Germany 1918-39

Question 1

What were the main features of the Weimar constitution? (4)

Answer 1

1. A president was elected every 7 years
2. The chancellor who is appointed from the Reichstag
3. The German people are a part of it and people can vote
4. Article 48- the president can make laws independently

Question 2

Describe the Spartacist uprising of January 1919. (4)

Answer 2

1. Lead by Rosa Luxembourg, the Spartacist group felt strongly against Eberts plans for democracy
2. They were left wing so they were communist
3. They wanted equality between workers and rich people so everyone had money
4. Was a rebellion in 1919 between Freikorps and Spartacists and Rosa Luxembourg drowned

Question 3

Explain why 1923 was a difficult year for the Weimar Republic. (6)

Answer 3

1. Pressure from Spartacist and Freikorps parties who were extreme left wing and extreme right wing whilst Weimar were in the middle.
2. Were seen as weak and had little support and the majority of Germany protested and wanted revolution e.g. Kapp Putsch in Berlin.
3. Were the ones who had to sign the Treaty of Versailles which was very harsh and damaging for Germany. This went on the cause hyperinflation and Ebert was disliked for this despite not having any other choice
4. Could not pay reparation which lead to Ruhr crisis in 1923 and Weimar did not do anything about it so were again disliked by the public

Question 4

Describe Hitler’s role in the Nazi party before 1923 (4)

Answer 4

1. In 1921 he challenged Drexler and took over the Party
2. He chose the swastika and colours
3. In 1921 he set about converting the party into a mass movement and eventually grew party to 3000 members
4. In 1920 Hitler was put in charge of propaganda
5. He established the SA with many Freikorps

Question 5

Describe the problems which Germany faced in 1919 (4)

Answer 5

1. Had to pay 6 billion marks for reparations so were very poor and people where hungry
2. Didn’t have any say in what happened to them as they were taken out of the League of Nations
3. Political instability - Spartacist uprising
4. Rebellions broke out- violence on the streets

Question 6

Explain why Hitler attempted the Munich Putsch in 1923. (6)

Answer 6

1. It would mean an increase in the growth of the Nazi party - he did it in Bavaria which would potentially mean the gain of the support of nationalist Bavarian governors.
2. Hitler had seen that there had been a crackdown on the left wing extremist groups and wanted to carry out Munich Putsch before there was a crackdown on right wing extremist groups (his party)
3. Hitler wanted to take advantage of the vulnerable public as this was post hyperinflation in the 1920s, the Ruhr incident and there had just been a new government so he wanted to carry it out before the unrest had died down.

Question 7

Describe the role of women in Nazi Germany (4).

Answer 7

1. They had to support and praise their husbands
2. Were expected to produce offspring- a minimum of 4 in the late 1930s
3. Motherhood, home building, cleaning
4. Be willing to start jobs such as making weaponry when needed.

Question 8

Explain why the Night of Long Knives happened. (6)

Answer 8

1. Hitler didn’t feel secure as the leading officers were suspicious of him and the SA - Ernst Röhm talked of making the SA into a second German army and Hitler saw him as a rival trying to dominate so Hitler wanted to get rid of anything that made him seem weak
2. Wanted to act ruthlessly to gain respect (from the SA) - executed the chancellor Von Schleicher to emphasise how powerful he is as his chancellor was quite close to him. This would make the SA more disciplined and loyal.
3. After the night of long knives, Hitler did gain respect from the army and from Hindenburg - which means he could consolidate more power.

Question 9

Explain why people joined the Hitler Youth (6)

Answer 9

1. It was compulsory for young people - and would be looked down upon if they didn’t join
2. Offered fun activities for them such as camping and life skills - beneficial use of time
3. People were happy to join - a place to make friends and there were no other organisations like this

Question 10

Explain why Hitler Youth and young people policies were important for Hitler and the Nazis. (6)

Answer 10

• —any 3 out of these 4—-
  1. They would represent the young generation - appeared in parades so had make Hitler look good to stabilise his position and increase his power
  2. So the boys and girls could grow up to fulfil Hitler’s chosen destiny for them - Boys were trained really hard to be physically fit so they could be strong and fight in the army. Girls were trained them to be good future mothers
  3. The young generation were the future - by starting to train and educate young people he can create a new world with them and they can be easily brainwashed.

Question 11

Describe how the Nazis reduced unemployment. (4)

Answer 11

1. The Nazis introduced conscription so it was the law to be occupied
2. After the depression the Nazis were committed to get recovery so they created more public work projects such as more railways, the Reich Chancellery etc so more builders were needed
3. Hitler introduced the Reich Food Estate so there was more agricultural produce for farmers and to sell
4. Autarky ???

Question 12

Explain why the Weimar Republic suffered hyperinflation in 1923 (6).

Answer 12

1. Germany had a massive reparation for allies- £6 billion to pay after the war every year which started in 1921 which was a struggle to produce
2. Halts in industrial production like the Ruhr crisis - German workers went on strike and the lack of production resulted in collapse for the German currency
3. There were no goods to trade so the government simply printed money - was a solution as it helped pay off its debts such as war loans and industrial debt

Question 13

Explain why the Weimar Republic was under threat up to the end of 1934 (6).

Answer 13

1. Spartacist uprising due to economic crisis - were like Bolsheviks in Russia and did not want democracy and created many violent protests which were put down by Freikorps
2. Kapp Putsch occurred - Freikorps lead by Wolfgang Kapp tried to protest and attack Weimar in Berlin however this was avoided due to a strike by the German workers
3. Ebert was the person who signed the harsh treaty of Versailles so he was unpopular and had many opposers - the believed in the ‘stab in the back theory’

Question 14

Explain why the Munich Putsch was not a complete disaster (6)

Answer 14

1. Hitler was able to deliver speeches which were very powerful and made him become a household name of a politician, gained publicity
2. Hitler spent time in prison which resulted in reflecting over nazi achievements and ideas what should be changed- he wrote Mein Kampf which went on to be sold in large numbers
3. It shed light on the Nazis- that they would not gain power through violence and it also changed Hitler’s thinking

Question 15

Describe the events that led to Germany becoming the Weimar Republic (4)

Answer 15

1. Germany lost the war
2. Allies offered Germany peace if it became a democracy
3. The kaiser was abdicated in 1918
4. Ebert was announced the new Republic on 10 November

Question 16

Describe the development of the Nazi Party from 1924 to 28 (4)

Answer 16

1. Hitler was in prison
2. Little progress was made at first as the party was banned until 1925
3. Despite winning by legal means, the success of Stresemann meant that few supported extremist parties like the Nazi party
4. In 1928 the Nazis won just 12 seats in the Reichstag

Question 17

Describe the Munich Putsch (4)

Answer 17

1. Hitler tried to seize power in 1923, 9 November and overthrow Weimar
2. They entered a beer hall and took over a meeting
3. He forced leaders of the government in Munich to take part
4. 3000 nazis marched but 16 got shot at by the army. Hitler was put in prison

Question 18

Describe the Kapp Putsch (4)

Answer 18

1. Freikorps (who were ex-soldiers) attempted to take power in Berlin and Weimar were not in the city
2. Man called Wolfgang Kapp lead it and made himself head of a new government and he wanted to get land back
3. The putsch was stopped by German industrial workers who went on strike
4. The putsch failed

Question 19

What was the Hitler youth(4)

Answer 19

1. A leisure activity organisation for young people
2. Was designed to control the young people
3. An opportunity for boys and girls to go on camping trips, walking and sports
4. A training ground for boys to go into the army and girls to become mothers and housewives

Question 20

Describe how some church leaders were opposed to the Nazis (4)

Answer 20

1. Some Catholic Bishop Galen critisized the Nazis throughout the 1930s
2. Niemoller formed his own church which opposed the Nazi (Reich) Church
3. Bonhoeffer also critisized the Nazis until the Gestapo stopped him in 1937

Question 21

Explain why the Nazis were increasingly successful in elections between 1930 and 1932 (6)

Answer 21

1. They were anti communist and promised to rip up the treaty of Versailles which made them very popular with the German public who were suffering from the Weimar government
2. They blamed the Jews for Germany’s problems - highly effective and also blamed weimar and communists and the Jews were also a convenient scapegoat
3. They promised jobs which benefitted the majority of the country - millions of middle class and unskilled people were out of work so Nazis seemed very attractive

Question 22

Explain why the work of Goebbels was important to the Nazis (6)

Answer 22

1. He was in charge of propaganda and he promoted hitler to the people - he was passionate about Hitler being Germany’s saviour himself
2. He controlled the the press to the Nazi advantage so they were praised and bad media was not published
3. He organised poster campaigns and made cheap radios available

Question 23

Describe how Nazi and Hitler’s tactics changed following the Munich Putsch (4)

Answer 23

1. He would have to get power by being elected than by rebellion
2. Reduced number of SA storm troopers and set up SS who protected only Hitler
3. He set up the Hitler Youth
4. He put Josef Goebbels in charge of propaganda which was effective

Question 24

Describe the activities of the Hitler Youth (4)

Answer 24

1. Boys did military skills
2. Boys did shooting and map reading
3. Girls trained to be mothers
4. Girls did nothing academic

Question 25

Describe the events of the Night of Long Knives (4)

Answer 25

1. SA were going to be taken over in June 1934
2. Hitler saw these as a threat for power so he had to get rid of them
3. SS army murder about 400 SA members as hitler cannot afford to annoy the businessmen or the army
4. Röhm and chancellor von Schleicher is killed

Question 26

Describe the different types of Nazi propaganda (4)

Answer 26

1. Radio - particularly effective as the leaders were great public speakers
2. Cinema - gathered support, manipulated to glorify Nazis
3. Speeches - focused on being the future of ‘Germany’ a lot and was very effective
4. Visuals - posters, the swastiga, photos of hitler looking good

Question 27

Explain why women were important in Hitlers plans for Germany(6)

Answer 27

1. They were important as he wanted to increase birth rate - to then bring up for Hitler’s great new generation
2. They were to adopt more traditional roles - unemployment was high but the men could get the jobs and women were encouraged to stay at home
3. They became important as part of the war effort and still contributing to Hitlers society

Question 28

Explain why the Hitler Youth were important to Nazis (6)

Answer 28

1. The boys would grow up to be part of the SS and would fight the third Reich - boys were trained in a military fashion and learnt engineering and carpentry, all secret training for being in the army
2. They were the future Nazis - were indoctrinated and brainwashed at an early age to learn about racial purity (Aryan race) and Nazi ideology so they could carry on a great Germany beyond Hitler
3. Fund raising, political recruitment, military recruitment etc all stabilised Hitlers ideologies for the future