Unit 3: Nazism in Germany under Hitler

UNIT 3:   NAZISM IN GERMANY UNDER HITLER   (1918-1939)     WW1 in a Nutshell   ● Franz Josef wanted to eliminate Serbia   ● If Serbia did not comply, Austria would attack   ● Austria seeked help from Germany   ● Other great power block: Russia and France   ● July 29 1914: Austria attacked Serbia   ● Tsar Nicholas (Russia) was urged to action to protect Serbia   ● Russia was mobilised, then Germany could mobilise too under the premise it was being   threatened   ● August 1: Germany declared war on Russia   ● August 3: Germany declared war on France     ● Belgium was neutral   ● August 4: Britain declared war on Germany   ● 1918: War is over, Germany lost     Background of Germany (until 1918)   ● Since its creation in 1871, the German Empire was ruled by a monarch, the Kaiser   (emperor)   ● Germany had a parliament (Reichstag) but the elected politicians had very limited powers   ● In 1914, Germany went to war with Britain, France and Russia in WW1   ● By 1918, the German generals were forced to admit the war was lost     ● On 9 November 1918, the Kaiser abdicated and Germany becomes a Republic   ● On 11 November 1918, Germany signed an armistice agreement (ceasefire)     Weimar Republic   ● Fundamental Rights   ○ Personal freedom (no arrest without trial)   ○ Home privacy   ○ Freedom of speech   ○ Freedom to form societies and trade unions   ○ Property is guaranteed   ○ Freedom to have meetings   ● President   ○ President elected separately   ○ Term of 7 years   ○ Appoint & dismiss government   ○ Article 48

● Proportional Representation   ○ % of national vote translates into MPs   ○ Parties with small votes get seats   ○ Coalition government   ● Federal Government   ○ Power to make laws   ○ Central government (Berlin)   ○ 18 Länder (state governments)   ○ Berlin: taxation, religion   ○ Länder: police, court, schools     Kaiser’s Monarchy   Weimar Republic   Members of the Reichstag are voted in   Kaiser/President has the power to appoint/dismiss the Chancellor   and summon/dismiss the Reichstag   Chancellor & Ministers proposed new laws/changes to the laws,   which were voted on by members of the Reichstag   Reichstag has deputies (MPs) who vote for laws they approve of,   by which the country will be governed   Kaiser/President has authority over the countries   Men above 25 allowed to vote   Men & women above 20 allowed to vote   Voters elected the Reichstag   Voters elected the Reichstag, President,   Reichsrat and in plebiscites (referendum) on   changes to the law   Kaiser commands armed forces   President appoints/dismisses officers   Kaiser can’t do that ------>   President can make laws without the   Reichstag’s consent in case of emergency   Bundesrat can’t do that ------>   Reichsrat can veto (reject proposal) the   Reichstag

Features of the   Weimar Republic   Advantage   Disadvantage   Proportional   Representation   Voters are counted centrally   and then converted into   seats in the Reichstag   ● Democracy   ● Increased transparency   of voting process   ● Better representation of   different beliefs and   ideals   ● Diversity   ● Tyranny of the majority   ● With multiple parties and   no majority, necessary to   form coalition to rule →   instability   Article 48   President can dismiss the   Reichstag and can declare a   ‘state of emergency’ and   rule alone   ● Ability to react quickly to   adverse situations   ● Easy to abuse as ‘state of   emergency’ is not clearly   defined       Opposition to the Weimar Republic

● Spartacist Uprising/Revolt (1919)   ○ Aims   ■ Led by Rosa Luxemburg and Karl Liebknecht   ■ Spartacists were communists who wanted Germany to be run by the   working class     ■ Believed power and wealth should be shared equally among the   population   ■ Wanted to establish a communist state in Germany and destroy the   Weimar Republic   ■ Inspired by the Russian Revolution (1917)   ○ Incident   ■ January 1919   ■ 100,000 workers went on strike and demonstrated in the centre of Berlin   ○ Aftermath   ■ Luxemburg and Liebknecht were arrested and executed by the Freikorps   ■ The communists and many of the working class developed a hatred of the   Social Democrats   ● Kapp Putsch (1920)   ○ Aims   ■ Re-establish an autocratic government (monarchy) and overthrow the   Weimar Government     ■ General Ludendorff, General von Luettvitz and Dr Wolfgang Kapp   ■ Rebellion by the Freikorps when the government tried to disband them   ○ Incident   ■ 13 March 1920

■ 5,000 Freikorps marched on Berlin   ○ Aftermath   ■ President Ebert called a general strike and millions of workers responded,   stopping the putsch   ■ Worsened the division between the right-wing and the government   ● Beer Hall/Munich Putsch (1923)   ○ Aims   ■ Nazis, led by Hitler   ■ Wanted to seize power of the Bavarian state government by kidnapping   Gustav von Kahr (state commissioner of Bavaria) and two other   conservative politicians   ■ Inspired by action Italian fascist Benito Mussolini had taken, granting him   dictatorship in Italy   ○ Incident   ■ 8 November 1923   ■ Hitler and 600 SA members burst into a meeting that Kahr and Lossow   were holding at the local Beer Hall   ■ The SA took over the army headquarters and the offices of the local   newspaper   ■ The next day, Hitler and the SA went into Munich and there was a short   scuffle in which the police killed 16 members of the SA   ■ Hitler fled, but was arrested two days later   ○ Aftermath   ■ Ludendorff was let off without a sentence, Rohm received 15 months but   was released immediately without serving his sentence   ■ Short term failure:   ● The Nazi Party was banned and Hitler was prevented from   speaking in public until 1927   ● Hitler was tried for high treason and sentences to five years in   prison     ■ Long term success:   ● During Hitler’s time in prison, he wrote ‘Mein Kampf’ - a   propaganda book of Nazi beliefs which was very well-known   ● The judge was so lenient with Hitler’s sentence, suggesting that   people in authority had sympathy with Hitler   ● Hitler realised revolution would not work and that he would have to   use democratic means, so he reorganised the party to enable it to   take part in elections

Hitler and the Nazi Party   ● In 1919, Hitler joined a small right-wing group called the German Workers’ Party, took over   and changed its name to the National Socialists (Nazis)   ● The party developed a 25-Point Programme     ● Ideology   ○ Lebensraum ​ : the need for ‘living space’ for the German nation to expand     ○ The Treaty of Versailles should be abolished and all German-speaking people   united in one country     ○ Fuehrer ​ : idea that there should be a single leader with complete power rather   than a democracy   ○ Social Darwinism: idea that the Aryan race was superior and Jews were   ‘subhuman’     ○ Autarky: idea that Germany should be economically self-sufficient   ○ Germany was in danger from Communists and Jews who had to be destroyed     ○ The 25 Point Plan had policies that were:   ■ Socialist   ● Farmers should be given their land   ● Pensions should improve

● Public industries (e.g. electricity, water) should be owned by the   state   ■ Nationalist   ● All German-speaking people should be united in one country   ● The Treaty of Versailles should be abolished   ● There should be special laws for foreigners     ■ Racist   ● Jews should not be German citizens and immigration should be   stopped   ■ Fascist   ● A strong central government and control of the newspaper   ● Appeal   ○ In the 1920s, the Nazis tried to be all things to all people   ■ Thus had broader social and geographical appeal than the communists,   who only appealed to the industrial workers in Germany’s cities   ○ Nazi support came from:   ■ Wealthy businessmen   ● Frightened by the increase in support for the communists   ● Began to finance Hitler and the Nazis   ■ Middle-class   ● Alarmed by the obvious failure of democracy   ● Decided the country needed a strong governmen