Rise of Totalitarian State Flashcards
Germany, Italy, Russia, Rise of Nazi, Weimar and Versailles
Otto von Bismarck
Chancellor who engineered wars (Wars of Unification) that gained land for Prussia and united Germany. Bismarck centralized power within the aristocracy and the Army. Led a modern technological Germany but rejected democracy. He rubbed elbows with industrial elites who would back Bismarck in all endeavors.
Sonderweg
German for “special path.” The accommodation between monarchies and the middle class. The middle class had limited political power but, in return, gained middle-class prosperity. Both types feared the lower class, and this agreement of sorts is what is believed by some to have made the “special path” for Nazism to take hold.
Lebensraum:
A living space in the East for the master race. The nazi belief that Germans needed living space and the idea that war with the Judeo Bolsheviks was necessary.
Richard Wagner
One of the greatest composers in history. He was active in the 1848 revolutions. His act, Das Rheingold, a part of his four-part Ring Cycle, inspired the Lord of the Rings. Heavily based on Norse mythology. Wagner was known for symphonies and operas but was highly anti-Semitic. Influence on culture taking Germany on a dangerous path.
“Stab in the Back”
Manufactured conspiracy theory. The collective belief was that Germany had been betrayed. The Nazis would play on this legend over and over and over. The Germans were collapsing and on the verge of being defeated. German military leaders used this myth as a scapegoat to dodge blame for the loss. German people kept in the dark at home…with no enemy soldiers on German soil, it was unfathomable to think they were losing the war. The public was outraged when Germany was forced to sign the Treaty of Versailles because they firmly believed they had not lost the war. Germany didn’t lose the war; communists, socialists, Jews, etc., colluded and were the reason why Germany lost.
Dawes Plan/The Young Plan
Germany was forced to pay 12.5 billion in reparations. The US developed the Dawes Plan, a loan from the United States that paid the reparations for Germany—allowing Germany to repay their reparations. The Young Plan helped Germany reduce the payments, which all dried up during the Great Depression.
Article 231 The War Guilt Clause
This was a part of the Paris Peace Treaty, or the Treaty of Versailles. Germany had to accept full blame for the war. A very bitter pill of the Versailles Peace Treaty. Put all the blame onto Germany and minimize the guilt of the other countries. All the deaths of the young German people are in the hands of the Germans themselves.
Weimar Republic
1918-1933. It was an attempt by Germany, German constitutionalists, and the Allies to create a new form of government. Weimar no longer had an Emperor but a chancellor who oversaw daily affairs- and a president who served a more ceremonial role. This was almost too democratic and created cracks in the foundations of Germany to allow Fascism to take over. Both sides attacked the Weimar Republic, left and right. Conservatives wanted the monarchy back, etc. Far Left were communists…Socialists and Communists were both radical and went against each other. It had a fragile constitution that was overly democratic and allowed too many people to have fringe groups in the Reichstag to have a voice and enter politics.
Gustav Stresemann
He served as the foreign minister. Stressermann died in 1929 when the Depression began, and it was a loss for the Weimar Republic as it lost its leadership ability—capable leader during the Weimar Republic.
“Policy of Fulfillment”
It was created by Gustav Stresseman, who believed that Germany should do anything to fulfill the terms of the Treaty of Versailles. The allies would see it as an impossible feat and unattainable.
Article 48 (The Joker Clause)
A part of the Weimar Constitution. It allowed the cabinet or chancellor to suspend the constitution in the case of an emergency. If Germany was in danger, the president/chancellor could invoke 48, suspend civil liberties, and call in the armed forces to enforce it. All constitutional freedoms were suspended, and Hitler used this to gain power.
German Workers Party
Led by Anton Drexler. Hitler was hired by law enforcement to spy on the group but was so aroused by the movement that he joined the party. This is where he worked to become a better public speaker. Hitler took over the movement from Drexler and changed the name to the National Socialist Workers Party, or NAZI party. It was made of higher middle class/ working class members—radical Right Wing movement. The name changed in 1919. Jews were the enemy.
Anton Drexler
He was the original leader of the German Workers Party. Drexler blamed Germany’s plight on Jews, Capitalists, Big Business…etc
Alfred Hugenberg
was the leader of the DNVP (German National People’s Party) during the Reichstag Elections 1928-1933 and a newspaper publisher. He and Von Popen advised Hidenburg to offer Hitler the Chancellorship in 1933… a fatal mistake.
Night of the Long Knives:
June 30 to July 2nd, 1934. A massive purge to rid opposing or threatening people. Rohm was arrested and shot. The SA was purged, and Von Kahr was killed—mass arrests and murders. SA is eliminated as a political force. The SS gained the upper hand along with Himmler, who was instrumental in carrying out the Holocaust—solidifying Hitler’s power.
