Part 2: Germany and the Depression Flashcards
what aided germany’s prosper from 1924 onwards?
foreign banks, especially american ones, lent huge amounts of money to germany to build factories and businesses which created more jobs, more money and a better standard of living
what happened in october 1929
a financial crisis, known as the wall street crash, hit the USA
what did the wall street crash mean for USA?
american companies and banks went out of business and millions lost their jobs which soon became known as the depression
what were the three kinds of impacts the wall street crash had on germany?
economic, political and social
describe the economic impact the wall street crash had on germany.
- americans had bought many german goods such as cars, electrical equipment and clothing but they couldn’t afford these things any more because of the depression so german factories shut down and millions lost their jobs
- troubled US banks demanded back the money they had lent to germany after WW1
how did german banks try to reclaim the money US was demanding for?
- from german businesses
- they could not pay and so went bankrupt
describe the social impact the wall street crash had on germany.
many people were soon living on the streets - jobless, hungry and angry at their political leaders who they blamed for their problems
describe the political impact the wall street crash had on germany
- people listened to different, often extreme, political parties that promised radical solutions to germany’s problems and ways of improving their lives
examples of extreme political parties
left-wing communists and right-wing nazis
what happened in the 1930 elections?
the communists increased their number of seats in the reichstag from 54 to 77 and nazi support increased from 12 seats in 1928 to 107 seats in 1930
growth of the nazi party over four years
- nazi party went from being the eighth most popular party in germany to the most popular
number of votes for the nazi party in 1928 compared to july 1932
800,000 to nearly 14 million votes
what were the 5 factors for the Nazis’ rise to popularity?
- the depression
- discontent with the weimar government
- the appeal of hitler
- fear of communisms
- nazi party structures, methods and tactics
describe how the depression caused the nazis’ surge in popularity.
by 1932, unemployment stood at 6 million and the nazis promised to create jobs
describe how the discontent with the weimar government caused the nazis’ surge in popularity.
- weimar politicians couldn’t agree how to help the unemployed and get germany out of the depression
- several chancellors were appointed by president hindeburg but they made very little impact
- many ordinary germans felt this democratic system wasn’t working
state the succession of chancellors under hindeburg
- muller
- bruning
describe how the appeal of hitler caused the nazis’ surge in popularity.
- charismatic personality
- convinced people he could be trusted to make germany a great nation
- his powerful speeches filled his audiences with hope
describe how the fear of communism caused the nazis’ surge in popularity.
- german communists, such as the spartacists, had tried to take over in the years after the first world war
- this alarmed middle-class and wealthy germans who didn’t want to lose their wealth and position in society
- communists were anti-religion which worried church-goers
- hitler said he would fight communism and he gained support from middle and upper classes
describe how nazi party methods, structure and tactics caused the nazis’ surge in popularity.
- after the failure of the munich putsch in 1923, hitler changed tactics to legally win power in elections
- nazi party offices set up all over
- use of the SA (stormtroopers)
- hitler’s participation in mass parades and rallies
- HYO
- use of new media such as radio and cinema news reports
why were nazi party offices set up all over germany?
to recruit more followers
use of the SA
they protected hitler’s meetings and tried to influence workers at elections
hitler’s participation in mass parades and rallies…
displayed nazi power
why was the HYO set up?
to encourage younger followers
examples of new media used by the nazi party
- radio
- cinema news reports
- printed millions of leaflets and posters to reach a wide audience
who was joseph goebbels?
one of hitler’s most loyal followers was put in charge of propaganda to spread the nazi message
when was joseph goebbels appointed?
from 1928
which five groups voted for the nazis?
- farmers
- women
- middle classes
- wealthy classes
- the youth
how did the depression hit farmers?
very hard and the weimar government offered little help
what did the nazis promise the farmers?
higher prices for crops, a better quality of life and higher status in society
what nazi opposition appealed to famers?
- nazi opposition to communists
- if the communists took over they would seize farmers’ land
how did the nazis target women?
by saying that family life, good morals and self-discipline were important
what did some women agree with?
hitler’s view that weimar culture has been a bad influence on the young
examples of the middle class
small business owners, doctors, bank workers and managers
what did the middle class fear?
that law and order might break down during the depression and that a communist takeover could destroy their way of life
what did the nazis promise to deal with which appealed to the middle class?
they promised to deal with problems decisively and the SA fought communists
what did the nazis promise which appealed to wealthy classes?
the nazis promised strong leadership to make germany powerful again and promised to let owners run factories how they wanted and his plans to build more weapons would be good for manufacturing
how did nazi opposition to communists appeal to wealthy classes?
the communists wanted to take over many businesses but the nazis opposed them
what did the nazis promise which appealed to the youth?
hitler’s promise to tear up the treaty of versailles and make the country strong again
what did the youth want to be a part of which hitler was offering?
they wanted to be a part of germany’s bright future and get jobs in the armed forces or building new homes, motorways and hospitals
what grew as the depression worsened?
political instability
what would happen as a result of parties barely winning a majority in weimar germany?
they usually got together to form a coalition government
what was chosen from the coalition government?
a chancellor was chosen
were coalitions effective?
such coalitions were mostly ineffective and the president could use article 48 of the constitution to appoint a new chancellor in such emergencies
what happened as a result of the september 1930 reichstag election?
- no party won a majority
- coalition formed
- bruning became chancellor, however, he was unpopular for cutting unemployment pay and raising taxes
seats won by the nazi party vs the spd september 1930 reichstag election
- spd - 143
- nazi party - 107
what were the results of the 1932 presidential election?
paul von hindenburg
how did hitler try to spread the nazi word after coming second in the reichstag election?
- nazis put up millions of posters and flags
- hitler gave speeches at mass rallies across germany
role of the SA after the september 1930 reichstag election
they beat up communists and disrupted their meetings, making it hard for them to campaign
to the german people, what proved the failure of the weimar government?
the chaos, violence and unstable governments
what did hitler do in march 1932?
hitler challenged hindenburg for the presidency and won an impressive 13.4 million votes against hindenburg’s 19.3 million
what caused the july 1932 election?
bruning resigned in july 1932 and hindeburg appointed another centre party politician, franz von papen, however, von papen lacked support, so he called an election
what were the nazis after the july 1932 election?
the largest political party
how many seats did the nazis win in the july 1932 election compared to the spd party?
- nazi party won 230
- spd won 133
after the success at the july 1932 election, what did hitler demand?
the chancellor’s job, however hindenburg refused
why did hindenburg refuse to give hitler the job of chancellor?
he thought the nazis were a disruptive party and he used his emergency powers to give the job to von papen again
what was called in november 1932?
- von papen called another election in november 1932
- votes for the nazis fell slightly but they were still the largest party
how many votes did von papen’s centre party get in the november 1932?
fewer seats as well, so he reigned again
hitler’s steps to become chancellor after the november 1932
- hindenburg made his old friend kurt von schleicher chancellor, but he had little support, so he resigned
- on 30 January 1933, hindenburg had little choice but to appoint hitler as chancellor
- he tried to limit hitler’s power by appointing von papen as vice chancellor and only allowing hitler to have two other nazis in the cabinet
- hindenburg and his advisers thought they would be able to control hitler
as chancellor, hitler was still not..
in complete control
why was hitler still not in complete control as chancellor?
- president hindenburg could easily have replaced him
- also germany was a democracy so hitler could only make laws with the reichstag’s approval and over half of the reichstag politicians didn’t belong to the nazi party
february 1933 - hitler’s rise to power
hitler called a new election for march 1933, hoping to get a majority. he now had greater influence over many newspapers and radio stations. he used his control of the police to intimidate voters and beat up opponents
27th february 1933- hitler’s rise to power
a week before voting day, the reichstag burned down. hitler blamed it on a communist plot to take over germany
28 february 1933- hitler’s rise to power
hitler asked hindenburg to pass an emergency ‘protection law’, giving hitler the power to deal with germany’s problems. before of the reichstag fire and the apparent communist plot, hindenburg agreed.
march 1933- hitler’s rise to power
the new law, the decree for the protection of the people and the state, banned leading communists from taking part in the election campaign.
how many communists were jailed and what happened to their newspaper?
4000 communists were jailed and their newspapers were banned
what happened in the election on the 5th march 1933?
the nazis got more votes than ever, but still not the majority hitler desperately wanted
what happened on the 23rd march 1933?
centre party politicians joined the nazis. hitler now had his majority. many centre party politicians were bullied into passing the enabling act - he could make laws without approval from the rest of the reichstag
how did nazi power increase by 7th april 1933?
nazis were put in charge of all local government, councils and the police. the gestapo (secret police) was formed. the first concentration camp for political prisoners was opened in dachau, southern germany
what did hitler ban on the 2nd may 1933?
all trade unions
what did hitler ban on the 14th july 1933?
all political parties except the nazis - the ‘law against the formation of new parties’ banned the establishment of new ones
what was germany by the 14th july 1933?
a one-party state
what happened on the 2nd august 1934?
- hitler murdered his opponents in the SA during the night of the long knives
- when hindenburg died, hitler immediately took over as president while remaining chancellor
once hitler became president, what did he make the army do?
swear an oath of loyalty to him, and not to the country
what did hitler decide to be called when he became chancellor on the 2nd august 1934?
he decided to be called der fuhrer - the leader
although hitler was in control of germany, he still felt he had…
rivals for power within the nazi party, and wanted to remove them
who was the most dangerous threat to hitler’s power from within the nazi party?
came from the SA, the very group that had helped hitler achieve power
describe how the SA went from help to hindrance.
- they had protected hitler from harm and had beaten up his opponents
- many SA members were violent thugs who wanted well-paid jobs as a reward now that hitler was in power
- leader was ernst rohm
- hitler was worried that rohm was becoming too powerful and the SA already had more members than the german army
- rohm wanted to combine the SA and the army and control both himself
who did rohm’s pursuit for power alarm and what did they have to do?
- this alarmed hitler and the army leaders
- hitler needed to keep the army leaders happy and so he would need them to get back the land germany lost in the treaty of versailles
what happened on the 30th june 1934?
- hitler dealt ruthlessly with the problem of rohm and the SA in a series of bloody events on 30 June 1934
- the night of the long knives
what did hitler arrange on the 30th june 1934?
a meeting at a hotel in bavaria, southern germany with SA leaders
describe the events of the night of the long knives.
- 30 june 1934
- shortly before dawn, hitler and an assassination squad from the SS stormed into the hotel and arrested rohm and other SA leaders
- they were later shot dead
who were the SS?
hitler’s bodyguards, the black-uniformed Schutzstaffel
what happened over the next few days after the night of the long knives?
around 400 political opponents were executed, including ex-Chancellor von Schleicher
what was the 3 points of impact of the night of the long
- rivals dead
- rise of the SS
- rule of murder
rivals dead due to the night of the long knives
many of those who hitler regarded as a threat were now dead, including rohm and all the leading nazis who didn’t agree with hitler
rise of the ss due to the night of the long knives
- the SS, led by Heinrich Himmler, was now responsible for Hitler’s security, not the SA
- along with the gestapo, the SS now formed the basis of the ‘police state’
- the SA remained but was never again a major force
rule of murder due to the night of the long knives
hitler did not hide what he had done. his acts established murder as a method of the nazi government
who were the SS led by?
heinrich himmler
