G Reasons for more support for the Nazis after 1929 Flashcards
4 effects of depression on Germany
1) By January 1933, six million people were unemployed.
2) People had their savings wiped out because of banks collapsing.
3) Wages fell to 70% less than they had been in 1928.
4) Homelessness increased and people became violent.
Things the government of the Weimar Republic did to make the effects of the Depression worse for people
1) Higher taxes to pay for unemployment benefit.
2) Fixed time limits on unemployment benefit.
Why was there growth in support for Extremist Parties like the Nazis and the Communists (KPD) in Germany after 1929?
Working class people turned to the Communists because they saw the Communists as the only Party that would defend their jobs against wage cuts etc.
As Communist support grew, middle and upper class people turned to the Nazis, because they saw the Nazis as the best defence against Communism.
How the Nazis capitalised on the Depression after 1929 by reaching out to different groups in society:
Big Businesses
Hitler persuaded businessmen that the Nazi Party was their best hope of protection from the rise of the Communists.
How the Nazis capitalised on the Depression after 1929 by reaching out to different groups in society:
Middle class
Hitler, as a leader, persuaded many middle class people that he was a strong leader who would help the country recover and protect them from the Communists.
How the Nazis capitalised on the Depression after 1929 by reaching out to different groups in society:
Working class
Nazi posters promised ‘Work and Bread’ and this appealed to many workers who had lost their jobs in the Depression.
How the Nazis capitalised on the Depression after 1929 by reaching out to different groups in society:
Farmers
Hitler promised that farmers wouldn’t have their land confiscated which reassured them that they would be protected in the future.
How the Nazis capitalised on the Depression after 1929 by reaching out to different groups in society:
Women
Women had a role to play to rise up and support the men who had been broken by the strain placed on them by a failed government.
How the Nazis capitalised on the Depression after 1929 by reaching out to different groups in society:
Young people
The Treaty of Versailles was an injustice for Germany!
How many seats did the Nazis have in July 1932 and Nov 1932?
230 then 196
How many seats did the Nazis have in March 1933?
288
The impact of unemployment
1) The rise in unemployment significantly raised government expenditure on unemployment insurance and other benefits.
2) Germans began to lose faith in democracy and looked to extreme parties on the both the Left (the communists) and the Right (the Nazis) for quick and simple solutions.
The effects of propaganda
Nazi propaganda was controlled by Joseph Goebbels and had three main themes:
1) The Führer cult. Hitler was always portrayed as Germany’s saviour – the man who would rescue the country from the grip of depression. Eg, Unsere letzte hoffnung
2) Volksgemeinschaft (people’s community). This was the idea that the Nazis would create one German community that would make religion or social class less relevant to people.
3) Scapegoating the Jews (and others) for Germany’s ills. Jews were often portrayed as sub-human, or as a threat to both the racial purity and economic future of the country.
Hitlers Oracy
Hitler was a great speaker with an extraordinary power to win people over. Goebbels’ propaganda campaign was very effective (he used aeroplanes to bring Hitler to speak across the country, radios to broadcast important speeches and rallies to make supporters excited) and brought huge support for the Nazis by targeting specific groups of society with different slogans and policies to win their support.
The work of the SA
The SA played a part in the Nazis’ increasing popularity by:
1) Intimidating the Nazis’ political opponents – especially the communists – by turning up at their meetings and attacking them
2) Providing opportunities for young, unemployed men to become involved in the party
3) Protecting Hitler and other key Nazis when they organised meetings and made speeches
