The Collapse of Democracy (1930-33) Flashcards
What were the 3 main aspects of the Nazi party’s policies?
- Nationalism
- Socialism
- Racism/ antisemitism
Where did Nazism originate from, and how did this impact it?
- The defeat in the war, and the threat of revolution after it
- It was therefore a mix of traditional German values from the time of the Kaiser and new, radical ideas
How was the Nazi party modelled, and why did this matter?
- It was modelled on the German army
- In Germany, the army was valued more than politicians
List 5 of Hitler’s main beliefs that impacted the party’s policies.
- He was racist and believed in Social Darwinism
- He was a nationalist
- He did not believe in democracy and supported political violence
- He believed in the German military
- He did not support the aristocracy, as he blamed Germany’s traditional rulers for the country’s failures
What were 2 reasons why Hitler appealed to Germans?
- He presented himself as a ‘strong man’ who was decisive, which many nationalists believed was needed to save Germany (like Bismarck), in contrast to traditional politicians
- He was not an aristocrat, and had spent most of the war on the front lines, so he could present himself as an ordinary man who had fought for Germany
What was the SA, how was it organised, and who did it consist of?
- The Sturmabteilung (Stormtroopers) was a paramilitary force that was part of the Nazi movement
- It was organised liked an army and its members wore a brown military uniform, which gave rise to the nickname ‘Brownshirts’
- It originally consisted of WW1 veterans, but in the early 1930s many unemployed young men joined it
What 3 roles did the SA have?
- They used violence (and sometimes even murdered) to:
- intimidate the Nazis’ opponents
- fight other political groups
- protect Nazi leaders
Who led the SA? List 3 important details about him.
- Ernst Röhm
- He was the second most powerful man in the Nazi party
- He valued violence and rejected respectable, middle-class values
- He was openly gay
How did the government try to deal with the SA?
- Brüning used Article 48 to ban political uniforms
- In April 1932 he convinced Hindenburg to issue a decree banning the SA and SS
How effective were Brüning’s attempts to stop the SA? Give 3 details.
- They weren’t that successful as:
- The SA continued to march while wearing white shirts, and other groups such as the Red Front used similar tactics
- In many areas the police were sympathetic to the SA, so allowed them to continue as an underground organisation
- However, in some areas the police used the ban to confiscate SA equipment and uniforms
What did the Nazis do during the Great Depression to increase their popularity?
- They capitalised off of the economic crisis and disillusionment with democracy and the traditional political parties using an effective propaganda campaign
- They targeted messages towards all sections of society
What were the different promises the Nazis made to 5 different parts of German society to win their support?
- Middle class: the Nazis promised to protect them from a communist revolution
- Lower-middle class: they promised to protect them from big businesses (such as through limiting the power of department stores)
- The working class: the Nazis promised them ‘work and bread’
- Women: they promised economic security and greater respect for the traditional role of women as wives and mothers
- Protestants: Protestants tended to be quite nationalist, so the Nazis promised they would protect Germany from the communist threat
Which groups were the Nazis not very successful at attracting, and who did they tend to vote for?
- Catholics
- The working class
- The ZP, SPD and KPD
How did the Nazis do in elections starting from 1928?
- 1928: 2.6%
- 1930: 18%
- July 1932: 37%
- November 1932: 33%
List 7 factors that contributed to the collapse of democracy.
- The lack of support for democracy
- The Great Depression
- Coalitions
- The chancellors from 1930-33
- President Hindenburg
- Political intrigue
- The appeal of the Nazis
What was a notable sign of support for the Weimar Republic? Give 2 examples.
- High voter turnout
- Highest: 84% in 1932
- Lowest: 76% in 1928
List 4 reasons why the middle-class did not support the constitution.
- Liberals had originally believed they could achieve their goals of having more individual rights and increasing the power of the Reichstag while the monarchy still existed
- Nationalists supported the monarchy as they were symbols of Germany
- They felt vulnerable to the power of the working class, as they were united under the SPD in the Reichstag, while they lacked political unity as they were split between the DDP, ZP, DVP and other parties
- They feared the SPD wanted to turn Germany into a workers’ state
Which main parties supported the constitution?
- SPD
- DDP
- ZP
What percentage of votes did pro-constitution parties win in 1919, 1924, 1928 and 1932?
- 1919: 81%
- 1924: 49%
- 1928: 58%
- 1932: 35%
What percentage of votes did anti-constitution parties win in 1919, 1924, 1928 and 1932?
- 1919: 18%
- 1924: 33%
- 1928: 27%
- 1932: 58%
Why did the percentage of votes pro-constitution parties won continually decrease from 1919?
- The communist threat receded
In what 4 ways did coalitions contribute to the collapse of democracy?
- Hindenburg did not want to have chancellors who could not get an agreement on policy, but changing chancellors destabilised the government even more
- The SPD even refused to take part in any more coalitions
- Hindenburg had to use Article 48
- There were 4 chancellors and several elections from 1930 to 1932
List the chancellors from 1928 to 1932, how long they were in office for and their political party.
- Hermann Müller: 1928 - 1930, SPD
- Heinrich Brüning: 1930 - June 1932, ZP
- Franz von Papen: June 1932 - December 1932, ZP
- Kurt von Schleicher: December 1932 - January 1933
What 2 beliefs did Brüning hold, and what 2 impacts did they have?
- He had concerns about socialism, atheism and communism
- He believed authoritarianism was the best way to protect Catholicism from these influences
- Therefore he didn’t hesitate to use Article 48
- This also led him to restrict civil liberties, such as introducing press censorship (mainly to stop communist newspapers)
How did von Papen become chancellor? How did the public feel about this?
- He had the support of Hindenburg and von Schleicher, who advised Hindenburg
- His appointment was surprising to the public as he did not have a lot of public support
What kind of connections did von Papen have? How did this affect his cabinet?
- He had links with monarchists, aristocrats, the army and big business
- His cabinet was made up of aristocrats who weren’t very popular, and was therefore nicknamed the ‘Cabinet of Barons’
What was von Schleicher’s background, and what 2 impacts did it have on politics?
- He was part of the army and a military adviser to Hindenburg
- He wanted to use his influence to protect the army and increase funding for it
- He had an important role in the appointment of von Papen and Brüning
How did Hindenburg believe the rise in extremism (due to the Great Depression) should be dealt with, and why? Who did he share this belief with?
- He did not believe democracy was strong enough to deal with Germany’s problems
- He and conservative nationalists therefore wanted to create an authoritarian presidential government
How could Hindenburg create an authoritarian presidential government?
- Using articles 48 (he could rule by decree), 25 (he could dissolve the Reichstag) and 53 (he could appoint the chancellor)
To what extent did Hindenburg create an authoritarian government? Give 4 details.
- From 1930, he appointed increasingly authoritarian chancellors, and governments became more presidential- the Reichstag had met on 94 days in 1930, but in 1932 this went down to 13
- Hindenburg used Article 48 a lot after 1930- he used it 5 times in 1930, but 66 times in 1932
- When using Article 48, Hindenburg tended to use it to bypass democracy, such as when Brüning was chancellor
- He even used it to attack democracy- he and von Papen used it in 1932 to take control of the SPD-led government in Prussia
What else had Hindenburg done to weaken democracy?
- He had introduced the stab-in-the-back myth to deflect from his own failures during the war in a speech in 1919
When were elections held in 1932?
- March
- July
- November
What were the results of the presidential elections in March?
- Hindenburg won
- Hitler came second
What were the results of the July 1932 elections?
- Nazis: 37%
- SPD: 22%
- ZP: 16%
- KPD: 15%
- DNVP: 6%
- DVP: 1%
- DDP: 1%
What were the results of the November 1932 elections?
- Nazis: 33%
- SPD: 20%
- KPD: 17%
- ZP: 15%
- DNVP: 9%
- DVP: 2%
- DDP: 1%
What were 2 reasons why Hitler wasn’t appointed as chancellor after the July 1932 elections?
- Although he had the largest party in the Reichstag, Hitler was not appointed as chancellor as Hindenburg saw him as a violent extremist
- Hitler was also only a lower-middle class corporal that Hindenburg did not see as fit to be a part of the aristocratic dictatorship
Which politicians supported Hitler, and why?
- Von Papen, von Schleicher and senior generals all argued for a deal with Hitler and the Nazis
- They did this because they lacked popular support, especially in the Reichstag, and hoped to use the Nazis to gain this
- However, they still planned for the government to be ran by the traditional elite
What 2 things did von Papen do to try to win Hitler’s support?
- He lifted the ban on the SA and SS in June (1932)
- He invited Hitler to join the cabinet as vice-chancellor, but Hitler refused and made it clear he would only accept the role of chancellor
What 2 things did von Schleicher do to try to deal with the Nazis?
- He also offered Hitler the role of vice-chancellor, but Hitler once again refused as it wasn’t the role of chancellor
- In December 1932 he offered the role of vice-chancellor to Strasser, one of Hitler’s rivals within the party (in hopes of causing internal division while gaining himself political legitimacy in the Reichstag) but Hitler ordered Strasser to refuse the post
What were 3 reasons why the upper class tried to convince Hindenburg to appoint Hitler as chancellor?
- The army wanted to ensure the loyalty of the SA
- They also wanted to use the SA to fight the Red Front if a communist revolution were to happen
- Industrialists and bankers wanted to protect their wealth and property from a possible communist revolution
How and when was Hitler appointed as chancellor?
- Von Papen suggested to Hindenburg that he appoint Hitler as chancellor, himself as vice-chancellor and that he keeps a cabinet of the traditional elite so that they could all control Hitler together
- In January 1933, Hindenburg agreed to this and Hitler was appointed as chancellor on the 30th
