61: Nazi Germany: the beginning, middle & end of the Third Reich

We look at the rise of the Nazis and how they created and ruled what they called Germany’s “Third Reich”.

When Hitler became ‘Chancellor’ - that means prime minister - Germany was still a democracy. How did Hitler and the Nazis turn a country with elections and a variety of political parties (groups) into a dictatorship where the Nazi party had eliminated all other groups, giving themselves total power? 

There are lots of photos from our trip to Germany on https://www.dadandmelovehistory.com/

WARNING regarding young children: towards the end, we do discuss the Holocaust.

After the end theme music you’ll find these questions, followed by outtakes:

1. What does the German word  “Reich” mean?

2. In the summer of 1914 in Munich, what news was announced that Hitler liked?

3. Before the Nazis’ 1923 attempt to take over Germany, Hitler was not well-known. When the Nazis tried to begin a revolution in 1923 in Munich to take over Germany, why do you think they failed?

4. What do you think Hitler and the Nazis gained from this failed revolution of 1923?

5. The people of Germany later voted for Hitler and the Nazi Party more than for any other party. When did Hitler become ‘Chancellor’ (Prime Minister) of Germany?

6. What was ‘Dachau’ and why do you think the Nazis wanted it to be built so soon after the Nazis took over Germany?

7. What were the Nuremberg Trials and who was Rudolf Hess?

8. Why were these trials important?

Here’s our website, where you'll find photos, info about each episode and links to our social media: dadandmelovehistory.com.

We also strongly recommend the family-friendly History Detective podcast, as advertised in our pod. Check out historydetectivepodcast.com!

For mature history lovers: read industry reviews of Dad’s World War II novels, A Chance Kill and The Slightest Chance, at paulletters.com. Available as e-books, as well as in paperback. Dad’s first wartime novel, A Chance Kill, is a love-story/thriller based on real events in Poland, Paris, London and Prague. The Slightest Chance follows the remarkable true story of the only escape from Japanese imprisonment by a Western woman during World War II.

Please rate and review us wherever you get podcasts. And share our podcast on social media and recommend it to friends – that's how we'll keep going. We will bring you episodes throughout the year, so stay subscribed on your podcast app!

Podcast cover art by Molly Austin

All instrumental music is from https://filmmusic.io and composed by Kevin MacLeod (https://incompetech.com) License: CC BY (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

Sound effects are used under RemArc Licence. Copyright 2024 © BBC