Was the doomed from the start?

How did Germany emerge from defeat at the end of the First World War?

Before 1914, Germany was a military autocracy. Kaiser Wilhelm II was the hereditary monarch, appointed the Chancellor, controlled the army and called or dismissed the Reichstag. Kaiser Wilhelm II abdicated and fled the country after Germany lost WWI. A new Republic was declared that was a parliamentary democracy. In January 1919, elections were held for a new Reichstag and in February 1919, in the town of Weimar, a new government was agreed. Friedrich Ebert was elected President of the new Republic.

Describe the German Revolution of 1918: ‘Bavaria was declared to be the Bavarian Soviet Republic. ‘The Kaiser abdicated and went into exile in the Netherlands on the 9th of November. ‘Ebert declared that Germany was a republic with himself as President and Scheidemann as Chancellor. The Spartacists decided to found the Communist Party of Germany to achieve their aims.

Bill of Rights promises all Germans equality before the law and political and religious ​ freedom.

What was the role of the President under the Weimar ? ● Appointing chancellor ● Foreign relations….representing country ● Commander in chief…..controls army ● Dissolution of Reichstag

Chancellor: -President appoints the chancellor -Leader of the party with the most seats in the Reichstag -Representative of the Reichstag -Communicates with the president

Role of the Army:

Political Groups: Social Democrats- Left wing, set up Weimer and , supports socialism, high tax ​ for the rich, low for the poor Conservative- Right wing, dislikes Weimar, want a kaiser, no to socialism and communism, ​ rich people Spartacist- Extreme left wing, communist, power and wealth to be equally distributed, ​ dictatorship, hates Weimar Republic Freikorps- Extreme Right Wing, unofficial army, hates communism, hates Weimar Republic, ​ veterans dominated, violence and terror, military run country German Worker Party- Extreme Right Wing, what is later known as the Nazis, Hitler, hates ​ communism, hates jews, hates democracy, hates Weimar Republic, Autarky, Lebensraum and Anschluss

Strengths in the ● Few countries allowed everyone to vote (Germany allowed men and women) ● Proportional representation was very fair ● Free speech, freedom to set up trade unions, anyone could form a party (modern for the time)

Problems faced by the Weimar Republic 1919-23 ILRIMA ​

Ineffective Constitution ​ ● Proportional representation was if a party got 12% of the vote they would get 12% of the number of seats in the Reichstag. This meant that radical parties were represented and could be part making important decisions. It also meant that there were many small parties so it was hard to have a majority. Meaning it was slow and difficult to pass laws

● Article 48 where in an emergency the president could rule by (dictatorship) and make laws without the Reichstag - used too often Left Wing Rebellions ​ ● Spartacist Uprising in January 1919 ● Led by Rosa Luxemburg and Karl Liebnacht ● Tried to start a revolution- controlled newspaper headquarters and telegraph ● Had some support from the working class ● Weimar Government used the Freikorps to defeat the Spartacists ● 13 Freikorps dead, 100 Spartacists, Karl and Rosa killed Right Wing Terrorism ​ ● Kapp Putsch March 1920 ● Freikorps (WW1 soldiers with weapons) led by Dr Wolfgang Kapp ● Marched into Berlin and set up new right wing government ● Ebert and Weimar Government ran away ● Weimar Republic appealed to workers to go on strike and not work for the Freikorps ● Kapp had to pull out of Berlin and was not punished because the judges favoured right wing

Invasion-Inflation: the crisis of 1923 (Impact of TOV on Germany- economic ​ depression) ● Germany failed to pay reparations in 1922 ● France invaded the Ruhr in 1923 for resources ● Workers went on strike so there would be nothing for the French to take ● Lowered industrial production and so government printed more money causing hyperinflation ● Lead to Dawes plan later and further depression ● Lost support from middle class and more hate from right wing parties

Munich Putsch ​ ● On 8–9 November 1923, Hitler’s Nazis tried to take control of Bavaria Army- ​ ● Did not support government in the Kapp Putsch, not fully under government control

To what extent did the Republic recover after 1923?

Stresemann's Achievements (DIFFERS) ​ ​

Dawes Plan, 1924 ​ ● Stresemann called off the 1923 Ruhr strike and started to pay reparations again – but the American Dawes Plan gave Germany longer to make the payments (and the Young Plan of 1929 reduced the payments).

Inflation controlled, November 1923 ​ ● Stresemann called in all the old, worthless marks and burned them. He replaced them with a new temporary Rentenmark (worth 3,000 million old marks) and then the Reichsmark in 1924.

French leave the Ruhr, April 1924 ​ ​ ● Stresemann persuaded the French to leave.

Foreign Affairs ​ ● In 1925, Stresemann signed the Locarno Treaty, agreeing to the loss of Alsace-Lorraine and that he would not try and change Germany’s western borders with France and Belgium. As a result, in 1926, Germany was allowed to join the League of Nations. Germany had become a world power again. ● In 1928, Germany signed the Kellog-Briand Pact promising not to use violence to settle disputes

Economic Growth ​ ● Germany borrowed 25,000 million gold marks, mainly from America. This was used to build roads, railways and factories. The economy boomed and led to prosperity. ● Cultural life also boomed (the Roaring Twenties) Writers and poets flourished. Famous Bahaus style of design and architecture was developed - Walter Gropius. Artist Paul Klee and Otto Dix. Golden age for cinema, Marlene Dietrich- international star, Fritz Lang- celebrated director.

Reforms ​ ● Stresemann introduced reforms to make life better for the working classes - Labour Exchanges (1927) and unemployment pay. Also, 3 million new houses were built.

Strength at the Centre ​ ● Stresemann arranged a 'Great Coalition' of the moderate pro-democracy parties (based around the SDP, the Centre party and Stresemann's own 'German people's Party', the DVP). United together, they were able to resist the criticism from smaller extremist parties, and in this way, he overcame the effects of proportional representation - the government had enough members of the Reichstag supporting it to pass the laws it needed. ● Standard of living was good so people did not see a reason to support extremist groups

However… ● Precarious situation - all based on US loans, could be called in anytime ● Extremist parties were still there ● German democracy elected Hindenburg as President in 1926 - he was very opposed to democracy ● Large gap between rich and poor ● Unemployment rose ● Nationalists attacked Stresemann for joining LON and Locarno Pact - meant Germany accepted TOV

Why was Hitler able to dominate Germany by 1934?

What did the Nazi Party stand for in the 1920s?

Nazis- NSDAP Prior to 1923 ● Hitler joined the Party ● Founded by Anton Drexler ● Hitler made it popular as he was a good speaker ● Set up the 25 points with Anton Drexler which were the party’s beliefs and aims ● Designed propaganda and the swastika ● Set up the SA aka brown shirts (unofficial army) ● Changed the name from German worker party to National Socialist German Workers Party aka NSDAP ● Aims: Lebensraum, superiority of aryan race, Autarky, destroy TOV and communism

Why did the Nazis have little success before 1930?

Munich Putsch November 1923

● Hitler thought it was time to overthrow the Weimar Government ● Thought he had support of the people and the army and Bavaria (Kahr) ● Stresemann had just called off passive resistance in the Ruhr - occupied with economic crisis ● 8 November Hitler stormed into a government meeting in Bavaria with old war hero Ludendorff and 600 Storm Troopers ● Held Kahr at gunpoint and persuaded him to support Hitler in overthrowing the government ● Let Kahr go, soon clear that his pledge at gunpoint was useless ● Still marched on Munich anyway Failures ● 16 Nazis dead ● Hitler shot and arrested Failed because of ● Poor organisation - letting Kahr go, bad execution

● Small party only 3000 Successes ● Judges liked Hitler, gave him time to talk to win people over ● Light sentence - only 5 years in Ludendorff Castle - then turned to 9 months ● Good propaganda ● Time for Hitler to write Mein Kampf

After Munich Putsch ● Funding- Herman Goering was in charge, he was upper class, managed to receive money and respect for the Nazis (people used to think they were boisterous and rough), got support from big business men and a media tycoon ● Propaganda- Josef Goebbels was in charge of spreading nazi ideas through radios, films, tv,posters and rallies, funding from rich people who were afraid of communism, hatred of TOV, Communism and the Weimar republic appealed to the public, Fuhrer Cult (Hitler as a godly figure) ● Fuhrer Prinzip- one leader of NSDAP ● Rearranged Structure- Fuhrer Prinzip at the top, Gauleiters to enforce nazi ideology in Gauls (regions) and to spread terror and gain followers, they also controlled organisations such as Nazi Teacher Organisation, Hitler Youth and League of German maidens and gaining members.

Why was Hitler able to become Chancellor by 1933? LIMP PAPER ​

All the following were present from the 1920s: ● Long-term bitterness ​ Deep anger about the First World War and the Treaty of Versailles created an underlying bitterness to which Hitler’s viciousness and expansionism appealed, so they gave him support. ● Ineffective Constitution ​ Weaknesses in the Constitution crippled the government. In fact, there were many people in Germany who wanted a return to dictatorship. When the crisis came in 1929–1933 – there was no one who was prepared or able to fight to stop Hitler. Too many elections, overuse of article 48 (66 in 1932 due to large amount of parties) and only 5 laws were passed in the Reichstag in 1932. ● Money ​ The financial support of wealthy businessmen gave Hitler the money to run his propaganda and election campaigns. ● Propaganda ​ Nazi propaganda persuaded the German masses to believe that the Jews were to blame and that Hitler was their last hope. ● Programme ​ Hitler promised everybody something, so they supported him. Destruction of the TOV, no reparations, protection from communists and order in time of chaos appealed to people. ● Attacks on other parties ​

The Stormtroopers attacked Jews and people who opposed Hitler. Many opponents kept quiet simply because they were scared of being murdered – and, if they were, the judges simply let the Stormtroopers go free (see point 2). ● Personal Qualities ​ Hitler was a brilliant speaker, and his eyes had a peculiar power over people. He was a good organiser and politician. He was a driven, unstable man, who believed that he had been called by God to become of Germany and rule the world. This kept him going when other people might have given up. His self-belief persuaded people to believe in him.

After 1929, however, two short-term factors brought Hitler to power: ​

● Economic Depression ​ After the Wall Street Crash of 1929, the US called in its loans to Germany, and the German economy collapsed. The Number of unemployed grew; (2 million in 1928 to 6 million in 1932) people starved on the streets. In the crisis, people wanted someone to blame, and looked to extreme solutions – Hitler offered them both, and Nazi success in the elections grew. Germans turned to Nazism because they were desperate. The number of Nazi seats in the Reichstag rose from 12 in 1928 to 230 in July 1932. ● Recruited by Hindenburg ​ In November 1932 elections the Nazis again failed to get a majority of seats in the Reichstag.Their share of the vote fell – from 230 seats to only 196. Hitler contemplated suicide. But then he was rescued by Hindenburg. Franz von Papen (a friend of Hindenburg) was Chancellor, but he could not get enough support in the Reichstag. Hindenburg and von Papen were having to govern by emergency decree under Article 48 of the Constitution. They offered Hitler the post of vice-Chancellor if he promised to support them. Hitler refused – he demanded to be made Chancellor. So Von Papen and Hindenburg took a risk. On 30 January 1933 Hindenburg made Hitler Chancellor. He thought he could control Hitler – how wrong he was. In the end, Hitler did not TAKE power at all – he was given it.

How did Hitler consolidate his power in 1933–34?

Rigged German Election Leads To Psychopathic Nazi Fuhrer

● - 27 Feb 1933 ​ The Reichstag burned down. A Dutch Communist named van der Lubbe was caught red-handed with matches and fire-lighting materials. Hitler used it as an excuse to arrest many of his Communist opponents, and as a major platform in his election campaign of March 1933. The fire was so convenient that many people at the time claimed that the Nazis had burned it down, and then just blamed the Communists.

● General Election - 5 March 1933 ​ Hitler held a general election, appealing to the German people to give him a clear mandate. Only 44% of the people voted Nazi, which did not give him a majority in the Reichstag, so Hitler arrested the 81 Communist deputies (which did give him a majority). ● - 23 March 1933 ​ ​ The Reichstag voted to give Hitler the power to make his own laws. Nazi stormtroopers stopped opposition deputies going in, and beat up anyone who dared to speak against it. The Enabling Act made Hitler the dictator of Germany, with power to do anything he liked - legally.

● Local government - 26 April 1933 ​ The Nazis took over local government and the police. The Nazis started to replace anti-Nazi teachers and University professors. Hitler set up the Gestapo (the secret police) and encouraged Germans to report opponents and 'grumblers'. Tens of thousands of Jews, Communists, Protestants, Jehovah's Witnesses, gypsies, homosexuals, alcoholics and prostitutes were arrested and sent to concentration ​ camps for 'crimes' as small as writing anti-Nazi graffiti, possessing a banned book, or ​ saying that business was bad.

● Trade Unions banned - 2 May 1933 ​ ​ The Trade Unions offices were closed, their money confiscated, and their leaders put in prison. In their place, Hitler put the German Labour Front which reduced workers' ​ ​ pay and took away the right to strike. Gave them work with the Autobann

● Political Parties banned - 14 July 1933 ​ ​ The Law against the Formation of Parties declared the Nazi Party the only political party in Germany. All other parties were banned, and their leaders were put in prison.

● Night of the Long Knives - 30 June 1934 ​ ​ The SA were the thugs who Hitler had used to help him come to power. They had defended his meetings, and attacked opponents. By 1934 there were more than two million of them. When Hitler was in power in 1934, and there was no opposition left - the SA were an embarrassment, not an advantage. Also, Rohm, the leader of the SA, was talking about a Socialist revolution and about taking over the army. SA were loyal to Rohm and socialist views ( rich pay her tax, poor pay low) contradicted views of the upper class who funded Hitler campaigns. On the night of 30 June 1934 - codeword 'Hummingbird - Hitler ordered the SS to kill more than 400 SA men.

● Führer - 19 August 1934 ​ ​ When Hindenburg died, Hitler took over the office of President and leader of the army (the soldiers had to swear to die for personally). Hitler called himself 'Fuhrer'.

Acronyms to remember:

Problems faced by Weimar: ILRIMA: ● Ineffective Constitution ● Left wing Uprisings ● Right Wing Uprisings ● Invasion-Inflation ● Munich Putsch ● Army Stresemann's achievements: DIFFERS ● Dawes Plan ● Inflation control ● France leaves the Ruhr ● Foreign relations ● Economic growth ● Reforms ● Strength at the Centre Why did Hitler come to power: LIMP PAPER ● Long term bitterness ● Ineffective Constitution ● Money ● Programme ● Propaganda ● Attacks on other parties ● Personal qualities ● Economic Depression ● Recruited by Hindenburg How did Hitler consolidate his power in 1933–34? Rigged German Election Leads To Psychopathic Nazi Fuhrer ● Reichstag fire ● General Election ● Emergency Decrees ●

The Nazi regime (a) How effectively did the Nazis control Germany, 1933–45? Focus Points ● How much opposition was there to the Nazi regime? ● How effectively did the Nazis deal with their political opponents? ● How did the Nazis use culture and the mass media to control the people? ● Why did the Nazis persecute many groups in German society? ● Was a totalitarian state?

(b) What was it like to live in Nazi Germany? Focus Points ● How did young people react to the Nazi regime? ● How successful were Nazi policies towards women and the family? ● Did most people in Germany benefit from Nazi rule? ● How did the coming of war change life in Nazi Germany?