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171-499: Fallada was born in Greifswald , Germany, the child of a magistrate on his way to becoming a supreme court judge and a mother from a middle-class background, both of whom shared an enthusiasm for music, and to a lesser extent, literature. Jenny Williams notes in her biography More Lives than One (1998), that Fallada's father would often read aloud to his children works by authors such as Shakespeare and Schiller . In 1899, when Fallada

342-628: A fascist party with similar policies and objectives came into power in Italy, the National Fascist Party , under the leadership of the charismatic Benito Mussolini . The Fascists, like the Nazis, promoted a national rebirth of their country, as they opposed communism and liberalism; appealed to the working-class; opposed the Treaty of Versailles ; and advocated the territorial expansion of their country. Hitler

513-606: A totalitarian regime known as the Third Reich and became dictator with absolute power . Following the military defeat of Germany in World War II , the party was declared illegal. The Allies attempted to purge German society of Nazi elements in a process known as denazification . Several top leaders were tried and found guilty of crimes against humanity in the Nuremberg trials , and executed. The use of symbols associated with

684-481: A "people's community" ( Volksgemeinschaft ). The party aimed to unite "racially desirable" Germans as national comrades while excluding those deemed to be either political dissidents, physically or intellectually inferior, or of a foreign race ( Fremdvölkische ). The Nazis sought to strengthen the Germanic people, the " Aryan master race ", through racial purity and eugenics , broad social welfare programs, and

855-466: A Catholic monarch; and Westphalia , along with working-class "Red Berlin", were always the Nazis' weakest areas electorally, even during the Third Reich itself. The areas of strongest Nazi support were in rural Protestant areas such as Schleswig-Holstein , Mecklenburg , Pomerania and East Prussia . Depressed working-class areas such as Thuringia also produced a strong Nazi vote, while the workers of

1026-538: A Child ) met with initially positive reviews, the official Nazi publication Völkischer Beobachter disapproved. In the same year, the Ministry for Public Enlightenment and Propaganda "recommended the removal of Little Man, What Now? from all public libraries". Meanwhile, the official campaign against Fallada was beginning to take a toll on the sales of his books, landing him in financial straits that precipitated another nervous breakdown in 1934. In September 1935 Fallada

1197-617: A Jewish-dominated movement and denounced capitalists for war profiteering in World War I. Drexler saw the political violence and instability in Germany as the result of the Weimar Republic being out-of-touch with the masses, especially the lower classes. Drexler emphasised the need for a synthesis of völkisch nationalism with a form of economic socialism , in order to create a popular nationalist-oriented workers' movement that could challenge

1368-582: A bystander lay dead. Hitler, Ludendorff and a number of others were arrested and were tried for treason in March 1924. Hitler and his associates were given very lenient prison sentences. While Hitler was in prison, he wrote his semi-autobiographical political manifesto Mein Kampf ("My Struggle"). The Nazi Party was banned on 9 November 1923; however, with the support of the nationalist Völkisch-Social Bloc ( Völkisch-Sozialer Block ), it continued to operate under

1539-485: A collective subordination of individual rights, which could be sacrificed for the good of the state on behalf of the people. To protect the supposed purity and strength of the Aryan race, the Nazis sought to disenfranchise, segregate, and eventually exterminate Jews , Romani , Slavs , the physically and mentally disabled , homosexuals , Jehovah's Witnesses , and political opponents. The persecution reached its climax when

1710-543: A dangerous record indeed under the Nazi regime. The rationing of paper, which prioritized state-promoted works, was also an impediment to his career. Nevertheless, he continued to publish in a limited role, even enjoying a very brief window of official approval. This window closed abruptly near the end of 1943 with the loss of his 25-year publisher Rowohlt, who fled the country. It was also at this time that he turned to alcohol and extra-marital affairs to cope with, among other matters,

1881-513: A development which was formally documented by the merger of the offices of Reichsführer-SS and Chief of the German Police on 17 June 1936, as the position was held by Heinrich Himmler who derived his authority directly from Hitler. The Sicherheitsdienst (SD, formally the "Security Service of the Reichsführer-SS") that had been created in 1931 as an intraparty intelligence became

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2052-517: A few changes to the novel that removed anything that showed the Nazis in a bad light: a Sturmabteilung (SA) thug had to be turned into a soccer thug, for example, and the book stayed in print until 1941, after which war time paper shortages curtailed the printing of novels. In 2016, a complete edition was published in Germany that added about 100 pages to the original 400 pages in the 1932 edition. The cuts had been made with Fallada's consent by his publisher Ernst Rowohlt . German reviewers agreed that

2223-562: A halt, he began to draw some additional scrutiny from the government in the form of denunciations of his work by Nazi authors and publications, who also noted that he had not joined the Party. On Easter Sunday, 1933, he was jailed by the Gestapo for "anti-Nazi activities" after one such denunciation, but despite a ransacking of his home no evidence was found and he was released a week later. After Adolf Hitler's rise to power in 1933, Fallada had to make

2394-498: A house. These decrees remained essentially in force, under Prussian administration, until 1824. In 1763, Greifswald Botanic Garden was founded. During the 19th century, Greifswald attracted many Polish students. After Breslau (now Wrocław , Poland) and Berlin, Greifswald hosted the third-largest group of Polish students in Germany. About 1900, the town – for the first time since the Middle Ages – expanded significantly beyond

2565-592: A league called the Freier Arbeiterausschuss für einen guten Frieden (Free Workers' Committee for a good Peace) was created in Bremen , Germany. On 7 March 1918, Anton Drexler , an avid German nationalist, formed a branch of this league in Munich . Drexler was a local locksmith who had been a member of the militarist Fatherland Party during World War I and was bitterly opposed to the armistice of November 1918 and

2736-518: A literary prize awarded by the city of Neumünster , was named after the author. In popular culture "Hans Fallada" was one of the protagonists of Colin Wilson's 1976 novel, "The Space Vampires," turned into a major fim, "Lifeforce" in 1985. English : Note: Translations made by E. Sutton and P. Owens in the 1930s and 40s were abbreviated and/or made from unreliable editions, according to Fallada biographer Jenny Williams. German : Much of Fallada's work

2907-549: A mental institution. He told his family that he had written "a great novel". At the time of Fallada's death in February 1947, aged 53, from a weakened heart from years of addiction to morphine, alcohol and other drugs, he had recently completed Every Man Dies Alone , an anti-fascist novel based on the true story of a German couple, Otto and Elise Hampel , who were executed for producing and distributing anti-Nazi material in Berlin during

3078-477: A ministerial-level post at any level in Germany. In 1931 the Nazi Party altered its strategy to engage in perpetual campaigning across the country, even outside of election time. During 1931 and into 1932, Germany's political crisis deepened. Hitler ran for president against the incumbent Paul von Hindenburg in March 1932, polling 30% in the first round and 37% in the second against Hindenburg's 49% and 53%. By now

3249-541: A month later. In January 1923, France occupied the Ruhr industrial region as a result of Germany's failure to meet its reparations payments. This led to economic chaos, the resignation of Wilhelm Cuno 's government and an attempt by the German Communist Party (KPD) to stage a revolution. The reaction to these events was an upsurge of nationalist sentiment. Nazi Party membership grew sharply to about 20,000, compared to

3420-517: A much needed source of income, writing "children's stories and harmless fairy tales" that would also conveniently avoid the unwanted attention of the Nazis. During this time the prospect of emigration held a constant place in Fallada's mind, although he was reluctant because of his love of Germany. In 1937 the publication and success of Wolf unter Wölfen ( Wolf Among Wolves ) marked Fallada's temporary return to his serious, realistic style. The Nazis read

3591-514: A new South German nation with Austria . In vehemently attacking the man's arguments, Hitler made an impression on the other party members with his oratorical skills; according to Hitler, the "professor" left the hall acknowledging unequivocal defeat. Drexler encouraged him to join the DAP. On the orders of his army superiors, Hitler applied to join the party and within a week was accepted as party member 555 (the party began counting membership at 500 to give

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3762-456: A novelist in 1920 with the publication of his first book Der junge Goedeschal ("Young Goedeschal"). During this period he also struggled with morphine addiction, and the death of his younger brother in the First World War . In the wake of the war, Fallada worked at several farmhand and other agricultural jobs in order to support himself and finance his growing drug addiction. While before

3933-523: A number of museums and exhibitions, most notably the Pomeranian State Museum ( German : Pommersches Landesmuseum ): history of Pomerania and arts, including works by Caspar David Friedrich , a native of Greifswald. The University of Greifswald also has a large number of collections, some of which are on display for the public. Events and attractions hosted in Greifswald include: Art house

4104-426: A pact with a friend, Hanns Dietrich von Necker, to stage a duel to mask their suicides, feeling that the duel would be seen as more honorable. However, because of both boys' inexperience with weapons, it was a bungled affair. Dietrich missed Fallada, but Fallada did not miss Dietrich, killing him. Fallada was so distraught that he picked up Dietrich's gun and shot himself in the chest, but somehow survived. Nonetheless,

4275-515: A part of or aiding so-called " international Jewry ". The DAP was also deeply opposed to the Treaty of Versailles . The DAP did not attempt to make itself public and meetings were kept in relative secrecy, with public speakers discussing what they thought of Germany's present state of affairs , or writing to like-minded societies in Northern Germany . The DAP was a comparatively small group with fewer than 60 members. Nevertheless, it attracted

4446-419: A party member, abbreviates the party's name ( Nationalsozialist [natsi̯oˈnaːlzotsi̯aˌlɪst] ), and was coined in analogy with Sozi (pronounced [ˈzoːtsiː] ), an abbreviation of Sozialdemokrat (member of the rival Social Democratic Party of Germany ). Members of the party referred to themselves as Nationalsozialisten (National Socialists), but some did occasionally embrace

4617-646: A popular writer in Germany after his death. But, although Little Man, What Now? had been a great success in the United States and the UK, outside of Germany Fallada faded into obscurity for decades. In Germany, Every Man Dies Alone made a great impact. It was filmed for television in both East and West Germany . The novel was brought to the cinema screen in 1976, starring Hildegard Knef and Carl Raddatz . Every Man Dies Alone remained untranslated in English until 2009, when it

4788-510: A protest, but had now drawn back from the prospect of actually putting him into power. The Nazis interpreted the result as a warning that they must seize power before their moment passed. Had the other parties united, this could have been prevented, but their shortsightedness made a united front impossible. Papen, his successor Kurt von Schleicher and the nationalist press magnate Alfred Hugenberg spent December and January in political intrigues that eventually persuaded President Hindenburg that it

4959-403: A result of a drug and alcohol-fueled string of thefts from employers. In February 1928 he finally emerged free of addiction. Fallada married Anna "Suse" Issel in 1929 and maintained a string of respectable jobs in journalism, working for newspapers and eventually for the publisher of his novels, Rowohlt . It is around this time that his novels became noticeably political and started to comment on

5130-642: A short diary In meinem fremden Land ( A Stranger in My Own Country ). It was an act easily punishable by death, but he was not caught, and was released in December 1944 as the Nazi government began to crumble. Despite a seemingly successful reconciliation with his first wife, only a few months after his release he went on to marry the young, wealthy and attractive Ursula Losch, widow of the artist Kurt Losch , and moved in with her in Feldberg, Mecklenburg . Shortly after,

5301-549: A shortened version of Ignatius , which was a common name in the Nazis' home region of Bavaria . Opponents seized on this, and the long-existing Sozi , to attach a dismissive nickname to the National Socialists. In 1933, when Adolf Hitler assumed power in the German government, the usage of "Nazi" diminished in Germany, although Austrian anti-Nazis continued to use the term. The use of " Nazi Germany " and "Nazi regime"

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5472-598: A society divided along class and party lines. This ideology was explicitly antisemitic. As early as 1920, the party was raising money by selling a tobacco called Anti-Semit . From the outset, the DAP was opposed to non-nationalist political movements, especially on the left, including the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) and the Communist Party of Germany (KPD). Members of the DAP saw themselves as fighting against " Bolshevism " and anyone considered

5643-594: A supra-regional relevance linked to its intellectual role as a university town and to the taking of the central functions of the former Prussian Province of Pomerania after World War II, such as the seat of the bishop of the Pomeranian Lutheran Church , the state archives ( Landesarchiv ) and the Pomeranian Museum ( Pommersches Landesmuseum ). Three courts of the state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern are also based at Greifswald: Greifswald and Stralsund are

5814-424: A traitor to the party. In the following days, Hitler spoke to several packed houses and defended himself and Esser to thunderous applause. Hitler's strategy proved successful; at a special party congress on 29 July 1921, he replaced Drexler as party chairman by a vote of 533   to   1. The committee was dissolved, and Hitler was granted nearly absolute powers in the party as its sole leader. He would hold

5985-618: A way out of this impasse. The electoral result was the same, with the Nazis and the Communists winning 50% of the vote between them and more than half the seats, rendering this Reichstag no more workable than its predecessor. However, support for the Nazis had fallen to 33.1%, suggesting that the Nazi surge had passed its peak—possibly because the worst of the Depression had passed, possibly because some middle-class voters had supported Hitler in July as

6156-578: A week. Unlike many other members of the organisation, this continued employment provided him with enough money to dedicate himself more fully to the DAP. Hitler's first DAP speech was held in the Hofbräukeller on 16 October 1919. He was the second speaker of the evening, and spoke to 111 people. Hitler later declared that this was when he realised he could really "make a good speech". At first, Hitler spoke only to relatively small groups, but his considerable oratory and propaganda skills were appreciated by

6327-489: Is twinned with: Greifswald has friendly relations with: Founded in 1456, the University of Greifswald is one of the oldest universities in both Germany and Europe . Currently, about 12,300 students study at five faculties: theology , law / economics , medicine , humanities and social sciences , and mathematics /natural sciences. The university co-operates with many research facilities, such as: Greifswald has

6498-565: Is a brilliant speaker, we can hold out the prospect of an extremely exciting evening". Over the following months, the party continued to attract new members, while remaining too small to have any real significance in German politics. By the end of the year, party membership was recorded at 2,000, many of whom Hitler and Röhm had brought into the party personally, or for whom Hitler's oratory had been their reason for joining. Hitler's talent as an orator and his ability to draw new members, combined with his characteristic ruthlessness, soon made him

6669-802: Is also roughly equidistant from Germany's two largest cities, Berlin (240 km or 150 mi) and Hamburg (260 km or 160 mi). The nearest larger cities are Stralsund and Rostock . The coastal part of Greifswald at the mouth of the Ryck, named Greifswald-Wieck, evolved from a fishing village. Today it provides a small beach, a marina and the main port for Greifswald. Greifswald features an oceanic climate with some humid continental influence. Summers are pleasantly warm, although chilly at night. Due to its coastal location, heatwaves in Greifswald tend to be less extreme than other nearby locations inland. Winters are mild to cold, with occasional cold fronts coming in from Scandinavia or Siberia . Precipitation

6840-549: Is also served by ICE and EuroCity services to cities in Germany and the Czech Republic . Nazi Party Final solution Parties The Nazi Party , officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party ( German : Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei   or NSDAP ), was a far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that created and supported

7011-499: Is available in German at Projekt Gutenberg-DE Hans Fallada. Greifswald Greifswald ( German pronunciation: [ˈɡʁaɪfsvalt] ), officially the University and Hanseatic City of Greifswald ( German : Universitäts- und Hansestadt Greifswald , Low German : Griepswoold , Kashubian : Grifiô ) is the fourth-largest city in the German state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania after Rostock , Schwerin and Neubrandenburg . In 2021 it surpassed Stralsund for

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7182-508: Is based in Greifswald. In the energy sector, an offshore natural gas pipeline from Russia to Germany, Nord Stream 1 , stops in Lubmin (near Greifswald). Riemser Arzneimittel is a pharmaceutical company based on the island of Riems, which is part of the city of Greifswald. Siemens Communications F & E produces goods here as well. In a 2008 study, Greifswald was declared Germany 's most dynamic city. According to another 2008 study, Greifswald

7353-614: Is located in the northeast of Germany , approximately equidistant from Germany's two largest islands, Rügen and Usedom . The city is situated at the south end of the Bay of Greifswald , the historic centre being about five kilometres (three miles) up the river Ryck that crosses the city. The area around Greifswald is mainly flat, and hardly reaches more than 20 m above sea level . Two islands, Koos and Riems , are also part of Greifswald. Three of Germany's fourteen national parks can be reached by car in one hour or less from Greifswald. Greifswald

7524-434: Is one of his best novels, "it remains one of the most vivid and sympathetic accounts of a local revolt ever written." The great success of Kleiner Mann - was nun? ( Little Man, What Now? ) in 1932, while immediately easing his financial straits, was overshadowed by his anxiety over the rise of national socialism and a subsequent nervous breakdown. Although none of his work was deemed subversive enough to warrant action by

7695-470: Is shown regularly at the film club "Casablanca", which has existed since 1992. It puts its focus on the heritage of 35mm films. The Koeppenhaus shows art house cinema as part of its special programmes. The cinema initiative "KinoAufSegeln" screening art house open air on the site of the Greifswalder Museumswerft, Greifswald's shipyard museum. It exists since 2015. All three are active members of

7866-618: Is situated at an equal distance of about 250 km (160 mi) to Germany's two largest cities, Berlin and Hamburg , which can be reached via the Autobahn 20 by car in about two hours. There are also train connections to and from Hamburg (via Stralsund and Rostock ), and Berlin. The popular summer tourist destinations Usedom and Rügen can be reached both by car and train. Greifswald railway station connects Greifswald with Stralsund , Züssow , Usedom , Angermünde , Eberswalde , Berlin and Szczecin (through Pasewalk ). The station

8037-509: Is spread throughout the year and comparatively low by German standards, while sunshine hours are above the German average. Greifswald was founded in 1199 when Cistercian monks founded the Eldena Abbey . In 1250, Wartislaw III, Duke of Pomerania , granted town privileges to Greifswald according to the Lübeck law . In medieval times, the site of Greifswald was an unsettled woodland which marked

8208-419: Is the "youngest city" in Germany having the highest percentage of heads of household under 30 years of age. The current mayor of Greifswald is Stefan Fassbinder (Greens) since 2015. The most recent mayoral election was held on 12 June 2022, with a runoff held on 26 June, and the results were as follows: The most recent city council election was held on 9 June 2024, and the results were as follows: Greifswald

8379-471: Is unknown, but the original church dates from the late 13th century. The tower was built, and an organ installed in the church, in the late 14th century. In the mid-17th century, when Greifswald was part of Swedish Pomerania , severe storm damage was repaired with support from the Swedish Crown. Neglect during the early DDR period necessitated extensive refurbishment, completed in 1989, the last full year of

8550-590: The Reichswehr remained impartial. Nazi power over Germany remained virtual, not absolute. The Nazis embarked on a campaign of Gleichschaltung (coordination) to exert their control over all aspects of German government and society. During June and July 1933, all competing parties were either outlawed or dissolved themselves and subsequently the Law Against the Formation of Parties of 14 July 1933 legally established

8721-466: The Baltic Region after the University of Rostock . The city is well-known for the ruins of Eldena Abbey (formerly Hilda Abbey ), a frequent subject of the paintings of Caspar David Friedrich , who was born in the city when it was part of Swedish Pomerania . Greifswald is the seat of the Pomeranian State Museum ( Pommersches Landesmuseum ). The recently built Ryck Barrier ( Rycksperrwerk ) protects

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8892-611: The Bolsheviks , resonated with wide sections of the electorate. At the September 1930 Reichstag elections , the Nazis won 18% of the votes and became the second-largest party in the Reichstag after the Social Democrats. Hitler proved to be a highly effective campaigner, pioneering the use of radio and aircraft for this purpose. His dismissal of Strasser and his appointment of Goebbels as

9063-498: The Imperial Supreme Court . In 1909 (age 16), he was run over by a horse-drawn cart, then kicked in the face by the horse. This mishap plus the contraction of typhoid in 1910 (age 17) seem to mark a turning point in Fallada's life. His lifelong drug problems were born of the pain-killing medications he was taking as the result of his injuries. These issues manifested themselves in multiple suicide attempts. In 1911 he made

9234-581: The Pomeranian State Museum . During the Thirty Years' War , Greifswald was occupied by (Catholic) Imperial forces from 1627 to 1631, and thereafter, under the Treaty of Stettin (1630) , by (Protestant) Swedish forces. During the Thirty Years' War , Swedish forces entered the Duchy of Pomerania in 1630. Greifswald was besieged by Swedish troops on 12 June 1631 and surrendered on 16 June. Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden had returned from Brandenburg to supervise

9405-604: The Ruhr and Hamburg largely remained loyal to the Social Democrats , the Communist Party of Germany or the Catholic Centre Party . Nuremberg remained a Nazi Party stronghold, and the first Nuremberg Rally was held there in 1927. These rallies soon became massive displays of Nazi paramilitary power and attracted many recruits. The Nazis' strongest appeal was to the lower middle-classes—farmers, public servants, teachers and small businessmen—who had suffered most from

9576-526: The Swedish-Polish War and the Swedish-Brandenburg War both involved the nominally Swedish town of Greifswald. In 1659 and 1678, Brandenburgian troops bombarded the town. The first bombardment hit mainly the northeast part of town, wrecking 16 houses. The second bombardment leveled 30 houses and damaged hundreds more all over the city. Cannonballs of this second bombardment can still be seen in

9747-495: The Verband für Filmkommunikation (Association for Film Communication) of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, the umbrella organisation of art house cinemas and film clubs. Among Greifswald's brick gothic churches is the Dom St. Nikolai (St. Nicholas collegiate church) in the city center, which, with its 100 meters (330 ft) tall tower, is the symbol of the city. The exact date of its founding

9918-553: The de facto intelligence agency of Nazi Germany. It was put under the Reich Security Main Office (RSHA) in 1939, which then coordinated SD, Gestapo and criminal police , therefore functioning as a hybrid organisation of state and party structures. Officially, Nazi Germany lasted only 12 years. The Instrument of Surrender was signed by representatives of the German High Command at Berlin , on 8 May 1945, when

10089-653: The "Night of the Long Knives"), Hitler disempowered the SA's leadership—most of whom belonged to the Strasserist (national revolutionary) faction within the NSDAP—and ordered them killed. He accused them of having conspired to stage a coup d'état , but it is believed that this was only a pretense to justify the suppression of any intraparty opposition. The purge was executed by the SS, assisted by

10260-541: The 13 Stolpersteine were stolen, presumably by pro-Nazi extremists. The following year (2013) they were replaced. A memorial plaque was installed on the site of the synagogue in 2008 in a ceremony attended by German Chancellor Angela Merkel . According to a 2009 study, 44% of all people in Greifswald use their bicycle for daily transport within the city, which, at the time, was the highest rate in Germany. There are also public local and regional bus operators. Local buses are run by SWG (Stadtwerke Greifswald) . Greifswald

10431-532: The Cistercians at Eldena lost much of their influence on the city's further development. Just beyond Greifswald's western limits, a town-like suburb ( Neustadt ) arose, separated from Greifswald by a ditch. In 1264, Neustadt was incorporated and the ditch was filled in. Eldena Abbey and the major buildings of Greifswald were erected in the North German Brick Gothic ( Backsteingotik ) style, found along

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10602-669: The Control Council Law no. 2 Providing for the Termination and Liquidation of the Nazi Organization specified the abolition of 52 other Nazi affiliated and supervised organisations and outlawed their activities. The denazification was carried out in Germany and continued until the onset of the Cold War. Between 1939 and 1945, the Nazi Party led regime, assisted by collaborationist governments and recruits from occupied countries,

10773-741: The DDR. The St.-Marien-Kirche (St. Mary's Church), built adjacent to the Old Town marketplace in the mid-13th century, contains ground-level brick walls four and one-half meters (14 ft) thick. Medieval murals depicting scenes from the Passion of Christ were restored in 1977–84. The church organ, known as the Marienorgel (St. Mary's Organ), was installed by the Stralsund organ builder Friedrich Mehmel in 1866, replacing an earlier instrument. It features 37 registers. On

10944-455: The Gestapo and Reichswehr units. Aside from Strasserist Nazis, they also murdered anti-Nazi conservative figures like former chancellor von Schleicher. After this, the SA continued to exist but lost much of its importance, while the role of the SS grew significantly. Formerly only a sub-organisation of the SA, it was made into a separate organisation of the NSDAP in July 1934. Upon the death of President Hindenburg on 2 August 1934, Hitler merged

11115-424: The Nazi Party might never have come to power had it not been for the Great Depression and its effects on Germany. By 1930, the German economy was beset with mass unemployment and widespread business failures. The Social Democrats and Communists were bitterly divided and unable to formulate an effective solution: this gave the Nazis their opportunity and Hitler's message, blaming the crisis on the Jewish financiers and

11286-404: The Nazi Party's monopoly. On 1 December 1933, the Law to Secure the Unity of Party and State entered into force, which was the base for a progressive intertwining of party structures and state apparatus. By this law, the SA—actually a party division—was given quasi-governmental authority and their Stabschef became a cabinet minister without portfolio . By virtue of the 30 January 1934 Law on

11457-472: The Nazi regime, he once again turned to morphine with his wife, and both soon ended up in hospital. He spent the brief remainder of his life in and out of hospitals and wards. Losch's addiction to morphine appears to have been even worse than Fallada's, and her constantly mounting debts were an additional source of concern. Fallada wrote Jeder stirbt für sich allein ( Every Man Dies Alone ) between September and November 1946 (shortly before his death), whilst in

11628-416: The Nazi regime. Hitler later claimed to be the seventh party member. He was, in fact, the seventh executive member of the party's central committee and he would later wear the Golden Party Badge number one. Anton Drexler drafted a letter to Hitler in 1940—which was never sent—that contradicts Hitler's later claim: No one knows better than you yourself, my Führer, that you were never the seventh member of

11799-451: The Nazis, many of his peers were arrested and interned, and his future as an author under the Nazi regime looked bleak. A German film of the book was made by Jewish producers at the end of 1932, and this earned Fallada closer attention by the rising Nazi Party . The film, unlike the US film of 1934, bore little resemblance to the novel, and was finally released after many cuts by the Nazi censors in mid-1933. These anxieties were compounded by

11970-434: The Reconstruction of the Reich , the Länder (states) lost their sovereignty and were demoted to administrative divisions of the Reich government. Effectively, they lost most of their power to the Gaue that were originally just regional divisions of the party, but took over most competencies of the state administration in their respective sectors. During the Röhm Purge of 30 June to 2 July 1934 (also known as

12141-421: The River Zarow , the historical cultural and linguistic boundary between West (west of the river) and Central Pomerania (east of the river). The city derives its name from the dukes of Pomerania, the House of Griffin , and thus ultimately from the Pomeranian Griffin , and its name hence translates as "Griffin's Forest". The University of Greifswald , which was founded in 1456, is the second-oldest university in

12312-479: The SA had 400,000 members and its running street battles with the SPD and Communist paramilitaries (who also fought each other) reduced some German cities to combat zones. Paradoxically, although the Nazis were among the main instigators of this disorder, part of Hitler's appeal to a frightened and demoralised middle class was his promise to restore law and order. Overt antisemitism was played down in official Nazi rhetoric, but

12483-706: The SA retained some autonomy. Being composed largely of unemployed workers, many SA men took the Nazis' socialist rhetoric seriously. At this time, the Hitler salute (borrowed from the Italian fascists ) and the greeting "Heil Hitler!" were adopted throughout the party. The Nazis contested elections to the national parliament (the Reichstag ) and to the state legislature (the Landtage ) from 1924, although at first with little success. The " National Socialist Freedom Movement " polled 3% of

12654-467: The Soviets invaded the area. Fallada, as a celebrity, was asked to give a speech at a ceremony to celebrate the end of the war. Following this speech, he was appointed interim mayor of Feldberg for 18 months. The time in the mental institution had taken a toll on Fallada, and, deeply depressed by the seemingly impossible task of eradicating the vestiges of fascism that were now so deeply ingrained in society by

12825-646: The State to share profits of land and land for national needs to be taken away without compensation. In general, the manifesto was antisemitic , anti-capitalist , anti-democratic , anti-Marxist and anti-liberal . To increase its appeal to larger segments of the population, on the same day as Hitler's Hofbräuhaus speech on 24 February 1920, the DAP changed its name to the Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei ("National Socialist German Workers' Party", or Nazi Party). The name

12996-654: The Weimar Republic government. Hitler was appointed as Chancellor of Germany on 30 January 1933. The Reichstag fire on 27 February 1933 gave Hitler a pretext for suppressing his political opponents. The following day he persuaded the Reich's President Paul von Hindenburg to issue the Reichstag Fire Decree , which suspended most civil liberties . The NSDAP won the parliamentary election on 5 March 1933 with 44% of votes, but failed to win an absolute majority. After

13167-463: The approximate 6,000 at the beginning of 1923. By November 1923, Hitler had decided that the time was right for an attempt to seize power in Munich, in the hope that the Reichswehr (the post-war German military) would mutiny against the Berlin government and join his revolt. In this, he was influenced by former General Erich Ludendorff , who had become a supporter—though not a member—of the Nazis. On

13338-650: The attention of the German authorities, who were suspicious of any organisation that appeared to have subversive tendencies. In July 1919, while stationed in Munich , army Gefreiter Adolf Hitler was appointed a Verbindungsmann (intelligence agent) of an Aufklärungskommando (reconnaissance unit) of the Reichswehr (army) by Captain Mayr , the head of the Education and Propaganda Department (Dept Ib/P) in Bavaria . Hitler

13509-426: The book as a sharp criticism of the Weimar Republic , and thus naturally approved. Notably, Joseph Goebbels called it "a super book". Goebbels's interest in Fallada's work would lead the writer to a world of worry: he would subsequently suggest the writer compose an anti-Semitic tract, and his praise indirectly resulted in Fallada's commission to write a novel that would be the basis for a state-sponsored film charting

13680-716: The border between the Danish Principality of Rügen and the Pomeranian County of Gützkow , which at that time was also under Danish control. In 1199, the Rugian Prince Jaromar I allowed Danish Cistercian monks to build Hilda Abbey, now Eldena Abbey , at the mouth of the River Ryck . Among the lands granted the monks was a natural salt evaporation pond a short way up the river, a site also crossed by an important south–north via regia trade route. This site

13851-609: The city from exceptionally high tides and storm surges moving up from the Baltic. The city's population was listed at 59,332 in 2021, including many of the 12,500 students and 5,000 employees of the University of Greifswald . Greifswald draws international attention due to the university, its surrounding BioCon Valley , the Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline which ends at nearby Lubmin , and the Wendelstein 7-X nuclear fusion projects. Greifswald

14022-510: The colloquial Nazi (so Leopold von Mildenstein in his article series Ein Nazi fährt nach Palästina published in Der Angriff in 1934). The term Parteigenosse (party member) was commonly used among Nazis, with its corresponding feminine form Parteigenossin . Before the rise of the party, these terms had been used as colloquial and derogatory words for a backward peasant , or an awkward and clumsy person. It derived from Ignaz,

14193-449: The construction of a nominal 1760 MW Soviet -made nuclear power plant in Lubmin , which was closed in the early 1990s. New suburbs were erected in the monolithic industrial socialist style ( see Plattenbau ). They still house most of the city's population. These new suburbs were placed east and southeast of central Greifswald, shifting the former town center to the northwestern edge of

14364-694: The country when Hitler rose to power felt disgust for those such as Fallada who had remained, compromising their work under the Nazi regime. Most notable of these critics was Fallada's contemporary Thomas Mann , who had fled Nazi repression early on and lived abroad. He expressed harsh condemnation for writers like Fallada who, though opponents of Nazism, made concessions which compromised their work. “It may be superstitious belief, but in my eyes, any books which could be printed at all in Germany between 1933 and 1945 are worse than worthless and not objects one wishes to touch. A stench of blood and shame attaches to them. They should all be pulped.” The Hans Fallada Prize ,

14535-457: The death of his friend ensured his status as an outcast from society. Although he was found innocent of murder by reason of insanity, from this point on he would undergo multiple stints in mental institutions. At one of these institutions, he was assigned to work in a farmyard, thus beginning his lifelong affinity for farm culture. While in a sanatorium Fallada took to translation and poetry, albeit unsuccessfully, before finally breaking ground as

14706-912: The deaths of several colleagues at the hands of the Nazis, Fallada finally reversed his decision to emigrate. His British publisher, George Putnam , had made arrangements and sent a private boat to whisk Fallada and his family out of Germany. According to Jenny Williams, Fallada had actually packed his bags and loaded them into the car when he told his wife he wanted to take one more walk around their smallholding . "When he returned some time later," Williams writes, "he declared that he could not leave Germany and that Suse should unpack." This seemingly abrupt change of plans coincided with an inner conviction that Fallada had long harbored. Years earlier he had confided to an acquaintance that: “I could never write in another language, nor live in any other place than Germany.” Fallada once again dedicated himself to writing children's stories and other non-political material suitable for

14877-662: The discredited Social Democrats and the Zentrum, whose leader, Heinrich Brüning , headed a weak minority government. The inability of the democratic parties to form a united front, the self-imposed isolation of the Communists and the continued decline of the economy, all played into Hitler's hands. He now came to be seen as de facto leader of the opposition and donations poured into the Nazi Party's coffers. Some major business figures, such as Fritz Thyssen , were Nazi supporters and gave generously and some Wall Street figures were allegedly involved, but many other businessmen were suspicious of

15048-449: The dominant figure. However, while Hitler and Eckart were on a fundraising trip to Berlin in June 1921, a mutiny broke out within the party in Munich. Members of its executive committee wanted to merge with the rival German Socialist Party (DSP). Upon returning to Munich on 11 July, Hitler angrily tendered his resignation. The committee members realised that his resignation would mean the end of

15219-403: The economic and political situation had stabilised and the extremist upsurge of 1923 had faded, so there was no prospect of further revolutionary adventures. Instead, Hitler intended to alter the party's strategy to achieving power through what he called the "path of legality". The Nazi Party of 1925 was divided into the "Leadership Corps" ( Korps der politischen Leiter ) appointed by Hitler and

15390-420: The election, hundreds of thousands of new members joined the party for opportunistic reasons, most of them civil servants and white-collar workers. They were nicknamed the "casualties of March" (German: Märzgefallenen ) or "March violets" (German: Märzveilchen ). To protect the party from too many non-ideological turncoats who were viewed by the so-called "old fighters" (alte Kämpfer) with some mistrust,

15561-525: The entire southern coast of the Baltic. Due to a steady population increase, Greifswald became at the end of the 13th century one of the earliest members of the Hanseatic League , which further increased its trade and wealth. After 1296, Greifswald's citizens no longer needed to serve in the Pomeranian army, and Pomeranian dukes did not reside in the city. In 1456, Greifswald's mayor Heinrich Rubenow laid

15732-495: The extreme nationalist tendencies of the Nazis and preferred to support the traditional conservative parties instead. In 1930, as the price for joining a coalition government of the Land (state) of Thuringia , the Nazi Party received the state ministries of the Interior and Education. On 23 January 1930, Wilhelm Frick was appointed to these ministries, becoming the first Nazi to hold

15903-691: The first time, and became the largest city in the Pomeranian part of the state. It sits on the River Ryck , at its mouth into the Danish Wiek, a sub-bay of the Bay of Greifswald , which is itself a sub-bay of the Bay of Pomerania of the Baltic Sea . It is the seat of the district of Western Pomerania-Greifswald , and is located roughly in the middle between the two largest Pomeranian islands of Rugia ( Rügen ) and Usedom . The closest larger cities are Stralsund , Rostock, Szczecin and Schwerin. It lies west of

16074-608: The formation of a majority government impossible. The result was weak ministries governing by decree. Under Comintern directives, the Communists maintained their policy of treating the Social Democrats as the main enemy, calling them " social fascists ", thereby splintering opposition to the Nazis. Later, both the Social Democrats and the Communists accused each other of having facilitated Hitler's rise to power by their unwillingness to compromise. Chancellor Franz von Papen called another Reichstag election in November, hoping to find

16245-499: The foundations of one of the oldest universities in the world, the University of Greifswald , which was one of the first in Germany, and was, successively, the single oldest in Sweden and Prussia . In the course of Reformation , Eldena Abbey ceased to function as a monastery. Its possessions fell to the Pomeranian dukes; the bricks of its Gothic buildings were used by the locals for other construction. Eldena lost its separate status and

16416-742: The general membership ( Parteimitglieder ). The party and the SA were kept separate and the legal aspect of the party's work was emphasised. In a sign of this, the party began to admit women. The SA and the SS members (the latter founded in 1925 as Hitler's bodyguard, and known originally as the Schutzkommando ) had to all be regular party members. In the 1920s the Nazi Party expanded beyond its Bavarian base. At this time, it began surveying voters in order to determine what they were dissatisfied with in Germany, allowing Nazi propaganda to be altered accordingly. Catholic Bavaria maintained its right-wing nostalgia for

16587-465: The gun from her husband and hit him over the head with it before calling the police, who confined him to a psychiatric institution. (The police record of the call to the altercation makes no mention of shots being fired.) Throughout this period Fallada had one hope to cling to: the project he had concocted to put off Goebbels's demands that he write an anti-Semitic novel. It involved the novelization of "a famous fraud case involving two Jewish financiers in

16758-643: The ideology of Nazism . Its precursor, the German Workers' Party ( Deutsche Arbeiterpartei ; DAP), existed from 1919 to 1920. The Nazi Party emerged from the extremist German nationalist (" Völkisch nationalist "), racist and populist Freikorps paramilitary culture, which fought against communist uprisings in post– World War I Germany. The party was created to draw workers away from communism and into völkisch nationalism. Initially, Nazi political strategy focused on anti– big business , anti- bourgeois , and anti-capitalist rhetoric; it

16929-457: The impression they were a much larger party). Among the party's earlier members were Ernst Röhm of the Army's District Command VII; Dietrich Eckart, who has been called the spiritual father of National Socialism; then- University of Munich student Rudolf Hess ; Freikorps soldier Hans Frank ; and Alfred Rosenberg , often credited as the philosopher of the movement. All were later prominent in

17100-552: The increasingly strained relationship with his wife. Furthermore, in 1943 he travelled to France and the Reichsgau Sudetenland as Sonderführer (B) by order of the so-called Reichsarbeitsdienst . In 1944, although their divorce was already finalized, a drunk Fallada and his wife were involved in an altercation in which a shot was fired by Fallada, according to Suse Ditzen in an interview she gave late in her life to biographer Jenny Williams. According to Suse Ditzen, she took

17271-506: The inflation of the 1920s, so who feared Bolshevism more than anything else. The small business class was receptive to Hitler's antisemitism, since it blamed Jewish big business for its economic problems. University students, disappointed at being too young to have served in the War of 1914–1918 and attracted by the Nazis' radical rhetoric, also became a strong Nazi constituency. By 1929, the party had 130,000 members. The party's nominal Deputy Leader

17442-402: The insane were regularly subjected to barbarous treatment by the Nazis, including physical abuse, sterilization, and even death. But rather than writing the anti-Jewish novel, Fallada used his allotment of paper to write — in a dense, overlapping script that served to encode the text — the novel The Drinker ( Der Trinker ), a deeply critical autobiographical account of life under the Nazis, and

17613-613: The largest cities in the Vorpommern part of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern . Of great importance to the city's economy is the local university with its 12,000 students and nearly 5,000 employees in addition to many people employed at independent research facilities such as the Friedrich Loeffler Institute and spin-off firms. Greifswald is also the seat of the diocese of the Pomeranian Evangelical Church as well as

17784-446: The life of a German family up to 1933. The book Der eiserne Gustav ( Iron Gustav ) was a look at the deprivations and hardships brought on by World War I , but upon reviewing the manuscript Goebbels would suggest that Fallada stretch the time-line of the story to include the rise of the Nazis and their depiction as solving the problems of the War and Weimar. Fallada wrote several different versions before eventually capitulating under

17955-610: The loss of a baby only a few hours after childbirth. However he was heartened by the great success of Little Man, What Now? in Great Britain and the United States, where the book was a bestseller. In the U.S., it was selected by the Book of the Month Club , and was even made into a Hollywood movie, Little Man, What Now? (1934). Meanwhile, as the careers, and in some cases the lives, of many of Fallada's contemporaries were rapidly drawing to

18126-424: The modern town. Reconstruction of the old town began in the late 1980s. Nearly all of it has been restored. Before that almost all of the old northern town adjacent to the port was demolished and subsequently rebuilt. The historic marketplace is considered one of the most beautiful in northern Germany. The town attracts many tourists, due in part to its proximity to the Baltic Sea . Greifswald's greatest population

18297-531: The movement. Later in 1918, Karl Harrer (a journalist and member of the Thule Society ) convinced Drexler and several others to form the Politischer Arbeiter-Zirkel (Political Workers' Circle). The members met periodically for discussions with themes of nationalism and racism directed against Jewish people. In December 1918, Drexler decided that a new political party should be formed, based on

18468-509: The name "German Party" ( Deutsche Partei or DP) from 1924 to 1925. The Nazis failed to remain unified in the DP, as in the north, the right-wing Volkish nationalist supporters of the Nazis moved to the new German Völkisch Freedom Party , leaving the north's left-wing Nazi members, such as Joseph Goebbels retaining support for the party. Pardoned by the Bavarian Supreme Court, Hitler

18639-654: The names of Jewish residents who were murdered in the Holocaust, are embedded in the sidewalk in front of houses where they once lived. Some of the Stolpersteine in Greifswald mark the nationwide November 9, 1938, Kristallnacht pogroms in which members of the Nazi SA and SS murdered many German Jews, vandalized Jewish property and burned down synagogues – including the Greifswald Synagogue, dating from 1787. In 2012 all

18810-472: The night of 8 November, the Nazis used a patriotic rally in a Munich beer hall to launch an attempted putsch ("coup d'état"). This so-called Beer Hall Putsch attempt failed almost at once when the local Reichswehr commanders refused to support it. On the morning of 9 November, the Nazis staged a march of about 2,000 supporters through Munich in an attempt to rally support. The two groups exchanged fire, after which 15 putschists, four police officers, and

18981-422: The nineteen twenties" which, because of its potential as propaganda, was supported by the government and had eased pressure on him as he worked on other, more sincere projects. Finding himself incarcerated in a Nazi insane asylum, he used this project as a pretext for obtaining paper and writing materials, saying he had an assignment to fulfill for Goebbels's office. This successfully forestalled more harsh treatment:

19152-788: The offices of party leader, head of state and chief of government in one, taking the title of Führer und Reichskanzler by passage of the Law Concerning the Head of State of the German Reich . The Chancellery of the Führer , officially an organisation of the Nazi Party, took over the functions of the Office of the President (a government agency), blurring the distinction between structures of party and state even further. The SS increasingly exerted police functions,

19323-598: The old town walls. Also, a major railway connected Greifswald to Stralsund and Berlin; a local railway line further connected Greifswald to Wolgast . The city survived World War II without much destruction, even though it housed a large German Army ( Wehrmacht ) garrison. During the war, in May 1940, the Stalag II-C prisoner-of-war camp was relocated to Greifswald from Dobiegniew , and it housed French , Belgian, Serbian and Soviet POWs with many sent to forced labor detachments in

19494-576: The party is still outlawed in many European countries, including Germany and Austria. The renaming of the German Worker's Party (DAP) to the National Socialist German Workers' Party (NSDAP) was partially driven by a desire to draw upon both left-wing and right-wing ideals, with "Socialist" and "Workers'" appealing to the left, and "National" and "German" appealing to the right. Nazi , the informal and originally derogatory term for

19665-640: The party issued a freeze on admissions that remained in force from May 1933 to 1937. On 23 March, the parliament passed the Enabling Act of 1933 , which gave the cabinet the right to enact laws without the consent of parliament. In effect, this gave Hitler dictatorial powers. Now possessing virtually absolute power, the Nazis established totalitarian control as they abolished labour unions and other political parties and imprisoned their political opponents, first at wilde Lager , improvised camps, then in concentration camps . Nazi Germany had been established, yet

19836-527: The party leadership. With the support of Anton Drexler, Hitler became chief of propaganda for the party in early 1920. Hitler began to make the party more public, and organised its biggest meeting yet of 2,000 people on 24 February 1920 in the Staatliches Hofbräuhaus in München . Such was the significance of this particular move in publicity that Karl Harrer resigned from the party in disagreement. It

20007-433: The party supported the middle-class and that its socialist policy was meant to give social welfare to German citizens deemed part of the Aryan race. They became one of many völkisch movements that existed in Germany. Like other völkisch groups, the DAP advocated the belief that through profit-sharing instead of socialisation Germany should become a unified "people's community" ( Volksgemeinschaft ) rather than

20178-616: The party treasurer Franz Xaver Schwarz and business manager Max Amann . The party had a capable propaganda head in Gregor Strasser , who was promoted to national organizational leader in January 1928. These men gave the party efficient recruitment and organizational structures. The party also owed its growth to the gradual fading away of competitor nationalist groups, such as the German National People's Party (DNVP). As Hitler became

20349-542: The party were always German nationalist expansionism and antisemitism . These two goals were fused in his mind by his belief that Germany's external enemies—Britain, France and the Soviet Union—were controlled by the Jews and that Germany's future wars of national expansion would necessarily entail a war of annihilation against them. For Hitler and his principal lieutenants, national and racial issues were always dominant. This

20520-537: The party's most active orator, appearing in public as a speaker 31 times within the first year after his self-discovery. Crowds began to flock to hear his speeches. Hitler always spoke about the same subjects: the Treaty of Versailles and the Jewish question . This deliberate technique and effective publicising of the party contributed significantly to his early success, about which a contemporary poster wrote: "Since Herr Hitler

20691-498: The party's propaganda chief were major factors. While Strasser had used his position to promote his own leftish version of national socialism, Goebbels was completely loyal to Hitler, and worked only to improve Hitler's image. The 1930 elections changed the German political landscape by weakening the traditional nationalist parties, the DNVP and the DVP, leaving the Nazis as the chief alternative to

20862-405: The party, but at best the seventh member of the committee... And a few years ago I had to complain to a party office that your first proper membership card of the DAP, bearing the signatures of Schüssler and myself, was falsified, with the number 555 being erased and number 7 entered. Although Hitler initially wanted to form his own party, he claimed to have been convinced to join the DAP because it

21033-516: The party-controlled German state set in motion the Final Solution – an industrial system of genocide that carried out mass murders of around 6 million Jews and millions of other targeted victims in what has become known as the Holocaust . Adolf Hitler , the party's leader since 1921, was appointed Chancellor of Germany by President Paul von Hindenburg on 30 January 1933, and quickly seized power afterwards. Hitler established

21204-471: The party. Hitler announced he would rejoin on condition that he would replace Drexler as party chairman, and that the party headquarters would remain in Munich. The committee agreed, and he rejoined the party on 26 July as member 3,680. Hitler continued to face some opposition within the NSDAP, as his opponents had Hermann Esser expelled from the party and they printed 3,000 copies of a pamphlet attacking Hitler as

21375-549: The person had a spouse, the spouse also had to be a "racially pure" Aryan. Party members could not be related either directly or indirectly to a so-called "non-Aryan". Even before it had become legally forbidden by the Nuremberg Laws in 1935, the Nazis banned sexual relations and marriages between party members and Jews. Party members found guilty of Rassenschande ("racial defilement") were persecuted heavily. Some members were even sentenced to death. Hitler quickly became

21546-464: The physically and mentally disabled. The National Socialist Programme was a formulation of the policies of the party. It contained 25 points and is therefore also known as the "25-point plan" or "25-point programme". It was the official party programme, with minor changes, from its proclamation as such by Hitler in 1920, when the party was still the German Workers' Party, until its dissolution. At

21717-644: The political principles that he endorsed, by combining his branch of the Workers' Committee for a good Peace with the Political Workers' Circle. On 5 January 1919, Drexler created a new political party and proposed it should be named the "German Socialist Workers' Party", but Harrer objected to the term "socialist"; so the term was removed and the party was named the German Workers' Party ( Deutsche Arbeiterpartei , DAP). To ease concerns among potential middle-class supporters, Drexler made clear that unlike Marxists

21888-490: The post for the remainder of his life. Hitler soon acquired the title Führer ("leader") and after a series of sharp internal conflicts it was accepted that the party would be governed by the Führerprinzip ("leader principle"). Under this principle, the party was a highly centralised entity that functioned strictly from the top down, with Hitler at the apex. Hitler saw the party as a revolutionary organisation, whose aim

22059-419: The pressure of both Goebbels and his depleted finances. Other evidence of his surrender to Nazi intimidation came in the form of forewords he subsequently wrote for two of his more politically ambiguous works, brief passages in which he essentially declared that the events in his books took place before the rise of the Nazis and were clearly "designed to placate the Nazi authorities". By the end of 1938, despite

22230-431: The recognised head of the German nationalists, other groups declined or were absorbed. In the late 1920s, seeing the party's lack of breakthrough into the mainstream, Goebbels proposed that instead of focusing all of their propaganda in major cities where there was competition from other political movements, they should instead begin holding rallies in rural areas where they would be more effective. Despite these strengths,

22401-607: The region. In the spring of 1945, the camp was evacuated to the west. In April 1945, German Army Colonel ( Oberst ) Rudolf Petershagen defied orders and surrendered the city to the Red Army without a fight. From 1949 to 1990, Greifswald was part of the German Democratic Republic (DDR). During this time, most historical buildings in the medieval parts of the city were neglected and a number of old buildings were pulled down. The population increased significantly, because of

22572-449: The revolutionary upheavals that followed. Drexler followed the views of militant nationalists of the day, such as opposing the Treaty of Versailles , having antisemitic , anti-monarchist and anti-Marxist views, as well as believing in the superiority of Germans whom they claimed to be part of the Aryan " master race " ( Herrenvolk ). However, he also accused international capitalism of being

22743-476: The rise of communism and internationalist politics . These were all well-known themes popular with various Weimar paramilitary groups such as the Freikorps . Drexler's movement received attention and support from some influential figures. Supporter Dietrich Eckart , a well-to-do journalist, brought military figure Felix Graf von Bothmer , a prominent supporter of the concept of "national socialism", to address

22914-448: The seat of the state 's chief constitutional court, and chief financial court. Tourism plays a vital role as Greifswald is situated between the islands of Rügen and Usedom on the popular German Baltic coast , which brings in many tourists. One of Europe's largest producers of photovoltaic modules , Berlin-based Solon SE , has a production site in Greifswald. The world's third-largest producer of yachts worldwide, HanseYachts ,

23085-439: The sensitive times. Nevertheless, with the German invasion of Poland in 1939 and the subsequent outbreak of World War II , life became still more difficult for Fallada and his family. War rations were the basis for several squabbles between his family and other members of his village. On multiple occasions neighbors reported his supposed drug addiction to authorities, threatening to reveal his history of psychological disturbances,

23256-847: The siege, and upon his arrival received the university's homage for the liberation from Catholic forces. After the Thirty Years' War (1618–1648), Greifswald and the region surrounding it became part of the Kingdom of Sweden . Swedish Pomerania , as it was then called, remained part of the Swedish kingdom until 1815, when it became part of the Kingdom of Prussia as the Province of Pomerania . In 1871, it devolved to Germany. The Thirty Years' War had caused starvation throughout Germany, and by 1630 Greifswald's population had shrunk by two-thirds. Many buildings were left vacant and fell into decay. Soon, other wars followed:

23427-678: The social and economic woes of Germany. His breakthrough success came in 1930/1931 with A Small Circus (German: Bauern, Bonzen und Bomben ; "Peasants, Bosses and Bombs") based on the history of the Rural People's Movement in Schleswig-Holstein and the farmers' protest and boycott of the town of Neumünster . Williams notes that Fallada's 1930/31 novel "..established [him] as a promising literary talent as well as an author not afraid to tackle controversial issues". Martin Seymour-Smith said it

23598-520: The tone and the structure of the novel had not suffered from the cuts, but that the restored sections added 'colour and atmosphere,' such as a dream-like Robinson Crusoe island fantasy taking the main character away from his drab everyday life, a visit to the cinema to see a Charles Chaplin movie, and an evening at the Tanzpalast (Dance Palace). Although his 1934 novel Wir hatten mal ein Kind ( Once We Had

23769-469: The town succeeded to the Pomeranian dukes . In 1241, the Rugian prince Wizlaw I and the Pomeranian duke Wartislaw III both granted Greifswald market rights. In 1250, the latter granted the town a charter under Lübeck law , after he had been permitted to acquire the town site as a fief from Eldena Abbey in 1248. When Jazco of Salzwedel from Gützkow founded a Franciscan friary within the walls of Greifswald,

23940-475: The vote in the December 1924 Reichstag elections and this fell to 2.6% in 1928 . State elections produced similar results. Despite these poor results and despite Germany's relative political stability and prosperity during the later 1920s, the Nazi Party continued to grow. This was partly because Hitler, who had no administrative ability, left the party organisation to the head of the secretariat, Philipp Bouhler ,

24111-459: The walls of St Mary's Church. During the Great Northern War (1700–1721, Greifswald was compelled to house soldiers. While besieging neighboring Stralsund , Russian tsar Peter the Great allied with George I of Great Britain in the Treaty of Greifswald . Large fires in 1713 and 1736 destroyed houses and other buildings, including City Hall. The Swedish government had issued decrees in 1669 and 1689 absolving anyone of taxes who built or rebuilt

24282-447: The war Fallada relied on his father for financial support while writing, after the German defeat he was no longer able, or willing, to depend on his father's assistance. Shortly after the publication of Anton und Gerda Fallada reported to prison in Greifswald to serve a 6-month sentence for stealing grain from his employer and selling it to support his drug habit. Less than 3 years later, in 1926, Fallada again found himself imprisoned as

24453-431: The war ended in Europe. The party was formally abolished on 10 October 1945 by the Allied Control Council , followed by the process of denazification along with trials of major war criminals before the International Military Tribunal (IMT) in Nuremberg. Part of the Potsdam Agreement called for the destruction of the Nazi Party alongside the requirement for the reconstruction of the German political life. In addition,

24624-468: The war. According to Jenny Williams, he wrote the book in a "white heat"—a mere 24 days. Fallada died just weeks before the publication of this final novel. He was buried in Pankow , a borough of Berlin, but was later moved to Carwitz where he had lived from 1933 till 1944. After Fallada's death, because of possible neglect and continuing addiction on the part of his second wife and sole heir, many of his unpublished works were lost or sold. Fallada remained

24795-482: The west side of the Old Town stands the St.-Jacobi-Kirche (St. James's Church), dating from the early 13th century. In 1400 it was rebuilt to contain a nave and two transepts, requiring the addition of four buttresses. The original half-timbered tower, heavily damaged in a 1955 fire, was rebuilt in brick. Stolpersteine , part of the European Stolperstein (literally "stumbling stone") memorial project, are scattered around Greifswald. The brass plaques, engraved with

24966-410: Was Gauleiter of Franconia , where he published his antisemitic newspaper Der Stürmer . Beneath the Gauleiter were lower-level officials, the Kreisleiter ("county leaders"), Zellenleiter ("cell leaders") and Blockleiter ("block leaders"). This was a strictly hierarchical structure in which orders flowed from the top and unquestioning loyalty was given to superiors. Only

25137-450: Was Rudolf Hess , but he had no real power in the party. By the early 1930s, the senior leaders of the party after Hitler were Heinrich Himmler , Joseph Goebbels and Hermann Göring . Beneath the Leadership Corps were the party's regional leaders, the Gauleiters , each of whom commanded the party in his Gau ("region"). Goebbels began his ascent through the party hierarchy as Gauleiter of Berlin-Brandenburg in 1926. Streicher

25308-419: Was 6, his father relocated the family to Berlin following the first of several promotions he would receive. Fallada had a very difficult time upon first entering school in 1901. As a result, he immersed himself in books, eschewing literature more in line with his age for authors such as Flaubert , Dostoevsky , and Dickens . In 1909 the family again relocated, to Leipzig , following his father's appointment to

25479-471: Was a backlash against socialist and liberal politics in Bavaria as Germany's economic problems deepened and the weakness of the Weimar regime became apparent. The party recruited former World War I soldiers, to whom Hitler as a decorated frontline veteran could particularly appeal, as well as small businessmen and disaffected former members of rival parties. Nazi rallies were often held in beer halls, where downtrodden men could get free beer. The Hitler Youth

25650-513: Was assigned to influence other soldiers and to infiltrate the DAP. While Hitler was initially unimpressed by the meetings and found them disorganised, he enjoyed the discussion that took place. While attending a party meeting on 12 September 1919 at Munich's Sterneckerbräu , Hitler became involved in a heated argument with a visitor, Professor Baumann, who questioned the soundness of Gottfried Feder 's arguments against capitalism; Baumann proposed that Bavaria should break away from Prussia and found

25821-507: Was formed for the children of party members. The party also formed groups in other parts of Germany. Julius Streicher in Nuremberg was an early recruit and became editor of the racist magazine Der Stürmer . In December 1920, the Nazi Party had acquired a newspaper, the Völkischer Beobachter , of which its leading ideologist Alfred Rosenberg became editor. Others to join the party around this time were Heinrich Himmler and World War I flying ace Hermann Göring . On 31 October 1922,

25992-477: Was in this speech that Hitler enunciated the twenty-five points of the German Workers' Party manifesto that had been drawn up by Drexler, Feder and himself. Through these points he gave the organisation a much bolder stratagem with a clear foreign policy (abrogation of the Treaty of Versailles, a Greater Germany , Eastern expansion and exclusion of Jews from citizenship) and among his specific points were: confiscation of war profits , abolition of unearned incomes,

26163-447: Was inspired by Mussolini and the Fascists, beginning to adopt elements of their program for the Nazi Party and himself. The Italian Fascists also used a straight-armed Roman salute and wore black-shirted uniforms; Hitler would later borrow their use of the straight-armed salute as a Nazi salute . When the Fascists took control of Italy through their coup d'état called the " March on Rome ", Hitler began planning his own coup less than

26334-509: Was intended to draw upon both left-wing and right-wing ideals, with "Socialist" and "Workers'" appealing to the left, and "National" and "German" appealing to the right. The word "Socialist" was added by the party's executive committee (at the suggestion of Rudolf Jung ), over Hitler's initial objections, in order to help appeal to left-wing workers. In 1920, the Nazi Party officially announced that only persons of "pure Aryan descent [ rein arischer Abkunft ]" could become party members and if

26505-453: Was later absorbed into the town of Greifswald. The religious houses within the town walls, the priories of the Blackfriars ( Dominicans ) in the northwest and the Greyfriars (Franciscans) in the southeast, were secularized. The buildings of the Dominicans (the "black monastery") were turned over to the university; the site is still used as part of the medical campus. The Franciscan friary ("the "grey monastery") and its succeeding buildings are now

26676-400: Was later downplayed to gain the support of business leaders. By the 1930s, the party's main focus shifted to antisemitic and anti-Marxist themes. The party had little popular support until the Great Depression , when worsening living standards and widespread unemployment drove Germans into political extremism. Central to Nazism were themes of racial segregation expressed in the idea of

26847-436: Was named Gryp(he)swold(e) , which is the Low German precursor of the city's modern name – which means " Griffin 's Forest." Legend says the monks were shown the best site for settlement by a mighty griffin living in a tree that supposedly grew on what became Greifswald's oldest street, the Schuhagen . The town's construction followed a scheme of rectangular streets, with church and market sites reserved in central positions. It

27018-414: Was never far from the surface. Germans voted for Hitler primarily because of his promises to revive the economy (by unspecified means), to restore German greatness and overturn the Treaty of Versailles and to save Germany from communism. On 24 April 1932, the Free State of Prussia elections to the Landtag resulted in 36% of the votes and 162 seats for the NSDAP. On 20 July 1932, the Prussian government

27189-424: Was not exclusively for any class and indicated that it favoured neither the left nor the right, but preserved "pure" elements from both "camps" by stating: "From the camp of bourgeois tradition, it takes national resolve, and from the materialism of the Marxist dogma, living, creative Socialism". The votes that the Nazis received in the 1932 elections established the Nazi Party as the largest parliamentary faction of

27360-433: Was officially declared an "undesirable author", a designation that banned his work from being translated and published abroad. His novel Old Heart Goes A-Journeying caused him problems with the Reich Literary Chamber because it had Christianity instead of Nazism as the unifier of the people. Although this order was repealed a few months later, it was at this point that his writing shifted from an artistic endeavor to merely

27531-435: Was ousted by a coup, the Preussenschlag ; a few days later at the July 1932 Reichstag election the Nazis made another leap forward, polling 37% and becoming the largest party in parliament by a wide margin. Furthermore, the Nazis and the Communists between them won 52% of the vote and a majority of seats. Since both parties opposed the established political system and neither would join or support any ministry, this made

27702-419: Was popularised by anti-Nazis and German exiles abroad. Thereafter, the term spread into other languages and eventually was brought back to Germany after World War II. In English, the term is not considered slang and has such derivatives as Nazism and denazification . The Nazi Party grew out of smaller political groups with a nationalist orientation that formed in the last years of World War I . In 1918,

27873-487: Was reached in 1988, with about 68,000 inhabitants, but it decreased afterward to 55,000, where it has now stabilized. Reasons for this included migration to western German cities as well as suburbanisation . However, the number of students quadrupled from 3,000 in 1990 to more than 11,000 in 2007 and the university employs 5,000 people; nearly one in three people in Greifswald are linked in some way to higher education. Despite its relatively small population, Greifswald retains

28044-467: Was rediscovered by American publishing house Melville House Publishing and released in the US under the title Every Man Dies Alone , in a translation by Michael Hofmann . Melville House licensed it to Penguin Books in the UK, who used the title Alone in Berlin . It became a "surprise bestseller" in both the US and UK. It was listed on the official UK Top 50 for all UK publishers, a rare occurrence for such an old book. Other German writers who had quit

28215-481: Was released from prison on 20 December 1924, against the state prosecutor's objections. On 16 February 1925, Hitler convinced the Bavarian authorities to lift the ban on the NSDAP and the party was formally refounded on 26 February 1925, with Hitler as its undisputed leader. It was at this time Hitler began referring to himself as " der Führer ". The new Nazi Party was no longer a paramilitary organisation and disavowed any intention of taking power by force. In any case,

28386-418: Was responsible for the deaths of at least eleven million people, including 5.5 to 6 million Jews (representing two-thirds of the Jewish population of Europe), and between 200,000 and 1,500,000 Romani people . The estimated total number includes the killing of nearly two million non-Jewish Poles , over three million Soviet prisoners of war , communists , and other political opponents, homosexuals,

28557-493: Was safe to appoint Hitler as Reich Chancellor, at the head of a cabinet including only a minority of Nazi ministers—which he did on 30 January 1933. In Mein Kampf , Hitler directly attacked both left-wing and right-wing politics in Germany. However, a majority of scholars identify Nazism in practice as being a far-right form of politics. When asked in an interview in 1934 whether the Nazis were "bourgeois right-wing" as alleged by their opponents, Hitler responded that Nazism

28728-401: Was settled primarily by Germans in the course of the Ostsiedlung , but settlers from other nations and Wends from nearby were attracted, too. The salt trade helped Eldena Abbey to become an influential religious center, and Greifswald became a widely known market. When the Danes had to surrender their Pomeranian lands south of the Ryck, after losing the Battle of Bornhöved in 1227,

28899-450: Was small and he could eventually become its leader. He consequently encouraged the organisation to become less of a debating society, which it had been previously, and more of an active political party. Normally, enlisted army personnel were not allowed to join political parties. In this case, Hitler had Captain Karl Mayr 's permission to join the DAP. Further, Hitler was allowed to stay in the army and receive his weekly pay of 20 gold marks

29070-444: Was symbolised by the adoption as the party emblem of the swastika . In German nationalist circles, the swastika was considered a symbol of an " Aryan race " and it symbolised the replacement of the Christian Cross with allegiance to a National Socialist State. The Nazi Party grew significantly during 1921 and 1922, partly through Hitler's oratorical skills, partly through the SA's appeal to unemployed young men, and partly because there

29241-403: Was the overthrow of the Weimar Republic , which he saw as controlled by the socialists, Jews and the " November criminals ", a term invented to describe alleged elements of society who had 'betrayed the German soldiers' in 1918. The SA ("storm troopers", also known as "Brownshirts") were founded as a party militia in 1921 and began violent attacks on other parties. For Hitler, the twin goals of

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