During the early 1930’s, at a time of high unemployment, poverty, famine, and governmental chaos, the Nazi Party in Germany gained growing support. Adolf Hitler was the leader of this extreme right-wing political party, the National Socialist German Workers (Nazi) Party. The Nazis persecuted Jews, Roma Gypsies, political opponents, and many others, blaming the failures of Germany in the past as attributable to the Jews (Rothman). Hitler and his regime promised hope of a “new Germany” to those fearful of the future. On January 30, 1933, German president Paul von Hindenburg appointed Hitler head of the government (Bachrach 16). Two years later the nation’s already frail democracy was quickly turned into a military dictatorship, where the single party was kept in power by force (Olympic).
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In 1935, Hitler issued a law forcing all young, able-bodied men to serve at least one year in the military (Bachrach 17). In order to take back the territories that had been part of the Austrian-German empire, and expand beyond them, Hitler needed to strengthen the German forces. To appeal to German citizens, Nazis promised different boundaries in the “new Germany.” Their plan was to conquer eastern Europe and create a single German community with German speaking peoples from Austria and other neighboring countries (Bachrach
In 1935, Hitler issued a law forcing all young, able-bodied men to serve at least one year in the military (Bachrach 17). In order to take back the territories that had been part of the Austrian-German empire, and expand beyond them, Hitler needed to strengthen the German forces. To appeal to German citizens, Nazis promised different boundaries in the “new Germany.” Their plan was to conquer eastern Europe and create a single German community with German speaking peoples from Austria and other neighboring countries (Bachrach