The Reichstag Burns

Fireman work on the burning shell of the German parliament building, the Reichstag, February 27, 1933. It was after the burning of the Reichstag, which Adolf Hitler blamed on Bolsheviks and other anti-social elements — and elections on March 5, which the Nazi Party and its nationalist allies won — that Hitler strengthened his grip. On the “Night of the Long Knives,” June 30, 1934, Hitler purged the party and when President Paul Von Hindenburg died, he combined the offices of President and Chancellor in himself as Führer. Germany became a centralized state ruled by one party.

Hitler at the Reich Chancellery

Adolf Hitler is seen at the Reich Chancellery on June 1, 1939, during a ceremony to award banners to outstanding industrial plants. He had long wooed leading industrialists, and arms giants such as Krupp — realizing where their future lay — were not slow in putting their finances and support firmly behind the Nazis.

The People’s Car

Adolf Hitler is seen here at the Auto Exhibition in Berlin on February 17, 1939. He took an interest in cars and made sure that the Volkswagen “Beetle” was dangled like a carrot in front of the people, and that they were encouraged to save up for “the People’s Car.” Money was soon diverted to the war effort, however, along with the car factories’ capacities.

Hitler on May Day — 1939

Adolf Hitler speaks in Berlin’s Olympic Stadium on May Day in 1939. The Nazis appropriated National Labour Day, May 1, as one of their holidays. Workers marched, waved banners, built bonfires, and danced around maypoles when they were not being addressed by Hitler and other leading Nazis.

Tripartite Pact Signed in Berlin

“On September 27, 1940, Japan, whose sympathies lay with Germany and Italy, signed a ten-year pact with these two countries. This provided for mutual aid in the event of any of the signatories being attacked by a power not so far involved in the war, and was interpreted as a warning to the United States. The picture above shows: left to right, seated, Ciano (Italy), Ribbentrop (Germany), and Saburo Kuruso (Japanese Ambassador to Germany) signing agreement.”

Source: Pictorial History of the Second World War

Berlin Gets a Sample of British Bombs

“The R.A.F. (Royal Air Force) paid frequent visits to Berlin, often staying for several hours over the city, which contained many military objectives. On September 10, 1940 the Germans admitted that hits were scored on the Reichstag and the garden at Joseph Goebbel’s home. Above, German Safety Service workers are putting out a fire started by British incendiary bombs; below, civilians are seen clearing away the debris after a night raid on Germany’s capitol.”

Source: Pictorial History of the Second World War

Berlin — 1936

While we will most often feature images from during the war itself, today we are presenting a short film about Berlin in the year 1936. This was the year of the Olympics in that city, which were awarded to Germany prior to the Third Reich coming to power. The movie is narrated in the original German, but seeing the city as it was before the war is worth watching, even if one cannot translate the language.