History Germany

Question 1

when was Germany unified as a single country

Answer 1

Germany was unified as a single country in 1871 when 25 previously independent states joined together to create the new German Empire.

Question 2

who was the kaiser

Answer 2

Head of the armed forces, controlled foreign policy, and appointed the Chancellor.

Question 3

who was the chancellor

Answer 3

In charge of the government

Question 4

what problems did the Wilhelm republic face

Answer 4

The 25 individual states controlled
income tax, which meant the central government, struggled to raise enough
tax to cover its spending.

Poor working and living conditions were largely ignored by the un-elected Chancellor and the Kaiser who held the greatest power in Germany; this caused socialism to become alot more popular

Question 5

what did the unification of Germany lead to

Answer 5

Unification in 1871 accelerated the process of industrialisation and by 1900 Germany had the largest industrial economy in Europe.

Question 6

what did industrialisation of Germany lead to Demographically

Answer 6

the population of Germany increased
by 1910 60 percent of people lived in cities

Question 7

Industrial and demographic
changes lead to

Answer 7

huge social changes by 1910 there were 10.86 million industrial workers in Germany, making them the biggest single group in society.

Question 8

why did the SPD (social democratic party)
grow to the largest party in the Reichstag by 1912

Answer 8

many people generally faced poor living and working conditions and socialism promised for wealth and power to to distributed evenly among the people

Question 9

why didn’t the kaiser like the rise of the SPD

Answer 9

it threatend his position of power

Question 10

what was the policy Weltpolitik

Answer 10

Weltpolitik or ‘world politics’, was a policy was designed to turn Germany into a world power by building an overseas empire, growing its world trade and increasing its naval power.

Question 11

how did weltpolitik increase support for the kaiser

Answer 11

it appealed to German people’s sense of
patriotism

Question 12

what problems did weltpolitik cause

Answer 12

they where spending so much on their military power that national dept grew to 490 billion marks by 1913

Question 13

how did the German goverment change after the war

Answer 13

After the war, with the Kaiser removed, Germany began a representative democracy where every adult could vote in a system of proportional representation

Question 14

how did the treaty of versailles effect germany’s economy

Answer 14

the treaty of versailles said that germany had to take all blame for the war this meant that they also had to pay 6.6 billion in reparations for the damages done

The treaty also stated they had to give 13% of their land away including industrial coal and iron producing areas contributing to their economic problems

Question 15

what did the treaty of versailles reduce the german army to

Answer 15

it was allowed a maximum of 100,000 troops in the army

no tanks were allowed

its navy was reduced to 15,000

it was allowed only 6 battleships, and no submarines

Question 16

why did france and belgium invade the ruhr

Answer 16

In 1923, Germany missed a
reparations
payment. France and Belgium then invaded the Ruhr region to claim what they felt they were owed.

Question 17

why did the invasion of the ruhr impact germany’s economy

Answer 17

The Ruhr was an industrial area, producing large amounts of coal and steel.

Question 18

what was Germanys response to the invasion of the Ruhr

Answer 18

The German government ordered workers to follow a policy of ‘passive resistance’ (refusing to cooperate with foreign troops)
however they promised to continue paying the workers

Question 19

how did ‘passive resistance’ lead to hyperinflation

Answer 19

In order to pay the striking workers the government simply printed more money. This flood of money led to hyperinflation as the more money was printed, the more prices rose and the value of money decreased.

Question 20

who where the Spartacists

Answer 20

The Spartacists were communists, who wanted Germany to be run by the working classes. They believed that power and wealth should be shared equally among the population.

Question 21

what was the Spartacists revolt

Answer 21

In January 1919, 100,000 workers went on strike and demonstrated in the centre of Berlin.

Question 22

what was the Munich Putsch

Answer 22

-During the hyperinflation crisis of 1923, Hitler plotted with two nationalist politicians to invade Munich in a revolution.

-Hitler collected the SA and told them to be ready to rebel.

-on the 9 November 1923, Hitler and the SA went into Munich on what they thought would be a march to take power however police where waiting there for them and 16 SA members where killed and hitler was arrested 2 days later

Question 23

what where some thing that led to Hitler attempting the Munich Putsch in 1923

Answer 23

the Nazi party had 55,000 members and was stronger than ever before.

The Weimar Republic was in crisis due to hyperinflation.

Question 24

how was the Munich Putsch a short term failure

Answer 24

The Nazi party was banned, and Hitler was prevented from speaking in public until 1927.
Hitler was tried for high treason and sentenced to five years in prison.

Question 25

how was the Munich Putsch a long term success

Answer 25

Hitler used his trial as a political rally. His ranting against the Weimar government gained a lot of media coverage and helped to raise his profile.

He served only eight months, during which time he wrote Mein Kampf – a propaganda book setting out Nazi beliefs.

Question 26

how did Stresemann deal with hyperinflation

Answer 26

he introduced a new currency reigniting the German peoples confidence in the countries finances

Question 27

what was the great depression and why was Germany so badly affected

Answer 27

In October 1929 the
Wall Street Crash brought about a global economic depression. In Europe, Germany was worst affected because American banks called in all of their foreign loans at very short notice. these loans under the Dawes Plan in 1924, had been the basis for Weimar’s economic recovery from the disaster of hyperinflation

Question 28

what was a consequence of the wall street crash

Answer 28

there was a huge rise in unemployment. Over the winter of 1929-30 the number of unemployed rose from 1.4 million to over 2 million and by 1933 6.1 million people where unemployed

Question 29

what was the impact of mass unemployment due to the wall street crash

Answer 29

Germans began to lose faith in democracy and looked to extreme parties on the both the Left and the Right for quick and simple solutions.

Question 30

how did the Nazis seats in the Reichstag change over time

Answer 30

In 1928, the Nazis had only 12 seats in the
Reichstag; by July 1932 they had 230 seats and were the largest party.

Question 31

what kind of people supported the Nazis and why

Answer 31

-wealthy businessmen: frightened by the increase in support for the communists, they began to finance Hitler and the Nazis

-the middle-class: alarmed by the obvious failure of democracy, they decided that the country needed a strong government and gave their votes to Hitler

-nationalists: they blamed the legacy of the
Treaty of Versailles and reparations for causing the depression

Question 32

who was Nazi propaganda controlled by

Answer 32

Joseph Goebbels

Question 33

how did the Nazis used propaganda to win over the German people

Answer 33

Hitler was always portrayed as Germany’s saviour – the man who would rescue the country from the grip of depression.

Hitler was also a great pubic speaker

The Nazis also used slogans promising “work and bread” this appealed to people struggeling from the drepession

Question 34

how did the SA play a part in the Nazis increasing popularity

Answer 34

-intimidating the Nazis’ political opponents for example turning up at communist meetings and attacking them

–providing opportunities for young, unemployed men to become involved in the party

Question 35

how did Hitler used the treaty of versailles to win people over

Answer 35

The Nazis had consistently attacked the Treaty, calling it a Diktat that had been imposed on the German people. Hitler promised to discard the restrictions of the Treaty and restore Germany’s armed forces and its position of strength and pride this appealed to peoples patreotism

Question 36

who was von Papen

Answer 36

he was appointed chancellor by president Hindenburg in may 1932

Question 37

when did hitter become chancellor

Answer 37

in January 1933 Von Papen and Hindenburg turned to Hitler, appointing him as Chancellor with Von Papen as Vice Chancellor. They believed they could control Hitler and get him to do what they wanted.

Question 38

when was the Reichstag fire

Answer 38

27 February 1933

Question 39

how to the Reichstag fire help Hitler to gain power

Answer 39

Hitler pinned the blame on communists and used the fire to persuade Hindenburg to pass an emergency law

This enabled him to expell comunists from parlement

He announced that the country was in danger from the communists. This encouraged many to vote for the Nazis, who were seen as anti-communist.

Question 40

when was and what was the enabling act

Answer 40

with the comunists removed from parmelemt and intimidation from the SA hitler managed to get enough votes from the reichstag to pass the enabling act on 23rd of march 1933 alowed Hitler to make laws without consolidating the reichstag for 4 years

Question 41

how did the enabling act help Hitler to gain power

Answer 41

It gave Hitler absolute power to make laws, which enabled him to destroy all opposition to his rule. This removed the Reichstag as a source of opposition.

Question 42

when and what was the night of the long knives

Answer 42

many members of the SA including Ernest Rohm (leader of the SA) where planning to take over the army. however Hitler could not afford to annoy any business men or the army so on the 30th of June 1934 Hitler got the SS (his own personal body guards) to murder 400 members of the SA including Ernst Rohm

Question 43

how did the night of the long knives help Hitler to gain power

Answer 43

This destroyed all opposition to Hitler within the Nazi Party. It also acted as a threat for anyone who dared oppose Hitler

Question 44

How did the death of Hindenburg help Hitler to gain power

Answer 44

when Hindenburg died, Hitler declared himself jointly president, chancellor and head of the army this made Hitler Führer which is the absolute ruler of Germany

Question 45

talk about the significance of the SS during the Nazis rue of Germany

Answer 45

This organisation was responsible for ensuring the population remained under control and any potential threats to the Nazis were dealt with they also set up concentration camps where “enemies of the state where sent”

Question 46

what was the Gestapo

Answer 46

the gestapo (secrete police) spied on ordinary Germans and ran concentration camps. This meant that ordinary people where to scared to speak out against the Nazis as they feared the Gestapo

Question 47

talk about the Nazis control of the legal system

Answer 47

All judges had to swear an oath of loyalty to the Führer

Question 48

how was Propaganda and censorship used during the Nazis rule of Germany.

Answer 48

Joseph Goebbels ran the Ministry of Propaganda, whose job it was to convince the German people to embrace Nazi rule. This was achieved through control of the press, radio and the arts, anything that went against Nazi ideas was banned.

Question 49

talk about the economy under the Nazis rule of Germany.

Answer 49

The Nazis aspired to achieve autarky which was making Germany completely self sufficient but in general the economy was geared towards preparing for a future war. This did however allow Hitler to achieve virtually full employment through
rearmament

Question 50

how did the Nazis social policies affect women

Answer 50

Women were expected to embrace a life based around the ‘3 Ks’ (Children, Kitchen and Church). It was believed to be their duty to produce and raise children. They were encouraged to give up work and received loans and awards for having lots of children.

Question 51

how did the Nazis social policies affect young people

Answer 51

Young people were a particular target for the Nazis’ propaganda, as they represented the future. The school curriculum was altered to promote Nazi ideology and all young people were expected to join a Nazi youth organisation; the Hitler Youth for boys and the Band of German Maidens for girls.

Question 52

who was prosecuted in Nazi Germany

Answer 52

Nazi ideology centred on the belief that the
Aryan race of northern Europe was superior to all others and that some races were sub-human. Nazis also believed any weaknesses in the Aryan race, such as disabled people, should be weeded out to maintain racial purity.

Question 53

how where Jews effected by Nazi Germany

Answer 53

German Jews were the most frequently targeted minority group. Their rights were progressively taken away, including their German citizenship. In the confusion of war gave the Nazis opportunity to plan and almost succeed in the murder of Europe’s Jewish population. 6 million perished in camps

Question 54

what was Kristallnacht

Answer 54

On the night of the 9 November 1938 Jewish homes, businesses and synagogues were attacked throughout Germany and Austria.
Around 7,500 Jewish shops were damaged or destroyed. 400 synagogues were burned to the ground.
Almost 100 Jewish people were killed and 30,000 were sent to concentration camps.

Question 55

Why was there little opposition to the Nazis?

Answer 55

The ‘Night of the Long Knives’ had eliminated almost all opposition to Hitler within the Nazi Party.
All other political parties had been banned in July 1933.
Through censorship and propaganda, the Nazis eliminated opposition in the media.
Economic opposition was eliminated as trade unions had been banned in May 1933.
Germans lived in fear of being denounced by spies, interrogated by the Gestapo and sent to concentration camps.
Many Germans genuinely believed that the Nazis were improving Germany. They saw the negative side as a ‘necessary evil’ if Germany was to be great again.