AP Euro 8.2 Quiz

YOU GOT THIS GIRL

Explain why the Weimar Republic was flawed from its inception

• Founding coalition parties (Social Democratic Party, the Christian Center, German Democratic Party) - no party had a clear majority

• Article 47: “fatal virus” of Weimar constitution, allowed the president to suspend civil liberties in times of state emergency

Communists (KPD)

• Non-democratic

• 1919

• Rejected legitimacy of Weimar Republic

• Supported by factor workers, urban unemployed

• Had support of Stalin

• Advanced violent tactics to bring down Weimar Republic

Socialist Democratic Party (SPD)

• Democratic

• Founded in 19th century

• Germany’s largest population until 1932

• Consisted mostly of industrial working class

• Wanted more “economic democracy”

• Rejected the violent, revolutionary tactics supported by Communists

Christian Center Party (Zentrum)

• Democratic

• 19th century

• Wanted to protect Catholic religion from gov interference

• Held traditional, family oriented values

• Suspicious of Marxism and wanted to keep SPD out of gov

National Socialist Germany Worker’s Party (Nazis)

• Non democratic

• 1920

• Rejected Treaty of Versailles

• Extreme nationalists

• Anti-Semitic

• Supported by Protestants, lower socio-economic class, small businessmen, and farmers

Causes of post-war bitterness

Dolchstoss: stab in the back

• leaders like Erich von Lidendoff and Paul von Hindenburg put idea that Weimar government betrayed German armed forces of World War I.

Effects of post-war bitterness

• Freikorps": organized groups of former soldiers who returned to high unemployment rates - carried out violence

• Walther Rathenau: Foreign minister, helped boost post-war economic recovery, assassinated by Organization Consul

Hyperinflation causes

• Printing too much money to make reparation payments

Hyperinflation effects

• Used bills to fuel homes with heat

• Entire year’s pension could be spent on loaf of bread and jar of jam

Occupation of the Ruhr (1923)

French troops move into Ruhr valley and seize control of heavy industry and coal mines

• Germans refused to sell goods to France and Belgium

How did Hitler rise to power

by exploiting Germany's post-WWI economic distress, widespread humiliation over the Treaty of Versailles, and political instability during the Great Depression.

Beer Hall Putsch

Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party sought to overthrow the democratic Weimar Republic, prompted by extreme economic instability, hyperinflation, and fury over the Treaty of Versailles

Mein Kampf

The book outlines many of Hitler's political beliefs, his political ideology, and his future plans for Germany and the world

Lebensraum

core Nazi ideological principle justifying German territorial expansion to secure resources and land for the "Aryan" race, resulting in the forced displacement, extermination, or enslavement of indigenous Slavic populations

Dawes Plan

Germany will receive loans from US, repay Allies at a lower rate, Allies will be able to repay US with money from German reparations

Significance of Dawes Plan

Allowed German economy to recover

Impact of Dawes Plan on Weimar culture

• Increased money funded public facilities

• fueled a cultural explosion

• rapid growth in jazz and cinema

• More artistic freedom

The Lost Generation

Young people defied the traditions that defined previous European generations (Lost Generation). Faith in objective knowledge was questioned

Changing societal norms for women

• Involved in military and political mobilization and economic production

• Flappers disregarded traditional norms of female societal expectations

Causes of the Great Depression

• WW I debt

• nationalistic tariff policies

• overproduction of consumer goods

• depreciated currencies

• disrupted trade patterns

• speculation on the stock markets

Effects/Significance of the Great Depression

• Sig: authoritarian political movements in Europe saw this as an opportunity to capitalize on the “failure” of representative democracies and the desperation of people who need to provide for their families.

• Keynesian economics: Increase government spending to stimulate consumer spending and reduce unemployment

Why did political conservatives not like the Weimar culture

Felt that “loose morals” of jazz age were competing traditional family values

Describe why the founding coalition of the Weimar collapsed and the response to it (How did it lead to rise of Nazi party)

SPD refused to form a government with Christian center party

CCP turned to Nazis in order to form a government under a parliamentary sytsem

Role of political violence and unemployment in Reichstag elections

Unemployment - 30%

Political violence escalated

Promises from Nazis

• strong leadership

• rejection of TOV

• Rebuild German armed forces

• expand German territory

• elimination of non-Aryans

Why was this election a turning point for Nazis

They gained 37% of the vote, the largest share for any party under Weimar government. Weimar government feared the influence of Nazis and Hindenburg invites Hitler to be the Chancellor of the Republic

Reichstag Fire

Hitler blames KPD for fire but it was really Nazis

exercise of Article 48

Hitler exercises this which enables him to declare emergency powers and suspended political rights in all of Germany

1933 Law on Chancellor’s Power

law passed that Hitler’s cabinet to enact laws without parliament of president

Effects of Hitler as Chancellor

All political opposition was outlawed

Nazi ideology ingrained into all parts of society and culture

Hindenburg dies, Hitler declares himself Fuhrer

Totalitarianism

state has control over politics, society, and culture through mass mobilization of political patron

Dictatorship

Seeks political control over state

Fascism

Far-right, authoritarian methodology that typically combines matters of business and state under the leadership of a nationalist dictator

Factors that led to rise of fascism and totalitarianism

• Post war bitterness

• Rise of communism

• Uncertain transitions to democracy

• Economic instability

Characteristics of Fascism

Dislike of trade unions and workers movements

Racism

“Civic religion” or “Cult of personality”

• Eliminated distinction between private and public life

• “New Man” = one who served their nation

• Emphasized youth, energy, Social Darwinism

Futurism

Artistic movement and intellectual philosophy that emphasized

• Machines, industry, speed

• Youth

• Violence

• Newness and modernity

• Humanity conquered nature with tech

Mussolini

• Second Duce = The Leader

• Defender of “law and order” vs socialist commies

• 1st leader in modern history to use modern communication techniques

• Used “black shirts” to attack people who disagreed with him

• “New Italian Woman” = Female who served state through motherhood

Adolf Hitler

• Fuhrer

• Used Gestapo

• Hitler Youth

• stimulated economy

• Women encouraged to adopt traditional notions of motherhood and femininity

• Eliminated art and replaced it with propaganda

Joseph Stalin

• Purges - The Great Terror

• NKVD (Secret police)

• Show trials

• Gulags

• Five Year Plans (forced requisitioning of grain from peasants and peasants forced to move into cities to work as industrial laborers)

• Art portrayed equalitarian society

Francisco Franco

• Unified the Nationalist forces under his command through the Falage (Spain’s fascist party)

• His rule included the wealthy, the army and the CC (in opposition to Italian’s fascists or Nazi Party)

Effects/Significance of Spanish Civil War

• Testing ground for conflict and technology in WWII

• Up to 1 million people may have died

• Those supporting the Republic saw themselves as fighting right wing fascism

• 20,000 Britons, Irish, and Germans joined the Nationalist forces

• Town of Guernica bombed killing mostly civilians

Causes of WWII

• Extreme nationalism

• Racist ideologies

• Re-armament and territorial expansion of fascist states due to French and British fears of another war, Smerican isolationism, and distrust between democratic, capitalist nations and the authoritarian, commie SU

• Failure of appeasement

• Munich Agreement: Chamberlain meets with Hitler and tells European allies that they will let Hitler have the Sudetenland in order to avoid war

August 1939: Nazi-Soviet Non-Aggression Pact

• No attacking each other

• Allowed spheres of influence dividing up Poland

September 1939: The Nazis and Soviets Invade Poland

France and Great Britain declare war on Germany

May 1940: The Phony War Ends

Hitler had postponed his invasion of WE, invades Denmark and Norway, Churchill becomes PM of GB

June 1940: Dunkirk

Civilian and merchant ships rescue 340,000 troops, France falls to the Nazis

July-October 1940: The Battle of Britain

• Blitz

• British held out and didn’t surrender, used new tech to combat Nazis → Hitler dropped plan to invade

June 1941: Operation Barbarossa

• AH invades SU, Siege of Leningrad lasted 900 days and killed 1.5 million people due to starvation

• Soviets held out, shifted their alliance to allies

December 1941: The Attack at Pearl Harbor

• Japan attack on US Pacific fleet drags US into war

1942: Final Solution

“new racial order,” Jews, handicapped, LGBTQ, and alcoholics were subject to imprisonment

1943: Tehran Conference

Big three meet to discuss plans for post-war Europe, Stalin wants previous borders

More 1943

Resistance to Nazis spread with help of Charles de Gaulle and Winston Churchill

June 1944; D-Day (The Landing at Normandy)

Largest seaborne invasion in history, began the liberation of France

1945: Yalta Conference

Meeting of Big Three , Roosevelt pushes for creation of UN

April 1945: Soviet Troops arrived in Berlin

• Hitler khs, Germans surrender May 8

August 1945

Americans drop atomic bomb in Hiroshima and Nayasaki, ending the war in Pacific

Effects of WWII

• Technology and innovations

  • Blitzkrieg provided early victories for Axis

  • military tech made industrialized warfare, genocide, nuclear proliferation and the risk of global nuclear war ever present in modern warfare

• Allies won due to:

  • American and British advances in tech

  • Cooperative effort under leaders like Churchill and civilian resistance

  • All out commitment of Soviets

The Holocaust

• Millions of Jews and other groups deemed unacceptable by “Aryan” Nazi racial standards were killed

• Concentration Camps

• Those who survived camps and led to refugee crisis out of EE

• Nearly all of Europe’s population was decimated ant the pre-war class hierarchies were undermined