History- Germany Post WW1-Pre Nazi Control

How did Ebert maintain stability and set up the Weimar Republic

(5 actions)

Agreement with General Groener- army works with government to keep communists under control
Armistice to end WW1 and accepted TOV
Promised no nationalisation of private industry to keep leaders happy
Promised 8-hour working days to trade unions
6 politicians formed Council of People’s Representatives to prevent anarchy and takeovers

What were the main terms of the Treaty of Versailles? (4 Aspects)

War Guilt Clause- Germany takes all blame for starting war
Reparations- £6.6 billion had to be paid
Territory- Lost 11 colonies and 13% of land,
Army- Limited to 100k soldiers

Why was the TOV so unpopular?

Diktat- Germans assumed Germany would negotiate terms of TOV but couldn’t, forced to agree every term which caused opposition

Dolchstoss- Germans didn’t believe the army lost in war, Critics said army was betrayed by government for accepting terms, even Chancellor of Weimar claimed the army didn’t lose

What was the Spartacist Revolt

Left-wing uprising in Jan 1919 which backed the KPD and were a communist militia
Called for an uprising and 100k workers took part
Seized government newspaper and telephone leader

Freikorps attacked the workers who had no weapons
Leaders eventually killed by the Freikorps which ended the uprising

What was the Kapp Putsch 1920

Freikorp units near Berlin would lose their job due to being disbanded so they rebelled
Ebert ordered General Seecht to resist but he refused
Rebels controlled the city and put Wolfgang Kapp (Nationalist Politician) as figurehead leader

Government fled to Stuttgart as they feared for their lives
Many workers went on strike
Essential services- gas, electricity, water and transport stopped so capital came to a halt

Wolfgang Kapp realised he couldn’t govern and fled and died in prison

How did Hyperinflation occur?

Germany failed to send sufficient coal to France due to the TOV so the French occupied the Ruhr
Led to significant economic decline as 80% of German coal, iron and steel reserves were there
Increased debts, unemployment and shortage of goods led to inflation
Government printed more money in 1923 which made inflation worse.
Printed even more money to combat inflation which rose prices again- cycle continued

Effects of hyperinflation (3 effects)

Constantly worsening economy- Workers had to leave during working hours to spend their income

Worthless income- People had to carry bundles of money in baskets to buy one thing

Food shortages- Imports dried up as foreign suppliers refused to sell Germany goods due to worthless money

What was Stresemann’s foreign policies

Accepted into league of nations- solve international disputes peacefully without war

Locarno Pact- Treaty between France, Italy, Belgium, Britain and Germany.
On equal terms with powers, Germany accepted 1918 borders
Rhineland permanently demilitarised

Impact of Stresemann’s foreign policies (3)

Support for moderate parties rose and Weimar more stable
No political figures assassinated between 1924-29
Support for extremist parties fell

What was Stresseman’s economic policies

Rentenmark- Rentenbank (state-owned bank) issued a new currency and value tied to gold so had real value. Trusted at home and abroad which ended hyperinflation

Dawes plan, 1924- Reparations reduced to £50 million a year, US gave loan to German industry ($25 billion in 1924-30). French left the Ruhr, increased employment, trade and income

Young Plan, 1929- Reparations reduced from £6.6 billion to £2 billion, led to lower taxes, Reparation paying time extended to 1988

What were the changes to living standards in the years 1924-29
(4 areas)

Wages- Length of working week shortened and 10% increase in real wages
Employment- only 1.3 million in 1928 compared to 40% of workforce in 1924
Unemployment insurance- workers charged 3% of wages but received average of 60 marks a week when out of work
Housing- 2 million new houses built, 200k renovated, 33% increased spending on housing

What were the basis of of Nazi ideology (6 ideals)

Lebensraum- Need for living space so German nation can expand
Strong Germany- TOV abolished and all German-speaking people united
Fuhrer- single leader with complete power rather than democracy
Social Darwinism- Superior Aryan race and Jews subhuman
Autarky- Germany should be economically self-sufficient
Germany in danger- Communists and Jews must be destroyed

Summarise The Munich Putsch

Hitler, General Ludendorf along with 600 SA members in 8th Nov 1923
Burst into a meeting, demanding support for the Putsch at gunpoint
Take control out of Weimar as it was socially and economically crippled

Consequences of the Munich Putsch

Got Nazi views out to a wider audience
Only served 9 months in prison despite being sentenced 5 years
Rethought strategy and wrote Mein Kampf

Hitler got arrested and found guilty of treason

How did Hitler develop the Nazi Party in 1920s

Personal appeal- Very good public speaking skills, Membership grew from 1000 in June 1920

Party leadership- surrounded himself with supporters, powerful friends such as General Ludendorf

SA- Formed from unemployed, ex-soldiers, students or demobilised soldiers. Paraded in streets to show force and impressed people, subdued all opposition

How was the Nazi Party organised

Different Departments- Treasury, Foreign affairs etc.
Membership- Youth and women memberships, national party
Individuals- Himmler (SS leader), Goebbels (Propaganda), Ernst Rohm (Leader of SA)

Why did Nazi votes decline in 1928

Votes went from 6.5% in May 1924 to 2.6% in 1928

Stressmann’s economic and foreign policies improved conditions
People didn’t want change
Economy boomed and people were comfortable so didn’t turn to extremes

How did the Wall Street Crash impact Germany? (4 Ways)

Unemployment- business make less money so fire workers, led to less sales which decreased employment even more

Taxes- Taxes raised to pay unemployment benefits but benefits were cut

Savings- People who had savings invested in shares which crashed, leaving no savings

Homelessness- Many people couldn’t afford housing so many makeshift houses popped up. 24% increase in theft

How did they try to fix the Wall Street crisis and why did it fail

Bruning proposed higher taxes but a fixed time limit on unemployment benefits

Left wing opposed reduced benefits and right wing opposed higher taxes
Used article 48 to forcefully pass laws which made people less faithful in Weimar as not what people wanted

Why did the Wall Street Crash push people towards extremism?

Communism- People saw them as only party who would defend their jobs and wages (votes grew from 10% to 15% between 1928-32)

Nazis- Communism feared by German upper and middle classes as they’d seize land and companies
Nazis grew as Hitler opposed communism

Why did people support the Nazis? (5 groups)

Appeal of Hitler- People saw Weimar as weak but Hitler as someone who could restore order. SA made them seem organised and reliable

Farmers and Businesses - Hoped Hitler would protect them from Communist Party who would confiscate their land (had 60% of votes in rural areas)

Women- Women would play a traditional role in society so NSDAP would be best for families

Young People- saw rallies as exciting due to the colours and atmosphere, speeches were stirring and promised a lot

Middle class- Saw Hitler as a leader who would help country recover, protect them from communism, wanted a traditional Germany

How did Hitler become Chancellor?

Hindenburg- A monarchist who forcefully passed laws using article 48, No public faith and weakened the Reichstag, leaving Hitler to exploit it

Von Papen and Schleicher- Right wing conservatives who wanted to move towards a “stronger” government controlled by industrialists and land owners. Used German Army rather than Reichstag to keep power, undermining the Weimar Republic

All 3 underestimated Hitler and believed they could bring Hitler and Nazis into power and control them to win the people over as Nazis had a lot of support

Summarise the Reichstag Fire

Feb 27th 1933- Reichstag building burnt down by a communist Marinus Van der Lubbe. Executed but Hitler claimed it was part of a communist conspiracy

Arrested 4000 communists and Hitler gave himself power to imprison political opponents and ban communist newspapers. Had 2/3 of seats in the Reichstag in next election

Summarise the Enabling Act

March 1933- act designed to destroy power of Reichstag. Laws only proposed by Hitler and overrule Weimar. Used Nazi stormtroopers to pressure opposition into signing

Hitler now make his own laws and ended the democratic rule

Summarise the Night of the Long Knives

Hitler worried Ernst Rohm would challenge for power. Arranged a meeting with Rohm and SA leaders but proceeded to arrest, imprison and shoot them. 800 political figures assassinated

Hitler now had full control of the SA and had no worries about others trying to seize power

Summarise the death of Hindenburg and how it helped Hitler

Died 2nd August 1934. Hitler declared himself Fuhrer and now had Chancellor and Presidential powers.
Forced oath of loyalty from every soldier in the army
Hitler had 90% of votes in favour of him being Fuhrer