History Nazism Flashcards
What were the 7 clauses of the Treaty of Versailles?
- Acceptance of blame
- £6.6bn reparations
- Reduction in land (Alsace and Lorraine to France)
- Stripped of colonies
- Army limit 100,000 men
- Navy limit to 6 battleships
- Banned from League of Nations until 1926
Who were the Spartacists?
Communist group inspired by Russian revolution (1917) who wanted to overthrow govt. and instate Soviet leaders
What happened in the Spartacist rebellions?
First one, 200 died
Second, 2000 died
Both foiled by Friekorps
What was the German Workers Party like until it became the Nazi Party?
Led by Anton Drexler
Audience those who prospered under dictatorial Kaiser
Right-wing and Anti-Communist
When did Hitler join the GWP?
1919
What was the Kapp Putsch?
When, in 1920, 5000 Friekorps attempted a rebellion.
Led by Dr Wolfgang Kapp
Retreat after defending army refused to fight back but public strikes and infrastructure was shut down
When did the GWP become the Nationalist Socialist GWP (Nazis)?
1923
Why was Hitler sent to prison and what was his experience of it?
Nazis attempted to overthrow Weimar in 1923 but were unsuccessful
He wrote Mein Kampf in prison and received many benefits, and remained corresponding with outside
Why did people hate Weimar?
Before Weimar, strong army, industry and empire
Economic crisis
Political instability (no forceful or clear plans and leadership - contrast to Kaiser)
Why did the Nazis blame Jews?
Anger at poverty and loss of power, so needed a scapegoat
Jews signed Treaty of Versailles
The Protocols of the Elders of Zion falsely published (conspiracy theory)
Jews blamed for Communism
What and when was the Nazis first major political win?
1924 elections; 32 seats won
How many seats did they win in 1928?
12
Why did they lose seats in 1928?
People were becoming happier under Weimar (Stresemann led them to be more secure and prosperous)
Marketed to workers, but they were comfortable with socialism, and communism appealed to their ideals so wouldn’t use as scapegoat
What was the party membership in 1928?
100,000 (3% population)
What was the Nazi ideology?
- German people were enslaved under democracy, especially workers
- Other groups (Allies, Jews, wealthy people) exploited Germany (reason for economic struggles)
- German men have rights to power and land
What is ‘negative cohesion’?
When, instead of sharing views, people share hatreds
How many seats did the Nazis get in 1930?
107
How many seats did the Nazis get in 1932?
About 200
What was Goebbels propaganda like?
Forceful slogans (not policies or any actionable points)
Ubiquitous
How did the SS and SA contribute to the Nazi appearance of strength?
Led parades and marches, creating an illusion of discipline and order where all else was chaos
What is the significance of Neidenburg?
A region that had no Nazi party, but popularity of the Nazis there grew from 2.3% to 25% from 1928 to 1931
What did the Chancellor do that lost Weimar popularity further?
Cut government spending and welfare
By how much did wages drop after the Wall Street Crash?
40%
In 1933 who was running the country?
Hindenburg
When and why was Hitler offered the Chancellor position?
Hindenburg confidently believed he could limit his power.
When was the Reichstag fire?
27th Feb 1933
Who was blamed for the Reichstag Fire?
Dutch Communist Martin van der Lubbe
What act did Hitler pass the day after the Reichstag Fire, and what power did it give him?
The Enabling Act, which lost the public many civil rights (freedom to assemble and of speech, press suspended, house searches without warrant, government could listen to phone calls and read post, orders of confiscation) as an emergency measure to stop communism (apparently).
What was the SA?
The Sturmabteilung, which was an organisation led by Ernst Rohm and which had existed since the start of the Nazi Party. 4 million members (who weren’t soldiers) wore brown uniforms and supported Nazis with election campaigns and intimidation of opponents.
What was the SS?
The Schutzstaffel (led by Heinrich Himmler) was created in 1925 to protect Nazi officials and Hitler. They were elite soldiers who wore black uniforms. After 1933, had the power to arrest without trial.
Why don’t the SA and SS go against the Treaty of Versailles?
They are private armies
Why does Hitler consider the SA a threat?
He doesn’t trust Rohm and thinks he could be overthrown with 4m men
How many SAs were assassinated in the Night of the Long Knives?
400 including Rohm
What date was the Night of the Long Knives?
30th June 1934
What did Hindenburg and the army do after the NotLK?
Thank Hitler publically
What happened on the 2nd August 1934?
The army swore absolute, personal loyalty to Hitler and he became Supreme Leader (Führer)
When was the law against formation of new parties passed?
14th July 1933
What was the Nazi’s education philosophy?
Teaching boys to be soldiers and girls to be wives and mothers
Before it became compulsory, what percentage of children attended Nazi Youth groups?
50% boys and 15% girls
When was membership of Nazi Youth groups made mandatory?
1939
What methods of indoctrination were used in youth groups?
Singing patriotic songs, uniform, ‘drill’ and marching (given right of way and felt important), given gifts, oaths to Führer, ‘Race Theory’, exclusion of Jews, told to tell on own families, rewrote textbooks to give Nazi view of history
Who were the Gestapo?
Secret state police who could arrest on suspicion and came in the night with no warning (most feared by public). Commanded by Reinhard Heydrich.
What was Kristallnacht?
A pogrom in Nov 1938 where the SS took violent revenge (a Jew had killed a German diplomat), destroying businesses and houses and taking Jews to concentration camps
How many Jews died on Kristallnacht, and how many were taken to concentration camps?
91 died and 20,000 deported
What was the German air force called?
The Luftwaffe
When did Hitler introduce conscription, and what was his army goal size?
March 1935 and 500,000 men
What was the first place Hitler occupied? Why was there no fighting back?
The Rhineland
The French wouldn’t act alone and Britain saw no reason to risk war to stop Hitler ‘marching into his own backyard’. The Allies were too poor and scared of war.
What were the names of (a) the informal agreement between Italy and Germany and (b) the agreement between Italy, Japan and Germany of hostility to the Soviet Union?
(a) The Rome-Berlin Axis
(b) The Anti-Comintern Pact
What was the Pact of Steel?
The formal military alliance of 1939 between Germany and Italy, and in 1940 Japan
How did the Anschluss happen?
Nazi Austrians were causing disorder and causing fights and demonstrations. The German army were invited in by the Pro-Nazi government to restore order. There was a public vote, with 99.75% supposedly in favour (Gestapo at polls). Britain and France didn’t oppose the move at all.
Why did Hitler supposedly want the Sudetenland?
To protect the 3 million Germans there who were being ‘mistreated’
What was the Munich Conference?
The meeting in September 1938 where Britain and France backed down and let Hitler take the Sudetenland in return for not taking any more of Czechoslovakia.
What happened in March 1939?
Hitler invaded the rest of Czechoslovakia and Britain and France promised to intervene if Poland was annexed.
When was the invasion of Poland?
August 1939 (war was declared 3rd Sept)
