Unit 2 Germany
- Created by: Miss Melanie Culpin
- Created on: 08-06-13 12:26
The Weimar Republic
Features of the Weimar Republic
- Kaiser has abdicated
- Ebert's constitution had the following weaknesses
- proportional representation
- elections every 4 years
- chancellor needed a majority in the reichstag to pass laws
- president had power to suspend the constitution and pass laws by decree
problems of the Weimar republic-
- Treaty of versailles - politicians were blamed for signing it- traitors
- Hyperinflation - living conditions declined
- french occupation of the ruhr - economy wrecked
- constitution - hard to pass laws by proportional representation so had to suspend the constitution often
The recovery of the republic
The german economy showed signs of recovery and political stability
- Rentenmark- stabilised currency
- Reichsmark- restored value of german money
- Dawes plan - reorganised and reduced reparations; France withdrew from the Ruhr
- US loans - helped pay reparations/ helped german industry
- Locarno pact- improved relations with B/F; guaranteed borders with Belgium France and italy
- Germanys entry into LON- germany recognised as great power again
- Kellogg- briand - other countries trusted Germany; would settle disputes peacefully
- young plan - set timescale and reduced reparations; france agreed to leave rhineland
Remaining problems
- Politics more stable - short lived coalition governments
- extremist parties less popular - still around
- unemployment fell - still high
- new infrastructure - due to US loans
- 1928 production was high - slowed down after 1927
- 1930 germany was a major exporter - reliant on US loans and imports
- Germany was accepted by other countries - but German nationalists hated the dawes and young plans
Impacts of the Great depression
- Wall street crash
- Great depression
German businesses - German people -
- couldnt pay back loans to US or get new ones - unemployment
- higher taxes to government - banks collapsed; people lostmoney
- markets dried up - little money available - poverty
German Government -
- couldnt borrow from the US
- couldnt print more money so taxes increased
- made cuts in government and benefits
- dependance on US loans crippled economy
- coalition meant they couldnt agree on how to resolve the crisis
Hitler's rise to power in the Nazi party
- 1919 joined DAP - german workers party
- name changed to NSDAP - national socialist german workers party (nazi's)
- 1921 hitler took control of party
policies:
- versailles to be scrapped
- lebensraum
- no jews in germany
Hitlers own private army - the SA (stormtroopers)
- for security and fighting communists
- unemployed soldiers
- Ernst Rohm put in charge
Munich Putsch
Why did the Nazis try to take power in munich?
- unpopularity of weimar increased because of payment of reparations to the french
- Nazi's thought general Ludendorff could be persuaded to help the nazis gain army support
- thought they were ready and had enough support - the most nazi support was in Munich
- thought Bavarian governement would support them
- copying Mussolini - march on Rome
Consequences
- 16 nazis killed
- hitler imprisoned
- hitlers trial was a propaganda victory
- judge was sympathetic and gave minimum sentence
- Hitler dictated Mein kampf - became a bestseller
- Nazi party banned - hitler could not speak in public untill 1927
Hitler realised he needed to come to power legally
re-organisation of the party
- party split into regions
- given money by wealthy companies
- SA was expanded 400,000
- ** set up 1925 as an elite bodyguard
- propaganda more effective
- clear messages -close links with newspapers - new technology such as radio and film
why were the years 1924 - 29 difficult for the nazi's?
- economy had improved - less unemloyment
- Hindenberg was president of the Weimar republic which increased its popularity
- nazi's lost popularity
- 1928 - 12 seats in the reichstag
Reasons for Nazi success in 1929-33
- Great depression
- Nazis offered strong leadership
- unemployment hit the middle and working class hard
- people turned to extremist parties to solve the problems moderate ones couldnt
- SA - stronger than communists
- strong propaganda - Hitlers personal appeal and strong values including scrapping the treaty and lebensraum
- women - some women supported the traditional womens role
- Big business - strong leadership and protection from communists lead to support and money
- Farmers - Nazi's promised protection from communists
- Middle class - hit hard by great depression, felt let down by moderate parties + liked anti communist message
- some working class support - nazi's connected with jobs and a strong germany however alot of workers supported communism
Hitler's rise to power
1932
- Hidenberg beats hitler in presidential election
- Reichstag election is held to gain support for Von papens party but they lose seats and Hitler gains 230 (the majority)
- Hidenburg refuses Hitler as chancellor
- Hidenberg - still ruling by decree - removes von papen and replaces with von schleicher
- Von papen persuades Hindengburg to make Hitler chancellor
Why did von papen want hitler as chancellor?
- his party needed support from others to get laws passed
- Hitler had majority - needed his support
- but hitlers party was linked to thugs - the SA
von papen came up with this plan :
- get nazi backing (230) - Hitler can be chancellor but they could manipulate him
- nazi's wont remain popular so they can be manipulated
- nazi's depend on money from big businesses - von papen was in control of this and could stop it
Reichstag fire and the enabling act
- Reichstag building burned down
- dutch communist Van der Lubbe confessed
- Hitler convinced Hindenburg to declare a state of emergency and call an election
- Nazi's won majority - intimidation was used
- Reichstag voted itself out of power
- Enabling act gave Hitler the power to rule by decree without the Reichstag's consent for four years
After the Enabling act-
- people could be arrested without trial
- any house could be searched and stuff confiscated
- censorship
- regional parliaments closed
- trade unions banned/ strikes illegal
- other political arties banned
NOLK and the death of hidenburg
NOLK
- Rohm challenged Hitler because he wanted the party to be more about workers than businesses
- the ** shot rohm and about 400 other opponents
THE DEATH OF HINDENBURG
- President died
- Hitler declares himself Fuhrer
- made all soldiers swear alliegence
- propaganda influenced the vote on hitlers right to be fuhrer
The nazi police state
- New laws - crime to listen to foreign radio and talk against Hitler
- ** arrested people for breaking the new laws or opposing the Nazis
- Gestapo - spied on people
- Wardens - report on public
- people encouraged to spy on friends and family
- law courts - under nazi control, no trials, all judges took allegiance to Hitler
- Totalitarian regime - central government in charge of all aspects of the country
targets-
- communists and political opponants
- Christians
- undesirables (jews,unemployed,gay,disabled) put in concentration camps
The churches
- nazi deal allowed german catholics to worship if they supported the nazi's
- nazis went back on their promise
- Many protestants backed hitler- the ones who opposed were sent to concentratoin camps
Censorship and propaganda
Goebbels ( Nazi minister of enlightenment and propaganda)
- only short range radios were produced - no foreign stations
- newspapers that opposed were shut down
- books only published with Goebbels permission
- public burning of jewish books
- plays,art,sport,slogans,rallies,cinema,radio,posters
Nazi policies towards women and young people
young people
- nazi youth groups - opposition; edelweiss pirates
- race studies
- lost of p.e.
- boys trained for military roles/girls trained to be mothers
Women
- children,kitchen,church
- women lost jobs
- laws helped marriage and children
- medals
how successful?
- marriages and birth rate increased - could be due to improved economy
- employers would rather employ women - cheaper
- few women had more than 2 children
- many women supported the traditional roles
Employment and living
1. DAF (german labour front)
set working hours and pay rates; made sure workers and employers did what state needed
2. RAD (national labour service)
get unemployed working; compulsary army style work for young men; public work e.g. roads
2. Rearmament
Nazis wanted to rebuild Germany's military power and to be ready for war; helped reduce unemployment and boosted the economy
Raising the standard of living
+arguments for
- unemployment went from 4.8mill to 0.5mill
- wages rose and people could afford consumer goods
- car ownership increased x3
- SDA improved working conditions
- KdF organised holidays and leisur activities for workers
- lots of public support for Nazis because of raised living conditions
-arguments against
- people had to work longer hours
- Nazi's reduced unemployment by putting them into the army or RAD
- although wages rose, so did prices
- because standards were so low during the great depression; they were bound to rise in the years following
- overspending on the military could lead to lack of money for everything else
Nazi persecution
- Boycotts of jewish shops ; other restrictions placed e.g. no army, no inheritance
- jews banned from public places
- Nuremburg laws - denies jews German citenzenship so they cant vote and cant marry aryans
- jews jobs restricted
- register all their property
- carry identity cards
- Kristallnacht - 20,000 arrested 100 killed, jews to pay a fine for the attack and to pay damages for their own property
- Jews barred from ownign property
- Jews evicted and sent to ghettos - thousands died
why?
- long standing distrust of Jews
- nazi anti-semetic propaganda
- fear of gestapo and **
Persecution of other minorities
Aryans Lesser races e.g. slavs Untermenschen e.g. africans Lebensunwertes e.g. jews/gypsies Disabled people and other 'weak' people should be sterilised Gypsies were persecuted much like Jews
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