Ch2 Nazi Germany Flashcards
Shoutout to the groups who rebel against Nazi they are truly brave :)
Political System of Pre WW1 Germany
Kaiser.
Relies on Chief ministers, chancellor and commanders of the army
Was Germany winning or losing WW1
Germany was losing badly.
British Royal Navy blocking all supplies
300k Germans suffering from malnutrition
Germany’s economy in ruins
What did Kaiser do after realising Germany was clearly losing?
Involved Reichstag in making decisions
To shift the blame to the elected politicians
What caused the Kaiser to abidicate?
Germany’s loss in WW1 and the poor conditions of the economy and starvation of people during WW1
Caused much unrest
Kaiser forced to abdicate
Armstice signed in…?
ToV signed in…?
Armstice: November 1918
ToV: June 1919
hint: 1918 is around the time of signing of A___
Who got elected on 10th November 1918?
Friedrich Ebert from SPD got elected on 10th November 1918 - Democratic Republic
New leader of the Republic of Germany
Who signed Armistrice in 11th November 1918
Friedrich Ebert from the SPD signed it
Weimar Republic was established at…?
August 1919
The new way that democrat government would work
Democrat Constituition of the new Republic of Germany
Did anyone disapprove of this constituition?
Weimar Constituition
(Includes the whole Hierachy from President to German People)
Majority in the Reichstag voted for it, but there were some who voted against it
What did the New Constituition of the Republic of Germany allow?
- German people over the age of 20 to vote (women included)
- Party representation of the Reichstag to be determined by proportional representation
President, Chancellor, Judges in courts, armed forces relation and what they do
President
Elected by People Directly
- Head of state
- Not involved in the day to day running of govt.
- Can use Article 48 to pass laws without consulting Reichstag
- Elects Chancellor, Judges in courts, and Armed Forces
Chancellor
Appointed by President
- Responsible for day to day running of govt.
- Need 2/3 reichstag support to pass laws
Judges in Courts
Appointed by President
- Settles court cases and delivers the sentence
Armed Forces
Appointed by President
- Defends the country
Relation of Government ministers, Reichstag and Local Govt.
Reichstag
- Elected by people, based on proportional representation
- Can support or go against each of the government’s policies
Government Ministers
- Reichstag
- Appointed by Government
Local Govt.
- Elected by people
- 17 Local govts. total (example: Prussia)
- Power limited by constitution
Weimar Govt. Strengths
Any party taking part would gain seats
- diverse views, minority represented (proportional representation)
Laws must approve by Reichstag
Chancellor cannot anyhow pass laws, abuse power
Weimar Govt. Weaknesses
- Hard one party gain majority, all parties gain seats
- Parties made coalitions (several political parties with similar ideals team up, vote certain thing)
- Article 48, preserve democracy/ exploited, misused
What are the major challenges of the Weimar Republic?
- ToV
- Sparticist Uprising
- Kapp Putsch
- Occupation of Ruhr and Hyperinflation
Why is ToV a challenge towards the Weimar Republic?
- Vast majority of Germans thought Germany won
- German people expected a negotiated Treaty, shocked and angry when they saw the real terms
- Felt it was diktat (dictated peace Treaty)
Why is it a challenge?
- Poisoned the attitudes of many Germans towards Weimar, violence took root in the country, extremist attitudes and voices grew
Why is the Sparticist Uprising a challenge towards the Weimar Republic?
- They were communist (leftwing)
- They fought for power and clashed in the streets with Freikorps and the Weimar Republic
- Bitter street fighting and casualties
What are the Freikorps? How did they help the Weimar overcome communists?
- anti-communist band, WWI veterans
- Ebert made an agreement with the Freikorp’s commanders
Freikorps partnered with Weimar. What happened after?
Why was the Kapp Putsch a challenge to the Weimar Republic?
- Wolfgang Kapp lead 5000 Freikorps, rebel and overthrow the Weimar Republic as they wanted an authoritarian system
- Army refused to act against Kapp
- 12 million industrial workers helped Weimar and went on a strike, all civil servants refused to cooperate with Kapp
Why is it a challenge?
- Courts set many rebels free
- No other rebels were punished except Kapp
- Political violence still continued
The first ruler of the Weimar
Ebert
What was the outcome of the Kapp Putsch, and why?
Outcome
- Kapp fled the country, hunted down and died while awaiting trial
Why?
- Although Army did not act,
- Civil servants and government officials cooperated,
- and workers went on strike
Why was the occupation of Ruhr and hyperinflation a challenge to Germany?
context
- ToV reparments 6.6bil pounds
- they can’t pay it
- Ruhr valley, their most important and valuable industrial region, was occupied by French and Belgian troops
- German workers go on strike
The problems
- Sudden halt of industrial goods lead to Germany currency collapse
- Banknotes, which were printed to repay debts became worthless
- Prices of daily needs rose
- Middle-class families couldn’t afford a loaf of bread due to currency devaluation
New Chancellor of Weimar after Ebert
- Gustav
What happened when the 4 challenges of Weimar was on them? What did the political opponents do?
- Link all problems to ToV, and blame Weimar politicians for signing ToV
How did Weimar Govt. attempt to solve the 4 problems they had?
recall 4 problems
1. ToV
2. Sparticist Uprising
3. Kapp Putsch
4. Occupation of Ruhr and Hyperinflation
How to solve?
Divided into
1. Economy problems
2. Violence problems -> because unsatisfied with economy
Therefore, it is economy problems, mainly.
Solutions to economy problems
- Replace German mark with Rentenmark
- Negotiated reorganiation of reparations through Young and Dawes Plan
Result of the plans that Gustav made to solve the economic problems
- Economy recovered, finances stabilised, debt repayed
- Democracy had a chance of taking root
When was the golden age of Weimar? When was it, and what were the opinions of that period?
time
1923-1929
opinions
- democracy had a chance to take root?
- Worst of the years averted, stability and success
- This period is just to mask the major weaknesses of Weimar
Who founded the NSDAP?
- Anton Drexter
Why did Hitler rise through the party ranks in NSDAP? What was the result of him joining the party?
WHY?
- Excellent speaker
- Argued that nationalist ideals would garner the party more support
What was the result of him joining?
- the 25 points
- nationalist policies were developed in NSDAP
Nazi’s 7 main beliefs in the 25 points programme
- Abolition of ToV
- Citizens to be favoured over foregniers in large businesses
- Union between Germany and Austria
- Generous provision for old-age people
- Racial purity (Aryan race) and Jews to be excluded
- Creation of a strong central govt. in Germany
- Autarky (self sufficiency)
When Hitler took power and overthrew Drexler, what did he change?
- appointed close allies in the party to key roles
- Goering in charge of SA
- SA turned from informal group into private security with uniforms and command structure
Why did Hitler feel confident to overthrow the government in the Putsch?
- 50,000 members of the Nazi Party
- Thousands turned up to hear Hitler speak
- Weimar had experienced years of problems
- He had the support of important figures such as Erich who was a national hero
How did Hitler first attempt to overthrow Weimar? + Date
Date: November 1923
The Munich Putsch
- Marched into Munich as an open act of rebellion, expected police and troops to support him
The result of Munich Putsch
- Armed police fight against Hitler, didnt cooperate, unexpected
- Goering shot, went -> hiding
- 16 Nazis, 4 police killed
- Hitler escaped, arrested 2 days later
- Nazi party banned
What were the consequences the Nazis faced for organising the Munich Putsch?
- Nazi Party member Lundendoff released, faced no punishment, elected to Reichstag in 1924
- Hitler faced trial, became a showcase for him as judge had strong nationalistic views and disliked the Weimar Republic
- Hitler’s prison was comfortable and he had access to books and visitors
How did the Munich Putsch help Hitler?
- Court case where he made long speeches criticising Weimar and setting out his ideas were extensively covered by news
Who resonated with the views of Nazi Party? What was the result of this?
- Powerful groups such as judges, war heroes and important business owners
- Anti-communists
result
- gained a lot of support
- contribution to finances of party
- 100k membership by 1924
After Munich Putsch and his time in jail, what did Hitler do?
- Write Mein Kampf
- He created the SS and it was expanded upon by a Hitler Loyalist (Heinrich)
- Secured himself as the leader of Nazi Party
What is Mein Kampf?
- Nazi Policies stated clearly and simply
5 Key Ideas in Mein Kampf
- Total loyalty to Fuehrer
- Loyalty to Germany, racial purity, equality, state control
- Aryans master race, all other races, especially Jews were inferior
- War and struggle is key for development
- Germany needs Lebensraum (living space), achieved through expansion into Russia and Poland
How were Hitler’s speeches, and his ability to speak like?
- Persuasive, charming, confident
- Prepared and practiced his speeches
- Speeches in beer halls
- Adressed people’s concerns in speeches
What is some hurdles that Nazis had even after garnering support of large businesses and delivering speeches in beer halls? How did Nazi Party overcome it? How effective was it? (1924)
- Industrial workers supported SPD or Communists, not Nazis
overcome by
- farming communities more receptive
- Praised farming communities for being true Aryans
- Attacked Weimar for not looking after their interests
effective?
- not very effective as Weimar was in it’s golden age (1924-1929)
Weimar Prosperity Age
1924-1929
How did the Weimar try to stabilise the economy in the Golden Age of Weimar? When was the Golden age of weimar?
when
1924-1929
how to stabilise economy
- loans and investments from US banks
- Young plan e.g. to try to rework debts
- Generous welfare benefits
Important Nazi Members (6 of them, and what they do)
Joseph Goebbels
- Responsible for Nazi propaganda
Rudolf Hess
- Deputy Leader of Nazi party until 1941
Himmler
- Leader of SS
- Involved in Final Solution
Goering
- Chief of German Air Force
- Involved in Final Solution
Robert Lay
- Head of German Labour Front
Albert Spear
- Used forced labourers to increase German production
When was the Great Depression?
1929
How did the Great Depression impact Germany?
- US economy crashed
- US banks removed investment in Germany, told Germany to repay loans
LINK
- Germany economy which so relied on US investments crashed
- Businesses went bankrupt
- Workers laid off
What was the impact on the German people when the Depression hit? (Besides US Banks)
- Slums were made
- income of Germans fell by 40%
- unemployment
When did the coalition government collapse? (after 1929 Great Depression) Why?
- SPD wanted to increase welfare for unemployed, coalition government tied to SPD refused
- Coalition collapsed in 1930
Why did Democracy fail after the coalition government collapsed (after SPD coalition was gone)
- Paul Von Hindernburg used Article 48 to appoint new Chancellor (Bruning) who was harsh
- Article 48 also used to pass new laws as parties cannot come to common consensus