Studied by 8 people
What were the main points of the Treaty of Versailles
- War Guilt Clause
- Military restrictions (100,000 men, 6 battleships, no air force)
-no Anschluss (alliance w Austria)
- pay Reparations
- reduce German territory
- establish the League of Nations
How did the Treaty of Versailles impact Germany politically?
- hyperinflation
- political instability
- violence
- unhappy citizens
-unpopular government
Who were the Spartacists?
- left wing movement, started a revolution in Berlin
-led by Rosa Luxemburg, Karl Leibknicht
-crushed by Weimar government, Freikorps right wing militia
What were 3 major crises in 1923?
- political instability (Munich Putch, Kapp Putch)
- hyperinflation
- invasion of the Ruhrland
What happened in the Bierhall Putsch? What was it and who were involved?
- Hitler helped organise the Munich Putsch
- happened to overthrow the Weimar Republic for signing the Treaty of Versailles
- the attempt failed
- Hitler was arrested for treason and put in jail
What happened after the Munich Putsch?
- Hitler was arrested
- sentenced to jail for 5 years but released after 9 months
-trial made him famous, wrote Mein Kampf in jail
What happened at the Ruhr Crisis?
- Germany managed to pay the first round of reparations but couldn't pay the second due to inflation
- the French were determined to enforce the treaty
- French and Belgian troops occupied the Ruhr
- the workers at the Ruhr went on strike
- the government had to pay the workers so that they recieve an income
What was the Dawes Plan for?
to prevent an economic crisis in Germany, the USA lent money to Germany to help it to pay its reparations
What was the Young Plan for?
reduce Germany's reparations bill
How did the Great Depression affect Germany?
G. was hit badly by the depression. German leaders struggled to solve high unemployment, poverty, and chaos. Hitler claimed that he could solve these problems, and get back land lost under the TOV.
What were Hitler's aims?
- Expand German territory
- Go against terms of the Treaty of Versailles
- Defeat Communism
- Rebuild German industry, military
How did Hitler challenge the Treaty of Versailles in his first year in power (1933)?
-Began secret rearmament
-SA + SS meant already over 100k men
-withdrew from L of N
Why did Hitler's first attempt at Anschluss fail?
-1934
-Mussolini allied w Br and Fr in Stresa Front to block Hitler, because he wanted Sudtirol
Why was the Saar plebiscite held?
-1935
- the Saar was given to the League in the Treaty of Versailles
- People of Saar voted to join Germany, not France (Hitler's propaganda helped win)
What happened in Rhineland in March 1936?
- Hitler took his biggest risk yet and marched troops into Rhineland
- France was worried, wanted to act, but Britain refused to help them
What happened in the Spanish Civil War (briefly)?
- Franco and right-wing rebels revolted against the government
- eventually succeeded, established Right wing gov
- Hitler and Mussolini helped Franco win
What did Britain and France do during the Spanish Civil War?
- They mostly didn't interfere, created "Non Interventionist" plan
- France supplied the Republicans with weapons because they were against Franco whom Hitler supported
How did Germany and Italy get involved in the Spanish Civil War?
- Germany: sent airplanes and pilots; helped Franco to move his troops; helped to bomb civilians
- Italy: sent thousands of Italian troops
What were the consequences of the Spanish Civil War?
-Mussolini and Hitler became closer
- Hitler now believed that Britain will stay neutral because of non-intervention
- Hitler was convinced that he could totally reverse the Treaty of Versailles
- the USSR began to distrust Britain and France because they didn't do anything to prevent this
How did the Austrians feel about the Nazi party?
- the Nazi party had a lot of support
- Hitler encouraged Austrians to create problems for their government: protests, rallies, riots
Why was Hitler's second attempt at Anschluss successful?
-Mussolini supported him
-Britain and France, League weakened by Spanish Civil War, Abyssinian Crisis
How was Anschluss an advantage for Hitler?
- Austria had more soldiers, iron and gold
- broke the Treaty of Versailles: proved that it had flaws and that Britain and France were unprepared to go to war
What is appeasement?
- giving into Hitler's demands (keeping someone happy by giving them what they want)
- main policy of the British government; many people supported this
Why did Britain follow a policy of appeasement?
- military reasons: wanted Germany to be able to fight Communists (in East- USSR)
- economic reasons: thought strong German economy could help
- felt Treaty of Versailles was unfair
- fear of another war- memory of WWI disaster
What is the Sudetenland?
Area of Czechoslovakia with many ethnic German people.
What happened at the Munich Conference- 1938?
- Chamberlain, Mussolini, Daladier (Fr) flew over to meet Hitler
- Hitler claimed to make his demands less strong (only wanted a part of Sudetenland)
- Chamberlain thought that Hitler will be satisfied if he got what he wanted
- France and Britain gave Czechoslovakia a plan to only give a part of Sudetenland to Germany
What were the consequences of the Munich Agreement?
- the Czechs felt betrayed that they weren't consulted
- Europe was relieved that a war was avoided
- Chamberlain was considered a hero in Britain for ensuring peace
- A few months later Hitler took the rest of Czechoslovakia anyway, made Br and Fr look naive
What is the president's role in the Weimar government?
- head of the state
- stayed out of day-to-day government
- had emergency power (did not have to consult the Reichstag)
- selects the chancellor
- controls the army
What is the chancellor's role in the Weimar government?
- responsible for day-to-day government but he needed the support of half the Reichstag
What are the weaknesses of the Weimar Constitution?
- the system of proportional representation
- Article 48 gave the president the ability to rule the country directly
- the president controlled both the army and the chancellor (had a lot of power)
Why did the French invade the Ruhr?
- Germany found the reparations hard to pay
- France was determined to make Germany pay
- January 1923: French and Belgian troops marched into the Ruhr (richest industrial area of Germany)
- took over factories and coal mines (permitted by the Treaty of Versailles)
- German public were furious
- Weimar government could do little to stop it; the idea of being "stabbed in the back" returned; Weimar government seemed weak
How did hyperinflation end?
- reached its peak in November 1923
- in August a new chancellor was appointed (Stresemann)
- he called a stop to passive resistance in the Ruhr so that the government does not have to pay for the workers
- introduced a new temporary currency (Rentenmark) to bring the inflation down and stabilize the economy
- helped negotiate Dawes Plan
Why did Hitler's message appeal to Germans?
- he focused on nationalist ideas which Germans were passionate about
- he blamed Germany's problems on scapegoats:
- the Allies
- the November Criminals
- Communists
- Jews
How did Hitler deal with his opponents?
- his political opponents tried to disrupt his meetings by beating up the Nazis
- to protect the Nazis, he formed the SA
- the SA was used to attack Communists and disrupt their meetings
What happened during the Beer Hall Putsch?
- 1923- Hitler and the Nazi party marched on a beer hall at Kahr's speech
- forced him to get off the auditorium at gunpoint
Why did the Beer Hall Putsch end?
- Hitler was arrested
- Hitler did not have enough support
- had jail time of 9 months for treason and wrote Mein Kampf
How did Hitler begin to rebuild the Nazi Party?
- after he was released from prison, he began to change the Nazis so they could win elections
- he copied the strategies of the communists and set up local recruit members
- he set up youth organizations (Hitler Youth, Nazi Students' League)
- the Nazis won 32 seats in the 1924 election
Why did wealthy factory owners begin supporting Hitler?
- He was anti-Communist
- Used the SA to beat up Communist workers trying to go on strike
How did Hitler strengthen his party after the Beer Hall Putsch failure?
- 1925: enlarged the SA
- created the SS (fanatically loyal to Hitler)
- party members increased by 100,000 by 1928
- hired Joseph Goebbels to be the Nazi propaganda minister
- appeal to feelings rather than logic
What happened to the US and Germany after the Great Depression hit?
- bankers and businessmen lost entire fortunes
- they asked Germany to repay all the loans under the Dawes Plan
- nearly the whole German economy depended on those loans
How did the Depression help the Nazis?
- Scapegoat- not your fault! Blame Jews and Communists
- unemployed? join the army!
- reparations? get rid of the Treaty of Versailles!
- indecisive government? get a strong leader!
How did Hitler become Chancellor? (May 1932)
- after the Reichstag elections, the Nazis were the largest party
- Hitler demanded that Hindenburg made him chancellor
- Hindenburg did not trust Hitler
- kept the current chancellor (von Papen)
- von Papen ran into trouble and had no support in the Reichstag so another election was called
How did Hitler become Chancellor? (What happened in November 1932?)
- Nazis won the most seats again (but with 2 million votes and 38 seats fewer)
- Hitler thought that this was a disaster as the Germans were getting tired of the Nazis and they were running out of money
- Hitler considered suicide
How did Hitler become Chancellor? (What happened in January 1933?)
- Hindenburg and von Papen held secret meetings with army leaders and factory owners
- made Hitler chancellor because he was popular in the Reichstag and wanted to control communists
- they thought they could control Hitler and his extreme ideas
- only a few Nazis were allowed in the cabinet
- von Papen was vice-chancellor
What happened in the Reichstag Fire?
- Dutch Communist burned down the Reichstag (alone? problems w evidence)
-Hitler used as 'proof' of int'l Communist threat
-Got temporary emergency powers, banned Communists, set up first concentration camps
-Called for more elections, still didn't get 50%
What is the Enabling Act?
- March 1933- Nazis took used the SA and SS to intimidate Reichstag members into signing the Enabling Act
- Act allowed Hitler to make laws without consulting the Reichstag
- Hindenburg could not stop him under the Act
- Hitler could do anything he wanted
What happened to some political opposition after the Reichstag Fire and Enabling Act?
- some decided to escape from Germany
- others were taken to concentration camps run by the SS
Why did Hitler distrust Ernst Rohm?
- army leaders were suspicious of the SA
- Rohm (SA head) wanted them to be the second German army
- had 4 million men under his control
- potential enemy (as he had a lot of power)
- was homosexual
What was the Night of Long Knives?
- June 29-30, 1934: Hitler commanded the SS to break into the homes of the leaders of the SA and arrest them
- Hitler accused Rohm of planning to murder him and take power
- 400 people including Rohm were executed over the weekend; 1000 others were arrested
What is the Fuhrer?
Position Hitler created after Hindenburg died (1934) combining powers of President and Chancellor.
What is the army oath?
- August 2, 1934: entire army swore loyalty to Hitler
- army agreed to stay out of politics in exchange for Hitler putting a lot of money into rearmament
Who is Joseph Goebbels?
- Hitler's Minister of Enlightenment and Propaganda (believed that Hitler was the savior of Germany)
- had to pay close attention to the public's mood and decide what they should and should not hear
- number one goal was to make people loyal to Hitler
What are the Nuremberg rallies? What effect did it have?
- held every summer
- huge rallies, meetings, parades and speeches by Hitler
- brought excitement into people's lives
- made them feel like they belonged to a great movement
- reminded people of Germany's military strength
- well organized to show how the Nazis brought stability to Germany
How did Hitler and Goebbels control the media and culture (books, artists, newspapers, cinema, music, radio)?
- books: cannot be published without permission; organized book burnings
- artists: only Nazi approved painters; paintings or sculptures of heroic looking Aryans, military figures or an "ideal" Aryan family, other art 'degenerate'
- newspapers: anti-Nazi content was banned; Jewish editors and journalists shut down;
- cinema: must convey a Nazi message; full of the greatness of Hitler such as 'Triumph of the Will', censored foreign films
- music: banned jazz music because it was "black music"
- radio: made cheap radios to distribute; controlled all stations; banned listening to the BBC; put loudspeakers for people who did not own radios; put radios on repeat to enforce ideas
How did the Gestapo and SS help Hitler to control media and culture?
- helped Goebbels to close down anti-Nazi newspapers and writers
- helped catch someone listening to foreign radio stations (particularly the BBC)
How did the Nazis try to control the churches??
- 1933: Hitler signed an agreement (Concordat) with the Pope saying that the Catholics can keep their schools if they stayed out of politics
- 2/3 of Germans were Christians; Hitler could not lose their support
- Churches had to display swastikas on their altars
- Hitler tried combining all Protestant churches into one Reich church (failed)
- many Protestants were faithful to their own churches and not the government one
What was the DAF?
German Labour Front- replaced all other labour unions, helped Nazis control workers
What was the Reich Labour Service?
Mandatory 6 month working service for all young men. Gave them a low salary, but a uniform, sense of purpose, and a chance to brainwash them
Autobahn
Nazi highway system, built by low wage Reich Labour Service and helped rebuild German economy.
List groups who were persecuted by the Nazis
- Jews
- gypsies
- Communists; Spartacists
- mentally and physically challenged
- homosexuals
- poor and homeless
- alcoholics
- prostitutes
- pacifists
- criminals
What were laws against people who the Nazis considered not socially useful?
Law for the Prevention of Hereditarily Diseased Offspring - forced sterilization
- "euthanasia" killings
Nuremberg Laws
Series of laws starting in 1935 which placed various, increasing restrictions on Jewish population, including banning relations with 'Aryans', blocking Jews from certain jobs, and eventually forcing them to wear the Star of David, register their address, give up possessions.
Gestapo
Nazi secret police. Responsible for locating political opponents and later for finding Jews.
Concentration Camps
Prison camps set up by the SS. Originally used for Communists and political opponents, then after WW2 began used for Jewish, Slavic, homosexuals, and other 'non-Aryans'
The Final Solution
Plan developed at the Wannsee Conference in 1942 to try to kill all of the Jewish population of Europe.
Extermination Camps
From 1942, camps designed to kill as many people as fast as possible. Used for most of the Jewish population of Eastern Europe, but also other 'non-Aryans'.
Aryan Race
- Hitler's idea that ethnic Germans and northern Europeans were superior to other races
What is anti-semitism?
- hatred of the Jews
- for thousands of years, Jews faced persecution all over Europe
- one reason was that some Christians blamed Jews for the death of Jesus
- another reason was because Jews were well-educated and rich (traditionally they were money lenders)
What is Kristallnacht?
- 1938: young Jew murdered a German diplomat in Paris
- Nazis used this as an excuse to take revenge on Jews in Germany
- a riot was organized by the SS who smashed Jewish businesses and synagogues were burned
- 91 Jews were murdered; 20,000 taken to concentration camps
- many ran away from Germany
- many Germans were concerned about Kristallnacht but few protested
- those who protested were executed
Why did people fear opposing the Nazis? (economic fears)
- nobody wanted to lose their jobs
- worried if they didn't do as told they couldn't feed their family
- the Depression was tough, nobody wanted to experience it again
- businesses had to give money to the Nazis for fear of being boycotted
Why did people fear opposing the Nazis? (force)
- Critics were sent to concentration camps
- Difficult to organize opposition with Gestapo
- Felt like Nazis controlled everything, impossible to resist
Why did people fear opposing the Nazis? (propaganda)
- used to control access to information
- Germans usually never knew bad news
- all messages had pro-Nazi biases
- Hitler's image was highly supported
- even when they were losing the war, many Germans still respected him
What is volksgemeinschaft?
- Germans were supposed to see themselves as part of a national community
- workers, farmers and businessmen would not see themselves as separate groups; they saw themselves as German
What are the characteristics of Volksgemeinschaft?
- loyal to Hitler, not your social group
- belong to a great nation of racially and culturally pure people
- put the country's interests before your own
What was the duty of an ideal Nazi woman?
- marry young to an Aryan man
- keep a perfect home
- have a lot of children
- Three K's- kids, church, kitchen
How did Hitler financially support and encourage women with lots of children?
Gave loans to families with more kids, eventually gave prizes to women that had more than 4 children.
What happened to women with jobs during the Weimar Republic?
- when Hitler came to power, female doctors and civil servants were fired
- later on female teachers and lawyers were also fired
- couples with women who were working could not get government loans
How did education at school change when the Nazis came to power?
- every subject emphasized loyalty to the Nazis, racial superiority and nationalism
- teachers took loyalty oaths
- religious education ended
- sports was emphasized
- girls took home making classes
What was taught in history class?
- German army was stabbed in the back by weak politicians who signed the Treaty of Versailles
- the crises of 1923 were caused by the Jews
- when you graduated, you felt loyal and thankful to Hitler
What was taught in biology class?
- eugenics (study of selective breeding for desired characteristics in humans)
- social darwinism (study of why the Aryan race was more superior than others)
- untermenschen (study of sub-human races; in this case it was the Jews and East Europeans)
How did the Nazis treat youth groups?
- Nazi ideas were emphasized
- non-Nazi youth groups were banned
- membership became mandatory in 1939
- many young people joined because of the interesting activities
What happened in Hitler Youth?
- basic military training
- brainwashing of Nazi ideas
- running, hiking and tracking were popular
- went on camping trips where they learned to shoot, clean rifles and read maps
What happened in League of German Girls?
- learned how to be good mothers
- cooking
- sewing
- managing a household budget
- went on sports holidays
- encouraged to have lots of children
What was the main impact of the Korean War on the Cold War?
The Korean War froze Sino-American relations into a pattern of hostility that would last two decades
How did the Korean War (1950 - 1953) affect the Cold War?
It shifted the Cold War to be more focused on Asia and the resumption of limited, conventional warfare.
-It spread the threat of Communism to Korea
What was an event that happened right after World War II that made the US realize communism was a growing potential problem?
1949 the People's Republic of China (Mao's Communist Party) was formed after winning the Chinese Civil War against U.S.-supported Nationalists
(U.S. then suddenly saw Japan as a potential ally)
What was the Marshall Plan?
Effective in April 1948, it was an American initiative to aid Western Europe, in which the United States gave $13 billion in economic support to help rebuild Western European economies after the end of World War II
When did Dwight Eisenhower become president?
What "threats" did Eisenhower make upon his election?
- Jan. 1953
-He made veiled threats to expand the Cold War...perhaps with nuclear weapons
How did the North Korean attack on South Korea in June 1950 challenge the UN?
The attack posed a direct challenge to the UN's ability to resist aggression.
How did the North Korean attack on South Korea in June 1950 affect America?
It led to the US's decision to support South Korean troops which ultimately began America's crusade to contain Communism in the third world.
What was the end result of the Korean War?
An Armistice agreement was signed in June 1953 which said Korea would remain divided along the 38th parallel
What was the Point Four program?
A program designed primarily to combat the spread of Communism in the third world by ameliorating the effects of poverty
(1) When was NSC-68?
(2) What was it?
(3) Why was it created?
(4) What did it ultimately do?
(1) 1950
(2) a new secret strategy based on the premise that a defeat of free institutions anywhere was a defeat everywhere
(3) the threat of the spread of Communism / to support the French position in Vietnam (part of the revised containment strategy)
(4) helped the US be the policemen of the world
- said a USSR nuclear threat could be countered by a hydrogen bomb
- assumed the USSR would promote /support satellite states
- increased U.S. defense spending
Why did the US abandon isolationism?
- the oceans no longer offered them much protection from attack
-the USSR (+ communism) was a growing threat
-the USSR was building an atomic bomb
(1) What caused NATO?
(2) What was NATO?
(3) When was it formed?
(1) The Soviet atomic bomb
(2) an alliance that held that if the U.S. again withdrew into isolation, Western Europe would fall to the USSR and the situation would require U.S. intervention
(3) 1949
Name a relevant communist Alliance created in 1950
Sino-Soviet Treaty of 1950 (USSR promised aid ($$) to China)
How did the Korean War affect the US's relationship with China?
The US branded China as an international aggressor, imposed a tighter economic embargo on trade with the Chinese, and banished any thought of giving the communists China's seat in the UN
Relate the Korean War to a proxy war
-The Korean War seemed to confirm European fears that the Soviets were prepared to use their satellite states to fight proxy wars against the West in the Cold War
- through the North Atlantic Treaty, the US was now firmly committed to come to the assistance of Western Europe in the event of a Soviet attack
How did NATO take steps to enhance its military capabilities?
- agreeing to build a 96 division Ground Force to counter the Soviet military presence in Eastern Europe
- strengthening NATO's Mediterranean flank by accepting Greece and Turkey as full alliance members in 1952
-Providing an additional four billion dollars of military assistance in fiscal year 1951 to help European allies rearm
What was the Non-Alligned Movement and who was Gamal Nasser?
-the Movement Included 29 countries which agreed to resist colonialism and imperialism in all forms and promoted Afro-Asian co-operation
-Nasser (leader of Egypt in 1954) was a primary leader of the N.A. Movement who sought to remove Western influence from the Middle East and was known as the father of Arab nationalism
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Flashcard (24)