History

• Consequences of the Treaty of Versailles on the Weimar Republic:

  • The Weimar Republic struggled financially due to the huge war debt
  • In 1923, French and Belgian troops occupied Germany's main industrial region, the Ruhr River Valley, leading to inflation and unemployment
  • The occupation caused morale to be low and the country to be politically divided
• Formation of the Nazi Party:

  • The National Socialist German Workers' Party, known as the Nazi Party, was formed in Munich on 5 January, 1919
  • Adolf Hitler became the seventh member in 1919 and played a significant role by 1921
  • The Nazis made promises to create jobs, make Germany strong and united, and resist the Treaty of Versailles
• Hitler's rise to power:

  • Hitler was arrested in 1923 for working against the Weimar Republic and wrote Mein Kampf while in jail
  • Released in 1924, he promised to seek power by legal means
  • The Great Depression of 1929 affected Germany due to the Wall Street stock market crash, leading to economic crisis and unemployment
• Failure of democracy in the Weimar Republic:

  • German people were dissatisfied with the Weimar Republic for accepting the Treaty of Versailles
  • The Wall Street crash led to hardship, and people turned to the Nazis for simple solutions and propaganda promoting German unity
• Reasons for public support for the Nazi Party:

  • German people suffered loss of national pride, economic hardship, and hopelessness
  • The Nazis offered hope through promises of a strong, united Germany with jobs and renewed purpose
  • Nazi propaganda spread ideas through posters, radio broadcasts, and rallies, promoting German unity and pride
• Enabling Act 1933 and dictatorship:

  • The Nazis won many seats in the Reichstag, allowing Hitler to pass the Enabling Act in 1933, giving him dictatorial powers
  • Hitler eradicated opposition by muzzling the press, abolishing political parties, and imprisoning leaders
  • The Night of the Long Knives in June 1934 saw the killing of SA leaders, including Ernst Röhm, by the SS and Gestapo
• Nuremberg Laws and loss of basic rights of Jewish people, 1935:

  • The Nuremberg Laws of 1935 were anti-Semitic laws introduced at the Nuremberg Rally
  • These laws classified people based on their ancestry, with Jews losing basic rights
  • Nazism became an official ideology, including anti-Semitism as a form of racism