HITLER’S DISCIPLES Unit III The Third Reich
Hitler’s Disciples
The Men behind The Man Hitler relied upon the support of thousands of followers to build and manage the National Socialist movement For help in planning and managing the Nazi “state,” Hitler selected the friends and party members he felt were most loyal and dedicated Top party leaders were given positions of power with the promised incentive of future wealth
Hitler’s Disciples Hermann Goering Rudolf Hess Josef Goebbels Alfred Rosenberg Heinrich Himmler
Hitler’s Disciples
Hermann Goering
Background Son of a wealthy judge Popular and decorated WWI “ace” pilot Joined the Nazi party as a prize recruit in 1921 Becomes addicted to morphine after being shot in Beer Hall Putsch
Pre-Third Reich leadership Appointed by Hitler to command the SA in December 1922. Used his aristocratic background and warhero status to recruit political and financial support from conservative business and army elites
Hitler’s Disciples
Rudolf Hess Background Son of a wealthy German merchant Twice-wounded WWI vet who reached the rank of lieutenant Joined the Nazi party in 1921 after hearing one of Hitler’s first speeches Became one of Hitler’s closest friends Pre-Third Reich leadership Helped Hitler write Mein Kampf while both were imprisoned at Landsberg Served without official party rank as Hitler’s personal secretary
Hitler’s Disciples
Joseph Goebbels
Background Born into a strict, working-class Catholic family in 1897 Studied history and literature at the University of Heidelberg Rejected from service during WWI because of a crippled foot/leg Joined the NSDAP into 1922
Pre-Third Reich leadership Regional business manager District leader Reich Propaganda Leader Designed propaganda posters and articles, staged parades, organized street and beer-hall brawls
Hitler’s Disciples
Alfred Rosenberg Background Born in Russia in 1893 where he joined a eventually joined a pro-German group Supported the Russian monarchists during the Bolshevik Revolution in Russia before escaping to France and moving to Germany in 1918 Rosenberg joined NSDAP in 1923 and became Hitler’s close friend Pre-Third Reich leadership Served as editor of Nazi-sponsored paper Voelkischer Beobachter Founded the League for German Culture in 1929, then appointed to coordinate NSDAP ideological training and education programs
Hitler’s Disciples
Heinrich Himmler
Background Son of a very religious Catholic teacher who had once tutored the Bavarian Crown Prince Served as an officer cadet at the end of World War I Joined the NSDAP in 1923 and participated in the Beer Hall Putsch
Pre-Third Reich leadership In 1929, Hitler appointed Himmler to head his personal bodyguard, the blackshirted Schutzstaffel (SS), Himmler worked to make his small force of 200 men a superior organization within the Nazi “state”