Social division

• Social divisions in Germany leading up to the rise of the Nazi party were influenced by conditions in the country after losing the war and the overthrow of the king
• Social divisions are negative interactions between groups of people or political parties based on ethnicity, race, or political beliefs
• Four specific examples of social divisions in Germany were:

  • KPD (Communist Party of Germany)
  • Spartacist Uprising
  • Freikorps
  • White Emigres
• The KPD (Communist Party of Germany) was inspired by the Russian Revolution and aimed to bring communism to Germany by overthrowing existing political parties and power structures
• The Freikorps were a group of veterans from World War I suffering from PTSD who formed a right-wing militia to defend the country against communist uprisings
• The Spartacist Uprising in January 1919 was a communist attempt to overthrow the government, leading to a violent clash with the Freikorps and deepening social divisions in Germany
• The White Emigres were Russian refugees who fled the Soviet Union to escape communism and spread anti-communist propaganda, including the fake document "Protocols of the Elders of Zion"
• The "Protocols of the Elders of Zion" falsely claimed a Jewish conspiracy for world domination, fueling anti-Semitic sentiments and leading to violence against Jewish individuals in Europe
• General Ludendorff blamed the Jews and communists for Germany's failures, contributing to the anti-Semitic and anti-communist sentiments that the Nazi party later exploited