Hitler's Rise & Rule (SBCS)

Question 1

What were the circumstances & leadership abilities Hitler had that led to his rise?

Answer 1

CIRCUMSTANCES
{WEAKNESSES OF WEIMAR GOVERNMENT]
- System of proportional representation resulting in instability of coalition government
- Right wing VS Left wing
- Weak support
- Article 48*
[ECONOMIC SITUATION]
- Hyperinflation
- Great Depression

ABILITIES + ACTIONS
- Charisma & oratorical skills
- Appeal of Nazi ideology
- Skilled strategist
- Exploited fears of communism
- Reorganised Nazi Party
- Skilled at making deals

Question 2

Timeline

Answer 2

RISE
1919: TOV signed
1923: Munich/Beer Hall Putsch (failed coup)
1928: Nazi Party only won 3% of vote
1929: New York Exchange Stock Market Crash & Great Depression
July 1932: Nazis won more seats than any other party

RULE
Jan 1933: von Papen & Hindenburg let Hitler be Chancellor (thought they could control him & use him to garner support, backfire & underestimated Hitler)
Feb 1933: Reichstag Fire (excuse + article 48 to arrest communists+opposers)
July 1933: One Party Rule, opposers sent to concentration camps
Mar 1933: Enabling Act, allowed passing of laws without President’s approval, communists & social democrats banned from voting

1934: Night of the Long Knives, Roehm & other SA (stormtrooper/brownshirts) leaders + political opponents of Hitler

JEWS
1935: Nuremberg laws, Jews excluded from German society, conscription introduced
1938: Jewish boy shot dead Nazi diplomat, Nazis looted, killed destroyed homes of Jews, sent to conc. camps
1942: Wannsee Conference, decision to kill all Jews

Question 3

What weaknesses of the Weimar Government led to Hitler’s rise?

Answer 3

1. PROPORTIONAL RESPRESENTATION
   - Party gained seats based on % of votes
   - High degree of fragmentation in small parties w diff aims, no majority party

Led to COALITION GOVERNMENTS, hard to make decisions & implement , had to reach consensus via majority vote

2. OPPOSITION FROM RIGHT & LEFT
   - Hard to pass laws, Right-winged king supporters vs Left-winged liberals/ influenced by communists,
   - VIOLENT means of seizing power from both sides
   - Left-wing 1919 Spartacist Rebellion & Right-wing 1920 Kapp Putsch
3. INSTABILITY OF COALITION GOVT
   - Diff parties w diff aims, unwilling to compromise + inefficient in making decisions
   - Frequents break ups & disagreements, 1919-1933 20 different coalition govts, cannot make long-term plans & lack of political continuity
   - Lost credibility, due to its inefficiency & instability, Germans lose faith, supported other parties eg. Nazis
4. WEAK SUPPORT
   BOTH right & left wanted to overthrow government, Many services & businesses supported right-wing, Weimar had WEAK SUPPORT
   - Public saw them as weak

Article 48 allowed Hitler to exploit, rule by decree in ‘time of emergency’ to seize power legally & remain in power

Question 4

What were the economic circumstances that led to Hitler’s rise?

Answer 4

HYPERINFLATION
- TOV, added heavy financial burdens to Germany
- Govt printed more money
- French+Belgian Invasion of Ruhr’s mines, factories etc. after failure to make payment in 1922
- Germans adopted non-cooperation to French+Belgians, going on strike, govt printed more money to appease them
- Led to printing EVEN MORE MONEY for striking workers+already printing for heavy reparations
- Therefore, Hyperinflation

GREAT DEPRESSION/1929 STOCK MARKET CRASH
- GER was dependent on USA for loans to lighten its TOV debts
- As US recalled loans, GER suffered economic crisis,
- By 1932, 1/3 pop. unemployed -> because of coalition govt cannot pass laws from lack of support
- People angry over lack of action, supported extreme parties instead of moderate
- Parties included communists & NAZIS

Question 5

What were Hitler’s abilities leading to his rise?

Answer 5

1. CHARISMA & ORATORICAL SKILLS
   - Powerful, passionate speaker, appeared sincere -> appealed to audience
   - Talked about popular topics, knew their concerns
   - Practised his speeches & spoke in beer halls when people where easily persuaded
   - Had scapegoats (November Criminals, communists, Jews)
   As such, Germans saw him as competent & capable, managed to garner their support
2. APPEAL OF NAZI IDEOLOGY
   - Abolition of TOV (humiliated Germans)
   - Greater Germany (uniting ethnic Germans by acquiring Austria*, Poland, Czechoslovakia)
   - Creating Lebensraum to facilitate further expansion
   - Nationalising big businesses, excluding Jews
   - Belief of superior Aryan Race
3. EXPLOITATION OF COMMUNIST FEARS
   After seeing what happened in USSR:
   - Farmers feared losing their land & assets to the state
   - Big industries feared losing their businesses & wealth
   Gave vague promises/preyed on their fears to help them after coming to power, trusted Hitler to deal with communist threat & garnered support for Nazis
4. SKILLED AT MAKING DEALS
   - Willing to wait for the right opportunity
   - Hindenburg distrusted Hitler despite Nazis winning most votes
   - Lost 2mil votes in Nov 1932, knew he could not win by elections
   - Made a deal with conservatives to be Chancellor, believing they could control him & the Nazis
   - Waited for the right time to decisively take complete control over govt
5. REORGANISING THE NAZI PARTY
   - Beer Hall Putsch failed, afterwards, Nazis tried elections, only winning 3%

• Established local branches of Nazi Party, Hitler Youth
• Set up paramilitary SA in 1921 & SS to break up communist party meetings
• Appointed Joseph Goebbels in charge of propaganda, appealing to mass’ emotions
• Gave Germans impression of capable Nazis that could restore stability

Question 6

What were the impacts of Hitler’s rule?

Answer 6

POLITICAL:
Consolidation of Power
- Reichstag Fire Decree (Feb 1933)
- Enabling Act (Mar 1933)
- One Party Rule (Jul 1933)
- Night of Long Knives (Jun 1934)
- Creation of Fuhrer position (Aug 1934)

ECONOMIC:
- Re-employment +ve
- Rise of Big Industrialist
- Organising worker’s leisure time +ve
- Militarisation
- Control of Trade Unions, German Work Front (DAP)

SOCIAL:
- Propaganda
- Censorship
- Secret Police
- Persecution of Jews & minorities
- Role of Women
- Hitler Youth

Question 7

Political impact of Hitler’s rule?

Answer 7

1. CONSOLIDATION OF POWER
   - When Hitler was chancellor, Nazi party still not majority
   - March 1933 called for another election to cement power & win majority in Reichstag
2. REICHSTAG FIRE
   - 27 Feb 1933, week before 5 March elections
   - Accused communists of starting fire, charging them with arson & attempting to overthrow govt
   - Convinced Hindenburg to invoke article 48, emergency powers w/o approval of Reichstag
   - Made Hindenburg sign Reichstag Fire Decree, suspending civil liberties
   - SA arrested commies, broke up their meetings & shutdown newspapers
   Paint communists in bad light, less votes for them, more votes for him, eliminate his main rival
3. ENABLING ACT
   - Nazis won 44% of votes, allied with nationalist party to get 55%, winning majority
   - Pass Enabling Act, allowing him to pass laws without President’s approval
   - Banned communists & Social democrats to vote, only supporters
   - Consolidated his power, greatly increasing his influence
   Led to One Party Rule
4. ONE PARTY RULE
   - Passed law after Enabling Act, for Nazis to be only legal party, making him a legal dictator
   - Trade Unions, opposers dealt by SA, SS, sent to conc. camps
5. NIGHT OF THE LONG KNIVES
   - Leader of SA Ernst Roehm seemed a threat to Hitler, SA gained too much power
   - SS arrested & killed SA leaders & political opponents
   Destroyed the last threat to his reign, ensuring his absolute power without opposition
6. CREATION OF FUHRER
   - Further consolidated power by merging Chancellor with President, proclaiming himself to be the supreme leader
   - Enabling Act + able to invoke article 48 allowed him to leave powers of president intact
   - Held a plebiscite, had resounding support
   Used Hindenburg’s death to his gain for absolute power, complete authority

Question 8

Economic impact of Hitler’s rule?

Answer 8

1. RE-EMPLOYMENT
   - Public Works Programme -> construction of new roads, motorways & public buildings
   Economic recovery + provide facilities for public
   - Conscription 1935
   Re-establish industry, gave livelihoods, successful in resolving economic crisis
2. MILITARISATION
   - Conscription in 1935, reducing unemployment
   - Created jobs in producing war materials
   - Luftwaffe, new airforce, boost economy & employment
3. RISE OF BIG INDUSTRIALISTS
   - New Plan of 1934, industries impt to Nazis given subsidies
   - Production of impt goods, oil, steel etc. given valuable govt contacts
   - Supported govt
   - Goering’s 4 year plan of 1936, to prepare Germany for war in 4 years
   - Boosted war/military industries, boost war production
   - Donated to Nazis, gave them enough finances
4. CONTROL OF TRADE UNIONS
   - Nazis banned all other Trade Unions & established their own Deustche Arbeitfront
   - Strictly controlled movement & wages of workers
   - Fewer strikes, more people had to work, economy benefitted at expense of worker wages & benefits
5. ORGANISING WORKER’S LEISURE TIME
   - Placate workers to get their support via ‘Strength Through Joy’ /KdF
   - Included cheap theatre,movie tickets, organised courses, sports events
   - Could buy cheap car, KdFwagen
   - “Beauty of Labour” scheme to improve working conditions (but paid by them indirectly)

Question 9

Social impact of Hitler’s rule?

Answer 9

1. PROPAGANDA
   - Reich Ministry of Public Enlightenment and Propaganda set up, Joseph Goebbels in-charge
   - Win the continued support and loyalty
   - Nuremberg rallies were organised to showcase German might and give Germans a sense of belonging.
   Paint Nazis in good light to win continued support
2. CENSORSHIP
   - Goebbels set up Reich Chamber of Commerce in 1933
   - Censored any offensive media, eg. art music newspapers radio
   - Needed to be in Chamber of Commerce to publish anyth
   - Ransacked libraries and burnt any books that they found unacceptable during public book burning events.
   - Radios affordable to all but only Nazi radios, listening to foreign punishable by death
   Lack of freedom of press, Germans did not receive hostile info, enforce Nazi ideology
3. SECRET POLICE
   - Used fear to control people, SS & Gestapo
   - Gestapo remove any threat to Nazis, had unlimited powers to arrest
   Forced people to obey or risk losing their lives,
   No opposition so Hitler could carry out his plans
4. PERSECUTION
   - Jews, gypsies, homosexuals, disabled suffered under Nazi rule
   - 1935 Nuremberg laws, discriminated against Jews
   - 1938 Night of Broken Glass, looted & destroyed Jewish shops
   - Holocaust, 6Mil Jews sent to conc. camps
5. ROLE OF WOMEN
   - Lost rights, confined to mother & spouse
   - Only served nation as childbearers, good wives/mothers
   - German girls could not attend uni, made to do vigorous tasks
6. HITLER YOUTH
   - Indoctrinated with anti-Semitism & Nazi ideology, faithful to Nazis
   - Physical & military training priortised
   - 1936, was compulsory, girls joined League of German Girls