History Germany Flashcards
when was Germany unified as a single country
Germany was unified as a single country in 1871 when 25 previously independent states joined together to create the new German Empire.
who was the kaiser
Head of the armed forces, controlled foreign policy, and appointed the Chancellor.
who was the chancellor
In charge of the government
what problems did the Wilhelm republic face
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
what did the unification of Germany lead to
Unification in 1871 accelerated the process of industrialisation and by 1900 Germany had the largest industrial economy in Europe.
what did industrialisation of Germany lead to Demographically
the population of Germany increased
by 1910 60 percent of people lived in cities
Industrial and demographic
changes lead to
huge social changes by 1910 there were 10.86 million industrial workers in Germany, making them the biggest single group in society.
why did the SPD (social democratic party)
grow to the largest party in the Reichstag by 1912
many people generally faced poor living and working conditions and socialism promised for wealth and power to to distributed evenly among the people
why didn’t the kaiser like the rise of the SPD
it threatend his position of power
what was the policy Weltpolitik
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.
how did weltpolitik increase support for the kaiser
it appealed to German people’s sense of
patriotism
what problems did weltpolitik cause
they where spending so much on their military power that national dept grew to 490 billion marks by 1913
how did the German goverment change after the war
After the war, with the Kaiser removed, Germany began a representative democracy where every adult could vote in a system of proportional representation
how did the treaty of versailles effect germany’s economy
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
what did the treaty of versailles reduce the german army to
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
why did france and belgium invade the ruhr
In 1923, Germany missed a
reparations
payment. France and Belgium then invaded the Ruhr region to claim what they felt they were owed.
why did the invasion of the ruhr impact germany’s economy
The Ruhr was an industrial area, producing large amounts of coal and steel.
what was Germanys response to the invasion of the Ruhr
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
how did ‘passive resistance’ lead to hyperinflation
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.
who where the Spartacists
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.
what was the Spartacists revolt
In January 1919, 100,000 workers went on strike and demonstrated in the centre of Berlin.
what was the Munich Putsch
-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
what where some thing that led to Hitler attempting the Munich Putsch in 1923
the Nazi party had 55,000 members and was stronger than ever before.
The Weimar Republic was in crisis due to hyperinflation.
how was the Munich Putsch a short term failure
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.
how was the Munich Putsch a long term success
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.
how did Stresemann deal with hyperinflation
he introduced a new currency reigniting the German peoples confidence in the countries finances
what was the great depression and why was Germany so badly affected
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
what was a consequence of the wall street crash
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
what was the impact of mass unemployment due to the wall street crash
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.
how did the Nazis seats in the Reichstag change over time
In 1928, the Nazis had only 12 seats in the
Reichstag; by July 1932 they had 230 seats and were the largest party.
what kind of people supported the Nazis and why
-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
who was Nazi propaganda controlled by
Joseph Goebbels
how did the Nazis used propaganda to win over the German people
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
how did the SA play a part in the Nazis increasing popularity
-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
how did Hitler used the treaty of versailles to win people over
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
who was von Papen
he was appointed chancellor by president Hindenburg in may 1932
when did hitter become chancellor
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.
when was the Reichstag fire
27 February 1933
how to the Reichstag fire help Hitler to gain power
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.
when was and what was the enabling act
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
how did the enabling act help Hitler to gain power
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.
when and what was the night of the long knives
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
how did the night of the long knives help Hitler to gain power
This destroyed all opposition to Hitler within the Nazi Party. It also acted as a threat for anyone who dared oppose Hitler
How did the death of Hindenburg help Hitler to gain power
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
talk about the significance of the SS during the Nazis rue of Germany
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”
what was the Gestapo
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
talk about the Nazis control of the legal system
All judges had to swear an oath of loyalty to the Führer
how was Propaganda and censorship used during the Nazis rule of Germany.
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.
talk about the economy under the Nazis rule of Germany.
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
how did the Nazis social policies affect women
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.
how did the Nazis social policies affect young people
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.
who was prosecuted in Nazi Germany
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.
how where Jews effected by Nazi Germany
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
what was Kristallnacht
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.
Why was there little opposition to the Nazis?
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.
