The Growth in support for Nazis 1929-32 Flashcards
What was the Great Depression
a wall street crash that occurred in 1929 in the USA which resulting in banks losing billions of dollars. The whole world was affected by this and resulted in the Great Depression. For Germany, it mainly caused unemployment
How was Germany affected by the Great Depression?
US banks stopped loans to Germany
German industries lost finance and laid off workers
by 1932, 40% of workers were unemployed.
German government had no money so reduced unemployment benefits
LEAD to loss of faith in democracy and families suffered
How did the Weimar Government respond to the Great Depression?
It became clear the government could not solve the problem of employment. Chancellor Muller and his replacement Bruning could not fix Germany’s economy.
In response, President Hindenburg used article 48 (overruling the Reichstag) to gain total power over the country
How did extremist parties benefit from the Great Depression?
German people turned to extremist parties to quickly solve the economic crisis
Communists gained increasing support from the working class
Nazis also gained support because they appealed to a larger amount of the German population
How did Hitler and Intimidation lead to an increase in Nazi support
Hitler was a mesmerizing public speaker
SA and SS eliminated political opponents but also protected the Nazis
How did propaganda lead to increase in Nazi support
Presenting Hitler as Germany’s saviour (Fuhrer cult)
volksgemeinschaft - the Nazis would create one German community that would make religion or social class less relevant to people.
Anti-semetism: they blamed Jews for the Great Depression
Why were Hitler’s speeches so effective?
They were flexible, eg:
For businessmen, Nazis would solve the Great Depression
For workers, Nazis would give employment and food
For farmers, Nazis would protect them from Communists who would steal land
What was Bruning’s nickname after causing incomes and exports to drop in value during the Great Depression
the Hunger Chancellor
How did Goebbels cause an increase in Nazi support?
He was talented in manipulating huge audiences. He made sure the Nazi message was simple and frequently repeated.
How many newspapers did the Nazis own by the early 1930s? How many people read these papers?
120 newspapers owned, read by hundreds of thousands across the country
How did Goebbels take advantage of political chaos 1930-32
By presenting the Nazi party in local, national and presidential elections. The Nazi message was therefore heard everywhere, mainly the radio
What was Goebbels’s position in the Nazi party 1929?
Head of Propaganda
What was Goebbels’s position in the Nazi party in 1933
Minister of propaganda and enlightenment
What German problems did Hitler claim was due to the Jews?
Hitler claimed that jews:
were involved not only with Communism but also the evils of capitalism
had helped to cause unemployment
had conspired in Germany’s defeat in the First World War
had been involved in the Bolshevik Revolution
were preparing to cause a revolution in Germany which would mean that all private
property and wealth would be seized by the state.
What methods did Hitler use to spread his message during the 1932 elections?
Hitler flew by aeroplane so he could speak at 5 cities a day.
