Germany

Question 1

what was the Dawes Plan

Answer 1

1924- reparations were temporarily reduced to £50million per year, and US banks agreed to give loans to German industry (800million gold marks)- between 1924 and 1930 US loaned Germany £25billion

Question 2

what were the strengths of the Dawes Plan 1924

Answer 2

-reassured the Allies that they would get their reparation payments
-France left the Ruhr as Stresemen called off the passive resistance
-Industrial output doubled between 1923-1928, passing prewar levels
-employment, trade and income from taxation increased

Question 3

what were the weaknesses of the Dawes Plan 1924

Answer 3

-extreme political parties were furious that Germany had agreed to pay reparations- should have demanded an end to reparations
-fragile Germany economy relied on American loans - which could be recalled at any point

Question 4

what was the Young Plan

Answer 4

1929- reduced the total reparations debt from £6.6billion to £2billion and gave them an extra 59 years to pay

Question 5

what were the strengths of the Young Plan 1929

Answer 5

-lower reparation payments allowed the government to lower taxes on ordinary German people
-lower taxes increased public spending power- boosted German industry and created more jobs
-French agreed to leave the Rhineland in 1930
-increased the confidence of Germans in the Weimar Republic

Question 6

what were the weaknesses of the Young Plan 1929

Answer 6

-extremist parties resented the additional length of the time given
-annual payments were still £50million per year
-stretched out payments until 1988

Question 7

what was the Retenmark

Answer 7

a temporary new currency that Stresemann set up- value was tied to the price of gold, so had real value

Question 8

what were the strengths and weaknesses of the Retenmark

Answer 8

strengths:
-hyperinflation ended

weaknesses:
-people who lost their savings never got their money back - blamed Stresemann - confidence in the Weimar Republic was knocked

Question 9

what is the Locarno Pact

Answer 9

1925- treaty between Germany, Britain, France, Italy and Belgium
Germany accepted it’s new 1919 border with France, and France promised peace with Germany
Germany and the allies permanently demilitarised
agreed to open talks about German membership to the LoN

Question 10

what were the strengths of the Locarno pact 1925

Answer 10

-made war in Europe less likely

Question 11

when did Germany join the LoN

Answer 11

September 1926

Question 12

what was the Kellogg-Briand pact

Answer 12

1928- Germany and 61 other countries promised that states would not use war to achieve foreign policy aims

Question 13

in what ways were the lives of Germans affected by the policies of Gustav Stresemann? (8 marks)

Answer 13

-stopped printing banknotes- replaced them with Retenmark- ending hyperinflation- however, people who lost all their savings never got their money back and blamed Stresemann and the government
-Dawes plan 1924- reparation payments resumed, French and Belgium troops left Ruhr, US money was used to build new factories, houses, schools and roads- more jobs, more money- Young Plan 1929 saw reparations reduced too
-felt safer as a result of the Locarno pact 1925 and the Kellogg-Briand pact 1928- agreed never to go to war, unless in self defence
-Germany regained international status by joining LoN 1926- membership demonstrated acceptance of the Treaty and desire to be at peace

Question 14

what was the Kapp Putsch
(when, why, what happened, result)

Answer 14

-march 1920 right wing uprising
politician Wolfgang Kapp gathered around 5000 men (Free Corps), mainly police and ex soldiers, and took over the capital Berlin
-he wanted to take over the whole country and recover land lost in ToV
-president Ebert and the government fled Berlin. however, Kapp didn’t have the worker’s support and they went on strike, resulting in no gas, water, electricity or trains
-after only 100 hours as Germany’s leader, Kapp fled abroad and Ebert and his government returned to Berlin

Question 15

describe the assassinations during the political change and unrest in Weimar Republic
(when, why)

Answer 15

-between 1919 and 1922, there were over 350 political murders in Germany, mostly carried out by right wing extremists
-they wanted to eliminate those who were responsible for the ToV

Question 16

describe the Munich Putsch
(when, why, how, what happened, result)

Answer 16

-november 1923, Hitler and the Nazis tried to seize control of the Bavarian government in southern Germany
-promised to overturn ToV, destroy communism and restore Germany’s national glory
-planned to capture Munich and march on to Berlin. key bavarian politicians at the munich beer hall refused to support his plan. hitler pressed on with his plans nevertheless
-as he and about 2000 supporters marched through Munich, they were met by armed police- 3 policemen and 16 Nazis died in a short gun battle
-Hitler and Ludendorff were arrested

Question 17

what right wing plots threatened the Weimar Republic during the years 1919-23

Answer 17

Kapp Putsch (march 1920)
assassinations (1919-22)
Munich Putsch (november 1923)

Question 18

what was the Red Rising in the Ruhr
(when, what happened, result)

Answer 18

-in march 1920 after the kapp putsch, left-wing workers in the industrial Ruhr stayed on strike
-they took over several towns in what is known as the Red Rising
-the government sent soldiers and some Free Corps units to deal with the rebellion and over 1000 workers were killed

Question 19

describe the Spartacists uprising

Answer 19

left wing political group called the Spartacus League- believed in Communism
-january 1919, tried to take over Berlin- roamed the streets, fired guns and tried to take over important buildings, so Ebert sent in a group of about 2000 Free Corps to attack them
-after 3 days of brutal street fighting, the Free Corps recaptured buildings and arrested and murdered the Spartacist leaders

Question 20

what left wing uprisings threatened the Weimar Republic during the years 1919-23

Answer 20

Red Rising in the Ruhr (1920)
Spartacists (1919)
communist riots (march 1919)

Question 21

describe 2 effects of the Depression on the German people

Answer 21

unemployment and poverty
-when US stopped buying German-made goods, many German factories went bankrupt. as a result, millions lost their jobs (by 1933 6 million were unemployed). people were soon living on the streets- jobless, hungry and angry at their political leaders who they blamed for their problems

Question 22

how did people resist the nazis

Answer 22

-grumble or moaning- might tell an anti nazi joke
-passive resistance- public show of opposition like not doing the heil hitler salute
-open opposition- swing youth- listened to jazz music and had jewish friends, white rose group- handed out anti nazi leaflets, put up posters and wrote graffiti on walls, edelweiss pirates- beat up nazi officials and helped army deserters
-attempts to kill hitler- like the 1944 july bomb plot

Question 23

describe Hitler’s road to power

Answer 23

-1930 Reichstag election- no party won majority so a coalition was formed, Nazis = second largest party (107 seats), Heinrich Bruning was Chancellor (he was unpopular- cut unemployment pay + raised taxes)
-1932- builds on success- Nazis put up millions of posters and flags and Hitler gave speeches at mass rallies across Germany, SA beat up communists and disrupted their meetings (making it hard for them to campaign), many germans felt the chaos, violence and unstable government proved Weimar government was failing
-1932 Reichstag election- Bruning resigned, Hindenburg appointed Franz von Papen, von Papen lacked support so called an election, Nazis = largest political party
-as a result, Hitler demanded the Chancellor’s job, Hindenburg refused (thought Nazis were disruptive) and used emergency powers to give job to Von Papen again, who called another election and then resigned again
-Hindenburg then made Kurt von Schleicher chancellor, but he had little support so resigned
-30th Jan 1933 Hindenburg appointed Hitler Chancellor, though he tried to limit and control Hitler by appointing Von Papen as vice chancellor and only allowing Hitler to have 2 other Nazis in the cabinet

Question 24

describe how Hitler became Fuhrer

Answer 24

-Feb 1933- Hitler called an election- he now had greater influence over many newspapers and radio stations and used his control of the police to intimidate voters and beat up opponents
-27th Feb 1933- reichstag burned down, Hitler blamed it on a communist plot to take over Germany
-28 Feb 1933- H asked Hindenburg to pass an emergency ‘protection law’, giving H the power to deal with Germany’s problems, Hindenburg agreed (due to reichstag fire and apparent communist plot)
-new law ‘decree for the protection of the people and the state’ banned communists from taking part in the election campaign, 4000 communists were jailed and their newspapers banned
-23rd March 1933- centre party politicians joined Nazis (make majority), were bullied into passing the ‘Enabling Act’- Hitler could make laws without approval from rest of the Reichstag
-Nazis were put in charge of all local government, councils and police, Gestapo formed, first concentration camp for political prisoners opened
-2nd May 1933- H banned trade unions
-14th July 1933- banned all political parties including new ones being formed except the Nazis (Germany = 1 party state)
-2nd August 1934- by now, H had murdered opponents in SA (night of long knives in july), then Hindenburg died and H immediately took over as president while remaining chancellor, made army swear an oath of loyalty to him and not the country, decided to be called ‘Der Fuhrer’ - the leader

Question 25

describe what happened in the Night of Long Knives

Answer 25

30th June 1934- Hitler and his SS arrested Ernst Rohm and other SA leaders. they were later shot dead
over the next few days around 400 political opponents were executed- included Von Schleicher

Question 26

what was the impact of the Night of the Long Knives (30th June 1934)

Answer 26

-rivals dead- many of those who H regarded as a threat were now dead
-rise of SS- led by Heinrich Himmler, was now responsible for H security and along w the gestapo, the ss formed the basis of the ‘police state’
-rule of murder- H did not hide what he had done, his acts established murder as a method of the Nazi party

Question 27

how did Hitler reduce unemployment levels

Answer 27

-public work schemes (built new motorways, schools and hospitals)
-national labour service (RAD) (all men between 18 and 25 had to spend 6 months in the RAD, planted forests, mended hedges and dug drainage ditches on farms, were given uniforms, free meals, small wage and lived in camps)
-rearmament (built new tanks, planes, guns, made factories a fortune, conscription was introduced in 1935- all males 18-25 had to join for at least 2 years- within 5 it had grown from 100,000 to 1.4mill
-invisible unemployment ( women who gave up work to have a family did not count, part time workers counted as full time, Nazis created jobs by sacking jews and giving their job to non-jews- these jews were then not counted

Question 28

what was Goering’s 1936 4 year plan

Answer 28

increase military production, high targets were set (and met) in industries like steel and production of explosives, but weren’t met in other key industries like oil production
-germany still needed foreign raw materials so goering tried to make germany self sufficient

Question 29

what was the impact of war on ordinary people

Answer 29

-rationing- supplies were needed for the soldiers so there were severe food shortages- by Nov 1939 food and clothing were rationed and people were limited to 1 egg per week, goods like soap and toilet paper were in short supply, hot water was rationed to 2 days per week
-total war- 1942 everything was focused on making weapons and growing food for soldiers, anything that didn’t contribute to the war stopped- pubs, dance halls and sweet shops closed, letter boxes were boarded up and factories stayed open for longer
-labour shortages- women were drafted in to work in factories as men were fighting the war
-bombing and refugees- from 1942 Allies started bombing and as a result there was no electricity, water or transport in cities, thousands lost their homes and thousands left their homes to become refugees

Question 30

how did the Nazis affect the lives of young people in school

Answer 30

-teachers had to join the German Teachers League and teach what the Nazis wanted, or be sacked
-every subject was used to put forward Nazi propaganda and beliefs- e.g. history students learnt how badly Germany was treated at the end of ww1
-textbooks were rewritten to present Nazi beliefs as facts
-race studies (Eugenics) was taught- students were taught that the Aryan race was superior to others
-pe prepared boys for the army
-girls studied domestic skills such as cooking and sewing to prepare them for their roles as wives and mothers
-students identified as potential future nazi leaders were sent to special academies known as ‘napolas’

Question 31

how did the nazis affect the lives of young people outside of school

Answer 31

-boys went to Hitler youth meetings several times a week after school and to special weekend camps every month- they learned how to march, fight with knives, fire a gun and keep fit, activities were based on competition, struggle, heroism and leadership as the Nazis wanted to prepare the boys for their future role as soldiers
-for girls, the emphasis was on how to keep fit, cook good meals and care for babies, to prepare for motherhood, they also went on tough marches and attended weekend camps
-1922 hitler youth organisation was founded
-1939 membership made compulsory

Question 32

describe 2 nazi policies relating to women in germany

Answer 32

-increase birthrate which had declined during weimar period, contraception and abortion were banned
-generous loans were given to newly wed couples to encourage them to have children
-motherhood medal was awarded to women with the most children- mothers with 8 received the gold cross
-working was discouraged (hinders them from having children)
-banned from smoking, wearing high heels and trousers (unladylike)

Question 33

what were the nuremberg laws of 1935

Answer 33

banned marriages between jews and non jews and their german citizenship was also removed

Question 34

fill in the blanks
the nazis classed ____, _______, _____, _____ and ______ people as ‘inferior’ and Hitler wanted to cleanse germany of these people

Answer 34

jews, gypsies, slavs, black and indian

Question 35

what were some of the early nazi policies against jews

Answer 35

-forced out of german state schools
-from 1933, all jewish lawyers, judges, teachers (and later doctors) were sacked
-1934, jewish shops were marked with a yellow star of david and soldiers stood outside turning people away
-nuremberg laws of 1935
-1938 jewish synagogues and businesses were attacked, 100 jews were killed and 20,000 sent to concentration camps - known as the night of broken glass

Question 36

true or false, the nazis also persecuted ‘undesirables’

Answer 36

true

Question 37

what happened at the wannsee conference in 1942 and who oversaw it

Answer 37

nazi leaders planned a ‘final solution’ - mass murder of every jew in nazi controlled territory
heinrich himmler head of ss oversaw it
6 death camps were built
around 6 million jews were rounded up and killed- known as the holocaust
gypsies, homosexuals, political opponents, disabled and any other groups who the nazis considered unfit to live were also killed in the camps

Question 38

describe 2 ways in which the police state tried to control nazi citizens
and who was in charge of them

Answer 38

himmler
-gestapo- secret police force, spied on people they thought might be a threat, had the power to arrest, imprison without trial and torture anyone
-concentration camps- anyone who the nazis didnt like were sent here, forced to work hard and some were tortured or worked to death
-ss- divided in 3 sections- SD (looked after security, could arrest anyone for any reason, search homes and seize property), waffen ss (elite unit in the army), deaths head unit (ran the concentration and death camps)
-regular police and law courts- ignored crimes committed by nazis, top jobs in police went to nazis, law courts and judges were also under nazi control and could give the death penalty for telling an anti hitler joke or listening to a foreign radio station

Question 39

give some examples of nazi propaganda

Answer 39

newspapers- only stories that shows nazis doing good things, negative stories about germanys enemies, if didnt comply they were shut down
films- had to show nazis in good way and enemies in a bad way, storyline approved by goebbels first
books, theatre, music- praised hitler and the nazis
radio- under nazi control to broadcast nazi ideas, cheap radios were produced that could only tune in to nazi controlled stations, loudspeakers were placed in public to air broadcasts
public- mass rallies held to show h greatness, posters would show hitlers power nd all the good things the nazis were doing, build huge arenas with carefully choreographed shows - designed to impress and show how organised the nazis were

Question 40

why did people vote for the nazis

Answer 40

-appeal of hitler- charasmatic, good leadership qualities
-fear/ hatred of communism/ left wingers
-nazi promises of work
-unhappiness with inability of weimar politicians to deal with crisis
-frustration with democratic system