Hitler's Germany

Question 1

To what extent was Hitler’s rise to power due more to favourable circumstances than his leadership abilities?

Answer 1

1) Circumstances in Germany in the 1920s and early 1930s (favorable circumstances)
- Weaknesses of the Weimar Government
- Economic Crisis in Germany
- Impact of Great Depression on Germany
2) Hitler’s leadership abilities
- Nazi Ideology
- Hitler’s charisma and oratorical skills
- Exploitation of the fears of Communism
- Skillfulness at making deals with politicians
- Reorganization of the Nazi Party

Question 2

What are the Circumstances in Germany in the 1920s and early 1930s (favorable circumstances)?

Answer 2

1) Weaknesses of the Weimar Government
2) Economic Crisis in Germany
3) Impact of Great Depression on Germany

Question 3

How do you explain Weaknesses of the Weimar Government?

Answer 3

1) 1918: Germany virtually defeated by Allied powers and entry of USA in World War I.
2) Germany’s emperor—Kaiser Wilhelm II abdicated and World War I ended officially on 11 November 1918.
3) A new democratic Weimar Republic was established in 1919. Friedrich Ebert became its first President.
4) Under the Weimar constitution, all citizens had the freedom of speech and religion.
5) All German citizens over twenty could vote in elections and decide on its leaders. Instead of the Kaiser, there was to be an elected President and Parliament (Reichstag). The Reichstag would be responsible to make laws.

6)Structural weakness of Weimar Government Proportional System of Government in Reichstag. Allowed many political parties to gain seats, but no single party could gain total authority.
Result: Formation of many coalition governments . They could not reach compromises on many issues frequently Coalition governments did not last long. From 1919 to 1933, 20 different coalition governments. Governments with short life span was disruptive and the German public was left with the impression that the new democratic system could not get things done.

7)Article 48 of Weimar Constitution
Allows the President to rule by decree for six months ‘in times of emergency’ without having to consult the Chancellor or Reichstag. It was difficult to define what was an emergency and hence it was open to exploitation. This happened when Hitler exploited Article 48 to establish total control under the excuse of ‘emergency’ rule in times of instability.

8)Weak support
The Weimar government lacked the support from the people, politicians and soldiers. Many had previously worked for the Kaiser and wished for his return. Thus, it was difficult for the Weimar government to gain their support and loyalty.
(Understand the difference between the Left and Right wing politicans.)

Question 4

How do you explain Economic Crisis in Germany?

Answer 4

1)Post-war Germany: economic hardship, unemployment and poverty. It was also burdened with payment of war reparations. Solution? Weimar government printed more money but failed to keep up with reparation payment.
2)In response, France and Belgium invaded Ruhr, a German industrial zone, to ‘teach Germany a lesson’.
Weimar government responded by printing more money. However, this led to hyperinflation. The more money was printed, the more its value decreased.
3)As a result, savings became worthless and many Germans became poor overnight.
4)The Germans blamed the Weimar government and it lost the support of the people, who felt that the government had failed.
5)The problem was finally resolved when a new Chancellor, Gustav Stresemann replaced the currency with the new Rentenmark. Stresemann also negotiated for loans from the USA to pay reparations to the Allies. He also eased the border tensions between Germany and France with the Locarno Treaties.

Question 5

How do you explain Impact of Great Depression on Germany?

Answer 5

1)1929: USA Stock Market Crash_ Sparked off world wide Great Depression
2)USA recalled its loans to Germany
Germany: Economic crisis! Heavily dependent on USA loans
3)Factories closed down, massive unemployment resulted!
4)Weimar Government could not take decisive action! _ Lost the support of the people. Looked to alternative parties like the Nazi Party and Communist Party.

Question 6

What are Hitler’s leadership abilities ?

Answer 6

1) Nazi Ideology
2) Hitler’s charisma and oratorical skills
3) Exploitation of the fears of Communism
4) Skillfulness at making deals with politicians
5) Reorganization of the Nazi Party

Question 7

How do you explain Nazi Ideology?

Answer 7

1) 1920: the Nazi Party outlined their objectives in the ‘Twenty-Five Point Programme” and renamed his party the National Socialist German Worker’s Party (NSDAP or Nazi Party).
2) The Nazi Party called for: Abolition of the Treaty of Versailles, Union of Germany & Austria, Allowing only ‘true’ Germans to live in Germany and Establishing a strong central government
3) Hitler and the Nazi Party also believed in the superiority of the Aryan race The Nazi Party appeared to offer something for everyone. It also used modern, effective campaign methods to publicize their message.
4) The Nazi Party came to be seen as the only right-wing party that could compete with left wing parties like the Communist Party.
5) Hitler’s political ideas, especially his belief in the superiority of the Aryan race, became very popular in Germany.

Question 8

How do you explain Hitler’s charisma and oratorical skills?

Answer 8

1) Hitler was a powerful speaker and communicator.
2) He appeared sincere and seemed to understand the people’s needs.
3) He made use of his charisma and oratorical skills to win over the support of many people.

Question 9

How do you explain Exploitation of the fears of communism?

Answer 9

1) Many Germans turned to extreme left or right-wing groups as they became disappointed with the Weimar government.
2) 1928: Communist Party won four times more votes than the Nazi Party.
3) However, many groups of people feared the communist would take over the country.
4) Hitler exploited these fears by promising farmers and businessmen that he would help them if he got into power.
5) Many rich businessmen and industrialists donated to the Nazi Party.
6) The Nazi Party also used these money to finance their campaigns in 1933.
7) In the 1930s, following the economic crisis, many communists fought with the police, contributing to unrests.
8) Hitler used his personal armed forces to break up the fights and meetings.
9) Many believed that the Nazis were needed to bring order to Germany. They also believed Nazi promises to help turn the German economy around.

Question 10

How do you explain Skillfulness at making deals with politicians?

Answer 10

1) Hitler was a good political strategist—he was willing to wait for the right opportunity to take power gradually.
2) July 1932: Although the Nazi Party won the most votes, President Hindenburg chose Franz von Papen as Chancellor.
3) However, von Papen could not secure the support of the Reichstag and a new election was called.
4) Nov 1932: President Hindenburg chose von Schleicher to be Chancellor. But he too could not get the support of the Reichstag.
5) Jan 1933: President Hindenburg reluctantly invited Hitler to be Chancellor.
6) They hoped Hitler and the Nazi Party could provide support for their policies in the Reichstag and control the communists.

Question 11

How do you explain Reorganization of the Nazi Party?

Answer 11

Hitler reorganized the Nazi Party.
He achieved this through:
-Increasing Party Membership
-Set up SA & SS
-Appointed Joseph Goebbels to head the Nazi Propaganda unit

Question 12

Did Hitler’s rule benefit the people in Germany?

Answer 12

1) Political Impacts
2) Economic Impacts
3) Social Impacts

Question 13

What are the Political Impacts?

Answer 13

Consolidation of power through political manipulation and use of force
-Reichstag Fire, February 1933
-Enabling Act, March 1933
-One Party Rule, July 1933
-Night of the Long Knives, June 1934
-Creation of the Fuehrer position, August 1934
(Make sure you know how to explain all these sub-factors and use dates and figures (if any) to support your explanation)

Question 14

Did the political impacts benefit the Germans?

Answer 14

1)Yes, it did.
Strong government desired by the people who were weary of squabbling within the government.
Before 1933, numerous political parties in the Reichstag which made decision making difficult.
Parties squabbling among themselves instead of governing the country.
German public wished for a strong central government who would be decisive in running Germany.

Strong government also enabled Germany to move towards helping Germany recover from the devastation of WW1.
By eliminating the opposition and establishing strong central control over the government, Hitler has total control over decision making crucial in strengthening the German state and helping Germany recover from the devastation of WW1.

2)No, it did not.
Failure of democracy
With the elimination of opposition, the democratic system of government started by the Weimar government came to an end.

Loss of personal freedom and rights
Using the pretext of curbing the threat of a communist uprising, Hitler imposed a series of laws which effectively limited personal freedom and rights.
Anyone who spoke against Hitler or the Nazi party were punished severely or sent to concentration camps.
Newspapers or speeches criticizing Nazi policies were banned.
No opposition to the Nazi party, but severe penalties to dissidents meant those who did not approve Nazi policies chose to remain silent instead.

Climate of fear and persecution
Nazi control opponents through fear.
Germans were spied upon and arrested if they were suspected of being critical to the government.
Secret police used torture to extract confessions and opponents were sent to concentration camps.
Nobody knew who to trust as the Gestapo were everywhere.

Question 15

What are the Economic Impacts?

Answer 15

1)Re-employment
2)Rise of big industrialists
3)Control of trade unions
4)Improved working conditions
5)Militarization
(Make sure you know how to explain all these sub-factors and use dates and figures (if any) to support your explanation)

Question 16

Did the economic impacts benefit the Germans?

Answer 16

1)Yes, it did.
-Big businesses benefited
The Four-Year Plan preparing Germany for war benefitted big business as the government spend large sums on companies which were involved in the production of war materials.
Big businesses produced important products such as steel, coal. oil and explosives increased their production and businesses that are important to the government were given lucrative government contracts.
Hence, they earned large profits from Nazi economic policies in the 1930s and became staunch supports of the Nazi government.
-Reduction in unemployment
Public works programmes and conscription provided millions of jobs and at one point there were even shortage of workers.
-DAF’s policies benefited the workers
•Working conditions improved and motivated workers to work harder in order to enjoy the benefits.
•All these were unthinkable during the economic instability under the Weimar government.

2)No, it did not.
-Did not achieve self-sufficiency
One of the aims of German economic policy was to achieve self sufficiency and reduce reliance on foreign products but in 1933, Germany still importing 33% of raw materials required.
-Creation of jobs was achieved at expense of other groups
Even though the government has declared that they had reduced unemployment, a closer look showed that the creation of jobs were achieved at the expense of other groups in the German society. Women, Jews and anti-Nazi supporters’ jobs were taken away and given to Nazi’s supporters. Hence, some segments of the German population did not benefit from the creation of jobs.
-Workers wages remain low
Wages were kept low and in 1935 a wage freeze were imposed on all workers.German workers had to work harder in 1936 as Germany is preparing for war and by 1939, workers were working up to 72 hours a week. By the late 1930s, the standard of living for the Germans were worst than the Great Depression even though the Nazis have declared there is an increased in wages because of longer working hours.
-Workers lost freedom and were tightly controlled.
Improved working conditions and incentives came as a price. To prevent disruptions to industries, trade unions were banned, and workers were not allowed to strike or bargain for higher wages or work conditions. ‘Strength of Joy’ was intended to motivate workers but it also served as a control on the workers’ leisure time. Hence, under the economic policies, workers work, and leisure time also came under the control of the Nazi government.

Question 17

What are the Social Impacts?

Answer 17

1)Propaganda
2)Censorship
3)Rise of the Secret police: SS and Gestapo
4)Persecution of Jewish people and other minority groups
5)Role of women and youth
(Make sure you know how to explain all these sub-factors and use dates and figures (if any) to support your explanation)

Question 18

Did the social impacts benefit the Germans?

Answer 18

1)Yes, it did.
-Strong sense of nationalistic pride among the Germans
Nazi propaganda machine was very successful in instilling a sense of nationalistic pride.
Rallies, marches, films, posters and radio convinced the Germans that the Nazi party and Hitler were the ‘saviors’ of Germany.
Hence, they were very loyal to the Nazi Party and believed that it would turn Germany around and make Germany strong again.

2)No, it did not.
-Loss of freedom of the German People
Strong sense of order came at a price for the Germans which lost their rights and freedom.
All forms of media were tightly controlled, only can access information that were approved by the Nazi.
Germans only hear Nazi’s accomplishments and banned from listening to alternative views. Those not won over by the Nazi were intimidated and kept silent for fear of persecution and sent to concentration camps. Hence, freedom of speech and rights were taken away.
-Lives of the Jews and minority groups became intolerable.
For those considered to be ‘pure Aryan origin’ life under Nazi Germany were good however, the Jews and minority groups life became unbearable. They were systematically excluded from the German society and eventually murdered. Thus, these group of people suffered indescribably under the Nazi rule.