Germany history

• Defeat in WWI led to chaos, poverty despair, and rioting in Germany


  1918
• A new government, The Weimar Republic was set up
• The Weimar Republic was democratic but also very weak
• Germany was forced to sign the Treaty of Versailles
• Issues caused by the Treaty of Versailles


  • Land
  • Army
  • Money
  • Blame
• By 1923 Germany also had a major economic crisis due to Hyperinflation, and people blamed the government
• The new government was accused of having "stabbed Germany in the back"
• 1919-20 witnessed a series of revolts against the government
• In 1922, Germany could not pay the reparations so French and Belgian troops occupied the Ruhr industrial area to seize German goods. Workers did passive resistance which worsened the economic crisis
• People's savings became worthless
• The new Weimar constitution


  • It let all men and women vote and included proportional representation to try to ensure a fair distribution of seats
  • It also led to a series of weak coalition governments, and Article 48 allowed the president to assume emergency powers
• In 1919, the Treaty of Versailles made things worse. Because of war, guilt, reparations, loss of land, and restricted armed forces, Germany was not allowed to join the new League of Nations. So could not have a "say" in international affairs
• The Nazis

  Founded in 1919, wanted to overturn Versailles to make Germany great again and to restore a strong central government
• The Nazi's strengths were Hitler's speaking, the bully-boy tactics of their "army," the SA, and their organized nature
• In 1923, Hitler launched the Munich Putsch to try and seize power. However, the Nazis were still a small party and the Putsch (revolt) failed in the short term
• The Munich Putsch was a failure for the Nazis as 16 people were killed and Hitler was imprisoned, and they did not seize power
• However, the Munich Putsch provided a basis for long-term success because at his trial Hitler gained great publicity. He only spent nine months in prison, showing how short the government could not or would not stand-up right-wing extremism. He wrote Mein Kampf, and he made plans to reorganize the party and seize power legally next time
• Hitler


  Joined the Nazi Party in 1919 and became leader in 1920. He was an excellent speaker and knew how to use propaganda to increase his popularity
• Nazi Party policies ("25 points")


  • The Treaty of Versailles Should be abolished
  • The government should be strong and central
  • Only "true" Germans were allowed to live in Germany
• During 1923-5, Chancellor Stresemann solved the problem of hyperinflation; Hitler is imprisoned after the Munich Putsch; Germany borrows money off the US to help rebuild its economy (Dawed Plan)
• The Golden Years of the Weimar Republic: 1925-9. Ostensibly, Germany flourished during this time
• Evidence of Recovery

  • Germany had become a democracy, so all got a say
  • Stresemann formed relationships with moderate parties to form Coalition Governments
  • With the loan, some money could go into German Businesses and public facilities
  • Allowed and encouraged freedom of expression and the famous style of design Bauhaus was developed
  • Stresemann signed the Locarno Treaties which promised that Germany would not change its borders with France
• Evidence of Problems

  • Lack of trust in senior Politicians
  • Some thought the government was weak
  • Hyperinflation had ruined some people's lives as the previous currency had become worthless
  • They owed the USA lots of money
  • Represented a moral decline
  • Wanted to return to simple values and the Nazis took advantage
  • Stresemann reversed some of the Treaty of Versailles
  • Internal German relations were not strong
• During 1925-8, Hitler was busy reorganizing the party. However, they fared badly in the 1928 election, despite Hitler having decided that he wanted to win power legally. This was because support for the current government grew during 'the golden years'
• The failure of the Munich Putsch convinced Hitler he could only get power through legal means
• They won over the working class through many public meetings and discovered it was the anti-Jewish message that appealed most consequently leading them to increase their anti-Jewish propaganda
• Gradually the memberships were rising and there was now (1928) of 100 000 members however, in the election, the Nazis lost seats. They were reduced to just 12 deputies while the social democrats had 153 seats and the communists had 4x as many as they Nazis
• In 1928 they tried to increase support from the middle classes
• The Nazis held evening meetings and classes and adjusted their agenda according to what people wanted. Nazi membership almost doubled between 1927-8 because of this
• 1925 tactics

  Hitler realised they had to get power legally. He created a network of local party branches and the Hitler Youth. He grew the SA, 55% of his storm troopers taken from the unemployed. Many being ex-service men from the war. He also formed the Schutzstaffel (SS) which was like the SA, but the members were fanatically loyal to Hitler personally
• The industry flourished so the working class of whom Hitler was trying to appeal to did not want to change. The Nazi Party failed to win in 1927
• The Nazis gained support from groups who were benefiting less from Germanys success. For example, peasant farmers in Northern Germany and middle-class shopkeepers and small business owners in country towns. 35% of the country lived in rural areas. The Nazis praised the importance of the peasants claiming they were 'racially pure Germans;' blaming the Jews for the problems they faced
• Hitler appointed Joseph Goebbels to oversee 'Nazi propaganda.' He tried to appeal to people's feelings instead of facts and rational arguments. He produced posters, leaflets, films, and radio broadcasts and set up rallies with 'photo opportunities
• Wall Street Crash in USA

  1929
• Wall Street Crash in USA

  Economic collapse in Germany
• Reasons Hitler took power in 1933

  • Economic collapse
  • Weakness of the Weimar government
  • Fear of communism
  • Nazi policies and propaganda
  • Political deals
• The wall street crash in USA meant they wanted their money back, Germany lost all its money, lots of businesses shut
• 6 million people were unemployed, so taxes had to be raised
• Over ½ Germans between 16+30 were unemployed
• The government cut employment benefit to save money