Summary 5 : A Depression and the Rise of Nazis Flashcards
why was Germany susceptible to the repercussions of the Wall Street crash?
Germnay was dependent on foreign loans (particularly from the USA) but after the Wall Street Crash, new loans dried up and existing loans were called in by US banks and as world banks slumped,Germany lost its valuable export market for its manufactured
why did the government not act decisively to tackle the slump?
- international belief that govt were fairly powerless
- hard for coalition to agree on action ( march 1930 great coalition collapsed)
- govt terrified of repeat of hyperinflation ,thought this could be caused by govt increased spending on welfare and public works
- legal restrictions on the Reichsbank (result of Dawes and Young plan) meant govt not allowed to print more money or devalue currency
- few trusted the long term finances of Germany so loans hard to find
- evidence now suggests Bruning allowed the crisis to worsen as a part of strategy to get reparations cancelled
what was the govt initially strategy?
- reduce govt expenditure because tax revenues were declining with industrial activity
- raise taxes to help balance the budget
the effects being catastrophic and eventually the govt became more interventionists - a few public work schemes were set up and Von Paper looked at allocating unused land to the poor but it was too little too late
what was the economic impact of the depression?
❗️
- 1929/32 the volume of world trade fell by 70%
- industrial production fell by 58% compared to its 1928 level
- unemployment rose to 6 million in Germany (1 in 3)
- by Jan 1933,the unemployment rate was 33%
- wages drastically cut
- bankruptcies increased
- agriculture depression since 1927, prices now fell further
what was the social impact of the depression?
❗️- unemployment benefit system only designed to help 800,000 ,amount payed out having to be reduced as the system could not cope
- women received lower benefits than men
- doctors reported increasing cases of malnutrition,TB and rickets
- high youth unemployment eg Hamburg,June 1933:39% 14-25 males unemployed ➡️social disorder and looking to extremist parties
- women experienced resentment for working whilst male unemployment so high, nationalists insisted married women should not be working, some success ad in May 1932 law passed allowing married women civil servants to be dismissed
how did the depression affect the vote?
❗️1928: 1.3m unemployed, Nazi - 2.6% KPD -10.6%
1932 July: 5.4m unemployed, Nazi - 37.4% KPD - 14.5%
why was the depression so detrimental to the vote?
the economic crisis became a political crisis because of the existing and growing lack of faith in the democratic system causing the depression to accelerate because its democratic foundations were so poorly established and the Nazis were able to offer an alternative to the floundering democracy
what was the grand coalition ?
Lasted March 1930-June 1932
❗️SPD leader Muller’s included 5 different parties and was the last majority government of the Weimar republic but by Spring 1930 the coalition was falling apart, disagreements centred on how to finance the unemployment insurance system which was under growing strain from unemployment
how did Bruning become chancellor?
March 1930-1932
President Hindenburg seized the chance to appoint the Heinrich Bruning (leader of centre party) as chancellor as he had wanted a more right-wing chancellor, the army was hoping to start rearm Germany and believed a more authoritarian govt. would help
Brunings government?
❗️- the appointment of Bruning govt was a centre-right wing coalition but did not include the SPD and could only muster under 40% support of the Reichstag
-Bruning made it clear that if he did not get support for his policies in the Reichstag, he would request the dissolution of the Reichstag and rule by emergency decree
evidence to show Brunings dissolution of democracy?
❗️1930 : laws passed by reichstag 98
laws passed by decree 5
1932 : laws passed by reichstag 32
laws passed by decree 66
Brunings response to the depression was to cut govt. expenditure and raise taxes but without majority support Bruning had to use article 48
Significance of the 1930 election?
❗️- the Nazis made major gains - votes rose to 18.3% (from 2.6% in 1928)
- became the largest group in the Reichstag but KPD votes also rising
- extremists gaining support so democratic parties loosing votes
- Bruning tried to get hitler to support a coalition but refused unless chancellor
➡️ reichstag became unmanageable,number of emergency decrees rose from 5 in 1930 to 66 in 1932 so political power shifted from he Reichstag to the president and his circle of advisors
why was there growing political violence?
- echoing the early years of wr republic
- 1930/33 saw increasing political violence, the KPD’s red fighting league clashed with the Nazi stromtroopers with each attempting to break up the meeting of the others
- by spring 1932, the violence was so bad that Hindenburg issued a decrees banning the SA - having little effect as membership of the SA grew and violence continued
how did the Nazis become an electable force?
- Hitler had concluded that the NSDAP would have to campaign through the ballot box to gain power by a ‘legal revolution’
who did the Nazis appeal to?
social class/occupation: groups that were over represented including
- self employed
- farmers
- white collar workers
- public/civil servants
workers were under represented (33% in jan 33 when they represent 46% of population)
religion: protestants more likely to be part members the Catholics
age: 18-30 year olds 31% population 61% Nazi membership
