitler was a very good public speaker and was able to captivate the audience in the beer hall with promises of how things in Germany would get better.

Okay, let's move on to task A.

I want you to list three reasons why Germany was seen as weak and unstable by 1921.

So pause the video and make a quick list of your three reasons and then come right back.

Okay, welcome back.

So your answers may have included that Germany had lost the First World War.

You might have also said something about the Treaty of Versailles and the terms being very harsh and the fact that Germany was in anarchy and that the Kaiser, the German emperor had abdicated.

Okay, let's move on to the second part of task A.

I want you to list two reasons why Hitler was gaining popularity by 1921.

Pause the video, have a go at the task, and then come right back.

Okay, welcome back.

So your answers may include that's Hitler had a talent for public speeches which attracted crowds, and you might have said something like Hitler's message offered hope to a desperate German population.

Okay, great, let's move on to the second part of the lesson, fascism and the Great Depression.

In 1929, the Wall Street Crash sent the American economy into meltdown.

This would result in a global financial crisis.

Starting in America, the Wall Street Crash was an event in which U.

S.

shares rapidly lost value.

If you have a look at the photo on the left, it shows a scene of panic in Wall Street, New York, 24th of October, 1929.

This was the day of the largest selloff of shares in U.

S.

history.

The consequent impact on trade, finance and production caused a great depression, which was felt throughout the world.

Most people noticed the Great Depression when work began to dry up and unemployment started to climb.

The photo on the left is an unemployed man in Detroit during the Great Depression.

His sign reads that he desperately needs work, not charity, and that he has good work experience and the best of references.

Okay, let's have a check for understanding.

What was significant about the Wall Street Crash of 1929? A, it led to the immediate start of World War II, B, it prompted a communist revolution, C, it triggered the Great Depression.

Pause the video, have a think and then come right back.

Okay, welcome back and well done if you knew it was C.

It triggered the Great Depression.

Okay, let's continue.

Some extreme right-wing thinkers believed they had struck upon a solution to the problems of unemployment and hardship, which have plagued European countries throughout the 1920s, and which were only set to get worse.

These thinkers were known as fascists named after the followers of the right-wing Italian politician, Benito Mussolini.

If you have a look at the photo on the left, it shows Mussolini, which I've highlighted in green, surrounded by his fascist supporters.

Fascists hoped to raise Italy to the levels of its great Roman past.

I've highlighted a fascist supporter during the Roman salute.

This was a gesture to Italy's ancient Roman history.

However, it became more associated with fascism.

Fascists believed that dictatorship was the best form of government.

They argued that a strong and all powerful leader whose authority was based on military might was the right course for countries which wanted to become strong and assertive.

The photo on the left shows Mussolini dressed in his military uniform.

Fascists were also strongly opposed to socialism, a system that states all people are equal and should share equally in a country's money.

Fascists were also strongly opposed to democracy.

They saw it as weak and disorganised.

Mussolini had seized power in Italy becoming a fascist dictator in 1922.

But elsewhere, fascism had remained a fairly fringe movement.

It was only as people grew more desperate during the Great Depression that the appeal of fascism pushed the ideology into the mainstream.

Okay, let's have a check for understanding.

Which political ideology became more popular in Europe during the Great Depression, calling for a dictatorial government? A, anarchism, B, liberal democracy, C, fascism.

Pause the video, have a think, and then come right back.

Okay, welcome back and well done if you knew it's fascism.

Okay, let's move on to task B.

Working with your partner, I want you to discuss why fascism became popular during the Great Depression.

So pause the video, have a quick discussion, and then come right back.

Okay, welcome back.

Hopefully you had some great discussions there and you may have discussed some of the following.

So you might have said that the Great Depression led to global poverty and high unemployment, and that fascists claimed that they had the solution to these problems. You must have also said that fascists claims that weak democracies were to blame, that a dictatorship with an all-powerful leader would make countries strong again.

Okay, excellent.

Let's move on to the final part of the lesson, the fascist threat in Germany.

So Hitler was inspired by the fascist movement.

If we have a look at the photo of Mussolini that I showed you earlier, we can see that the person standing next to him was actually Adolf Hitler.

Germany was hit particularly hard by the Great Depression.

This was because of the country's reliance on American loans.

By 1933, 6 million Germans were unemployed.

By now, inspired by fascist ideology, Hitler promised to solve this problem.

This gave Hitler a wider audience who were ready to listen to him.

They hoped that Hitler could restore German power.

Have a look at the left.

It's a Nazi election poster, and the caption reads, Our Last Hope, Hitler.

And we can imagine the many unemployed people in Germany recognising themselves in this poster and hoping that their situation could be improved by Hitler's promises.

By seeking the support and appealing to the desires of ordinary people, the Nazi party and his followers began to refer to Hitler as the Fuhrer, the leader.

Have a look at the poster of Hitler on the left.

We can see an example of how Hitler's simple message could be appealing to a Germany that felt divided, weak and unstable.

Hitler is dressed in uniform to emphasise military strength and professionalism.

The caption reads one people, one empire, one leader.

A message which offers strength for unity, with Hitler being presented as a kind of national saviour.

By 1933, the popularity of Hitler and the Nazi party had turned into a stunning electoral success.

If you have a look at the photo on the left, it shows Hitler reaching out to his adoring public.

Obviously, this is quite strange for our modern eyes to look at a photo like this, given that Hitler will go on to commit horrific atrocities.

However, hopefully you can now understand why he had such popularity and appeal at this difficult time in German history.

Hitler became Germany's chancellor in 1933.

This is equivalent to a British prime minister.

If you have a look at the photo, it shows the German president on the right greeting the newly nominated Chancellor, Hitler.

President Hindenburg was a respected military field marshal of the First World War, and he was seen as a war hero.

He actually detested Hitler.

He saw him as a lowly corporal, a loud-mouthed upstart.

However, he had to reluctantly accept Hitler as chancellor because of the political circumstances and the popularity of the Nazi party.

Okay, let's check your understanding.

What year did Hitler become Chancellor of Germany? A, 1923, B, 1933, C, 1943.

Pause the video, have a think, and then come right back.

Okay, welcome back, and well done if you knew the answer was B, 1933.

As Chancellor, Hitler used his new powers to turn the German democracy into a dictatorship known as the Third Reich.

He consolidated his power by making laws without the parliament's approval.

Have a look at the photo on the left.

It's the German parliament in 1933 once Hitler came to power.

The photo below shows how the German parliament, by 1938 had been transformed into a dictatorship.

Parliament has been fully decked out with Nazi symbols, and all the remaining politicians are showing public support of the Nazi party with the same salute that the fascists had adopted.

Okay, true or false.

Once Chancellor, Hitler turned Germany into a democracy.

Pause the video, have a think, and then come right back.

Okay, well come back and well done if you knew that was false.

But why is that false? I want you to justify your answer.

Is it false because A, he turned Germany into a dictatorship known as the Third Reich, or B, he turned Germany into a monarchy known as the Second Treaty.

Pause the video, have a think, and then come right back.

Welcome back, and well done if you knew it was A.

He turned Germany into dictatorship, known as the Third Reich.

With Germany now a dictatorship, Hitler was free to imprison his political opponents and other undesirables in concentration camps.

Hitler's dictatorship also involved censoring the content of radio programmes and books.

If you have a look at the video gif on the left, it shows a Nazi public book burning in 1933.

These were often conducted by German students.

They burned any books that had ideas or were written by people they were opposed to.

The Nazis wanted these people and their content to be cancelled and censored.

If they could control the ideas, the books, the media in this way, they could control and influence the attitudes of the public.

The Nazis also pumped out a stream of propaganda which blamed shady international elites for Germany's problems. Most ominously Hitler and the Nazis blamed German Jews for the struggles of the Great Depression.

Built on deeply antisemitic foundations, Nazi ideology falsely claimed that Jewish people had betrayed Germany during the First World War and continued to profit from German weakness.

All this was developed alongside an aggressive military policy and a determination to tear up the Treaty of Versailles.

Okay, let's have a check for understanding.

I want you to list three ways Hitler consolidated his power.

Pause the video, have a think, and then come right back.

Okay, welcome back.

So your answer could have included any three from the following.

So you could have said that making laws without the parliament's approval, imprisoning his political opponents and other undesirables in concentration camps, censoring the content of radio programmes and books and pumping out a stream of propaganda which blamed shady international elites for Germany's problems. Okay, great.

Let's move on to the final task, task C.

What I want you to do here is explain how Hitler became chancellor in 1933.

And to help you to write that answer, you should try to include the following, Treaty of Versailles, the Great Depression, Hitler's public speeches, fascist ideology, Third Reich, and one way in which he consolidated his power.

Pause the video, have a go at the task, and then come right back.

Okay, welcome back, and well done for having a go at that final task.

So there's many ways you could have written that answer, but compare your answer with what I have here.

Hitler became chancellor in 1933 because he offered hope and strength when Germany was weak.

Germany was experiencing a very difficult time following the First World War, the harsh terms of the Treaty of Versailles, and the Great Depression.

Hitler used this opportunity in his public speeches to appeal to desperate Germans.

He promised he would solve the country's issues which he blamed on weak democratic politicians and Jewish people.

Inspired by fascist ideology, he argued that as an all-powerful leader, he would make Germany strong again by building the Third Reich.

His dictatorship was deeply antisemitic, and involved the imprisonment of his opponents and other undesirables in concentration camps, which allowed him to consolidate his power.

And you can see I've highlighted in blue those bullet points I asked you to include in your answer.

Okay, great.

Let's summarise today's lesson.

The rise of fascism in Europe.

The harsh terms of the Treaty of Versailles were unpopular, and Germany was in anarchy after the First World War.

The German population later faced further hardship due to the Great Depression.

Hitler became the leader of the Nazi party and attracted enthusiastic crowds to his speeches.

Inspired by fascist ideology, Hitler claimed that weak democratic politicians and Jewish people were to blame and that he would make Germany strong again and build the Third Reich.

Hitler's dictatorship was deeply antisemitic and involved the imprisonment of his opponents and other undesirables in concentration camps.

Okay, well done on a brilliant lesson, and thank you for joining me for the beginning of our story of the Second World War, and hopefully you can see why historians are still incredibly interested in this interwar period, the time between the end of the First World War and the beginning of the Second World War, a time when there was a rise of fascism and dictatorship in Europe.

I'll see you next time when we continue our inquiry.

See you in the next lesson.