Chapter 2

TOV - German people were NOT told if war had lasted, Germany would have eventually been invaded by its enemies, rather they thought the army ended the war undefeated and celebrated the return of the troops - They thought they would have a fairly negotiated treaty, but were shocked and angry when they found out the terms, and Ebert (president) was reluctant to sign but had no choice to sign on 28 June 1919 - Aftereffects: undermined the Weimar republic, many germans thought Ebert and the Weimar politicians were forever to blame for the Treaty Economical challenges After the TOV, Germany’s economy had a downfall... • The TOV forced Germany to pay reparations of 6.6 billion pounds → Even though the Germans protested that this was unaffordable, their pleas were ignored → Germany failed to make a payment in January 1923, French and Belgian troops occupied the Ruhr Valley , Germany’s most important and valuable industrial region + took what was owed to them in the form of raw materials and goods (this was considered legal under the terms of the TOV) → In response, the German government ordered the workers to go on a strike and not to cooperate with the French → sudden halt in industrial production caused the German currency to collapse → The government continued to print more money → caused the value of currency to decrease → led to hyperinflation + with prices of daily needs rising rapidly • Hyperinflation caused great hardship for the Germans → The middle-class Germans lost the most → personal savings were wiped out + unemployment was was widespread → Resulted in the Weimar government losing support from the middle-class Germans , who felt that Weimar Republic favoured workers, industrialists and politicians instead of them The Great Depression (1929) US economy crashed, caused a severe economic depression → US bankers and businessmen asked German banks to repay the loans and removed their investments in Germany → Resulted in an economic collapse in Germany ● The impact of unemployment ○ By 1932,unemployment was at 6 million → Most sections of German society were affected (farmers etc) + Many small business and shops went bankrupt → income of the average German fell by 40% between 1929 and 1932 → led to hunger, and often illness ○ Many Germans were evicted from their homes because they could no longer pay rent → Makeshift shelters and slums began to appear in most cities The failure of democracy ● The Weimar government had adopted a system of proportional representation → Parties won seats in parliament based on the number of votes won → many parties gained seats, but no single party could gain total authority → resulted in many parties forming coalition governments, but often unable to compromise to make important decisions and so did not last long.

● Between 1919 and 1933, there were twenty coalition governments that broke up → projected a disunited and unstable Weimar government to the people, and led them to seek a strong leader who could offer more political stability, allowing Hitler’s Nazi party to win more support ● The Weimar government was also weak due to the lack of support from various groups. The civil service, judiciary, military and wealthy businessmen did not support it and preferred a return to a monarchy → undermined the authority of the Weimar government, making it look weak and thus it was harder for it to get the support of people. As such, Hitler could present the Nazi Party as a viable alternative to the weakened government. ● The frequent changes in the government also made it difficult for any laws to be passed. The failure to do so made the Weimar government appear even weaker to the German people. The German people sought a strong leader who could offer more political stability. The German people’s perception of the Weimar Republic’s weakness was an important factor in facilitating Hitler’s rise to power. ● When the crisis struck, Germany was under a coalition government led by SPD (Social Democratic Party Germany), who wanted to increase welfare for the unemployed but the coalition partners refused → coalition collapsed in 1930 → President had to appoint a new chancellor using article 48 → was not very successful, many in the Reichstag did not agree with the harsh measures → had to use emergency powers again ● From this point onwards, the Weimar Republic failed → the parties was so divided and that it proved impossible to form a coalition with a majority of the seats The rise in communism ● communists had rebuilt their movement during the 1920s → Had local party branches, a youth movement and a very effective publicity machine. ● Between 1929 and 1932, ~1 million workers began to look to KPD rather than moderate SPD; KPD representation in the Reichstag went from 10% to 15%. ● Many workers began to feel that the Weimar Republic was not managing the economic crisis well and had let them down → Many turned to the German Communist party + The rise of the communists frightened many Germans → Business leaders feared the communists because of their plans to introduce state control of business → All these concerns about communism created a climate of fear + Many had little trust in the Weimar Republic’s ability to deal with communists Thus, many decided to turn to the Nazi Party, a party that seemed to be willing to take control of the situation and face the communist Hitler’s abilities(!!) ● Reorganisation of the party ○ Hitler was focused on rebuilding the Nazi Party and planned to take power through democratic means → convinced that legal means and not force alone would help him gain power, which was what led him to concentrate more on reorganising the Nazi Party ○ Thus, he set out Nazi policies simply and clearly, basing them on his book Mein Kampf + re-established his control of the party by creating a new force, the Protection squad, SS ○ With this, he was now secured as supreme leader of the party

His own abilities ● Hitler was very persuasive and charming → powerful and confident speaker who prepared and practised his speeches + good at gauging the mood of the audience and appeared sincere to them → delivered speeches in beer halls, addressed people’s concerns ● Did tour of rallies on a