Chapter 2: Rise of Hitler Flashcards
What are the weaknesses
of the
Weimar
Republic?
EX
The Weimar Republic worked on the system of proportional representation where a political party will receive the same percentage of places in the Reichstag as their votes. This allowed many small political parties to enter the parliament and the WR always consisted of coalition governments.
The WR could not effectively handle threats from the right wing and left wing groups. There were uprisings such as the Sparticist Uprising, the Knapp Putsch and the Munich Beer Hall Putsch led by Hitler. The Weimer government did not have their own army and depended on the Free Corps to put down uprisings.
A
This led to instability and disunity as most parties found it hard to agree with one another. As a result, the government was unable to solve much of German’s crisis. Thus the WR was seen as an ineffective government and the Germans turned to parties like the Nazi which presented a strong leadership, contributing to the rise of Hitler.
The frequent battles between the government forces and these groups reflected the incompetence of the Weimar politicians to handle these problems and their unpopularity. Thus, the Germans turned to parties like the Nazi which presented a strong leadership, contributing to the rise of Hitler.
This was useful to the Nazis as they used the WR’s weakness to highlight the Nazi Party’s strength and to highlight the incompetence of the Weimar politicians, contributing to the rise of Nazi Party / Hitler.
Why was Hitler’s economic policies not successful?
1) The workers did not benefit.
Ex
- The wages rose a little but nothing compared to the huge profits made by the employers. Workers had to work longer hours.
- Though workers paid instalments to own their own cars (the People’s Car - Volkswagen), thousands paid but none of them received a car as Germany stopped making cars once the war broke out in 1939.
- Jobs were available for Men because women were forced to stop working and to stay at home. Jews were also removed from their jobs.
2) Food shortages
Ex
- War broke out in 1939 but Germany was not prepared to deal with its consequences:
Resulted in shortages of food & daily necessities such as clothing.
- Germany was spending more money to buy goods from abroad than it was earning from sales of German goods abroad.
A
Even though Hitler had managed to reduce unemployment, overall, the German economy did not improve.
what political control did hitler use in his power after he became chancellor in 1993
EX: Night of long knives
- both hitler and the army thought that the Ernst Rohm was becoming too powerful. Rohm wanted to join the army and the SA together and become the commander.
- Army did not like this idea and hitler was afraid that if he did not silence Rohm, the army might act against him.
- As he could not afford to lose support of the army, on 30 june 1934, he sent the SS to murder Rohm and 79 other SA leaders
EX: Death of Hindenburg
- Aug 1934: President Hindenburg died. Hitler combined the post of Chancellor and President and declared himself the ‘fuhrer’ - supreme leader of germany.
- the army was made to swear an oath of loyalty directly to hitler. He now had total control.
A: By getting rid of Ernst Rohm, Hitler eliminated his opponent and won the support of the army. This helped him to consolidate his position as Further of Germany.
What are the effects of Great Depression?
Ex- Great Depression was a severe economic depression sparked by the stock market crash of 1929 in the New York Exchange Market. Although every country in the world was affected, but it hit Germany badly because Germany was dependent on loans and investments from the USA. Germany suffered an economic crisis, which in turn caused a social crisis. Many German businesses could not buy materials to make goods and this led to many shops having to close down.
A- This led to the rise of Hitler as Hitler capitalized on the chaos created by the Depression by positioning himself and the Nazis as the solution to all Germany’s problems, attracting the support of the Germans.
what political control did hitler use in his power after he became chancellor in 1993
EX: Night of long knives
- both hitler and the army thought that the Ernst Rohm was becoming too powerful. Rohm wanted to join the army and the SA together and become the commander.
- Army did not like this idea and hitler was afraid that if he did not silence Rohm, the army might act against him.
- As he could not afford to lose support of the army, on 30 june 1934, he sent the SS to murder Rohm and 79 other SA leaders
EX: Death of Hindenburg
- Aug 1934: President Hindenburg died. Hitler combined the post of Chancellor and President and declared himself the ‘fuhrer’ - supreme leader of germany.
- the army was made to swear an oath of loyalty directly to hitler. He now had total control.
A: By getting rid of Ernst Rohm, Hitler eliminated his opponent and won the support of the army. This helped him to consolidate his position as Further of Germany.
what uses of fear and terror did Hitler use in his power after he became chancellor in 1993
Ex:
Using violence and intimidation
- Hitler aimed to create a totalitarian state and to achieve that there can be no rival parties, no political debate nor any other opposition. For e.g. the Night of the Long Knives when Hitler purged the SA and got rid of Ernst Rohm, who had begun to criticize Hitler’s polices.
The SA, SS and the Gestapo worked together to strike fear into the people.
There were betrayals and informers who. carried tales to the secret police.
The use of party organizations to keep watch over the ordinary people (e.g.
Blockwarts, neighbours spying on one another and children telling on their parents, etc). Those who conformed with Party ideals were rewarded for their conformity.
Concentration Camps
Hitler had concentration camps built to house the huge numbers of people who were arrested for being anti-government.
The concentration camps were for the racially, sexually and politically undesirable e.g. Jews, gypsies, homosexuals, political opponents of the Nazi regime.
Between 1933 and 1939, more than 200,000 Germans were arrested and sent to the camps.
-These people were treated badly. They were forced to work very hard and had very little food to eat. There were many deaths on the camps.
A: It created an atmosphere of fear and distrust which made the German afraid to oppose. It helped consolidate Hitler’s power as it allowed the Nazis to exercise control over the population with great success.
what propaganda did Hitler use in his power after he became chancellor in 1993
Ex: Control of education
- The curriculum was controlled tightly. The children learnt from a very young age that they had to be loyal to the Fuhrer.
- They were taught how the Jews were responsible for all Germany’s problems.
They learnt that the Germans were intelligent because they belonged to the Aryan race.
Teachers and professors in schools and universities were monitored. They were also forced to join the Nazi Teachers’ League.
- Hitler Youth Movements
All the girls and boys had to join leagues controlled by the Nazis as early as ten.
The boys participated in outdoor activities like cross-country, camping and swimming.
They were also taught how to maintain and use a rifle.
The girls learnt how to be good wives and mothers.
Children were encouraged to report their parents and teachers to the Nazi secret police or Gestapo.
- Control of the Media
Magazines, books, music, film and art were censored. The Nazis banned all publications and art that they disapproved of.
The Nazis controlled all German radio stations and only official radio stations were allowed on the air. They were used to broadcast Hitler’s speeches and music, books and poetry that supported the Nazi ideology. Rallies showed people how popular Hitler
A: The education system and the Hitler Youth
Movements created a generation of young and loyal Germans who were willing to die for the Fuhrer, consolidating Hitler’s control over them.
Through the control of the media, the Nazis repeated simple messages about Nazi aims so often that Germans accepted them unquestionably.
how was an end to unemployment was a successful economic policy?
Ex: Implementation of building projects
Hitler spent large sums of money to reduce unemployment by implementing vast, new government projects that involved many workers. For example, the Nazi government introduced the National Labour Service that employed jobless people in government building projects.
Schools, hospitals, highways(autobahns)
were built using this labour.
Four-Year Plan (1936-40)
Hitler set up a Four-Year Plan (1936-40) to prepare Germany for war. Huge amounts of money were spent building factories to make Germany self-sufficient.
Thus more jobs were created in the factories to build the guns, tanks and battleships for the German armed forces.
Hitler reduced the unemployment rate by defying the Treaty of Versailles. This treaty restricted the German army to 100,000 men. Hitler increased the size of the army to 1.4 million men.
Reintroduction of conscription in 1935 also reduced unemployment.
A large party bureaucracy was set up to provide thousands of office and administrative posts.
A:Hitler’s Four-Year Economic
Plan aimed to achieve an independent economy for Germany. He managed to reduce unemployment.
Helping to
Unemployment was reduced from over 6 million in 1933 to 250,000 in 1939. This clearly shows the improvement of the people’s lives especially in the economic aspect.
working conditions improved
Ex: Hitler formed the German Labour Front or DAF to replace the trade unions → allowed Hitler to keep the support of the workers as they still had an organisation to represent them and protect the rights of the people.
The DAF tried to improve the lives of the workers through :
‘Strength Through Joy” programmes (KdF) included cheap holidays, cruises and sporting activities for workers who produced a lot of goods.
* ‘Beauty of Labour’ (SDA) organisation was set up to improve working conditions.
A: Hitler’s Four-Year Economic
Plan aimed to achieve an independent economy for Germany. He managed to reduce unemployment.
Helping to
Unemployment was reduced from over 6 million in 1933 to 250,000 in 1939. This clearly shows the improvement of the people’s lives especially in the economic aspect.
Big business benefitted
Ex: -Big businesses benefited from the rearmament → weapons manufacturers, the coal, steel, chemical & transport sectors won large contracts to provide military & military-related supplies to the army.
A:Hitler’s Four-Year Economic
Plan aimed to achieve an independent economy for Germany. He managed to reduce unemployment.
Helping to
Unemployment was reduced from over 6 million in 1933 to 250,000 in 1939. This clearly shows the improvement of the people’s lives especially in the economic aspect.
Hitlers economic policies were not a success as workers did not benefit
Ex: -The wages rose a little but nothing compared to the huge profits made by the employers. Workers had to work longer hours.
Though workers paid instalments to own their own cars (the People’s Car - Volkswagen), thousands paid but none of them received a car as Germany stopped making cars once the war broke out in 1939.
Jobs were available for men because women were forced to stop working and to stay at home. Jews were also removed from their jobs.
A: - Even though Hitler had managed to reduce unemployment, overall, the German economy did not improve.
Hitlers economic policies were not a success as there were food shortages
Ex: - War broke out in 1939 but Germany was not prepared to deal with its consequences:
Resulted in shortages of food & daily necessities such as clothing.
-Germany was spending more money to buy goods from abroad than it was earning from sales of German goods abroad.
A: - Even though Hitler had managed to reduce unemployment, overall, the German economy did not improve.
How were youths affected by Hitler’s rule?
Ex
Hitler thought that it was important to make young people grow up supporting the Nazi Party. He set up the Hitler Youth Movement to instruct young people in Nazi ideas:
Age of ten – boys join the Youth Folk Organisation, then they moved up to the Hitler Youth
Girls joined the Young Maidens, then the League of German Girls
Boys were taught how to march, shoot and act like soldiers.
Girls encouraged to be fit and healthy but they were taught to become German mothers, having children for Germany.
Children were taught Nazi beliefs, such as Jew and Communists were to be blamed for the troubles of Germany. They were encouraged to be patriotic and told that the TOV should be torn up.
A
In this way, the planned new German Empire (Third Reich) would be sure of its continuing support of its people.
How were woman affected by Hitler’s rule?
Ex
Nazis believed that German women should only be concerned with ‘children, church and kitchen’. The role of women were to produce racially pure and healthy babies & to look after their families.
When Hitler came into power in 1933, women were forced out of better-paid jobs in the civil service and medicine. In 1936, women who worked as lawyers were also made to give up their jobs.
Women who bore many children received special awards and cash to encourage them to have more children.
A
These attempts did not work as over four million continued to go out to work.
By late 1930s, there was a shortage of workers in Germany and more women were needed to work in industry again.
How were workers affected by Hitler’s rule?
Ex
- Hitler formed the German Labour Front or DAF to replace the trade unions 🡪 allowed Hitler to keep the support of the workers as they still had an organisation to represent them and protect the rights of the people.
- The DAF tried to improve the lives of the workers through :
‘Strength Through Joy” programmes (KdF) included cheap holidays, cruises and sporting activities for workers who produced a lot of goods.
‘Beauty of Labour’ (SDA) organisation was set up to improve working
conditions
A
The wages rose a little but nothing compared to the huge profits made by the employers. Workers had to work longer hours.
Workers lost freedom – the leisure and sports activities provided for them were an attempt to disguise their loss of rights.
Many workers made the most of these opportunities but did not become Nazi supporters.
