germany- germany and the depression Flashcards
what caused the depression
America had grown rich after the First World War, by
manufacturing goods such as cars and fridges in America
and selling them all over the world. Some Americans even
had money to spare and bought shares in companies
and businesses, hoping to make a profit. Some borrowed
money from banks in order to join this share-buying trend.
However, in October 1929, what is now known as the Wall
Street Crash occurred. Many Americans hadn’t made as
much money as hoped from their shares and decided to
sell them very quickly. But the share prices dropped as
more and more people tried to sell their shares. Millions
of Americans couldn’t sell their shares for as much as
they had paid for them. Some couldn’t pay the banks back
either and were left ruined as debt collectors took their
cars and homes. Soon, many Americans couldn’t afford to
buy any new goods at all and as a result, firms went out of
business and millions lost their jobs.
the impact of the depression on germany
Americans didn’t just buy goods that were made in the
USA; they also bought items from Germany, Italy, Britain
and Japan. The Depression meant that Americans couldn’t
afford these things anymore, so foreign factories had
to shut down. Germany was hit particularly hard by the
Depression. Goods made in German factories, such as
cars, electrical goods and clothing, were not selling, so
factories had to close down and millions became jobless.
To make matters worse, American banks demanded back
all the money they had lent to Germany after the First
World War. German banks tried to get this money back
from German businesses, which could not pay, and so
went bankrupt. People were soon living on the streets
jobless, hungry, angry, and full of resentment.
the growth in support for extreme parties due to depression
Unemployment and hunger changed the way many
Germans thought and behaved. Millions blamed the
Weimar government for their problems. People were
prepared to listen to political parties (like left-wing
Communists and right-wing Nazis] whose leaders
promised them radical solutions to all Germany’s
problems, and ways of making their lives better.
Interpretation C demonstrates how one of these
groups gained a supporter.
growth of nazi party- the depression
The Depression hit Germany hard. Businesses collapsed, unemployment
soared and banks closed, but this helped Hitler. Those voters who
had paid little attention to Hitler in the 1920s now started listening to
him. The Nazis continued to repeat their core beliefs: that the Treaty
of Versailles was a crime to Germany, that Jews should be blamed for
the economic problems, and that Germany should be reborn as a great
and powerful country. Their message was still the same as in the early
1920s, except that now desperate Germans wanted to believe them and
to vote for them.
the growth of the nazi party- germans were unhappy with the weimar government
the weimar politicians couldn’t agree on how to help the unemployed to get germany out of the depression: they argued constantly and achieved very little. both chancellors müller and brüning made very little impact. at one point brüning was passing laws by using the presidents emergency decrees and making them legal under article 48. However, when Brüning
tried to pass laws to seize
rich people’s land and give
it to poor peasants, the
new President Hindenburg
quickly withdrew his
support (Hindenberg
himself owned lots of
land]. Without this support,
Brüning resigned. For many ordinary Germans then, the democratic
system of Weimar Germany was just not working.
Some people, who had always tried hard to support
the key principles of democracy, were drawn towards
political parties (both left- and right-wing) with more
extreme ideas about how to run the country.
growth of the nazi party- the appeal of adolf hitler
hitler himself had a lot to do with his increasing popularity. he had a charismatic personality and could make people believe that he could be trusted to make germany a great nation. as a powerful and inspiring speaker, he was able to fill his audience with hope
growth of the nazi party- fear of the rise of other german extremist parties such as the communists
In 1917, there had been a communist revolution
in Russia, and the Communist Party took over all
businesses and farms. There had been attempts
by German communists to take over Germany in
the years after the end of the First World War too.
As a result, middle- and upper-class Germans,
particularly businessmen and landowners, were
frightened of German communists. They didn’t
want to lose the wealth and position in society
that they had worked so hard to build. Communists
didn’t believe in religious institutions either, so
this worried churchgoers too. From the start, Hitler
said he would fight communism. He sent his own
private army, the Stormtroopers (SA), to fight with
communist gangs. Hitler gained support from the
German middle and upper classes because he
promised to deal with the communist threat.
growth of the nazi party- nazi party structure, methods and tactics
Hitler thought he could become Germany’s ruler by
leading armed soldiers in a revolution. He tried this
in 1923 but his Munich Putsch failed. He realised
that he needed to change tactics, so he decided
to win power legally by winning votes in elections.
After prison, Hitler and the Nazis started to spread
their ideas systematically and to build up support
through an effective combination of persuasion and
intimidation:
Nazi Party offices were set up all over Germany to
recruit more loyal followers. There were 100,000
men in the SA by 1931, growing to 400,000 by
1932. The SA protected Hitler’s meetings and
tried to influence voters at elections.
The Nazi Party made use of propaganda through
new media like radio broadcasts and cinema
news reports. They also bought newspapers
and printed millions of leaflets and posters to
persuade and influence Germans to their ways
of thinking. Hitler made one of his most loyal followers, Joseph Goebbels, the chief Nazi
propagandist from 1928
Hitler himself took part in fabulous parades to
show off the Nazi power, and rallies where he
made passionate speeches.
The Hitler Youth Organisation was set up to
encourage younger followers. Special clubs and
camping trips were organised for young Nazis
where they could learn to fire guns, wrestle, read
maps and build campfires.
After the Depression hit Germany in the 1930s, the
Nazis appeared the most organised and disciplined
group in the country - a party that might restore
the nation’s greatness. Hitler used new technology
in new ways. In 1932, he used an aeroplane to take
him to 20 cities in seven days to make election
speeches. This, and his constant use of radio, which
had only recently become widely popular, showed
how ‘in touch’ and modern the Nazis were.
voting for the nazis- farmers
The Nazis are popular in the countryside. Farmers have been hit hard by the Depression; people are not buying as much food and farmers have had to lower prices. The Weimar government didn't help farmers either. The Nazis have promised farmers higher prices for their crops, a better quality of life, and higher status in German society. The Nazis also hate communists - and if communists took over they would seize the land that families have farmed for generations.
voting for the nazis- middle class
Middle-class people - small business
owners, bank workers, doctors,
managers - vote for the Nazis in
large numbers. Some people’s wages
have been cut by the government in
the Depression, and large groups of
unemployed youths are all over the place.
The middle class fear that law and order
might break down or a communist
takeover could destroy their way of life.
They want the Weimar government to
be strong, but they just seem to argue between
themselves. The Nazis promise to deal with
problems decisively - and their Stormtroopers are
not afraid to take on communists. The Nazis seem
to show order and discipline in this time of chaos.
voting for the nazis- women
The Nazis appeal to many women voters. They say that family life, good morals and self-discipline are important. Some women agree with Hitler when he said that over the last 10 years 'our youth have been exposed to a flood of muck and filth, in word and print, in the theatre and in the cinema'. The Nazis promise to sort this out!
voting for the nazis- soldiers
Hitler is an old soldier who knows the value of a powerful army, navy and air force. He promised to tear up the Treaty of Versailles signed by weak Weimar politicians, and make this country strong once more. Many young people want to be a part of Germany's bright future and get jobs in the armed forces or building new homes, motorways and hospitals. People who have heard Hitler speak are won over by the sheer force of his beliefs.
voting for the nazis- upper class
The upper classes and rich factory owners might not support everything the Nazis want, but they do support them on some key issues. They have promised the wealthy classes strong leadership and a more powerful nation, like the 'good old days' when Germany was feared and respected throughout Europe. Hitler has promised to allow them to run factories how they want, and his plans to use their factories to build weapons, battleships and fighter planes mean they might make even more money. The Nazis will fight communists too, and not let them take their businesses.
the 1930 reichstag election
There was an election in September 1930. A year after
the Depression hit the country, unemployment had
more than doubled in Germany, to around three million.
As usual, a coalition government was formed since no
single party won a majority, and Heinrich Brüning, a
Centre Party politician, became the Chancellor. However,
Brüning was not a popular Chancellor because he
reduced unemployment pay and increased taxes
for everyone.
However, one very significant event happened during
this election. Hitler, who was hoping to get 50 or so
seats (or politicians) in the Reichstag, gained far more
than that. The Nazi Party was now the second largest
party in the Reichstag.
the 1932 reichstag election
The increasingly unpopular Brüning resigned in
July 1932 and Hindenburg appointed another Centre
Party politician, Franz von Papen. Von Papen didn’t have
much support either, so called an election. The results
were astonishing: the Nazis were now the largest
political party.
after the 1932 reichstag election
As a result of his success, Hitler demanded the Chancellor's job but Hindenburg refused because he thought the Nazis were a disruptive and violent party. Instead, Hindenburg used his emergency powers to give the job to von Papen again. Von Papen called yet another election in November 1932. This time, the votes for the Nazis fell slightly, but they were still the largest political party. Von Papen's Centre Party got fewer seats too, so he resigned yet again.
new chancellor- post 1932 reichstag election
Next, Hindenburg gave the
Chancellor’s job to his old friend, Kurt von Schleicher.
Again, the new Chancellor had no support and
couldn’t make any new laws - so he resigned! So two
Chancellors had come and gone in less than a year.
Who was left? Hindenburg had little choice and on
30 January 1933, Hitler was appointed as Chancellor.
Hindenburg tried to limit Hitler’s power by appointing
von Papen as Vice Chancellor and restricting the number
of fellow Nazis that Hitler was allowed in the cabinet to
two. Hindenburg and his closest advisers thought they
would be able to control him. How wrong they were!
february 1933
Hitler arranged a new election for March 1933. He
hoped he’d win a huge victory and get the majority
he wanted in the Reichstag.
As Chancellor, Hitler now had greater influence
over many newspapers and radio stations. He also
controlled the police, who he could use to intimidate
voters and beat up opponent.
27th february 1933
A week before voting day, the Reichstag burned down. Although the evidence was unclear, a young communist, Marinus Van der Lubbe, was arrested and blamed for the fire. Hitler said the fire was part of a communist plot to take over the country. He said he knew how to deal with the plot.
28th february 1933
Hitler asked Hindenburg to pass a special emergency Protection Law', giving Hitler the power to deal with Germany's problems. Because of the Reichstag fire and the appearance of a communist plot, Hindenburg agreed.
march 1933
The new decree (a type of law), for the ‘Protection of the People
and State’, banned leading communists from taking part in the
election campaign. Four thousand communists were thrown into
prison and all their newspapers were shut down. In the election
on 5 March, due to the way Hitler dealt with the communists, the
Nazis got more votes than ever before. But Hitler still didn’t get
the majority he wanted!
23rd march 1933
Hitler had stirred up enough fear of communism to persuade politicians in another political party, the Centre Party, to join the Nazis. Hitler now had the majority he wanted. Hitler forced the Reichstag to pass the Enabling Act. This gave him the power to make laws without asking the rest of the politicians in the Reichstag if they agreed. Now Hitler didn't even have to worry about what Hindenburg or the Reichstag thought of him.
7th april 1933
Hitler immediately began to use his new powers. Nazis were put in charge of all local government, councils and the police. The Gestapo (secret police] was formed. The first concentration camp for political prisoners opened in Dachau, southern Germany.
2nd may 1933
hitler banned all trade unions. he took away their money and threw their leaders in jail. by removing trade unions, hitler had taken away a workers way of complaining about pay and conditions
2nd august 1934
By this time, Hitler had murdered his opponents in the SA and brought them under control with the Night of the Long Knives When President Hindenburg died, Hitler immediately took over the President's job as well as remaining Chancellor. In addition, he made the army swear an oath of loyalty to him, and not to the country. Hitler decided on giving himself the simple title of Der Führer - the leader.
14th july 1933
hitler banned all political parties in germany, except the nazis. the ‘law against the formation of new parties’ stated that anyone trying to set up or run another party wojld go to prison for three years. germanys was now a one party state
impact of the night of the long knives
Many of the people close to Hitler who were regarded as a threat to
him were now dead - and not just Rohm, but all the leading Nazis
who didn’t agree with Hitler.
The SS, led by Heinrich Himmler, emerged as the group now
responsible for Hitler’s security, not the SA. The SS would grow in
importance after this. They, along with the Gestapo, now formed the
basis of the police state’ that Germany had become. The SA itself
was not abolished, but was never again a major force in Germany.
The fact that Hitler was very open about what he had done meant
that he had quite literally got away with murder. Hitler had now
established murder as part of what the Nazi government did.
President Hindenburg died soon after. A new President wasn’t appointed.
Instead, the powers of the President were joined with those of the Chancellor.
Hitler was now Führer; the army swore a personal oath of loyalty to him. The
army leaders agreed to stay out of politics and serve Hitler. In return, Hitler
promised to spend large sums of money to make Germany a great military
power once more.
the national labour service (RAD)
All men aged between 18 and 25 had to spend six months
in the RAD. They planted forests, mended hedges and dug
drainage ditches on farms. Men in the RAD had to wear
uniforms and live in camps, but they were given free
meals. They were paid only pocket money, but at least it
was a job - and because more people were working, the
unemployment figures began to drop rapidly.
public work schemes
In June 1933, the Nazis ordered the creation of a new
network of autobahns (motorways] to link Germany’s
major towns and cities. This gave work to nearly 100,000
people, and by 1938 around 3800 kilometres of
04
highway had been built. At the same time, a huge
number of new schools and hospitals were built,
again giving work to more people.
rearmament
Rearmament is when a country rebuilds its armed forces (army, navy and air force J. SOLD Hitler was determined that Germany should become a great military power again, so he ordered the building of new tanks, battleships, fighter planes and SOLD guns. Thousands of jobs were created, and huge government contracts made factory owners and bosses of large businesses a fortune. These were the people Hitler had promised to help if he got to power. Hitler also introduced conscription. From 1935, all males aged between 18 and 25 were forced to join the armed forces for at least two years. Within five years, the army grew from 100,000 to 1,400,000, giving even more people jobs.
the economy under Schacht
As soon as Hitler came to power in 1933 he appointed
the respected banker, Hjalmar Schacht, as Minister of
Economics. Schacht realised that Hitler’s plans to build
more weapons would cost a lot of money and need a lot
of raw material, such as iron, steel, rubber and wood.
But Germany didn’t have all these goods so they had
to be bought from other countries, which could be very
expensive. So Schacht signed deals with countries
in South America and south-east Europe to supply
Germany with raw materials in return for German-made
goods. For a short time, things went well - weapons
production increased and unemployment fell. But
Germany was still dependent on raw materials from
foreign countries and the changes were happening
far too slowly for the impatient Hitler. So Schacht was
sacked and replaced by one of Hitler’s oldest and most
loyal colleagues, Herman Goering.
the economy under Goering
In 1936, Goering introduced a scheme, called the Four
Year Plan, to get Germany ready for war. The main
priority was to increase military production, so the
Nazis ordered huge amounts of weapons, equipment
and uniforms. This created jobs in steel factories, textile
mills and shipbuilding yards. Very high production
targets were set (and achieved] in industries like steel
and explosives production. However, targets were not
met in other key industries, like oil production. Indeed,
despite the huge amount of extra goods and material
produced under the Four Year Plan, Germany was still
not ready for the long war it would become involved in from 1939. also, germanys still needed raw materials from abroad so Goering attempted to make germany self sufficient
a self sufficient nation
The Nazis hoped to make Germany self-sufficient. This
meant that they wanted to stop trading with other
countries and rely entirely on their own resources.
If Germany was unable to find particular goods or
resources, they would find alternatives to the things it
needed, or develop artificial substitutes. For example,
German scientists found ways to make petrol from coal,
artificial wool and cotton from pulped wood, make-up
from flour, and coffee from acorns. Goering said in a
speech, Would you rather have butter or guns? Shall we
bring in lard, or iron? I tell you, guns make us powerful,
Butter only makes us fat.’
did the nazis help the farmers
Farmers had been important supporters of the Nazis. Around 30 per cent of
the population were involved in agriculture and forestry. In the late 1920s,
farmers were unhappy that they were suffering when other people were
doing well. These farmers turned to Hitler because he promised to improve
their lives. He also needed the farmers to produce more if the country was to
become self-sufficient. Now in power, Hitler tried to reward farmers and save
them from the worst effects of the Depression. He cut the taxes that farmers
had to pay and guaranteed that they could not be thrown off their land if they
got themselves into debt. However, some Nazi policies annoyed farmers.
Laws were introduced that stopped farmers dividing up their land and giving
a part to each of their children. This was an attempt to keep the farms large
and under control of the same family for years to come. Some farmers
resented this, especially as some of the children who were no longer allowed
to inherit land left the farms to look for jobs in cities. However, other farmers
welcomed the idea as it meant that their farm was secure for generations.
work and control
Through the National Labour Service, and the public
works and rearmament programmes, the Nazis provided
work. The army grew in size and weapons production
increased too. More schools, hospitals and roads were
being built, which created more jobs. Wages didn’t
increase for a few years, but at least jobs existed. An organisation called the German Labour Front
(Deutsche Arbeitsfront - DAF] replaced trade unions.
It promised to protect the rights of workers and improve
conditions. The DAF ran two schemes, which aimed to
improve Germans’ lives:
Beauty of Labour (Schonheit der Arbeit or SDA): this
scheme tried to improve the working environment by
installing better lighting, safety equipment, new wash
rooms, low-cost canteens and sports facilities.
Strength through Joy (Kraft durch Freude or KDF):
this scheme organised leisure activities to encourage
hard work. It was a reward scheme that offered cheap
holidays, trips to the theatre, and tickets to football
matches if workers met their targets.
The DAF also had a scheme to help workers save for
a car. Hitler himself helped design a ‘People’s Car’,
a Volkswagen, that ordinary people could afford.
impact of war- rationing
The German people soon began to realise how difficult
war was when they were not winning. Supplies were
needed for the soldiers, so sacrifices had to be made
at home. There were severe food shortages, and by
November 1939, food and clothing were rationed. For
example, people were limited to one egg per week.
Goods like soap and toilet paper were in very short
supply and this led to some interesting alternatives.
For example, it was suggested that soggy, stewed pine
needles could be used in a bath instead of soap. Hot
water was also rationed to two days per week. The Nazis
responded to these hardships by asking the German
people to completely commit themselves to winning
the war.
impact of war- severe labour shortages and refugees
In 1942, Albert Speer was made Armaments Minister
and was told to organise the country for Total War.
This meant that everything was entirely focused
on making weapons and growing food for soldiers.
Anything that didn’t contribute to the war was stopped. For example, beer houses, dance halls and even sweet
shops were closed. Letterboxes were boarded up.
Factories were forced to stay open longer, but because
male workers were now soldiers fighting in the war,
great numbers of women were drafted in to work in
them. By 1944, around seven million foreign workers
had been brought in from countries Germany had
conquered to work as slave labour in the factories.
impact of war- bombing
From 1942, Britain and America began pounding German
cities with bombs. Due to the impact of the bombs, there
was no electricity, water or transport, and panicked
people left their homes to look for refuge (as refugees) in
safer places. Indeed, there were thousands of deaths and
injuries and people had to be retrieved from their homes
by the medical services, which were at full stretch.
The bombing caused flooding and gas explosions, and
there was a constant danger of unexploded bombs. Not
surprisingly, support for the Nazis began to weaken.
