Germany Perspectives - Paper 2

Geary on the significance of war for the collapse of Weimar

‘No one in their right mind would claim that the terms of the Treaty of Versailles did not play a major role in the collapse of the Weimar Repblic

Thurlow on the significance of war for the rise of the Nazis

The First World War created the necessary conditions to enable the rise of Nazism

Lynch on the weakness of the Weimar Republic

The Weimar Constitution had ‘serious weaknesses’ which undermined it ‘from its beginning’

Salmon on the significance of politicians in the Nazis rise to power

Nazism came to power as a result of a miscalculation by conservative politicians and the military

Kershaw on the significance of politicians in the Nazi’s rise to powe

The handover of power to Hitler on 30th January 1933 … did not have to happen. It was at no stage a foregone conclusion.

Feuchtwanger on the significance of Hitler’s appeal

The personality of the Fuhrer became a significant historical factor

Holborn on the significance of Nazi ideology

Nazi ideology was consistent and continuous and this made it central to Hitler’s rise to power

Hite/Hinton on the use of force in the Nazi’s rise to power

The use of force (in particular the SA) ‘played a major role in Hitler’s success’

O’Shaugnessy on the significance of propaganda

Hitler’s use of Propaganda to shape public opinion was integral to his rise to power

Peterson on the universal appeal of the Nazis

The Nazis enjoyed a degree of success in crossing class, regional, confessional, gender and age barriers which was unprecedented in German history

Kolb on the appeal of the Nazis

The lack of popular support for democracy was more significant than the constitutional issues

Carr on the significance of economic factors

It is inconceivable that Hitler could ever have come to power had not the Weimar Republic been subjected to the unprecedented strain of a world economic crisis

Brunstein on the significance of economic factors

Too much stress is placed on emotions / propaganda - Germans voted Nazi for rational economic reasons