germany

• legacy of WW1

  lack of food in germany - 750,000 died of starvation

  kaiser abdicated

  unrest on the streets - soldiers returned from the war with weapons
• weimar constitution

  STRENGTHS:

  • proportional representation - more democratic
  • article 48 gave emergency powers to overrule the reichstag
  • women above the age of 20 could vote

  WEAKNESSES:

  • could end up with too many opinions and voices in the reichstag - longer to reach agreements
  • article 48 could be abused by the president and used in times that were not an emergency
• french occupation of the ruhr

  1923

  germany could not afford to pay reparations

  france & belgium

  less goods were available to trade

  increased germany's debt

  ruhr workers were told to strike - government continued paying them
• why was the weimar government so unpopular?

  'stab in the back' theory

  army blamed the government for the loss of the war
• treaty of versailles

  lost 15% of industrial land

  no union with austria

  no overseas empire allowed

  army could not exceed 100,000 men

  no aircraft or submarines allowed in the army

  reparations were £6.6 billion

  article 231 - weimar guilt cause - germany had to accept sole responsibility for WW1
• spartacists revolt

  january 1919

  led by Karl Liebknecht & Rosa Luxemburg

  took control of the government's newspaper and telegraph bureau and they tried to organise a general strike in berlin

  weimar government used the friekorps (ex soldiers) to put down the revolt
• kapp putsch revolt

  march 1920

  revolt by the ex soldiers, friekorps

  they had kept their weapons after WW1

  had 250,000 men in the friekorps

  marched into berlin, fearing unemployment

  the army refused to stop them

  Wolfgang Kapp was in charge

  they got into power

  there was a national strike so they gave up power
• hyperinflation

  1923

  
  

  WINNERS:

  • people in debt
  • landowners because their land still had value
  • wages rose

  LOSERS:

  • people with savings (middle classes)
  • old people - pensions lost value
  • businesses went bankrupt
• rentenmark

  november 1923

  stresemann set up the rentenbank and introduced the rentenmark

  supply of these notes was tightly controlled

  brought hyperinflation in germany under control
• dawes plan

  1924

  installments were reduced to £50 million a year

  US banks made loans to german industry - germany received £800 million to invest in infrastructure and industry
• young plan

  1929

  reduced reparations debt from £6.6 billion to £2 billion

  59 more years to pay them

  lower reparations meant lower taxes for ordinary germans
• locarno pact

  1925

  germany agreed borders of the treaty of versailles

  led to germany being invited to the league of nations

  extremists parties against the pact
• league of nations

  1926

  showed that germany's views counted

  boosted german people's confidence in the government

  extremist parties were against germany joining
• kellogg - briand pact

  1928

  showed germany was a major power

  it increased confidence in how germany was being led
• women in weimar germany

  increase in part-time work

  greater opportunities in professions

  100,000 teachers and 3,000 female doctors by 1933

  equal pay in the professions

  german women had the most legal rights in the whole of europe

  more independance - go anywhere without a chaperone
• standard of living

  POSITIVES:

  • working hours reduced
  • wages rose by 25%
  • unemployment insurance was introduced
  • 2 million new homes built - homelessness reduced by 60%
  • war veterans received pensions

  NEGATIVES:

  • middle classes did not benefit from the rise in wages - still struggling from the hyperinflation
  • unemployment had fallen but was still high among the professions
  • still a housing shortage
• munich putsch causes

  hitler hated the weimar government

  unpopularity of the treaty of versailles

  weimar government blamed for hyperinflation

  german humiliation from the french occupation of the ruhr

  SA used as armed support

  hitler had the support of General Ludendorff

  hitler was confident that the bavarian army would support him
• impact of wall street crash

  1929

  USA withdrew loans given to germany in the dawes plan

  unemployment rose - employers sacked workers - factories closed down

  by 1933, 6 million people were unemployed in germany

  nazis promised a way out of depression - 'work and bread'

  workers wanted employment

  middle classes feared a communist revolution
• why did the wall street crash help the nazis get into power?

  hitler offered strong leadership, stability and prosperity (wealth)

  the crash ended the stability of the Golden Years

  the weimar republic introduced unpopular policies - raising taxes, cutting wages and reducing unemployment benefit

  hitler promised bread, jobs and homes
• nazis success after 1930

  PROPAGANDA:

  • rallies, posters, radio
  • nazis owned 130 newspapers that were read by thousands of people

  SUCCESS IN ELECTIONS:

  • great depression increased unemployment - nazi support increased
  • weimar government blamed for economic problems
  • hitler persuaded the public that the nazis were the only party that could save germany
  • hitler blamed the jews for all of germany's problems
• reichstag fire

  1933

  • destroyed oppposition: the nazis blamed the fire on the communists so leading communists were arrested
  • propaganda & censorship: communist and socialist newspapers were banned
  • increased nazi voters: less people voted for the communists and more for the nazis at the next election
• enabling act

  1933

  hitler gained control of the reichstag in the march 1993 election

  he took advantage and brought in a new law that would give him complete control

  enabling act - allowed hitler to pass laws without consulting the president or the reichstag

  trade unions were banned

  political parties were banned - germany was now a one party state

  people had less rights - censorship & control of the press
• night of the long knives


  removed opposition from within the nazi party

  bigest threat was Ernst Rohm, who was leader of the SA (400,000 men)

  30th June 1934: hitler sent the SS to arrest Rohm - up to 400 were killed

  hitler gained support of the army - they swore an oath of allegiance

  created fear
• death of hindenburg

  2nd august 1934

  hitler combined the post of chancellor and president

  he made himself commander in chief of the army

  hitler was now the fuhrer
• catholic church

  1933, hitler and the pope reached an agreement

  hitler agreed to confirm freedom of worship for catholics

  promised not to interfere with catholic schools in germany

  priests would not interfere with politics & ordered german bishops to swear loyalty to the nazi party

  in reality, catholic priests were arrested and sent to concentration camps

  catholic schools were brought in line with state schools or closed

  catholic activities (catholic youth league) were banned

  1937, the pope issued a stinging criticism of the nazi regime
• the protestant/reich church

  protestant churches combined in 1936 to form the reich church

  leader was Ludwig Muller

  hitler made Muller the reich bishop of germany

  protestant pastors who supported hitler's views were allowed to continue providing church services

  some pastors allowed the nazi swastika to be displayed in their churches
• opposition to the nazi regime

  CHURCH:

  • Martin Niemoller - established the confessional church which opposed the nazi reich church
  • 6,000 protestant pastors joined
  • Niermoller was sent to a concentration camp in 1937
  • 400 catholic priests spoke out and were arrested and sent to concentration camps

  YOUTH:

  • Swing Youth - rebelled against the tight control the Nazis had over culture
  • listened to jazz music and drank alcohol
  • Edelweiss Pirates - rejected nazi values & opposed the hitler youth organisation
• nazi's ideal woman

  did not wear make-up

  was blonde

  able to have children

  athletic

  wore flat shoes and a full skirt

  did not smoke

  did not go out to work

  did all the household duties (cooking, bringing up the children)

  took no interest in politics
• marriage loans

  1933

  loans were provided to newly married couples if the woman stopped working

  if they had four children then they did not have to pay back the loan

  1 child = 25% of the loan wiped
• divorce laws

  1938

  a divorce was possible is the husband or wife could not have children
• life springs programme

  specially chosen unmarried women could 'donate a baby' to the Fuhrer by becoming pregnant by SS men
• nazi policies towards the youth

  boys had to be strong and healthy to work for germany and the army

  girls had to be strong and healthy to have lots of children

  
  

  BOYS:

  • shooting
  • military drills
  • military style camps
  • sports

  GIRLS:

  • cookery
  • housework
  • childcare
  • sewing
• nazi curriculum

  textbooks and subjects changed to make the nazis look good

  history was changed to celebrate great german victories and all disasters were blamed on the communists or jews

  every subject promoted nazi ideas

  teachers had to belong to the German Teachers League and put across nazi ideas in their lessons

  teachers had to go on compulsory training during school holidays
• policies to tackle unemployment

  • job creation scheme: the nazi's gave millions to businesses to build roads, schools and hospitals
  • rearmament: conscription took thousands of young men into the army. industry expanded to make weapons and equipment. billions was spent on making tanks, aircrafts and ships
  • invisible unemployment: (1) jews were dismissed from their jobs (2) unmarried men under 25 joined National Labour Schemes (3) women lost their jobs or gave up work to get married (4) opponents of the nazi regime were sent to concentration camps
• german labour front (DAF)

  replaced trade unions

  protected the rights of workers, maximum length of working week, minimum pay levels

  workers lost their right to negotiate hours and pay levels

  maximum length of working week went up by 6 hours
• beauty of labour (SdA)

  better toilets, changing rooms, showers and canteens

  employers were given tax breaks to help with build and decorating costs

  by 1938, 34000 companies had improved their facilities

  employers expected their workers to do the building after work with no extra pay

  refusal to build = dismissal
• strength through joy (KdF)

  improved the standard of living for workers

  sports events, theatre shows, films, holidays

  by 1936, it had 35 million members

  only 700,000 were rewarded with a holiday

  workers gave 5 marks a week were given to eventually get a new volkswagon

  they never received one
• boycott of jewish shops

  1933

  nazi party announced an official boycott would begin on all jewish businesses, doctors and lawyers

  SA stormtroopers were sent to paint jewish stars or the word 'Jude' (jew) outside jewish businesses
• nuremberg laws

  1935

  only those of german blood can be citizens

  jews cannot vote or have a german passport

  jews must wear a yellow star-shaped patch sewn onto clothes to be easily seen
• kristallnacht (the night of the broken glass)

  1938

  7th november - 17 year old polish jew shot a german

  8th november - event blamed all jews, attacked homes and synagogues

  9-10th november - gangs all over germany attacked jewish communities destroying homes, shops, businesses and synagogues

  • 100 jews were killed
  • 814 shops were destroyed
  • 171 homes were destroyed
  • 191 synagogues were destroyed