weimar germany Flashcards
terms of the Treaty of Versailles
- war guilt clause
forced to take full blame for the war - reparations of £6.6 billion
all the damages caused by the war had to be paid for - reduced army
100,000 men, no airforce no submarines and limited navy at 6 ships - forbidden to form an alliance with Austria
- all German colonies had to be handed over to the allies
Munich putch
- November 1923
- lead by Hitler
- trying to overthrow the government
- 600 armed followers, 3000 Nazis marched, 16 Nazis killed and Hitler arrested
- Hitler put on trial for treason
- gave Hitler publicity and he was national known
Hyper inflation
- due to the Ruhr crisis and strikes the Weimar government printed more money to keep paying their wages.
- Businesses then put up their prices and caused hyperinflation
Bread prices went from 163 marks in 1912 to 201 000 000 000 marks in 1923 - people were paid every hour so that they could spend it before it became worthless
- people had to wheel their money around in wagons and wheelbarrows, and people would steal the wheelbarrows but leave the money lying on the street as it was worth way more.
- unemployment raised to 50%
- wages dropped by 60%
- business failed
how did the great depression effect the wiemar government
- they became unpopular as they raised taxes decreased wages and cutted benefits
- president Hindenburg took controll of the reichstag
- the public saw the government as weak and wanted a stronger leadership
Nazi rise to power
- they offered the public solutions to the problems that the Weimar Republic caused
- they were competing against the communists for votes
reich stag fire
- communist Van Der Lubbe was found at the site of the fire with fire lighters in his pocket
- this made the public feel like they couldn’t trust the communists sobthey turned to the Nazis
- enabling act 1933
gave hitler freedom to pass any law without consulting parliament (dictator) - power of local government destroyed
everything was controlled by the nazis. trade unions banned - law against creation of new parties
- destroyed legal system
reich stag fire
- communist Van Der Lubbe was found at the site of the fire with fire lighters in his pocket
- this made the public feel like they couldn’t trust the communists sobthey turned to the Nazis
- enabling act 1933
gave hitler freedom to pass any law without consulting parliament (dictator) - power of local government destroyed
everything was controlled by the nazis. trade unions banned - law against creation of new parties
- destroyed legal system
control of Germany
-SA
bullied opponents and purged in the night of the long knives
- SS
completely loyal bodyguards of Hitler. security and police forces.
-Gestapo
the secret police that aimed to eliminate any political opponents. responsible for rounding up the Jews. put feat Into people who didn’t agree with the nazis as they never knew if they were speaking to the Gestapo, friends and family members would turn each other in
- propaganda
Nazis controlled newspapers, films and radio stations to make sure their message was being spread. Josef Goebbels was in charge of Nazi propaganda
- Nuremberg Rallies
- concentrate camps
held political prisoners, Jews and people who opposed the Nazis.
inmates used for forced labour these people included Jews, gypsies, criminals, homosexuals and the mentally ill
treatment of Jews
- Jewish shops attacked by SA troops
- boycott of Jewish business
- Jewish doctors, teachers, dentists all sacked
- jews and non-Aryan German people executed from military service
- law passed to sterilise 350 000 men and women who were Jews, gypsies, and disabled people
- Jews and gypsies were no longer
classed as German citizens. marage between Aryans and non Aryans was forbidden - Jewish families not entitled to benefits
-
3000+ gypsies taken to
concentration camps - red J stamped on all Jewish passports
- 1000 synagogues burned
- *7000** Jewish business destroyed
- 20 000 Jews sent to concentration camps
- 100 Jews murdered
opposition to the nazis
- socialists
one of the largest groups to speak out. refused to work with the communists. struggled to face the SA/SS forces - communists
little success against the nazis. many executed or arrested after the Reichstag fire. Party banned after 1933 - the church
Hitler knew that crushing the church would be unpopular so he tried to work with them.
the church signed signed an agreement with them to ensure they would stay out of each others business (1933)
National Riech church set up in November 1933. the cross was replaced with the swastika
Hitler youth
-
boys
hitler youth ages 14,18.
little fellows ages 6,10
youth folk 14,18
encouraged to learn military actions and techniques to prepare a strong future military
-
girls
joined the league of German maidens
made sure children were brought up in the Nazi way
made them prepared and fit for mother hood
Nazi education controll
must follow nazi ideology in school
brainwashed at any opportunity
maths questions reffing to bombing Jewish ghettos and calculate the cost of keeping the mental I’ll alive
headteachers had the power to discipline until complete obedience
