People and what they did. Flashcards
(82 cards)
1
Q
Who was Charles G Dawes?
A
Charles G Dawes was an American banker who was asked by the Allies to help solve the problem of Weimar Germany not being able to pay its reparations bill.
2
Q
When was Charles G Dawes important?
A
Charles G Dawes was important in 1924.
3
Q
Why was Charles G Dawes important to the Weimar Republic?
1 reason
A
Charles G Dawes was important because he negotiated the Dawes Plan with Gustav Stresemann. This plan helped Weimar Germany end the hyperinflation crisis, stabilise the currency and organise American loans to Weimar Germany to support their economy.
4
Q
Who was Anton Drexler?
A
Anton Drexler was a German locksmith who created the German Workers’ Party (DAP), a right-wing nationalist political party.
5
Q
When was Anton Drexler important?
A
Anton Drexler was important from 1919 to 1921.
6
Q
Why was Anton Drexler important to the Weimar Republic?
3 key reasons
A
-Anton Drexler was important due to 3 key reasons:
He set up the German Workers’ Party (DAP) which eventually became the Nazi Party. The DAP was a right-wing nationalist party that was anti-Semitic and despised the Treaty of Versailles.
- With Hitler, he wrote the Twenty-Five Point Programme in January 1920, which outlined the party’s policies.
- He was replaced by Hitler as the leader of the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in July 1921.
7
Q
Who was Friedrich Ebert?
A
Friedrich Ebert was the leader of the Social Democratic Party (SPD) in Germany and involved with the creation of the Weimar Republic.
8
Q
When was Friedrich Ebert in power?
A
Ebert became the last chancellor of the kaiser’s government on 9th November 1918. After the war, he became the first president of the Weimar Republic in February 1919 and held office until February 1925.
9
Q
Why was Friedrich Ebert important?
Ebert was important for 5 main reasons:
A
- He helped Germany change from a monarchy under Kaiser Wilhelm II to the Weimar Republic, a democracy.
- He helped create the new constitution.
- He was one of the politicians who signed the Treaty of Versailles and became known as one of the ‘November Criminals’.
- He worked with the kaiser’s civil servants to keep the country running as the country changed from a monarchy to a republic.
- He did a deal with General Groener so that he and the army would work together to stop the communists from taking power.
10
Q
Who was Joseph Goebbels?
A
Joseph Goebbels tried to develop a career in journalism and writing novels and plays. He joined the Nazi Party and became one of its leading officials.
11
Q
When was Joseph Goebbels important?
A
Joseph Goebbels was important between 1924 when he joined the Nazi Party, and 1945 when he committed suicide.
12
Q
What was Joseph Goebbels famous for?
4 key roles
A
Joseph Goebbels had 4 key roles in the Nazi Party:
- He became the party leader in Berlin in 1926.
- He became a member of the Reichstag in 1928.
- He was put in charge of propaganda for the Nazi Party in 1928.
- He was made the minister of people’s enlightenment and propaganda in March 1933.
13
Q
When did Joseph Goebbels die?
A
1945, when he committed suicide.
14
Q
Who was Rudolf Hess?
A
Rudolf Hess was a wealthy academic who had fought in the German Army during the First World War and trained as a pilot in 1918. He later became Hitler’s right-hand man and deputy Führer.
15
Q
When was Rudolf Hess important?
A
Rudolf Hess was important between 1920 and 1941.
16
Q
What role did Rudolf Hess play in the Nazi Party?
3 key reasons
A
Rudolf Hess was important because of 3 key reasons:
- He joined the NSDAP in 1920 and became Hitler’s deputy in 1933.
- He took part in the Nazi Party’s failed Munich Beer Hall Putsch in 1923.
- He betrayed Hitler when he flew to Britain in 1941 to ask for peace. He was arrested and treated as a prisoner of war.
17
Q
Who was Reinhard Heydrich?
A
Reinhard Heydrich was a naval officer between 1922 and 1931. He was a leading Nazi official.
18
Q
When was Reinhard Heydrich important?
A
Reinhard Heydrich was important between 1931 and 1942.
19
Q
Why was Reinhard Heydrich important in Nazi Germany?
4 key roles
A
Reinhard Heydrich was an important figure in the Nazi Party holding 4 key roles under the regime:
- He joined the SS in August 1931.
- He became the leader of the Security Service (Sicherheitsdienst; SD).
- In April 1933, he was made the deputy-leader, under Himmler, of the Gestapo, or secret police. In 1934 he became the leader of the Gestapo.
- In September 1939, Heydrich became the leader of a new organisation called the Reich Security Main Office (Reichssicherheitshauptamt or RSHA). This was created by merging the Gestapo and SD.
20
Q
Who was Heinrich Himmler?
A
Who was Heinrich Himmler?
Heinrich Himmler was a soldier in the German Army during the First World War and had several jobs after the war, including raising chickens. He joined the Nazi Party and was one of the party’s leading officials.
21
Q
When was Heinrich Himmler important?
A
Heinrich Himmler was important from 1925, when he joined the Nazi Party, until 1945 when he committed suicide.
22
Q
What role did Heinrich Himmler play in the Nazi Party?
4 main roles
A
Heinrich Himmler had 4 main roles in the Nazi Party:
- He was appointed head of the SS, Schutzstaffel or ‘Blackshirts’ in 1929.
- He became head of the Munich police, the commander of all German police and set up the first concentration camp at Dachau in 1933.
- He was appointed the minister for the interior in 1943.
- He played a major role in the ‘Final Solution’, the mass murder of all Jews in Europe.
23
Q
When did Heinrich Himmler die?
A
Heinrich Himmler committed suicide on 23rd May, 1945.
24
Q
Who was Field Marshal Paul von Hindenburg?
A
Field Marshal Paul von Hindenburg was an important German military figure in the First World War and was elected the second president of the Weimar Republic.
25
When was Field Marshal Hindenburg important?
Field Marshal Paul von Hindenburg was important from 1914 to 1934.
26
Why was Field Marshal Hindenburg important during WW1 and immediately after?
He ruled Germany as part of a military dictatorship until October 1918.
It was Hindenburg who told the kaiser that the German Army would not continue to fight in October 1918.
27
What was significance of Field Marshal Hindenburg in the Weimar Republic?
6 key reasons
Paul von Hindenburg played a significant role in the Weimar Republic for 6 key reasons:
- He became the commander of the Germany army in 1916 and was in charge when Germany surrendered in November 1918. He allowed General von Ludendorff to take the blame for the defeat.
- He was elected president of the Weimar Republic in April 1925.
- Hitler opposed him in the presidential elections in March and April 1932 and lost.
-Hindenburg is best known for attempting to block Hitler from becoming the chancellor of Weimar Germany.
However, he was persuaded by Franz von Papen to appoint Hitler as chancellor on 30th January, 1933 and thus aided the collapse of the Weimar Republic.
-His death in 1934 was a key event in Hitler's creation of a dictatorship as Hitler merged the role of chancellor and president into one: the Führer.
28
When did Paul von Hindenburg die?
President Paul von Hindenburg died on 2nd August, 1934.
29
Who was Hitler?
Adolf Hitler was the leader of the Nazi Party. In 1933 he became the chancellor of Germany. He was called the Führer from 1934 onwards. During his dictatorship - which ran between 1933 and 1945 - he started the Second World War.
30
When was Hitler born?
Hitler was born in Austria, in April 1889.
31
What was Hitler's early life like?
| There were 5 main events in Hitler's early life:
- Hitler had a turbulent upbringing and was beaten by his father. He was very close to his mother and was heavily traumatised when she died when he was just 18 years old.
- Hitler's early life saw him attempt a career as an artist - however he was rejected from art school in Vienna and became homeless for several years.
- During the First World War, he won the Iron Cross for bravery while delivering an important message on the front line.
- Hitler hated that Germany lost the war and later came to despise the Treaty of Versailles and the politicians who signed it.
- He hated the new Weimar government and joined the little known German Workers' Party in 1919.
32
When was Hitler in power?
Hitler was appointed chancellor of Germany by President Paul von Hindenburg on 30th January, 1933. He became the Führer - a German word meaning leader - in 1934.
33
What happened to Hitler at the Munich Putsch?
The Munich Putsch, also known as the Beer Hall Putsch was a failed armed rebellion by the Nazi Party between the 8th and 9th November, 1923. Hitler wanted to overthrow the Weimar Republic and become Germany's president.
34
What did Hitler do in prison?
In prison Hitler wrote 'Mein Kampf', his autobiography, which outlined his political beliefs.
35
What did Hitler's book, 'Mein Kampf', state?
| 4 key ideas
'Mein Kampf' contained 4 key ideas:
- Democracy should be destroyed.
- The cancellation of the Treaty of the Versailles, which he hated.
- German territories should be expanded.
- His perceived inferiority of the Jews.
36
What was Hitler's Public persona like?
| 3 main things
Hitler's public persona included the following:
- Presenting himself as a strong, organised leader.
- He was a mesmerising public speaker.
- Presenting himself as someone who understood Germany's troubles and offered the solutions, including dealing with the betrayal many Germans felt when the First World War ended.
37
Why was Hitler prejudiced?
Hitler held prejudiced views against several groups of people. The following reasons likely explain why:
- At the time Hitler was growing up, it was very common to encounter anti-Semitic beliefs. He certainly would have been aware of these ideas from a young age.
- The family doctor who revealed to Hitler that his mother was dying of cancer had been Jewish.
- When living homeless in Vienna he would have encountered many groups of people, who were at the time more successful than himself.
- Following Germany's defeat in the war, the Armistice and Treaty of Versailles were signed by some Jewish politicians.
- Hitler certainly had very strong anti-Semitic beliefs by the time he wrote 'Mein Kampf' in 1924, and it was clear he was using Jews as a scapegoat for Germany's problems.
38
How did Hitler became Führer ?
| Final step
- There were several key steps in Hitler's path to Führer.
- The final step was the death of President Hindenburg on 2nd August, 1934. Hitler merged his role of chancellor with that of president, making himself the new Führer.
39
How did Hitler expect to be shown loyalty?
| There were 3 main ways people showed loyalty to Hitler.
- People demonstrated their loyalty through the 'Heil Hitler' salute.
- From 20th August, 1934, the army was forced to swear an oath of allegiance to him personally, rather than to Germany,
- School children in Germany recited the morning pledge in school, promising 'to fight, obey and die' for their Führer.
40
How did Hitler run Germany?
Under Hitler, Germany became a police state. This meant every aspect of daily life for German citizens was controlled by the police. It was a ruthless regime.
41
Who was Wolfgang Kapp?
Dr Wolfgang Kapp was a right-wing nationalist who disliked the Weimar Republic.
42
What did Wolfgang Kapp do?
Dr Wolfgang Kapp is famous for leading a right-wing uprising of the Freikorps against the Weimar Republic in March 1920. It failed because the workers went on strike.
43
Was Dr Wolfgang Kapp punished?
Dr Wolfgang Kapp fled to Sweden. He returned to Germany, and while he was waiting to be put on trial, he died of cancer.
44
Who was Karl Liebknecht?
Karl Liebknecht was one of the leaders of the Spartacist League who were a group of extreme socialists from the Independent Socialist Party (USPD) and supporters of the Communist Party in Germany.
45
When was Karl Liebknecht active?
Karl Liebknecht led the Spartacist uprising in January 1919.
46
Why was Karl Liebknecht important to the Weimar Republic?
Karl Liebknecht was important because he and Rosa Luxemburg led a failed attempt to overthrow the Weimar Republic in January 1919.
47
When did Karl Liebknecht die?
Karl Liebknecht died on 16th January, 1919.
48
Who killed Karl Liebknecht?
Karl Liebknecht was killed by members of the Freikorps.
49
Who was General von Ludendorff?
General von Ludendorff was considered one of Germany's greatest generals of the First World War. He was seen as a hero for his efforts on both the Eastern and Western Fronts. He became involved with the Nazi Party's failed Munich Beer Hall Putsch in 1923.
50
When was General Ludendorff important?
General von Ludendorff was important between the years 1914 and 1923.
51
Why was General von Ludendorff important to the Weimar Republic?
5 main reasons
General von Ludendorff was important during the Weimar Republic for 5 main reasons:
- He led the massive German offensive against the Allies in March 1918 called the 'Ludendorff Offensive' which failed.
- He created the stab-in-the-back myth to cover for his own failings during the war and place the blame on democratic politicians who led the Weimar Republic after the war.
- He supported Dr Wolfgang Kapp in the Kapp Putsch in March 1920.
- He took part in the Nazi Party's failed Beer Hall Putsch in November 1923.
- He was put on trial because of his role in the Munich Beer Hall Putsch but was found not guilty.
52
Who was Rosa Luxemburg?
Rosa Luxemburg was one of the leaders of the Spartacist League who were a group of extreme socialists from the Independent Socialist Party (USPD) and supporters of the Communist Party in Germany.
53
When was Rosa Luxemburg active?
Rosa Luxemburg led the Spartacist uprising in January 1919.
54
What was Rosa Luxemburg important to the Weimar Republic?
Rosa Luxemburg was important because she and Karl Liebknecht led a failed attempt to overthrow the Weimar Republic in January 1919.
55
When did Rosa Luxemburg die?
Rosa Luxemburg died on 16th January, 1919.
56
Who killed Rosa Luxemburg?
Rosa Luxemburg was killed by members of the Freikorps and her body was dumped in a canal in Berlin.
57
Who was Franz von Papen?
Franz von Papen was a member of the Catholic Centre Party or Zentrum Partei in the Weimar Republic. He was inadvertently instrumental in the collapse of the Weimar Republic and allowing Hitler to seize power.
58
When was Franz von Papen important?
Franz von Papen was important between 1932 and 1933.
59
What was important about Franz von Papen?
| Franz von Papen was important because of 4 key events:
- He became chancellor of the Weimar Republic when General von Schleicher persuaded President von Hindenburg to appoint him in May 1932.
- He could not get the support of the Reichstag to pass his laws.
- General von Schleicher persuaded the president to sack von Papen as chancellor and appoint himself instead.
- He worked with Hitler to undermine Chancellor von Schleicher. He persuaded the president to sack von Schleicher and appoint Hitler as chancellor on 30th January, 1933.
60
Who was Ernst Röhm?
Ernst Röhm was an ex-soldier who fought in the German Army during the First World War. He joined the German Workers' Party (DAP), which became the Nazi Party. He was one their top officials and the leader of the SA.
61
When was Ernst Röhm important?
Ernst Röhm was important from when he joined the party in 1919 until he was assassinated during the Night of the Long Knives in 1934.
62
What role did Ernst Röhm play in the Nazi Party?
| 3 key roles
Ernst Röhm had played 3 key roles in the Nazi Party:
- He became the leader of the SA - the Sturmabteilung or the 'Brownshirts' - in 1921.
- He took part in the Nazi Party's failed Munich Beer Hall Putsch, 1923.
- He was assassinated by members of the SS during the Night of the Long Knives, June 1934.
63
Why was Ernst Röhm assassinated?
| 4 main reasons
There were 4 main reasons why Ernst Röhm was assassinated by members of the SS during the Night of the Long Knives:
- He was a threat to Hitler's position as the leader of the Nazi Party because the 3 million members of the SA were loyal to Röhm.
- He disagreed with Hitler about some of the Nazi Party's policies. Röhm wanted to focus more on the workers and criticised Hitler's close relationship with big business.
- He wanted to merge the German Army with the SA. This alarmed Hitler and the army.
- Hitler wanted to ensure that the leaders of the German Army were happy as they had the power to overthrow him.
64
When did Ernst Röhm die?
Ernst Röhm was shot dead on 1st July, 1934.
65
Who was Philipp Scheidemann?
Philipp Scheidemann was a leading member of the Social Democratic Party in Germany.
66
Why was Philipp Scheidemann important?
Scheidemann announced there was a new German Republic from a window of the Reichstag after he heard that Kaiser Wilhelm II had abdicated on 9th November, 1918.
67
Who was General von Schleicher?
General Kurt von Schleicher was a general in the Germany army during the First World War. He was involved with the political deals that helped Hitler become chancellor on 30th January, 1933.
68
When was General von Schleicher important?
General Kurt von Schleicher was important in Weimar Germany between 1932 and 1933.
69
What was important about General von Schleicher?
| General Kurt von Schleicher was important for 4 main reasons:
- He persuaded President von Hindenburg to sack Chancellor Brüning in May 1932 and appoint Franz von Papen instead.
- He persuaded President von Hindenburg to sack Chancellor von Papen in November 1932 and appoint himself as chancellor in December instead.
- This led to von Papen and Hitler plotting against him. As a result, President von Hindenburg sacked him as chancellor and appointed Hitler on 30th January, 1933.
- He was assassinated during the Night of the Long Knives on 30th June, 1934.
70
When did General von Schleicher die?
General Kurt von Schleicher was assassinated on 30th June, 1934.
71
Who was Gustav Stresemann?
Gustav Stresemann was a German statesman who served as chancellor and foreign minister for the Weimar Republic.
72
When was Gustav Stresemann in power?
| Stresemann had multiple roles in Germany:
- In 1907, he became a member of Germany's parliament.
- In 1917, he became the leader of the National Liberal Party.
- In 1923, he was the chancellor between August and November.
- From August 1923, he also became foreign secretary.
73
Why was Gustav Stresemann important?
| Stresemann was important because of 6 main reasons:
- He stopped the hyperinflation crisis of 1923.
- He was a better politician than Ebert and also held more right-wing support, which resulted in less hostility towards the Weimar Republic.
- His actions helped the Weimar Republic to recover between 1924 and 1929.
- He helped create the Dawes Plan in 1924 which led to a temporary reduction in the annual reparation payments and American loans to German businesses and banks.
- He helped restore Germany's confidence and reputation so that Germany's relationship with other countries improved.
- Germany was allowed to join the League of Nations under his leadership.
- Right-wing Germans criticised him for not demanding back some of the land taken away in the Treaty of Versailles and not ending reparations.
74
How did Gustav Stresemann stop hyperinflation?
| Stresemann solved the hyperinflation crisis by doing 5 main things:
- Firstly, he called off the passive strike in the Ruhr as this was further damaging the economy.
- He then called for the old currency to be recalled and destroyed.
- He set up a temporary currency called the Rentenmark, which had real value and was important in halting hyperinflation.
- He negotiated the Dawes Plan in 1924.
- Lastly, in 1924, he replaced the Rentenmark with a new currency, the Reichsmark, which was tied to the price of land in Germany.
75
Who was Kaiser Wilhelm II?
Kaiser Wilhelm II was the emperor, or king, of Germany during the First World War.
76
When was Kaiser Wilhelm II in power?
Kaiser Wilhelm II was the ruler of Germany between 1888 and 1918.
77
What happened to the Kaiser Wilhelm II at the end of the First World War?
Kaiser Wilhelm II was the last emperor of Germany and forced to abdicate on 9th November 1918, as requested in the peace agreement from the Allies.
78
Who was Owen Young?
Owen Young was an American banker who was asked by the Allies to help resolve the reparations issues with Weimar Germany.
79
When was Owen Young important?
Owen Young was important in 1929.
80
What was Owen Young's role in the Weimar Republic?
Owen Young was important because he helped negotiate the Young Plan with Stresemann. This plan reduced the overall reparation bill that Weimar Germany had to pay from £6.6 billion to £2 billion and gave the country 59 more years to pay it.
81
Who was Albert speer?
An Architect who became a personal favorite of Hitler and designed many of Nazi Germany's major buildings.
82
What was Alber Speer famous for designing?
| 2 things.
- The parade ground for the Nazi rallies in Nuremberg in 1934
- The new Chancellery, which was the office for the chancellor, was in Berlin in 1938.
