Democracy and Dictatorships in Germany 1934-39: 'Nazi Dictatorship' Flashcards
Which of the following was more important in keeping the Nazis in power: [10]
i) The use of terror
ii) Genuine support for Adolf Hitler
Plan:
i)
ii)
Conclusion:
‘Nazism had not produced a social revolution by 1939.’ To what extent do you agree? [20]
Plan:
Intro: social revolution involves the complete restructuring of society, which in this case, would mean more power to German workers and almost unilateral support for the Nazi Party and its educational, religious, class and gender policies.
1) Education
-Many schools did not have the resources to carry out the Nazi’s complete indoctrination of children, so not change
-8,000 teaching vacancies in 1938 meant many students did not have clear views on eugenics and often teaching what even Nazi politicians were unclear about, such as race laws, meant social change was sometimes ineffective in education
2)Women
-Little change for women who were not easily allowed to get work. instead, most lost their jobs as marriage laws prevented many from finding employment
-
3)Workers
-there was change for workers, as infrastructural employment became available to many, and trade unions were replaced with the centralised Nazi organisation such as the DAF
-by 1939, there were 22 million members, and the many support organisations such as the Beauty of Labour also allowed many workers to experience holidays and outings they never had before
-however, these schemes were very limited and many factories aimed at changing workers’ lives through consumer goods were short-lived as armaments took over
4)Religion
-
Conclusion:
To what extent was the Nazi consolidation of power in the years 1933 and 1934 achieved by legal means? [20]
Plan:
Intro: Not legal once Hitler became chancellor. once he got enough power, he could openly bypass the courts and Reichstag
1) Emergency Decree after Reichstag Fire
-legally done using Article 48 under President Hindenburg
-illegally arrested 40,000 communists in a single night
-though the power he had was legal in origin, his actions were not and relied on fear of communism, not legal procedure, to arrest opposition to the Nazi Party
2)Enabling Act (23rd March 1933)
-legally voted in by the Reichstag
-as members voted, SA troops chanted “give us the bill or else, fire and murder!”, so not legal as voting in some cases was done under duress and some members were bared from voting
-therefore illegal. also completely amended the constitution. though the fact that Hitler used the Reichstag to obtain this power, legality was superficial and relied on force and violence to succeed
3)Election on 5th March 1933
-SA troops stopped people form using private booths and ballot papers were already filled in for voters
-violence used to intimidate voters
-Nazis now had more power in the Reichstag but had obtained this power illegally.
4)Night of the Long Knives June 1934
-Hitler used the SS to murder SA members, Communists and political opponents from the old Weimar Republic such as Kurt von Schleicher.
-this illegally removed internal and external opposition to t he NSDAP
Conclusion:
Nazi consolidaiton of power was not legal, but was made to appear so to the general populace. by the using the constitutional power and the Reichstag, Hitler obtained power which he then used for illegal purposes while forcing the hand of the democratically elected Reichstag using violence to further his party’s control
‘The Nazis managed to save the economy completely during the years 1933 to 1939.’
To what extent do you agree with this statement? [20 marks]
Plan:
Introduction: The Nazis were successful in reducing unemployment and avoiding high levels of inflation before the Second World War. However, the nature of the economy, aiming to prepare the Third Reich for Blitzkrieg and later Total War, meant that it was vulnerable due to the disproportionally high reliance on finance for the armaments industry, not consumer goods. The Nazis therefore did not save the economy, but simply delayed a catastrophic crash which was observed during the war when strain on the economy caused the Reichsmark to lose all value.
1) Unemployment: Nazis created many jobs in infrastructure construction which also acted as a long-term investment in the German economy, with businesses benefiting form improved infrastructure, such as the Autobahn. By 1936, the Nazis had reduced unemployment from 6 million in 1933 to 1.5 million. This could be seen as saving the economy
2) Inflation: Schacht’s New Plan of 1934 both increased government spending by 70% but also tackled inflation through the introduction of Mefo Bills which kept the value of the Reichsmark steady. However, the New Plan failed to solve the balance of trade, meaning the economy relied heavily on imports for raw materials needed both for everyday life, such as coal for heating, and oil for the growing armaments industry. The Plan did not capitalise enough on the Ruhr Area’s industrial capabilities and so failed after just 2 years.
3) Imports and trade: Goring’s Four Year Plan also failed to solve the balance of trade and did not achieve autarky, meaning the economy was not able to achieve its aim of a successful war in while focusing too much on the armaments industry which consumer goods and so limited the economy’s growth in the long term. Though it must be said that armaments possibly helped in kick-starting the economy and providing mass employment, Goring’s lack of provision for consumer goods meant the economy did not grow much beyond pre-1929 levels and so could not be seen as a complete success.
4) Capabilities of surviving crisis: The Nazi economy was not capable of surviving a serious crisis due to its over reliance on armaments and imported materials vital to keeping industry going. By 1939, 1/3 of raw materials in Germany had to be imported from foreign supplies, showing the economy’s vulnerability to a crisis, such as war.
Conclusion: The Nazis did not manage to save the economy completely and simply delayed and aggravated an economic crisis through over reliance on armaments while neglecting consumer goods and failing to achieve a state of autarky. Though Schacht was successful in reducing inflation and providing the funds for reducing unemployment through the expansion of infrastructure, unwillingness from the Nazi leadership to invest in consumer goods and to make the reforms needed to achieve autarky left the economy in debt and worse off than pre-1929 levels.
‘By 1939, the Nazi economy was ready to support Germany in warfare.’ To what extent do you agree with this statement? [20 masks]
Plan:
Introduction: Disagree overall because autarky, Goring’s hope to have Germany self-sufficient in four years, had failed, and a lack of consumer goods meant the economy was only built for arms production, which left it weaker and unfit to support the Third Reich in a total war.
1) Autarky had failed, so the economy was not ready as Germany would be vulnerable to Allied blockades as in WWI. By September 1939, a 1/3 of Germany’s raw materials were still being imported. This left Germany exposed as adequate stockpiles were not made and vast quantities of valuable materials were lost on the Eastern Front. Goring had been unable to prepare the economy for such a war and so failed as Germany was not in the optimal position to keep up production levels without relying on external sources.
2) However, production did withstand intense Allied bombing campaigns even up to 1945 as the Reich was still able to manufacture tanks and other armoured vehicles through reliance on neutral countries such as Portugal for vital metals such as tungsten. However, the Four Year Plan had failed to deal with Germany’s debt, which in 1939 was 42 billion RM, meaning Germany eventually ran out of its own gold reserves and relied on stolen gold form occupied countries; not a sustainable nor reliable source during the Allied advance.
3) The economy was also vulnerable due to its high dependency on non-profit goods such as munitions. The factories originally meant for building the new Volkswagen and other high-quality consumer goods were quickly re-appropriated for armaments manufacture. This meant economic stagnation and showed that the economy was not ready to support a war as ‘emergency’ changes had to be made to increase production. this also led to the increased rate in the devaluation of the RM, meaning the few consumer goods that were being produced or imported became the ‘real’ currency, with cigarettes replacing the RM in many day-to-day living. This economy was therefore weak and unreliable, with the value of the RM being unable to properly support the German plans for military expansion and discovery in new technological military fields, such as nuclear weaponry.
4) The Four Year Plan established in 1936 also failed to make the reforms needed to actually produce enough armaments to sustain the German war efforts. the only targets met for production by 1942 were explosives, with coal, aluminium and steel production was still well below target, while less than half the target for oil production was being met, with disastrous consequences for the German Panzer divisions in North Africa.
Conclusion: Though the economy had improved much since 1929 and preparation for war was obviously a priority for Nazi economists, their failure to achieve autarky left Germany in a less than optimal position to become the aggressor and so face an Allied blockade while its crippling debt and lack of consumer goods made it even harder to meet production targets vital for the war effort.
Which was more significant in reducing unemployment in Germany from 1933-1939: [10 marks]
i) Schacht’s New Plan
ii) The RAD (Reich Labour Service)
Plan:
i) Schacht’s New Plan was significant because it completely changed the economic situation compared to the Great Depression as government spending was increased by 70%, with heavy investment in infrastructure. this provided mass employment in key sectors which then encouraged business and investment, particularly near new and improved transport links like the autobahn.
ii) The RAD did heavily contribute to reducing unemployment in terms of figures on paper through its employment of 18-25 years olds. However, this work was almost conscriptive, so when by 1939, the RAD had 22 million members, most of these were forced into joining for very low wages in order to curb unemployment figures. IN reality, though the works undergone by DAF members did improve the economy, the wages received were not substantial enough to encourage more businesses and consumer spending, which would have provided even more jobs. Therefore,the DAF was less significant in reducing unemployment from 1933-1939
Conclusion: Schacht’s increase in spending gave the funds which allowed organisations like the RAD to function and reduce unemployment. However, it was the ‘real capital’ provided by this plan which gave more confidence to the markets to increase investment and so improve the economy overall, so reducing unemployment on a long-term scale that allowed unemployment to be reduced throughout the Nazi hold on power.
