AQA GCSE History

Germany at end of WW1

• huge debt

• huge loss of life (and workforce)

• widespread food shortages and hunger due to blocked trade routes

• general unrest - multiple riots & protests - fear or Communist revolution

• Navy rebellions & mutiny

Start of Weimar Republic

• Kaiser resigned Nov 1918

• SDP forms a Republic and calls for calm

• 1st Chancellor - Frederick Ebert

• Formed new Reichstag and avoided revolution

Signing of the Armistice

• 11/11/1918

• seen as betrayal of the German people

• Betrayal because Germany didn’t lose in battle

• “November Criminals”

• Dolchstoss - stab in the back theory - Weimar had betrayed the German people

Ebert’s actions to keep peace

• kept all existing civil servants so public services continued as normal

• communication with leaders of military, industry and trade unions - kept peace & they supported Weimar.

Reichstag elections

• Elections held ASAP

• Democratic - everyone over 20 could vote

• Huge turnout & success - SDP majority

• Reichstage to be elcted every 4 years

Role of the President

• Head of state

• Elected every 7 years

• In charge of military

• Chose the Chancellor

• no role in everyday politics

Role of the Chancellor

• head of government & led the Reichstag

• Chose the cabinet

Strengths of Weimar Constitution

• Very democratic - everyone over 20 could vote - unique in Europe

• Provided balance - proportional representation meant everyone had a part

• Local government to control local issues

Weaknesses of Weimar Constitution

• Unlikely to be a majority due to PR - coalitions formed and often fell apart

• difficult to pass laws quickly & hard to make urgent decisions

• Extremist parties allowed in the Reichstag

• People felt the government was too split up

Article 48

Gave the chancellor power during times of national emergency to pass laws quickly.

Treaty of Versailles

• 28th June 1919

• Terms decided by the Big Three

• Germany had no part in negotiations and were forced to sign on threat of invasion

Treaty of Versailles Terms

• Land - Poland taken from Germany, Loss of lots of land to the Allies

• Army - limited to 100,000 men, 6 battleships, no airforce

• Money - ordered to pay £6.6 billion in reparations to Allies

• Blame - forced to accept all blame for WW1 losses and damages

Article 231

“War Guilt” clause - Germany forced to accept all blame for WW1 losses and damages

Response to Treaty of Versailles

• Hugely unpopular - Weimar blamed and hated for signing

• Many Germans lost citizenship due to land loss

• Humiliation - Article 231

• Vulnerability - military loss - people felt vulnerable to invasion

• Huge economic issues due to reparations debt

Sparticists Uprising

• January 1919

• Left wing, communist

• Rosa Luxembourg & Karl Liebnecht

• Armed protest, protesting Weimar govt

• Weimar ordered the Freikorps to put it down - 100 murdered including leaders

• Made Communists hate SDP

Kapp Putsch

• March 1920

• Right Wing

• Wolfgang Kapp

• Protesting ToV terms

• Seized Berlin for multiple days

• Weimar called for worker strike to undermine the Putsch

• Strike worked - putsch ended non-violently

Invasion of the Ruhr

• Jan 1923

• Germany missed a payment in coal, French invaded the Ruhr to take the payment

• Weimar called for workers strike

• Couldn’t resist the French as Germany’s military was limited from ToV

• Angered German people and made economic situation worse

Hyperinflation

• Weimar had been printing more money since 1910s

• Eventually the Mark became worthless

• Wages increased but could not keep up with inflation

• Foreign suppliers refused to be paid in marks so foreign imports stopped → mass shortages

Winners in hyperinflation

• People in debt or with mortgages - debt paid off easily

• People who made raw materials e.g farmers - they could charge more for their produce

• People with fixed rent - it became very cheap

Losers in hyperinflation

• People on fixed income

• People with pensions

• Savings became worthless

• Businesses went bust or were sold for very little

Hit the middle class the hardest.

Consequences of Hyperinflation

• showed Weimar as weak

• lost support from the middle class, a huge proportion of their voters

• caused increased support with extremist parties

Economic recovery (Stresemann’s actions)

• set up temporary currency Rentenmark and limited supply to fix inflation

• then set up Reichbank and permanent currency Reichmark

• removed economy from government control & settled hyperinflation

• Dawes Plan 1924 and Young Plan 1929

Dawes Plan

• 1924

• reduced repartions to 1 billion for first year

• then 2.5 billion for 5 years

• reparations to be partly paid by American loans

Young Plan

• 1929

• Permanently reduced reparations to 2.2 billion

• Gave Germany longer to pay - 1988 due date

Economic Recovery positives

Employment and trade increased

More industry

Population happier and trusted Weimar again

Economic Recovery negatives

People who lost savings or businesses didn’t recover

Recovery was fragile as it relied on USA loans

Stresemann Foreign Policy

Improved foreign relations and established Germany as an equal again.

This improved the economy and national pride - decreased extremist support

Locarno Pact

• 1925

• Some European countries including France and UK

• secured borders with France & demilitarized the Rhineland - war with France now unlikely

• Unlike ToV, Germany was involved in negotiations

• Germany becomes part of League of Nations

Kellog-Briand Pact

• 1928

• 61 countries promised to avoid war and promote world peace

• Germany equal in negotiations

Criticisms of Foreign Policy

Extremist parties didn’t support the pacts as neither reversed the ToV or removed reparations.

Golden Age of Weimar

late 1920s

Time of economic prosperity, improved living standard, and cultural change

Golden Age - standard of living

• working hours decreased and wages rose by 25%

• Unemployment & sickness insurance protected people not in work

• New homes built to solve housing crisis

• Pensions for veterans & their families

• 60% more people in higher education

Golden Age - women

• involved in democracy - could vote and stand for election

• allowed to enter any profession

• More part-time jobs were created to support mothers

• In cities, huge partying scene - new, freer fashion, hair, makeup etc

- however, unpopular with some as the birth rate fell & divorce rate rose. Some saw it as women taking men’s jobs

Golden Age - culture

• new expressionist art syle

• freedom of speech in culture - satire was popular

• Weimar funded culture

• Germany world leaders in cinema

-some said this was money wasted

-right-wing saw it as an insult to tradition

Year that the German worker’s party (DAP) was set up in

1919

Original name of the Nazi Party

German worker’s party, the DAP

Founded the Nazi party

Anton Drexler

Year that the 25-point program was released

1920

Month and year that Hitler became leader of the Nazi Party

July 1921

How did Hilter change the name of the party

DAP to NSDAP (Adding National Socialist to the beginning)

Name 4 key points of the 25 point plan

1. Get rid of the Treaty of Versailles.

2. Unification of all German-speaking people in a greater Germany.

3. Revocation of citizenship for other races.

4. Land and territory expansion (Lebensraum)

5. Nationalize industries so they’re under the government’s control

6. Create a strong central government

7. All citizens should have equal rights

8. Build up Germany’s armed forces

When was the SA set up

August 1921

How did the SA strengthen the NSDAP

• Impressing people through power and organization

• Creating fear through violence

• Beating opposition like communists

When was the Munich Putsch launched

8th November 1923

How many years was Hitler sentenced with and how many did he serve

5 years in prison but served 9 months

What year was the ban on the NSDAP lifted and how many seats did they gain that year

1925, 32 seats

When were the lean years, stresseman era and golden years

1924-29

Hitler split Germany into ___ regions known as ___

35 Gaue

Who had become leader of the SA while Hitler was in prison

Ernst Rohm

Head of Nazi propaganda

Josef Goebbels

When was the wall street crash

October 1929

Who was president during the Wall street crash and economic crisis

Paul von Hindenburg

What year was Hitler elected chancellor

1933

List the main 5 international events regarding Germany during the Stresseman era

1924- Dawes plan

1925- Locarno pact

1926- League of nations

1928- Kallogg-Briand pact

1929- The Young Plan

What were 3 important terms of the treaty of Versailles

1. Germany must give up overseas colonies

2. Much of the country’s territory in Europe

How did Hitler create a police state using fear

SS- private police force used in the Night of the Long Knives, In charge of all police and security services so were above the law

SD- Kept card indexes of everyone suspected of opposing the Party at home and abroad

Gestapo- Own clothed police so people cautious of what they said and did as they were being watched, also tapped telephones and intercepted letters to gather info.

Concentration camps- First one opened in Dachau,1933 and ran by SA and SS. Imprisoned opposition, minority groups (Jews), and undesirables (gays and prostitutes)

How did Nazis control the Legal system

Judges had to be part of National Socialist League for Maintenance of Law
Judges decided innocence and punishment (abolished trial by Jury)

Set up People’s court to hear all cases of treason
Judges picked by Hitler
No right to appeal verdict

How did Nazis control the Religion

Catholic church- priests harassed and arrested, Catholic schools and youth activities banned

Protestant Church- Pastors who supported Hitler were allowed to continue, Protected from communism, formed the Reich church

How did Nazis control the Media

Published views the ministry agreed with
Journalists given guidelines to follow
Briefings with government on what you’re allowed to show

Radios broadcasted Nazi propaganda, Hitler often broadcasted himself
Cheap, mass-produced radios given to everyone to hear propaganda
Short range so couldn’t access foreign stations

How did Nazis use rallies and sports to establish control

Rallies held yearly to show unity
Surrounded by spotlights to highlight supporters and Nazi decorations everywhere

Olympic stadium built to hold 110k people and decorated with Nazi propaganda
Hosted Olympics to show German strength internationally

How did the Youth oppose Nazi regime

Edelweiss Pirates- rejected strict control and ideology of Hitler Youth, Distributed anti-nazi propaganda, armed resistance and beat up Hitler Youth on a small scale, 4/10 effectiveness

Swing Youth- Sought to create own cultural space that celebrated freedom, listened to banned music and wore non-conforming clothing, Did very little so 3/10 effectiveness

How did the Church oppose Nazi regime

Pastors Emergency League- Wanted religious freedom and didn’t want Nazis controlling church as they didn’t uphold Christian values.

Confessing Church- Found in 1934 and rejected idea of merging Christianity with Nazi principles. 6/10 effectiveness

Martin Niemoller- Initially supported Hitler but affirmed independence of Church by creating PEL in 1933 and Confessing Church in 1934

What were Nazi policies on appearance for women

Never created legislation that forced them to look certain way but was encouraged
Encouraged modest clothing with hair tied back in plaits or a bun
Discouraged from dyeing hair and wearing makeup

What were Nazi policies on employment for women

Reduced number of women in work by propaganda- tried to persuade women to behave differently and stay at home
Speeches encouraged women to leave work

1933- Women banned from professional posts such as teachers, doctors and civil servants (360k not in work)
1936- Women couldn’t become a judge or lawyer

What were Nazi policies on education for women

Schoolgirls trained for motherhood, not work
Taught housework and other domestic tasks
Grammar schools closed in 1937 which prepared them for university
Number of female students starting higher education dropped from 17k to 6k by 1939

What were Nazi policies on the family for women

Law for encouragement of marriage- Loans up to 1000 marks for young couples to marry if wife stopped work. Every child born meant 250 marks paid off so encouraged childbirth

Lebensborn- Provided nurseries and financial aid for women who had children with SS men. Encouraged breeding with SS men for “genetically pure “children

Mother’s cross- medals given to women for how much children they had. Bronze- 4/5 Silver- 6/7 and Gold- 8+, Hitler Godfather of 10th child

What were Nazi policies on male children

Joined Young Folk at 6 and Hitler Youth at 14
Taught marching, bayonet drill, grenade throwing etc
Designed to mould youth characters, stressing need for comradeship and loyalty
Political training important so they believed in Nazi ideals

Made compulsory joining in 1939

What were Nazi policies on Female children

Joined Young Girls at 10 and League of German maidens at 14
Shown how to be good housewives and mothers through learning household skills
Promoted ideas of keeping Germans pure by only marrying Aryan men

Made compulsory joining in 1939

What was education in Nazi Germany like

Altered to reflect Nazi ideology and aims.
Fitness believed to be vital so students often had 2 hrs a day. Students taught to worship Hitler

Race studies- students learnt Aryan a superior race, “Facts” about how Aryan brains are bigger and how Jews and other races inferior

History- Taught about German victories and heroes, Modern history taught anti-semitism eg. how Jews caused the Wall Street crash

Biology- Learnt about “worthy and unworthy” races, breeding, hereditary diseases, measured if they’re Aryan

How did Nazis deal with unemployment?

Labour Service- Compulsory programs requiring young men to work on public projects. 422k working in 1935

Rearmament- Introduced conscription and established air force. 72K working in aircraft construction in 1935

Public works- Spending increased to 38 billion marks in 1938 (20 bil+), 125k men employed building motorways

Women and Jews forced to give up work so didn’t count as unemployed

How did Living standards improve under Nazis?

+KdF- provided leisure activities for workers so they found work more enjoyable and make nation stronger
+Employment- Most of the working force employed so living standards naturally increased

-Working hours increased to 49 hrs a week from 43
-Prices of goods rose by 20% between 1933-39

How were Jews punished in Nazi Germany

1933- Banned from government jobs and inheriting land and swimming pools
1935- Jews banned from the army
Nuremberg laws 1935- no longer considered German citizens and had to wear yellow star, Forbade German relationships with Jews

Kristallnacht, 9th Nov 1938- Nationwide attack on Jews where property burnt and Jews physically attacked, Police told to do nothing so 191 synagogues, 814 shops, 171 homes destroyed, 100 Jews killed

20k Jews sent to concentration camps and Jews fined 1 billion marks

How were other minority groups treated in Nazi Germany

Slavs- Slavs labelled as Subhuman, Threatened to invade slav countries

Gays- Would be sent to concentration camps if caught, encouraged voluntary castration

Disabled people- Were sterilised if disabled in any way, Disabled children would be killed by starvation or injection

“Gypsies”- Often sent to conc. camps but from 1936, forced to live in special camps which weren’t fit for life, 1938- banned from travelling in groups and had to register as gypsies, 1939- all gypsies deported

What were the studies of Eugenics and Racial Hygiene

Eugenics- Selective breeding, used theory of evolution to produce “better humans”, “Unsuitables” sterilised

Racial Hygiene- Only allowed to breed with those of the same race, Passed laws to prevent mixed-race marriage to keep races pure