Nazi Germany Flashcards
What is a republic
A country governed by an elected parliament.
What were the two weakness of the Weimar republic? (elaborate on them)
Proportional representation; this meant there were lots of parties in the Reichstag (who all disagreed) which made it difficult for the Government to pass laws
Article 48; the president could use this to pass laws without the agreement of the Reichstag. (screws up the democratic system as it gives the president too much power)
What was the Reichstag?
The Reichstag were the German parliament, they voted laws and were elected by the public.
How is the job of the President different from the chancellor?
The chancellor controls the day-to-day running of the country, the president controls the armed forces whilst
When was the armistice signed?
11th November 1918
What was the stab in the back theory?
The stab in back myth was the belief that Germany could have won the war, had the army not been stabbed in the back by its politicians when they signed the armistice. When the armistice was signed it shocked the German public because the Kaiser had told them they were winning and they didn’t understand why/how they had surrendered, so they blamed the government for their defeat.
Who were the November Criminals
The Weimar Government was called this for signing the armistice, it shows how much the public disliked them
Why was the stab in the back theory so popular amongst soldiers
The soldiers had thought they had been winning and victory was close and were unsure about how defeat had happened (blamed politicians for letting them down). The soldiers had also given a lot to the cause (nearly 1.7m soldiers died) when they came home they felt at unease with themselves and positions in the new Germany (government reform)
When was the Treaty of Versailles signed?
The treaty of Versailles was signed on the 28th of June 1919
Why were France so keen to claim huge reparations?
A lot of fighting of WW1 had gone on in France and parts of country were bombed out and damaged, with many villages and factories destroyed. They had a high death tolls (1.3m) with nearly an entire generation of men being killed
What sort of peace treaty did Britain want?
Britain wanted to punish Germany to some extent however they also wanted to allow Germany to recover as traders, by creating a fair treaty that wouldn’t harm their economy too much or incite vengeance.
How was Britain affected by WW1?
Britain wasn’t invaded but lost 750, 000 men and had huge debts (buying arms from America)
What did Germany think about the Treaty?
Germans felt humiliated by the treaty and that they had no say (had agreed to armistice based on Wilson’s 14 points which were scrapped by allies) this enforced stab in the back myth. Germany felt black mailed into accepting the treaty.
What were the terms of the Treaty of Versailles? (think LAMB)
> Land; Germany had to give up all colonies,
13% of land was removed (including all resources);
-Return of Alsace-Lorraine to France
-Poland given ‘corridor’ to sea, cutting East Prussia off from the rest of Germany
-Saar (coalfields) given to France
-Germany forbidden to unite with Austria
Rhineland was demilitarized
> Army;The German army was reduced from 1.75m to 100,000, the navy was also
No aircraft or submarines
> Money; Had to pay 132b marks (£6.6b) of reparations
> Blame; Germany had to accept blame for starting the war
Name all the key revolutions that happened in Germany in the 1920s?
Kapp Putsch 1920
The Red Rising 1920
The Munich Putsch 1923
(The Spartacist Rising happened in 1919)
What was one reason why people were unhappy with the government in the early 1920s
All the revolutions made the Government seem like it wasn’t working-public had never had these problems under their previous leader the Kaiser.
Who were the the Spartacists?
The Spartacists were a communist group who wanted a socialist revolution in Germany. They were led by Rosa Luxemburg and Karl Liebknecht
What happened in the Spartacists revolution and why did it fail?
In January 1919 the Spartiacists barricaded themselves int Newspaper and communication buildings across Berlin and called for a strike. They were attacked by the Army and Friekorps and their leaders and 100 communists were killed.
- They were too small a group (5000)
- The Uprising was badly planned–Luxembeg&Liebknecht
- disagreed on key points (they were also murdered)
- They didn’t have all the workers support
What was the Red Rising in the Ruhr?
Led by communists, in 1920 50,000 workers went on strike and occupied the Ruhr (main industrial area) for two weeks. The uprising was crushed by the Freikorps and the army in an attack that killed 1000+ workers
-Weak leadership meant message didn’t ‘spread/motivate’
Outline the key events of the 1920 Kapp Putsch…
1) 12,000 right-wingers (ex-soldiers & nationalists) led by Wolfgang Kapp, overthrew the Government.
2) Kapp becomes President
3) The workers go on strike for 4 days; no transport, water, electricity and gas
4) Kapp flees Germany and the Wiemar Government retake control
Why was the Kapp Putsch important?
It made the Wiemar Government look weak as they had been easily overthrown by a group of ex-soldiers. The Kapp Putsch was the ONLY putsch to succeed (didn’t have enough support)
Outline the (4) Key events of the Munich Putsh…
1) Hitler and 600 Nazis broke into a government meeting at a beer hall in Munich (pointless-not Berlin)
2) They took the leader of Bavaria (Kahr) hostage and forced him to support them
3) The Nazis let the Leader go, he withdraws his support and warns the Wiemar Government of their plan
4) The Nazi Party are ambushed by the army
List some of the reasons why the Munich Putsch was a total disaster (5)
1) The uprising was unsuccessful-Nazis were defeated
2) 16 Nazis killed (compared to 3 policemen)
3) Ludendorff (other leader) was arrested
4) Hitler ran away which made him look a coward-was arrested 2 days later for treason
5) Hitler was sentenced to prison and banned from speaking in public until 1927
Why could the Munich Putsch be considered a success? (6)
Hitlers trial gave him lots of publicity;
- Gave him a national platform to speak on and spread his beliefs; became a right wing hero
- Got a lenient jail term-judge was sympathetic (9 months but only served 5)
- Wrote Mein Kampf in prison; the trial’s publicity attracted readers and spread mesage (1 million copies old)
- Hitler realized he couldn’t take power by force (important)
What year was the ‘Year of Crisis’? What were the key events?
1923
Munich Putsch, Invasion of the Ruhr & Hyperinflation
What caused Hyperinflation? (step by step explanation)
1) Germany were struggling to pay the £6.6b reperations (crippled by war-lost assest; Saar)
2) In 1922 Germany default on reparations
3) The French think the Germans are lying so along with the Belgians invade the Ruhr (Germany’s main industrial area)
4) The Weimar Government tell German workers to passively resist the troops (production goes down a 1/5)
5) Because the strike is government led they need to pay the workers
6) The Government print more money to pay workers
7) This influx causes the money to lose it’s worth
8) Hyperinflation
Who did Hyperinflation affect (the worst)
People with savings; their money became worthless over night (mostly middle class)
Pensioners; pensions were fixed so became worthless and they were too old to work
Did anyone benefit from hyperinflation
Those with debts could easily pay of loans as the amount of money owed has stayed the same while the amount of money they had went up
Why might have Hitler attempted the Munich Putsch in 1923?
The people were desperately unhappy with the government because they had caused hyperinflation then had failed to control it
What happened to Nazi party seats during the Golden years (1924-1929)?
Nazi seats drop because people are happy with the Government again
When did Gustav Stresemann become chancellor?
September 1923 (died October 1929)
When were the golden years in Germany? What were they?
1924 to 1929 became known as the ‘Golden Years’ as the economy began to improve and relations with other countries got better.
How did Stresemann deal with Hyperinflation? What did the people think?
In November 1923 Stresemann also introduced a new currency; the rentenmark (replaced deutschmark) in order to combat the hyperinflation.
Many never forgave the Weimar government as they’d lost their life savings
How did Stresemann deal with the French Occupation of the Ruhr? What did the People think?
Stresemann’s ordered the striking workers to return to work, and the French left the Ruhr.
People called Stresemann weak because he’d ‘given in’ and continued to pay reparations to France.
How did Stresemann help repair the German economy? (3) Any negatives?
Brought in the Rentenmark.
He also organised American loans to help rebuild the economy.
Revises reparation scheme so they had longer to pay back the money (Dawes plan 1924) and had to pay less (Young plan 1929)
Many Germans don’t think they should have to pay reparations at all, Germany became too dependent on US
When was the Locarno pact signed-what did it do? And the league and nations? What did the people think?
1925; The treaty of Locarno brought stability as Germany’s borders had now been agreed. However many were angry that Stresemann agreed not to reclaim Germany’s ‘lost’ land and thought he was weak.
1926; The League of Nations thought this was important because Germany was being acknowledged as a great power and being respected.
Name something that happened in; 1923 1924 1925 1926 1929
1923 (october); Rentenmark introduced
1924; Dawes Plan
1925; Locarno treaty signed
1926; League of Nations
Stresemann gets a nobel peace prize
1929; Young planWhen was the Wall Street crash?
24th October 1929 (Birthday)
What caused the Wall street crash?
Share prices began to fall (because of overproduction)
Share holders panic and sell their shares (£13m are sold)
Investors lose $4000m
How did the wall street crash affect Germany?
American bankers recalled the loans made to Germany under the Dawes and Young plan.
=Germany has no money and can’t get anymore loans out (or trade) because other countries have shut themselves away to conserve resources;
>Factories close as demand decreases; people become jobless/lose incomes
>Farmers in debt (no-one buys products
>As the banks collapsed people lost life savings
>Taxes went up
What percent of factory workers were unemployed by 1932?
40%
How many people were unemployed by 1932?
6 million-1 in four Germans
Why were people annoyed at the Wiemar Government (think WSC effects)
They cut unemployment benefits (6m unemployed) and raised taxes.
What Political parties saw a rise in seats in 1932 (WSC) Why might this have beeen?
Nazi party (1928; 2.6%, 1932; 37.3%) Communist party (10% ;1928, 1932; 15%
The WSC was too much for the Weimar government and showed how weak they were. People started looking at more extreme parties withe extreme solutions.
(Hitler promised work; 6m unemployed)
Name the 5 key points from Hitler (and the Nazis) 25 point program…
> Unite all German-speaking people
Abolish treaty of Versailles and end reparations
Form strong central government
Regain/gain colonies and land to feed Germany’s population (Lebensraum)
Reclaim money made by profiteers made during war
Why did the Nazis have few votes before 1928?
apart from the obvious reasons
Hitler was banned from speaking until 1927
Golden years were a time of prosperity, the people were happy and didn’t want extreme
parties
After the Munich Putsch, Hitler changed his tactics, name five things the Nazi party did to increase publicity? Also did Hitler really change?
Traveling circuses, sport days and church parades
Rallies, pro-nazi propaganda; posters
Hitler/Nazis still were violent attacked people and publicly denounced the Reichstag so no…
Why did support for the Nazis increase after 1929?
> People were poor and desperate; promised work and better life
They were fed up of the Weimar Government and wanted a strong leader and party; one of the Nazis promises
They wanted to blame someone; untermench
They were scared of communists; voted for Hitler to stop them getting into power
Why did several big companies fund Hitler?
After the poverty caused by the WSC votes for the communist increased; the middle class & business men feared a communist takeover (like in Russia) because they’d have lost their wealth. So they voted/funded Hitler to stop the communists getting into power.
Why did Germany want a scapegoat?
Early 1930s were grim; poor, desperate and miserable. Couldn’t believe they brought it one themselves after WW1 and looked for someone to blame (untermench)
What was Nazi opposition like?
The opposition was weak this meant people didn’t question/challenge Nazi policies (as much as they should’ve) because there was no proper alternative
The weakness of other parties also made the Nazis look very organised
What was the Von Papen deal?
Von Papen is leader of the Catholic centre party (good friends with Hindenburg)
Hindenburg make Papen chancellor (even though Nazis had majority in elections) However, chancellor Papen was a failure-no-one agreed with Papen (small party). Papen was fired and Schleicher brought in. Papen plots how to return to chancellor and makes a deal with Hitler so he can become chancellor and Hitler co-chancellor
How did Hitler become fuhrer in 1934?
1) Made co-chancellor in Von Papen deal
2) Reichstag fire 27th February 1933- Hitler given emergency powers to arrest & hold people without trial
3) Enabling act 24th March-Hitler can pass laws without reichstag or president.
Hitler then uses the enabling act to ban other parties
4) 29th June; Night of the long knives-S.A and Ernest Rohm killed (potential opponents)
5) Hindenburg dies and HItler becomes furhur
Name 4 types of propaganda used in Nazi Germany
Rallies; publicity, show Nazis strength
Films; Goebbels commissioned feature films ‘triumph of the will’
Broadcasts; 1939-70% have radios, broadcast Hitler preach
Posters; used to promote (work, bread & freedom)
Not a type of ‘propaganda’ propaganda but still; Books; book burning’s of anti-Semitic /communist works
When and what was the Reichstag fire? What happened next?
Reichstag fire 27th February 1933; Marius Van Der Lubbe a Dutch communists is blamed, Hindenburg grants Hitler emergency powers to arrest people and hold them without trial
What happened on the 5th of March 1933?
A series of elections were held, Hitler won 52% of the vote but not a majority.
What was the enabling act?
Passed on the 24th of March 1933, this gave Hitler the power to pass laws without the Reichstags permission
What was the DAF?
Hitler disbanded all trade unions and arrested their leaders, merging the previous groups into one big one ran by the Nazis called the DAF.
What was the agreement between the pope and the Nazis called?
The Concordat this agreement basically meant that the two groups; Nazis and Catholic church agreed to leave each other alone.
In what event was Ernst Rohm killed, when was it and why did it happen?
The night of long knives, 29th-30th June 1933, Hitler decided that the SA were a threat to his leadership; they outnumbered the Army, (100,000). 400 SA leaders including Röhm were murdered on Hitlers orders
What was Hitlers final step to a dictatorship?
The death of Hindenberg in August and the oath of allegiance sworn to Hitler by the army
Who was the minister of terror, what organisations did he control?
Heinrich Himmer.
SS; hold without trial and search houses
Gestapo/secret police; tap phones,open mail, hold without trial and torture
Block wardens; reported on neighborhoods
Concentration camps; where enemies were sent, one of Germans worst fears
Why was Himmler’s regime of terror so important in maintaining control of Nazi Germany?
When Hitler was first elected he did not have a majority, and people opposed him. Himmler’s regime divided opposition meaning there was no clear group to stand and oppose him. Hitler could then cement his power
Who was minister of propoganda?
Name 6 things he controlled
Joespeh Goebells
1) Newpapers; instructed on what to print
2) Rallies; build publicity and demonstrate organisation
3) Book burning; prevent anti-Nazi thinking
4) Feature films; promotion of Nazi state
5) Posters; spread Nazi message
6) Radios; spread Nazi message
What percent of people owned a radio in 1939?
70%
Why was Joeseph Goebells important within Germany?
His propoganda cemented Hitlers power and popularity, turn people away from opposition by manipulating them (Reichstag fire was portrayed as communist vandalism).
When was the first concentration camp opened?
1933, Dachau
1) What percent of German were Protestant?
2) What percent of Germany was Catholic
60%
30%
Why did the Church disagree with Hitler?
The Church believed in forgiveness, helping the weak, respect, tolerance and that it was a sin to idealise anyone other than God.
The Nazis believed in social Darwinism and portrayed Hitler as a God like figure. They also wanted to control the church.
What was the Reich church?
Branch of protestant, pastors had to swear loyalty to Hitler
What was the Confessional church?
Set up by Martin Niemöller, members opposed Nazi intervention in the church
What happened to Niemöller?
What did Dietrich Bonhöffer teach? What happened to Dietrich Bonhöffer?
He was sent to a concentration camp
That the Nazis were evil. He was executed in 1945 byt the SS
