Weimar Republic & Nazi Germany Flashcards
The Weimar constitution- President, Reichstag, Proportional representation
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
Weaknesses of Weimar Constitution
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
Why did Germans feel betrayed by the weimar republuc
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
Extreme left revolutions
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
Far Right rebels
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
How did Germany end up in hyperinflation
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
Stresemann plan
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
Dawes plan, young plan, locarno pact, League of Nations, kellog-briand pact
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
Germany depended on US Money
Stresemann died in October 1929, just before the disaster of the Wall Street Crash. Things getting worse.
Hitler became the voice of the German Workers’ Party
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
Nazi developed its Identity
•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
Munich Putsch
*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
Consequences of the Munich Putsch
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
Timeline of Hitler becoming chancellor 1932-1933
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
Reichstag fire + consequences
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)
The Enabling act & consequences
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
SA was a Threat to Hitler
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
Night of the Long Knives
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
Death of Hindenburg
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
How the Nazis Terrorised into conforming
The SS began as a bodyguard for hitler
Gestapo- Secret police
Local wardens
After 1933, concentration camps
How did Nazis use media as a tool of Propaganda
Used censorship
cheap radios and controlled broadcasts
Newspapers controlled by Nazis ( 1933, only 3% 1944, 82%)
Nazi produced hundreds of films
Persecution of the Catholic Chruch
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.
Controlled the Protestant Church
In 1936 all Protestant Churches merged to form the Reich Chruch
The Reich Church
replaced cross with the Nazi swastika, and the bible was replaced by ‘Mein Kampf’. Only Nazis could give sermons
