Nazi Germany: Weimar Recovery 1924-1929 Flashcards
What were the problems caused by WWI that the Weimar Republic have to deal with?
P = political, E = economic, S = social
- High food prices - severe food shortages + rationing introduced in 1915 - E/S
- War pensions would cost a fortune - 600,000 war widows and 2 mill fatherless children - difficult future + felt let down - E/S
- Before WWI - Gs = proud + expected to win = strong military nation. Ppl’s pride in G fell as started to lose the war - shocked at unexpected defeat - mutiny and worker’s revolution in 1918 - S/P
- Many people angry at the gov who signed the peace agreement - ‘November Criminals’ for letting Germany down - P
- Some women started working in factories during WWI - many thought this damaged traditional family values - S
- People had to get used to new gov after the war - P
German factories produced weapons during the war - not making money so struggling - E - Some G factory owners made a fortune - low workers wages. Workers angry at rich in society = increase in support for rich - E/S
- Spanish flu epidemic killed over >1/2mill people
- War weariness = common by 1917 - S
- 1916 - workers protesting against war - P
What were the economic problems from 1919-24?
Economic problems 1919-24:
- Treaty of Versailles - £6.6 billion in reparations
- Invasion of the Ruhr - led by the allies, France and Belgium, for the £6.6 bill reparations due to the Treaty of Versailles annual payments - paid in 1921, failed in 1922 so invaded
- Large amount of debt due to hyperinflation - 201 billion = eggs, 0.9 marks -> 320 billion = bread (because in Invasion of Ruhr gov told workers to follow policy of passive resistance + would continue to pay workers so had to print more money)
+ Borrowers - businessmen, landowners and mortgage holders = pay back their loans easily with worthless money
+ People on wages were relatively safe renegotiated their wages
+ Farmers coped well - products stayed in demand
_ People on fixed incomes - students, pensioners or the sick - incomes did not keep up with prices
_ People with savings and those who had lent money - most badly hit as their money became worthless.
1922 - Retenmark introduced = new currency to combat hyperinflation
What were the political problems from 1919-24?
Political problems 1919-24:
- Treaty of Versailles - can’t join League of Nations, de-militarised Rhineland, 100,000 men in the army and no battleships, had to accept blame for the war = War Guilt Clause - seen as ‘diktat’ - forced peace
- 1919 - Spartacist Uprising/Red Rising - named after Roman slave revolt Spartacus (led by Rosa Luxembourg and communists put down by Freikorps) - left-wing
- 1920 - Kapp Putsch (led by Wolfgang Kapp, put down by trade union and worker strikes) - right-wing
- 1923 - Munich Putsch - led by Adolf Hitler, failed
- 1919-22 - assassinations of politicians - 350 murdered by Freikorps - ex-German soldiers
What were the strengths and weaknesses of the Weimar Republic?
Weaknesses
- Proportional representation - % of votes = % of seats. This meant there were lots of small parties in parliament making it difficult to pass laws and led to weak and often short-lived governments.
- Article 48 - emergency powers of the President - could rule without the Reichstag. However, it did not clearly define what an ‘emergency’ was, so the power was overused, which weakened Germans’ confidence in democracy.
Strengths
- Genuine democracy - Elections for parliament and the president took place every four years and all Germans over 20 could vote.
- The power of the Reichstag - The Reichstag appointed the government and made all laws. Almost all political power was exercised by politicians in the Reichstag. Before 1918 the Kaiser and the military took most of the important decisions.
- A Bill of Rights - This guaranteed every German citizen freedom of speech and religion, and equality under the law.
What were the pacts signed?
1924 - Dawes Plan:
- Had to pay less per year - 1 bil marks for first 5 years, then 2.5 bil from 1929
- Loaned 800 mill marks by the US
1929 - Young Plan:
- Reduced total by 20%. Germany = to pay 2 bil marks per year, 2/3s of which could be postponed each year if necessary
- Given 59 years, with payments to end in 1988
- US banks would continue to loan Germany money
Kellog-Briand Pact - 1928: international peace treaty
Locarno Pact - 1925: promises never to invade France/Belgium again
How was the Stresemann Era (1924-29) a success economically and politically and why is it often referred to as the Golden Age?
Economically:
- 1922 - rentenmark introduced to combat hyperinflation
- agreements with the US (loans) led Stresemann being able to spend money on new factories, houses, schools and roads - American companies like Ford and Gilette set up
- Dawes Plan - 1924 - 800 mill marks loaned by the US
- Young Plan - 1929 - reparations reduced from £6.6 bill -> £1.8 bill
Politically:
- 1925 - Locarno Pact Germany, France and Belgium agreed to respect post-Versailles borders - lost Alsace-Lorraine to France, but no more invasions (such as 1922 Invasion of the Ruhr)
- 1926 - joined League of Nations - improved international status
- 1928 - Kellogg Briand Pact - agreed never to go to war unless attacked - settle disputes peacefully
- Accepted into emerging ‘international community’ sought to work together in 1920s to avoid destructive war.
- Continued to maintain good relations with the USSR, + signed Treaty of Berlin in 1926 = Germany secretly build up armed forces on USSR territory, so Allies couldn’t find out.
How did the position of women change in Weimar Germany?
Social - women began to experiment with their appearance - wore different clothes, e.g. shorter skirts + trousers and cut their hair into shorter styles.
Political - women could vote under the new Weimar constitution at the same age as men - 20 years old.
1919-32 - 112 women were elected to the Reichstag.
Economic - marriage rates dropped in the 1920s as more young women entered the workplace = drop in birth rates.
How did Stresemann end hyperinflation?
Stresemann’s single greatest achievement as Chancellor (Chancellor for 3 months) was to end hyperinflation. He did this in just three months by:
- Called off ‘passive resistance’ of German workers in the Ruhr.
- Promised to begin reparations payments again - persuaded France and Belgium to end occupation of the Ruhr by 1925.
- Introduced the Rentenmark in 1922 - stabilised prices as only limited number were printed meaning money rose in value. This helped to restore confidence in the German economy.
- Reduced government spending (700,000 government employees lost their jobs) so that its budget deficit reduced.
Did the Weimar economy recover due to Stresemann’s economic policies?
signs of recovery
signs of weakness
By 1928 industrial production levels were higher than those of 1913 (before World War One)
but agricultural production did not recover to its pre-war levels.
1925-1929: exports rose by 40%
but spent more on imports than it earned from exports, so Germany = more in debt every year.
Hourly wages rose every year from 1924 to 1929 and by
10 per cent in 1928 alone
but unemployment did not fall below 1.3 million and in 1929 increased to 1.9 million.
IG Farben, a German chemical manufacturing company, became the largest industrial company in Europe
but German industry became dependent upon loans from the USA.
Generous pension, health and unemployment insurance schemes were introduced from 1927
but the government ended up spending more than it received in taxes and so continued to run deficits from 1925 onwards.
Why was Berlin so important?
Ending of censorship in the new republic.
Importance of Berlin:
The Greater Berlin Act of 1920 made Berlin the third largest city in the world and established it as the centre of German cultural and intellectual life. Many of Germany’s most prominent artists, writers, academics and performers were based in the city.
Arts and culture:
120 diff newspapers and magazines
1932 - 3800 cinemas in Germany
Avant-garde artists/art flourished
Bauhaus movement - time of creativity after Kaiser
sale of radios rose from 1 mill in 1926 to 4 mill in 1932
Germany = wealthier
How was the Stresemann Era a success culturally and why is it often referred to as the Golden Age?
Intellectually:
Science - Albert Einstein + Max Plank worked in Germany in 1920s, Einstein received his Noble Prize for Physics in 1921.
Philosophy - one of most influential philosophers of 20th cen - Martin Heidegger = German - published major work ‘Being and Time’ in 1927.
Art:
Bauhaus movement only focused on architecture after 1927 - couldn’t have much of an impact in Germany. Was founded in Weimar and was the most influential visual arts movement.
Dada - protest against the traditional conventions of art and western culture, e.g. Marcel Duchamp
New Objectivity - more realistic way of painting, reflecting the harsh reality of war, e.g. Otto Dix
Music:
- modern classical
- American jazz
- cabaret
Cinema:
Expressionist style in German film-making, with films often having unrealistic sets and featuring exaggerated acting techniques
Funding shortage gave rise to the Kammerspielfilm movement = atmospheric films made on small sets with low budgets, e.g. Fritz Lang = film director
Why did Weimar Germany have a reputation for decadence?
After World War One, Berlin became a place where behaviour previously thought of as immoral flourished:
- cabarets became known as places where transvestites and openly gay men and women could visit, despite homosexuality being illegal at the time
- prostitution, which had grown during World War One, flourished
- the city acquired a reputation for drug dealing
organised crime, and gangs called Ringvereine, grew
How did these aspects change under the Nazi regime?
Experimentation in German art came to an end when the Nazis came to power in 1933.
Weimar’s reputation for decadence and excess did not continue into the Nazi period. The Nazis disapproved of what they viewed as the immoral behaviour flourishing in Germany’s cities.
The totalitarian nature of the regime meant that cultural life, such as the theatre, music and film, came under the control of Goebbels’ Ministry of Propaganda. In addition, many of the leading lights of German cultural and academic life were Jewish, and thus left Germany as the Nazis began to restrict Jews’ rights.
