Year 10 GCSE Germany (1919-1990)

(Weimar Germany 1919-1933) What problems did Germany face after WWI (start of Weimar)?

Lost WWI → Kaiser abdicated • Food shortages & British blockade • 300 000 died from starvation/flu • Economy ruined • Army weakened • People angry about defeat

What was the Treaty of Versailles’ main terms for Germany? (LAMB)

L‑ Lost 13% land + colonies • A‑ Army limited (100 000 men, no air force, 6 battleships) • M‑ Money: £6.6 b reparations • B‑ Blame: Germany had to accept full blame for war.

What was the Weimar Republic’s new constitution?

Proportional representation (many small parties) • President elected every 7 years • Chancellor led government • President could use emergency powers (Article 48)

Who opposed Weimar from the LEFT?

Spartacists (Communists, led by Liebknecht & Luxemburg) – wanted revolution; failed uprising 1919

Who opposed Weimar from the RIGHT?

Freikorps (ex‑soldiers) + Nazis; Kapp Putsch 1920, Munich Putsch 1923 – tried to seize power by force

What was hyperinflation (1923)?

Germany couldn’t pay reparations • Money lost value rapidly • Prices skyrocketed • Savings became worthless • Middle class hit hardest.

How did Stresemann improve Germany 1924‑29?

Ended hyperinflation (new Rentenmark currency) • Dawes Plan (US loans) • Reduced reparations burden • Better foreign relations (League of Nations) → “Golden Years” of Weimar

(Rise & Consolidation of the Nazis 1929‑1934) Why did Nazi support grow after 1929?

Wall Street Crash → Great Depression • Unemployment soared (6 million by 1932) • People angry at Weimar • Fear of Communism • Nazi propaganda & violence.

What was the Munich Putsch (1923)?

Hitler’s failed attempt to seize power • Arrested & jailed • Wrote Mein Kampf in prison → switched to legal election strategy

Why did people vote for the Nazis?

Promises: end reparations, jobs, “bread & work”, reverse Versailles • Strong propaganda • Blamed Jews & Communists for problems • Fear of Communist revolution.

How did Hitler become Chancellor (Jan 1933)?

Nazis largest party in Reichstag • Hindenburg & von Papen thought they could control Hitler • Appointed him Chancellor

What steps did Hitler take to become dictator (1933‑34)?

Reichstag Fire → blamed Communists • Enabling Act (give emergency power) • Ban other parties • Night of the Long Knives (kill SA leadership) • Hindenburg dies → Hitler = Führer

How did Nazis control Germany? (Terror + Propaganda)

Terror: Gestapo, SS, concentration camps, no fair trials • Propaganda: Goebbels controlled media, rallies, radio • Censorship of opposing ideas.

(WWII & Persecution 1939‑1945) What was life like in Germany during WWII?

Rationing of food/clothes • Bombing of cities (e.g. Dresden) • Men conscripted; women & children worked • Shortages grew as war went badly.

What was Nazi policy towards Jews & minorities?

Persecution → ghettos → Final Solution (systematic mass murder) • 6 million Jews killed + Roma, disabled, LGBTQ+, political opponents

What was the Final Solution?

Nazi plan to murder all European Jews • Mass shootings first → then death camps (Auschwitz) for industrial‑scale killing

What happened when Germany lost WWII?

Hitler committed suicide • Germany surrendered • Cities destroyed • Millions dead • Nuremberg Trials (Nazi leaders punished for war crimes)

(Divided Germany 1949‑1991) How was Germany divided after WWII?

Split into 4 Allied zones → 2 countries: West Germany (FRG, US ‘Franklin Roosevelt’ /UK ‘Winston Churchill’/France) & East Germany (GDR, USSR ‘Joseph Stalin’) • Berlin also split to East and West Berlin

What was the “Economic Miracle” in West Germany?

Led by Adenauer + Erhard • Marshall Plan (US aid) • Industrial growth, high employment, rising living standards • Capitalist, free‑market economy.

What was life like in East Germany (GDR)?

Communist state (Ulbrecht → Honecker) • State‑owned farms & factories • Stasi secret police (surveillance, repression) • Shortages, less consumer goods • Many fled to West for a better life.

What was the Berlin Blockade & Airlift (1948‑49)?

USSR blocked West Berlin supply routes • Allies flew in food/supplies for 11 months • USSR lifted blockade → Cold War tension grew.

Why was the Berlin Wall built (1961)?

Too many East Germans escaping to West Berlin • Wall + “Death Strip” to stop emigration • Symbol of Cold War division.

When & why did East Germany / Berlin Wall fall?

1989: Protests in Eastern Europe + East Germany • Border opened → Berlin Wall fell • Germany reunified 1990