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Historical Context, a la Shmoop. In hindsight, it seems pretty incredible that

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so many Germans lined up to support Adolf Hitler when he came to power in 1933.

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Did they completely miss the crazy eyes?

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Thing is, the rise of the Third Reich didn't happen in a vacuum.

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Various events that took place in the early decades of the twentieth century contributed

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to the German population's openness to National Socialism.

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First, there was World War One. It may have been one of the most senseless conflicts in

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human history, but it still managed to decimate Germany.

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Also, since the Germans lost, they were forced to take sole responsibility for the war in

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the Treaty of Versailles. That wasnÕt received too favorably back in Berlin.

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The Treaty of Versailles also required Germany to pay 132 billion marks in reparations for

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the damage caused by the war. Since that was 131 billion marks more than Germany actually

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had...

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...the country was obliged to pay in natural resources, like coal and beer andÉ schnitzel.

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Again, the German people were less than pleased. Then, in 1923, France invaded the Ruhr<<rue-er>>,

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also known as Germany's industrial heartland, because Germany had missed a reparations payment.

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After struggling to come to terms with the idea that the French could do anything with

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their military other than lose...

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...Germany's Weimar<<vie-mar>> government ordered the workers in the Ruhr to go on strike.

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This was such a bad idea, because when the government printed more money to pay the workers,

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the result was hyperinflation and an economic shambles.

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In November 1923, the German currency stabilized. The economy still sucked, but folks held out

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hope for recovery. Imagine how they must have felt when Black Tuesday rolled around in 1929.

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Germany became politically polarized, with extreme parties on the Left and the Right.

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YeahÉ they had clowns to the left and jokers to the rightÉ

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At any rate, most people held the Left responsible for the Treaty of Versailles and the economic

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cluster-mess of the 1920s.

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Anti-semitism and violence against other minority groups rose, as right-wing nutjobs, like the

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National Socialists, became more popular.

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According to the crazies, Jews were synonymous with the Left, and so should serve as scapegoats

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for the many, many problems Germany had experienced since World War One...

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...which the Germans had a significant role in starting. Boy, were these guys floating

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down a river called de Nile or what? By 1933, Germans were willing to vote for

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just about anyone who promised significant change...

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...like a failed artist named Adolf Hitler.

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The guys was a jerk, National Socialism was awful, and the Third Reich was monstrous.

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But all that stuff really shouldnÕt have come out of left fieldÉ

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