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