Germany: Why Nazis Achieved Power Flashcards
Introduction: Background information
In November 1918, Germany lost the First World War and the Keizer abdicated - making the days of the German empire over. A new democratic government system was implemented and became known as the ‘Weimer republic’. It was a socialist-led coalition government with the first chancellor being friedrich Ebert.
Introduction: line of argument
Economic difficulties in the weimer republic were the most important factor
Introduction: list of factors
Treaty of Versailles, weaknesses of the weimer republic, appeal of hitler
Economic difficulties in the weimer republic: KU
To deal with the hefty reparations outlined in the treaty of Versailles, the German government began to print more money. This caused the prices of everything - especially everyday goods - to rise incredibly quickly. Eventually spiralling into hyperinflation. In January 1922, an American dollar ($1) was worth 80 German marks. By November 1923, $1 was worth 4420 German marks.
The hyperinflation eventually ended and Germany was prosperous for a few years with the support of American loans.
Economic difficulties in the weimer republic: A
The repeated economic difficulties of the 1920s caused many Germans to look for alternatives to democracy. They began to support extremist groups, including the nazis, as they made huge promises to end all economic hardship in Germany.
Economic difficulties in the weimer republic: A+
However, the weimer government took swift action to end the hyperinflation and was able to quickly recover. They did this by appointing gustav stresseman as chancellor. He borrowed money from America under the Dawes plan and introduced a new currency. This didn’t help the Nazis gain power as it instilled confidence in the weimer government.
Economic difficulties in the weimer republic: Ev1
In evaluation, it has been argued that economic difficulties were the most important factor in the Nazis achieving power. This is because in 1929, the Wall Street crash led to the depression in Germany. This caused much of the population to lose their jobs; even around 60% of university graduates were unemployed.
This meant that many people had far more free time and used this to advocate for their political parties. Therefore, there people were more exposed to the nazi party.
Weaknesses of the weimer republic: KU
The weimer government established a proportional representation (PR) voting system; this meant that a party that won 15% of the votes won around 15% of the seats. This meant that many different parties were elected; in 1924 there were 14 different parties making up the government. Therefore, it was incredibly difficult for one single party to win a riechstag majority.
This made the governments coalitions. These types of governments were very unstable and regularly collapsed as they couldn’t agree on actions.
Weaknesses of the weimer republic: A
The PR elections helped the Nazis as they helped smaller parties get elected. Once elected, they used their platform to legitimise themselves and encourage people to vote for them - therefore increasing their power in the coalition
Weaknesses of the weimer republic: A+
Between 1924 - 1928, pro weimer parties consistently gained around 75% of all votes. This didn’t help the Nazis as it suggests that most Germans supported democracy rather than smaller, more extreme groups like the Nazis
Weaknesses of the weimer republic: ev2
In evaluation, it has clearly been argued that weaknesses of the weimer republic were important but economic difficulties were more important. This is because between 1924 - 1929, the German economy was strong and subsequently, Nazi support greatly fell. In 1928, the Nazis were the smallest party in the reichstag. Therefore, the Nazis never would have came into power without the economic difficulties of the 1920s.
However, weaknesses of the weimer republic were also important as in 1920, a right-wing revolt led by Wolfgang kapp forced weimer’s government to leave Berlin. Therefore, the weimer government lacked strong support from the start, meaning that during the political instability people would look to extreme parties like the Nazis. However, the Kapp Putsch failed after Germans staged a general strike. This suggests that the majority of the German working class supported the weimer system. Therefore, economic factors were the most important in the Nazis achieving power.
Resentment towards the treaty of Versailles: KU
In 1919, Germany was forced to sign the treaty of Versailles by the allied forces. It was a legal agreement to end ww1 - many Germans contested it, calling it a ‘diktat’ (an order that must be obeyed).
The terms of the treaty outlined that Germany would take full responsibility for starting the war and had to reduce its military to only 100,000 men - previously 1.9 million - with no airforce allowed.
Resentment towards the treaty of Versailles: A
One of the main promises of the Nazis was to reverse the treaty of Versailles. This attracted support from many Germans, in particular many soldiers that became redundant with the military reductions. This’s helped as more people voted for them
Resentment towards the treaty of Versailles: A+
Treaty was signed in 1919 but the Nazis did not achieve power until 1932. Therefore, the treaty of Versailles cannot have been the most important factor in the Nazis achieving power
Appeal of hitler and the Nazis: KU
One of the main reasons that Hitler took control of the party was because of his public speaking; he was incredibly passionate and attracted strong support. From 1923, the Nazis held huge rallies to promote their message.
During his time in prison after a failed coup, Hitler wrote Mein Kampf (My Struggle), a book outlining his political beliefs of anti-semitism, the need for a lebensraum, antimarxism, and the purification of the aryan race. The book was published in 1925 and sold over 9000 copies in its first year, resonating with many Germans.
