Weimar Republic and Nazi State

Question 1

Ebert-groener pact?

Answer 1

On the same night as the republic is announced (9 November 1918)
Ebert agrees to support army traditions in return for them resisting the communist movement.

“The republic was born with a hole in its heart”-Sefton Delmer

Stopping the revolution allowed the conservative elite to keep their power,
Also the kpd and spd never reconciled to offer a combined left wings

Question 2

Constitutional flaws?

Answer 2

Article 48- gave the president to issue decrees without reichstag support in times of “crisis”

Article 25- president has power to appoint/dismiss chancellor and call elections

Article 22- Proportional representation- votes went to a party rather than an MP who were allocated seats. Resulted in dozens of tiny parties with no majority, means governments need coalitions to get laws passed, creates instability and stagnation in crisis.

Question 3

Kaiser Wilhelm abdication?

Setting up the weimar republic?

Answer 3

9 november 1918

In the midst of revolution but still during the war, kaiser abdicates

Heir Von Badden agrees to let SPD take over.
Schleidemann declares republic with ebert as chancellor (majority socialists), attempting to avoid communist revolution (led by liebknecht and luxemburg)

Had no grounds to actually pass decisions though.

Question 4

Treaty of versailles- political impact

Answer 4

28 june 1919

Harsh demands of the treaty add to “stab in the back” myth as well as idea of the “november criminals” signing the treaty. Extremely useful for rightwing propaganda/justification.

President Eberts line to returning soldiers “no enemy has vanquished you”

Question 5

Kapp Putsch

Answer 5

March 1920

Right wing move to overthrow government.

“Reichswehr does not fire upon reichswehr”

Government fled Berlin. Putsch ends after 5 days due to organised general strike.

Significance- the army is unreliable for the protection of the republic from right wing presence (of the 375 political murders from 1919-1922, roughly 350 of them were committed by the right wing but conservative elite are in charge of police)

Question 6

Occupation of the Ruhr and Hyperinflation-

Answer 6

Germany made first reparation in 1921 but only due to British loan. Unable to make the second in 1922.

January 1923: French troops occupy the industrial area of the Ruhr under the pretext of making Germany pay by taking cut of production.
5 days later chacellor cuno calls for “passive resistance,” resulting in strikes and slowdown.
Coal production falls to 1% by march. These workers were still paid by the government.

Hyper inflation:
Cause- debt from the war, reparation payments, ruhr wages and no government limit on printing press
-prices could double in an hour

-price of loaf of bread: 1918-0.63, january 1923-250, mid 1923-3500, november 1923-201billion

Ends after election of stresemann as chancellor in august 1923, ends passive resistance and brings in rentenmark.

Winners of hyperinflation:

• asset rich
• country dwellers
• anyone with access to foreign currency, i.e. Exporters and foreigners

Losers:

• wage workers
• middle class with savings

Question 7

Streseman Era 1923-1929- economic:

Stresemann was foreign minister not chancellor

Answer 7

Pros:

• boom of industry, particularly international trade
• modernisation of industry
• Dawes plan (1924) and later Young Plan (1929) and a US loan of 800mil allows for feasible reparation payments and societal growth

Cons:

• reliance on US loans inherently unsustainable, particularly with great depression
• us loans short term and german investments long term
• agriculture stagnates
• modernisation causes unemployment up to 10% in 1926
• international trade means theyre hit hard by looming protectionism
• progressive measures means high taxation, hated by all particularly rich

Question 8

Stresemann Era 1923-1929- Political:

Answer 8

Pros:

• The democratic parties were able to form coalitions and have the ability to pass progressive policy (stresemann was german peoples party)
• nazis only got 12 seats in the reichstag in 1928
• decrease in political violence
• widely respected hindenburg is president
• Locarno Agreement (1925) guarantees safety of Germany’s borders and gives entry to the League of Nations.

Cons:

• most voters still voted for the non-democratic left or right
• parties like the nazis are slowly growing and adding structure e.g. The SA
• Hindenburg is well known to despise democracy
• conservative elite still control police, judiciary, education etc.
• paying reparations, Locarno Agreement and League of Nations all seen as validating the Treaty of Versailles by the right wing.

Question 9

Stresemann Era- 1923-1929- social:

Answer 9

Pros:

• Arts and culture flourish, cabaret, painters zille and dix, cinema rivals holywood
• 7 nobel prizes from 1919 to 1929
• by 1925 women 35% of german workforce
• trade unions and good unemployment benefits

Cons-

• artistic and social progression focused on the young in Berlin. Older and rural germans treasured old values, saw art as decadent.
• middle and lower class despise taxation
• industrialists despise trade unions

Question 10

Great Depression- Up to resignation of muller:

Answer 10

• Black Thursday 24 October 1929: wall street crash
• US investment retreats, loans are asked to be paid up, international trade all but ceases (protectionism)
• unemployment 6million by 1933, affecting 20% of germans including families
• chancellor after stresemann is muller (SPD), has a coalition government with more moderate parties. Coalition falls apart due to fundamental disagreements over the huge expense of government unemployment benefits in the depression, rights want to get rid of the them and lefts want to tax more to keep them.
• Muller is forced to resign on 27 March, 1930
• this is seen as the end of the weimar republic as this was the last democratically chosen and working government.

Question 11

Hitler joins the nazis:

Answer 11

• after ww1 hitler stays im the army as a ‘political indoctrination official’ which entailed going to party meetings and rooting out communist activity.
• in this role went to the german workers party in 1919, agreed with there ideals.
• by 1920 due to exceptional speaking skills he had emerged as leader.
• 1920: 3000 members, 1923: 70000 members

Question 12

Munich Beer Hall Putsch:

Answer 12

• November 1923
• supported by the SA and general Ludendorff, Hitler burst into the beer hall where the meeting of 3 bavarian officials was taking place and declared that the national revolution had begun. The officials first were persuaded to follow Hitler but in the following chaos they escaped and organised resistance.
• the next day they marched through Munich city centre, joined by 2000 supporters. They met the police and after a shootout hitler was arrested for high treason.

Real significance of the event:

• 24 day trial allows him to make great speeches which are printed in newspapers, becomes a household name
• sympathetic judge and jury means he is only sentenced to 5 years, only serves 6months in a cushy cell.
• realised the only way to seize power was legally

Question 13

Nazi years of obscurity:

Answer 13

1923-1929

• party splinters in right and left leaning (lead by strasser) sections before hitler returns in 1924. In 1926 hitler gets all to swear complete allegiance to him.
• party infrastructure and traditions crafted e.g. Brownshirt uniform (1924), S.S (1925), leagues created for women, teachers, students etc.

-joining the ‘anti-young plan’ campaign in 1929 gains the party publicity, money and respect.

Question 14

Bruning:

Answer 14

• head of the centre party, bruning was made chancellor by hindenburg on schliechers advice in march 1930.
• hindenburg specified it was to be a rightwing government with no social democrats, despite being the largest party in the reichstag. Aim was restoration of the monarchy with a right wing government.
• did little to help unemployment and impoverishment as his aim was to end reparations payments by convincing the allies germany was not fit to make them. (Deflationary policies)
• meets of the reichstag- 1930: 94, 1932: 13
• uses of article 48- 1930: 5, 1932: 66

Question 15

Papen and Schliecher:

Answer 15

• brunings downfall came in May 1932 as the conservative elites believed he had not brought the government far enough to the right. Replaced with von papen.
• with the growth of the nazi party Schliecher convinced Hindenburg that continuing papens government with no parliamentary majority could lead to civil war. He argued he could join with the left wing of the nazi party under strasser and form a majority.
• through this Schliecher became chancellor in December 1932. However hitler dismissed strasser before the deal could be made. back to square one.
• this formed a bitter rivalry between papen and schliecher

Question 16

Nazi Rise:

Answer 16

September 1930-
Go from 12 seats to 107, 2nd biggest in reichstag. Fuelled by GD and anti-young plan cred.

March 1932-presidential election (first campaign to use a plane)
Hitler: 37% and nazis now have 230 seats, biggest party. Nazi and communist makes over 50% of seats i.e. Anarchy.

-hitler offered vice chancellor but refuses, all or nothing approach.

November 1932-
Drop to 196 seats
Reasons:
-fissures between right and left of the party after strasser deal.
-party near bankrupt
-country coming out of the depression
-1932 Lausanne Conference ends reparation payments

Question 17

Hitler’s Accession:

Answer 17

Papen, vengeful and believing he is the only one who can fix germany wants schliecher out and thinks hitler will fail as chancellor and he will get the job again.

• organised the backroom deal in jan 1933 to put hitler in as chancellor, himself as vice-chancellor and Hugenburg (DNVP leader) as head of economics and agriculture.
• hitler is only allowed 3 nazis in his cabinet of 11, “chancellor in chains”
• papen makes hindenburg afraid of civil war after failure of strasser deal + hindenburg refuses schliechers request for use of article 48 to postpone reichstag elections, all but ends their relationship.
• On 30 January 1933 hitler is sworn in s chancellor

Question 18

Consolidation of power-

Reichstag fire:

Answer 18

27 February 1933:
-in the last week of march 1933 reichstag election campaigns, the reichstag building was burnt down.

• evidence suggests nazis did not set the fire but used it to their advantage. after known a known communist was seen leaving the building nazis blamed the communists.
• quickly over 4000 communists, including kpd in the reichstag, were arrested.
• this also gave hitler the grounds to ask hindenburg for an emergency decree.

Question 19

Consolidation of power-

Decree for the Protection of People:

Answer 19

28 February 1933 (day after the fire):

• hitler convinced hindenburg to pass this emergency decree suspending the civil liberties clauses in the constitution and basic freedoms of the people
  e. g. Free speech and freedom of assembly

-this was meant to be temporary but remained throughout the nazi regime

Question 20

Consolidation of power-

Reichstag elections:

Answer 20

March 1933:

• terror events + use of police, SA and propaganda lead to nazis claiming 288 seats, 44%
• nazi coalition with the DNVP gives them majority.
• this is the first time since the depression the government could survive and work in the reichstag.

Question 21

Consolidation of power-

The Enabling Act:

Answer 21

23 March 1933:
-To deal with the economic issues of the depression, hitler persuaded the reichstag to pass the enabling act.

• the act altered the constitution and gave the government the power to issue laws (like article 48 but for the chancellor)
• passed 441 to 94, only opposed by socialists after the arrest of the communists

Question 22

Consolidation of power-

Trade unions abolished:

Answer 22

May 1933:
-german working class primarily supported left wing. For nazis to have full  control they needed the support of the working class and control of labour.

• by 1933 german trade union movement stood at over 6 million.
• on 1 may hitler granted workers a May Day paid holiday.
• the next day free trade unions were abolished, union offices raided and leaders arrested.

Question 23

Consolidation of Power-

Law Against the Establishment of Parties:

Answer 23

14 July 1933:
-22 june SPD banned, property confiscated and reichstag seats made invalid.

• 28th DDP dissolved, Nationalists on the 29th.
• stresemanns party, the DVP abolished in july followed by the centre party.

-with only the nazis left the “law against the establishment of parties” was passed on the 14th, making nazis the only legal party.
(KPD formally banned on this day)

Question 24

Consolidation of Power-

Night of the Long Knives:

Answer 24

30 june 1934:

• through the early years the SA had been the muscle of the party. However they had become a liability as:
• 2million strong they were a threat
• under Röhm, the group was cocky and called for a reconstitution of the army with SA at its core.
• had some socialist views, hated big business
• seen as thugs and hooligans to middle and upper class
• most importantly of all, was loathed by the army, who were willing to support hitlers succession if the SA were disbanded in an april 1934 deal.
• on 30 june Himmlers SS murdered Röhm and other SA leaders.
• the opportunity was also used to kill 400 nazi enemies: communists, jews and outspoken politicians and trade unionists.
• on 13 july hitler confessed to 70 killings, explaining them away via charges of corruption, homosexuality and threat of an SA revolution. To most this was a good sign of hitlers decisive leadership.
• allowed hitler to easy combine leadership positions upon hindenburgs death on 2 august. 90% of the public approving of the move- plebicite

-

Question 25

Role of Propaganda in Nazi state:

Answer 25

Goebbels = minister of propaganda

Focused on:

• fuhrerprinzip (myth of hitler)
• volksgemeinschaft (peoples community- peaceful aryan community free of class division)
• achievements of the reich
• fear of jews and communists

Spread via:

• control of all media directed toward this one view (censorship)
• control of education, school curriculum and hitler youth
• mass production of cheap peoples radios, in 70% of homes by 1939.
• internationally, success of 1936 olympic games

-films of leni reifenstahl

Question 26

Role of Terror and repression in the nazi state:

Answer 26

Himmler head of SS and also Gestapo by April 1934

• SA initially the “battering ram” of the Nazi party, terror via street violence
• originally but in control of concentration camps in 1933, used for all enemies of the state
• all but destroyed after night of the long knives 1934

SS take over as major force and Gestapo established in Late 1933 as a secret state police

• gestapo gain image of watching and listening to all things at all times, spreading fear.
• black tunic uniform makes people nervous
• brutal activities were not reported but not hidden allowing word to spread and retain mystery

-In reality Gestapo did not have the manpower to back this big brother image (e.g. Essen pop 650000 had only 43 Gestapo)
Instead worked as a reactionary force, relying on their image so people denounced each other

Himmler- what matters is “…what they believe to be the truth.”

Question 27

Opposition to Nazism:

Answer 27

Severe Lack of organised resistance 1933-1939 largely due to fear of persecution after success of gleischaltung

Army:

• opposition contained after night of the long knives
• happy due to rearmament
• 1938- Hitler confident enough to remove war minister general blomberg and army commander-in-chief fritsch as well as other officials.

Church:

• largely failed to resist, reserved to the acts of individuals, quickly arrested thereafter
• 800 clergy sent to concentration camps as well as hundreds of priests

Youth:
-swing kids and edelweiss pirates oppose hitler youth, prefer western style

Left:
Pamphlet campaigns and encouraged individual acts of sabotage, weak after outlawed after reichstag fire and banning of trade unions

Question 28

Social and Cultural Life in Nazi State: Role of Hitler Youth, Women and Religion

Answer 28

Towards Volksgemeinschaft: racially pure german people free class struggle

Drove for social conformity via big rallies and speeches all expected to attend. Beauty of work campaign and winter help scheme.

Hitler Youth:
-established in 1922 (League of German Maidens 1931)
-kids politically indoctrinated to not think for themselves via nazi iconography and speeches from youth leaders
-physical fitness encouraged to bring in fit soldiers and mothers to birth more soldiers
-1933- 2.3mil 10-18yr olds in nazi youth groups. 1939-8.8mil
(Still 1.6mil kids refuse)

Women:

• women inferior to men, primary purpose is producing children (necessary for aryan expansion)
• 3 K’s (kinder, kirche, kuche)
• laws pass to slowly remove women from powerful jobs e.g. Doctors, lawyers etc.
• 1933 Law of Encouragement of Marriage- 1000mark loan to new couple, allowed to keep 250 for each child birthed
• motherhood cross awarded to women who produce most kids.
• by 1935 almost 28000 racially undesirable women sterilised. Men pressured to divorce jewish wives.

Religion:

• Hitler despised christianity due to notions of forgiveness clashing with nazi survival of the fittest. Still had to deal carefully.
• 1933 concordant signed (nazis respect rights of catholic church, church stays out of politics)
• 1937 catholic schools and youth groups being shut down.

Develop new Evangelical Reich Church, removing jewish old testament from the bible. Hitler new messiah and swastika replacing cross.

Also:
-strength through joy ensures leisure
-june 1933 Unemployment Relief Act builds network of autobahn and hospitals, creating 80000 jobs.
Results in unemployment of 350000 but does not include women, jews

Question 29

Nazi Racial Policy and Practice to 1939:

Answer 29

Anti-semitism rife in Europe in the early 20th century, natural scapegoat to Germanys problems.

1933: petty regulations e.g. Banned from public buses and parks, boycotts of jewish shops (1 april 1933)

Sep 1935: Nuremberg Laws

1) Reich Citizenship Act-Jews stripped of German citizenship
2) Blood Protection Act- german citizens and jews not allowed to marry or have sex.

Late 1930s: forced out of education system, higher professions and eventually land ownership, property taken and businesses forced into bankruptcy to be given to aryans.

9 Nov 1938: Kristallnacht
Organised outbreak of violence against Jews and their property.
74 dead
20000 arrests
875 jewish shops destroyed
191 synagogues destroyed
Jews were then billed over 1 billion marks for the damages. Seen as the start of the holocaust- 6mil jews killed by 1945

Question 30

Hitlers Role in the Nazi State:

Answer 30

1) Master of the 3rd Reich:
Hitler was the centre of the nazi system with no move made without his consent. Hitler was nazism and nazism was hitler.

2) Intentionalists:
Nazi system was chaotic, inefficient with a confusing overlapping structure but that was Hitlers intent. Fit ‘survival of the fittest’ ideology e.g. Infighting between Gauleiters, state bodies, nazi leaders etc.

3) Structuralists:
Hitler was a weak, indecisive dictator. Chaotic system was a weakness of hitler, fear any mistake could weaken his prestige.

4) Working Towards the Fuhrer:
Hitler did not orchestrate all aspects of the Nazi state but his will and vision drove it. Became the goal of his subordinates to interpret his desire when he could not give specific direction.
-IAN KERSHAW

(My favourite)

Question 31

Nazism as Totalitarianism:

Answer 31

In my opinion Nazism was a fascist regime, putting on the guise of totalitarian rule in the hopes of eventually achieving the complete control of a totalitarian system outlined in Friedrich and Brzezinski’s ‘six point syndrome’

1) single party with single leader
2) party ideology
3) control over economy
4) control of mass communications
5) system of terror and total police control
6) control of armed forces

Nazism showed facets of all but none to completion:

1) Hitler unquestionably leader of nazis but not much of a leader, preferring to delegate resulting in an unorganised system.
Nazism the only party but relied on other bodies e.g. Bureaucracy and diplomatic service

2) nazi ideology of nationalism, anti-semitism racial purity and nazi expansion boils down to a crude form of social darwinism.
3) gleischaltung from 1933-34 made great efforts to bring german life under nazi control i.e. Hitler youth, 3K’s for women, national labour front etc. however not of these resulted in total control esp of economy, Nazis still needing to work with german capitalists to sustain.
4) no independent media in germany, book burning and censorship. Still some movement of foreign media in.
5) nazi police forces (notably the Gestapo) leads to ‘big brother’ image that any opposition will be brutally persecute =terror. In reality Nazi police weak and reactionary (e.g. Essen pop 650000 had only 43 gestapo)
6) uneasy relationship with armed forced held together by night of the long knives and rearmament. 1938 Hitler takes control by removing war minister Blomberg and commander-in-chief Fritsch, takes titles for himself.

Question 32

Nazi Foreign Policy:

Answer 32

Long Term:
-territorial expansion and racial purity. Aim to create Greater Germany, huge nation of german speakers with lebensraum and autarky (Argued whether wiping out all Jews was an aim)

Short Term:
Undo the Treaty of Versailles- remilitarisation, recovery territory

Encompass german speakers into greater germany- anschluss with austria and take sudetenland

Strategy:

• propaganda
• buying time with treaties
• plays of western pacifism
• plays on western fear of communism
• plays on western guilt

Britain and France- policy of appeasement

Question 33

Nazi Foreign Policy: Timeline

Answer 33

1933- withdraw from league of nations
1935-conscription and rearmament
(550000 troops)
-Saar rejoins Germany with over 90% approval in plebisite
1936-retake rhineland
-Rome-Berlin Axis
March 1938-Anschluss with Austria (8mil german speakers)
September 1938-Sudentenland Crisis and Munich Conference (Hitler threatens war over claim german speakers in sudentenland are being victimised. Euro powers give it to germany. Hitler actually wanted excuse to take over all of Czechoslovakia.
1939-conquers czechoslovakia
1939-non-aggression with USSR
September 1939-invasion of poland. On the 3rd britain and france declare war.

1934- non-aggression pact w/ poland
1937-Hossbach Memorandum- plans to take austria and czechoslovakia laid out

Short term:
1) early stuff= reversing the treaty of versailles

Long term:

2) middle stuff (austria and sudentenland)= greater germany (race)
3) later action (czechslovakia and poland)= lebensraum

Alliances were for security throughout (4)?)