KEY DATES Flashcards
When was food rationing introduced?
August 1939: before the war had began.
When was clothing rationing introduced?
November 1939
Why were food rations reduced in 1942?
After invasion of Soviet Union in June 1941, imports of food were stopped from there.
When did food rations become precarious?
Autumn 1944.
When did supply & distribution of food collapse & Germans faced prospect of starvation?
Spring 1945.
What happened in the “Blitzkreig” part of the war (Sept 1939 - June 1941)?
Invasion of Poland (1939), quickly followed by invasions of Belgium, Norway, France etc, all defeated quickly.
What happened during the “Spreading of War” (June 1941 - Dec 1941)?
June 1941: Germany invaded USSR & was occupying territory
Dec 1941: Red Army halted Germany’s advance.
Dec 1941: Germany declared war on USA, after it’s ally (Japan) attacked Pearl Harbour.
What happened during the “Turning of the Tide” part of the war (Jan 1942 - Jan 1943)?
British stopped German & Italian advances in North Africa.
Defeat of entire German army at Stalingrad (Jan 1943) was big turning point in war.
What happened during the “Total War” & defeat of Germany (Feb 1943 - May 1945) part of the war?
British & American bombing of German cities brought destruction & loss of civilian lives.
D-Day landings in France (June 1944) opened up a 2nd front in Western Europe.
Berlin captured by Soviet forces (April 1945).
Germany surrenders 8th May.
What did Hitler do to workers at the start of the war (Sept 1939)?
Hitler imposed wage reductions & banned bonuses - caused discontent & more absenteeism.
Impact of War on Workers? END
Aug 1944: Total ban of holidays, working week increased to 60 hours, working conditions getting worse and worse.
Impact of War on women? START
May 1939: made up 37.4% of industrial labour force.
Hitler believed that they should focus on childbearing and care.
But didn’t have children and expected to work.
Impact of War on women?
END
Jan 1943: decreed all woman 17-45 should work
1945: situation so grave women made up 60% of labour force.
Impact of War on youth? START
1939: membership to Hitler Youth compulsory - trained to be soldiers.
Impact of War on youth? END
1942: 600 000 boys & 1.4mil girls organised to help gather harvests.
1943: conscription age = 17
1945: conscription age = 16 - lots of pressure put on youth to join war.
By summer of 1931 what had happened to German banking system?
In crisis, following collapse of Austrian bank. Banks temporarily closed & brought under gov control. Issues NOT resolved.
What happened to industrial production during 1929-1932?
Fell by 58% of its 1928 level.
By how much did Germany’s export trade decline by after the 1929 Great Depression?
61%.
By 1932 approx how many German workers were registered as unemployed?
1/3.
How many people do estimates of 1933 suggest were unemployed?
8mil.
What did a new law for married female civil servants in May 1932 mean?
Allowed for them to be dismissed.
POLITICAL Impact of the 1929 Depression: March 1930
*Grand Coalition collapsed (over reducing unemployment benefits)
*Hburg appointed Brüning as Chancellor - DIDN’T have support form SPD so had to rely on Article48
*Brüning imposed cuts in employment & government worker’s wages & raised tax - “Hunger Chancellor”.
POLITICAL Impact of the 1929 Depression: September 1930
*Reichstag elections - Nazis made breakthrough, 2nd largest party.
*KPD gained lots of votes from SPD.
*Violence increased at street level, especially between Nazi Stormtroopers & Communist Red-Front Fighters’ League.
POLITICAL Impact of the 1929 Depression: April 1932
*Brüning banned SA to try reduce street violence. Ban = ineffective, SA continued to grow. Ban lost Brüning support from Schleicher, who thought this would cause a Nazi Uprising.
POLITICAL Impact of the 1929 Depression: May 1932
*Brüning’s gov collapsed & forced to resign (due to street violence & impact of depression).
*Hburg appointed Franz von Papen: gov was a “cabinet of barons”, mostly businessmen & army officers. Only support came from DNVP, so ruled by Article48. Gov FAILED to resolve political crisis.
POLITICAL Impact of the 1929 Depression: June 1932
*Papen lifted the ban on SA - provoked a new wave of street violence.
POLITICAL Impact of the 1929 Depression: July 1932
*Using street violence as a pretext, Papen announced a state of emergency in Prussia & dismissed it’s SPD-led state government, making himself the Reich Commissioner in charge of Prussia - destroyed democratic government in Germany’s largest state.
*Reichstag elections: Nazis became biggest party - 37.3% of the vote.
POLITICAL Impact of the 1929 Depression: December 1932
*Papen forced to resign as Chancellor, Schleicher appointed.
When was the Ebert-Groener Pact?
10th November 1918
When did Kaiser Wilhelm II abdicate?
Autumn 1918
When was the Spartacist Uprising?
January 1919
When was the peace treaty signed at the Palace of Versailles?
28th June 1919
When was the hyperinflation crisis?
1923
Winners of 1923 hyperinflation crisis?
Farmers - food in high demand
Businessmen - e.g. Hugo Stinnes (raised bank loans to by forests to supply his mines with lumber, bought then repaid when money dropped).
Losers of 1923 hyperinflation crisis?
Pensioners, war widows - relied on state
Mittlestand - had big savings
How long was the working day limited to in 1919?
8 hours
How much was a loaf of bread during 1923 hyperinflation crisis?
1kg of bread cost 4mil Marks
When was the Kapp Putsch?
1920
What happened during 1920 Kapp Putsch?
Aim = overthrow Weimar & establish new autocratic gov.
Tov required gov to disband 2 Freikorps units. Von Lüttwitz refused to disband 1, so gov ordered his arrest. Lüttwitz marched his c5000 troops to Berlin. Had support from army officers & RW politician Wolfgang Kapp. Ebert refused to use army to fight former soldiers. SPD exposed as fragile & weak. Strike spread to other parts of country - 1 turned into armed revolt. Lack of support. Ebert returned to power in Berlin after 4 days. Lüttwitz & Kapp fled.
When was the Munich Putsch?
8th November 1923.
What happened during the 1923 Munich Putsch?
Hitler & 2000 Stormtroppers (SA) took over Munich Beer hall, where a RW political meeting was taking place. Forced state commissioner (von Kahr) & local army commander (von Lossow) to agree to a march on Berlin. Putsch failed: H failed to get support from police & von Lossow switched sided. H arrested & put in prison for 9 months.
Terms of ToV: Territorial Losses
Removed over 70 000 km2 of territory, e.g. Alsace Lorraine returned to France, West Prussia to Poland. Lost 75% or iron ore & 15% of arable land.
Terms of ToV: Disarmament of Germany
Conscription of army forbidden, army limit = 100 000 men. Navy limit = 15 000 men, 6 battleships, no submarines. Air force = forbidden.
Terms of ToV: War Guilt Clause
Under Article 231 - Germany had to accept responsibility of war & liable to pay £6.6bil in reparations.
Austria = forbidden to unite with Germany.
Germany = forbidden to join League of Nations
What did Germans refer to the ToV as?
“Diktat” - dictated peace
How many people did RW groups assassinate in 1919 - 1923?
354
How many people did LW groups assassinate in 1919 - 1923?
22
When was the “Golden Age” of Germany?
1924 - 1928
Actions “Super Stresemann’s” “great coalition” government took in 1923 to improve things ?
1) Ended passive resistance of Ruhr in Sept 1923. Reduced gov spending on payments to workers on strike.
2) Introduction of Rentenmark (Nov 1923) rentenmark = 1 trillion old marks.
3) Gov kept tight control of amount of money in circulation - to stop inflation getting out of hand again.
4) Cut gov spending & raised taxes to reduce gov debt.
*Gave people confidence in new currency - businesses grew in confidence.
When did “Super Stressemann” end passive resistance of the Ruhr?
September 1923
When did “Super Stressemann” introduce the Rentenmark?
November 1923.
In November 1923 how much was a mark to a rentenmark?
1 rentenmark - 1 trillion old marks.
When was the Dawes Plan?
April 1924
What happened under the 1924 Dawes Plan?
*Reparations stayed the same, but annual payments were reduced 1924-1929.
*Loan of 800 million marks from USA would fund investment into German economy & help stimulate economic growth, so could pay reparations.
*Allies took control of Germany’s banks & railways
*Led to withdrawal of Franco-Belgian troops in Ruhr (1924-25).
What did “Super Stresemann” call the 1924 Dawes Plan in private?
“No more than an economic armistice” , but saw no choice but to accept it.
Extent of economic recovery in “Golden Years” (1924 - 1928)?
+ extensive foreign investment in industry
+ inflation was low & currency was stable
+ wages for industrial workers increased
- unemployement was a perennial problem, by 1926 3mil were out of work
- reliance on foreign loans made Germany vulnerable to shifts in worldwide economic climate.
When was the Young Plan?
1929
What did the 1929 Young Plan do?
*Reduce reparations from £6.6bil to £1.8bil
*Increased annual payments
*Repayment period set to 59years
*Allied control over banks & railways relinquished & allied occupation forces in Rhineland were to withdraw by June 1930.
When does Müller’s coalition gov collapsed & who replaces him?
March 1930 - replaced by Brüning who rules by presidential decree.
When do the NSDAP become the largest party in the Reichstag?
July 1932.
When does Hindenburg appoint Hitler as Chancellor?
January 1933
When is the Reichstag Fire, which leads to the Decree for the Protection of the People and the State?
February 1933.
When is the Enabling Act enforced, which gives Hitler dictatorial power?
March 1933.
When are the Trade Unions banned & replaced with the German Labour Front?
May 1933.
When are all non-Nazi parties banned or voluntarily disbanded?
July 1933.
When do the Nazi regime & the Catholic Church sign a concordat?
July 1933.
When were the SA purged in the Night of the Long Knives?
June 1934.
When does Hindenburg die & Hitler merge the offices of Chancellor & President to become the Führer?
2nd August 1934.
When are the olympic games held in Germany?
September 1936.
When is the 4 year plan introduced by Goering?
September 1936.
When is the Austrian Anschluss?
March 1938.
When was Jewish property & synagogues attacked on Reichkristallnacht?
November 1938.
Wen did rationing of foodstuffs begin?
August 1939.
When was the Decree for the Protection of the People & the State created?
28th February 1933
How much did the Nazi have of the 5th March 1933 election?
won by 43.9%
When did the Nazis win by 43.9% of the vote?
5th March 1933
When was the Enabling Act passed?
24th March 1933
When was the first concentration camp established?
8th March 1933
What was the 1933 Enabling Act?
Allowed Hitler to pass laws without the Reichstag’s consent.
How many people died in the night of the Long Knives?
c84 (including Röhm leader of SA) , 1000 arrested
When was the Night of the Long Knives?
30th June 1934
What did Hitler announce on the 13th July 1934?
Confessed to his crimes of the Night of the Long Knives, but claimed he was acting a “supreme judge” for German people & had been compelled to act in order to save the country from the SA coup. Gained H support of the army.
When did the army swear an oath of allegiance to Hitler?
2nd August 1934 - same day as Hindenburg’s death.
When was the People’s Court set up by Hitler?
1934
What was the 1934 People’s Court set up by Hitler?
Dealt with political crimes, had 3 Nazi “judges”. No juries. No right for defendant to appeal against sentence.
In January 1933 how many privately owned newspaper were there?
4700 - Nazis had limited circulation
By the end of 1933 how many newspapers did the Nazis have?
27 daily newspapers combined with 2.4mil circulation a day.
In 1933 how many speeches did Hitler make on the radio?
Over 50.
How would people know Hitler was doing a speech?
Sirens would sound to signal the start.
How many households possessed a radio by 1939?
70% - highest proportion in the world
Who promoted the mass production & sale of cheap radio sets?
Goebbels
In 1934 what was the radio brought under control of?
Reich Radio Group, controlled by the Propaganda ministry.
Who used cinema/films as subliminal messaging?
Goebbels
What did all films have?
Some degree of a political message - always glorified leadership
By how much did cinema attendees increase by in 1933 - 1945?
4x
What were households expected to display outside of their windows?
Swastika - if they didn’t = serious consequences.
What did Goebbels “stage manage” but people thought was “proof” of people being behind the Nazis?
Flag waving & ritual parades.
When was the Nuremberg Party?
1937
How many people attended the 1937 Nuremberg Party?
100 000
On the 6th May 1933 students & stormtroopers burnt what?
20 000 books
When did students & stormtroopers burn 20 000 books?
6th May 1933
On the 10th May 1933 what did 19 other universities do?
Burn books “Un-German” or wrote by Jews/Marxists.
Who and when wrote the Hitler “Myth”?
a British historian in 1987
What was the Hitler “Myth”?
Idea that H’s personality alone could not explain his popularity in Nazi Germany
What did the Nazis consider the mentally & physically disabled to be?
“Biological Outsiders”.
What law was passed in July 1933 towards mentally & physically disabled people?
Law for Prevention of Hereditarily Diseased Progeny.
What did the Law for Prevention of Hereditarily Diseased Progeny make compulsory?
Sterilisation for “inferior” groups, e.g. schizophrenics.
In 1935 what was introduced for “inferior” groups, e.g. schizophrenics?
Compulsory abortion.
In the years 1933 - 45 how many people were sterilised?
400 000 people.
What was the T4 programme?
Euthanasia for mentally & physically disabled children.
When was the T4 programme introduced?
1939
How were children killed in the T4 programme?
Lethal injection or starved to death.
When did Nazis purge homosexual organisations & literature and ban everything?
1933
How much % were women & Jews limited to of available university places?
Women = 10%
Jews = 1.5%
What was the League of German Girls and when did it become compulsory?
Prepared girls for their future roles as housewives & mothers. Compulsory in 1936.
What were given to larger families?
Medals - “donating a baby to the Führer”.
When was the boycott of Jewish Shops?
1933, done by SA night before the Night of the Long Knives.
Was there pressure on Hitler by 1935?
People thought persecution of Jews had gone too far, he had to move faster & faster.
