The characteristics of the Nationalist Socialist Government

• Economic problems faced by the Weimar Republic and the German people 1919-33

  • Hyperinflation in 1923 (prices of food rose dramatically, money lost its value, pensions became worthless, people lost jobs and homes, many Germans found themselves in poverty and sick)
  • Wall Street Crash 1929 (Weimar had to pay back loans to America, companies went bankrupt, 33% of Germany (over 6 million people) were unemployed, people lost jobs and homes, many Germans found themselves in poverty and sick)
• Characteristics of the Nationalist Socialist Government

  • There must be a single leader of a single party, holding complete power – the Führer
  • Racism was a characteristic of the Nazi government. Germans were the 'Master Race' and all other races were inferior including Jewish people who were regarded as subhuman
  • Lebensraum (living space) was also a characteristic of the government. They thought that territorial expansion of Germany was required in order to allow the Master Race to grow
  • Germany must be economically self-sufficient and not dependent on goods imported from abroad
  • There was only one political party (the Nazis). All other parties were declared illegal in the Enabling Act
  • Trade unions did not exist as they were declared illegal in the Enabling Act
  • The Gestapo (the secret police) was a characteristic of the Nazi government. They would spy and gather intelligence on the people of Germany
  • A final characteristic of the Nazi government was censorship as the Nazis controlled the newspapers, radio and cinema