Germany 1890-1945

Key Dates:

  1. Unification of Germany: 1871

  2. Kaiser Wilhelm II Rules: 1888

  3. Naval Law Years: 1898, 1912

  4. Assassination of Franz Ferdinand: 1914

  5. Kaiser Wilhelm II Abdicates: 9 NOV 1918

  6. End of WW1: 11 NOV 1918

  7. Spartacist Uprising: JAN 1919

  8. Treaty of Versailles Signed: 28 JUNE 1919

  9. Kapp Putsch: MARCH 1920

  10. Golden Age of Germany: 1920s

  11. Hyperinflation Crisis Peak: 1923

  12. Munich Putsch & Stresemann as Chancellor: NOV 1923

  13. 25-Point Programme: 1924

  14. Locarno Pact: 1925

  15. Germany in League of Nations: 1926

  16. Kellogg-Briand Pact: 1928

  17. Young Plan, Stresemann Dies, Wall Street Crash: 1929

  18. Nazi Party Becomes Largest Party: JULY 1932

  19. Hitler Becomes Chancellor: 30 JAN 1933

  20. Chamber of Culture Established: MARCH 1933

  21. Reichstag Fire: 27 FEB 1933

  22. Enabling Act: 23 MARCH 1933

  23. Concordat: MARCH 1933

  24. All Parties Banned: 1933

  25. Night of the Long Knives: 30 JUNE 1934

  26. Hitler Becomes Führer: 19 AUG 1934

  27. Conscription Introduced: 1935

  28. Nuremberg Laws: SEPT 1935

  29. Hjalmar Schacht Replaced by Goering & 4-Year Plan: 1936

  30. Kristallnacht: 9 NOV 1938

  31. Hitler Youth Compulsory: 1939

  32. WWII Begins: 1 SEPT 1939

  33. Germany Uses Blitzkrieg & Occupies Eastern Europe: 1940

  34. Invasion of the Soviet Union: 1941

  35. Wannsee Conference: JAN 1942

  36. White Rose Group Formed: JUNE 1942

  37. USA Joins the War: DEC 1942

  38. Scholl Siblings Discovered and Executed: FEB 1943

  39. Soviets Push Nazis Back & War on Two Fronts: 1943

  40. D-Day: JUNE 1944

  41. July Bomb Plot: 20 JULY 1944

  42. Race to Berlin and Hitler's Suicide: APR 1945

Key Stats:

  1. Cost of a Loaf of Bread in NOV 1923: 201BN Marks

  2. German Soldiers Killed During WW1: 2.5MN

  3. War Widows Left in Germany Post-WW1: 600K

  4. Fatherless Children After WW1: 2MN

  5. Daily Caloric Intake Due to Food Shortages Post-WW1: 1000 calories

  6. Chancellors' Needed Support (%): 51%

  7. Voting Rights in Weimar Republic: Men and Women over 20

  8. Army Restriction After Treaty of Versailles: 100K soldiers

  9. Battle Ships Restriction: 6

  10. People Protesting the Treaty of Versailles: 100K

  11. Territory Lost After Treaty of Versailles: 10%

  12. Population Lost After Treaty of Versailles: 12.5%

  13. Reparation Costs: £6.6BN

  14. Nazis Killed in Munich Putsch: 16

  15. Hitler's Sentence After Munich Putsch: 5 years

  16. Months Served by Hitler: 9 months

  17. Nazi Seats in 1928: 12

  18. Nazi Seats in 1930: 107

  19. Nazi Seats in July 1932: 230

  20. Nazi Seats in Nov 1932: 196

  21. Nazi Seats in March 1933: 288

  22. Executions During Night of Long Knives: 400

  23. SA Members in 1934: 2MN

  24. Communists Imprisoned After Reichstag Fire: 4K

  25. Unemployment (1933 to 1939): 6.1MN to 0.4MN

  26. Public Work Schemes: Created jobs for 100K people and built 3800km of roads

  27. Volkswagen Purchase Plan: 750 weeks

  28. Hitler Youth Members in 1939: 7MN

  29. Jewish Lecturers Sacked (1933-1934): 15%

  30. Birth Rate from 1933: 2MN to <1MN

  31. Lebensborn Children: 8000

  32. German Women's League Members in 1939: 1.7MN

  33. Birthrate in 1939: 1.4MN

  34. Paintings Burnt: 5000

  35. Civilians Died in Bombing Raids: 500K

  36. Deaths in One Night in Hamburg: 20K

  37. Meat Rations (1939-1945): 750g to 250g

  38. Attempts on Hitler’s Life: 50

  39. People Killed in Retaliation to July Bomb Plot: 5000

  40. Jewish Shops Attacked During Kristallnacht: 10K

  41. Jews Killed During Kristallnacht: 100

  42. Jews Sent to Camps During Kristallnacht: 20K

  43. Synagogues Burnt During Kristallnacht: 200

  44. Disabled Sterilized: 350K

  45. Disabled Killed: 200K

  46. Tramps, Beggars, and Alcoholics Deported: 500K

  47. Overall Jewish Deaths During Holocaust: 6MN

  48. Fraction of Jews Killed by Einsatzgruppen: 1/3

  49. Hitler’s Votes Against Hindenburg: 13.4MN

  50. Hitler’s Campaign Visits: 20 cities in 7 days

  51. Nuremberg Rallies Attendance: 700K

  52. French and Belgian Soldiers Invade the Ruhr: 60K

Key Terms:

  1. Prussia: The most powerful state in pre-unification Germany

  2. Versailles: Where Germany was unified

  3. Militarism: Idea that a country should focus on building a powerful military to aggressively expand

  4. Nationalism: Idea that a certain country/race/culture is superior to others

  5. Weltpolitik: Imperialist/aggressive expansion foreign policy of Germany under the Kaiser

  6. Place in the Sun: German foreign policy ideology focused on conquering overseas colonies

  7. Industrialisation: Rapid process under Wilhelm II, leading to vast improvements in the coal and steel industry

  8. Agnr: Competition between Britain and Germany to increase ship numbers

  9. Naval Laws: Two sets of laws passed by the Kaiser that allocated more money to growing the navy

  10. SPD: Socialist party in German Parliament that grew in Germany under Wilhelm II

  11. Reichstag: German parliament

  12. Bundesrat: German local government body

  13. Junkers: German Chief ministers

  14. Abdicate: Wilhelm II was forced to do this in November 1918

  15. Weimar Republic: Government set up in Germany post-WW1 as a democratic system in place of the Kaiser

  16. Constitution: A set of rules by which a country is governed

  17. Article 48: Emergency power built into the new Republic of Germany, allowing the President to seize power

  18. Proportional Representation: Method of voting used in Germany post-WW1

  19. Chancellor: Leader of the Reichstag, needed 51% support from MPs, chosen by the President

  20. President: Elected by the German people every 7 years, the overall leader of the New Republic

  21. Spartacist Uprising: Left-Wing (communist) attempt to overthrow the Republic

  22. Red Rising: Large communist strike after the Kapp Putsch

  23. Kapp Putsch: Right-wing attempt to overthrow the Republic

  24. Freikorps: Private army of ex-German soldiers used by the Government to crush uprisings

  25. Stresemann: Popular Chancellor of Germany who helped Germany recover

  26. Rentenmark: New currency introduced by Stresemann

  27. Dawes Plan: The USA's plan to reduce reparations for Germany and lend money

  28. Young Plan: The USA's plan to further reduce reparations for Germany

  29. Locarno Pact: Agreement between Germany and other European nations to reduce the likelihood of war

  30. League of Nations: International group established post-WW1 to prevent wars, Germany joined in 1926

  31. Kellogg-Briand Pact: Agreement by Germany and 61 other countries not to use violence to settle disputes

  32. Wall Street Crash: American financial crisis that caused the Great Depression

  33. Great Depression: Worldwide economic crisis that followed the Wall Street Crash

  34. Mein Kampf: Hitler’s autobiography written while in prison

  35. Volksgemeinschaft: Nazi ideology promoting a racially unified and hierarchically organized society

  36. Aryan: Term used by Nazis to describe a superior race of non-Jewish, Germanic people

  37. Autarky: Nazi policy of self-sufficiency

  38. Lebensraum: Nazi policy of expanding territory for German people

  39. Führerprinzip: Nazi ideology that Germany should be led by a single, powerful leader (the Führer)

  40. Nuremberg Laws: Anti-Jewish legislation introduced by the Nazis

  41. Kristallnacht: Organized attacks on Jewish people and property in 1938

  42. Gestapo: Secret police in Nazi Germany

  43. Hitler Youth: Nazi organization aimed at indoctrinating young people into Nazi ideology

  44. Volkswagen: "People's car" - a symbol of Nazi economic policies

  45. Schutzstaffel (SS): Paramilitary organization under the Nazis responsible for many of the crimes against humanity during the Holocaust

  46. Blitzkrieg: "Lightning war" strategy used by Germany during WWII

  47. Einsatzgruppen: Nazi death squads responsible for mass killings, primarily by shooting

  48. Wannsee Conference: Meeting where Nazi officials decided on the "Final Solution"

  49. Final Solution: Nazi plan for the systematic genocide of the Jewish people

  50. Wehrmacht: Unified armed forces of Nazi Germany

  51. D-Day: Allied invasion of Nazi-occupied France

  52. Operation Barbarossa: Nazi Germany's invasion of the Soviet Union during WWII

Key People:

  1. Kaiser Wilhelm II: German Emperor before WW1

  2. Franz Ferdinand: Assassinated Archduke, sparking WW1

  3. Max von Baden: Led Germany after WW1, until the abdication of the Kaiser

  4. Freidrich Ebert: Leader of the SPD party and the first Chancellor of Germany post-WW1

  5. Wolfgang Kapp: Led the Kapp Putsch

  6. Gustav Stresemann: Chancellor who stabilized Germany post-WW1

  7. Paul von Hindenburg: German President during the rise of Hitler

  8. Adolf Hitler: Leader of the Nazi Party, Chancellor, and Führer of Germany

  9. Joseph Goebbels: Nazi Propaganda Minister

  10. Heinrich Himmler: Head of the SS and Gestapo

  11. Hjalmar Schacht: Minister of Economics before being replaced by Goering

  12. Hermann Goering: High-ranking Nazi official and head of the Luftwaffe

  13. Ernst Röhm: Leader of the SA, executed during the Night of the Long Knives

  14. Sophie Scholl: Co-leader of the White Rose Group, executed for anti-Nazi activities

  15. Hans Scholl: Co-leader of the White Rose Group, executed for anti-Nazi activities

  16. Claus von Stauffenberg: Leader of the July Bomb Plot against Hitler