CH3 Hitler's Germany

3.1 Hitler’s Rise to power Weimar Republic ● Established in 1919 Spartacist Rebellion: (1919) ● Communist attack in 1919 ● Took the combined forces of Freikorps (ex-soldiers) and the WR to stem rebellion Kapp Putsch: (1920) ● Nationalist Rebellion ● Used Freikorps to take over Berlin ● Ended due to general strike by trade unions Hyper-inflation: (1920s) ● Over-printing of money to keep up with reparations ● Caused steep decline in the value of German Mark, many lost their savings ● Led to hyper-inflation, workers’ non-cooperation (see Invasion of Ruhr) Invasion of Ruhr: (1923) ● Due to the Weimar Republic falling behind reparation fees ● French and Belgian troops invaded and occupied the Ruhr (Germany’s prime industrial area) ● Left after appeal to LON Dawes Plan: (1924) ● Germany received loans from USA ● Stabilized the German currency ● Increase foreign investments and loans ● Made Germany dependent on foreign markets and economies Great Depression: (1929) ● Wall street USA crashed ● USA had to withdraw loans from Germany to support economy ● WR declined in popularity as their short-term solutions were the cause and they were unable to react. ● Favorable Circumstance to Hitler, as he had managed to predict it and the public was in favor of extremist groups ● Unemployment rose to almost 30% in 1930s Strengths and Weaknesses of the Weimar Republic:

Strengths Weaknesses Had capable leaders who managed to resolve some of Germany’s issues: ● Dawes Plan: Germany received loans from USA, therefore stabilising the German currency and increasing Foreign investments and loans ● Locarno Pact: Germany, France, Belgium, Britain and Italy agreed to maintain peace. Protected Germany from aggressive neighbouring countries Dawes Plan made them reliant on foreign markets and economies ● The Dawes Plan: Germany received loans from USA (see column to the right) ● In 1929 when Wall Street USA crashed, USA withdrew all its loans ● Caused mass unemployment Proportional Representation ● People voted for a party, and the party would gain seats in the cabinet based on the amount of votes they won ● Too many small competing parties, and as there was no majority, decision making was severely difficult Coalition Government ● All parties came together in the formation of government, and as a few extreme parties were unwilling to compromise, the government would break up constantly ● This caused a great difficulty when laws were passed, and caused the WR to be perceived as weak to the German people Article 48 of Weimar Constitution ● Allowed the president to dissolve both houses of parliament in “time of emergency” and override civil liberties such as lawful arrest, secrecy in communication and freedom of expression. ● What constituted as an Emergency was not clearly defined Lacked strong peacekeeping force ● Result of Demilitarization Clause in the TOV (100,000 men, 15,000 men in Navy, no air force, tanks or submarines)

● Had to rely on Freikorps (ex-soldiers) to suppress the Spartacist (Communist) Rebellion and trade unions during Kapp Putsch ● Unable to resist during Ruhr invasion by France and Belgium Was unable to cope with Economic Strain ● Over-printing of money to keep up with reparations ● Caused steep decline in the value of German Mark, many lost their savings ● Led to hyper-inflation, workers’ non-cooperation and the invasion of Ruhr Were thought to have betrayed Germany ● “Stab in the back” myth: Many Germans resented the Weimar Republic for signing the TOV as they felt that Germany had not lost the war (Germany had not invaded when TOV was signed) National Socialist German Workers Party (NSDAP) Primary Aims: 1. The abolition of TOV 2. Union of Germany and Austria 3. Preserving the Aryan race 4. Strong central government Hitler and the NSDAP: ● Hitler joined the party in 1920, after he was sent there as a spy ● Became the party’s leader in 1929: GD Sturmabteilung (SA): ● Military force of NSDAP ● Headed by Ernst Rohm ● Intimidated what they perceived as sub-human races Munich Putsch (1923): ● Revolt against the WR, stemmed as police managed to prevent Nazis from uniting with SA forces ● Hitler turned trial into political rally ● Hitler was sent to prison under rather comfortable circumstances ● Mein Kampf written in prison by dictation to secretary

1924 Election: Hitler’s failure ● The WR had great success with the Locarno Pact and the Dawes Plan ● General shift away from extremist groups as people did not want to ruin political instability ● Hitler downplayed extremist image ● NSDAP only won 14 seats 1930 Election: Hitler’s success ● Great Depression ● General shift towards extremist groups ● Hitler had predicted the GD, thus public hoped that he could solve it ● Won 107 seats, 2nd largest party Ability Circumstance Charisma and oratorical Skills ● Able to make 4 speeches a day ● Spoke in beer halls and exploited audience’s drunkenness ● Knew the concerns of people Treaty of Versailles ● Brought great German Humiliation: Loss of territory, weakening of a German army, reparations debt - Increased appeal of NSDAP’s nationalistic beliefs and Hitler’s aryan race ideology and lebensraum ● Left the Germans poverty-stricken - Increased appeal of Nazi’s promises of Bread, Freedom and work Exploitation of fears of Communism Farmers: Loss of land and imprisonment Businessmen: Industries overtaken by state, trade union strength ● NSDAP fiercely anti-communist ● 1930s: Used armed forces to break up communist meetings and fight communists when they clashed with the police Weak and ineffective Weimar Republic - Article 48 which allowed the violation of civil rights during an emergency allowed Hitler to kill opponents during Reichstag Fire - Coalition Government system: Some extremist groups were unwilling to compromise, caused the government to break up frequently, perception of weakness - Proportional Representation: Many small competing parties, no clear majority, hampered decision making, perception of weakness - Weak peacekeeping force: Due to Demilitarisation Clause of TOV, unable to suppress riots. Allowed the the SA to remain in case of communist riots, thus kept Hitler powerful militarily - Hyper-inflation: WRs ineffective reaction of printing more money weakened the German currency and

caused the loss of the population’s life savings. Perception of weakness. - Stab in the Back: Thought to have betrayed Germany in TOV (see above) Skillfulness at making deals with politicians ● Struck a deal with Von Papen, Von Papen could be Vice-Chancellor while Hitler was the Chancellor ● Made decision as they thought they could control Hitler, as there were only 3 Nazis in the cabinet. Wanted Hitler for support and army against communists Great Depression: ● Hitler had managed to predict, thus the public hoped that he could solve it ● Caused general shift towards extremist groups Reorganised NSDAP ● Increased Party Membership - Created Local Nazi Groups and youth organisation ● Established SS and SA (Armed forces) - Broke up communist meetings - Broke up strikes (gained industrialist support) ● Employed Nazi Propaganda - Joseph Goebbels portrayed NSDAP positively ● Hitler was appointed Chancellor in 1933 3.2 Impact of Hitler’s rule Political Name of Impact Description Result +/- Reichstag Fire (Feb 1933) ● Reichstag building caught fire ● Marinus van der lubbe and leaders of CP charged with arson and attempt to overthrow govt ● Convinced President Hindenburg to activate Article 48 ● Established emergency powers ● Reichs