Weimar and Nazi Germany Flashcards
Features and effects of the Treaty of Versailles
Features:
- Germany lost all overseas colonies and 13% of territory in Europe, such as Alsace-Lorraine and parts that were ceded to Poland
- Limited to a 100,000 man army, no tanks, no airforce, a small navy with no submarines
- Germany was forced to accept complete responsibility for the war (Article 231)
Effects:
German government shocked at harshness of the treaty, as they were uninvited to initial negotiations, and initially refused to sign. German public were outraged and called it a shameful ‘Diktat’, dubbing those who signed it ‘November Criminals’
Features of the Weimar Constitution and how they were important
- Democratic, allowing everyone a vote, however this meant people were able to criticise government more and those with extremist views could vote for extremist parties
- State rights allowed states more power from the government
- Article 48 allowed president to suspend democracy in times of crisis, which was seen as undemocratic and authoritarian
- Proportional representation was a fairer system of election, however often led to no majority meaning coalitions were formed which were often ineffective. It also allowed extremist parties to gain seats in the Reichstag
Features and effects of the Spartacist Uprising 1919
Features:
- Led by Rosa Luxembourg and Karl Liebknecht, a group of communist protestors wanted to overthrow the Weimar regime to replace it with a communist government, as had been done in Russia. They captured government telegraph and newspaper offices. However, they were stopped by the well armed and well numbered Freikorps
Effects:
- Demonstrated the new government’s weakness, unable to deal itself with threat and instead relying on the Freikorps to carry this out themselves
Features and effects of the Kapp Putsch 1920
Features:
- Led by Wolfgang Kapp. Freikorps units, fearing disbandment, marched on Berlin to overthrow the government and instate Kapp as the new leader. The German army refused to fire on ex-soldiers so the Freikorps marched on Berlin unopposed.
- The government fled Berlin, leaving the Freikorps to take control of the capital. The government however urged workers to go on strike, which they did, and essential services such as transport and electricity were disrupted. Kapp could not govern without these and so fled to Sweden. Weimar government reinstated
Effects:
- Again showed the weakness of the new government, this time having to rely on workers to deal with threats from the right
- However, demonstrated the government had support from the workers despite its faults as they were willing to defend it from right-wing threat
Features and effects of the French invasion of the Ruhr and hyperinflation
Features:
- A missed reparations payment by Germany in December of 1922 led to French outrage and in January 1923 60,000 French and Belgian troops occupied Ruhr industrial area
- They seized money from banks and raw materials to take back as reparations. The government urged workers to go on passive resistance to stop producing goods for the French to seize. Violence also broke out between the two sides, and the French remained in the Ruhr until the signing of the Dawes Plan in 1925
Effects:
- Showed again the government had some support as workers obeyed the call for resistance and prevented the French robbing more products. Led to brief popularity due to strike pay and unity against France
- More money was printed to pay striking workers, so much so that it led to hyperinflation. This was beneficial for some e.g those with fixed loans or debts who could pay them off easily, but damaging to most, such as middle classes and those with large savings
Introduction of the Rentenmark (features and effects)
Features:
- Introduced in November 1923 to combat hyperinflation. The Rentenmark was directly tied to industrial and agricultural wealth and money printing was tightly controlled
- Reichsmark and Reichsbank was introduced as a permanent solution in 1924
Effects:
- Restored faith in the Germany financial system and allowed the economy to come out of hyperinflation and grow stronger
Features and effects of the Dawes Plan 1925
Features:
- 800 million gold marks loaned by the USA to Germany, which was a very large boost for the economy
- Reparations lowered significantly for the first 5 years, then raised after this period
- French agreed to leave the Ruhr
- Allies given some control of railways
Effects:
- Greatly boosted industry, industrial output doubled between 1923-29
- Living standards improved, wages rose and prices fell. Construction began on new roads and public infrastructure, people could claim unemployment benefits
- However, there was an over-reliance on American loans which would be problematic when the Wall Street Crash happened in 1929
- Some also disliked the Dawes Plan as they believed Germany was wrong to continue with reparations payments
Features of the Young Plan 1929
Features:
- Lowered reparations payments from £6.6 billion to $8 billion, and Germany was given a significant amount of extra time to pay (59 years). Yearly rates, Germany would pay only that which it could afford
- Allied troops agreed to leave the Rhineland by 1930, 5 years earlier than planned
Effects:
- Never put into place due to Wall Street Crash occurring and the recall of American loans
Features and effects of the Locarno Pact 1925
Features:
- Germany accepted western borders, such as with France and Belgium as it had ceded land to them in the Treaty of Versailles. French agreed to never invade the Ruhr again. No military force used except in self defence
- Agreed to solve eastern borders peacefully
Effects:
- Opposition from nationalists who were outraged that German had ceded any land at all and that their borders had been compromised
- Improvement in relations between Germany and the countries that signed the treaty
Features and effects of the Munich Putsch (+ reasons why the Putsch occurred)
Reasons:
- Hitler was inspired by the fascist takeover in Italy by Mussolini and his ‘March on Rome’. He believed he could achieve a similar outcome
- Hitler knew he had support within the Bavarian state government, who were right wing nationalists and sympathetic to Hitler’s aims
- He had 20,000 supporters and a paramilitary force, suggesting he was prepared numerically to achieve a takeover
- Sentiment was against the Republic due to economic concerns and the Treaty of Versailles fresh in the minds of many civilians
Features:
1. Hitler interrupts a meeting of state government officials in the Munich Beer Hall and forces von Kahr and von Lossow to swear loyalty to the Putsch
2. Ludendorff is left in command while Hitler and other Nazi officials and supporters march to take other key areas of the city
3. Ludendorff allowed state government officials to go home , where they report the emergency and state opposition to the Putsch
4. The army is sent out from their barracks and fires upon a crowd of Nazis, killing 14 and wounding Hitler. He is later arrested
5. At his trial, he receives a lenient sentence of 5 years in Landsberg prison due to his charismatic criticism of the Weimar regime. He only serves 9 months of this
Effects:
- The Nazi party is banned and temporarily loses support as the country begins to recover economically under Stresemann
- Hitler writes Mein Kampf in prison, which becomes a bestseller. Details many of the party’s ideas
Features and effects of reorganisation of the party 1924-29
Features:
- Germany divided into 34 districts with a Nazi official (Gauleiter) as head of each
- Headquarters based in Munich
- First Nazi rally held in Weimar
- Conference held in Bamberg in 1926 where Hitler was confirmed as party leader. 25 point programme emphasised
- SS was set up as Hitler’s personal bodyguard and Heinrich Himmler as head
- Hitler Youth was established
- Trained members to be effective public speakers
Effects:
- Made outreach to voters more effective and helped in gaining seats for the Nazis. More efficient system
- Gave the Nazis more influence over the youth, with many more youth groups being established later and being made compulsory to join in 1939
Effects of the Wall Street Crash 1929
- 4 out of 10 workers were unable to find a job. Many struggled to afford food due to tax increases and unemployment benefits were also cut
- Business owners that had not been forced to close their businesses struggled due to people not having enough money to buy goods
- Young people, even well educated, struggled to find work. Over 50 % were unemployed by 1933
- Farmers had struggled for a long time due to falling prices, and many were in debt. Nazis campaigned for farmers and so rural areas had Nazi support
Reasons why Hitler became chancellor
Personal appeal:
- He was depicted in propaganda as superhuman and often used broad, vague slogans that appealed to many such as ‘Make Germany strong!’ Many were mesmerised by his speeches. He also had the support of big businesses due to his promises to vanquish communism and so could fund party campaign
Role of SA:
- Disciplined presence at rallies. Used symbols like lights and swords to suggest Germany’s future was in safe hands
- Disrupted opponent meetings and intimidated voters
Propaganda:
- Nazis trained members to be effective public speakers
- Used new technology like radio and commercial flight to fly around the country and talk at rallies
- Were quick to change messages if they became unpopular, and keep them as vague as possible to appeal to many
- Owned different newspapers and published propaganda in them
Features of political scheming
- Kurt von Schleicher replaces chancellor Brüning after he bans SS and SA due to unrest
- He appoints Franz von Papen as chancellor and believes he can control him from the background
- Papen’s government loses seats in the July 1932 elections. Hitler makes a claim for the chancellorship as he has the largest party in the Reichstag but not a majority. Hindenburg refuses
- In November 1932 Nazis lose seats but remain largest party. Papen resigns and industrialists write to Hindenburg to appoint Hitler chancellor. Hindenburg appoints Schleicher instead
- Schleicher asks to use emergency powers to get a military dictatorship, believes Papen and Hitler were trying to overthrow him
- This gets out and he loses support. Hitler is appointed chancellor Jan 1933
Features and effects of the Reichstag Fire
Features:
- Feb 1933, Reichstag is burned down by Dutch communist Marinus van der Lubbe. He is arrested and was executed in January 1934
Effects:
- Goering claims Reichstag Fire was part of a communist plot. Nazis arrest 4,000 communist leaders and suspend civil liberties temporarily, allowed to search homes and arrest without warrant, and imprison without trial
Features and effects of the Enabling Act
Features:
- Hitler needed a majority to pass the bill, so promised centre party he would protect Catholic church, and nationalists joined willingly. He banned communists. With this he now had a majority
- He now no longer needed the approval of the Reichstag to make decisions and it rarely met
Effects:
- Trade unions were closed down as they had communist sympathies. They were replaced with the German Workers’ Front (DAF)
- Local governments were replaced with Nazi majorities before they were completely closed down
- Opposition political parties were banned leaving only the Nazi party
Reasons, effects and events; Night of the Long Knives
Reasons:
- Many viewed Rohm’s homosexuality as degenerate and that it was corrupting the Hitler Youth; believed he was unfit to lead
- The SA and Rohm posed a threat to Hitler, their membership in 1934 was above 2 million
- SA often showed lack of discipline, getting into drunken street fights and made the Nazis look shameful and undisciplined
- Hitler wanted the support of the army and its influence, but the SA wanted to replace the army. The army resented the SA for this. SS leader Himmler also disliked power of the SA
- Rohm was more socialist while Hitler was a strong nationalist
Events:
- June 1934, over 200 SA leaders are arrested and taken to Munich, and around 90 of them were executed, and took revenge on old political enemies
Effects:
- The SA was severely weakened and the SS became the more powerful stormtrooper force for the Nazis
- Hitler gained support as he presented himself as having defeated an SA plot and saved Germany once again
- Many political opponents were now very intimidate of Hitler
- Hitler had total control of the army, they now had to swear loyalty to him rather than to the state
Terror and police state, including concentration camps, Gestapo, and SS
- Nazis established special courts across Germany which had no juries, and judges were sympathetic to Nazi policies. Many people were sentenced to death and executed as there was no right to appeal
- Concentration camps were run by the SS and often initially housed in abandoned warehouses or factories. Political prisoners and victims of Nazi persecution were sent, and forced to work, with torture and brutality being common
- The SS was responsible for arresting political prisoners, and running concentration camps, and acted as Hitler’s personal bodyguard. They wore black uniforms with silver emblems which made them easily recognisable. Himmler was their head and dismissed many of its members for homosexuals or overdrinking
- The Gestapo was the Nazi secret police, they were responsible for handing over opponents to the Nazis to the SS to be tortured. They could search homes without warrant. They relied on informers to give them information, which many Germans did willingly, with some even handing over family members, Block wardens for each neighbourhood reported to the Gestapo
Features of censorship and propaganda
Censorship:
1. Newspapers were all brought under the Reich Press Chamber and journalists, editors and owners were made to join, and no one with anti-Nazi views was allowed to join. The Nazis controlled what was written in newspapers and shut down any newspapers that opposed their views
2. All radio stations across Germany were brought together under the Reich Radio Company. Broadcasts were controlled and radios made in Germany could not pick up foreign broadcasts
3. The Gestapo had the right to search bookstores and libraries and seize and literature that was against Nazi values. Many book-burnings took place where much of this literature was burned. The Reich Chamber of Commerce was established, which all writers, actors and musicians had to join, and their work had to be acceptable by Nazi standards. Modern art and music, such as jazz, was seen as inferior
Propaganda:
1. Owners of bars and factories were required to install loudspeakers so that Hitler’s speeches could be broadcast to people wherever
2. Radios were mass produced and available cheaply, and many households had one
3. Huge rallies and demonstrations in streets were held on national holidays to showcase Nazi power, such as the huge Nuremberg rallies
4. The music of Bach, Beethoven and Mozart was frequently played and modern art, such as pieces made during the Weimar period, were seen as degenerate and discouraged, favouring classical works. Films were pro-Nazi
5. The Olympic Games were held in Berlin in 1936, and so a focus was placed on sport in schools to demonstrate the superiority of the Aryan race, with Germany winning the most medals at the games. However the star athlete Jesse Owens was a black American
6. Newspapers spread Nazi propaganda and planted positive stories. Goebbels told editors what they should include in the papers
Nazi policies towards education and young people
Education:
- Nazis saw education as an important source of propaganda as children were more accepting of certain messages than adults
- Teachers were trained in special camps run by the Nazis and forced to join Nazi teachers’ unions so they could pass on Nazi values
- There were many changes to the curriculum; history taught the rise of the Nazis and Hitler, geography the German need for lebensraum, maths often had problems associated with the military. Race studies was a new subject and taught the superiority of the Aryan race and the inferiority of others, especially Jews. Domestic science was taught to girls only to prepare them for life as a mother. More time was given to PE and physical health
- Some schools, Hitler Leadership, were set up by the Nazis which prepared boys to be military leaders, and were given physical and political training
Youth groups:
- In 1933 the Nazis banned all other youth groups and made membership compulsory, although there were no penalties for not going. In 1939, this law became stricter and membership was mandatory. The Nazis believed that children should spend as much time away from their parents to reduce outside influence
- Youth groups were for boys and girls, including the Hitler Youth and the League of German Maidens, and had activities that were made to be fun to encourage youth support for the Nazis. Such as camping, marching and military style drills for boys, and childcare, cooking classes for girls.
Nazi policies for women
- Nazis encouraged women to stay at home and look after the household rather than having a job. The Law for Encouragement of Marriage gave loans to newly married couples, provided the woman gave up work. German Women’s Enterprise Organisation trained in household skills
- The joys of childbirth and childcare were emphasised, with contraception and abortion being banned, and medals given to women who bore many children
- Traditional attitudes were common. Women were discouraged to smoke and drink, and to wear traditional dress, make up was discouraged. They were removed from work which lowered unemployment figures, but joined the workforce again as Germany remilitarised
Nazi economic policies (work of Schacht and Goering, along with policies to reduce unemployment)
Schacht and Goering:
- Hjalmar Schacht was the German minister for the economy and wanted to make Germany self-sufficient, reducing its imports and increasing exports. He had a ‘New Plan’, making trade agreements with other countries and providing work projects such as road building. This was very successful and provided money for rearming
- Germany needed to be made self-sufficient in steel, oil and rubber so it could supply itself for war. Scientists found new alternatives, such as textiles from pulped wood. This policy of self-sufficiency was called autarky, and propaganda told Germans to buy German products and eat only German food. However, in 1939 Germany had to import 1/3 of raw materials as rationing was introduced
- Germany still imported more than it exported
Reducing unemployment:
- Building projects such as the Olympic Stadium in Berlin and autobahn (motorway) which provided work for many construction workers
- The Nazis funded companies to create jobs. The Volkswagen initiative was started by the Nazis and promised to provide affordable vehicles for everyone, however this halted because of the war
- Rearmament policy meant more jobs were available in factories working to make weapons and as a soldier in the army
- By 1933 unemployment was 6 million, but dropped to 1/2 million by 1939
Hidden unemployment:
- Unemployment figures may be misleading
- Women were kicked out of work and this led to a large reduction of unemployment, although they made a return to the workforce as Germany prepared for war. They were never registered as employed
- Workers who were unemployed had to work in the Reich Labour Service for six months, which made them do hard physical labour and building projects. While they were in this they were counted as fully employed
- Part time workers were counted as full time
- Jews were not counted in unemployment figures
DAF (German Labour Front)
SDA:
- This was to help make working conditions better for workers. Employers had to build leisure facilities and canteens serving hot meals. They did this, but took costs out of workers’ wages and made them build it
KDF:
- This offered rewards to workers who worked particularly hard. Rewards included guided museum tours, sports competitions, leisure cruises and theatre tickets, to encourage workers to work harder
Racial policies and Jewish persecution
Racial policies:
- 1933 Sterilisation Law, allowed Nazis to sterilise people with mental disabilities, along with tramps and beggars
- From 1936, juvenile delinquents, homosexuals, Jews and tramps were sent to concentration camps, and from 1938, gypsies. Intermarriage between gypsies and Aryans was banned, and gypsies were forced to register with the state
- Nazis sterilised and then killed people with mental illness, killing 70,000 by 1941 following public dissent
- In 1935 marriage between Aryans and black people was banned
Jewish persecution:
- In 1933 a national boycott of Jewish businesses was organised, with SA officers standing outside Jewish businesses and preventing people from entering
- Nuremberg Laws in 1935, Reich Law for the Protection of German Blood and Honour prevented marriage between Jews and Aryans. Jews were also no longer classed as citizens and had no passport or right to vote
- Jews were banned from public places, including cinemas, parks and swimming pools
- Reich Office for Jewish Emigration was established to encourage Jewish emigration. This was banned in 1941 when the Final Solution was introduced
Kristallnacht (Night of Broken Glass):
- Revenge for Jewish man murdering German ambassador in Paris embassy
- Nearly 200 synagogues were burnt, over 90 Jews killed and 30,000 arrested and many Jewish businesses destroyed and their windows smashed. Nazis fined the Jewish community 1 billion Reichsmarks for property damage as much of the businesses destroyed was owned by German landlords
Nazi policies on the Churches
- 1933, the concordat was signed with the Catholic church, with the Nazis promising not to get involved in religious affairs and the Church promising not to become political
- However the Nazis broke this rule and began replacing crosses in churches with Nazi symbols. The Pope, Pius XI, read a statement criticising the Nazi regime, which was read out in all catholic churches. The consequences were harsh
- Nazis shut down all Catholic-run schools and replaced them with community schools. They cut state funding to the Church and banned all Catholic youth groups such as the Catholic League. Priests who spoke out against the Nazis were
arrested - Many Protestants were nationalists and agreed with Nazi measures so there was not as much work to be done. In 1933 Hitler established the Reich Church, bringing together different parts of the Protestant church.
- However, there was some resistance to this. Martin Niemoller and Dietrich Bonhoeffer established a Confessional Church in opposition to the Reich Church in 1934, and it became a rival, criticising Nazi interference with religious affairs. However, many of the protesting clergy were sent to concentration camp and Bonhoeffer was hanged in 1945
- By the end of the 1930s the Churches had very little influence in Nazi Germany due to these measures
