At this time, most German people wanted to get rid of the Weimar Republic (the "Weimarer Republik"). Weimar was the German city where the German constitution was written after the First World War. People also wanted a stronger Germany, with more soldiers. The Treaty of Versailles had made it illegal for Germany to have some types of weapons and ships.
On January 30, 1933, Franz von Papen offered to make Adolf Hitler the Chancellor of Germany in a nationalist cabinet. He did this in secret. This was a "Machtübergabe", or 'transfer of power'. However, later on, the NSDAP started to call it the "Machtergreifung" ('seizing power'). It was better for Nazi propaganda to say that they took power from the Weimar Republic, instead of being made the Republic's legal government.
The last "free" election in Weimar Germany was in March 1933. The Nazi Party won 44% of the vote. This was not a majority. After the Reichstag fire, they managed to get the two-thirds majority they needed to pass the "Ermächtigungsgesetz" (Enabling Act). With this new law, they dissolved parliament; gave Hitler the power to do anything he wanted; and made all political parties (except the Nazi party ) illegal.
After this, the Nazi party became very important. People had to be party members to get some jobs, or to get promoted. The Nazi party was busy until Germany surrendered to the Allies on 8 May 1945.
The NSDAP dissolved itself on 8 May 1945. After that, the NSDAP no longer existed.
They made some reforms which still exist today. For example:
But the Nazis did so many bad things that it is now illegal in Germany to display the swastika symbol (shown on the flag above) or use slogans such as "Sieg Heil." In November 2010, a British member of the European Parliament, Godfrey Bloom, was forced to leave Parliament. This happened after he shouted the Nazi slogan 'Ein Volk, ein Reich, ein Führer' at a German member of Parliament.
Carl Nielsen
Carl Nielsen (born in Sortelung, near Nørre Lyndelse on Funen, June 9, 1865; died in Copenhagen, October 3, 1931) was a Danish composer. He is the most famous composer from Denmark and one of the most important composers of symphonies from the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
Carl Nielsen was the seventh in a family of twelve children. His father’s name was Niels Jørgensen. It was Danish tradition for a child to get his father’s given name as part of his name, so Carl became Carl Nielsen (“son of Niels”).
The family was very poor and Carl had to help in the home. During the school holidays he looked after the geese. His father, who was a simple painter, played the violin and cornet in the village band. Carl soon learned to play the violin and joined in with his father’s band. He listened to music by Haydn and Mozart and became very interested in general knowledge. All his life he tried to learn new languages and was interested in literature, art and philosophy. He loved animals and the nature around him.
When he was 14, he had a job in the military orchestra in the nearby town of Odense. He played the horn and trombone. In 1884 some rich people in Odense paid for him to go to the Conservatory in Copenhagen. He studied music there and did quite well, but there was nothing yet to show that he would be a brilliant composer. He got a job as violinist in the Royal Chapel, a good orchestra which was conducted by Johan Svendsen. He got to know the music of Wagner, and he went to Germany to study it. Later he was not so keen on Wagner’s music, and he was not much influenced by it.
In 1891, he married Anne Marie Brodersen who was a sculptress. They travelled together to Italy where they saw lots of great art. When they returned to Denmark Nielsen started composing some of the music that was to make him famous. In 1901 the Danish government paid him money every year so that he did not have to teach and could spend his time composing. He also conducted the Royal Theatre when Svendsen retired. He often travelled to other countries and, later, did some teaching and examining at the Copenhagen Conservatoire. He was made director of the conservatoire in 1931, shortly before he died.
Nielsen suffered for several years from heart trouble. He died from this disease on October 3, 1931.
Carl Nielsen wrote nearly every kind of music: opera, chamber music, symphony, concerto, songs. His music was different from the Romantic music that other composers were writing at that time. Nielsen liked the music of the Classical period, especially Haydn and Mozart. He learned from them, but also used a lot of chromaticism and interesting orchestral sounds which made his music much more modern.
He wrote a serious opera called "Saul og David" and a comic opera "Maskarade". He wrote a lot of Danish songs which are very popular in Denmark.
By far the most important of his works internationally are his six symphonies and three concertos. The Fourth and Fifth Symphonies, especially, are performed very often by orchestras all over the world.
He wrote a very large work for organ called "Commotio".
Nielsen always said how important his simple village background was for his music. This can be heard clearly in his popular cantata "Fynsk Foraar" ("Springtime in Funen") which shows his love of the countryside where he grew up.
Madonna and Child
The Madonna and Child or The Virgin and Child is often the name of a work of art which shows the Virgin Mary and the Child Jesus. The word "Madonna" means "My Lady" in Italian. Artworks of the Christ Child and his mother Mary are part of the Roman Catholic tradition in many parts of the world including Italy, Spain, Portugal, France, South America and the Philippines. Paintings known as icons are also an important tradition of the Orthodox Church and often show the Mary and the Christ Child. They are found particularly in Eastern Europe, Russia, Egypt, the Middle East and India.
Works of art which show the "Madonna and Child" can be paintings or sculptures. Some paintings are very large and show the Madonna on a throne, with saints standing around it. These paintings are altarpieces; they are designed to go above the altar in a church.
In some churches, particularly in Italy and in Eastern Orthodox Churches, there are many wall paintings and mosaics of the "Madonna and Child".
Most "Madonna and Child" paintings are small. They have been painted for private owners and would usually have been kept in houses. They might be hung on the wall above a table where flowers and candles could be placed to honour the Virgin Mary. Most of the famous ones are now in art galleries.
Many Catholic churches have statues of the Virgin Mary with the Christ Child, These are sometimes life-sized and are painted, with real hair and glass eyes so that they look lifelike.
Other statues of the "Madonna and Child" are very small. In the Middle Ages small statues were carved from ivory. These precious statues are often very beautifully and delicately made. They can often be seen in museums.
In Florence in the early 1400s, an artist called Luca della Robbia began making "terracotta" statues and sculptured altarpieces from clay, which were fired and "glazed" with colours, most often blue and white, but also purple, green and yellow. This family business lasted for 120 years.
Many statues of the "Madonna and Child" may be factory-made and sold as souvenirs. This tradition of small statues has been around for hundreds of years. Many of them were made in artist's workshops in the Early Renaissance
In the Orthodox Church, there is also a long tradition of painting images of the Virgin Mary with the Christ Child. These pictures, which are often quite small and are painted on wooden panels, are often very careful copies of particular famous icons. This tradition continues to the present day.