chapter 2 - case study of nazi germany Flashcards
how was the german political system before ww1?
the authority lay within the kaiser and his ministers. the german armed forces were also very powerful and influential. while germany had the reichstag, they mainly ignored them.
what were the impacts of ww1 ?
the german army was already facing defeat. supplies were blocked from getting into germany, and many germans were already dying from malnutrition. germany’s economy was already in ruins during the war efforts. at this point of time, the kaiser started to involve the reichstag in making war decisions as they wanted to shift the blame onto the elected politicians.
what happened after the kaiser abdicated?
friedrich ebert, the leader of the spd, took over as the new leader of germany. he signed the armistice with the allies that stopped war violence.
what are some of the strengths and weaknesses of the weimar government initially?
strengths : proportional representation meant that any party in the elections will get the same percentage of seats in the reichstag as the number of votes they got. this allowed for most views and interests being represented into reichstag. laws also had to be bypassed by them and the chancellor could just push through, preventing abuse of power.
weaknesses : it was hard for one party to gain a majority and the government ended up as coalitions, which made it difficult for the reichstag to pass laws, leading to governments which were weak and short-lived.
what were some of the economic challenges that affected the weimar republic?
the TOV forced germany to pay reparations, and when they failed to make their payment, the french and belgium troops invaded the ruhr valley in january 1923, germany’s most important and valuable industrial region. in response, the government ordered workers to go on strike and not to co-operate with the french. the sudden halt in industrial production caused the economy to collapse. the government continued to print money, but it just led to further hyperinflation. this resulted in the government losing support from the middle-class germans as they felt that workers and politicians, resulting in deep resentment as they were the ones that agreed with the reparations in the TOV. the new chancellor, gustav stressmann created a new currency and managed to negotiate to terms of the TOV, allowing germany to stabilise its finances by reducing their debt, recovering their economy.
how did hitler become the leader of the nazi party?
then, hitler was a army intelligence officer sent to investigate the german’s worker party. however, over time, he found that he agreed with their ideas and criticism of the weimar republic and decided to join them. in july 1921, he overthrew the old leader and made himself the new one. he put herman goering in charge of the SA, who were mostly ex-soldiers who joined the nazi party. he turned them into a private army to fend off his rivals.
what was the munich putsch and what were the after effects of it ?
hitler felt that he had to take powers into his own hands and marched on munich as a open act of rebellion. however, he misjudged the situation and a battle broke out between the nazi party and the armed police. while at the beginning it seemed like a humiliating defeat for the nazis, it was actual a key event that helped them. hitler’s trial turned into a showcase for him to criticise the weimar republic. his case was covered extensively in the newspapers and hitler became a national celebrity.
how did hitler rebuild the nazi party of the munich putsch?
hitler realised that he could not seize power by force and instead, tried to work within the democratic system and destroy it from the inside. hitler began re-establishing his power with the party, creating the SS, led by heinrich himmler, acting as his personal bodyguards. by now, it was clear that hitler would not tolerate any rivals or disagreements, and his position was now secure.
how did hitler try to win the support of the germans for the nazi party?
hitler was a powerful and confident speaker that appeared as sincere to many, addressing many of their concerns. he managed to in over many important business owners that agreed with his anti-communist and anti- trade union views. however, many industrial workers supported the SPD or communists. thus, hitler targeted propaganda towards the farming communities where he had more success. the problem was that the weimar republic was relatively stable and prosperous even providing generous welfare benefits and numerous job opportunities to the people. thus, the nazi party remained as a small minority.
what were the impacts of the great depression on germany?
unemployment : industrial workers, farmers and the middle classes were all affected. businesses went bankrupt and income fell, leading to hunger and illnesses.
failure of democracy : when the crisis struck, germany was ruled by a coalition government led by the SPD. the SPD wanted to increases welfare for the unemployed but was refused, collapsing the coalition government. heinrich bruning, the new appointed chancellor through article 48, cut government spending on welfare and the wages of civil servants. here, the weimar republic practically failed.
rise in communism : workers felt that the weimar republic was not managing the crisis well and het let them down. democracy was hanging by a thread and the country was suffering from bruning’s harsh measures. in result, many workers turned to the german communist party due to their effective movements and publicity, and their representation in the reichstag grew. the rise of communism frightened many, business leaders fearing them due to their plans to induce state control of business like in USSR. many others in the middle class was also scared as they knew that the communists were hostile. this created. climate of fear and little trust in the weimar republic to solve such a big issue, so they could only turn to the nazis.
how did the great depression lead to the growth in support for the nazis?
the hitler factor : hitler ran for president in 1923 against hindenburg, and while he lost, the campaign raised his profile hugely. by utilising film, radio and print, he spread his message all over germany. hitler was seen as someone who understood the people and their problems, and offered to return germany to the days before democracy.
use of propaganda : joseph goebbels utilised propaganda to exploit the effects of the depression, blamin the economic problems on the TOV. they blamed the weimar politicians for being too selfish and divided, and promised strong and decisive actions to rebuild germany’s armed forces that would create millions of jobs. they promised sympathy and support for workers, offering jews as culprits to blame for the problems. they promised to fight the threat of communism in elections and everything seemed to address the people’s fears, gaining them large support.
the SA and the SS : at this time, many people were unruly and there were frequent street fights happening, but the SA and the SS gave people the impression of discipline and order. they welcomed that the SA were prepared to fight the communists, and that they were better organised than them.
how did hitler become chancellor?
as a result of their efforts, the nazi grew in both support and representation. however, president hindenburg was still one of hitler’s major barriers. he was well-respected by the people, and for the sake of his country, he decided to be a force of stability, even if he disliked the democratic system. when he wanted to retire, he was persuaded to stand for elections again to prevent hitler from becoming president. he agreed as he felt that hitler would make germany unstable. in the end, hutoer still became chancellor, but hindenburg and the weimar republic was not worried, as they thought if worse comes to worse, they would just work with his opponents to unseat him.
what was the reichstag fire?
on 27 february 1933, the reichstag building burnt down by a mentally unstable communist. hitler used this oppurtunity to declare a communist uprising and persuaded hindenburg to pass the decree for protection of people and state, giving hitler emergency powers. the police and the SA and SS arrested 4000 communists , banning opposition parties and making it difficult for them to campaign, allowing the nazis to gain 288 seats in the 5th march elections.
what was the enabling act?
hitler wanted to introduce a new measure to let him make and pass laws without considering the reichstag, to be able to change the weimar cconstituition. only the SPD voted against him in the next election as many of the reichstag members were either injured in the fire, or intimidated by the SA and SS. the enabling act was subsequently passed on 24 march, allowing hitler to pass whatever law he wanted. democracy has died.
what was gleichschaltung (co-ordination)?
hitler wanted to strengthen his power by bringing all aspects of the state under nazi control. in april 1933, hitler banned jews from civil service, and made it almost impossible for people to be promoted in the military if they were not in the nazi party. in may, trade unions were banned and all local councils had to have a nazi majority. many were forced out of their positions, and in july, he banned all other political parties.
