Concise Notes on the Weimar Republic, Nazi Germany, and WWII

Establishment of the Weimar Republic

  • 1918: End of Kaiser's rule.

  • Weimar Republic: Government of Germany from 1919 to 1933.

  • Women allowed to vote.

  • Friedrich Ebert: First president.

  • Germany: Became a democratic republic.

  • Black, Red, and Gold: Colors of the Weimar Republic.

  • Faced consequences of war and Treaty of Versailles.

  • Lost 1/7 of territory and had to pay reparations.

  • Citizens opposed Treaty of Versailles.

  • Government lost majority vote in June 1920.

Treaty of Versailles and Consequences

  • Signed June 28, 1919, to ensure peace after WWI.

  • Took effect January 10, 1920.

  • Germany forced to pay reparations.

  • German population reduced by 10%.

  • Lost land and army reduced.

  • Manufacture of armored cars, tanks, submarines, war planes, and poison gas forbidden.

  • Rhineland demilitarized.

  • Forbidden from uniting with Austria.

  • Germans criticized the treaty.

Impact on Germany After the Treaty

  • Loss of colonial power status.

  • Loss of income from trade and raw materials.

  • Poverty, high taxes, and unemployment.

  • Humiliation and lost prestige.

  • Reduction in size.

  • Germans no longer united in one empire.

Weimar Republic Quotations

  • Kaiser Wilhelm II, September 1918: Politicians failed.

  • German general Paul von Hindenburg, November 1918: Saved country from war.

  • General Paul von Hindenburg, November 1919: Army "stabbed in the back."

  • Deutsche Zeitung newspaper, June 1919: Vengeance for the shame of 1919!

  • A female textile worker, 1930: Hard to provide for family due to low wages and expenses.

The Rise of Nazi Germany

  • 1919: Adolf Hitler joined German Workers' Party, became Führer, renamed it Nazi party.

  • Gained popularity through speeches, promoted national pride and militarism.

  • Promised to abolish Treaty of Versailles.

  • Condemned Jews, exploited anti-Semitism.

  • 1923: Munich Putsch failed.

  • Used trial to gain national attention, published ideas in Mein Kampf.

  • July 1932: Nazis won most votes in election.

  • February 1933: Reichstag burned down.

  • Hitler expelled Communists, enforced state of emergency.

  • Nazi party controlled army, police, government, and economy.

  • Hitler rose to power.

The Enabling Act and Establishment of Dictatorship

  • Passed March 23, 1933.

  • Nazi dictatorship formed.

  • Hitler became sole leader – Der Führer.

  • Act transferred all power to Hitler as Reich Chancellor.

  • Hitler could make laws without consulting Reichstag.

  • Increased army and police forces.

  • Swastika became national flag.

  • Independent trade unions banned.

  • Freedom of speech banned.

Hitler

  • Born April 20, 1889, died April 30, 1945.

  • Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945.

  • Dictator and leader of the Nazi Party.

  • His policies led to World War II and the Holocaust.

  • Responsible for deaths of six million Jews and five million non-combatants.

World War II (1939-1945)

  • Caused by Treaty of Versailles and German resentment.

  • Global war: Allies vs. Axis.

  • Axis: Germany, Italy, Japan.

  • Allies: Russia, France, British Empire, United States, others.

  • 50-70 million deaths estimated.

  • Territories: Europe, Pacific, Atlantic, South-East Asia, China, Middle East, Mediterranean, Africa.

  • December 7, 1941: Japan bombed Pearl Harbor, US entered the war.

  • August 6, 1945: US dropped atomic bomb on Hiroshima.

  • August 9, 1945: Atomic bomb on Nagasaki.

  • Germany surrendered May 8, 1945.

  • Japan surrendered August 14, 1945, end of WWII August 15, 1945.

  • Formal cessation proclaimed December 31, 1946 (Harry Truman).

Aftermath of World War II

  • Millions dead/homeless.

  • European economy collapsed (70% infrastructure destroyed).

  • Marshall Plan for Western Europe reconstruction.

  • United Nations created to prevent wars.

  • European Union formed.

  • U.S. and USSR emerged as superpowers.

World War II Audio Clips

  • Sir Winston Churchill: Prime Minister in 1940, led war coalition, inspired victory through speeches.

  • Vera Lynn: "The Forces' Sweetheart," popular songs, radio program, entertained troops, awarded OBE and Dame.

World War II Quotes

  • Adolf Hitler – 5 June 1940: Dunkirk has fallen.

  • Winston Churchill – September 1940: Never has so much been owed by so many to so few.

  • Adolf Hitler on Churchill, May 1941: Bad politician and soldier.

  • Franklin D. Roosevelt – 9 December 1941: We are all in this war.

  • Winston Churchill – 10 November 1942: This is not the end.

  • Harry S. Truman – 13 April 1945: Pray for me now.

The Great Depression 1929-1939

  • Stock market crash of October 1929: Start of the Great Depression.

  • Worst economic downturn in US history.

  • High unemployment: 13 million by 1933 (25%).

  • Over 5,000 banks failed.

  • German economy vulnerable due to reliance on foreign capital and trade.

  • Falling production, layoffs, lost savings, hyperinflation.

  • Middle class impoverished.

  • Political disunity in the Reichstag.

Life in Nazi Germany

  • Factory: German Labour Front controlled work and offered incentives like holidays and improved conditions.

  • Church: Protestant churches joined Reich Church; Catholic Concordat existed; churches became opposition sources.

  • Prison: Himmler in charge; death penalty for many offenses; Communists and journalists imprisoned; police controlled by SS.

  • Park: Unemployed worked on public projects; Hitler Youth activities occurred; glorified countryside.

  • School: Boys trained as soldiers, girls as mothers; Nazi ideology in textbooks; Jewish children segregated.

  • Shops: People’s radio mass-produced; Nazi propaganda toys sold; Gestapo monitored anti-Nazi jokes.

  • Cinema: Propaganda films and mandatory newsreels; foreign films banned.

  • Block of Flats: Fear of Gestapo; banned books/music; women belong at home; children inform on parents.

Message of a Nazi Source

  • German eagle: power of the state.

  • Volksgemeinschaft: perfect idea of family and community.

  • Young German girl: personal emotional targeting.

  • Encouraged to: return to traditional values.

  • Perfect Aryan family: encourages Aryan marriage and children, glorifies Aryan race.

  • "The Nazi Party safeguards the German people”.

Key Terms in Nazi Germany

  • Acquit: To be found not guilty.

  • Aryan: A term used by the Nazis to describe people of Caucasian race, especially of non-Jewish descent, with Nordic features such as blonde hair and blue eyes.

  • Autobahn: A German motorway.

  • Barbaric: Exceedingly brutal.

The Gestapo

  • Secret police force, part of the SS, headed by Reinhard Heydrich.

  • Based in Berlin with offices across Germany.

  • Spread rumors about interrogation and torture.

  • Could arrest, try, and sentence individuals to concentration camps.

  • Barbaric torture techniques employed.

  • Feared for their ability to take away entire families.

  • Effectiveness relied on scaring people into believing they were always watched.

  • Most arrests resulted from ordinary citizens informing on each other.

  • By 1940, 45,000 members split across Germany and occupied territories.

German Police and Courts

  • Fully controlled by Nazis by 1934, ending civil rights.

  • High-ranking jobs given to loyal Nazis.

  • Crimes committed by Nazis ignored.

  • SS oversaw the Police.

  • No free trial or fair legal system.

  • People’s Courts were show trials.

  • Political crimes punishable by death.

  • Prisons overcrowded, leading to concentration camps.

Religion in Nazi Germany

  • Germany: traditionally Christian (Protestant and Catholic).

  • Hitler saw religion as competition.

  • Introduced Pagan German Faith Movement.

  • Catholic Church signed Concordat in July 1933.

    • Nazis wouldn't interfere with the Church.

    • Church wouldn't interfere in politics.

  • Protestant Churches under Reich Church, led by Bishop Ludwig Muller.

  • Opposition emerged from both churches.

  • Martin Niemoller, a former U-boat war hero, opposed Nazis and was sent to concentration camps.

Nazi Propaganda

  • Headed by Dr. Joseph Goebbels.

  • Hitler presented as Germany's savior with a divine right to rule.

  • Propaganda through posters, rallies, films, radio, etc.

  • Strictly controlled and censored art and culture.

  • Modern art replaced by Nazi art focused on Hitler and Aryan people.

  • Books by unauthorized authors (e.g., Marx, Einstein, Jewish authors) were burned and banned.

  • Newspapers dull and controlled.

  • Films used to spread Nazi propaganda; foreign films censored.

Nazi Propaganda (Continued)

  • Radio stations controlled; foreign stations banned; Jazz music banned; listening to BBC punishable by death.

  • Cheap radios produced and loudspeakers installed.

  • 1936 Berlin Olympics used as propaganda.

  • Jesse Owens' success caused embarrassment for Hitler.

Employment and Economy

  • June 1933: Employment Law created public works programs.

  • National Labour Service (DAF): built autobahns, railways, government buildings.

  • 1935: Conscription introduced, rearming the country.

  • Unemployment decreased, nationalism increased.

  • May 1933: Trade Unions banned.

  • German Labour Front (Robert Ley).

  • 'Strength through Joy' (KdF): cheap leisure activities, holidays, reduced theatre tickets.

  • 'Beauty of Labour': improved work conditions.

  • Big businesses profited.

  • Mercedes, Volkswagen, IG Far, IBM, Hugo Boss, Kodak supported Nazis.

Young People

  • Nazi party placed great importance on indoctrinating young people.

  • Hitler Youth (HY) and Young German Maidens (BDM) aimed to replace family.

  • HY: prepare boys for army, BDM: prepare girls for motherhood.

  • Loyalty to the Nazi Party over family.

  • Compulsory attendance in 1939.

  • Curriculum included Nazi ideology.

  • Boys trained to be soldiers, girls for housekeeping, cookery, and motherhood.

  • Eugenics taught race theory.

  • Jewish teachers and children were segregated.

Women in Nazi Germany

  • Nazis wanted women to return to traditional roles.

  • Financial incentives for marriage and children.

  • Gold Cross medal for eight or more children.

  • 1935: Lebensborn program to increase birth rate.

  • Mothers were glorified.

  • Women were encouraged to concentrate on Kinder, Kirche, Kuche (Children, Church, Kitchen).

  • Discrimination against women in the workplace.

  • Women had to return to work late in the 1930s due to conscription.