Germany 1918-1945 Flashcards
why did hitler come to power? 1914 vs 1918
- 1914 Germans are proud people with one of the finest German army in the world but then the proud German army is defeated
- 1914 is a golden era, prospering economy, well educated and well fed people vs 1918 much of old Germany is destroyed
- in 1914 people are optimistic about Germany’s power and strength vs 1918 people are starving on turnips and break and there is a flu epidemic killing thousands
impact of ww1 on germany
Defeat of the German Army:
- People are no longer as they become very poor
- Thousands of soldiers are dead and the army is defeated, 1.7 million dead and 4.2 million injured.
- The German army was one of the most important aspects for German people.
- No British or French soldier ever entered Germany so some people thought that Germany had never actually been invaded and so could not accept defeat.
- Treaty of Versailles meant that Germany had to reduce their army to only 100,000 men which was 10% of what it previously had been. Furthermore, they had to give up weapons such aeroplanes and ships.
- Britain and France demanded that the Kaiser abdicate in return for no invasion. This angered the nationalists within Germany.
Bankrupt Government:
- Industrial production was only ⅔ of what it had been before the war in 1913.
- National Income was a ⅓ due to a lack of trade
- In 1925, the government was spending ⅓ of its budget on war pensions.
Social Divisions in German society:
- The social divisions between the rich and the poor had deepened during the war as factory owners had amassed huge fortunes but restrictions had been placed on ordinary workers’ wages.
- Women had been encouraged into the workplace and people saw this as a damage to traditional values.
Flu epidemic and Food shortages:
- The German people were undernourished due to a failure in the potato harvest and so had to live off turnips and bread. 1917-1918
- This was also due to the lack of farmers and the British blockade of naval ports.
- Flu epidemic killed 750000 people.
mutiny and unrest
-German revolution
strengths of the weimar constitution
- All people over the age of 20 have the right to vote including women.
- Both the Reichstag and the President had to be elected
- A Bill of Rights guaranteed the right to freedom of speech, equality under the law.
- This meant that laws were passed fairly by an elected government not a monarch, who could veto laws.
- 17 local governments had more limited power in order to make sure laws were the same across the country.
- The Chancellor needed the support of half the Reichstag. Proportional representation prevented any single one becoming dominant.
weaknesses of the weimar constitution
- Proportional Representation: Weimar Germans voted for a party and this got a respective number of seats. However, this meant that the government could rarely pass laws as no party was ever strong enough to reach a majority. This made the Government seem inefficient and indecisive.
- Article 48: stated that in crisis the President could pass laws without the Reichstage. This was how Hitler took power legally.
the German revolution and formation of the weimar republic
October 1918: Sailor’s mutiny at Kiel and refuse to attack the British Navy blockading the northern German ports. No army was sent to crush the rebellion as it was feared that they would join the sailors. This leads to strikes and demonstrations all over Germany.
9th November 1918: Friedrich Ebert leader of the SPD pleads with the Kaiser to abdicate in order to be allowed to negotiate an armistice with the British and French. Germany becomes a republic however, this angers the Right-Wing nationalists who liked a strong government and leader. Ebert suspends the old Reichstag and formed the Council of People’s Representatives as a temporary measure.
A new constitution is drawn up and Germany holds elections. On November 11th 1918 the Armistice is signed. However, neither the socialists nor the nationalists favour this and so the Weimar Republic is very unstable.
why did the germans hate the t o v so much?
The Treaty of Versailles became the permanent symbol of the humiliation and defeat of Germany and became associated with the Weimar Government.
- No more Kaiser meant that the many nationalistic and often wealthy sections of German society were very critical. Also the leadership of armed forces were supposedly weakened.
- Diktat: Germany had been forced to sign the treaty and had had no choice on the terms.
- Military Restrictions made Germany vulnerable to attack from now more powerful neighbour France. Also caused a huge unemployment.
- Loss of Land this plants in many Germans minds the idea that all German land people need to be reunited. Land to the East given to Poland and the West became a demilitarised zone.
- War Guilt: Germany had to accept that it solely caused the war which it thought was very unfair. Psychologically damaging and made Germans feel mistreated and frustrated.
- Reparations:6600 million at a time when Germany was already struggling financially and the country needed as much money to be able to rebuild itself was crippling.
Paris peace conference aims of the big three
- woodrow wilson -wanted Europe to be a democracy, didn’t want to punish Germany too harshly to avoid another war, wanted an end to secret diplomacy and a league of nations was created
- George Clemenceau- wanted to weaken Germany to prevent further aggression, wanted the land they had lost ; Alsace-lorraine back, wanted to obtain heavy reparations form germany to repay their war debt, wanted to weaken Germany’s military
- David Lloyd George - wanted to weaken Germany’s navy, wanted German to recover fairly quickly so it could continue trading, felt Britain wanted to make Germany pay
what were right wing reactions to the t o v and weimar republic?
The Kapp Putsch:
There was opposition from the political Right because:
-Hated the democratic government and liked the Kaiser and his dictatorial style of government.
-Blamed the Socialists for defeat of Germany as they had agreed to the signing of the Treaty of Versailles. Believed that Germany had not been defeated on the battlefield but was betrayed by politicians.
-Felt vulnerable due to the huge diminishing of the Army and again blamed the Socialists for this mistake.
-Wanted large industry but this was weakened by Treaty of Versailles.
Kapp Putsch Summary:
March 1920, The Freikorps, Wolfgang Kapp and the foremost minister in the Army Ludendorff entered Berlin and declared a right of centre government. This would be ruled by Luttwitz, leader of the Freikorps.
Ebert called for a general strike which meant that for two days there was no water, electricity or transport in Berlin. This also meant that those who supported Kapp were unable to move around dooming the putsch.
Impacts:
- The government could not enforce its authority even on its own capital. The government could not put down a challenge to its authority- only a mass power of a general strike could reestablish control. Ebert seemed weak and to have little control over the country.
- Another impact was that it indicated that the people of Berlin were willing to support Ebert’s government rather than a right-wing take over lead by Kapp. It also showed that the people of Germany wanted more peace and stability.
- It led to extreme bitterness of the right wing and those who were part of the Freikorps would eventually become part of the Nazi party.
left wing. opposition to the t o v / weimar republic?
-Spartacist Uprising: (Threat from the left-wing) Did not want Germany to be democratic and to be ruled by communist government.
Led by Karl Liebknecht and Rosa Luxembourg, the Spartacists began to set up worker’s unions and soviets in many towns across Germany in early 1919. They were crushed by a group of anti-communist soldiers, who had made an agreement with the government. Street fighting ensued; many killed and leaders were brutally killed.
-In February 1919, Bavaria was taken over and declared communist but again removed via Freikorps. 600 dead.
-In the Ruhr Industrial Area, 6000 were killed in communist and Freikorps clashes.
Impacts:
- This made Ebert seem weak as he was unable to crush the revolutions by himself and had to use the Freikorps, who was radical.
- Ebert’s ruthless measures against the Communists created lasting bitterness between them and his Socialist party. It made them a powerful anti-government force.
causes and impacts of the invasion of the Ruhr were…
The first instalment of the £50 million was paid in 1921 but in 1922 nothing was paid because Ebert wanted to negotiate concessions from the Allies.
So France, who owed huge amounts to America, invaded the Ruhr and took what was owed to them in kind, in raw materials and goods. This was legal under the Treaty of Versailles. The Ruhr was the economic heartland of Germany and so this led to the collapse of the German economy.
Impacts:
- Economic stagnation of Germany: as not able gain tax income or export goods so unable to pay reparations or support the already poor population. The strikes of 100,000 workers meant there was little consumer demand from unemployment.
- Hyperinflation: To support the workers of the passive strike and keep the economy running, the government decided to simply print money. This money was worthless as it was not backed by output from industry. This made foreign exchange and trade impossible. In January 1923, 1 dollar as worth 48,000 mark whereas in November one dollar ws worth 4 trillion mark. No foreign trade meant no economic stimulation.
impacts of hyperinflation
- The most significant effect of hyperinflation was the devaluation of the Mark because it had such a destructive effect on the German economy, as well as it led to a growing distrust in the German government to handle the economy.
The Mittelstand and those who had savings found that these were now worthless. The prices of everything rocketed yet wages could scarcely keep up. As well as people’s savings could could barely keep up. Created greater social division as the rich who had property and goods were protected.
- Second impact of hyperinflation on Germany was that the new chancellor, Stresemann, introduced a new currency to Germany. He called off the Resistance in the Ruhr to get industry going again as well as resuming reparation payments to get France out of the Ruhr. He collected in and destroyed the old Mark and issued the new Rentenmark in their place. He also managed to negotiate lawns for the Dawes Plan and recommending production in the Ruhr got the German economy back on its feet again relatively quickly. Quickly solved the crisis.
who was gustav stresemann and what were his policies?
Gustav Stresemann: Both Chancellor and Foreign Minister of Germany. He helped negotiate and brought in many measures to help the dire economic, political and foreign policy problems.
In particular, Stresemann’s Policy of Fulfilment - the attempt to fulfil all the terms of the Treaty of Versailles in the hope that Britain and France would make significant compromises, leading eventually to the destruction of the Treaty.
economic recovery in the 1920s
Economic Recovery:
Dawes Plan-
Spread the reparations payments over a longer period making them easier to repay and so less strain on Germany’s economy
USA loaned Germany 800 million marks which was invested into German industry, creating more jobs and more trade. This would lead to more profit and matched its pre-war levels of production by 1928.
Hyperinflation-
New currency was introduced and this built a stable platform from which Germany could further recover.
Failure to Recover:
Loans could be recalled causing the ruin of Germany
Middle Class and farmers had high mortgages but little business as well as overproducing.
Unemployment on the rise due to a population boom.
Large department stores owned by majoratively Jews caused a peak in Anti-Semitism.
Reduction in pay
political recovery in the 1920s
Political Recovery:
Politics became more strong and stable in this period as more people were backing the government and placing their trust in the system.
A)The Grand Coalition of 1923:
This was a coalition between moderate pro-democracy parties and the SPD and meant that the government could finally pass laws and govern the country. It also showed that they had the support of the middle classes and that proportional representation could be effective.
B) No more attempted coups and voting for radical parties such as the NSDAP, which gained <3% meant Government could focus on problems at hand.
Failure to Recover:
Four different chancellors from 1924-29 suggested a lack of stability. In 1926, Hindenburg a former army general and very right-wing opponent was elected.
foreign policy recovery during the 1920s
Foreign Policy:
In 1925, Stresemann signed the Locarno Treaties with Britain, France and Italy. They guaranteed Germany’s Frontiers with France and Belgium. As a result Germany was accepted into the League of Nations, which gave it a status of great power.
From there it could also reverse the Treaty of Versailles, particularly considering reparations and the eastern frontiers.
In 1929, Stresemann had negotiated the Young Plan, which lightened the reparations burden and led to the final removal of troops from the Rhine area.
Failure to Recover:
Nationalists attacked Stresemann for joining the League of Nations and for signing the Locarno Pact, seeing it as an acceptance of the TofV.
Communists saw it as a plot against the USSR.
two effects of Germany’s cultural recovery
The cultural developments during the Weimar period on the people of Germany
- German provincial people felt that the city and its new progressive attitudes showed a moral decline. They were especially sceptical of American immigrants, Jewish artists and musicians. Many organisations such as the wandervogel wanted to return to traditional values as they felt this new art was undermining traditional German values and focus more on the countryside rather than the city. These feeling were later harnessed by the nazis who used them to gain support.
- It also however lead to a greater acceptance of different kinds of people such as people with different sexual identities especially in the cities. Women were also freer to wear and do what they wanted as they were not restricted by traditional German beliefs and stereotypes. For example in Berlin transvestite nightclubs opened and many women felt free to wear mini skirts and other more revealing clothes.
what were hitlers main values in 1919 ( main values of the German workers party)
The party developed a 25- point program which Hitler explained further in his book ‘Mein Kampf’.
The Nazi ideology:
1. Lebensraum- the need for living space for the German nation to expand in size and influence
2. A strong Germany- the Treaty of Versailles should be abolished and all German speaking people united under one country
3. Fuhrer- the idea that there should be a single leader with complete power rather than a democracy
4. Social Darwinism- the idea that the Aryan Race was superior and that Jews, Poles, Homosexuals etc were ‘sub-humans’
5. Autarky- the idea that Germany should be economically self-sufficient
6. Germany was in danger- from Communists and Jews, who had to be destroyed.
how did hitler appeal to many groups?
In the 1920s, the Nazis tried to appeal to many areas of society by making broad and vague statements. They appealed to:
- socialists who liked the pensions, the land distribution and the government owning of industries.
- Nationalists who hated the TofV, wanted a united Germany and liked the idea of different laws for foreigners
- Those who wanted a strong central government and leader. Those who liked the idea that ‘pure’ Germans were a superior race.
causes of the munch putsch
Causes:
- By 1923, the Nazi party had 55,000 members and was stronger than ever before.
- The Weimar Republic was in crisis due to hyperinflation
- In September 1923, the Weimar government had called off the general strike, and the German nationalists were furious with the government.
- Hitler thought he had the support of important officials in Bavaria.
what made hitler a good leader?
- powerful and dominant personality
- inteligent and decisive
- he had a great physical presence
- he was an amazing public speaker and would start his speeches softly building up to a furious finish
- he had piercing blue eyes which he could fix on his listeners
- he was a charismatic speaker
what were the Long term and short term effects of the Munich putsch?
The Munich Putsch was a failure in the short term but it was also an important event in the Nazis’ rise to power.
Short Term Failure:
- The Nazi Party was banned, and Hitler was prevented from speaking in public until 1927. This would have been a huge set back for the Nazi Party as now they could not grow with the public and openly gain more support.
- Hitler was tried for high treason and sentenced to 5 years in prison.
Long Term Success:
- Hitler himself gained huge publicity as during the court case he was able to preach his ideas. Hitler, while imprisoned, was able to write his book, Mein Kampf, in which his main principles and ideals were able to become known to all. It was a bestseller.
- The Nazi party gained great publicity from the event and boosting their popularity perhaps without they would never have been a true great threat.
- Most importantly, Hitler realised that he had to attempt to gain power legally i.e through winning the democratic elections not through power. This led to Hitler reorganising the party to enable it to take part in elections.
reorganisation of the nazi party 1924-1929
Improved Organisation of the Nazi Party:
This meant that the Nazis set up branches and offices in each ‘Gaue’ or region of Germany ; each had its own Gauleiters, who were answerable only to him. This meant that Nazi ideology and the party itself could more rapidly spread and gain more popularity. He also appointed two efficient administrators to run the Headquarters: Philipp Bouhler and Frank Schwarz. The Nazi Party began to contest in municipal, state and federal elections with increasing frequency however, had very few successes in gaining seats in the Reichstag because Germany was at the time relatively stable.
Gained Funding from Business:
Hitler, as he and the Nazi now had been taking a legal approach, could seek funding from big industries in order to fund campaigns and the party. He especially gained backing from powerful business who hoped Hitler would limit the power of the trade unions and detested the socialists. By the early 1930s, the Nazis were receiving donations from giants of German industry such as Krupp and Bosch.
Growth of the SA and the Founding of the SS:
As well as protecting Nazi meetings and intimidating opponents, the uniformed men also gave the Nazis the appearance of strength and order. By 1930, Hitler expanded the SA to 400,000 members. However, Hitler became anxious about the SA’s growing allegiance to its leader, Ernst Roehm, so began to set up the Schutzstaffel, or SS. The SS were Hitler’s personal bodyguards and led by Heinrich Himmler, one of Hitler’s most loyal supporters. They were widely feared and respected.
also development of hitler youth and department for propaganda
what was the Wall Street crash and what were its effects?
In October 1929 the Wall Street Crash on the US stock exchange brought about a global economic depression. In Europe, Germany was worst affected because American banks called in all of their foreign loans at very short notice. These loans, agreed under the Dawes Plan in 1924, had been the basis for Germany’s economic recovery from the disaster of hyperinflation. The loans funded German industry and helped to pay reparations. Without these loans German industry collapsed and a depression began:
This lead to huge unemployment- over the winter of 1929-30 the number of unemployed rose from 1.4 million to over 2 million. By January 1933, there were about 6.1 million unemployed. This led to mass homelessness and people turning to more radical parties in search of solutions which the current government simply could not employ. Furthermore, the rise in unemployment significantly raised government expenditure on unemployment insurance and other benefits.
political failure in 1929 after the Wall Street crash and how it helped the nazis
In March 1930 the German Chancellor, Hermann Müller, resigned when his government could not agree on how to tackle the rise in government spending caused by the rise in unemployment. He was replaced by Heinrich Brüning. His policies were ineffective in dealing with the unemployment crisis and further undermined Germans’ faith in democracy:
In July 1930 Chancellor Brüning cut government expenditure, wages and unemployment pay. This added to the spiral of decline and unemployment continued to rise, as well as making those who had lost their jobs even poorer.
However, Brüning could not get the Reichstag to agree to his actions, so President Hindenburg used Article 48 of the Weimar constitution, which gave the President the power to pass laws by decree, to govern. This undermined democracy and weakened the power of the Reichstag – arguably opening the way for Hitler’s later dictatorship.
By 1932 parties committed to the destruction of the Weimar Republic held 319 seats out of a total of 608 in the Reichstag, with many workers turning to communism. The communists had their own version of the SA, the Communist Red Fighting League, which broke up opposition party meetings. They confronted the police in street battles, and clashed with the Nazis’ SA as well. However, ultimately, the party that did better out of all this unrest were the Nazis.
In 1928, the Nazis had only 12 seats in the Reichstag; by July 1932 they had 230 seats and were the largest party.
how did the nazis appeal to so many groups after the Wall Street crash?
Because the Nazis’ 25 Point Programme appealed to people all over the country from all walks of life, they became popular. Other extremist groups like the communists only really appealed to the industrial workers in Germany’s cities and couldn’t keep up.
- Wealthy businessmen: were frightened communists would take their wealth away and did not want to see any more increase in support for them. To combat this, they began to give money to Hitler and the Nazis, hoping they would gain more seats – not the communists.
- The middle-class: were generally quite traditional and were not convinced by the Weimar democracy. Hitler promised them a strong government and won their votes.
- Nationalists: they blamed the legacy of the Treaty of Versailles and reparations for causing the depression and so lent their support to the Nazis who had promised to make Germany strong again.
- Rural areas: The Nazis appealed to people in the countryside - especially middle class shopkeepers and craftsmen, farmers and agricultural labourers.
the effects of propaganda
The effects of propaganda
Impacts:
- The Nazi Party gained the support due to falling confidence in the Weimar Government.
- They were able to show their strengths in dealing with the Communist Threat
- They benefited from increased support from the right-wing
what were the roles and themes of nazi propaganda ?
Nazi propaganda was controlled by Joseph Goebbels and had three main themes:
The Führer cult. Hitler was always portrayed as Germany’s saviour – the man who would rescue the country from the grip of depression.
Volksgemeinschaft (people’s community). This was the idea that the Nazis would create one German community that would make religion or social class less relevant to people.
Scapegoating the Jews (and others) for Germany’s ills. Jews were often portrayed as sub-human, or as a threat to both the racial purity and economic future of the country.
Hitler was a great speaker with an extraordinary power to win people over. Goebbels’ propaganda campaign was very effective (he used aeroplanes to bring Hitler to speak across the country, radios to broadcast important speeches and rallies to make supporters excited) and brought huge support for the Nazis by targeting specific groups of society with different slogans and policies to win their support.
Nuremberg Rallies: Here people felt as though they were part of a great movement however, also the power and control of the Nazi Party was demonstrated.
