Studied by 2 people
October 1918 - Sailors at Kiel refused to attack British navy
this lead to the abdication of the Kaiser in November 1918
some workers had restrictions placed on their wages
factories were exhausted
mutiny was rife across Germany as well as revolutions
food shortages
virtually bankrupt (money to allies, payment for weapons)
divisions in society
politically unstable
Communists- extreme left wing party (individual rights only)
The social Democrats- moderately left wing
The social Democrats- moderately left wing
The centre party- in the middle
German people's party- moderately right wing
The Nationalist Socialist Party- extremely right wing (equality for everyone)
Land (lost 13% of land in Europe)
Army (reduced to 100,000 men and 6 battleships)
Money (debt that they owned was £6.6 billion)
Blame (accepted the blame for causing the war)
an attempted revolution to overthrow the Weimar Republic (extreme left wing group)
lead by Rosa Luxemburg and Karl Liebknecht
took place in Berlin
Chancellor Ebert fired the chief of Berlin and workers protested
They wanted Germany to be run by small councils of soldiers and workers
They took over key buildings: the newspaper and telegraphs offices
some anti-communists formed another group called the Freikorps who fought against the Spartacists
Right wing uprising against Weimar Republic
organised by the Freikorps (ex soldiers) led by Dr Wolfgang Kapp
wanted to make army strong again and take back land that was lost due to the Treaty of Versailles
The Freikorps had grown in power and Ebert lost control of them so decided to disband them (break them up)
the government was saved by the industrial workers of Berlin (they went on strike so the capital came to a halt)
The Weimar Republic asked the public to go on strike. With no power, water or transport services/resources Dr Kapp and rebels fled the country
left wing (socialists/equal rights) workers stayed on strike after the Kapp putsch
took over several towns
government sent soldiers to deal with the rebellion, over 1000 workers were killed
The rapid increase of prises
caused by passive resistance (German workers were refusing help French and Belgian soldiers remove goods from the country however government were paying strikers
prices for a loaf of bread went from 1.5 million marks in sept 1923 to 201 billion marks in nov 1923
Was an armed uprising led by Hitler
aim was to over throw the Weimar republic
night of 8th of November to the morning 9th of November (1923)
Thought Nazi's were strong enough to take over government
Germany was in chaos because of the consequence of hyperinflation
The Weimar republic were weak
Thought it was the right time
It wasn't properly planned
weather conditions were awful
they had no firing pins
created publicity for him
he became a brilliant speaker
Hitler was branded a traitor against the Weimar Republic so was seen as a good person to the people
he had time to reflect when he was in prison
served as chancellor (in charge of major political parties)
foreign minister (in charge of relationships with other countries)
Daw’s law reduced reparations to £2.5B
blamed for loss of money after hyperinflation period
Dawes plan (USA lent money to Germany) people felt like he could have done more to make amends of the repercussions
criticised Stressmann for not demanding back the land lost to the Treaty of Versailles
Cinema (Marlene Dietrich played glamorous, strong-willed women)
nightlife (musicians played vulgar songs about politicians)
Literature
Art and design (avant-garde artists showed the reality of everyday life)
American banks lent huge amounts of money to Germany (creating jobs, better standard of living and more money)
October 1929 a financial crisis hit America ‘Wall street crash’ banks and companies went out of business (people lost their jobs)
Economic (Americans bought German goods like: cars, electrical equipment and clothing however because people couldn’t afford them factories shut down)
US banks demanded money back from Germany which they lent
Political- parties left and right wing promised radical solutions to the problems that faced Germany
communists increased their number of seats (1930)
Social- people were living on the streets jobless, hungry and angry (they blamed political leaders)
The Nazis appealed to a wide variety of people (unemployed, farmers, business owners)
Hitler convinced people with his speeches bringing them hope (took part in rallies and parades)
their structure and their methods
German citizens weren’t content with the Weimar politicians impact (they were doing very little to solve the Depression)
known as storm troopers
protected Hitler’s meetings and influenced the public to vote at elections
Farmers- were promised higher prices for crops and a higher status in society
Middle classes- worried about communists taking over their way of life (SA fought communists)
Women- agreed that Weimar culture has a bad influence on the younger generation
Wealthy classes- Nazis promised strong leadership, plans to build weapons would be good for manufacturing
Youth- they wanted to be part of Germany’s bright future, get jobs in the armed forces and have an impact on rebuilding Germany’s economy
President of the Weimar republic
He died and was replaced by Hitler
was given the role of Chancellor by Hindenburg to prohibit Nazi power
got very few votes in the election so resigned
flags and posters were placed around Germany to boost Nazi votes (Hitler challenged Hindenburg for president)
when von Papen resigned Hitler demanded the job of Chancellor (didn’t get it)
when von Schleicher resigned as chancellor Hindenburg had no choice but to give Hitler the job of Chancellor (1933)
secret police
could arrest people at night
could send people to concentration camps
leader of the SA
Hitler feared he may become too powerful
wanted to combine the SA and the German army
Hitler’s bodyguards
Black uniformed
lead by Heinrich Himmler
30th June 1934
dealt with the problem of Rohm and the SA
location- a hotel in Bavaria (southern Germany)
arrested Rohm and other SA leaders and were shot dead
political opponents were executed
rivals were dead = no threats
rise of the SS formed the basis of the ‘police state
rule of murder- Hitler didn’t hide what he did, he made murder a method of the Nazi government
replaced trade unions
promised to protect workers rights
ran to schemes to improve workers lives the SDA and the KDF
tried to improve workplace
better lighting
safety insured
low cost canteen
reward scheme with cheap holidays to insure hard work was being accomplished
theatre trips
football matches
all men between 18-25 had to spend six months in the RAD
planted trees, mended hedges, dug drainage ditches
wore uniforms and lived in camps, given free meals and a small wage
appointed Minister of Economics
realised the importance of raw materials to create weapons
replaced by Goering
A way of controlling the nation so that people wouldn’t consider challenging the authority of Hitler
SS (brown shirts Hitler’s private bodyguards set up in 1925) started out as a small group but expanded in numbers and became the foundation of the ‘police state’ in the 1930’s
The SA (‘Aryan’ the ideal German: blonde hair, blue eyes, tall)
warned Hitler about Rohm’s plan to unite the SA and the German army to gain power
carried out the ‘night of the long knives’
acted outside of the law
arrested people for no reason or even worse killed them
The Gestapo (the secret police)
would spy on people
listen in to people’s phone calls
arrest and send people off to concentration camps if they criticised the Nazi’s
people lived in fear didn’t know who was a gestapo
Note 
Flashcard (73)