Weimar Republic & Nazi Germany

Question 1

The Weimar constitution- President, Reichstag, Proportional representation

Answer 1

President- elected every 7 years, chooses the chancellor
Reichstag- Members are elected every 4 years, New parliament
Proportional rep- the proportion of seats a party wins in parliament is the same proportion of votes

Question 2

Weaknesses of Weimar Constitution

Answer 2

Proportional representation- difficult to make decisions
President power- could suspend the constitution. wasn’t meant to only be used as emergency but became a way to undermine democracy

Question 2

Why did Germans feel betrayed by the weimar republuc

Answer 2

Treaty of versailles June 1919 called a diktat
Some believed the armistice was a mistake and Germany could have won the war.
“Felt stabbed in the back” by the weimar politicians

Question 3

Extreme left revolutions

Answer 3

January 1919
Communists led by Rosa Luxemburg
They took control of important buildings like newspaper headquarters, and 50,000 workers went on strike
Known as the Spartacist Revolt

Ebert asked for help from the right wing freikorps (ex soldiers) to stop the rebellion

Question 4

Far Right rebels

Answer 4

In March 1920, some Freikorps themselves took part in the kapp Putsch- led by Wolfgang Kapp.
Freikorps marched into Berlin to overthrow the Weimar regime. But German workers opposed the putsch and staged a general strike. So the putch failed

Question 5

How did Germany end up in hyperinflation

Answer 5

By 1923, Germany could no longer meet the reparations payments set out by the Treaty of Versailles.

France & Belgium decided to take Germany’s resources instead, so they occupied the Ruhr.

Germany industry was devastated again. Germany tried to solve her debt problem by printing more money, but this plunged the economy into Hyperinflation

Question 6

Stresemann plan

Answer 6

In September 1923, he ended the strike in the Ruhr. Reduced tension between Germany, France & Belgium

In November 1923, stresemann replaced the German mark with Rentenmark to stabilise Germany’s currency

Question 7

Dawes plan, young plan, locarno pact, League of Nations, kellog-briand pact

Answer 7

Dawes plan- signed in 1924, secured withdrawl from the ruhr and agreed more realistic datws for reparations, USA lent Germany £40 million to help it pay off its other debts

Young plan- agreed in 1929. The allies agreed to reduce the reparations to a quarter of the original amount, and Germany was given 59 years to pay them

Locarno Pact- was signed in October 1925. Germany, France & Belgium agreed to respect their joint borders- even those created as a result of the Treaty of Versailles

League of Nations- allowed Germany to join in 1926

Kellogg-Briand Pact- was signed by Germany in 1928, alongside 65 other countries. Promised not to use violence

Question 8

Germany depended on US Money

Answer 8

Stresemann died in October 1929, just before the disaster of the Wall Street Crash. Things getting worse.

Question 9

Hitler became the voice of the German Workers’ Party

Answer 9

Hitler joined the German Workers’ Party in January 1919
In 1920, the party was re-branded as the National socialist German workers’ Party (the Nazi Party).
July 1921, Hitler became its leader

Question 10

Nazi developed its Identity

Answer 10

•In Feb 1920, the Nazi Party promoted its policies in the ‘Twenty-Five Point Programme’
•Stressed the superiority of the German people and promised anti-Semitism
•Rejected the treaty of versailles
In 1921, Hitler founded his own party called the SA. The SA were political thugs

Question 11

Munich Putsch

Answer 11

*In November 1923, Nazis marched on Munich
*He occupied a beer hall in the Bavarian City of Munich where local government leaders were meeting
* Next day Hitler & SA marched into Munich. The police fired on rebels and the revolt quickly collapsed

Question 12

Consequences of the Munich Putsch

Answer 12

1). Hitler was imprisoned but the trial gave him valuable publicity
2). He wrote a book called ‘Mein Kampf’
3) Mein Kampf spread Nazi ideology
4) Nazi party & SA was banned but was lifted in Feb 1925

Question 13

Timeline of Hitler becoming chancellor 1932-1933

Answer 13

Jan 1932- 6 million unemployed, Hitler uses the depression to promise better things, stands against Hindenburg and loses
July 1932- the Nazis are the Largest party in the Reichstag with 230 seats
Jan 1933-Hitler is finally offered Chancellorship in January 1933

Question 14

Reichstag fire + consequences

Answer 14

February 1933, 6 days before electiond a fire broke out in the Reichstag. Hitler blamed the communist party and used the event to whip up anti-communist feelings.
consequence
Pres Hindenburg issued a decree giving Hitler emergency powers to deal with communist threat
Hitler used this power to intimidate communists (SA round up & imprison nearly 4000 communist members)

Question 15

The Enabling act & consequences

Answer 15

March 1933-Enabling Act allowed Hitler to pass laws without consent of the Reichstag
Consequences: May 1933, Hitler abolished trade Unions- saw as a threat of influence over the working class
July 1933- All political parties, apart from the Nazi Party, were banned- Germany was officially a one party state

Question 16

SA was a Threat to Hitler

Answer 16

1). SA had helped Hitler come to power
2). But Hitler now saw The SA’s leader as a threat as the SA were loyal to him

Question 17

Night of the Long Knives

Answer 17

1) On the 29th-30th June 1934, Hitler sent men to arrest or kill Rohm and others
2) Hitler claimed that those who had been killed had been plotting to overthrow the government

Question 18

Death of Hindenburg

Answer 18

In August 1934, Hindenberg died. Hitler used the opportunity to combine the posts of Chancellor & President, and also made himself Commander in-Chief of the army

Question 19

How the Nazis Terrorised into conforming

Answer 19

The SS began as a bodyguard for hitler
Gestapo- Secret police
Local wardens
After 1933, concentration camps

Question 20

How did Nazis use media as a tool of Propaganda

Answer 20

Used censorship
cheap radios and controlled broadcasts
Newspapers controlled by Nazis ( 1933, only 3% 1944, 82%)
Nazi produced hundreds of films

Question 21

Persecution of the Catholic Chruch

Answer 21

In July 1933, an agreement called the Concordat was signed between the Pope and Nazi Government
Hitler promised not to interfere with the Catholic Church if the Church agreed to stay out of German politics
Hitler broke his side of the deal

1936- all crucifixes were removed from schools and by 1939 Catholic education had been destroyed
Nazis began arresting priests in 1935 and put them on trial.

Question 22

Controlled the Protestant Church

Answer 22

In 1936 all Protestant Churches merged to form the Reich Chruch

Question 23

The Reich Church

Answer 23

replaced cross with the Nazi swastika, and the bible was replaced by ‘Mein Kampf’. Only Nazis could give sermons

Question 24

Hitler Youth

Answer 24

was founded in 1926, became all but compulsory in 1936 and lasted until 1945
Boys wore military-style uniforms and took part in physical exercise preparing for war
High achieving boys might be sent to Hitler Schools to be trained as loyal Nazi leaders

Question 25

League of German Maidens

Answer 25

Aimed at girls between 14 and 18, learn domestic skills like sewing and cooking, they took part in physical activities like camping and hiking.

Question 26

Law against Jews

Answer 26

1933, SA organised a national boycott of Jewish business
Jews were gradually banned from jobs

Nuremberg Laws of 1935- stopped jews being German citizens, they banned marriage between Jews and non-Jews in Germany, Banned sexual relationship between JEWS and Non Jews

Later forced to close or sell their businesses, and they were banned from all employment
1938, all Jewish Children had been banned from attending German schools had been banned from attending German schools

Question 27

Kristallnacht 1938- the night of the Broken Glass

Answer 27

November 1938, a German diplomat was murdered in Paris by a Jew
there was anti-Jewish rioting throughout Germany- Jobs were smashed and almost every synagogue- Jews were arrested and sent to concentration camps
Nazi claimed the events were a spontaneous reaction by Germans however it was planned and organised by the Nazi government