Germany - 2.2.1 Failure of Weimar Democracy Flashcards
1
Q
How many seats did the Nazi party have in May 1928?
A
12
2
Q
How many seats did the Nazi party have in November 1932?
A
196
3
Q
When did the Nazi party peak?
A
July 1932
4
Q
Who was in charge from 1928 to 1932? (4)
A
- Herman muller (SPD): May 1929 - March 1930
- Heinrich Bruning (ZP-Centre Party): March 1930 - May 1932
- Franz von Papen: June 1932 - December 1932
- Kurt von schleicher (no party): December 1932 - January 1933
5
Q
When was Hitler appointed as chancellor?
A
30 January 1933
6
Q
Who were the 4 key individuals in Hitler being appointed Chancellor?
A
- Paul von Hindenburg
- Heinrich Bruning
- Franz von papen
- Kurt von Schleicher
7
Q
Who was Paul von Hindenburg? (2)
A
- Elected President of the Weimar Republic in 1925 and 1932.
- Did not trust Adolf Hitler, would have to be persuaded to appoint Hitler. Hitler wasn’t appointed as Chancellor when he had 230 seats in the Reichstag because he wasn’t convinced, didn’t think he was the right person to be the leader of Germany
8
Q
Who was Heinrich Bruning? (3)
A
- Leader of Centre Party, replaced Hermann Muller on 30th March 1930.
- Ruled Germany until 30th May 1932: after the September 1930 election he essentially had to rule Germany through Article 48
- Main leader who tries to cope with all the problems of the great depression
9
Q
Who Franz von Papen? (3)
A
- Leader of the Centre Party
- Appointed Chancellor on 1st June 193
- His conservative, aristocratic background made him acceptable to President Hindenburg. Von Papen persuaded Hindenburg to appoint Hitler Chancellor in January 1933
10
Q
Who was Kurt von Schleicher? (3)
A
- Military general, no political party
- Schleicher was Chancellor between 3rd December 1932 and 28th January 1933. He struggled to win support.
- Behind the scenes, von Papen persuaded Hindenburg to get rid of him and appoint Hitler as Chancellor
11
Q
Describe the 6 steps of how Hitler became Chancellor of Germany
A
- September 1930: Chancellor Heinrich Bruning tried to tackle the economic problems by cutting unemployment pay and raising taxes. The Social Democrats refused to support this and so Bruning called an election for September 1930. The Nazis became the second largest party in the Reichstag - making it harder to run Germany
- 1930-32: President Hindenburg refused to put the Nazis in government. Bruning relied on Article 48 to run Germany. Eventually, Bruning angered Hindenburg when he proposed giving land to poorer peasants. Bruning was replaced by Franz von Papen
- July 1932: Nazis won 37% of the vote and 230 seats - becoming the largest party in the Reichstag. Hindenburg refused to appoint Hitler Chancellor and von Papen continued as Chancellor. He had little support and struggled to rule
- November 1932: In this election, Nazis lost 2 mill votes and won 33% of votes (196 seats). Schleicher replaced von Papen but he struggled to win support/rule Germany
- End of 1932: Papen saw opportunity to gain revenge on Schleicher and held secret meeting with Hitler. They agreed to form a new government with Hitler as Chancellor and von Papen as Vice-Chancellor
- 30th January 1933: Hitler becomes Chancellor of Germany. Papen had persuaded Hindenburg that Hitler could be controlled. Only 3 Nazis were in the cabinet (out of 12). Wealthy businessmen and landowners supported the plan as part of protecting Germany from Communism
12
Q
What is meant by the ‘cabinet’?
A
The most important government ministers within Germany
13
Q
Who was Alfred Hughenberg? (3)
A
- Leader of the german national peoples party (DNVP)
- Media entrepreneur: owned Universum Film, Telegraphen Union, giving him control of Weimar film, news and telegraph
- Crucial to right-wing forces that appoint hitler
14
Q
After the Great Depression, __________ growth and world _____ slowed and Germany was handicapped by the terms of Versailles.
A
Economic, trade
15
Q
Describe the DNVP-Nazi Alliance (4)
A
- The DNVP was a mainstream conservative political party in Weimar Germany. They won 21% of the votes in the 1924 German election
- In 1928, Alfred Hugenberg became the leader of the DNVP
- Alfred Hugenberg was a media entrepreneur who owned Universum Film, and Telegraphen Union, giving him control of Weimar film, news, and telegraph
- The convergence of the conservative nationalist movement with Hitler is shown by the fact that the DNVP’s traditional voter base, protestant Germans, is, according to Juergen Falter, the only predictive factor for someone voting for the Nazi Party in the 1932 German election
