germany 1930s

• German Chancellor Hermann Müller resignation

  1930
• German Chancellor Hermann Müller resignation details

  *In March 1930 the German Chancellor, Hermann Müller, resigned when his government could not agree on how to tackle the rise in government spending caused by the rise in unemployment. He was replaced by Heinrich Brüning
• Heinrich Brüning becomes Chancellor

  1930
• Heinrich Brüning becomes Chancellor details

  *His policies were ineffective in dealing with the unemployment crisis and further undermined Germans' faith in democracy

  *In July 1930 Chancellor Brüning cut government expenditure, wages and unemployment pay. This added to the spiral of decline and unemployment continued to rise, as well as making those who had lost their jobs even poorer

  *However, Brüning could not get the Reichstag to agree to his actions, so President Hindenburg used Article 48 of the Weimar constitution
• Hindenburg uses Article 48

  1930
• Hindenburg uses Article 48 details

  *This gave the him the power to pass laws by decree, to govern

  *This undermined democracy and weakened the power of the Reichstag - arguably opening the way for Hitler's later dictatorship
• Rise of extremism


  1930 - 1933
• Rise of extremism details

  *When people are unemployed, hungry and desperate, as millions were in Germany between 1930 and 1933, they often turn to extreme political parties offering simple solutions to their problems

  *Between 1930 and 1933 support for the extreme right-wing Nazis and the extreme left-wing communists soared.

  *By 1932 parties committed to the destruction of the Weimar Republic held 319 seats out of a total of 608 in the Reichstag, with many workers turning to communism

  *However, the real beneficiaries were the Nazis
• Sicherheitsdienst


  1931
• Sicherheitsdienst details


  *This was the intelligence gathering agency of the SS. It was responsible for the security of Hitler and other top Nazis and was led by Himmler's right hand man, Reinhard Heydrich.
• Nazis becoming the largest party in the Reichstag

  1932
• Nazis becoming the largest party in the Reichstag details

  *In 1928, the Nazis had only 12 seats in the Reichstag

  *By July 1932 they had 230 seats and were the largest party
• Presidential election


  1932
• Presidential election details

  *In April Hitler came second to Hindenburg, who won 53 per cent of the vote to Hitler's 36.8 per cent
• Brüning resigned as Chancellor

  1932
• Brüning resigned as Chancellor details

  *In May Hindenburg appointed Franz Von Papen, a conservative, as his replacement
• Reichstag elections


  1932
• Reichstag elections details


  *In July the Nazis became the largest single party with 230 seats, but still did not have a majority

  *Hitler demanded to be made Chancellor but Papen remained
• Reichstag elections called by Von Papen

  1932
• Reichstag elections called by Von Papen details

  *In November Reichstag elections called by Von Papen were done to try to win a majority in parliament

  *Nazis lost 34 seats but remained the largest party with 196 seats
• Von Papen resignation


  1932
• Von Papen resignation details

  *In December Von Papen resigned.

  *Hindenburg appointed Kurt Von Schleicher, an army general, as Chancellor.

  *Von Schleicher tried to split the Nazis by asking a leading Nazi called Gregor Strasser to be his Vice Chancellor.

  *Hitler forced Strasser to decline.
• Hitler appointed as chancellor

  1933
• Hitler appointed as chancellor details

  *In January Von Papen and Hindenburg turned to Hitler, appointing him as Chancellor with Von Papen as Vice Chancellor.

  *They believed they could control Hitler and get him to do what they wanted
• Reichstag Fire


  1933
• Reichstag Fire details


  *On 27 February the Reichstag building was set on fire. A Dutch communist, van der Lubbe, was caught red-handed in the burning building

  *Hitler used the fire to persuade Hindenburg to pass an emergency law restricting personal liberty

  *This enabled him to imprison many communist leaders, which stopped them campaigning during the election
• Reichstag election


  1933
• Reichstag election details


  On 25 March in the election 44 percent of the population voted for the Nazis, who won 288 seats in the Reichstag (still not an overall majority)

  *Hitler had to join with the nationalists to form a majority
• The Enabling Act


  1933
• The Enabling Act details

  *Passed in March

  *This enabled Hitler to get rid of the Reichstag parliament and pass laws without reference to parliament

  *This was able to be done as communists deputies were banned and the SA were intimidating all the remaining non-Nazi deputies
• Trade unions banned


  1933
• Trade unions banned details

  *By banning free trade unions in May, the Nazis were removing potential organised opposition
• Night of the Long Knives

  1933
• Night of the Long Knives details

  *Happened in June

  *Many members of the SA, including its leader Ernst Röhm, were demanding that the Nazi party carry out its socialist agenda and that the SA take over the army.

  *Hitler could not afford to annoy businessmen or the army, so the SS (Hitler's personal body guards) murdered around 400 members of the SA, including Röhm, along with a number of Hitler's other opponents like the previous Chancellor, von Schleicher.

  *This removed any internal Nazi Party opposition to Hitler
• Political parties banned


  1933
• Political parties banned details

  *Only the Nazi party was allowed to exist after July

  *Banning political parties made Germany a one-party state and destroyed democracy in the country

  *This removed other parties as a source of opposition.
• Concordat signed with the Pope

  1933
• Concordat signed with the Pope details

  *Hitler saw Christianity as a threat and a potential source of opposition to Nazism because it emphasised peace.

  *The Nazis tried to control the Churches with policies and bargaining

  *A Concordat (agreement) was signed with the Pope in July

  *This allowed Hitler to increase his power in Germany without opposition from the Catholic Church, as long as he left the Church alone

  *Hitler didn't keep his side of the bargain, however, as the Nazis attempted to infiltrate the Church and spread their propaganda
• State officials swear an oath of loyalty to Hitler

  1933
• State officials swear an oath of loyalty to Hitler details

  *In August the longstanding oath taken by state officials (e.g. judges) was changed so that they no longer swore loyalty to the German constitution but rather to Hitler as head of state