Hannah Jackson

2 February 2015
Inquiry Proposal
For my Inquiry Topic, Ive decided to continue my research on Hitlers take over
tactics. I am very interested in learning more and more about the power one man had over
so many people and the impact he made in history.
The article, The Rise of the Nazi Party, 1933 Mount Holyoke College, started
my research. It was introduced with a biography about Hitler. Where and when he was
born, when he became a citizen of Germany and how his dictatorship/leadership began
and also where his Anti-Semitic views originated. This was very important to me because
it shows that he may actually have some reasoning behind his actions. Of course, there is
no excuse for his actions, but it helps with understanding Hitlers thinking process. It says
that when Hitler was a teenager, he was very interested in art. Although he could not
draw people, he wanted to be an artist. Thus, when he was fifteen, he moved to Vienna to
further his art education at a school that was primarily ran by Jews, but he was rejected
from the school. This began his resentment of Jews. Then, it says that Hitlers mother had
cancer and was treated by a Jewish doctor, but he was unable to keep her alive.
After serving for the German army in World War One, Hitler went back to
Germany and joined small national socialist gangs to lead. Hitler created greater structure
and organization in the gangs. He then created a circle of local party leaders that reported
directly to him and saw his leadership and charisma in action. In 1923, the national
socialist movement was active only in Munich and Hitler made a failed attempt to take
control of this Bavarian city through the Munich Putsch. After this is was sentenced to 5

years in prison, but only served 9 months due to sympathy. During this time Hitler
dictated Mein Kampf to Rudolph Hess. In Mein Kampf, Hitler emphasized the importance
of race, purity and subsequently Anti-Semitic views. Finally, he said that if on wanted to
take power, then they needed to have an illusion of legitimacy. The article then discussed
more about the Nazi Party and Nazification. Stating, Hitler created a leadership cult of
himself to make him seem like an extremely special individual. It then talked about
Hitlers tactics for doing so. For example, he used his public speaking skills to mesmerize
and hypnotize crowds. He would even wait 5 minutes for cheering crowds to quiet down
and then shout in the midst of silence. He would repeat messages over and over again and
manipulate his tone to further emphasize points. He was extensively involved with
powerful Industrialist. It was powerful industrialist like Krupps, Steines and Thyseen that
financed Hitlers election campaign. These industrialists helped form the military
industrial complex that supported the government. Then, to add extra convincing,
Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels ruthlessly controlled propaganda and utilized it
extensively to further Nazi goals. He made sure that Jews were presented as parasites,
therefore making their banishment from society legitimate in the eyes of the people. All
of these examples show how Hitler was able to appeal to all. He brought in an example of
every person to convince everyone to side with him. It was quite brilliant.
As my research continues, I am excited to learn more about my inquiry proposal
from different resources.