Weimar Germany Flashcards
Why was there opposition to the Weimar Republic?
Were blamed for the ToV (which was humiliating to the Germans)
Their first job was to surrender to the Allies
Signed Armistice on 11th November which shocked people
Many believed the “Dolschstoss theory” - the theory that the November Criminals (Weimar politicians) stabbed Germany in the back
Many people didn’t wanted democracy and wanted the Kaiser back
Both the right and left wing wanted to destroy Weimar
Why was the ToV humiliating to the Germans?
Article 231 blamed them for the war
Lost 13% of territory and 10% of population (e.g. Alsace-Lorraine to France, East Prussia to Poland)
Fined £6.6 billion
Military was a source of pride and now reduced to only 100000 men and they were no allowed to have an airforce
How did Stresemann tackle the economic issues?
Made a new temporary currency (rentenmark) which was later replaced by the reichsmark - this reset prices
Ends the strikes in the Ruhr which causes France to leave and industry to start again
Makes the Dawes and Young Plans
What was the Dawes Plan?
Deal led by Charles Dawes
America gives loans to Germany ($25 billion in total)
Reperation payments reduced to £50m a year
What was the Young Plan?
Reperations reduced from £6.6 billion to £1.85 billion
Gave Germany another 59 years to pay it off
How did Stresemann improve international relations?
Signs Locarno Treaty in 1925
Germany joins League of Nations in 1926
Signs the Kellogg Briand Pact in 1928
What was the Locarno Treaty?
Agreed to territorial terms of the ToV
What was the Kellogg Briand Pact?
An agreement with 61 countries to not go to war and to negotiate
How did Stresemann bring stability to German politics?
Gets coalitions to work together so decisions can be made
Hindenburg made president in 1925
Extremists get less votes (e.g. nazis get 3%)
What shows that Germany recovered?
Crises of 1918-23 ended by e.g. reducing reperations and stopping hyperinflation
Improvement to Industrial production (doubled) and exports rising by 40%
Many Germans started accepting democracy and there was no political violence
Wages rose while working hours didn’t and living standard improved
What shows that Germany didn’t recover?
Relied too much on US loans
In 1929, the US economy began to collapse, causing the loans to be recalled, collapsing Germany’s economy too
Unemployment never dropped below 10% (1.3 million)
Middle class and farmers never recovered from hyperinflation
Extremists got less votes but never went away
How did Hitler change the church in Germany?
German Faith Movement
The Concordat
Reich Church
When and what was the German Faith Movement?
1934
Nazis own religion based on the Nazi ideology and cult of Hitler. Only 5% of Germans identified as this religion
When and what was the Concordat?
July 1933
Agreement between Hitler and the pope where both sides agreed that they wouldn’t interfere in each other’s business
How did Hitler break the Concordat agreement?
Priests were arrested and harrassed. Many that critisices the Nazis ended up in concentration camps
Catholic schools were disrupted and then eventually shut down in 1938
Catholic youth movements were closed down
When and what was the Reich Church?
1936
United all 28 protestant churches
Bible –> Mein Kampf
Cross –> Swastika
Jewish teachings from old testament removed
How could the Munich Putsch be considered a failure for the Nazis?
Putsch failed
16 Nazis were killed
Hitler arrested and jailed for 5 years
Nazi party banned
Lost support from the public
Hitler overestimated Nazi power
How could the Munich Putsch be considered a success for the Nazis?
National and worldwide attention
Hitler used his trial to go an a 5 hour long speech attacking the Weimar Republic
Judge was impressed and Hitler gets minimum time though he gets realeased after only 9 months anyway but he has chance to write Mein Kampf
Hitler learnt a lesson: they would need to get into power via votes. Started his goal of winning democratically and becoming a legal party
Who were the Spartacists and when did they uprise?
1919
Rosa Luxembourg and Karl Liebknecht
Communists who try to take over the vountry but only manage to take over the government newspaper
What and when was the Kapp Putsch?
1920
Wanted to create a right wing government
Took over government buildings, army refuses to help the government so government flees, asks unions to go on strike, they do and that causes chaos which makes the putsch fail
What and when was the Ruhr Crisis?
1923
Government was bankrupt and struggled to pay reperations so the French invaded the Ruhr which contained 80% of Germany’s steel production
Workers go on strike and Weimar tries to print more money to pay them which causes hyperinflation
How did the price of bread change during hyperinflation?
1 mark in 1919 to 200 billion marks in 1923
When was the Young Plan?
1929
What were the changes to women’s rights under Weimar?
Equal voting rights
Had social freedom to smoke, drink and wear whatever they wanted
3000 doctors and 112 elected to Reichstag
However, only 36% worked and wages were still below men
How did the standard of living change under Weimar?
Wages increase by 10%
Hours drop
New housing built
60% less homeless
Benefits for the unemployed
How did the Nazi party start?
Hitler joins DAP in 1919, renamed to the Nazis in 1920
Drexler and Hitler launch 25 point plan to destroy the ToV and appeal to everyone
Hitler becomes leader of Nazis in 1921
What happened during the Munich Putsch?
Hitler and a bunch of other people march into Munich to takeover but are faced by police
When did the Nazi party relaunch?
1925
What and when was the Wall Street Crash?
1929
Industrial production fell, businesses began to collapse, banks collapsed in the US
US asked for Germany for loans back causing an economic crisis in Germany too
How did Hitler take advantage of the Wall Street Crash?
Offered “bread and work”
Showed the Nazis as being strong and organised
Said they would destroy communism, making everyone who was against communism vote for them
When did Hitler become chancellor?
30th January 1933
How many votes did the Nazis have by 1932?
18%
When was the Reichstag Fire?
27th February 1933
What was the Reichstag Fire?
Reichstag is burnt down and blamed on the communists which leads to the banning of the communist party
How many votes did the Nazis have in March 1933?
44%
When was the Enabling Act?
1933
What was the Enabling Act?
Hitler is given power to pass any law himself without consulting the Reichstag, using it to ban trade unions, ban all political parties except Nazis, set up his own court with his own judges
When was the Night of the Long Knives?
June 1934
What happened during the Night of the Long Knives?
SS arrest over 100 SA leaders and 400 people in total are killed to remove threat of a takeover
When did Hindenburg die?
August 1934
Who were the SS?
Hitler’s ‘bodyguards’. A security force of 240000 who were responsible for all security, police and concentration camps
Who were the Gestapo?
The secret police. Consisted of 300000 unmarked people. They spied on Germans and arrested people for political crimes
Who were the SD?
Security force that kept files on all threats both in and out of Germany
What was the curriculum for boys?
Military, politics, PE, maths, history
What was the curriculum for girls?
Domestic life, motherhood, eugenics, health
What male youth groups were made?
Cubs (10-14)
Hitler youth (14-18)
What was the youth group made for girls?
League of German Girls (14-18)
What was life like for Women under Nazi rule?
Aims were to be a housewife and have kids
Discouraged from university and work
1936 Lebensborn program - centres opened for aryans to have sex
Mothers medal cross
Births increased by 30%
What was the RAD?
All 18-25 men had to work for 6 months building the autobahn
What was the DAF?
Had to join or wouldn’t be able to get a job
Strikes banned, wages didn’t rise, average hours rose
What was the KDF?
A leisure organisation for workers
Gave them cheap holidays and volkswagens
What did the Nazis do to minorities?
Sterilised them, sent them to concentration camps, disabled people were euthanised
When was Kristallnacht?
1938
What was Kristallnacht?
20000 jews sent to camps
Hundreds of synagogues and jewish businesses destroyed
91 died
Jews forced to pay for damages
When were the Nuremberg laws?
1933
What were the Nuremberg laws?
Laws stating that jews can’t:
Marry Germans
Vote
Be German citizens
