Germany 1918-45 Revision Booklet, Lecture notes of German

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WJEC GCSE History

Paper 1

Germany 1918-

Revision Booklet

Germany – 1919-1933: Weimar Republic*

*Weimar is the town the politicians met in and a Republic is a country without a King or Queen

The end of WWI – November 1918  Germany was in a very poor state: the blockade of Germany had lead to a lack of food and supplies. People were starving. Riots were breaking out. The navy had mutinied (rebelled) against the Kaiser (king of Germany).  The Kaiser realised the situation was hopeless and abdicated (quit his job) in October 1918. Germany was left without a leader and in a mess.  The biggest political party in Germany was the Social Democrats. Their leader, Friedrich Ebert , took on the job of running Germany. He tried to improve people’s lives by giving them better working conditions and freedom of speech.  Ebert and his government signed the armistice and withdrew from Germany from WW1 in November 1918.

The Weimar Constitution  The Social Democrats won the January 1919 elections. They held the first meeting of their new government in a town called Weimar – and got the nickname “The Weimar Government”.  Their first job was to write a new constitution (set of rules) for Germany.  Their new rules included:

1. everyone over the age of 20 could vote, people voted for MPs who would sit in the Reichstag, the Reichstag would suggest and vote on new laws,
2. the Chancellor would be head of the Reichstag and would be voted for every 4 years,
3. There would be a President who would choose the Chancellor and keep control of the army and he would be voted for every 7 years.
4. Germany would use a system called Proportional Representation ; this means each political party would get a fair share of the seats in the Reichstag – if a party won 10% of the votes they would get 10% of the seats. 5. Proportional Representation seemed fair but had lots of problems ; there was so many parties in the Reichstag that no party ever had a majority (over 50% of the seats) so they couldn’t pass laws by themselves. This meant parties had to make deals with each other and this slowed the whole process down. It also helps Hitler get into power later.

Strengths of the Weimar Constitution Weaknesses of the Weimar Constitution  Very fair, particularly the voting  Allowed lots of people to have their say  State governments would ensure local issues were addressed

 Proportional Representation meant that there were loads of different parties in the Reichstag – it was difficult to get them to agree on anything

 Over 200 people connected to the Weimar Government were assassinated between 1919 and 1923. The most famous was Walther Rathenau , the politician who had been involved with the armistice and the Treaty of Versailles. These assassinations showed how much people disliked their new government and also made people feel that they were doing a bad job as they weren’t stopping violence on the streets.

The Treaty of Versailles – June 1919  This is the peace Treaty Germany had to sign after World War One. The government had no choice but to sign the treaty; if they didn’t sign the war would continue and Germany would lose.  The Main terms can be summed up as BRAT  Blame – Germany had to accept responsibility for starting the war and causing all the damage. This is called the War Guilt clause.  Reparations – Germany had to pay £6.6 billion to pay to repair the damage caused by the war.  Armed Forces – the Germany army was reduced to 100,000 men, and they couldn’t have any tanks, submarines or planes. The Rhineland (an area of Germany that borders France) was also demilitarised so no German troops could go there.  Territory – Germany lost 13% of their land and 12.5% of their population. They also lost all their colonies so they no longer had an empire. Germany was also forbidden to join with Austria. Some of the land they lost was industrial land with coal mines etc on; this meant they lost a way to produce income for Germany.  The Germans were outraged. They called the Treaty a “diktat” (dictated peace) and accused the Weimar Government of “ stabbing them in the back ” by agreeing to such harsh terms. People began to look to other politicians to rule Germany better than the Social Democrats.

The beginnings of the Nazi Party  Anton Drexler had a party called the German Workers Party.  Hitler joined this in 1920 as he agreed with what the party was saying about getting rid of the Treaty of Versailles.  Hitler soon became its leader. He re-named it the National Socialist German Workers Party (NSDAP/Nazi Party).  He gave the party a new flag and a new private army to protect it (the SA/Brownshirts).

 The party was small and would meet in beer houses. It began to attract attention because of Hitler’s powerful speeches, especially his rants against the Treaty of Versailles. The SA would also beat up opponents, especially the communists.

1923 – The Invasion of the Ruhr, Hyperinflation and the Munich Putsch  Germany paid her first reparation payment in 1921 but couldn’t afford the 1922 payment.  France and Belgium decided to invade Germany in January 1923 and take the payment by force. They invaded the Ruhr, Germany’s main industrial area, to take goods, such as coal.  The Germans reacted with passive resistance. They went on strike and refused to make the goods that the French and Belgians wanted. They sabotaged factories and flooded mines.  The French and Belgians reacted with violence: shooting some Germans and expelling some others.  The Weimar Government supported the strikers by printing more money to pay them so that they could afford to keep striking.  Too many notes in the economy meant that prices went out of control. November 1923 was the worst month: bread cost 201,000,000,000 marks.  People had to carry their wages home in wheelbarrows. Prices went up so fast that a day’s wages would just buy a cup of coffee the next day. The middle classes and the elderly suffered badly as their savings and pensions were wiped out. This was called hyperinflation.

 Hitler chose November 1923 as the moment to attempt his Munich Putsch (putsch = take power by force). He thought people were so fed up of their situation that they would support another leader.  On the evening of 8th^ November 1923, Hitler and 600 Nazis seized a beer hall where a meeting between the Bavarian leaders was taking place. Hitler and his men arrested the three leaders (von Kahr, bon Seisser and Von Lossow). He made them swear their support for Hitler’s takeover before locking them in a room.  The three men escaped and called the police, who went after Hitler and arrested him. The Putsch was easily stopped.  Hitler got very useful publicity from his trial , and Hitler’s name was known all over Germany.  Whilst Hitler was in prison he wrote Mein Kampf, in which he explained all his ideas for Germany.  Hitler also changed his strategy ; he decided it would be best to get power by winning votes, rather than taking power by force.

 Hyperinflation ended in November/December 1923 as Stresemann introduced the Rentenmark , and signed the Dawes Plan , which meant America lent Germany money to help rebuild industry so they could pay the reparations.

1929-33 – The increased popularity of the Nazis and Hitler becoming Chancellor

Why did people vote for the Nazis?

1. The Great Depression  The Wall St Crash in America had a big impact on the economy in Germany.  The loans from America as part of the Dawes Plan were withdrawn.  Unemployment in Germany reached 6 million people, this meant 40% of the workforce were without a job.  The Nazis promised ‘Work and Bread’ – this meant they were going to provide jobs for people so they could look after their families.  The Nazis offered a simple promise that appealed to the people.  The Nazis tried to appeal to workers who would otherwise vote for the Communist Party. 2. The Nazis use of Propaganda  The Nazis put Josef Goebbels in charge of propaganda.  He made sure that their message was clear, simple and easy to understand.  The Nazis owned 120 daily or weekly newspapers which were read by hundreds of thousands of people and constantly put across a positive message about the Nazis.  Hitler also made speeches on the radio and at mass rallies. 3. The role of the SA  The Weimar Government appeared to be disorganised and were unable to solve the problems in Germany. President Hindenburg had to start running Germany using Article 48 (emergency powers) which was unpopular.  In comparison the Nazis appeared as very organised, particularly the SA as they marched in their smart uniforms through the towns and the cities.  The organisation of the SA and the Nazis encouraged more people to vote for the Nazis.  The SA also had another role; they were a violent group that would beat up opposition to the Nazis such as Communists.  There were countless battles between the SA and the Red Front Fighters (the Communist private army). Hitler was trying to show the German people that the Communists were violent and the SA could deal with them.

4. Hitler’s promises  Hitler made promises that appealed to people.  He promised to get rid of the Treaty of Versailles (which made Germany look weak), solve Germany’s problems and provide jobs.

The Election Results  During the 1930s (the Great Depression years) the Nazi votes rose.  Election results: o 1928: 12 seats. o 1930: 107 seats. o July 1932: 230 seats (the Nazis were the largest political party, 37%, but they did not have a majority in the Reichstag). o Nov 1932: 196 seats (The SA’s campaign of violence began to have a negative impact and the vote reduced to 33%).

How did Hitler become Chancellor? (Political Scheming)  It is the President’s role to choose the Chancellor of Germany.  Hitler asked to be Chancellor but Hindenburg (the President) refused as he didn’t trust Hitler.  Hindenburg chose von Papen to be the Chancellor. However as he was not the leader of the largest party he found it very difficult to run the country, as he couldn’t pass laws without a majority. He decided to hold another election in November 1932.  However von Papen could still not get a majority in the Reichstag.  Hindenburg then chose von Schleicher as the next Chancellor, after he convinced Hindenburg that the country was moving towards Civil War. However he couldn’t get a majority in the Reichstag either. Hindenburg had to keep ruling with Article

 Von Papen was determined to regain power and so he met with Hitler in early January 1933. They decided that von Papen would help Hitler become Chancellor if Hitler made von Papen vice Chancellor. This is called political scheming.  Von Papen convinced Hindenburg that he could control Hitler.  Eventually, Hindenburg had no options left and made Hitler Chancellor on 30th^ January 1933.

The Temporary Triangle, January 1933

• Hitler made promises to the Catholics (such as no interference with Catholic schools) so that they would vote in his favour  Due to all of these tactics Hitler was able to pass the Enabling Act. This meant he could make laws without consulting the Reichstag for the next 4 years. The Act enabled Hitler to turn Germany into a dictatorship.  With the power of the Enabling Act, Hitler then:
• Banned opposing parties and put leaders in concentration camps.
• Banned Trade Unions.
• Put Nazis in charge of all state governments.
• Used fear and intimidation to make sure people didn’t challenge the Nazis. 3. The Night of the Long Knives  Hitler had now increased his control over Germany, so he turned his attention to the threats from within his own Party.  The SA, under their leader Röhm , became a threat due to their numbers and military training. Röhm also wanted the SA to join with the army as Hitler had previously promised, but this scared Hitler.  On the 30 th^ June 1934 Hitler had Röhm and 400 leaders of the SA shot by members of the SS (the Blackshirts; Hitler’s private bodyguards). This was called the Night of the Long Knives.  Hitler also used the opportunity to get rid of other enemies such as von Schleicher.  Hitler told the German people that he had protected them from a takeover. 4. The Death of President Hindenburg  Hindenburg died in August 1934 (he was old and frail).  Hitler then combined the role of Chancellor and President to make himself Führer , which means Supreme Leader. Nobody could stop him due to the Enabling Law.  Hitler then made the army swear an oath of loyalty to him , rather than the country.

Hitler was now in total control over Germany; he had turned the country into a dictatorship by legal means.

How did Nazi economic and social policy affect life in Nazi Germany?

1933-39 – How the Nazis changed the lives of workers  The German economy was still suffering badly from the Depression, but Hitler knew he had to deliver his promise of ‘work and bread’; he needed to create jobs.  Unemployment was tackled by creating massive public works programmes such as the building of the autobahns (motorways). Millions of men were given jobs through this, although they were paid poorly.  Men aged 18-25 were made to join the RAD (Reich Labour Service) for 6 months. They did hard manual labour such as tree felling and ditch digging. They had to wear Nazi uniform and lived in camps.  All workers joined the DAF (German Labour Front) which controlled the workers and settled disputes between them and their employers. It persuaded employers to improve working conditions in factories.  The KDF (Strength through Joy) organisation was set up to organise the leisure time of the workers, providing them with cheap theatre tickets, cruises, skiing holidays and saving up for VW Beetles. This encouraged them to work harder.  From 1935 German men began to be conscripted into the army and more and more factories were set up for arms production. These both created jobs. Germany tried to achieve autarky (self-sufficiency) so that they could keep fighting when other countries stopped trading with them.  Women and Jews were sacked from their jobs which created jobs for the men. This was known as invisible unemployment as they were not counted in the unemployment figures.  When Hitler came to power there were 6 million people unemployed, by 1938 that had reduced to 0.5 million. For this reason many people supported Hitler and the Nazis; they made life better.  The government took control of prices, wages, profits and imports which stopped big businesses from running their affairs in their own way.  Jewish small businesses were closed down allowing other German small businesses to flourish.  Farmers were given help in paying off loans but were given quotas for production to meet which limited their freedom.

o Lots of PE lessons for everyone to keep everyone fit and healthy for their new roles. o Teachers had to join the Nazi Teachers’ Association or lose their jobs. o Jewish pupils were persecuted in lessons, by students and teachers. They had to leave German schools in 1938.  Membership of the Hitler Youth became compulsory in 1939. About 7,500, children were members; about 1,000,000 refused.  Some young people chose to join anti-Nazi groups like the Swing Movement and the Eidelweiss Pirates.

Propaganda – Keeping people supporting the Nazis  Hitler set up the cult of the Führer, presenting himself as the greatest saviour of Germany. His image was used very carefully – he was only ever shown serving Germany.  Goebbels (Hitler’s Propaganda Minister) made sure that people were bombarded with information to keep them loyal to the Nazis.  Posters, pictures, art exhibitions and films were all made to show how great the Nazis were.  Hitler’s speeches were regularly broadcast on the radio to remind people of how much the Nazis were improving their lives. Cheap radios were sold to people and connected up to loudspeakers so that everyone could hear.  The newspapers were banned from printing anything that hadn’t been checked by the Nazis first ( censorship ).  Great rallies were held, such as those at Nuremberg, to show people how organised and powerful the Party was.  In 1936, Hitler used the Olympic Games to showcase to the world how efficient, modern and advanced the German nation was.

Terror / Intimidation – Keeping people supporting the Nazis

 The concentration camps were used to imprison anyone who went against the Nazi state. These were run by the SS. In the camps, people were expected to work to benefit Germany. They were often worked to death with very long hours and insufficient rations.  The Gestapo (secret police) would go round checking that people were being loyal to the Nazis. People who weren’t

would often be taken off in the middle of the night for torture or to be taken to a camp.  The legal system also helped to control Nazi Germany. All judges had to become members of the Nationalist Socialist League for the Maintenance of Law ; this meant they had to be members of the Nazi Party who would uphold Nazi views in the law courts. Judges knew that the Minister of Justice would check if they had been lenient and sometimes Hitler would alter sentences if he thought they were too soft.  Germany was subdivided into tiny blocks of about 30-40 houses. Each block would have a Nazi living there who would keep an eye on all the families and report to the police and the Gestapo if they noticed anti-Nazi behaviour.  Children in the Hitler Youth were expected to spy on their parents and neighbours.  People were too scared to go against the Nazis.

Nazi Racial Policy – 1933-  The Nazis believed that the Aryans were the master race.  Hitler wanted to keep the master race pure. This meant Aryans and non-Aryans should not have children.  Hitler wanted a pure Aryan state. He was going to achieve this by; o Selective breeding o Destroying the Jews  Hitler and the Nazis believed that Jews were inferior, who could be blamed for all of Germany’s problems such as the Treaty of Versailles, hyperinflation and the Great Depression. They were being used as scapegoats.

1933-39 – How the Nazis changed the lives of minorities  The Nazis believed in Aryan superiority. Anyone who didn’t fit in with their idea of a top class human being had to be removed from society.  Vagrants and the homeless were taken to camps to be re-educated and taught how to work so that they could become useful German citizens.  Homosexuals were sent to concentration camps.  Blacks and the mentally ill were sterilised so that they couldn’t reproduce or killed.  Gypsies were sent to concentration camps and later (during WWII) exterminated with the Jews. – These groups were known as Utenmensch.

1933-39 – The treatment of the Jews  Jews suffered badly in Nazi Germany and the longer the Nazis were in power the worse the treatment became.  Key moments of persecution were o 1933: the SA organised boycotts of Jewish shops and businesses.

Germany During the War – 1939-

Life in Nazi Germany during the early war years (1939-41)  At first the war had very little impact on people living in Nazi Germany. The Blitzkrieg method brought lots of victories and there were no shortages for civilians (people living in Germany). In fact supplies increased; as the Nazis took over other countries supplies of raw materials and luxuries were sent back to Germany.  Rationing was introduced in 1939 to control supplies, and this meant 2 out of 5 Germans followed a healthier diet than they had before the war.  Although the Nazis believed that a women’s place was in the home, women were needed in industry. By 1939 6.2 million women were working, but the Nazis found many women were reluctant to join the workforce. In January 1943 the Nazis had to conscript women into the workforce.  Goebbels made effective use of propaganda during the war.

Life in Nazi Germany during the latter war years (1942-45)  Germany was defeated at Stalingrad in the Soviet Union and forced to retreat; this was a turning point in the war for Germany.  From 1942, Germans began to experience bombing raids on their major cities, such as Dresden , from British and American bombers. Hundreds of thousands of civilians were killed. By the end of the war 3.5 million civilians had been killed. As a result there were food shortages and rationing increased.  In 1943 Albert Speer became Reich Minister for Armaments and Production. He took direct control of the war economy; civilian goods stopped being produced and all factories began to produce items needed for the war effort. As a result production increased e.g. munitions output increased by 60% between 1939 and 1944.  In 1944, all workers had to go into armaments production. Women went back to work; their children were in day care. People had to work longer and longer hours.  In 1944 the Volkssturm (the People’s Home Guard) was set up. This was a people’s army, made up of Hitler Youth and men who were not fit enough for the national army, which would defend German cities if they were attacked by the allies. They lacked experience, were poorly trained with few weapons and were never a serious fighting force.

 The Nazis also needed an efficient solution, shooting all the Jews was no longer an option, as there were too many Jews and it would waste bullets in the war, and take too much time.  In January 1942 the leading Nazis met at Wannsee in Berlin and worked out the details of the ‘Final Solution’. Death camps were to be built in Poland, far away from Germany.  6 death camps were built.  When the Jews arrived they were split into 2 groups; those who could work and those who were to be killed immediately. The second group went straight to the gas chambers which were disguised as showers.  By the time the camps were liberated at the end of the war, 6 million Jews had been worked to death, gassed or shot.

Opposition to the Nazis  Young people opposed the Nazis: o The Edelweiss Pirates. Working class movement who beat up the Hitler Youth. They refused to join the Hitler Youth and instead met up in mixed groups to mock the Hitler Youth. During the war they distributed leaflets dropped by the allies. The Gestapo caught a group of pirates and they were publicly hanged. o The Swing Youth. Middle class movement who listened to jazz music and went clubbing. The Nazis were threatened by their activities so closed down the bars they were known to attend. o The White Rose movement. This was started by students Hans and Sophie Scholl and Professor Kurt Huber at Munich University. They spread anti- Nazi leaflets and urged Germans not to support WW2. Their activities were reported to the Gestapo by a janitor at the university and they were hanged.

 The churches opposed the Nazis: o Protestants set up the Confessional Church which was anti-Nazi. o Protestant pastors such as Dietrich Bonhoeffer and Martin Niemoller spoke out against the Nazis. Bonhoeffer was also involved in sabotage work. o Niemoller was arrested and sent to a concentration camp but survived. o Bonhoeffer was arrested in 1942 for plotting against Hitler. He died in a concentration camp in 1945. o Von Galen also spoke out against the Nazis; he gave a number of sermons attacking Nazi policies. He was arrested in 1944 and died in 1946.

 The army opposed the Nazis (July Bomb Plot): o Army officers became more and more critical of Hitler in 1943 as the war went very badly. o Two assassination attempts had been organised in 1943, but both had failed. o On 20th^ July 1944, Count von Stauffenberg attempted to assassinate Hitler with a bomb in a suitcase. It was called ‘Operation Valkyrie’. o However the plot failed as somebody at the meeting moved the briefcase so it was further away from Hitler. o The bomb exploded killing 4 people, but Hitler survived with minor injuries. o Stauffenberg was arrested and his accomplice, Beck, committed suicide. o Hitler took revenge on all those involved in the plot, and 5,746 people were executed.