Year 1- booklet 7,8,9 Flashcards
coalitions govts 1924-28
-june 1924= Marx (Z) inc Z, DVP, DDP
-Jan 1926= luther inc DDP, Z, BVP, DVP, DNVP
-Jan 1927= Marx (Z), inc Z, DVP, DNVP, BVP
-June 1928= Muller (SPD), inc SPD, DDP, DVP, BVP (Grand Coalition)
May & December 1924 elections
-support for republican parties= 61% to 67%
-fall in extremist parties= Nazi 6.5% to 3%, KPD 12% to 9%
problem with coalitions
-caused by proportional representation
-meant difficult to maintain stability
-SPD and DNVP refused to work together
-moderate parties didn’t have enough seats
Reichsbanner Schwarz-Rot-Gold
-founded 1924 by SPD, DDP, Z
-defend democracy against extremism, respect republic, honour constitution
-paramilitary wing to challenge Nazi/ KPD violence (3 mill members 1932)
Flag decree
-1926
-hindenburg ordered old flag fly next to new it led to dispute in Reichstag and lLuthers govt fell
were the golden years golden?
-YES: no attempts at revolution, RW less hostile (DNVP coalition), less political violence
-NO: govt unstable, party loyalty over national good, govt lacked clear direction
workings on the election for presidency
-winner needed 50% of ote in first round
-no winner then second round and candidate w/ most votes wins (new entrants can enter 2nd round)
Rounds of Hindenburg’s election
-1st round= Jarres 38% (DVP), Braun 29% (SPD)
-2nd round= Hindenburg 48% (DVP, DNVP), Marx 45% (Z, SPD, DDP), Thalmann 6% (KPD)
Hindenburg as a symbol of the past
-Saviour of the Eastern front ww1
-Army chief of staff 1916-18
-authoritarian, supported stab in back myth
-called a ‘substitute kaiser’
How did Hindenburg go against democracy?
-used presidential powers to rule by decree
-didn’t believe in democracy & was unwilling to defend it against opponents on the right
attitudes towards the republic
-elites= opposed/ hostile
-industrial workers= hadn’t delivered on its promises and saw crushing uprisings as failure of parliamentary democracy
-mc= large group so hard to generalise
-lmc= suffered from hyperinflation
attitudes to Hindenburg’s election
-elites= thought he’d steer Ger to authoritarian govt
-industrial= would’ve wanted Marx instead (SPD maj)
-mc & lmc= welcomed return of political stability under him
Policy of fulfillment
-All of Germany agreed that the ToV was unfair
-Stresemann’s approach was to meet terms through fulfilment, demonstrate terms were unworkable, seek revision through cooperation
Locarno Pact
-1925
-Aim: restore international standing, address Fr concerns, prevent hostile alliance of Br & Fr
-agreement reached w/ Br, Fr, USA & Ita
-accept 1919 western borders, surrender claim to Alsace Lorraine, Br/ Ita defend Ger, Fr, Bel if attacked
-any dispute go to LoN.
-allow reparation reform
-(stresemann done)
Successes of Locarno Pact
-Ger entered LoN
-no guarantee demanded for Eastern borders
-Fr had a guarantee of Br support
-Ger prevented repeat of Ruhr occupation, Fr troops leave (1925-30)
-eastern borders not fully recognised
-(stresemann done)
League of Nations
-Ger joined 1926
-given veto power
-great power recognition
-couldn’t participate in military action against aggressors
-(stresemann done)
relations with the USSR
-Germany imposed harsh terms on revolutionaries to end war (1917)
-both resented creation of poland and both were treated as outcasts by international community
Treaty of Rapallo
-1922
-USSR & Ger resumed trade
-claims for compensation of war damage was dropped
-Russia allowed Ger to develop weapons and train pilots on Russian territory
>this concerned the French
Treaty of Berlin
-1926
-renew Rapallo
-maintain econ & military cooperation, Ger neutrality if USSR was attacked
successes of Stresemann (rapallo pact)
-Treaty put pressure on West to improve relations w/ Ger
-showed that Ger accepted any change to Eastern borders needed USSR approval
-strengthened hand against Br, Fr, USA
Kellogg-Briand Pact
-1928
-international agreement between Fr, USA (ger also signed)
-agreed to renounce war as a way of resolving disputes
-symbolic
etv of the young plan
- ‘stab in back myth’- Hitler campaigned against it
-Harzburg Front was a rallying point for anti-weimar forces
+allied troops finally left ger June 1930
-only as far as depression
+only 14% of ger in referendum rejected it
inter-allied control commission
-created to ensure Ger was compliant w/ disarmament
-checked existing weapons were destroyed
>Ger got around this by building subs in spain, artillery in sweden
>scheeckt= short, intense military training
Wall Street Crash
-24th Oct 1929 NY stock exchange had worst fall in share prices ‘Black Thursday’
-29th Oct 1929, lost $10 billion ‘Black Tuesday’
impact of WSC on ger
-economy stagnating since 1928, recovery 1924-8 had been financed by US loans, USA starting to call in loans, also USA large market of good
-exports dropped 61%, industrial production dropped 58% from 1928
Banking crisis
-customers withdrew money from banks and loans weren’t repaid
-Austrian banks collapsed May 1931
-Ger banks followed
-July 1931 Ger closed it’s banks and suspended stock exchange for 2 days
-By 1932, 1/3rd of Ger workers were unemployed (6mill), 1/4 affected (13mill)
unemployment stats
-limited to those who registered
-some estimate it was 8 mill
-worst affected were those in industrial areas e.g. Ruhr
impacts of WSC on rural
-prices collapsed
-exports declines
-farmers gave up land as unable to pay back loans
-lost jobs
social impacts of WSC
-poverty: 1930 time limits applied to state benefits, less generous & means were tested
-single industry towns= Brand-Erbisderff (1931, 1/2 receiving benefits, rely on local authority)
-disease= suicide, tuberculosis
impacts of WSC on youth
-Hamburg 1933= unemployment rate for men 14-25 was 39%
-formed gangs, attracted to extreme political groups, high rates of crime, Hitler youth/ SA provided shelter
-Brunings work force kept ppl out of trouble but these offered little prospects
-strikes 1930-32
impact of WSC on women
-May 1932 law passed allowing married women civil servants to be dismissed
-women could only be dismissed if it could be proved that there economic circumstances were secure
-Reich postal service dismissed abt 1000 married women
Political impact of the depression
-Grand Coalition of Muller collapsed 1930
-extreme parties gained support
-Sought to fatally undermine the democratic system
-increase in political violence
Collapse of the grand coalition
-Was formed in 1928
-Tax receipts down and social welfare spending up
-SPD protect benefits by raising taxes
-DVP reduce benefits
-Deadlock: Muller resigned March 1930
Brunings govt 1930-32
-Hindenburg appointed Bruning under von Schleicher
-both Groener and von Schleicher opposed democracy
-Bruning excluded the SPD from his coalition
-didn’t have maj in reichstag
Schleicher
-aristocratic army officer
-1926 political head of army
-saw Nazis as best counter to KPD & SPD
End of Bruning’s govt
-Policies to balance budget:
>cuts in govt spending, reduced unemployment benefit, raised taxes, army spending etc not cut
-no maj in Reichstag, SPD won a motion to withdraw the budget decree, Bruning dissolved reichstag
-ended 1932 may
sept 1930 -election responses
-KPD 77 seats= over a mill votes from SPD
-NSDAP= 107 seats, gained by 6.5mill votes vs 810k in 1928
-2/5 voters voted anti-democratic parties
-disruption in Reichstag
-Reichstag didn’t didn’t meet between Feb- Oct 1931
Political violence
-grew 1930-33
-Red front & SA committing them
- Brunning issued decree 1931 banning wearing of Brown shirts
-1932 Hindenburg banned SA
