2. The Great Depression

About this Lecture

Lecture

In this module, we think about the role of the Great Depression in Hitler's rise to the power, focusing in particular: (i) the misery and desperation caused by the Great Depression: the reason why the German economy was particularly vulnerable to events in the United States, and the extent to which different parts of the country were hit at different times; (ii) the rise in unemployment in this period; (iii) the lack of a strong and stable government in this period, with four Chancellors in the six year period between 1928-33; (iv) the fragmentation of support for the political centre in this period in favour of parties on the extreme left or right wing; (v) the presentation of Hitler and the Nazis: the personality cult surrounding Hitler, the importance of great spectacles and symbols (e.g. the Nuremberg Rallies, the swastika, etc.;), and the appeal of Nazi ideology, including nationalism and anti-Semitism; and (vi) the circumstances that lead to Hitler's appointment as Chancellor in January 1933.

Course

In this course, Dr Lisa Pine (London South Bank University) explores several aspects of Nazi Germany. In the first module, we think about the rise of Nazism from the foundation of the DAP (later the NSDAP) in 1919 to Hitler's appointment as Chancellor in 1933. After that, we think about the impact of the Great Depression specifically on the rise of the Nazi Party, before turning in the third module to the question of what kind of people voted (and did not vote) for the Nazis. In the fourth module, we think about the importance of the propaganda and the 'Hitler myth' to the stability of the Nazi regime, before turning in the fifth module to consider the role of coercion and terror, focusing in particular on the role of Nazi secret police, the Gestapo, and the extensive concentration camp network that lasted between 1933-44. Finally, in the sixth module, we think about the experience of women in Nazi Germany.

Lecturer

Dr Lisa Pine is an Associate Professor in History. She is a graduate of the London School of Economics, where she obtained her first degree in Government and History and her MSc in International History with Distinction. She received her doctorate from the University of London in 1996.

She has taught extensively in modern and contemporary history and politics. She is a leading international expert on issues relating to the history of Nazi Germany. Dr Pine has written on a diverse range of topics including the family, women and education in the Third Reich and aspects of Holocaust history and memory. She has contributed to local, national and international media, as well as numerous international conferences and symposia.

Her research expertise is centred upon the history of Nazi Germany, 1933-1945. She is a social historian of the Third Reich, with a strong interest in the mechanisms of this dictatorial regime and its impact upon German society.

She is a widely published international expert in this field. Her main publications include: Life and Times in Nazi Germany (2016); Education in Nazi Germany (2010); Hitler's "National Community": Society and Culture in Nazi Germany (2007 and 2017); and Nazi Family Policy, 1933-1945 (1997).