history Germany

• Kaiser Wilhelm II


  Abdicates and replaced by Ebert (President)
• Government signs the Armistice - called the November criminals due to this. ' Stab in the back '


  1918
• Treaty of Versailles signed - people feel ' stabbed in the back'


  1919
• Treaty of Versailles


  • LAMB - Land (lost 13% such as Alsace-Lorraine, Polish corridor, Saar and Rhineland was demilitarised), Army( reduced to 100,000), Money(reparations set at £6.6 billion) and Blame (war guilt clause)
• Weimar constitution


  Proportional representation - means the Reichstah is made up of lots of parties, hard to get any laws passed
• Article 48


  In an emergency gave the chancellor the power to rule without the Reichstag
• Spartacists uprising (1919)


  Rosa Luxemburg and Karl Liebknecht - unsuccessful but showed chaos in Germany -stopped by Freikorps because they hate communism (Ex military put down the uprising but than joined the Kapp Putsch)
• Kapp putsch (1920)


  More successful because the army refused to fight them - however the government asked the workers to go on strike - this ended it. Significant because they could not meet in Berlin - too dangerous. So they met in Weimar - Weimar Republic
• Munich Putsch (1923)


  Was a very unsuccessful Nazi attempt to take over Munich and then march on Berlin. Politician von Kahr calls authorities on Hitler. Hitler is arrested and sent to Landsberg prison for 9 months, In the long term significant because the subsequent trial gave Hitler lots of publicity and during his time in prison he writes mein Kampf
• Germany fell behind on reparations, so the French occupied the industrial Ruhr area. The government told the workers to go on strike (passive resistance) - they did but the government had to pay them, so they printed more money - this led to hyperinflation.


  January 1923
• 201 billion for a loaf of bread by november 1923
• Gustav Stresemann


  Foreign minister 1924 - 1929 - introduced a new currency, the rentenmark, signed the dawes plan, locarno pact, joined the LoN, signed the young plan
• Dawes plan - agreed US loans to germany (800 million marks from the USA and lowered reparations) French leave the Ruhr in April 1925


  1924
• Locarno pact - agreement of new borders with France


  1925
• Germany joining the LoN

  1926
• Kellog-Briand pact - settlement disputes peacefully, Germany one of 64 countries to sign


  1928
• Signed the young plan - agreed more loans from the US and lowered reparations by 25%


  1929
• Weimar Germany started to recover - some saw they were just papering over the cracks. Employment improved Germany started to gain confidence on the world stage, and they had a cultural revival. Avant-garde art movement, Bauhaus design, American jazz, night clubs
• Wall street crash happened

  October 1929
• Economic crash in the US but ripples felt around the world - especially in Germany as they were reliant on US loans. Young people were the first to lose jobs, working class and middle class most affected, Farmers fell into more debt
• There was mass poverty and people queuing for jobs where food was common sights. By 1932 unemployment reached 6 million
• People increasingly looked towards the extreme in politics - Nazis or communists. In 1928 the Nazis had just 12 seats in the Reichstag, by 1930 this was 107 (2nd) and by 1932 this was 230 (1st).
• Chancellor Bruning (1930-1932)


  Unpopular due to cut in unemployment pay and constant need for article 48
• Support for the Nazis

  • The rich and middle class supported them because they believed they could deal with the communist threat
  • Farmers feared the communists would take over their land
  • Churchgoers feared communism due to anti-religious views
• Hitler becomes chancellor


  Hindenburg was reluctant to make Hitler chancellor even though the nazis were the largest party in the Reichstag. Von Papen failed to get support, replaced by Von schleicher (same problem). Hitler made a secret deal with Von Papen - Von Papen would persuade Hindenburg to make Hitler Chancellor if he could be vice Chancellor. Hindenburg relctantly agrees if only 3 out of the 12 members of the cabinet are Nazis - this way they belive they can control Hitler (Jan 1933)
• Hitler consolidates his power (Jan 1933- Aug 1934)

  Reichstag fire. Nazi blamed the communists and contrived Hindenburg to grant emergency powers. 4000 communists arrested under the 'Reichstag fire decree'. Enabling Act passed = NO MORE REICHSTAG (START OF DICTATORSHIP). Many 1933 Trade unions and political opposition are banned. Political parties banned in July 1933. Night of the Long Knives: SA had grown to 3 million - this threatened the German army and they were loyal to Rohm not Hitler. Hitler ordered the arrest and execution of hundreds of leading members of the SA. Hindenburg dies, Hitler assumes the title of aFuhrer - which means leader and the army swear an oath of loyalty to him
• Nazi control mechanisms


  • Death penalty offences went from 3 to 46 (such as listening to a foreign radio station)
  • Judges had to swear an oath of loyalty to hitler. Trails were predetermined. Ordinary police ignore Nazi crimes
  • Gestapo - Nazi secret police force, monitored the German population for signs of opposition or resistance to Nazi rule
  • Sicherheitsdienst (SD) - intelligence gathering agency of the SS, responsible for the security of Hitler and other top Nazis
  • Propaganda - Censorship of the press, control of radios (made cheap and affordable) and use of loudspeakers, mass rallies
• Nazi policies towards women

  • Taken off the employment register and employers encouraged to sack them. Encouraged to have children and stay at home, 3K's children( Kinder), church (Kirche) and Kitchen (Kuchen)
  • Introduced the law of the encouragement of marriage which gave newlywed couples a loan of 1,000 marks and allowed them to keep 250 marks for each child they had. Motherhood cross: bronze(4) silver(6) and gold (8)
  • Not expected to wear make-up or trousers, due their hair or smoke in public. Discouraged from being slim because it was thought that thin women had problems giving birth
• Nazi policies towards youth

  • Textbooks taught the Nazi beliefs and indoctrinated children. Teacher had to be part of the nazi party. New subjects such as Eugenics
  • Hitler youth (1936 compulsory) - taught boys how to fight and be a good soldier
  • League of Germans Maidens - taught girls how to be a good mothers and look after a home
• Nazi policies towards the church

  • Set up the Reich church led by bishop muller. The bible was replaced by mein kampf
  • Protestant church - confessional church set up. Martin Niemoller openly spoke out against the Nazis. Niemoller was sent to a concentration camp alongside 800 other pastors
  • Catholic Church - in 1933 the Nazis signed the concordat with the catholic church - they agreed to keep out of each other's affairs. However, Nazis close down catholic youth groups and schools. In 1937, the pope's message 'with burning concern' attacked hitler as a mad prophet with repulsive arrogance and was read in every catholic church. The catholic archbishop, Von Galen is placed under house arrest after campaigning against nazi euthnasia program
• Resistance to the Nazis


  • White rose movement (Hans and sophie school) - handed out anti Nazi leaflets. They were executed for this
  • Edelweiss pirates: attacked Nazi officials, the leaders were hanged (public hanging in cologne 1944)
  • Swing youth: Danced to jazz and drank alcohol
• Nazi employment policies


  • By January 1939 unemployment at 302,000 - but Jews and women were not on the employment register. RAD (national Labour Service - made all men between the ages of 18-25 work for 6 months (building autobahns, hospitals, schools, ect.)- but wages and conditions were poor. Hitler rearmed Germany - building new weapons created jobs. Public work schemes such as building of autobahns. Conscription 1935 men ages 19-35 were forced to complete at least 2 years in the army
• Nazi economic policies


  • Schact had been economic minister since 1933 - he told Hitler economy would not be ready for war by 1939 so he was demoted. Goering launched the 4 year plan in 1936 to get Germany ready for War. They needed Autarky (self - sufficiency). Goering's slogan was 'arms not butter'. But by 1939 ⅓ of German raw materials came from abroad. Farmers: By 1937, agricultural prices had increased by 20 percent and agricultural wages rose more quickly than those in industry. The Hereditary Farm law of 1933 prevented farms from being repossessed from their owers, which gave farming families greater security. DAF (German Labour Front) was the Nazi trade union. It ran two schemes: Beauty of Labour - aimed at improving working conditions (safety equipment, wash rooms ect.), KDF (strength through joy) - aimed at rewarding workers with cheap holidays