History: Germany

• BP NIPS (Kaiser's problems)


  B: Chancellor Bismarck was stubborn and kind of taking power.

  P: Prussian Generals wanted more power (not seen as a problem in the Kaiser's eyes).

  N: Naval competition. GER wanted a big navy like BRI. GER ranked 7th.

  I: Industrialisation. Works had been working in poor conditions and many joined social democrats.

  P: Parliament/Reichstag pass laws to get rid of the Kaiser.

  S: Socialism is growing stronger.
• BP NIPS (Kaiser's solutions)


  B: Kaiser Wilhelm got Bismarck to resign/forced and he appointed Yes Men.

  P: The leaders gained more influence and the army gained almost 1 million soldiers.N: He passed 5 naval laws 1888-1914. It expanded GER's navy.

  I: He banned strikes to improve things and passed laws to help arrest lazy workers.

  P: He didn't interfere. This was responsible.

  S: He gave workers more rights.
• PHFW (Impacts of WW1)

  P: Political - Divisions in society. The rich and the poor. Talk of overthrowing the Kaiser. Ex soldiers felt betrayed.

  H: Health - Naval blockades led to terrible food, medicine and clothing shortages. By 1918, people were surviving on turnips and bread alongside a deadly flu.

  F: Family life - War left 600,000 war widows and 2 million children without fathers.

  W: Work - Women worked in factories during the War and some factory owners made a fortune. GER workers had restrictions put on their wages.
• PCRP (The Weimar Constitution)


  P: President - Article 48: Has the power to act without parliaments approval. Highly overused X.

  C: Chancellor - Supported by the cabinet.

  R: Reichstag - Appoints the Govt and makes laws +. Proportional representation: Same percentage of seats for each

  P: People - A genuine democracy +. The bill of rights gives a freedom of speech.
• BRAT (Treaty of Versailles 1919)


  B: Blame - Accept all blame for the war. Angry and feel betrayed by FRA and BRI.

  R: Reparations - Must pay £6.6 billion to pay for all damages. Angry because it will leave them in a dire economic situation. If they take out loans, may be taxed.

  A: Army - They have to reduce it to 100,000. 15,000 sailors, 6 ships, 0 submarines. Abolish Air force. Angry because they are weaker to enemies and open for invasions.

  T: Territory - GER lost Scarland. 13% of Land. Angry because they have no resources, no trade, no work so no money. GER people felt this was Diktat
• Spartacist uprising 1919


  Left wing communist party leaders Karl Liebknecht and Rosa Luxemburg rebelled in Berlin. Want GER ruled by workers council.

  Ebert uses Friekorps (ex soldiers) to defeat the rebels. Liebknecht and Luxemburg were murdered. The communist people took power in Bavaria. Friekorps killed 600 communist.

  Problems for GOVT: Left wing now hate Ebert and won't vote for him. He can be overthrown at any point.
• Kapp Putsch 1920


  Right wing nationalist Dr Wolfgang led 5,000 Friekorps into Berlin to takeover.

  The regular army refused to attack, Kapp was only defeated when workers of Berlin went on strike. Kapp died while a waiting trial.

  Problems for GOVT: Men Ebert trusted have switched sides. He has lost all support. Rebels got away with it so this led to LT problems.
• Hyperinflation 1923


  Germany was struggling to pay reparations from the TOV. France and Berlin were angry and wanted their money.

  January 1923, they invaded the rich industrialised area of the Ruhr to take resources such as steel and coal.

  The GER GOVT ordered workers to go on strike and in return the govt continues to pay their wages - they printed money.

  Since GER was already in a bad economic situation, this led to hyperinflation. The value of money decreased and prices increased.

  The price of an egg in 1914 was 0.9 marks and in 1923 was 320,000,000,000 marks.
• Hyperinflation 1923 (Consequences)


  Positives: People can pay off debts and loans easily. Wages increased. Farmers products were still in demand so they received more money.

  Negative: Peoples savings became worthless as people can't even buy bread. GER people turned against the WG and Ebert. People carried money around in wheelbarrows.
• Munich Putsch 1923 


  Hitler and Ludendorff led the Putsch.

  Nazi's thought the WG was weak after Hyperinflation.

  November 1923, Hitler entered a beer hall meeting and forced politicians at gunpoint to support him.

  SA took control of local police but Ludendorff secretly let Govt leaders go.

  The next day, Hitler marched into Munich and declared himself as president.

  The police arrested Hitler.
• Munich Putsch 1923 (Consequences)


  Positives: He became a media sensation, the trial was published everywhere. His judge was biased so he only spent 9 months and he wrote his book 'Mein Kampf'.

  Negatives: The Putsch failed. Hitler and Ludendorff were arrested. Nazi officers and newspapers were shut down.
• Golden years 1924-1929 (Economic)


  Streseman called off passive resistance and hyperinflation stopped.

  GER agreed to pay back reparations.

  The Dawes Plan 1924: Banks in US loaned 800 million Reichsmarks in GER. GER pay 1 billion marks per year for the first 5 years then 2.5 billion per year after that.

  The Young Plan 1929: To reduce the total amount by 20%. US gave loans.

  X Wages did increase by 10% but there was still a big gap between the rich and the poor. Farmers did not recover to it's pre-war levels.
• Golden years 1924-1929 (International relations)

  Relationships got better.

  Locarno Treaties 1925: No more invasions of the Ruhr. France and Berlin respect GER frontiers.

  Entry to League of Nations 1926: GER is one of the most powerful nations in the world.

  Kellog-Briand Pact 1928: One of 62 countries. Peace.
• Golden years 1924-1929


  Women: They can now go out without a chaperone. They can drink and smoke. Jobs were taken back by men after war. Their rights were recognised.

  Culture: Books from the left and right wing parties became popular. German cinema boomed (the film Metropolis). Berlin became sleazy, sex-drived.

  Politics: People were no longer supporting extreme parties. There are still coalitions but there is less arguing.
• Problem's to Hitler rising to power


  President Hidenburg doesn't like Hitler so he appoints Von Papen as vice chancellor to limit his power.

  He limited Hitler to 3/11 Nazi's in the cabinet.
• Reichstag fire 1933 (Consolidation) 


  A dutch communist, Van De Lubbe burn't down the Reichstag building.

  People are now terrified of communist so they'll vote for Hitler.

  Following this, Hitler is able to pass an emergency decree.
• Enabling Act 1933 (Consolidation)


  Hitler's own Article 48. He can pass his own laws, takeover, and do what he wants without needing to ask Hindenburg for approval.
• Wall street Crash and The Great Depression (Rose)


  After the WSC in 1929 people were desperate. Businesses had collapsed. 6 million unemployed. People had no money. Poverty. People were mad at the government so they turn towards extreme parties.
• Nazi party (Rose) 


  Grew in followers from 100,000-400,000. They used propaganda such as radio, cinema, posters. They are organised. Holding rallies and parades.
• Fear of Communist parties (Rose)


  Communist parties attempted to take over all business after WW1. Middle class feared the law and order may break down. Farmers are terrified of their land being taken.
• Hitler himself (Rose)


  He was charismatic, relatable (a soldier). Organised in a time of chaos, flags and uniforms. He was an inspiring speaker and he travels in his plane all over GER to give speeches - He shows he cares unlike the WG.
• Dislike for WG (Rose)


  People blame WG for unemployment because they took out a loan. They also used Article 48 to seize rich land and give it to peasants.
• The Night of the Long Knives (Consolidation)


  Causes:

  Hitler was concerned the SA and Rohm had grown too powerful and were a threat (2 million members).

  Hitler is concerned that they were violent and out of control.

  He wanted to keep the army onside.

  Rohm was a homosexual, wrong.
• The Night of the Long Knives 1934 (Consolidation)


  Tensions continued as Himmler convinced Hitler that Rohm was plotting a takeover.

  On the 30th June 1934, the SS murdered 400 people including Rohm.

  It helped destroy all opposition and gave more power to the SS.

  2 weeks later, Hindenburg dies. Hitler is now leader/Führer of Germany.
• Public works and national labour services (Solving unemployment)

  Men aged 18-25 worked on a 6 month service: temporary.

  They built motorways, had low wages and long hours. However is this still better than WG?
• Public work schemes (Solving unemployment)

  Motorways opened more opportunities. It gave 100,000 people work on new schools and hospitals.
• Rearmament (Solving unemployment) 


  Rebuilding the Army - breaking the TOV

  From 100,000 to 1.4 million.

  Gave even more jobs.
• Invisible unemployment (Solving unemployment)


  Corruption. Did not include Women or jobs replaced by Jews.
• Unemployment

  Hitler promised Work and Bread.

  By 1939 unemployment had fallen to Zero in comparison to 6 million under WG.

  He wanted to make GER self sufficient (relying on their own resources and not trade)

  Farmers Benefits: Cut taxes. If they are in debt they wont be thrown off land. No dividing families laws.

  Negatives: Laws to make it hard to give land to their children, had to leave the country.
• Good life under the Nazi's 


  They got holidays through the KDF: expensive for many.

  Those who worked the hardest could even go on cruises.

  Cheap visits to the cinema and concerts.

  New experiences. They felt as if they was contributing to the War.
• Bad life under the Nazi's

  The Labour front: to replace trade unions, no work and no voice or rights. They were banned from striking.

  The Beauty of Labour: Built canteens, pools, sports facilities. All for a better quality of life. Incentives. But expected to do this all in their own time.

  Volkswagen: Cheap, 5 marks a week. However war broke out and nobody received a car. All the money was spent on war and no refunds.
• Concentration camps (Nazi police state) 


  Large prisons for 'enemies of the state' to correct people, Jews, political opponents.

  Forced them to work hard. Tortured or worked to death.
• The SS (Nazi police state)

  The most feared organisation. Tall, strong, athletic.

  Lead by Himmler.

  They could arrest anyone for any reason. They searched homes and could seize property.

  Living in fear: you would never know if somebody was listening to your conversation.

  Some ran the Concentration Camps.
• Police (Nazi police state)


  All Nazi controlled.

  Ignored crimes committed by Nazis.

  People were sent to prison for anti war jokes.

  People have nobody to turn too.
• Gestapo (Nazi police state)


  Secret police, no uniforms, spied on people. They even encouraged children to spy on their parents.
• Censorship and Propaganda 


  Films: Show Nazis as heroes and Jews as villains

  Newspapers: Stories not approved by Goebbels were closed down. Showed Nazis doing good and Jews doing bad, No freedom of the press.

  Radios: Nazi controlled. Loudspeakers were placed everywhere in streets, factories, cafes. No escape.

  Books and music: Writers were forced to write books or songs that praised Hitler.

  Mass rallies: Parades to celebrate Hitler's greatness.
• Theatre (Chamber of Culture) 


  GER soldiers as heroes and Jews as villains "Suss the Jew": a greedy businessman.

  Goebbels read and approved scripts. Controlled and corrupted.
• Sports (Chamber of Culture)

  Health and fitness was important in Nazi Germany.

  Germany won the Olympic games 1936: the superior race.
• Art and Design (Chamber of Culture)

  Hitler wanted art to be simple, he hated modern art (popular in WG). Hitler in heroic poses.

  Nazis burnt 5000 paintings they didn't approve of.

  Libraries, govt buildings were made of huge stones and were copies of ancient Greece or Rome.
• Literature (Chamber of Culture) 


  Popular anti war books in WG were banned "All quiet on the western front".

  Goebbels made a ban list of books so 2500 writers left GER.

  Students burnt 20,000 books.