Weimer Germany (B2) Flashcards
(14 cards)
GERMAN HYPERINFLATION (EARLY 1920s)
Causes:
* Rapid increase in money printing to pay striking Ruhr workers (passive resistance to French/Belgian occupation).
* High inflation after WWI worsened.
* Gov’t debt & reparations.
IMPACTS OF HYPERINFLATION
Effects:
* Extreme price increases (e.g., bread: 0.3 marks (1918) to 200 billion marks (Nov 1923)).
* Mark’s value plummeted (USD 1 = 4.2 trillion marks by Nov 1923).
* Economic chaos, social unrest, hardship.
* Rise of extremist movements (e.g., Nazis).
GUSTAV STRESEMANN (GERMAN FOREIGN MINISTER)
- 1923: Chancellor for 103 days, then Foreign Minister (until death).
- Aims: End passive resistance, stabilize economy, revise Versailles Treaty.
- Policies:
- Called off Ruhr passive resistance.
- Introduced new currency (Rentenmark) to combat hyperinflation.
- Negotiated Dawes Plan (reparations).
- Improved foreign relations.
- Impact: Economic recovery, greater international standing.
- Challenges: Opposition from right-wing, fragile coalitions.
- Significance: Key figure in Weimar Republic’s recovery (briefly).
THE DAWES PLAN
- Aim: Help Germany pay reparations & stabilize its economy.
- Key Points:
- Reparation payments reduced & restructured.
- US loans to Germany ($800 million).
- Allied control over key German institutions eased.
- Impact:
- German economic recovery (1925-1929).
- Increased industrial output & efficiency.
- Foreign investment in Germany.
- Temporary period of stability.
- Limitations: Germany remained dependent on foreign loans.
STRESEMANN’S FOREIGN POLICY
- Aims: Restore German power, improve European relations, revise Versailles.
- Key Achievements:
- Locarno Treaties (1925): Secured western borders, improved relations with France/Belgium.
- League of Nations (1926): Germany admitted, gained international standing.
- Young Plan: Further reduced reparations.
- Approach: Pragmatic, focused on negotiation (“policy of fulfillment”).
- Significance: Achieved greater stability & respect for Germany.
- Criticism: Seen by some nationalists as accepting Versailles.
ADOLF HITLER JOINS THE NAZI PARTY
- Early Life: Austrian, Pan-German nationalist, WWI veteran.
- Post-WWI: Army intelligence, monitored political groups.
- DAP (German Workers’ Party): Small nationalist group, Drexler a founder. Hitler joined Sept 1919 (member #555).
- Hitler’s Role: Powerful orator, pushed radical nationalist & anti-communist views.
- Feb 1920: DAP’s 25-Point Program (nationalist, socialist elements).
- April 1920: DAP renamed NSDAP (Nazi Party).
- Significance: Hitler’s early involvement crucial for the party’s rise.
THE STURMABTEILUNG (SA)
- Est: Aug 1921, Nazi paramilitary wing.
- Membership: Early: WWI veterans, unemployed. By 1923: ~70,000.
- Role: Party protection, intimidation, street violence against opponents.
- Ideology: Extreme nationalist, anti-communist, anti-Semitic.
- Activities: Disrupting meetings, street brawls, enforcing party views.
- Rise: Grew due to post-war instability, unemployment, Nazi promises.
- Significance: Key in Nazi Party’s rise through violence & intimidation.
THE MUNICH PUTSCH
(Nov 1923)
* Context: Hyperinflation, political instability, right-wing discontent.
* Leaders: Hitler (Nazi Party), Ludendorff (WWI General).
* Events (Nov 8-9):
* Hitler/SA disrupt political meeting, demand national revolution.
* Forced support from local Bavarian leaders.
* March on Munich, met by police fire.
* Outcome: Putsch failed. 16 Nazis killed. Hitler arrested.
* Significance:
* Showed Nazi weakness but gained national attention.
* Hitler’s trial used for propaganda.
* Led to a shift in Nazi strategy (legal means to power).
* Hitler sentenced to 5 years (served 9 months).
ECONOMIC PROSPERITY
Positives:
* Industrial production increased.
* Wages rose (though unevenly).
* Working hours improved.
* Increased social welfare support.
* New German prosperity reliant on US loans.
Negatives & Fragilities:
* Agricultural production struggled.
* Farmers in debt/bankruptcies.
* High unemployment (though decreasing).
* Economic growth depended on foreign loans.
* Gustav Stresemann: “The economic position is only flourishing on the surface. Germany is in fact dancing on a volcano.”
POLITICAL STABILITY?
Signs of Stability:
* End of extreme isolation.
* Locarno Pact improved relations.
* Accepted into League of Nations (1926).
* Allied troops withdrew from Rhineland.
* Elections showed moderate gains.
Signs of Instability:
* Fragile economy.
* History of rebellions (Spartacist, Kapp, Munich Putsch).
* No major coup attempts after 1923, but extremist presence.
* Political coalitions often short-lived.
* Right-wing extremism & paramilitary violence persisted.
* Middle class worried by economic issues.
* Anti-democratic nationalists influential.
* Lack of deep commitment to parliamentary government.
WELFARE STATE?
- Extensive system: pensions, health insurance, unemployment insurance.
- Beneficiaries: war veterans, young people, disabled, etc.
- Significant investment in social infrastructure (housing, hospitals).
Scale & Cost: - By 1927: 17 million workers covered by unemployment.
- Extremely expensive (26% of GDP in 1926 - highest in Europe).
- Growing budget deficit due to welfare spending.
- Bureaucracy expanded significantly.
Reactions & Issues: - Many Germans resented cost (higher taxes).
- Richer Germans felt unfairly burdened.
- Welfare system criticized as inadequate for recipients.
- Welfare officials sometimes treated recipients poorly.
ART, MUSIC AND CINEMA IN WEIMER GERMANY
- Berlin: Artistic center, freedom & experimentation.
- Art: Influenced by Dadaism (anti-bourgeois), New Objectivity (realistic, social critique). Key artists: Dix, Grosz, Kollwitz.
- Music: Modern composers (Weill, Schoenberg, Berg) explored atonal music, jazz influence. Cabaret popular, reflected social issues.
- Cinema: Boomed in 1920s. Expressionist style (dark themes, atmosphere). Films like Metropolis offered social commentary. Faced funding shortages.
DEGENERATE CULTURE?
- Right-wing/middle-class view: Weimar art seen as ugly, immoral, undermining traditional German values.
- Accusations: Obsessed with crime, deviance, sexual liberation. Blamed on “Jewish” influence.
- Social Changes Criticized: Greater freedoms for women, declining birthrate, economic independence.
- “Degenerate” Art: Abstract art, atonality in music targeted. Seen as foreign, un-German.
- Jazz: Disliked for its connection to African-American culture.
- Einstein’s Relativity: Dismissed as “Jewish physics.”
- Underlying Fear: Erosion of traditional family, morality, and national identity.
SEXUALITY AND GENDER
- Weimar Republic: Period of greater sexual freedom.
- Homosexuality: Technically illegal, but laws less strictly enforced. Gay/lesbian subculture emerged (bars, magazines).
- Women: Increased rights, more visible in art/cinema/theater.
- Social Attitudes: More liberal towards contraception, sexual imagery.
- Challenges to Norms: Films explored different gender roles. Cross-dressing, lesbian relationships depicted.
- Research & Activism: Institute for Sexual Research founded (Hirschfeld). Advocated for LGBT rights. Medical/psychological clinics offered services.
