Key events and concepts in Germany course

Question	Answer
Stab in the Back Myth	Idea that Germany had not properly defeated in WW1 but betrayed by politicians from the Weimar Republic. Referred to by Hitler
November Criminals	How nationalist described Weimar politicians because they signed the Armistice to end WW1 in November 1918.
Article 48	Part of the Weimar Constitution. Allowed the President to rule alone in an emergency. This is what happened between 1930 and 1932.
Proportional Representation	Voting system used by the Weimar Republic under its constitution. Meant that many of its enemies got seats in the Reichstag.
Reichstag	German Parliament
Treaty of Versailles	Peace treaty signed in June 1919 by Germany and the Allies. Hated in Germany for being unfair, harsh and humiliating
Alsace-Lorraine	Former German territory on French-German border which was given to France under the terms of the Treaty of Versailles
Reparations	Fine that Germany had to pay as a result of the terms of the Treaty of Versailles
Diktat	Means dictated peace - Germany never got to discuss the Treaty of Versailles.
Kapp Putsch	Protest organised in March 1920 by Wolfgang Kapp. Involved 5,000 Freikorps and ended by a strike of the workers.
Spartacist Rising	Communist rising in January 1919 led by Rosa Luxembourg and Karl Liebknecht
Passive resistance	How German workers protested in 1923 when French and Belgium troops invaded the Ruhr
Invasion of Ruhr - January 1923	French and Belgian troops invaded Ruhr industrial region in January 1923 when Germany announced it could not pay the reparations.
Munich Beer Hall Putsch	Nazi attempt to take power in November 1923. It failed and Hitler was sent to prison (Landsberg Fortress)
Landsberg Fortress	Prison that Adolf Hitler was sent to after the failed Munich Beer Hall Putsch. He was sentenced to 5 years but only served 9 months.
Mein Kampf	Means 'My Struggle'. Book which Hitler wrote in prison outlining his political aims including gaining power by 'legal methods'
SA	Known as Brownshirts. Helped Hitler's rise to power. Got rid of in Night of Long Knives - 1934
Hyperinflation - 1923	Economic crisis which hit Germany in 1923 after it printed too many banknotes. Winners were those with debts. Losers those with savings or paid monthly.
Fulfilment	Policy of Gustav Stresemann to try and fulfil the terms of the Treaty of Versailles
Rentenmark	New currency created by Stresemann to end hyperinflation crisis
Dawes Plan (1924)	Agreement with USA to reduce reparations payments and lend Germany money to pay them.
Locarno Treaties (1925)	Treaties where Germany promised to respect borders of France and Belgium.
Nobel Peace Prize	Award given to Gustav Stresemann in 1926 for getting Germany back into League of Nations and negotiating the Locarno Treaties of 1925.
Young Plan (1929)	Plan which further reduced the reparations payment. Man called Alfred Hugenberg organised a campaign against it.
Bamberg Conference (1926)	Conference organised by Nazis where Hitler survived a leadership challenge from Gregor Strasser and Joseph Goebbels.
12 seats	The number of seats the Nazis had in the Reichstag in 1928.
Wall Street Crash (1929)	Economic crash in USA which led to the Great Depression of the early 1930s.
Germany is dancing on a volcano	How Stresemann described Germany's economic situation in the late 1920s.
6 million unemployed	The impact of the Great Depression was devastating. 5 banks also went bust and 23 million were affected.
Great Depression	Worldwide economic depression which was particularly badly felt in Germany. 6 million were unemployed and 23 million affected.
Heinrich Bruning	Chancellor of Germany between 1930 and 1932. Relied in Article 48. He wanted to increase taxes and reduce government spending.
Franz von Papen	Replaced Bruning as Chancellor.
Work and Bread	Hitler's promise to the German people
Our Last Hope	Famous propaganda poster which portrayed Hitler as people's 'Last Hope'
Fritz Thyssen	German businessmen who helped fund the Nazis to prevent the spread of Communism.
The Reichstag Fire	27th February 1933. Communists blamed. Persuaded Hindenburg to pass the Law for the Protection of People and the State to break up Communist meetings.
Election - 5 March 1933	This election saw the Nazis gain 288 seats.
Enabling Act - March 1933	Law gave Hitler power to be a dictator. Persuaded Nationalists to support him as he needed two-thirds of votes to pass the law.
Trade Unions	Hitler closed down the Trade Unions and replaced them with the German Labour Front (DAF)
State Parliaments	All Germany's state parliaments were abolished in January 1934
Night of the Long Knives - June 1934	30th June 1934 - Hitler feared Rohm and his 2-3 million strong SA. He used SS to smash the SA leadership.
Cult of the Fuhrer	People in Germany worshipped Hitler. For example, his birthday was a national holiday.
Speak through a flower	People in Germany could only say good things about the Nazis or they would be sent for 're-education'.
Death Head Units	Branch of SS who ran the concentration camps.
Editor's Law	Newspaper editors could be imprisoned if they spoke out against Nazis.
Burning of the Books - 1933	Took place in Berlin - works by Communists, Jews and foreigners were publicly burnt. About 20,000 books burnt.
People's Receiver	Radios were sold cheaply so people could listen to the radio when not at home.
Nuremberg Rallies	Rallies held annually by Hitler in the German town of Nuremberg. Like a big pop concert only with Hitler making speeches
Concordat	Agreement between Hitler and the Catholic Church. Hitler agreed not to interfere with Catholic Church.
With Burning Anxiety	Papal encyclical issued by Pope Pius XI expressing concerns about Nazi policy.
Edelweiss Pirates	Rebel youth group - mainly working-class. They went around beating up Hitler youth patrols and writing anti-Nazi messages.
Swing Movement	Mainly middle-class - listened to American jazz music and hung around with Jewish people. Did not conform.
White Rose Group	Rebel students at Munich University led by Hans and Sophie Scholl. Produced anti-Nazi leaflets and put up posters on the walls.
Stauffenberg Plot - July 1944	Also known as July Bomb Plot- organised by Count von Stauffenberg. Plot failed and Hitler took revenge killing 5,746 people.
Kinder, Kirche, Kuche	Means Children, Church and Cooking. Nazi priorities for women.
Race Studies	New subject in German schools - students learnt about Nazi ideas on race.
Eugenics	New subject which taught children about selective breeding and the creation of the master race.
Lebensraum	Means 'Living Space' - pupils were taught about lands that were once part of Germany.
Indoctrinate	Means to teach people to believe something - especially young people.
Hitler Youth	There were many youth groups for young people in Nazi Germany. Organised separate activities for boys and girls.
New Plan	Dr Hjalmar Schacht's plan to reduce unemployment and make Germany self-sufficient.
Four Year Plan	Economic plan organised by Hermann Goring. Focused on Germany being self-sufficient and preparing for war.
National Labour Service	Gave young men jobs on manual labour projects such as planting new forests. 1935 law said all men should spend 6 months in the Labour Service.
Public Works Schemes	Law of June 1933 - creation of networks of autobahns - all work to be done by hand.
Invisible unemployment	Official government figures in Nazi Germany did not include Jews, Women, Unmarried women or Opponents of Nazis.
Strength Through Joy	Set up to provide workers with activities such as going on a cruise ship or going on a hike.
Beauty of Labour	Improved working conditions such as reducing noise levels or building canteens and sports facilities.
Aryan	Hitler's idea of blonde haired and blue eyed people.
Untermenschen	The 'unmentionables' in Nazi Germany. Races that Hitler and Nazis saw as sub-human such as Jews and Slavs.
Nuremberg Laws - 1935	Laws that said Jews could not be German citizens and marriage and sex between Germans and Jews banned.
Boycott of Jewish shops - 1933	SA organised boycott of Jewish shops in 1933.
The Eternal Jew	Anti-Semitic propaganda film in Nazi Germany.
The Poisonous Mushroom	Anti-Semitic story read to children in Nazi Germany and written by Julius Streicher.
Berlin Olympics - 1936	The Olympics were held in Germany in 1936 - the anti-Jewish propaganda was watered down.
Kristallnacht	Night of the Broken Glass - 1938. 10,000 Jewish shops ransacked, 20,000 put into concentration camps and 91 Jews murdered.
Einsatzgruppen	Group of SS soldiers sent to murder any Jews they could find.
Final Solution	The solution of the Nazis to the 'Jewish problem' was to murder every single Jew in Europe. Final Solution decided at Wannsee Conference in 1942.

Next up

Key events and concepts in Germany course

Description

Resource summary

Similar

	Created by pjlovingthelearning over 10 years ago