Studied by 8 people
the weimar republic (1919-1933)
a democracy created after WWI after kaizer wilhelm fled to the netherlands
how did germans feel about the weimar republic?
forced upon them by the victors of wwi, they werent used to democracy and struggled to trust its authority
were there attempts to overthrow the weimar republic?
yes, by the communists in 1919 and by the naziâs in 1920 and 1923
what were the two competing sociocultural moods in post wwi germany?
excitement/creativity and anxiety/fear
what was the excitement/creativity in post wwi germany based on?
newly permitted freedom of expression in art, music, dance and womens roles which caused experimentation and creativity to flourish
what was the anxiety/fear in post wwi germany based on?
the changes in pace made people uneasy and sparked backlash, and there was a fear of the spread of communism
what was the main economic problem in weimar in the 1920s?
hyperinflation from printing too much money to pay for its debts from the treaty of versailles, cost of living grew and the marks became worthless
what was the main economic problem in weimar in the 1930s
the great depression! hit germans particularly hard
what were the results of the great depression?
unemployment, poverty, homelessness and starvation grew (esp in vulnurable groups)
how did the depression and economic problems make germans feel abouT the government? what were the consequences of that?
they were disillusioned with the governmentâs inability to fix their problems so they turned to radical, anti-democracy parties like the nazis
what were politics like in the weimar republic?
coalition govs were common and shaky, with parties across the poltical spectrum clashing violently
what rumors spread about the end of wwi?
that there had been back stabbers that beytrayed germany, causing their loss
what did the backstabber rumors evoke in the population (esp war veterans)?
anger and bitterness
which groups were painted as backstabbers?
soc dems. catholic central party (coalition at the time), socialists jews
what were the terms placed on germany in the treaty of versailles (1919)?
war guilt claus
reduced army and navy
territory and nat ressources taken away
had to pay allied countries for all their losses from the war
how did the treaty of versailles make germans feel? what were the consequenses of those feelings?
made the feel bitter, whoch was used to rally public support of the nazis
how/why was hitler appointed german chancellor (jan 1933)?
almost won the election, had a lot of public support, so hindenburg appointed him
how did hitler destroy the weimar republic in 1933?
manipulated his way into power after winning the parliament (reichstag), then enacting emergency powers
When did jews get legal equality in germany? were they fully equal?
1871, no, they were the âotherâ group and were often scapegoats for germanyâs problems (ex: loss of wwi)
how did the nazis legitimize antisemitsm through science?
claim that we are members of a seperate, inferior race (through social darwinism/eugenics)
social darwinism
weaker species die out and are replaced by, or make room for, superior species
how is antisemitsm historically grounded in christanity?
myth that jews killed jesus
eugenics (âwell bornâ)
using pseudoscience to improve the human race by breeding the âbestâ with the âbestâ and preventing the âworstâ from breeding at all (ex: âracial purintyâ)
forms of antisemitism in nazi germany
rallies, community warnings (ex: no jew allowed), carninvals, forced marches with antisemetic signs, violence, taught in schools and families
kristallnacht
many synagoges, buissnesses, and homes were vandalized, set on fire and destroyed
Einsatzgruppen
the mobile killing squads that were tasked with shooting jews when the nazis invaded the soviet union
why were the einsatzgruppen created?
the nazis did not want to go to the trouble of creating ghettos to seperate jews from gentiles like they did in poland, so they decided to just kill all of them
when did the systematic killing of jews by the nazis begin?
june 1941, with the german invaision of the soviet union
what was the âfinal solution to the jewish problemâ?
eliminate all of european jewry
what was the âjewish problemâ in the first place?
the nazis wanted a jew free state, but they were taking over territory that a lot of jews lived in, so they had to find a way to get rid of them
why did the nazis switch from using the einsatzgruppen to gassing people?
it was more efficient to gas people (cheaper, could bring the victims to the killers instead of chasing them, more impersonal, etc)
Zyklon B
the insecticide the nazis used in the gas chambers, first tested on soviet POWs
wannsee conference (jan 20 1942)
a conference attended by highranking nazis and members of german society to disscuss and plan the final solution, based on the plans/trials that had already started (feasibility of things like gassings and the camps, etc)
why was the wansee conference a big turning point?
after it we start to see the building of death camps ramp up (treblinka and sobibor), gassings begin to be used more and more, deportations to death camps begin (by the end of 1942: 4 mil jews had been killed)
how did antisemitism change in the 19th century?
the emergence of the myth of global conspiracy and the idea that jews are a seperate, inferior race
first period of anti-jewish nazi policy (1933-1934)
boycotts against jews, civil service law that fired jews from government jobs, book burnings, segregation in general
second period of anti-jewish nazi policy (1935-1936)
nuremberg laws, jews no longer citizens
third period of anti-jewish nazi policy (1931-1939)
increasing anti-jewish violence, confiscating of jewish property, forbbiding jews from business, kristallnacht
what was the attitude towards jewish people in canada before the war?
very antisemetic, did not want to accept jewish refugees and did not want the jews already in canada to be here
what did the jewish community in canada do in response to the emergence of the nazis in europe?
organized rallies and protests to warn about what was happening, public campaigns against antisemitism
what was canadia immigration policy re jews like in the 20s onwards?
antisemetic, all jews had to get special permits from the cabinet to enter canada
ms st. louis
boat full of jews fleeing europe, went from contry to contry hoping one would let them in, no one did, had to go back to europe, many later perished in the holocaust
evian conference
conference about the growing numbers of refugees and what the intnl community could do to help, canada only attended to look good
children in vichy, france
orphans in french internment camps whose parents had been deported to eastern european camps, avocacy groups pushed for canada to accept them as refugees, they said they would accept max 1000, didnt end up happening, many of the children were deported to auschwitz
open ghetto
without walls or barbed wire keeping them in
closed ghetto
with walls or barbed wire keeping them in, sometimes children would slip through the wall to smuggle stuff
destruction ghettos
tightly sealed off and existed for between two and six weeks before the Germans deported or shot the Jewish population concentrated in them.
The Jewish Councils (JudenrÀte)
responsible for managing the ghettos and deportations, some members obeyed nazi orders and others resisted
what happened to most of the jews in ghettos
Ghetto residents were shot or deported to death camps (small minority of Jews deported to labor camps)
non-jewish victim groups
the roma/sinti, homosexuals, jehovahâs witnesses, africans, political prisoners, poles, POWs, disabled people
why were the roma/sinti targeted
because they weâre seen as impure because they mingled with other races, they were often kept seperate from other prisoners
why were homosexuals targeted
seen as âracial dangersâ and socially aberant
why were political prisoners targeted
they opposed the nazi worldview and acted as resisters
why were poles targeted
nazis thought they were racially inferior
kindertransport (1938-40)
transport of jewish children out of nazi-occupied europe into great-britain
partisans
groups of jewish people who got away from the naziâs, hid in forests, and did anti-nazi actions (guerilla warfare and saving/hiding jews from the camps)
dutch resistance
network of people hiding, feeding, clothing, and fostering jewish children, also did strickes against nazi deportations
warsaw ghetto uprising (1943)
700 jewish men and boys got arms from the underground polish resistance and started to fight to take back the ghetto (7000 died, and deportations only stopped for a month)
auschwitz - birkenau uprising
women smuggled gunpower in from kanada and blew up 4 creamatoria chambers and ovens (they were later hung)
hitler plot/operation valkyrie
plot to blow hitler up, take over the government, arrest all the ss and end the war (conspirators later killed)
which contries took responsability to prosecute nazis at the nuremburg trial?
France, GB, US, and the soviet union
why was the nuremburg trial so important?
it set the basis for later international trials of genocide/crimes against humanity (ex: rwandan genocide) and showed the world what had actually happened in occupied europe during the holocaust
what were the charges laid against the naziâs during the nuremburg trials?
planning to commit agressive war
waging agressive warfare/crimes agaisnt the peace
war crimes
crimes agaisnt humanity
in what way was the nuremburg trial the first of its kind?
first time crimes agaisnt humanity had been prosecuted for, framework for the current international justice system
how many nazi offical were on trial during the nuremburg trial? what happened to the majority of them
22, sentenced to hang or time in prison (only 3 aquitted)
how did all the nazi officials at the nuremburg trials pleade?
no guilty
what were the arguments nazis used to defend their ânot guiltyâ pleas?
they were just following orders from higher ups
the court didnt have proper jurisdiction/the charges has beencreated post-war, so they werenât doing anything wrong at the time
how did hannah arendt view eichmann?
a nobody, someone who didnt think and just followed orders, mediorcre
banality of evil
greatest evils committed by nobodies (beuraucrats, pencil pushers, etc) who canât/wonât think for themselves
why was hannah arendt so controversial?
though she was defending the nazis and that she blamed the victims
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