Nazi Germany I

Question 1

The impact of the first World War on Germany?

Answer 1

• 2M german troops died, 4M wounded
• Government debt increased from 50B marks to 150B marks
• Food shortages - 750,000 died
• Kaiser abdicated and fled to Holland

Question 2

What was the revolution of the republic and the armstice?

Answer 2

• Friedrich Ebert suspended the Old Reichstag from the Council of People’s representatives as a temporary measure
• Philip Scheidemann, of the SDP declared the new republic, fearful of armed rioters preparing to declare a communist government in Berlin
• Armstice signed on 11 Nov, Treaty of Versailles, November Criminals

Question 3

Strengths of Weimar Constitution

Answer 3

• Strengths - women could vote as well as men
• proportional representation so small parties had a fair share of seats
• voting age reduced from 25-21
• not one group with too much parties
• election for president every 7 years
• central government more powerful and local gov had power

Question 4

Weaknesses of the Weimar Constitution

Answer 4

• proportional representation led to unstable government, strong policies fell apart
• lack of strong official government led to presidents not able to pass laws without the reichstag - article 48
• not the choice of the people

Question 5

Why was the Republic unpopular?

Answer 5

• Treaty and reparations - war guilt, 6.6B needed to be paid
• Military forces to 100,000 - 6 battleships, no submarines, 12 destroyers, 12 torpedo boats
• No military allowed in the Rhineland
• Germany lost 11 colonies
• ‘Stab in the back’ theory

Question 6

Challenges from the left wing for the Weimar Republic

Answer 6

• The Spartacists - backing from Soviet Union, Rosa Luxemburg, Independent Socialist Party, based in Berlin
• Jan 1919, Spartacists took over the gov newspaper and telegraph bureau - organised a revolt - put down by Freikorp Unit

Question 7

Challenges from the right wing for the Weimar Republic

Answer 7

• The Friekorps - made up of ex soldiers who kept weapons, 250,000 men March 1919, orhanised by regular army
• The Kapp Putsch, march to Berlin to overthrow republic, Dr Wolfgang Kepp in charge, to put it down trade unions had to go on strike, forced to flee

Question 8

Negative effects of hyperinflation

Answer 8

• Couldn’t afford essentials
• Wages rose, but not as quickly as prices
• Bankrupt businesses
• Pensioners suffered
• Savings worthless
• Unpopular Weimar

Question 9

Positive effects of hyperinflation

Answer 9

• Farmer’s benefited as they were paid more for food
• Some people and businesses could pay off loans
• Fixed rents for rooms/shoots became very cheap
• Foreign visitors could buy more for their money

Question 10

Reasons for recovery

Answer 10

• Rentenmark - Nov 1923 - Stresemann set up the Rentenbank
• Dawes Plan - Charles Daws and Stresemann - instalments temporarily reduced to 50M a year - US banks loan to German economy
• Young Plan - reduced total reparations frm 6.6B to 2B, over a longer period, lower taxes for lower reparations, BUT lots of opposition saying they were extending the burden

Question 11

Improvements and issue in the economy after the recovery?

Answer 11

Improvements - Industrial output doubled, employment and trade increased

Problems - extreme political party were against reparation payments, economic recovery was fragile because it depended on loans

Question 12

What was Stresemann’s home success?

Answer 12

• strengthened the confidence of the German people in the Weimar Republic
• reduced the support for extremist parties
• increased support for moderate parties
• reduced economic hardships

Question 13

Stresemann’s abroad success?

Answer 13

• Locarno pact - new border and permanent demilitarisation of the Rhineland - improved relations with France, increased status, not imposed
• Joined league of nations in 1926 - views were heard
• Kellogg-Briand Pact 1928 - countries can;t use war to achieve foreign objectives - Germany is a major power, Germany’s could build international strength

Question 14

Golden years - changes for standard for wages and work

Answer 14

• Wages rose
• Working hours reduced
• Working conditions reduced
• Hyperinflation made employment insecure
• Well-off Germans resented seeing workers benefiting

Question 15

Golden years - changes for housing and unemployment

Answer 15

• 15% rent tax was introduced to fund building associations
• 101,000 homes built
• 3% of worker’s earnings were deducted to put towards sick benefit insurance

Question 16

Golden years - changes for women

Answer 16

• Offered professions in teaching and medicine - offered new opportunities for women
• Women encouraged to go to university
• Greater earning power to more independent, younger, single women - less interested in a family
• 1918 women could vote - Article 109 of the constitution stated that women and men could have equal rights and could enter professions on an equal basis

Question 17

Golden years - changes in art and culture

Answer 17

• New concepts such as Expressionism used in art and cinema
• For architecture, the Bauhaus school was built in Weimar 1919 by Walter Gropius that attracted many artists and designers with ideas to challenge traditional styles popular before the war

Question 18

Hitler and the early growth of the party?

Answer 18

• 1919 Hitler joined DAP/NSDAP
• July 1921 Hitler became leader of the NSDAP
• 25 point programme written by him - EG increased pensioners for elderly, rid the Treaty of Versailles, everyone has a job, no Jew can be a citizen
• The Sturmabteilung (SA) - paramilitary force made of unemployed ex soldiers - disrupted opposition meetings and controlled crowds (often violently)

Question 19

Reasons for the Munich Putsch and it’s events

Answer 19

• Treaty of Versailles, fascists inspired, hyperinflation and its french consequences, Hitler thought he had support
• Hitler and 600 SA entered beer hall in Munich where the Bavarian gov were meeting, forced gov leaders to support him at gunpoint, Rohm, took over local police and army headquarters, Ludendorff, behind Hitler’s back, let the gov leaders go
• Hitler marched with 1000 SA and 2000 volunteer supporters to declare himself President of Germany, met with police, Ludendorff, Rohm, Streicher arrested
• Hitler found hiding at a friend’s house and was arrested

Question 20

Consequences of Munich Putsch

Answer 20

• Hitler used the trial to publicise his views - made him known
• Wrote Mein Kampf - My struggle - in prison - outlined his political views and Jew views
• Made Hitler rethink his tactics and be more organised in order to win support nationally, using violence and force wasn’t enough

Question 21

Wall Street Crash 1929?

Answer 21

• US lost billions of dollars in value overnight so US stopped lending money and all loans had to be repaid
• German businesses had to pay back loans and received no more investment
• German government couldn’t borrow or print money so increased taxes, and unemployment
• German people lost jobs, terrible poverty and businesses closed

Question 22

The Hitler Appeal?

Answer 22

• Seen as a strong leader and travelled around giving speeches saying he could get people out of poverty - bold figure
• Nuremburg rallies and military parades
• His image appeared on most publicity material - banners, posters, artwork, films
• Olympic games held in Berlin
• Had investment from industrial aristocrats scared of communists and union power
• Travelled around giving speeches - bold figure
• Adapted to modern technology EG aeroplanes - Joseph Goebbels got him into elections, daily newspapers read weekly

Question 23

Political developments in 1932?

Answer 23

• Hinderburg president - Hitler gets more seats - Bruning resigns after his land buying for the unemployed sounds too communist
• Bruning replaced by Von Papen, put forward by Von Schliecher. Von Schliecher plans a coalition and Hitler agrees if the ban on the SA is removed. Coalition takes power.
• July 1932 - Nazi vote increases from 18% in 1930 to 32%. Hitler demands he be made chancellor, Hinderburg refuses.
• Nov 1932 - Von Schlieder warns Hinderburg that there will be civil war if von Papen stays as chancellor. Von Papen goes. Von Schlieder becomes chancellor.
• Von Schlieder does not have the full support of the public nor the Nazis. He trues persuading Hinderburg to be the head of military dictatorship but Hinderbug refuses. He also suggests that he should be vice chancellor so he can check on Hitler, and Hitler becomes chancellor in Jan 1933

Question 24

The Reichstag Fire 1933

Answer 24

• Lone Dutch communist was executed for starting a fire but Hitler seized the opportunity of a conspiracy against the government. 4000 communists arrested. Hitler issued a Decree for the Protection of the People imprisoning political opponents and ban opposition newspapers.
• Persuaded Hinderburg to call an election and Nazi Party secured 2/3 of seats. Hitler could change the constitution.

Question 25

What was The Enabling Act in 1933?

Answer 25

• Used to destroy the Reichstag
• Stated that:
• Reich Cabinet could pass new laws
• The laws could override the constitution
• Hitler would propose the laws

Result: Germany would no longer be a democracy

Question 26

Enabling Act consequences

Answer 26

• Local government abolished in Jan 1934
• Trade unions replaced with German Labour Front - union officials arrested 2 May 1933
• Other political parties like SDP and the Communists were taken by Nazis or banned

Question 27

Hitler became Fuhrer (leader) (and had people salute to him by the Heil Hitler! salute) , so why were Rohm and the SA a threat to Hitler?

Answer 27

• Rohm didn’t like Hitler’s policies
• Many SA were bitter because they felt undervalued and were unemployed, and were loyal to Rohm
• Leaders of the SS wanted to reduce the size of the SA to increase their own power
• SA was much bigger than the army, so the army feared Rohm wanted to replace them

Question 28

How did Hitler rid himself of the SA and the Rohm threat as Fuhrer?

Answer 28

• THE NIGHT OF THE LONG KNIVES!
• Invited Rohm and 100 SA leaders to a meeting of Bad Wiessee on 30th June 1934 - they were arrested by the SS, taken to Munich and shot. After, Von Papen’s staff were arrested, he could no longer watch was Hitler was up to. Von Schlieder was also killed.
• The day Hinderburg died, all armies had to swear alleigiance to Hitler, not to Germany.

Question 29

What were the conditions of the ‘police state?’

Answer 29

• ‘police state’ - using police to control people’s lives
• Hitler set up security forces as he realised not all German police supported him
• SS - Led by Himmler, black uniforms, controlled Germany’s police, acted outside the law, members had to marry racially pure wives, ran concentration camps
• SD - Led by Heydrich, uniformed, spied on opponents of Nazi Party
• Gestapo - Led by Heydrich, plain clothes, spied on people, prosecuted people for speaking out against Nazis, sent people to concentration camps and used torture

Question 30

How did Hitler control the legal system?

Answer 30

• All judges belonged to the National Socialist League for the maintenance of the law
• All judges had to favour the Nazi party
• Abolished trial by jury - only judges could deicde if someone was guilty
• Set up a People’s Court to hear all treason cases. Trials were held in secret and judges were hand picked.

Question 31

Concentration camps in 1939?

Answer 31

• First camp was built in Dachau in 1933 to house arrested people
• Camps were built in isolated areas so no one could see what was going on
• Inmates included political prisoners, prostitutes, homosexuals and Jews and were forced to do hard labour