The Collapse of Democracy (1930-33)

Question 1

What were the 3 main aspects of the Nazi party’s policies?

Answer 1

• Nationalism
• Socialism
• Racism/ antisemitism

Question 2

Where did Nazism originate from, and how did this impact it?

Answer 2

• The defeat in the war, and the threat of revolution after it
• It was therefore a mix of traditional German values from the time of the Kaiser and new, radical ideas

Question 3

How was the Nazi party modelled, and why did this matter?

Answer 3

• It was modelled on the German army
• In Germany, the army was valued more than politicians

Question 4

List 5 of Hitler’s main beliefs that impacted the party’s policies.

Answer 4

• He was racist and believed in Social Darwinism
• He was a nationalist
• He did not believe in democracy and supported political violence
• He believed in the German military
• He did not support the aristocracy, as he blamed Germany’s traditional rulers for the country’s failures

Question 5

What were 2 reasons why Hitler appealed to Germans?

Answer 5

• He presented himself as a ‘strong man’ who was decisive, which many nationalists believed was needed to save Germany (like Bismarck), in contrast to traditional politicians
• He was not an aristocrat, and had spent most of the war on the front lines, so he could present himself as an ordinary man who had fought for Germany

Question 6

What was the SA, how was it organised, and who did it consist of?

Answer 6

• The Sturmabteilung (Stormtroopers) was a paramilitary force that was part of the Nazi movement
• It was organised liked an army and its members wore a brown military uniform, which gave rise to the nickname ‘Brownshirts’
• It originally consisted of WW1 veterans, but in the early 1930s many unemployed young men joined it

Question 7

What 3 roles did the SA have?

Answer 7

• They used violence (and sometimes even murdered) to:
• intimidate the Nazis’ opponents
• fight other political groups
• protect Nazi leaders

Question 8

Who led the SA? List 3 important details about him.

Answer 8

• Ernst Röhm
• He was the second most powerful man in the Nazi party
• He valued violence and rejected respectable, middle-class values
• He was openly gay

Question 9

How did the government try to deal with the SA?

Answer 9

• Brüning used Article 48 to ban political uniforms
• In April 1932 he convinced Hindenburg to issue a decree banning the SA and SS

Question 10

How effective were Brüning’s attempts to stop the SA? Give 3 details.

Answer 10

• They weren’t that successful as:
• The SA continued to march while wearing white shirts, and other groups such as the Red Front used similar tactics
• In many areas the police were sympathetic to the SA, so allowed them to continue as an underground organisation
• However, in some areas the police used the ban to confiscate SA equipment and uniforms

Question 11

What did the Nazis do during the Great Depression to increase their popularity?

Answer 11

• They capitalised off of the economic crisis and disillusionment with democracy and the traditional political parties using an effective propaganda campaign
• They targeted messages towards all sections of society

Question 12

What were the different promises the Nazis made to 5 different parts of German society to win their support?

Answer 12

• Middle class: the Nazis promised to protect them from a communist revolution
• Lower-middle class: they promised to protect them from big businesses (such as through limiting the power of department stores)
• The working class: the Nazis promised them ‘work and bread’
• Women: they promised economic security and greater respect for the traditional role of women as wives and mothers
• Protestants: Protestants tended to be quite nationalist, so the Nazis promised they would protect Germany from the communist threat

Question 13

Which groups were the Nazis not very successful at attracting, and who did they tend to vote for?

Answer 13

• Catholics
• The working class
• The ZP, SPD and KPD

Question 14

How did the Nazis do in elections starting from 1928?

Answer 14

• 1928: 2.6%
• 1930: 18%
• July 1932: 37%
• November 1932: 33%

Question 15

List 7 factors that contributed to the collapse of democracy.

Answer 15

• The lack of support for democracy
• The Great Depression
• Coalitions
• The chancellors from 1930-3
• President Hindenburg
• Political intrigue
• The appeal of the Nazis

Question 16

What was a notable sign of support for the Weimar Republic? Give 2 examples.

Answer 16

• High voter turnout
• Highest: 84% in 1932
• Lowest: 76% in 1928

Question 17

List 4 reasons why the middle-class did not support the constitution.

Answer 17

• Liberals had originally believed they could achieve their goals of having more individual rights and increasing the power of the Reichstag while the monarchy still existed
• Nationalists supported the monarchy as they were symbols of Germany
• They felt vulnerable to the power of the working class, as they were united under the SPD in the Reichstag, while they lacked political unity as they were split between the DDP, ZP, DVP and other parties
• They feared the SPD wanted to turn Germany into a workers’ state

Question 18

Which main parties supported the constitution?

Answer 18

• SPD
• DDP
• ZP

Question 19

What percentage of votes did pro-constitution parties win in 1919, 1924, 1928 and 1932?

Answer 19

• 1919: 81%
• 1924: 49%
• 1928: 58%
• 1932: 35%

Question 20

What percentage of votes did anti-constitution parties win in 1919, 1920, 1928 and 1932?

Answer 20

• 1919: 18%
• 1920: 35%
• 1928: 27%
• 1932: 58%

Question 21

Why did the percentage of votes pro-constitution parties won continually decrease from 1919?

Answer 21

• The communist threat receded

Question 22

In what 4 ways did coalitions contribute to the collapse of democracy?

Answer 22

• Hindenburg did not want to have chancellors who could not get an agreement on policy, but changing chancellors destabilised the government even more
• The SPD even refused to take part in any more coalitions
• Hindenburg had to use Article 48
• There were 3 chancellors and several elections from 1930 to 1932

Question 23

List the chancellors from 1928 to 1932, how long they were in office for and their political party.

Answer 23

• Hermann Müller: 1928 - 1930, SPD
• Heinrich Brüning: 1930 - May 1932, ZP
• Franz von Papen: May 1932 - November 1932, ZP
• Kurt von Schleicher: December 1932 - January 1933

Question 24

What 2 beliefs did Brüning hold, and what 2 impacts did they have?

Answer 24

• He had concerns about socialism, atheism and communism
• He believed authoritarianism was the best way to protect Catholicism from these influences
• Therefore he didn’t hesitate to use Article 48
• This also led him to restrict civil liberties, such as introducing press censorship (mainly to stop communist newspapers)

Question 25

How did von Papen become chancellor?

Answer 25

• He had the support of Hindenburg and von Schleicher, who advised Hindenburg
• His appointment was surprising to the public as he did not have a lot of public support

Question 26

What kind of connections did von Papen have? How did this affect his cabinet?

Answer 26

• He had links with monarchists, aristocrats, the army and big business
• His cabinet was made up of aristocrats who weren’t very popular, and was therefore nicknamed the ‘Cabinet of Barons’

Question 27

What was von Schleicher’s background, and what 2 impacts did it have on politics?

Answer 27

• He was part of the army and a military adviser to Hindenburg
• He wanted to use his influence to protect the army and increase funding for it
• He had an important role in the appointment of von Papen and Brüning

Question 28

How did Hindenburg believe the rise in extremism (due to the Great Depression) should be dealt with, and why?

Answer 28

• He did not believe democracy was strong enough to deal with Germany’s problems
• He and conservative nationalists therefore wanted to create an authoritarian presidential government

Question 29

How could Hindenburg create an authoritarian presidential government?

Answer 29

• Using articles 48 (he could rule by decree), 25 (he could dissolve the Reichstag) and 53 (he could appoint the chancellor)

Question 30

To what extent did Hindenburg create an authoritarian government? Give 4 details.

Answer 30

• From 1930, he appointed more and more authoritarian chancellors and governments became increasingly presidential- the Reichstag had met on 94 days in 1930, but in 1932 this figure had gone down to 13
• Hindenburg used Article 48 a lot from 1930- he used it 5 times in 1930, but 66 times in 1932
• When using Article 48, Hindenburg tended to use it to bypass democracy, such as when Brüning was chancellor
• He even used it to attack democracy- he and von Papen used it in 1932 to take control of the SPD-led government in Prussia

Question 31

What else had Hindenburg done to weaken democracy?

Answer 31

• He had introduced the stab-in-the-back myth to deflect from his own failures during the war in a speech in 1919

Question 32

When were elections held in 1932?

Answer 32

• March
• July
• November

Question 33

What were the results of the presidential elections in March?

Answer 33

• Hindenburg won
• Hitler came second

Question 34

What were the results of the July 1932 elections?

Answer 34

• Nazis: 37%
• SPD: 22%
• ZP: 16%
• KPD: 15%
• DNVP: 6%
• DVP: 1%
• DDP: 1%

Question 35

What were the results of the November 1932 elections?

Answer 35

• Nazis: 33%
• SPD: 20%
• KPD: 17%
• ZP: 15%
• DNVP: 9%
• DVP: 2%
• DDP: 1%

Question 36

What were 2 reasons why Hitler wasn’t appointed as chancellor after the July 1932 elections?

Answer 36

• Although he had the largest party in the Reichstag, Hitler was not appointed as chancellor as Hindenburg saw him as a violent extremist
• Hitler was also only a lower-middle class corporal that Hindenburg did not see as fit to be a part of the aristocratic dictatorship

Question 37

Which politicians supported Hitler, and why?

Answer 37

• Von Papen, von Schleicher and senior generals all argued for a deal with Hitler and the Nazis
• They did this because they lacked popular support, especially in the Reichstag, and hoped to use the Nazis to gain this
• However, they still planned for the government to be ran by the traditional elite

Question 38

What 2 things did von Papen do to try to win Hitler’s support?

Answer 38

• He lifted the ban on the SA and SS in 1932
• He invited Hitler to join the cabinet as vice-chancellor, but Hitler refused and made it clear he would only accept the role of chancellor

Question 39

What 2 things did von Schleicher do to try to deal with the Nazis?

Answer 39

• He also offered Hitler the role of vice-chancellor, but Hitler once again refused as it wasn’t the role of chancellor
• In December 1932 he offered the role of vice-chancellor to Strasser, one of Hitler’s rivals within the party in hopes of causing internal division within the Nazis while gaining himself political legitimacy in the Reichstag, but Hitler ordered Strasser to refuse the post

Question 40

What were 3 reasons why the upper class tried to convince Hindenburg to appoint Hitler as chancellor?

Answer 40

• The army wanted to ensure the loyalty of the SA
• They also wanted to use the SA to fight the Red Front if a communist revolution were to happen
• Industrialists and bankers wanted to protect their wealth and property from a possible communist revolution

Question 41

How and when was Hitler appointed as chancellor?

Answer 41

• Von Papen suggested to Hindenburg that he appoint Hitler as chancellor, himself as vice-chancellor and that he keeps a cabinet of the traditional elite so that they could all control Hitler together
• In January 1933, Hindenburg agreed to this and Hitler was appointed as chancellor on the 30th