Germany 1890-1945

• Reasons for political instability

  • No one party was getting enough votes so governments had to be formed from coalitions of parties working together. Sometimes these coalitions did not work well, and the governments were therefore unstable. There were 25 separate governments in 14 years. Some governments lasted only a few weeks
  • Many nationalists opposed Stresemann's policies as being too cautious. They wanted to reject the Treaty of Versailles
• No one party was getting enough votes so governments had to be formed from coalitions of parties working together. Sometimes these coalitions did not work well, and the governments were therefore unstable. There were 25 separate governments in 14 years. Some governments lasted only a few weeks
• Many nationalists opposed Stresemann's policies as being too cautious. They wanted to reject the Treaty of Versailles completely, not just have it revised
• All the centre and right-wing parties were suspicious of the Social Democrats
• Extremist parties such as the Communists and the Nazis made no secret of their wish to overthrow the Weimar Republic entirely
• In 1925 Hindenburg became President. He was a famous war leader and popular with people. He did not like the Weimar Republic
• After the 1928 election the Social Democrats started working with other parties who did not want to end the Weimar Republic. This showed that the middle-class parties were no longer suspicious of the socialists
• Stresemann's aim was to slowly change the Treaty of Versailles and get back the land that Germany had lost. Stresemann knew he could not do this too quickly as it might annoy other countries and make enemies of them
• The nationalists hated Stresemann's approach as they wanted things to change quickly
• Locarno Treaties


  Germany signed with Britain, France and Italy, guaranteeing Germany's borders with France and Belgium and promising never to attack again
• League of Nations


  In 1926 Stresemann took Germany into the League of Nations, giving them a permanent seat on the Council alongside Britain and France, showing Germany was accepted again
• Kellogg-Briand Pact


  In 1928 Germany signed with over 60 other countries, promising never to go to war against one another
• Stresemann's approach to foreign policy improved Germany's reputation in the world and reassured other countries that Germany did not want to be aggressive. Some people criticised Stresemann, however, as he did not ask for any of the land taken by the Treaty of Versailles
• In 1919 Hitler joined the fledging German Worker's Party (DAP), changed its name to the National Socialist German Worker's Party and took over as party leader in 1921
• Hitler organised his own private army called the SA/Stormtroopers, used to protect Nazi meetings and attack those of their political opponents such as the KPD (the Communists)
• Hitler drew up the 25 point programme in 1920, which included the promise to reverse Versailles, destroy Communism and make Germany great. It also included an attack on the Jews, blaming them for the defeat of 1918
• By 1922 the Nazi party had 3000 members
• In 1923, Hitler decided the time was right for the Nazi Party to try to win control of Germany, due to hyperinflation, mass unemployment and the unpopularity of the Weimar Government
• Instead of using violence to take power from the Weimar Government, Hitler began making plans to get the Nazi Party elected. He reduced the number of Stormtroopers (SA) and set up the SS, a personal bodyguard fanatically loyal to himself. He set up a network of local parties, merged with other right-wing parties then took them over, set up the Hitler Youth, and put Josef Goebbels in charge of propaganda
• The Munich Putsch in November 1923 failed, with 16 Nazis and 3 police dead, and Hitler and Ludendorff arrested and sent to prison
• The Wall Street Crash in 1929 caused many American banks to recall their loans, forcing German companies to close and millions to lose their jobs. This caused unemployment to rise from 2.5 to 4 million between 1928 and 1930, leading more people to feel let down by the Weimar Government
• The depression helped Hitler in several ways: it caused a period of chaos in Germany, the socialists left the government after disagreements about how to deal with the Depression, no government could take control of the situation and solve Germany's economic problems, and unemployment was a big issue that Hitler promised to solve
• Groups that voted for the Nazis

  • Farmers
  • Women
  • Middle classes
  • Wealthy
  • Youth
• In July 1932 the Nazis became the largest party in the Reichstag with 230 seats and Hitler demanded to become Chancellor, but Hindenburg refused
• In November 1932 the Nazis lost some seats (196) but remained the largest party in the Reichstag
• On 30th January 1933 Hitler became Chancellor and von Papen the vice-Chancellor of a coalition government which contained only 3 Nazis
• Key reasons the Nazis got into power

  • Great Depression
  • Propaganda
  • Violence
  • Mistakes of others
  • Party Organisation
• After the Reichstag fire on 27th February, Hitler persuaded von Hindenburg to pass the 'Decree for the Protection of the People and the State' which restricted people's rights and gave the police much increased powers. This allowed the Nazis to persecute the communists
• In the March election, the Nazis won 44% of the vote or 288 seats. Without a majority, the Nazis did this by doing a deal with an extreme nationalist party, combining their support to give the government 56% of the vote/seats
• Nazi organisations were very important at election times to organise the visits of Nazi leadership, carry out canvassing and encourage people to vote
• How the Nazis consolidated their power

  1. Step 1 - The Reichstag Fire

  2. Step 2 - March election

  3. Step 3 - Enabling Law

  4. Step 4 - The destruction of political opposition

  5. Step 5 - Nazification

  6. Step 6 - The Night of the Long Knives

  7. Step 7 - Death of Hindenburg
• On 27th February, the Reichstag building was burnt down. A communist Marinus van der Lubbe was arrested for the crime
• Hitler persuaded von Hindenburg to use his presidential powers to pass a law – Decree for the Protection of the People and the State'
• This law restricted people's rights and gave the police much increased powers
• Using this Law, the Nazis persecuted the communists – arresting its members (4000), smashing up their offices and closing down their newspapers
• The Nazis won 44% of the vote or 288 seats. Without a majority, the Nazis did not have control of the Reichstag
• To achieve this majority, the Nazis did a deal with an extreme nationalist party. Combining the support of both parties, the government now had 56% of the vote/seats
• In order to change the constitution, Hitler needed 66% of the vote. To achieve this he: Did a deal with the Catholic Centre Party, Used the SA to bully the other members of the Reichstag, Banned 81 communist members of the Reichstag
• The Enabling Act was passed by 441 votes to 91. This law gave Hitler the power to pass any law without the support of the Reichstag
• The Communist Party had already been banned. In June 1933, the Nazis banned the SPD (the socialists), they had been one of the largest parties of the 1920s. In July 1933 Hitler passed 'The law against the formation of New Political Parties' – this law banned all political parties apart from the Nazis