Hitler & Nazi Germany Flashcards
1
Q
Effect of WW1 on Germany
6
A
- Two million Germans dead, and six million injured
- Soldiers believed that the war was pointless, so began to refuse the Kaiser’s orders
- Many civillians had joined revolutionary groups looking to end the war
- Politicians urged the Kaiser to abdicate the throne to restore order, which he did
- Germany became a republic and the Weimar government was formed
- Chancellorship was given to Friedrich Ebert (SPD)
2
Q
Features of the Weimar Republic
7
A
- All people over the age of 20 could vote
- German citizens guaranteed freedom of speech & religion
- German citizens to be equal with eachother
- Reichstag made laws and appointed goverment & chancellor
- No parties could gain majority, country run by coalitions
- Article 48: president could take over Germany in emergency
- Allowed for people to vote parties instead of candidates - lead to small parties
3
Q
Discontent with the Weimar Republic
6
A
- Signed the Treaty of Versailles which had negative effects and was disliked by Germany
- Germans were not used to democrac
- Economic problems such as high unemployment and hyperinflation
- Coalition parties struggle to come to agreements, policies never put into place
- Many attempted revolutions such as the spartacists and munich putsch
- ‘Old’ civil service and judges remained loyal to old ways, still anti-weimar teachers and professors teaching
4
Q
Terms of the Treaty of Versailles
6
A
- Guilt: Germany had to accept full blame for the war (‘War Guilt Clause’ - article 231)
- Army: 100,000 men, no airforce or navy, only six battleships
- Reparations: had to pay £6.6 billion
- Germany lost land: Had to give alsace-lorraine back to France, lost overseas colonies.
- League of Nations: Germany prevented from joining
- Extra: Germany banned from union with Austria
5
Q
Spartacist Revolt Events
6
A
- Spartacists (communists) organised protest in Berlin
- Took over newspaper offices, railway stations and a brewery
- Protesters had no plans and awaited instructions
- Friekorp controlled revolt and captured 700 civillians
- Leaders (Rosa Luxembough & Karl Liebnicht) killed
- SPD and KPD refused to unite and oppose the Nazis in 1930s
- Germany did not become a communist country as a result
6
Q
Kapp Putsch Events
4
A
- 5000 armed Friekorp members stormed Berlin
- Army refused to shoot the Friekorp so the revolt continued
- Wolfgang Kapp became the leader of the revolt
- Kapp is imprisoned and Weimar returns to power alongside Ebert
7
Q
Munich Putsch Events
6
A
- 8th November 1923: Hitler and the SA interrupted a meeting between Bavarian politicians and threatened violence
- Kahr, general von lossow (army leader) and colonel von seisser (head of Bavarian police) locked in room and forced to admit public support for Nazis
- Hitler left the beer hall to oversee dashes between SA and German army
- People allowed to leave to inform their wives, but instead informed the police
- Support for the Nazis was retracted
- Nazis marched into the centre of Munich and were confronted by police & army - shots were fired
8
Q
Invasion of the Ruhr Events
5
A
- Germany claimed they could not pay reparations for next 3 years but French didn’t believe them
- January 1923: 60,000 soldiers from France & Belguim invaded Ruhr region
- Aimed to take unpaid payments
- Wanted to take control of industries
- Ruhr workers went on strike
9
Q
Hyperinflation Effects
6
A
- Fixed pensions became worthless for the elderly
- Savings in banks became worthless - nothing to fall back on
- Businesses could not profit and went bankrupt
- Salaries in regular jobs increased to combat hyperinflation
- Farmers were able to grow their own food - lower class did not suffer as much
- Upper class protected due to owning land, posessions and investments in foreign currency
10
Q
Appeal of the Nazis
6
A
- Hitler had good charm and charisma - was a good speaker
- Hitler provided someone to blame for Germany’s problems - Jews & Communists
- SA wore uniforms and appeared as neat and strong - Germans admired their formation and commitment
- Propaganda was spread in mass
- Hitler promised to tear up the terms of the Treaty of Versailles
- Hitler also promised to improve unemployment in Germany
11
Q
Reichstag Fire Events
5
A
- 27th February 1933: Recihstag caught fire
- Dutch communist Marinus van der Lubbe was found inside the Reichstag with fire starting equipment
- Van der Lubbe was charged and beheaded for his alleged crime
- Hitler blamed the fire on the Communists and said it was carried out by terrorists
- Hitler persuades Hindenburg to pass on an emergency decree suspending freedoms
12
Q
Enabling act
6
A
- Goebbels banned communist and socialist newspapers
- 50,000 SA men became police ‘auxillaries’, which gave them police powers via wearing a white arm band
- Rights such as freedom of speech, press and assembly removed
- Only Nazis and Nationalists could run election campaigns
- Police given emergency powers to search houses, take property and detain without trial
- Police could ban opposing political meetings and send participants to concentration camps
13
Q
Nazis Consolidation of Power
6
A
- Hitler split Germany into 42 Gaus which allowed Nazis control of local government
- Trade unions were abolished and leaders arrested
- Hitler able to set up German Labour Front and control workers
- Hitler came to an agreement with the pope to not interfere with the catholic church as long as he could rule Germany: allowed him to ban Catholic Zentrum Party without opposition
- All political parties were banned, so Nazis could no longer be voted out
- Peoples courts set up where judges had to swear an oath to Hitler and listen to him instead of evidence
14
Q
Night of the Long Knives Events
4
A
- Hitler aimed to defeat all opposition
- Army and SA were against eachother - egged on by Himmler
- Hitler arrested Ernst Rohm in his bedroom - he was threatened by Hitler and 2 armed SS men
- Estimated that over 200 were killed
15
Q
Life & Control of Nazi Germany
6
A
- Gestapo used to inform on anti-Nazis
- Hitler set up a state Reich church which banned the bible and cross
- Conscription introduced in 1936 to force men into war
- Boys taught science and maths whilst girls taught cookery - shaped them into Nazi ideals
- Things such as jazz music and Jewish authored books were banned
- Censorship occured and Nazi propaganda was pushed
16
Q
Intimidation & Terror
4
A
- S.S acted as Hitler’s personal bodyguards
- Gestapo worked as secret informants, and carried out the capture and execution of undesirables (e.g: Jews and communists)
- People’s courts almost always gave guilty verdicts
- Concentration camps introduced to hold political prisoners - poor conditions
17
Q
Persecution of Minorities
6
A
- Disabled people put to death through euthanasia programme
- 5000 severely disabled babies and children killed by injection/starvation in special hospitals
- Marriage between Germans and Gypsies banned
- 1939 - Gypsies confined to designayed sites
- Gay people branded as failing in their reproductive duties
- Jehovah’s witnesses detained in prisons and camps as they were seen as unwilling to accept authority
18
Q
Persecution of Jews
6
A
- Jewish and ‘Aryans’ were prevented from having relationships
- Teachers would humiliate and ridicule Jewish pupils
- Kristallnacht: Jewish synagogues burnt and Jewish property vandalised
- Jewish children prevented from attending school
- Jewish shops marked with stars or word ‘Juden’
- 1937: Anti-Semetic exhibition in Munich
19
Q
Methods of Resistance
6
A
- Communist & Socialist workers distributed leaflets and illegal materials opposing the Nazis
- 1939: Georg Elser attempted to assassinate Nazi leaders on the anniversary of the Munich Putsch
- Protestant church leaders attempted to block Nazi interference
- Some Catholic bishops prevented Catholics from joining the Nazi party
- Swingjugend opposed Nazi values and resisted by listening to swing and jazz music
- Edelweiss avoided joining the Hitler youth and beat up members
20
Q
Failures of Resistance
6
A
- Edelweiss Pirates were rounded up by the Gestapo and released with shaved heads to shame them - some sent to youth concentration camps or prison
- By 1939, 150,000 communists and socialist workers were detained in camps 30,000 were executed
- Hitler departed early so Georg Elser’s assassination attempt failed - he admitted guilt after interrogation
- Bonhoeffer was executed for his conspiracy to overthrow the Nazis, and Niemoller spent seven years in concentration camps for speaking critically of Hitlr
- Ban against joining the Nazi party as a Catholic church goer ended with the signing of the Concordat in 1933
- Many Catholic Church leaders were murdered during the Night of the Long Knives in 1934
21
Q
Why Resitance to the Nazis Was Difficult
6
A
- Night of the Long Knives had eliminated opposition within the Nazi party
- Political parties had been banned, so no way to vote Nazis out
- Media opposition eliminated through censorship and propaganda
- Economic opposition eliminated with the ban of trade unions
- Gestapo intimidated Germans into not speaking bad about the Nazis
- Many believed that the Nazis were good for Germany and that the negative side was necessary evil
22
Q
Nazi Propaganda
6
A
- Parades held on special occassions which featured Swastikas and Nazi leader speeches
- Non-Nazi magazines and newspapers shut down - editors told what they could and couldn’t publish
- Students in Berlin encouraged to burn 20,000 books written by communist and Jewish authors
- All films had a 45 minute newsreel shown beforehand which glorified the Nazis - mandatory to watch
- Loud speakers placed in streets to broadcast Nazi radio and speeches
- Law against malicious gossip prevented the telling of anti Nazi jokes and stories
23
Q
Nazi Economy
6
A
- Hitler set up National Labour Service to provide promised jobs to men
- Bosses could no longer suddenly sack employees
- Hitler increased the military in order to make Germany strong and independent - if you were military you did not count as unemployed
- Jews and women forced out of their jobs to create new ones
- German scientists developed substitutes for imported goods to save money
- Hitler promoted autarky and encouraged the growth of the car industry and artificial substances
24
Q
Militarism:
Nazi Social Policies
4
A
- Increased amount of weapons, airforce and navy for the army
- Size of army increased from 100,000 to 1,400,000
- Conscription introduced in 1935
- Ambitious re-armament programmed introduced
25
Q
Youth:
Nazi Social Policies
4
A
- Boys taught physical excellency in groups progressing to the Hitler Youth
- Also taught skills which they would use as soldiers
- Girls taught how to be good mothers and housewives in groups progressing to the League of German Maidens
- Taught skills such as sewing and cookery
26
Q
Education:
Nazi Social Policies
4
A
- Anti-Nazi and Jewish teachers were sacked
- Schools subjects given a pro-Nazi bias
- Textbooks rewritten to emphasise Nazi ideals
- History taught to glorify Germany
27
Q
Women:
Nazi Social Policies
4
A
- Female doctors, teachers and civil servants forced to give up their jobs
- Law for the encouragement of marriage gave newly weds 1000 marks - got to keep 250 for every child they had
- Mothers who had more than 8 children received medals
- Women to copy traditional German peasant dress - plain costumes, hair in plaits or buns, flat shoes, no makeup or trousers and no smoking in public
28
Q
Nuremberg Rallies
6
A
- Hitler and other prominent Nazi leaders made speeches every year
- Nazi symbols such as the swastika were displayed heavily
- Brownshirts would march in formation, which showed unity and strength of the Nazis
- Hitler youth group members frequently attended rallies
- Rallies were filmed and later shown in cinemas
- Hundreds of thousands attended the rallies, which lasted several days
