germany

• 3 facts about Kaiser Wilhelm II


  He was militaristic

  He was the grandson of Queen Victoria

  He was an Autocratic ruler and took advice from the Bundesrat and Reichstag, however he could also ignore them
• Problem 1 under the Kaisers rule: socialism

  Trade unions: many workers were unhappy with their low wages and poor working conditions so they would join trade unions and go on strike

  SPD: Many working-class people voted for the SPD (left-wing party) as the party followed socialism. About 1/3 of German people voted SPD
• Problem 2: Colonies


  German empire: Germany wanted to have 'a place in the sun', an empire to rival Britains and France's however there wasn't much land left to colonise

  Weltpolitik: The Kaiser also wanted to make Germany a global power with influence over other countries.

  Entente Cordial: Britain and France felt threatened by the growing German Navy/Army so they signed a deal to become allies in 1904
• Problem 3: naval arms race

  The Kaiser wanted to build a Navy to rival Britains and therefore passed several naval laws.

  1898- First Naval Law- to build 7 new battleships and 50 new warships

  1900- Second Naval Law- doubled the amount of battleships to 38

  1906- Third Naval Law- Germany built 6 DREADNOUGHTS- a ships that made all previous battleships obsolete
• Germany during WW1


  When war broke out the German army was one of the best in the world

  • British Warships then began a blockade and stopped food/goods
  • Rationing began, however Germans still begun to starve
  • German people quickly became weary of war + protests began
  • By 1918, the German Army was slowly defeated + a flu epidemic swept across Europe, killing thousands of German People.
• End of war + Kaisers rule


  • oct 1918, General Ludendorff told German gov that they wouldnt win
  • Kaiser took his advice and shared some power with the Reichstag to be more democratic but this wasnt enough and protests grew
  • End of Oct 1918 german navy began a MUTINY which spread to towns/citites.
  • 9th nov 1918, Kaiser abdicated + Ebert became chancellor (SPD)
  • 11th nov 1918 ARMISTICE was signed
• Birth of Weimar Republic

  • After Kaiser abdicated, Ebert became chancellor and signed the armistice.
  • many germans hated weimar politicians for this.
  • Ebert declared Germany a democratic republic and the SPD won the elections making Ebert first president.
  • Berlin was too unsafe for meeting so they met in weimar.
• Proportional representation


  Seats in the reichstag were shared according to proportion of who won votes in elections. There were over 20 political parties and therefore no party had the majority so COALITIONS were formed. This system meant it was very hard to pass laws + annoyed the German people
• The President


  Elected head of state who usually stayed out of running the country. In emergancies they could use the power of Article 48 which allowed them to rule without consulting the Reichstag. Elected every 7 years
• Chancellor


  Chosen by the president, usually from the largest party. In charge of running the country day to day. Elected every 4 years, however it was a very difficult job and there were 14 different chancellors in 14 years of Weimar.
• Treaty of Versailles


  Hated by the German people as the conditions were seen as too harsh:

  • Empire: Germany lost its entire empire
  • Land: 12% of German population was lost to nearby countries, Polish Corridor was introduced + Rhineland was demilitarised.
  • Reparations: Germany had to pay the allies £6.6 billion, which could be paid in gold, steel, iron or coal.
  • Clause 231: Germany had to accept all blame for starting the war (without this they may not have followed the rest of the reparations)
  • Military: Army only allowed 100,000 men. No submarines/ air force, 6 battle ships.
• Problems faced by Weimar: Uprisings

  • Sparticist uprising (6th Jan 1919)- communist
  • Kapp Putsch (march 1920)- left-wing
  • Munich Beer hall putsch (nov 1923)- hitler/NASDP (nazis)
• Problems faced by Weimar: economic instability

  • By 1922 Germany couldn't pay the second payment of the reparations so in 1923 France and Belgium invaded the Ruhr. German gov ordered passive resistance.
  • 1923- HYPERINFLATION- German government printed more money to pay reparations which led prices to rise. Life savings dissapeared.
• Gustav stresemann

  • solution to hyper-inflation- he stopped printing money and stopped any loans to prevent new debt. In 1924 Stresemann replaced worthless reichsmark with the rentenmark.
  • solution to the occupation of the ruhr- signed the Dawes Plan (1924) with the USA where Germany got a loan of 800million gold marks + then signed the Young Plan (1929) which reduced reparations to £1.8 billion
• Stresemann improving relations abroad

  In 1925, Germany signed the Locarno Pact which agreed Germanys post-war borders. Germany also joined the league of nations + in 1928 signed the Kellogg-Briand Pact where countries promised to not go to war unless invaded. This helped Germany regain some international status
• Adolf Hitler


  Born in Austria in 1889, he joined the army in 1914 + awarded medals for bravery. In 1919 he joined the German Workers Party as he liked their hatred for weimar politicians. He soon became party leader and introduced the swastika and the SA. In 1925 he set up the SS (his private body guards). He changed the name of the party to the Nazi Party and in 1920 there were 3000 members, 1921 there were 5000 members. In 1923 he attempted the Munich Putsch but failed and went to jail where he wrote 'Mein Kampf'
• How did hitler become chancellor, 1. economic depression


  October 1929, just after the death of Gustav Stresemann, struggling US banks demanded Germany repay the loans of the Dawes + Young plans. The German government raised taxes however lots of businesses went bankrupt and by 1932 almost 6 million Germans were unemployed + homeless. This helped Hitler become chancellor because in times of hardship many people turned to extremist parties. Communism appealed to the working class so Hitler needed to win them over too.
• How did hitler become chancellor, 2. appeal


  Hitler was very charismatic and promised to make Germany great. He was also a great public speaker and filled desperate audiences with hope. He was also very ambitious, and in 1932 he stood against President Hindenberg in an election which he lost, but not by alot, and this campaign made him even more famous.
• How did hitler become chancellor, 3. threat from communism

  Middle/Upper class Germans including businessmen and landowners feared a communist uprising. In 1930 they got almost as many votes as the Nazi party. Hitler promised to destroy communism. The SA interupted communist meetings, which helped Hitler gain the support of the rich upper-class and business men who would fund his campaign
• How did hitler become chancellor, 4. Nazi Propaganda and Campaigning

  The SA- uniformed SA and SS members marched through the streets, looking ordered and disciplined which was popular with many germans. In 1929 Joeseph Goebbels became head of propaganda, he used modern and traditional methods with simple + repeated messages.
• How did hitler become chancellor, 5. Nazi Party Policies.


  Hitler appealed to the unemployed and the businessmen who lost everything in the economic crash. He promised to unite Germany under ONE strong leader and return traditional values. Negative cohesion also helped because the Nazis used scapegoats such as Jews to gain support.
• How did hitler become chancellor, 6. hatred of the weimar republic

  The WR didn't deal with the chaos of the depression and high unemployment levels. There were also problems with the way it was organised: proportional representation. German people were desperate and saw the WR as useless so they turned to Hitler.
• Reichstag fire


  27th February 1933, just before a general election that hitler had called to take place 5th March 1933, a fire happened in the Reichstag building that Hitler immediately blamed on a communist in order to persuade Hindenburg to ban communists from politics and the march elections. 4000 communists were arrested.
• Enabling act 


  23rd March 1933 Hitler used his majority to pass the enabling law which disbanded all other parties leaving just the Nazis and president hindenburg in control. Hitler used this to reorganise Germany
• Removal of political oppositions


  10th May 1933 all rival political parties were banned and had funds confiscated. By July 1933 only Nazi party remained
• Night of the Long Knives


  June 1934, only major threat to Hitler came from within his own party. Ernst Rohm was the leader of the SA and he wanted to merge the SA with the regular German Army. In theory this would make him more powerful than Hitler. Himmler persuaded Hitler that Rohm was plotting to over throw him. The SS arrested Rohm and other officers/ ex-politicians who were arrested, shot, or locked in Dachau.
• Finalisation of Dictatorship


  2nd August, Hitler had removed Rohm and was then able to persuade the German generals to swear an Oath of Allegiance to him. Regular SA members were absorbed into the German army. 2nd August 1934 President Hindenburg died of cancer leaving Hitler to combine role of chancellor + president into one: dictator.