November 2027

THE RISE OF ADOLF HITLER

• 1921-1923 In 1921 Hitler became the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party (Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei, commonly referred to in English as the Nazi Party). In 1923, Hitler attempted a failed coup to unlawfully seize power, and was sent to the Landsberg prison, serving 9 months. During this time in prison, Hitler wrote the first of two volumes of Mein Kampf (My Struggle) which became a best seller in Germany in the 1930’s. This autobiography outlined Hitler's process of becoming anti-Semitic and his political ideologies. Hitler became convinced that the major struggles and

disappointments of his life were entirely the fault of the Jews.

At that time if someone would say to you, ‘Behold here is the Messiah’ or ‘Here’, do not believe it for false messiahs and false prophets will be raised and they will give great signs and wonders in order to lead astray. Mt 24:23-24

• 1924-1933 In the early 1930's the mood in Germany was grim. The worldwide economic depression had hit the country hard; millions were out of work. The Germans had

swallowed the bitter pill of defeat after World War I as the Allies severely punished Germany through provisions in the Treaty of Versailles. The Germans lacked confidence in their weak government. These conditions were the perfect breeding ground for the rise of a new leader, Adolf Hitler and his Nazi party. Hitler, a powerful spellbinding speaker.

attracted the desperate German population, promising a better life and a new and glorious

Germany. The Nazis appealed especially to the unemployed, the young people and members of the lower middle class. The party's rise to power was rapid. Before the

economic depression struck, the Nazis were practically unknown, winning only 3 percent of the vote to the Reichstag (German parliament) in the 1924 elections. In the 1932

elections, the Nazis won 33 percent of the votes, more than any other party. In January 1933 Hitler was appointed Chancellor, the head of the German government and many Germans believed that they had found a savior for the nation.

The Protocols of the Elders of Zion reemerged through the Nazi party which validated the illegitimate document as truth, deceiving many and becoming the primary tool for Hitler to warrant the Holocaust.

· 1933-1941 Persecution escalated until the Jews were stripped of their rights not only as citizens, but also as human beings. Anti-Semitism reached an all-time high . . . leading to the horrific, systematic murder of over six million Jews.

Jewish scholar and preeminent Holocaust historian Raul Hillberg wrote, “The Nazi

destruction process did not come out of a void: it was the culmination of a cyclical trend . .

. The missionaries of Christianity had said in effect: You have no right to live among us as Jews. The secular rulers who followed had proclaimed: You have no right to live among us.

The German Nazis (Hitler’s Nuremberg laws enforced the Church Canons) at last decreed:

You have no right to live."

1The Destruction of the European Jews, p. 3-4

Martin Niemöller (1892-1984) was a prominent Protestant pastor who emerged as an outspoken public foe of Adolf Hitler and spent the last seven years of Nazi rule in

concentration camps. He wrote:

• First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out

Because I was not a Socialist.

• Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I did not speak out

Because I was not a Trade Unionist.

• Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out

Because I was not a Jew.

·  Then they came for me

and there was no one left to speak for me.1

1 Poem: “First They Came” by Martin Niemöller. Emphasis added.