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Example research essay topic: Second World War First World War - 1,979 words

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Adolf Hitler, aka 'Der Fhrer' ('The Leader'). Was born in Germany. He was directly responsible for the deaths of 66 million world wide, during the second World War. Following the First World War, the Treaty of Versailles penalizes the defeated Germany, annexing land, imposing large war reparations, limiting the size of the army and blaming Germany and Austria-Hungary for starting the conflict.

The new German government, a coalition of left-leaning and centrist parties, attempts to rebuild the country but faces opposition from the right and extreme left. The instability is exacerbated by the failure of the domestic and global economies. Born on 20 April 1889 in Braunau am Inn, Austria, into a middle class family. His father is a customs official...

After finishing secondary school he lives in Vienna and attempts to study art but is twice rejected by the Academy of Fine Arts. 3 - He moves to Munich. When the First World War breaks out the following year be volunteers for service with the German army, joining the 16 th Bavarian Reserve Infantry Regiment. He serves with distinction throughout the war and is awarded the Iron Cross, Second Class, in December 1914, and the Iron Cross, First Class, in August 1918. Following the war, Hitler returns to Munich and begins to become involved in politics. He joins the German Workers' Party in September. A gifted and inspiring public speaker, he is soon placed in charge of the party's propaganda.

In 1920 the party is renamed the National Socialist (Nazi) Party. The party's platform calls for the removal of civil rights for Jews and for their expulsion from Germany. As the German economy begins to buckle under the weight of the enormous war reparations demanded by the Allies, popular support for the Nazis begins to increase. Inflation and unemployment climb. The German government loses its majority in the elections of 1920, introducing a decade long period of political instability. The Nazi Party's "storm troopers", used to protect party meeting and attack opponents, are formally organized into a private army, the Sturmabteilung (SA), the 'Brown shirts'.

Hitler becomes leader of the Nazi Party in July. Inflation skyrockets and is fuelled when the government begins printing more and more money. The value of the Deutschmark plummets. In mid- 1920 US$ 1 is worth 40 marks. By November 1923 US$ 1 is worth 4. 2 trillion marks. Social unrest begins to escalate.

Hitler exploits the situation, advocating national pride, blaming the left and Jews for the political turmoil and claiming to have a solution to the economic crisis. Many Germans soon see the party as a credible alternative. In November Hitler and 600 armed members of the SA stage an abortive attempt to seize power in Munich. The Nazi Party is outlawed. Hitler is arrested, tried for treason and sentenced to five years in prison but only serves nine months.

While incarcerated he begins to write 'Mein Kampf' ('My Struggle'), his political autobiography and treatise on the superiority of the "Aryan race" and the "menace" of the Jew. On his release from prison, Hitler finds a different economic and political climate in Germany. A new government has succeeded in containing the crisis and achieving stability. Hitler is forbidden from making public speeches across much of the country but works to further entrench his hold over the Nazi Party. The German government is crippled when the Wall Street stock market crash of October ushers in the Great Depression.

Unemployment rises from 8. 5 % in 1929 to 29. 9 % in 1932. Hitler again exploits the situation, spreading his propaganda nationally through newspapers, securing support from magnates of business and industry and establishing a national party structure. Public support blossoms. In 1928 the Nazis hold 12 seats in the Reichstag (parliament). By 1932 they will have 230 seats and be the largest party in the government. Joseph Goebbels begins to create the Fuehrer ('Leader') myth around Hitler and to organize the ritualistic and highly choreographed party rallies that help convert the masses to Nazism and provide a platform for Hitler's accession to power in January 1933.

The Nazis seize power on 30 January when Hitler is appointed chancellor. Following the Reichstag fire on 27 February basic civil rights are suspended. On 28 February the Reichstag passes the Enabling Law, transferring all legislative power from the parliament to the cabinet. The Nazis take control of the state apparatus. Leftist political parties are banned, Germany is declared a one-party state, Jews and leftists are purged from the bureaucracy, trade unions are dissolved and replaced with Nazi organizations. The Gestapo, or secret state police, is established in April.

Concentration camps are set up for the interment of opponents. A program of public works, rearmament and forced labor helps bring the economy under control. Inflation comes down, the currency is stabilized and full employment achieved. Support for Hitler increases. On 10 May Hitler stages the "burning of the books" in Berlin. Works by Jewish, Marxist and other "subversive" authors are publicly burned in huge bonfires.

Hitler organizes the 'Night of the Long Knives' massacre of rebellious leaders of the SA on the night of 30 June. In August he becomes president and chancellor, giving him supreme command of the German armed forces. Hitler now is the Fuehrer, the dictator of the fascist Third Reich, an empire where the individual belongs to the state. In March 1935 he introduces conscription. Hitler joins with Italian fascist dictator Benito Mussolini in the Rome-Berlin Axis and signs the 'Anti-Commenter Pact' with Japan, an agreement to fight the spread of communism. Italy joins the pact in 1937.

Germany also provides support to the Spanish fascists led by Francisco Franco. Support for Hitler is further buoyed by his policy of foreign expansion. Austria is annexed on 13 March. The Sudetenland in the north of Czechoslovakia is ceded to Germany on 30 September. At the end of the year, over the days of 9 - 10 November, Hitler orchestrates the Kristallnacht ('Crystal Night') pogrom. Jewish shops, houses and synagogues across Germany are burnt by both the Schutz-Staff (SS), the 'Black shirts', Hitler's personal guard, and the general population.

Thirty thousand Jews are arrested and deported. Hitler is named Time magazine's man of the year. Commenting on the rise of the Nazi Party and Hitler, the magazine says, "The situation which gave rise to this demagogic, ignorant, desperate movement was inherent in the German republic's birth and in the craving of large sections of the politically immature German people for strong, masterful leadership Meanwhile, Germany has become a nation of uniforms, goose-stepping to Hitler's tune, where boys of ten are taught to throw hand grenades, where women are regarded as breeding machines. " On 30 January Hitler declares in the Reichstag that a new world war will lead to the destruction of the Jewish race in Europe. Bohemia and Moravia are occupied in March, while Slovakia is made a puppet state.

In May, as Germany prepares for war, Hitler agrees to a formal military alliance with Italy, the 'Pact of Steel'. On 23 August he signs a no aggression pact with the Soviet Union. German troops invade Poland on 1 September. Britain and France declare war on Germany two days later. The Second World War has begun.

Germany invades France and quickly takes control of Western Europe. Jews and other "undesirables" in the occupied territories are dispossessed and interned in work camps. The 'Battle of Britain' rages in the skies as the British Royal Air Force (RAF) desperately combats wave after wave of aerial attacks and bombing raids by the Luftwaffe while launching counteroffensive bombing missions into Germany. Though outnumbered by four to one the RAF is able to inflict enough damage to the German forces for Hitler to suspend 'Operation Section', the proposed invasion of Britain by sea. By the end of September, the 'Battle of Britain' is effectively over. Germany has suffered its first major defeat of the war.

Meanwhile, Germany, Italy and Japan sign the 'Tripartite Pact', an agreement to carve up the world following victory in the war. Germany invades the Soviet Union on 22 June. The Germans advance swiftly but are halted on 6 December by a Russian counteroffensive just short of Moscow. When the Japanese bomb Pearl Harbor on 7 December, Hitler declares war on the United States. With the offensive in the Soviet Union stalled, Hitler appoints himself commander-in-chief. The Nazis begin the Enclosing ('Final Solution'), the extermination of the Jews, Gypsies, Slavs, homosexuals, communists, and other "undesirables" and "decadents" in death camps run by the SS and controlled by the Gestapo.

About 6 million European Jews die in the 'Holocaust'. Most (about 4. 5 million) of those killed come from Poland and the Soviet Union. About 125, 000 are German Jews. The war turns against Germany in the winter of 1942 - 43 when the Soviets win victory at Stalingrad. When the German forces laying siege to the city are encircled and trapped by a Soviet counteroffensive Hitler refuses to allow them to attempt an escape. They surrender on 2 February 1943.

The German Sixth Army has been effectively destroyed in what is at the time the most catastrophic military defeat in German history. Over 500, 000 of the German-led troops are dead. By the end of 1943, the Soviets have broken through the German siege of Leningrad and recaptured much of the Ukrainian Republic. The Western Allies invade North Africa in November 1942, driving the Germans out of Africa by May 1943 and landing in Sicily and Italy. The US and British navies gain control of the Atlantic shipping lanes, clearing the way for the 'D-Day' landings on the Normandy beaches in France on 6 June 1944 and the invasion of Germany six months later. Soviet troops, meanwhile, advance from the east.

The Nazis call for "total war" against the Allies. Following an unsuccessful assassination attempt on Hitler by a German army colonel, Nazi political officers are appointed to all military headquarters. In March, as the Western forces reach the Rhine River, Soviet armies overrun most of Czechoslovakia and press on toward Berlin, where Hitler waits in his bunker. By April an Allied victory in Europe is certain.

Realizing the inevitability of defeat, Hitler names Goebbels as his successor. On 30 April, as Soviet troops storm the capital, he suicides by shooting himself. In accordance with his instructions his body is burnt. In his final will and testament, written just before his suicide, he calls on the German government and people "to uphold the race laws to the limit and to resist mercilessly the prisoner of all nations, international Jewry." On 7 May Germany surrenders unconditionally.

About 66 million people have died world-wide during the war, including over 26 million Soviets, over 11 million Chinese, about seven million Germans, almost seven million Poles, nearly two million Yugoslavs, nearly two million Japanese, a million Romanians, 810, 000 French, 750, 000 Hungarians, 525, 000 Austrians, 520, 000 Greeks, 410, 000 Italians, 400, 000 Czechs, 390, 000 British, 295, 000 Americans, and 250, 000 Dutch... Adolf Hitler, the undisputed, all-time, world champion of killers. Directly responsible for the deaths of 66 million people and the destruction of much of Europe. But he never would have got there without the support of the German people. After the abortive attempt to take power by force in 1923 and his subsequent arrest, trial and imprisonment, Hitler realized that the way to top was through the democratic process. He was elected to power but as soon as this was secured he suspended democracy.

I guess you had to be there to understand his appeal. The gloss is all gone today, although there are still plenty of loons out there who think he was just "misunderstood." Personally I think if it looks like evil, sounds like evil and behaves like evil, it's evil.


Free research essays on topics related to: adolf hitler, second world war, soviet union, soviet troops, first world war

Research essay sample on Second World War First World War

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