Nazism and the Rise of Hitler part1 Flashcards
how was reaichstag made
The defeat of Imperial Germany and the abdication of the emperor
gave an opportunity to parliamentary parties to recast German polity.
A National Assembly met at Weimar and established a democratic
constitution with a federal structure. Deputies were now elected to
the German Parliament or Reichstag, on the basis of equal and
universal votes cast by all adults including women.
what led to the formation of weimar republic
Germany, a powerful empire in the early years of the twentieth
century, fought the First World War (1914-1918) alongside the
Austrian empire and against the Allies (England, France and Russia.)
All joined the war enthusiastically hoping to gain from a quick
victory. Little did they realise that the war would stretch on,
eventually draining Europe of all its resources. Germany made initial
gains by occupying France and Belgium. However the Allies,
strengthened by the US entry in 1917, won , defeating Germany and the
Central Powers in November 1918.
The defeat of Imperial Germany and the abdication of the emperor
gave an opportunity to parliamentary parties to recast German polity.
A National Assembly met at Weimar and established a democratic
constitution with a federal structure. Deputies were now elected to
the German Parliament or Reichstag, on the basis of equal and
universal votes cast by all adults including women.
the republic was not well received by its own people why
This republic, however, was not received well by its own people
largely because of the terms it was forced to accept after Germany’s
defeat at the end of the First World War. The peace treaty at Versailles with the Allies was a harsh and humiliating peace
The peace treaty at Versailles with the Allies was a harsh and humiliating peace. explain
Germany lost
its overseas colonies, a tenth of its population, 13 per cent of its territories,
75 per cent of its iron and 26 per cent of its coal to France, Poland,
Denmark and Lithuania. The Allied Powers demilitarised Germany to
weaken its power. The War Guilt Clause held Germany responsible for
the war and damages the Allied countries suffered. Germany was forced
to pay compensation amounting to £6 billion. The Allied armies also
occupied the resource-rich Rhineland for much of the 1920s. Many
Germans held the new Weimar Republic responsible for not only the
defeat in the war but the disgrace at Versailles.
describe in brief the effects of ww1 on europe
The war had a devastating impact on the entire continent both psychologically and financially. From a continent of creditors, Europe turned into one of debtors. Unfortunately, the infant Weimar Republic was being made to pay for the sins of the old empire. The
republic carried the burden of war guilt and national humiliation and was financially crippled by being forced to pay compensation( for the war)
who suppoerted weimar republic
Those who supported the Weimar Republic, mainly Socialists, Catholics
and Democrats, became easy targets of attack in the conservative
nationalist circles. They were mockingly called the ‘November criminals’.
The First World War left a deep imprint on European society and
polity.?
Soldiers came to be placed above civilians. Politicians and
publicists laid great stress on the need for men to be aggressive, strong
and masculine. The media glorified trench life. The truth, however,
was that soldiers lived miserable lives in these trenches, trapped with
rats feeding on corpses. They faced poisonous gas and enemy shelling,
and witnessed their ranks reduce rapidly.Aggressive war propaganda
and national honour occupied centre stage in the public sphere, while
popular support grew for conservative dictatorships that had recently
come into being
. Democracy was indeed a young and fragile idea,
which could not survive the instabilities of interwar Europe.
who were the spartacist league
The birth of the Weimar Republic coincided with the revolutionary
uprising of the Spartacist League on the pattern of the Bolshevik
Revolution in Russia. Soviets of workers and sailors were established in many cities. The political atmosphere in Berlin was charged with
demands for Soviet-style governance.
who opposed the spartacist league?what did they do?
Those opposed to this – such
as the socialists, Democrats and Catholics – met in Weimar to give
shape to the democratic republic. The Weimar Republic crushed the
uprising with the help of a war veterans organisation called Free
Corps
what did agitated spartacists do
The anguished Spartacists later founded the Communist Party of
Germany. Communists and Socialists henceforth became irreconcilable
enemies and could not make common cause against Hitler. Both
revolutionaries and militant nationalists craved for radical solutions
explain economic crisis of 1923
(or)
what was the main cause of hyperinflation
Political radicalisation was only heightened by the economic crisis
of 1923. Germany had fought the war largely on loans and had to
pay war reparations in gold. This depleted gold reserves at a time
resources were scarce. In 1923 Germany refused to pay, and the
French occupied its leading industrial area, Ruhr, to claim their coal.
Germany retaliated with passive resistance and printed paper currency
recklessly. W
explain the situation of ‘hyperinflation’ in germany
Germany retaliated the french with passive resistance and printed paper currency
recklessly. With too much printed money in circulation, the value
of the German mark fell. In April the US dollar was equal to 24,000
marks, in July 353,000 marks, in August 4,621,000 marks and at 98,860,000 marks by December, the figure had run into trillions. As
the value of the mark collapsed, prices of goods soared. The image of
Germans carrying cartloads of currency notes to buy a loaf of bread
was widely publicised evoking worldwide sympathy. This crisis came
to be known as hyperinflation, a situation when prices rise
phenomenally high.
how was germany bailed out from hyperinfaltion
Eventually, the Americans intervened and bailed Germany out of
the crisis by introducing the Dawes Plan, which reworked the terms
of reparation to ease the financial burden on Germans.
Years of 1924and 1928 saw some stability how ever it was built on sand?explain
Explain the start of the Great Depression
The years between 1924 and 1928 saw some stability. Yet this was built on sand. German investments and industrial recovery were totally dependent on short-term loans, largely from the USA. This support was withdrawn when the Wall Street Exchange crashed in 1929. Fearing a fall in prices, people made frantic efforts to sell their shares. On one single day, 24 October, 13 million shares were sold. This was the start of the Great Economic Depression. Over the next three years, between 1929 and 1932, the national income of the USA fell by half. Factories shut down, exports fell, farmers were badly hit and speculators withdrew their money from the market. The effects of this recession in the US economy were felt worldwide.
Explain effects of economic depression in Germany
The German economy was the worst hit by the economic crisis. By 1932, industrial production was reduced to 40 per cent of the 1929 level. Workers lost their jobs or were paid reduced wages. The number of unemployed touched an unprecedented 6 million. On the streets of Germany you could see men with placards around their necks saying, ‘Willing to do any work’. Unemployed youths played cards or simply sat at street corners, or desperately queued up at the local employment exchange. As jobs disappeared, the youth took to criminal activities and total despair became commonplace.
