whole of germany topic 1890-1945

• Impacts of the Depression on Germany

  • Political
  • Economic
  • Social
• Americans had bought many German goods such as cars, electrical equipment and clothing But they couldn't afford these things any more because of the Depression, so German factories shut down. Millions lost their jobs
• Troubled US banks demanded back the money they had lent to Germany after the First World War German banks tried to reclaim this money from German businesses. They could not pay, and went bankrupt.
• People listened to different, often extreme, political parties (like left-wing communists and right-wing Nazis) that promised radical solutions to Germany's problems and ways of improving their lives.
• In the 1930 election, the communists increased their number of seats in the Reichstag to 77? (from 54). Nazi support increased from 12 seats in 1928 to 107 seats in 1930
• Many people were soon living on the streets -jobless, hungry and angry at their political leaders who they blamed for their problems
• The Weimar Republic was established on November 9, 1918.
• Germany lost World War I due to the Treaty of Versailles signed on June 28, 1919.
• The treaty imposed heavy reparations payments on Germany, which contributed to economic instability.
• Kaiser Wilhelm II spent most of his youth in the army and built up a large navy
• Prussian military tradition and tactics formed the basis of the new united German army
• Kaiser Wilhelm II wanted Germany to be a global power and have an empire to rival Britain's, this idea was called Weltpolitik - world policy
• A new political party - the Social Democratic Party (SPD) - became popular among the workers
• The SPD believed in socialism - power and wealth should be shared equally among the people
• Around one in three Germans voted for the SPD political party at this time
• Some socialists took a more extreme view - they wanted to rebel against the Kaiser's rule, start a revolution and allow cities and towns to be governed by councils of workers
• Navy Laws

  Between 1898 and 1912 a series of Navy Laws were introduced. As a result, a huge amount of money was spent to rapidly increase the size of the navy. The army expanded in size too.
• Why the Navy Laws were introduced

  The Kaiser wanted a large navy to help him take over more countries and protect those already in the German Empire.
• How the Navy Laws were funded

  Taxes were increased and money was borrowed to pay for this. Germany would remain in debt for a very long time.
• Germany's Kaiser was extremely powerful and could make his own decisions
• From the late 1800s, Germany's economy expanded as it industrialised. By 1914 it was a world economic power
• Germany's working class grew as Germany industrialised, but their pay and conditions were poor
• The new Social Democratic Party (SPD) became popular with workers. It wanted social reforms to improve workers' rights and conditions
• The Kaiser wanted to expand the German Empire, so he introduced Navy Laws (1898-1912) and used borrowed money to increase the army and navy
• The war was popular and patriotic - Germans thought it would end quickly
• As the war went on, protesters demanded an end to the war. Demonstrations increased from 500 to 10,000 people. War weariness increased
• On the front line, soldiers were worn down by bombs, gas and machine gun fire
• Germany was close to defeat. A flu epidemic killed many already weak from a poor diet
• In October 1918, Army General Ludendorf stated Germany could not win the war. He advised the Kaiser to make the country more democratic so the winning Allies would treat Germany more fairly
• The Kaiser allowed the main political parties to form a new government, and transferred some of his powers to the Reichstag. But the German people were not satisfied and more demonstrations followed
• The German navy in Kiel mutinied on 28 October 1918. The mutiny spread and workers' and soldiers' councils were governing towns and cities all over Germany
• The Kaiser realised he had lost control. His army generals refused to support him
• On 9 November 1918, the Kaiser abdicated and Germany became a republic, led by the leader of one of Germany's largest political party (the SPD)
• On 11 November 1918, Germany surrendered. The First World War was over
• By 1918, Germany was virtually bankrupt, owed vast sums of money, and its factories were exhausted
• Society was further divided - some factory owners had made a fortune during the war, while workers had restrictions placed on their wages
• There was unrest and revolution all over Germany. Many soldiers and civilians felt that politicians had betrayed Germany by ending the war
• Friedrich Ebert declared that Germany would be a democratic republic and arranged for elections for a new parliament to take place in January 1919
• A group of Communists in Germany known as Spartacists wanted Germany to be run by small councils of soldiers and workers
• Ebert sent in a group of 2000 tough ex-soldiers, known as the Free Corps (Freikorps), to attack the Spartacists. After three days of brutal street fighting, the Free Corps recaptured buildings and arrested (and later killed) the Sparticist leaders