Weimar and Nazi Germany 1918-39

• 2 million died in WW1
• 11 million Germans fought in WW1
• 4 million were wounded in WW1
• Germany's debt rose from 50 billion marks in 1914 to 150 billion marks in 1918
• Over 750,000 Germans died because of food shortages
• 9th november 1918 - Kaiser Wilhelm II abdicates
• 9th november -> Philipp Scheidemann became Weimar minister, from the Social Democratic Party
• 11th november, Social Democratic Party signed the armistice
• Treaty of versailles was signed in 1919
• Der Dolchstoss = "Stab in the back"
• government nicknamed = November Criminals since Germany had felt betrayed
• The Left Wing was known as the Spartacists League which are a communist party, 100,000 people march in Berlin on the 6th of January 1919
• The reason as to why the Spartacists march was due to a popular polic chief was sacked on the 4th of january 1919, monarchists/government ask the Freikorps for backup as the police are unable to keep things under control
• Rosa Luxemburg and Karl Leibknecht leaders of the spartacists, violently get murdered 10 day's later from the Freikorps
• monarchist are known to be on the right wing, recruited 250,000 ex-solider which are called Freikorps
• 1920 - Kapp Putsch was held to re-instate the old Keisar, which lasted 4 days
• November 1923, Germany does not pay reparations, which causes Hyperinflation - French and Belgium troops occupy the Ruhr to try and take Industrial Wealth, German government encourage those in the Ruhr to take on " passive resistance"
• Hitler and the founder of the Nazi party , Anton Drexler , wrote the 25 point programme in 1920
• Nationalist elements of the 25 - point programme

  1. Only allowing Aryans to be German citizens
  2. Building up the strength of the German military
  3. Nullify the Treaty of Versailles
  4. Lebensraum (to expand German territory to house of the population
• Composition of the SA

  The sturmabteilung (storm detachment), known as the SA, was largely made up of former German soldiers who hated the Weimar Republic.

  They asserted Nazi power through fighting and intimidating political opponents, mostly th Communists.
• Ernst Rohm led the group SA
• Between 1930 and 1934, the SA grew from 400,000 to 3 million
• Long-term causes

  • The long term causes for the Munich Putsch were: resentment against the Treaty of Versailles and its clauses, hatred of being ‘stabbed in the back’ and they thought that the Weimar Republic was fundamentally weak.
  • The medium term causes for the Munich Putsch were: that Hitler wanted to copy the example of Mussolini in Italy. In 1922, Mussolini led the right-wing Fascist Party in overthrowing democracy and setting up a dictatorship.
• Immediate causes

  • The immediate causes for the Munich Putsch were: that the Nazis were angered by the French occupation of the Ruhr in 1923. The Putsch was triggered by Stresemann calling off passive (non-violent) resistance.
  • Rohm had introduced Hitler and Ludendorff and this helped to trigger the Putsch.
  • Because of this and the fragility (could be easily damaged) of the Weimar Republic in 1923, Hitler assumed the German people would support his Putsch.
• Events of the Putsch , 8th November 1923

  • On the 8th November 1923, Hitler and 600 SA troops entered a meeting of the Bavarian government in Munich.
  • Threatening the government leaders, Hitler forced the government to support him.
  • The head of the SA, Röhm, took control of the local police and army headquarters.
  • But Ludendorff (the general who told the Kaiser to abdicate in World War One) secretly let the government leaders go.
• Events of the Putsch, 9-11th November 1923

  • On the 9th November 1923, Hitler marched on Munich with 1,000 SA troops and 2,000 volunteers.
  • Hitler wanted to make himself the President of Germany.
  • State police met the Nazis. Shots were fired. 3 policemen and 16 Nazis were killed. Ludendorff and Röhm were arrested.
  • Hitler fled and hid at a friend’s house.
  • On 11th November 1923, Hitler was discovered and arrested for high treason (crime of betraying one’s country).
• The Nazis in the mid-1920s

  • The Nazis suffered because the Weimar Republic was succeeding.
  • Germany was politically stable and had no need for the extremism of the Nazis.
  • In order for the Nazis to achieve success, they would have to participate in the Weimar Republic’s democratic elections.
• Nazis and the democratic system

  • In participating in legal elections, Hitler said that the Nazi Party would have to ‘hold their noses’. This shows how much he despised the democratic system he was forced to be part of.
  • But the Nazis only had 32 seats in the Reichstag in 1924 and this dropped to 12 seats in 1928.
  • Despite this, membership for the Nazis increased from 27,000 in 1925 to 130,000 in 1929.
• Nazi reoganisation

  • Hitler wanted to reorganise the Nazi party to maximise support.
  • Hitler made himself the centre of the Nazi party.
  • This meant that the appeal of the Nazis largely rested on him as a charismatic (able to influence people) leader
• The northern and southern groups

  In February 1926, Hitler called the Bamberg Conference to resolve tension between the northern and southern groups of the Nazi party.

  • The northern group stressed the socialist (for everyone in society sharing the profits from industry) parts of the 25-point programme.
  • The southern part stressed the nationalist (for political independence) parts of the 25-point programme
• When was the Bamberg Conference?

  February 1926
• which local weimar government did the Munich Putsch seek to overthrow

  Bavarian Government
• The Wall Street Crash

  • In 1929, the Wall Street Crash happened in the USA. After this, banks lost billions of dollars. Eventually, this was felt by the whole world in the Great Depression.
  • The main reason the Great Depression affected Germany was because it caused unemployment.
• Unemployment

  • Firstly, US banks stopped loans to Germany.
  • Next, German industries lost finance and laid off (fired) workers.
  • By 1932, 40% of workers were unemployed.
  • The German government had no money so reduced unemployment benefits.
  • The combination of these factors meant that families suffered and lost faith in democracy.
• Failure of the Weimar Republic

  • It became clear that the government could not solve the problem of unemployment.
  • Chancellor Müller could not improve Germany’s economy and neither could his replacement, Chancellor Brüning.
• Hindenburg's response to unemployment

  • In response, President Hindenburg lost faith in democracy himself and used Article 48 to bypass (avoid and go around) the Reichstag.
  • This significantly weakened the Weimar Republic.
• Extremism

  • In the economic crisis, the German people turned to extremist parties to quickly solve unemployment.
  • The Communists gained increasing support from the working class.
  • The Nazis also gained support because they appealed to a wider group of the German population.
• Hitler and intimidation

  • The Nazi’s gained support because of Hitler’s personality.
  • Not only a strong leader, Hitler was a mesmerising public speaker who travelled the country to give speeches.
  • The Nazis also grew because of intimidation tactics (using subtle threats).
  • The SA and SS fought and eliminated political opponents but also protected the Nazis. This showed the strength of the Nazis.
• Propaganda

  • Propaganda (information designed to influence people) helped spread the Nazi message, emphasising three things.
  • Firstly, the Hitler Cult. Hitler was presented as Germany’s saviour.
  • Secondly, volksgemeinschaft (people’s community). The Nazis wanted to restore Germany back to traditional values and focus on an Aryan (Indo-European) community.
  • Thirdly, anti-Semitism (anti-Jews). They blamed the Jews for the Great Depression in Germany.
• Hilter's flexible message - for workers

  • Hitler was so successful because his message was flexible. He could tailor what he said to his audience.
  • For businessmen, the Nazis would solve the Great Depression.
  • For the workers, the Nazis would give employment and food.
  • For farmers, the Nazis would protect them from Communists who could seize land.