Cards (20)

    • What was the Wall Street Crash? 
      It was the collapse of the stock market in New York in October 1929. 
    • Why did this affect Germany? 
      They took loans from America, which were recalled so the German economy suffered too as they didn’t have enough to give back to them. 
    • What happened to Germany’s export trade? 
      It declined by about 60% after the crash. 
    • Was Germany in a greater position than Britain or worse? 
      Worse- industrial production fell by about 60% in Germany but by only about 10% in Britain. 
    • What happened to banks and businesses? 
      Many became bankrupt as they lost investors and customers. 
    • How many people in 1932 were registered as unemployed? 
      A third of German workers-but many like women were not even counted in this figure. 
    • What is the estimated number of unemployed people in 1933? 
      Around 8 million. 
       
    • How did farmers suffer? 
      Prices of food fell as well as exports of their produce causing their income to decline. 
    • What happened to welfare benefits? 
      They had to be limited as too many people now needed them. 
    • Name one way the government tried to regulate this. 
      -The unemployed were paid only temporarily 
      -Women were given less than men 
    • Name 2 conditions of living during the Depression. 
      -Diseases linked to poor living conditions thrived 
      -Increase of shanty towns 
      -Poverty and malnutrition  
    • Why did the rates of juvenile crime increase? 
      Rates of unemployment increased so young people had nothing else to do other than join gangs and steal or fight. 
    • What sort of organisations did they join? 
      Political extremist organisations like the KPD, Hitler Youth and the SA. 
    • What did the government try to do to help the youth? Give 2 examples.  
      -They established day-centres with activities  
      -Emergency Labour Schemes meant unemployed youths could be paid a small amount to work  
      -Voluntary labour schemes to send people to residential work camps for training   
    • How was women’s employment affected by the depression? 
      Married women were dismissed from Civil Service jobs. 
       
    • Why did the Grand Coalition collapse? Give 2 reasons.  
      -It was too broad-was made up of 5 political parties 
      -The Wall Street Crash divided left-wing and right-wing members 
      -The army became (undemocratically) involvement in politics 
      -Hindenburg had to rule by decree- no democracy  
    • Why were the results of the September 1930 election a concern? 
      Extremist parties gained more seats. The KPD had 77 seats but the Nazis had 107, making then them the second largest party.  
    • Describe what political violence was like during this time. 
      There were frequent riots, assassinations and uprisings, particularly between the Nazi SA and the Communist Red-Front. 
    • What did Bruning do to control the violence? 
      He issued a decree to outlaw the SA and ban the wearing of political uniforms. 
    • How did the SA get around their ban?  
      They wore white shirts and continued!