Germany 1919-1945

The Weimar Republic
1. The Aftermath of WW1
  1. Caused Devastation
    1. Millons dead or injured
    2. Britain and France wanted Germany to take all the blame
  2. Results of the Versailles treaty were severe
    1. War-Guilt Clause
    2. Armed forces reduced to 100,000 men, only volunteers and weapons reduced
    3. Forced to pay reparations
    4. Lost empire
    5. German military banned from the Rhineland
2. The Weimar Republic- New democratic system of government
  1. Early 1919- New gov.t took power led by Friedrich Ebert- changed Germany into a republic
  2. Ebert= leader of Social Democratic Party. New gov. was democratic
  3. Weimar Constitution
    1. Reichstag- New governement parliament (elected by proportional representation
    2. President- elected every seven years. Head of army. Chooses the chancellor
    3. Proportional representation- no. of seats a party wins in parliament is worked out as a proportion of the number of votes they win. Often led to lots of political parties in the Reichstag, making it harder to get laws passed
  4. Problems:
    1. Difficult to make decisions because of so many parties
    2. Hard to pick a Chancellor who had support of most of the Reichstag
    3. New gov.t had to accept Treaty of Versailles, so were hated by many Germans.
    4. Many outbreaks of trouble, led to Freikorps being formed
3. Years of Unrest- 1919-1923
  1. Reasons for Discontent
    1. Thousands= poor and starving
    2. Many denied loss of war
    3. Blamed for losing war included communists, gov.t and Jews
    4. Government seen as weak and ineffective- Treaty of Versailles made conditions worse in Germany
  2. Riots and Rebellions
    1. 1919- Communists tried to take over Berlin in Spartacist Revolt
    2. 1920- Right-wing Freikorps took part in Kapp Putsch, took over Berlin to form new gov.t. Workers staged a general strike- Kapp gave up. Gov.t didnt punish rebels, many judges sympathised.
  3. 1923- Germany couldn't pay reparations
    1. So...France and Belgium occupied Ruhr to take resources
    2. Plunged economy into hyperinflation
      1. Wages paid twice a day before prices went up again
      2. Middle classes lost out as bank savings became worthless
      3. German Mark became worthless
4. Stresemann and Recovery
  1. International Co-operation
    1. September 1933- Workers in Ruhr reutrn to work
    2. Dawes Plan 1924- Created the new Rentenmark to stablisie curency
    3. 1925- French and Belgian troops left Ruhr
    4. October 1925- Locarno Treaty
    5. 1926- Germany joined league of Nations
    6. 1928- Kellogg- Briand Pact
    7. 1929- Young Plan- reparation reduced by 3/4
    8. Some big industries began to recover
  2. Relied on American money- Plans that were agreed would only work if USA kept lending to Germany. When the Wall Street Crash hit, Germany began to get worse again
  3. Cultural Achievements
    1. Advances in Art, Architecture, Music and Literature
    2. Bauhaus School of Deisgn
    3. New ways of critical thinking
    4. Not everyone approved of some cultural changes- e.g. cabaret
The Rise of the Nazi Party
1. Roots of the Nazi Party
  1. Hitler couldn't accept that German's had lost the war
  2. Hitler joined the German Worker's party in 1919
  3. In 1920 name was changed to the National Socialist German Workers Party
  4. Hitler= good public speaker
  5. Set up own armed group called the SA- protected Nazi leaders and harassed opponents
  6. Munich Putsch
    1. Plan to overthrow the Weimar govt.
    2. Revolt collapsed when police fired on the rebels
    3. Hitler= imprisoned
    4. Wrote 'Mein Kampf' in prison
    5. After Munich Putsch Hitler changed tactics
      1. Nazi party= banned
      2. Re-established party after Hitler was released
      3. German economy beginning to recover in 1920's- Stresemann
        So Hitler tried to gain control under the democratic system
2. Rise of the Nazi's
  1. Popularity increased as a result of the Great Depression
    1. Depression caused:
      1. Massive unemployment
      2. Poverty
      3. Suffering
    2. Depression contributed to collapse of Weimar Republic
    3. Extremist groups became more popular- promised strong leadership
      1. Nazi's promised prosperity to make Germany great again. Appealed to many of the unemployed, as well as to businesses and young people
      2. Some people supported anti- communiist and anti-Jewish views
      3. Nazi membership=300,00- by 1930
        1930 Elections= Nazi gain
        However, Hindenburg won majority
        Timeline:
        Jan 1932- 6 mil. unemployed
        Hitler uses depression to promise better things
        1932- Stands against Hindenburg and loses
        Nazi largest party in Reichstag- July 1932= 230 seats
        Nazi loses seats in November 1932 but still largest party
        Hitler finally offered 'Chancellorship in 1933
        Hitler calls another election in 1933- hoping to make Nazi's stronger
        To win in 1933:
        Controlled the news media
        Opposition meetings were banned
        Used SA to terrorise opponents
        Reichstag Fire= blamed communists
        Because of Reichstag FIre, Hitler was allowed Emergency Decrees to deal with the situation- used powers to intimidate communist voters
3. Hitler comes to power
  1. Changed law to keep control
    1. Timeline
      1. Nazi's won no majority
      2. Hitler declared Communist party illegal
      3. Gave enough support to allow him to bring in an ENabling Bil which was passed in March 1933
      4. Let him govern for 4 years without parliament and made all other parties illegal
      5. Trade Unions banned in May 1933
      6. In July 1933, all political parties, apart from Nazi party, banned in Germany
  2. Night of the Long Knives
    1. 29-30th June
    2. Hitler sent his men to arrest Rohm (leader of SA) and others.
    3. Several hundred people were killed, including Rohm, Strasser and von Schelicher
    4. Any potential opposition stamped out.
  3. Late1934- Hindenburg dies. Hitler combines posts of Chancellor and President, made himself commander in chief of the army, and called himself Der Fuhrer. Beginning of Dictatorship
Nazi Methods of Control
1. Propaganda
  1. Joseph Goebbels took charge of Nazi Propaganda
  2. Departments for music, theatre, film, literature and radio. All had to register to get their work approved.
  3. Encouraged German People to believe/do:
    1. Hate Treaty of Versailles
    2. Jew's and communists were biggest cause of Germany's problems
    3. Unite German people, Nazi's will make Germany strong
    4. Took simple ideas, repeated constantly
    5. Promised to help Germany out of Depression
  4. Controlled media, sold cheap radios to allow people to hear what they wanted them to hear
  5. Posters showing 'evil' of Germany's enemies and power of Hitler
  6. Public rallies used to spread their propaganda. E.g. Annual Nuremburg Rallies
    1. One million people attended the 1936 rally. Hitler was greeted by flashing lights and flags, making him look more powerful
  7. Portrayed as the saviour of Germany. Main purpose of public rallies was to increase loyalty to Hitler
  8. Tried to control religion
  9. School textbooks made Germans look successful. Children taught to believe Nazi ideas
  10. 'Strength through Joy' campaign showed workers that the Nazi regime cared about working condition
  11. Weimar Republic dissappointed more old-fashioned Germans. Welcomed the Nazi approach
  12. Nazi's promised an 'economic miracle'
2. Censorship and Suppression
  1. Totalitarian state- government has complete control
  2. March 23rd 1933- Enabling Act- Unlimited power to pass laws
  3. July 1933- All political parties banned except for Nazi Party
  4. SS expanded, created fear. Also Gestapo, Heinrich Himmler in charge of both
  5. Concentration camps held anyone who showed signs of not supporting
  6. People encouraged to report disloyalty to local wardens. Many arrested by Gestapo as a result
  7. Censorship helped stifle opposition
    1. 25,000 books burned in one night in 1933, such as work of Jewish writers, including Einstein
    2. Newspapers and other media put under control of the Ministry of Public Enlightenment and Propaganda.
    3. Jews forbidden from owning or publishing newspapers and anybody could be executed for publishing anti-Nazi works
Racism and Persecution
1. 'A Master Race'
  1. Aryans= German ancestors (thought by Nazi's)
  2. Harmed many people that did not fit into the ideal including Jewss, Gypsies, Mental and physically diabled, and homesexual
    1. 'Sterilised' many of these people to stop producing children, which could hinder the Aryan Race from making up the whole of Germany
2. Jews
  1. Nuremburg Laws
    1. Stopped Jews being German citizens
    2. Banned marriage between Jews and Non-Jews
    3. Stopped sexual relationships between Jews and Non-Jews
  2. Kristallnacht- 'Night of the Broken Glass'- 1938
    1. Rioting throughout Germany
    2. Nazi propaganda made people believe that Jews were bad for Germany, so should be sent to concentration camps.
3. The Holocaust
  1. War made Nazi Persecution Worse- after invasions of Poland and Russia more Jews came under Nazi control
  2. Jews moved into Ghettos- starvation and disease killed hundreds of thousands
  3. The Final Solution
    1. Nazi plan to destroy the Jewish people
    2. Death camps, gas chambers built, mainly aimed at Jews but could also be other groups
    3. Approx. 6 mil. Jews killed by the end
4. Nazi Opposition
  1. Not much opposition, fear of SS and the Gestapo. Those that did voice opposition were sent to concentration camps
  2. Overcame most resistance
  3. Some youth groups did oppose Nazi's, for example, Edelweiss pirates and White Rose group
  4. Army Resistance grew during the war, e.g. Claus Von Stauffenburg plot to kill Hitler- unsuccessful
Social and Economic Impact
1. Young People
  1. Youth Movements
    1. Hitler Youth- founded in 1926
      1. Boys aged 14 and over recruited to the movement
      2. Became compulsory in 1936
      3. Became part of the SA. Promising boys may be sent to Hitler schools where they were trained to lead
      4. Boys wore military style uniforms and took part in physical exercise preparing for war. Many later joined the army.
    2. League of German Maidens-
      1. Girls between 14 and 18
      2. Trained in domestic skills like sewing and cooking. Some physical activity
    3. Reich Youth Leader introduced in 1933- youth movements increased in importance
    4. WW2- Hitler Youth contributed to war effort- e.g. air defence work, farm work, donations for Nazi charities
  2. Schools and Universities
    1. Education in school- Nazi propaganda. No Jewish teachers. Most teachers joined the Nazi Teacher Association and were trained in Nazi methods. Children had to report teachers who did not use them
    2. Subjects like History and Biology rewritten to fit in with Nazi ideas. Children taught anti-semitism and WW1 loss because of Jews and communists
    3. Physical ed. more important for boys
    4. Uni- Students burned anti- Nazi and Jewish books, Jewish lecturers sacked.
2. Women
  1. Nazi's believed the role of women was to support their families and provide children
  2. League of German Maidens- gave awards to women that provided large families
  3. School- GIrls studied subjects like cookery. Stressed that they should choose 'Aryan' husbands
  4. Women banned from being lawyers in 1936. Nazi's did their best to stop them following other professions. But shortage of workers in 1937 meant some women did go back to work
3. The Church
  1. Most Nazi's against Christianity
  2. 1933- Signed agreement with Catholic church to not interfere with each other
  3. Tried to unite different Protestant churches into one Reich Church
  4. Little opposition to Nazi's
4. Economic Growth
  1. Unemployment- fall
    1. Hitler started programme of public works, gave jobs to thousands.
    2. From 1933, Autobahns started
    3. However, 'invisible unemployment'
    4. People encouraged to work with rewards
      1. National Labour Service- 18-25 year old men
      2. No trade unions- instead 'Nazi Labour Front'
      3. 'Strength through Joy'- cheap holidays and leisure activities
      4. 'Beauty of Labour'- Encouraged factory owners to improve conditions for their workers
  2. New Plan- made Germany more self sufficient- strictly controlled imports and exports, not fully successful
  3. Hitler re-armed German military
5. Social Revolution
  1. Propaganda spread the idea that society was changing- to an extent it was
  2. However, propaganda made changes seem deeper than they were
    1. Some changes started by Weimar Republic, but Nazi's claimed as theirs
    2. Still discriminated and excluded some social groups
    3. Still strong social divisions between classes
  3. Many groups in society did feel better off, however not all really were (workers, small-businesses. Wages still same and high taxes however some benefits (but few)...
    1. Workers felt more important- Strength through Joy and Beauty of Labour
    2. Value of German production went up
    3. Small- business owners able to advance more in society, appealed to middle class.
6. Impact of WW2
  1. Nazi economy had to prepare for war
  2. Economy suffered
    1. Unprepared
    2. Working hours had to increase
    3. Production often inefficient

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Germany 1919-1945

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