History Germany

• This period of German history generally divides up into three large periods: 1) 1819-1918 - German Empire/Imperial Germany, 2) 1918-1933 - Weimar Germany/Democratic Germany, 3) 1933-1945 - Nazi Germany/The Third Reich
• Kaiser Wilhelm II


  Reigned as Kaiser/emperor from 1888 to 1918, dismissed Otto von Bismarck and consolidated his own power, aimed to make Germany an important world power
• Kaiser Wilhelm II


  • Impatient, reckless, intelligent, unstable and egotistical, both on his own behalf and on behalf of his country, wished to rule Germany alone and unchecked as an absolute monarchy, was a grandchild of Queen Victoria, had a love/hate relationship with Great Britain
• The German Empire between 1890 and 1918 was a large country composed of many constituent smaller states, with Prussia being the largest and most dominant
• Reichstag


  Lower house of parliament, elected by universal but only male suffrage
• Bundesrat


  Higher chamber, comprised representatives from each state
• Chancellor


  Head of government, similar to a prime minister, appointed personally by the Kaiser and responsible solely to that Kaiser
• Throughout the reign of Kaiser Wilhelm II there was an increased threat of socialism, which he opposed by relying on his allies in the aristocracy, the Junkers, and the military
• The Treaty of Versailles had several effects on Germany: significant transfer of territory, removal of German colonies, limit on German army, naval and air disarmament, and huge war reparations
• Weimar Republic


  More democratic than the old German Empire, with an elected president, Reichstag, and chancellor, but dependent on the elected president and prone to instability due to proportional representation leading to many small parties and coalition governments
• Reasons why the Weimar Republic survived the difficult years 1918-1923

  Introduction of the Rentenmark to stabilize the economy, stable presidential leadership under Friedrich Ebert, reduction in reparation payments through the Dawes plan
• The years 1924-1929 were the golden years of the Weimar Republic under Chancellor Gustav Stresemann, who promoted social, political and economic stability
• Attitudes in Germany to the Weimar Republic


  • Military and aristocracy were jealous of their old dominance and wished for a return to an absolute monarchy, working people were suspicious of the new leaders, middle classes were suspicious of socialism and wished for a return to imperial stability
• Main ideals of Hitler and the Nazi Party


  • German nationalism, Aryan racial superiority, disdain for liberalism and democracy, wish for an authoritarian state, wish for German expansion and lebensraum, belief in the prominence of the military
• Germany to lose the war. This belief was entirely incorrect but it was a useful myth for the Nazis to exploit
• There was a belief that the social democratic leadership of Germany was globalist and Jewish, two things that the Nazis hated above all else
• Early tactics of the Nazi Party


  • Brutal and effective
  • Used the SA (Brownshirts) to cause fear and intimidation
  • Used propaganda to fuel hatred and disillusionment
  • Used large and loud public and private rallies to spark debate and controversy
• To the working classes, the Nazis promised


  To renew German pride, to bring a cohesive sense of national identity and to reverse the perceived shame of the Versailles treaty
• To business, the Nazis promised


  To slash workers' rights, to eliminate trade unions and get rid of regulation and allowed businesses to make profit
• To the aristocracy, the Nazis promised


  An end to democracy, power back in the hands of unelected aristocrats and the suppression of hated individuals and civil rights
• How Hitler became chancellor of Germany


  1. Parliamentary paralysis and unstable governments caused by the proportional representation system of the Weimar Republic

  2. Series of chancellors forced to rule by presidential decree, overriding elected representatives

  3. Large numbers of Nazi deputies in the Reichstag, with Hermann Goering made speaker
• Key people in German history 1928-1933


  • President von Hindenburg - elderly war hero, dismissive of democracy, wished to restore German pride and prominence, fundamentally a monarchist
  • Von Papen - weak and ineffectual chancellor, unable to bring stability, used an appointed cabinet made up of the aristocracy
  • Chancellor Schliecher - military general, attempted to use cunning and trickery to govern and restore military prominence
• Von Papen and Schliecher both failed catastrophically and Hindenburg died shortly after Hitler became chancellor
• The Reichstag fire


  1. Fire started in the Reichstag building, causing damage

  2. Supposedly started by a Dutch communist

  3. Led to the Enabling Act of 1933
• The Enabling Act of 1933


  1. Piece of legislation that removed most of the civil liberties Germans had enjoyed under the Weimar Republic

  2. Passed easily by arresting Communist deputies and not allowing them to vote, and a few social democrats
• The Enabling Act marked the end of constitutional and democratic government in Germany
• How Hitler consolidated his power


  1. Elimination of all other political parties, some closed down voluntarily but most by force using the SS and SA

  2. After Hindenburg's death, Hitler took on the new title of Fuehrer, combining the roles of president and chancellor

  3. Eliminated the SA in the Night of the Long Knives, gaining the approval of the military

  4. Removed non-Nazi civil servants and officials from the state, consolidating control over government
• The Night of the Long Knives happened


  1934
• Aims of Nazi propaganda and censorship


  • To cement Hitler's cult of personality
  • To mentally prepare citizens for the idea of war and the conquest of other people
  • To condition citizens into believing unreservedly in the Nazis
  • To influence the opinion of the public
• Methods of Nazi propaganda and censorship


  • Forced compliance of the press to create a consistent narrative
  • Government control of the radio
  • Mass police surveillance of individuals and post
  • Mass distribution of Hitler's book "Mein Kampf"
• Advantages of the public works programs


  Massively increased employment, increased economic growth, preparation for upcoming war
• Groups the Nazi government had different attitudes towards


  • Women - expected to fulfill traditional roles as wives and mothers
  • Churches - expected to comply with Nazi goals and ideology
  • Military and judiciary - expected to follow Nazi ideology and values
  • Children - indoctrinated through education system and Hitler Youth
• Causes of the Nazi attitude towards young people


  • Desire to have a young population to build up the military
  • Desire to have a generation of completely unquestioning citizens
  • Wish to control parents and use children as informers
• The consequences were an indoctrinated generation who idealized Hitler as the Fuhrer and a ready group of men for the armed forces, and very quiet and obedient parents
• Nazi ideals


  • Based on the ideal of an Aryan Nordic racial superiority
  • Other races, especially Jews, were seen as inferior
• Treatment of Jews and minorities


  1. Initially encouraged to leave the country, but this descended into persecution and The Final Solution

  2. The Final Solution was the systematic Nazi plan to physically eliminate Jews and other minorities by execution, mostly in concentration camps
• The Nazi police state


  • Run by Heimlich Himmler, aimed to construct a completely loyal and subjugated population, free from hated minorities like Jews and dissidents
  • The SS were the ideological Nazi elite, used for political persecution and staffing concentration camps
  • The Gestapo were the secret police, used for investigation and surveillance of the public
• Examples of opposition to the Nazis


  • The White Rose Group - nonviolent student resistance movement
  • The Swing Youth - obscure group of 1930s musicians who admired democracy and resisted the Hitler Youth
  • The 1944 bomb plot - a plot by senior military officials to assassinate Hitler
• Opposition to the Nazis was massively sporadic, never organized, and quickly found out and clamped down on by the intensive police state