Growth in Nazi Support, 1929-32 Flashcards
Explain why Confidence in the Republic Quickly Decreased
-Confidence started to ebb away on 3 October 1929, when Stresemann had a heart attack and died. The loss of his expertise was a severe blow to the Weimar Republic.
-Later in October 1929, there was a world economic crisis, the Great Depression. In Germany, it caused economic collapse, widespread unemployment and a political crisis.
Describe the Wall Street Crash in the USA
-In October 1929, share prices began to fall on the Wall Street stock exchange in New York.
-Falling shares meant people’s investments fell in value. Worried about losing money, people rushed to sell shares before they fell further.
-On ‘Black Thursday’, 24 October 1929, 13million shares were sold. This panic selling sent prices even lower. Shares worth $20,000 in the morning were worth $1,000 by the end of the day’s trading.
-Within a week, investors had lost $4 billion.
Describe the Banking Crisis in Germany
-The first effect of the Wall Street Crash on Germany was that it caused a banking crisis. German banks were major investors in shares on the US stock exchange and suffered huge losses.
-German banks lost so much money that German people feared they wouldn’t have access to the money in their bank accounts.
-People rushed to queue up outside banks and get their money out- causing some German banks to run out of cash.
-The German Civil Servant bank, for example, went bust in 1929, meaning many people lost their savings.
Describe the Collapse of German Industry
-The collapse of German banking then caused a general economic collapse in German industry.
-This was because, to pay out the money demanded by their account holders, German and American banks urgently needed cash.
-These banks began to demand the return of money they had lent to business in industry and agriculture.
-Deprived of the money, German farms and industry had to cut back production or even close down completely. The economy collapsed.
Describe the Unemployment Problem in Germany
-When the banks demanded their money back from German industries and farms, they had to scale back production or close. This made workers unemployed.
-The economic crisis was worldwide. German companies that sold their goods abroad found that their sales fell. They had to make even more workers unemployed.
-Workers who were unemployed became poorer. They couldn’t afford to buy as much. This meant that sales fell even further and companies had to make even more workers unemployed.
Describe the Rise in Unemployment and the Fall in Industrial Output
-Between 1929 and 30, there was a 10% fall in industrial output.
-Between 1929 and 31, this was a 30% fall and between 1929 and 32, industrial output fell by 40%.
-In September 1929, 1.3 million were unemployed. By September 1931, this was up to 4.3 million.
-A year later in September 1932, 5.1 million were unemployed.
-By 1933, 6.1 million workers were unemployed. This included 40% of all factory workers, 50% of all Germans between 16 and 30 years old and 60%of university graduates.
Describe the Impact of the Wall Street Crash on the Unemployed, Workers and Savers
-Many had their savings invested in shares. When share prices crashed in 1929, the value of their savings did too. This meant, if they became unemployed, they had no savings to fall back on.
-As the number of people out of work grew, the government became unable to pay unemployment benefits. Taxes were raised and unemployment benefit were cut, causing greater problems.
-Those in work suffered too. Not only did their taxes go up, but with people desperate for work, employers cut wages. Real wages in 1932 were 70% of 1928 levels.
Describe the Impact of the Wall Street Crash on the Homeless
-Many people could no longer afford their rent and became homeless.
-Shanty towns of makeshift houses began to spring up and the unemployed wandered the streets looking for work or food.
-Boredom turned to violence. After a while, fights broke out in the streets between police and roaming bands of young men.
-There was an increase of 24% in arrests for theft in Berlin.
Describe the Propositions Made by the Weimar Republic to Deal with Unemployment
-From 1930 to 1932, the chancellor was Heinrich Bruning, leader of the Centre Party.
-He proposed higher taxes to pay for unemployment benefits.
-Then, he put fixed time limits on unemployment benefits, to make payments more affordable.
Describe Opposition to Bruning’s Propositions for Dealing with Unemployment
-Bruning’s propositions pleased no one. Right wing parties, the middle classes and the wealthy opposed higher taxes. Left wing parties and workers opposed reduced benefits.
-Crucially, the leader of the moderate Social Democratic Party, Hermann Muller, refused to support Bruning’s policies.
-In July 1930, the policies were rejected in the Reichstag by 256 votes to 193. This failure by the moderate parties to work together made the Reichstag powerless to make a policy.
-Whereas the Reichstag met 94 times in 1930, it only met 41 times in 1931 and only 13 times in 1932.
Describe the Failure of the Weimar Republic to Deal With Unemployment.
-Unable to get laws passed in the Reichstag, Bruning could only govern by decree; he used Article 48 in the constitution to ask the president to pass emergency laws.
-There had only been 5 presidential decrees in 1930. As the crisis deepened, Bruning’s government had to rely on 44 decrees in 1931 and 66 in 1932.
-Even this was in vain- the causes of suffering were beyond government control, so the suffering continued. Useless decrees merely undermined confidence in the Weimar Republic further.
-Bruning had lost control of the Reichstag, the economy and the streets. he resigned in May 1932.
Describe the Rise is Support for Extremist Parties
-As life became harder and moderate parties failed to solve Germany’s economic problems, people abandoned to moderates and switched to extremist parties.
-In the General election in May 1928, the Social Democrats won 152 seats. In September 1930, they won 143. Then, in July 1932, they won 133 seats.
In the General election in May 1928, the Communists won 54 seats. In September 1930, they won 77. Then, in July 1932, they won 89 seats.
In the General election in May 1928, the Nazi Party won 12 seats. In September 1930, they won 107. Then, in July 1932, they won 230 seats.
Describe the Growth in Support for the Communist Party
-As Germany’s social and economic problems increased during the Great Depression, support for the German Communist Party grew.
-Whereas 10% of voters supported the KPD in the Reichstag elections of 1928, 15% of voters supported them in 1932. This represented over a million extra voters.
-By 1932, the KPD was the largest communist party in the world, outside the Soviet Union.
Explain why Support for the Communist Party Grew
-Support for the KPD was especially strong amongst the working class in large towns.
-This was because of growing unemployment, which reached 5 million in 1932, and falling wages. Real wages in 1932 were 70% of 1928 levels.
-Many working class people saw the communists as the only party who would defend their jobs and their wages against employers and landowners.
Explain why the Growth of Communism Also Led to the Growth of the Nazi Party
-Support for the Nazis grew faster than support of the communists. This was partly because the idea of a communist government scared the German middle and upper classes.
-They feared they would suffer under a communist government and that they might have their land and their companies confiscated.
-As communist support grew, the middle and upper classes therefore became more likely to vote for the NSDAP, because they saw Hitler as their best defence against communism.
Explain why the Appeal of Hitler Led to Growth in Nazi Support
-In Hitler, the people saw a strong leader who promised to restore law and order and force other countries to scrap the Treaty of Versailles and treat Germany fairly.
-Hitler was very popular. He featured prominently in Nazi posters and spoke in as many parts of the country as possible.
-He also took advantage of new approaches to electoral campaigning. For example, he used aeroplanes in a whirlwind campaign for the 1930 and 1932 elections.
-The Nazis had support from big businessmen. This provided them with vital funding for the costs of running an election campaign such as posters, radio broadcasts and aeroplanes.
Explain why the Appeal of the SA Led to Growth in Nazi Support
-Uniformed SA made the Nazis seem organised, disciplined and reliable. During economic turmoil and unrest, the SA made Nazis look strong to control unrest and stand up to foreign powers.
-The SA were also used to disrupt opposition parties. The Nazis had a stronger private army than the communists.
-By 1930, the SA had 400,000 stormtroopers. In contrast, the KPD’s Red Front Fighters had only about 130,000.
-The elections of 1930 and 1932 were violent. Armed and uniformed SA tore down the opposition’s posters, intimidated their candidates, broke into offices and disrupted their rallies.
-In 1932, in one clash with communists near Hamburg, 18 people were killed.
Explain why the Nazis Targeted Big Business
-Wealthy industrialists usually supported the National Party. But this party, along with other moderate parties, had been powerless to solve Germany’s economic problems between 1929 and 1933.
-Hitler persuaded wealthy businessmen that the Nazi Party was their best hope of protection from the rise of communists.
-As a result, Nazi finances benefitted. Wealthy businessmen, like Benz and Krupps, poured money into the NSDAP.
-Nazi propaganda benefitted too. The National Party leader, Alfred Hugenburg, was a newspaper tycoon. He allowed Goebbels to use his news for Nazi propaganda against the communists.
Explain why the Nazis Targeted the Working Class
-The NSDAP also tried to seem like the party of the German working classes. Their name, the National Socialist German Workers’ Party, was an obvious sign of this.
-They also had policies that appealed to workers. For example, the Nazis supported traditional German values and aimed to create a stronger Germany.
-To attract working class people, the Nazis also promised ‘Work and Bread’ on their posters.
-However, more workers preferred the communists. Although many working class people voted for the Nazis, they never dominated the working class vote.
Explain why the Nazis Targeted the Middle Class
-The Great Depression had hurt the middle classes. Many had lost their companies, their savings or their pensions. They saw Hitler as a strong leader who could help the country recover.
-Many middle class people believed there had been a moral decline under the Weimar Republic, with more drinking and sexual openness. They saw the Nazis as a return to traditional values.
-They were afraid of the growing KPD who wanted to abolish private ownership of land and business. The middle class saw the Nazis as a strong party that could protect them from communists.
Explain why the Nazis Targeted Farmers
-The Nazis also targeted support from farmers. In 1928, the Nazi policy of confiscating all private land (in the Twenty Five Points of 1920) was changed.
-The new policy said that only private land would be confiscated if it was owned by Jews. This reassured farmers.
-They hoped Hitler would protect them from the Communist Party which would have confiscated their land.
-This meant that farmers were a strong section of support for the Nazi Party. In the 1930 Reichstag elections, the Nazis gained 60% of the votes in some rural areas.
Explain why the Nazis Targeted the Young
-The Nazis also targeted support from young Germans. For many young people, the Nazi Party were exciting. Its rallies were colourful and full of atmosphere.
-Hitler’s speeches were stirring and promised more than the traditional parties. Hitler attracted many younger people to become members.
Explain why the Nazis Targeted Women
-At first, many women did not support the Nazis. The Nazi Party argued that women should play traditional roles in society as wives and mothers.
-Nazi propaganda made special appeals to women. It claimed that voting for the NSDAP was best for their country and best for their families.
-Increasingly, many women came to see this as attractive.
