Weimar Republic Flashcards
when was the great depression?
October 1929
what caused the great depression?
- the economic downturn on the American stock market
why did the great depression affect DE?
the US called in loans at very short notice
DE relied on these loans (Dawes Plan)
how did unemployment rise between 1929 to 1930?
it rose from 1.4 million to over 2 million
what was the impact of unemployment?
it raised government expenditure on unemployment insurance
how did the great depression affect democracy?
Germans began to lose faith and looked to extreme parties for quick and simple solutions
why did Hermann Muller resign in 1930?
his government could not agree how to tackle the rise in government expenditure caused by unemployment
who replaced Hermann Muller?
Heinrich Bruning whose policies were ineffective in dealing with the unemployment crisis
what happened to government spending in July 1930?
Bruning cut expenditure, wages and unemployment pay which lead to a spiral of decline in unemployment
why was Article 48 used by Bruning?
he could not get the Reichstag to agree to his actions so President Hindenburg passed the laws, this undermined democracy
how many seats did the parties of the Weimar Republic receive in 1932?
319 out of 608
who feared the communists the most?
the middle classes and the rich
what was the situation of the communist party during the Weimar Republic?
it was seen as the “leading party”, had a solid electoral performance (usually 10% of the vote)`
what was Joseph Goebbels’ role in the Nazi party?
he was the propaganda organiser who understood how to use mass media and manipulate huge audiences
- he used his Ministry of Public Propaganda and the Reich Chamber of Culture
how did the Nazis try to appeal to the different sections of the population?
they blamed the Weimar Republic for the economic crisis and the weak coalition governments
- the Nazis could unite Germany
- farmers
- military
- pensions
- treaty of Versailles
how did Hitler blame the Jews?
- they were part of communism and capitalism
- caused unemployment
- conspired the defeat of WW1
- conspiring a revolution on Germany
describe the role of the Edelweiss Piraten
- against Hitler’s specific, strict rules
- beat up the Hitler Youth
- wrote Anti-Nazi slogans
- killed the Gestapo Chief in 1944
- 1944, 12 hung
- 1942, 700 members arrested
describe the role of the Weiss Rose
- formed by Uni students
- produced anti-Nazi leaflets
- the leaders Hans and Sofie Scholl were arrested and sentenced to the guillotine
describe the role of the Swing Youth
- took part in anti-Nazi activities
- listened to swing music, which was hated by the Nazi government
describe the role of the Swing Youth
- took part in anti-Nazi activities
- listened to swing music, which was hated by the Nazi government
- girl wore lots of makeup and boys grew their hair long
describe the role of the Protestant Church
- Pastor Niemoller opposed Nazi control and followed traditonal German Protestantism
- Niemoller made the PEL
- he was arrested in 1937 and put in prison/KZ until 1945
- many pastors left after persecution from Nazis
describe the role of the Catholic Church
- owed allegiance to the Pope
- the youth organisations were against Hitler’s
- supported the Centre Party
- they signed a concordant in July 1933, which agreed no interference but that was broken by Hitler
describe the role of the army
- Hitler removed 16 criticising generals in 1938
- they tried to assassinate Hitler with a bomb
describe the role of assassination attempts
- 42 attempts but none were successful
how was newspaper propaganda used?
- non Nazi newspapers and magazines were closed down.
- 1935, 1600 newspapers/magazines closed down
- editors were told what could be printed and foreign news was taken from Nazi agencies
- Oct 1993, Reich Press Law (no Jew/left-wing journalists)
how was rally propaganda used?
- held annually to show the power of the Nazi state
- the Nuremberg rallies would last for several days and attracted almost one million people each year
how was poster propaganda used?
- they were seen everywhere
- they were simple and direct
- they targeted the young
how was literature propaganda used?
- heavily censored to convey a Nazi message
- Berlin students burnt 20,000 books
- writers were forced to write Nazi focused books`
how was radio propaganda used?
- under Nazi control
- 1939, 70% of DE has a radio
- hard to listen to foreign broadcasters
how was film propaganda used?
- films were very popular
- Goebbels oversaw the plots
- 45 minute news reel that glorified German history
- anti-Semitic films
how was art/architecture propaganda used?
- art that highlighted DE’s pre greatness
- women, peasants and workers portrayed as glorious and noble
- sculptures needed Nazi ideals
- Greek style of building as Jews had not “contaminated” it
how was sport propaganda used?
- 1936 Olympics
- DE could show its strength and superiority (110,000 spectators)
- news reports were well controlled
what was religion like in Germany?
- 1/3 were Catholic
- 2/3 were Protestant
- the German Faith Movement was encouraged but not very effective (only 5% joined)
what did judges have to wear from 1936?
the swastika and Nazi eagle on their robes
what was the German Lawyers Front in 1933?
- had over 10,000 members
- “strive as German juries to follow Hitler to the end of our days”
what did the NRSB mean?
- Nazi views were upheld in the courts
- all judges were a part of it
- if you displeased Hitler, you were removed and could not be a judge
describe the People’s Court in 1934
- tried cases of treason as trials by jury were abolished
- loyal Nazi judges
- Hitler would sometimes alter the sentences if they were too “soft”
describe the role of the Schutzstaffel
- run by Heimlich Himmler
- became Nazi private police in 1933
- worked above the law
- defended Hitler and regulated the party
describe the role of the Sicherheinstdienst
- intelligence body
- monitor Nazi opponents
- kept records of potential enemies
describe the role of the Gestapo
- secret state police made in 1933
- 1936, run by Himmler
- power to torture suspects
- use of the fear of being told on
- identified any opponents
describe the role of concentration camps
- 1st opened in Dachau 1933
- more space for “prisoners”
- for political prisoners e.g writers
- for minority groups e.g Jews or gypsies
- for “undesirables” e.g prostitutes
what does a police state mean?
the police control what people did, and if you didn’t comply you were punished
what does totalitarian government mean?
the government controls all aspects of public life
when was the Reichstag fire?
27th February 1933
explain the importance of the Reichstag fire
- 27 February - 5 March 1933
- Hitler and Goebbels could exploit this event
- they framed van der Lubbe
- made Hindenburg sign a decree that the Nazis could imprison a mass of opponents
- helped to increase their votes from 33% to 44%
explain the importance of the Enabling Act
- absolute power to make laws which allowed him to destroy all opposition (removing the Reichstag)
- passed in March 1933
what did Hitler do to other parties and trade unions?
- he banned them in May 1933
- without trade unions, people could not unite to protest
- removing political parties removed democracy
describe the build-up to the Night of the Long Knives
- 30 June 1934
- the army feared the SA but if the SA were gone, the army would offer Hitler their support
- Rohm, Ernst and Hennes were shot
- von Schleicher was murdered
explain the importance of the Night of the Long Knives
it destroyed all opposition to Hitler and gave him the army’s support
when did President Hindenburg die?
August 1934
what was the impact of Hindenburg’s death?
Hitler declared himself jointly president, chancellor and head of the army
what was the oath of loyalty?
members of the armed forces had to swear allegiance to Hitler not Germany - gave the SS power, showed tyranny and internal opposition
describe the nature of Hitler’s role as Führer
Hitler had absolute power over Germany and neutralised any sources of opposition
what was the “Backstairs Intrigue”
the secret discussions by Weimar politicians that led to Hitler being asked to be Chancellor
- Papen asked Hindenburg to let Hitler be chancellor
describe the role of President Hindenburg
powerful and could pass laws
describe the role of Brüning
- wanted to increase taxes
- cut civil servants’ pay
- resigned in 1932
- lost support of the unemployed
describe the role of von Papen
- Papen suggested abolishing the Weimar government and lost the support of Hindenburg
- assumed Hitler could be dominated
describe the role of von Schleicher
resigned as Chancellor in 1932
had plans to bring political parties together which was against Hitler
what were some political developments in 1932?
November 1932 - Nazis had 33.1 % of the vote (196 seats)
July 1932 - 37.4% of the vote (230 seats)
what happened in April 1932 in the presidential election?
Hindenburg had 53% of the vote and Hitler had 36.8%
what happened in May 1932 to the chancellor?
Bruning resigned as chancellor and Franz von Papen (conservative) replaced him
what happened in July 1932 in the Reichstag elections?
the Nazi became the largest party with 230 seats. Hitler demanded to be Chancellor but Papen remained
what happened in November 1932 in parliament?
von Papen called a Reichstag election to win a majority in parliament. The Nazis lost 34 seats but still had 196 seats
what happened in December 1932?
Franz von Papen resigned. Kurt von Schleicher became the Chancellor
what happened in January 1933 with Hitler?
Von Papen and Hindenburg appointed Hitler as Chancellor - they believed they could control Hitler
why did Hindenburg ask Hitler to become Chancellor?
von Papen lost 2 elections and von Schleicher could not get other parties to work with him and was sacked because some thought he would give communists power
