History Germany revision notes

Weimar Problems 1919-1923The Weimar Republic faced opposition from the outset in 1919, after the signing of the Treaty of Versailles. Economic hardship affected the whole nation and led to uprisings and assassinations.Key Problems: The Weimar Republic was created at a time of confusion and chaos after Germany had lost the First World War. Many people felt that Germany had received a very harsh deal in the Treaty of Versailles and they resented the government for signing it and agreeing to its conditions. The Weimar Republic faced violent uprisings from various groups and devastating economic problems. in November 1918 - they called them the November criminals. Bands of soldiers called Freikorps refused to disband and formed private armies. It was not a good start for the Republic. There was continuous violence and unrest: In March 1920, there was a rebellion - the Kapp Putsch (tried to overthrow the Weimar Republic)  - that aimed to set up a new government as the rebels were angry at them for signing the Treaty of Versailles. Nationalist terror groups assassinated 356 government politicians Many of the people in Germany were communists, who wanted to bring in a Russian-style communist government. There were a number of communist uprisings. For instance, in 1919 the Spartacists rebelled in Berlin. The Weimar government's main crisis occurred in 1923, when the Germans failed to make a reparations payment on time, which set off a train of events that included: a French invasion of the Ruhr (French and Belgium troops invaded the Ruhr; Germany’s most valuable industrial area. The French and Belgium troops took over the iron and steel factories, coal mines and railways.) a general strike runaway inflation - hyperinflation a number of communist rebellions an attempted Nazi putsch in Munich

Violence in the Weimar Republic In Jan 1919, 50,000 Spartacists rebelled in Berlin, led by the Communists Rosa Luxemburg and Karl Leibknecht. In 1919, communist workers' councils seized power all over Germany, and a Communist People's Government took power in Bavaria. March 1920, the right-wing nationalist Dr Wolfgang Kapp took over Berlin. The army refused to attack him; he was only defeated when the workers of Berlin went on strike. In 1920, after the failure of the Kapp Putsch, a Communist paramilitary group called the Red Army rebelled in the Ruhr. Nationalist terrorists assassinated 356 government politicians, including Walter Rathenau, the foreign minister, and Matthias Erzberger who had been finance minister. The judges, many of whom preferred the Kaiser's government, consistently gave these terrorists light sentences, or let them go free. Weimar Crisis 1923In 1923 the Weimar Republic nearly collapsed. Put the events in the correct order to see how the situation escalated out of control: Germany missed a reparations payment The French invaded the Ruhr  German workers went on strike  The government printed off paper money There was hyperinflation  There were Communist and nationalist rebellions  Hyperinflation The sudden flood of paper money into the economy, on top of the general strike - which meant that no goods were manufactured, so there was more money, chasing fewer goods - combined with a weak economy ruined by the war, all resulted in hyperinflation.Prices ran out of control - eg a loaf of bread, which cost 250 marks in January 1923 had risen to 200,000 million marks in November 1923. German's currency became worthless. People collected their wages in suitcases. One person, who left their suitcase unattended, found that a thief had stolen the suitcase but not the money. One boy, who was sent to buy two bread buns, stopped to play football and by the time he got to the shop, the price had gone up, so he could only afford to buy one. One father set out for Berlin to buy a pair of shoes. When he got there, he could only afford a cup of coffee and the bus fare home.

Hitlers rise to power What helped Hitler gain power? - the strengths of the Nazi party, and the weaknesses of other parties within Germany. Hitler used these factors to his advantage and in 1933 he legitimately gained power to become chancellor. Many workers turned to communism, but this frightened wealthy businessmen, so they financed Hitler's campaigns. In 1928, the Nazis had only 12 seats in the Reichstag; by July 1932 they had 230 seats and were the largest party. In January 1933, Hindenburg and Papen came up with a plan to get the Nazis on their side by offering to make Hitler vice chancellor. He refused and demanded to be made chancellor. They agreed, thinking they could control him. In January 1933, Hitler became chancellor, and immediately set about making himself absolute ruler of Germany using Article 48. Reasons Hitler came into power Hitler was a great speaker, with the power to make people support him. The moderate political parties would not work together, although together they had more support than the Nazis. The depression of 1929 created poverty and unemployment, which made people angry with the Weimar government. People lost confidence in the democratic system and turned towards the extremist political parties such as the Communists and Nazis during the depression. The Nazi storm troopers attacked Hitler's opponents. Goebbels' propaganda campaign was very effective and it won support for the Nazis. The Nazis targeted specific groups of society with different slogans and policies to win their support. Hitler was given power in a seedy political deal by Hindenburg and Papen who foolishly thought they could control him. German people were still angry about the Treaty of Versailles and supported Hitler because he promised to overturn it. Industrialists gave Hitler money and support.

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