Nazi Germany Related Websites

Rise of Hitler: The material allows students to investigate the rise of Hitler, examine his character and consider why he gained so much support in Germany. There are also source analysis questions on Hitler and Nazi Germany. Further content is added frequently and any comments, suggestions and ideas are warmly welcomed.

Anne Frank: Andrew Moore is in the process of creating a website on the resources available for the study of Anne Frank and the Holocaust. It has been written to coincide with the History for Today Anne Frank exhibition which is currently touring the UK. The site will provide teaching resources, related to Anne Frank and the Holocaust, for a wide range of subjects. Teachers and educators are invited to send in materials that they would like to see added to this large database of resources on Anne Frank.

Third Reich Factbook: This apolitical site provides information on (almost) all aspects of Germany and her allies during World War II, as well as a message forum for discussions on these topics. Aspects covered include the armed forces (Heer, Kriegsmarine, Luftwaffe, Waffen-SS as well as those of Germany's allies), the political organizations, security organization, militaria (uniforms, awards, flags, documents, stamps etc.), propaganda (posters, songs etc.) and the Holocaust. Also included are book reviews and listings of museums that include material from the Third Reich.

Cybrary of the Holocaust: The authors of the Cybrary of the Holocaust website point out in their introduction that they use "art, discussion groups, photos, poems, and a wealth of facts to preserve powerful memories and to educate scholars and newcomers alike about the Holocaust." Sections include: 'The Camps', 'Witnesses', 'Children of Survivors', 'Historical Perspectives', 'Virtual Tour of Auschwitz' and 'Bookstore'. The Holocaust Quilt enables visitors to leave a memory of a victim or survivor of the Holocaust. Part of the site is for educators and includes a 'Teacher's Guide to the Holocaust'.

Museum of Tolerance: The Simon Wiesenthal Center, the Jewish human rights agency, has recently created an online Museum of Tolerance. This includes 3,000 text files and thousands of photographs on the Holocaust and the Second World War. A Teacher's Resource section provides a glossary, timeline, bibliographies, 36 questions and answers about the Holocaust and curricular resources for teachers. The website also includes 13,785 documents in English, German and Hebrew from the Institute of Documentation in Israel.

The Rise of Hitler: This online lesson from School History allows pupils to investigate and learn about the Rise of Hitler. It examines a profile of Hitler, then goes on to investigate the key questions of 'How did Hitler come to Power' and 'Why did people support Hitler'. The lesson concludes with an assessment activity analysing sources. Tried and tested in class, the author, Andrew Field welcomes suggestions for improvement (mrfield@btinternet.com).

Berlin Olympics: This is an impressive website provided by the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. Produced like an encyclopedia there are entries on Race Hygiene, Sport as Military Training, Indoctrination of Youth, Nazi Control of Olympics, Exclusion of Jews, Persecution of Athletes, African American Responses, American Antisemitism, American Jewish Boycotters, Nazi Propaganda, Nationalism, Racism, Demilitarization, Opening of the Games, Athletic Competition, African American Athletes and Jewish Athletes.

Burning of the Reichstag: 4Learning History Quest has produced a series of interactive history games. On the website the games are organized in four different categories. Timeline - Work out the order of events. What Happened Next? - Implications and consequences. Odd One Out - Who or what doesn't ring true? Behind the Headlines - Can you believe everything you read in the papers? In the implications and consequences category there are several games including the Burning of the Reichstag - Hitler blames fire on Communists, Nazis Attempt to Overthrow Government - Hitler's plan to kidnap German politicians, German Defeat at Stalingrad - Field Marshall Paulus' surrender at Stalingrad and Going Over the Top - Infantry's experience of trench warfare.

Undercover in Nazi Germany: Play the role of James Spod, a Secret Agent working in Nazi Germany. His mission: to leave a bomb in the hotel where Hitler is staying! However, only players who know their history have any chance of succeeding. This is an entertaining way of introducing or revising the topic of Nazi Germany, produced by Russel Tarr of ActiveHistory.

Nazi and East German Propaganda: Propaganda was central to Nazi Germany and the German Democratic Republic. The German Propaganda Archive includes both propaganda itself and material produced for the guidance of propagandists. The goal is to help people understand the two great totalitarian systems of the 20th Century by giving them access to the primary material.

Can you save the Weimar Republic?: How would you have handled the trials and tribulations of post World War One Germany? Try this interactive simulation by Russel Tarr of ActiveHistory and find out, learning about the subject on the way (complete with worksheet).

Nuremberg: On December 9, 1946, an American military tribunal opened criminal proceedings against 23 leading German physicians and administrators for their willing participation in war crimes and crimes against humanity. In Nazi Germany, German physicians planned and enacted the "Euthanasia" Program, the systematic killing of those they deemed "unworthy of life." The victims included the mentally retarded, the institutionalized mentally ill, and the physically impaired. Further, during World War II, German physicians conducted pseudoscientific medical experiments utilizing thousands of concentration camp prisoners without their consent. Most died or were permanently crippled as a result. Most of the victims were Jews, Poles, Russians, and Gypsies. After almost 140 days of proceedings, including the testimony of 85 witnesses and the submission of almost 1,500 documents, the American judges pronounced their verdict on August 20, 1947. Sixteen of the doctors were found guilty. Seven were sentenced to death. They were executed on June 2, 1948. In commemoration of the fiftieth anniversary of the Doctors Trial, the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum presents excerpts from the official trial record, with accompanying photographs.

Adolf Hitler: Jewish Virtual Library: A collection of documents and articles concerning Adolf Hitler. This includes the exchange of letters Between Hindenburg And Hitler concerning the status of Jews who served in the German Army, Mein Kampf, Adolf Hitler's First Antisemitic Writing, Adolf Hitler on the Annihilation of the Jews, Hitler & the Jewish Question, Hitler on Propaganda, Hitler’s Explanation of the Soviet Invasion, Hitler's Last Will and Was Hitler Jewish?

Virtual Chat with Adolf Hitler: In this innovative "artificial intelligence" activity from Russel Tarr at ActiveHistory, users can type in questions which Hitler answers. If you are stuck for a question, you can ask the computer to suggest one from a variety of categories, and if Hitler does not respond correctly it is possible to submit the question to ActiveHistory so that his 'brain' can be updated. All people who contribute in this way are given full recognition on a separate 'credits' page. Lesson plans to make use of the resource in the classroom are also provided, and this is an original and engaging way of learning about Nazi Germany.

The Niztor Project: A website dedicated to the millions of Holocaust victims who suffered and died at the hands of Adolf Hitler and his Nazi regime. Subjects covered include the Holocaust Camps, Nazi Conspiracy and Aggression, The Nuremberg Trials, Techniques of Holocaust Denial, Trial of Adolf Eichmann and Holocaust Revisionism.

Third Reich Pages Online: This website provides a collection of articles on Adolf Hitler and Nazi Germany. This includes Adolf Hitler's Family Background, The Roots of Hatred, Adolf Hitler - The Man Behind the Myth, Rebellion in Bavaria 1921-23, Fuehrer and Warlord and The Final Solution. The site also contains a current news section and biographies of Reinhard Heydrich, Adolf Eichmann, Martin Bormann and Rudolf Hess.

Anne Frank Project. Anne Frank was an average girl who became a legend. Today her legacy consists of more than her famous diary. According to Simon Wiesenthal she is a saint. More then a saint she became a symbol for oppressed and persecuted victims of racism everywhere. Her life and death also became a warning for what can happen when hatred and bias take over. This European project is aimed at making students aware that racial bias sadly is not a historical phenomenon but, if we are not aware, can still happen today.

Nazi and East German Propaganda: Propaganda was central to Nazi Germany and the postwar German Democratic Republic. The German Propaganda Archive website maintained by Randall Bytwerk, includes both propaganda itself and material produced for the guidance of propagandists. The goal is to help people understand the two great totalitarian systems of the 20th Century by giving them access to the primary material. The website includes speeches, posters, cartoons and photographs.

Destruction of Lidice: In 1942 Lidice, a village in Czechoslovakia, was the scene of a violent reprisal for the assassination of Reinhard Heydrich. The village was razed to the ground and all its inhabitants murdered. This is the official site of the Czech government dedicated to events in Lidice. Produced in German, Czech and English it tells the story of both the events of 1942 and efforts to commemorate the massacre.

Lidice and Oradour: Remembering the Nazi Massacres: The 10th June marks the anniversary of the Nazi massacres of 340 citizens of the Czech village of Lidice in 1942 and 642 citizens of the French village of Oradour-sur-Glane in 1944. Both villages were completely destroyed by the SS, but for reasons of memorial neither was rebuilt on their original site. At Lidice the visitor finds an empty valley with only a low stone wall to mark the position of the barn where villagers were shot. At Oradour the ruins have been carefully preserved to create France's village martyr. This website, produced by the International School of Toulouse, is an interesting example of how websites might be used to support the learning of students undertaking history fieldwork.

Reichstag Fire: A week before the planned elections on the 27th January 1933, the German parliament building, the Reichstag, was deliberately set on fire. Without doubt, the Reichstag fire was one of the most significant crimes of the last century. Marinus Van der Lubbe, a Dutch communist was found at the scene, he stood trial, was found guilty and executed. In the days following, Hitler and the Nazi government used this 'evidence' of a planned uprising to arrest thousands of members of the Communist Party, to close their newspapers and to prevent them campaigning in the election. This was the first step taken to creating the Nazi dictatorship which lasted until the end of the Second World War in 1945. This material, created by Richard Jones-Nerzic, provides a series of activities based on this important event.

Conspiracy Centre: From September 1938 to July 20, 1944, the German conspirators plotted 17 assassination attempts against Adolf Hitler. This website is dedicated to those German involved in the six-year effort to overthrow Hitler and the Nazi regime. The material includes a timeline, several articles on German plots and short biographies of 70 of the conspirators.

Nazi Persecution of Homosexuals: Between 1933 and 1945, Germany's National Socialist (Nazi) government under Adolf Hitler used its monopoly of authority to attempt to rid German territory of people who did not fit its vision of a "master Aryan race." Foremost among the so - called racial enemies, according to the Nazis' antisemitic ideology, were the Jews. Many other groups were targets of persecution and even murder under the Nazis’ ideology, including Germans with mental and physical disabilities, homosexuals, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Gypsies, Poles, and Soviet prisoners of war. This United States Holocaust Memorial Museum online exhibition examines the campaign of persecution and violence against the homosexuals of Germany.

Children of the Warsaw Ghetto: The theme for the Holocaust Memorial Day this year is ‘Children’ and the Holocaust. One and a half million Jewish children were victims of Nazism and hundreds of thousands of other children were also victims, including the Romani’s (Gypsies), black children, Slavs, Jehovah Witnesses and the disabled. To try and address that wide group whilst not spreading too thinly the education resources have focused further again, so that they predominantly cover children in Warsaw and the Warsaw ghetto. The main body of the resources take the form of assemblies lasting for approximately 15 minutes each. However as well as being used in an assembly they can also be used in the history classroom.

Germany 1933: Gareth Jones’s articles were written and published following his visits to Germany in February and June 1933 and in August 1934. Titles of the articles that appeared in the Western Mail and the Financial News includes Germany Wants a new Frederick the Great, German & Slave, Workless Millions in Germany, How Germany Tackles Unemployment, Storm Over the Polish Corridor, Germany Awake, Impressions of Germany and Fascist Dictatorship in Germany.

Nazi Propaganda: The story of the Nazi rise to power in the Germany of the 1930s is often seen as a classic example of how to achieve political ends through propaganda. The Nazis themselves were certainly convinced of its effectiveness, and Adolf Hitler devoted two chapters in his book Mein Kampf, to an analysis of its use. He saw propaganda as a vehicle of political salesmanship in a mass market, and argued that it was a way of conveying a message to the bulk of the German people, not to intellectuals. This illustrated article by Professor David Welch takes a detailed look at the methods Hitler's government used to manipulate public opinion.

German Resistance: The German Resistance Memorial Center is a site of remembrance, political studies, active learning, documentation, and research. An extensive permanent exhibition, a series of temporary special exhibitions, events and a range of publications document and illustrate resistance to National Socialism. The goal is to show how individual persons and groups took action against the National Socialist dictatorship from 1933 to 1945 and made use of what freedom of action they had. The website so far has 65 biographies of people who resisted the government of Adolf Hitler.

Nazi Propaganda 1933-1945: Propaganda was central to Nazi Germany. This section is a collection of English translations of Nazi propaganda for the period 1933-1945. The goal of the website is to help people understand the great totalitarian systems of the twentieth century by giving them access to primary material. The archive is substantial. If you are looking for something specific, you might try the search function available at the bottom of the page.

German Occupation of the Rhineland: On March 7th 1936 German troops marched into the Rhineland. This was Hitler’s first illegal act in foreign relations since coming to power in 1933 and it threw the European allies, especially France and Britain, into confusion. What should they do about his actions? These documents reveal the motives and attitudes of the British government as they discuss their options. Another interesting lesson produced by the Public Record Office.

Nuremberg: In early October 1945, the four prosecuting nations - the United States, Great Britain, France and Russia - issued an indictment against 24 men and six organizations. The individual defendants were charged not only with the systematic murder of millions of people, but also with planning and carrying out the war in Europe. On November 20, 1945, twenty-one Nazi defendants filed into the dock at the Palace of Justice in Nuremberg to stand trial for war crimes. This TV Court Online website provides extensive details of what happened.

Deadly Medicine: From 1933 to 1945, Nazi Germany’s government led by Adolf Hitler promoted a nationalism that combined territorial expansion with claims of biological superiority - an “Aryan master race” - and virulent antisemitism. Driven by a racist ideology legitimized by German scientists, the Nazis attempted to eliminate all of Europe’s Jews, ultimately killing six million in the Holocaust. Many others also became victims of persecution and murder in the Nazis’ campaign to cleanse German society of individuals viewed as threats to the “health” of the nation. This special online exhibition on the subject has been produced by the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum.