The Key issues which you need to revise for the Germany depth study are as follows:

1) Was the Weimar Republic doomed from the start?

2) Why was Hitler able to dominate Germany by 1933?

3) A) How effectively did the Nazis control Germany 1933-1945

B) The Nazi Regime: What was it like to live in Nazi Germany?

Question 4:

You must complete all sections of this question.

You should look to spend 30-35 minutes on this section.

Question four will involve 3 sources, followed by 3 questions (one about each source).

Remember that you must include your own knowledge to get good marks in these ques-

tions. Don‟t forget to include things that aren‟t in the source if the question asks you “how

useful”, “to what extent” or “are you surprised”.

Question 5/6

Choose one of these two questions and complete all sections of it.

You should look to spend 30-35 minutes on this section.

The question will follow a pattern:

A) Describe (give at least four points)

B) Explain (explain at least two reasons, three if possible—remember that you must add

your own contextual knowledge to get the explanation marks)

C) Analyse (explain both sides of the argument and then compare them at the end, consider

using long and short term causes/factors for example. Make sure that you support your

points with contextual knowledge!)

Early Problems:

Transition from dictatorship to democratic government.

The country was basically bankrupt and there was a lot of

unemployment.

The terms of the Treaty of Versailles, eg. Reparations

earned them the nickname „The November Criminals‟

Violence on the streets of Berlin caused the new govern-

ment to be based in Weimar.

Spartacist Uprising: Jan 1919

Left wing, communist

group (notice that it‟s on

the LEFT of the page! :)

Led by Rosa Luxem-

bourg and Karl Lieb-

knecht

The government could-

n‟t do anything to stop

them.

They were forced to call

in the Freikorps (Right

wing ex soldiers).

The Freikorps brutally

put down the uprising.

Fighting went on for 4

days.

Thousands of Com-

munists were killed,

including Rosa Luxem-

bourg who was shot and

her body was thrown

into a canal.

The Kapp Putsch: 1920

This was a right wing uprising (on the RIGHT hand side of

the page…….magic!)

Led by Wolfgang Kapp (a journalist!) and supported by both

the Freikorps (5,000 of them) and a famous army general—

General Ludendorff

Berlin was seized and Kapp announced as the new Chancel-

lor.

Ebert fled to Dresden and called a four day general strike

(the army would not move against the Putsch).

Electricity and other basic supplies were cut from Berlin as

the strike took effect.

Kapp had to flee due to lack of support and the Weimar Gov-

ernment survived.

1923: A Year of Crisis for the Weimar Republic

1. In 1922 the Weimar Republic could not afford to pay Reparations so they stopped. This caused the

French and Belgian troops to enter the Ruhr (industrial heartland of Germany) to take goods to the

value of the money which they were owed. The Weimar Government ordered the workers to go on strike

(passive resistance), but this meant that nothing was being produced (and no money being made). How

ever, the workers still needed paying, so the government began to print more money.

2. As more money was printed it‟s value decreased. In 1918 a loaf of bread would have cost 0.63 Marks. In

January 1923 it cost 250 marks, by November 1923 a loaf of bread cost 201,000,000,000 marks. It was

only when a new government under Gustav Stresseman took over and introduced the Rentenmark

(temporary currency) with 1 Rentenmark being worth 3 billion old marks (he burnt the old currency) that

hyperinflation was solved.

3. Hitler saw this as his opportunity and launched a bid for power—the Munich Putsch in November 1923.

He was supported by the old war hero Ludendorff, hijacking a local government meeting on 8th Novem

ber. The SA began to take over key buildings over the 8th-9th November, but Weimar troops hit back

and 100 police confronted the Nazi marchers. 16 Nazis were killed and Hitler was arrested. However he

turned his trial into a political speech (the media were there), impressing the judges and being sentenced

to only 5 years (9 months before parole). Hitler had emerged as the main leader of the right wing, and

was able to use the comfort of Landsberg Prison to write Mein Kampf which distributed his ideas across

Germany.

The Trial of Hitler (1924) : Success or failure for the Nazis?

Success:

Hitler was established as the undisputed leader

of the right because of the way in which he pre-

sented his case in front of all of the media.

He was only sentenced to 5 years and only

served 9 months (he impressed the judges).

Many of his colleagues got off.

Ludendorff had supported him—this showed

that he was in the „big time‟.

Hitler was able to publish Mein Kampf which

spread his views further.

Failure:

Hitler was jailed.

16 Nazis were killed.

The putsch itself failed

The Nazi Party was banned

(although this was revoked in 1925)

Hitler was banned from public

speaking for a time.

Election Date Seats won by

the Nazi Party

1928 12

1930 107

1932 (July) 230

1932 (Nov) 196

What could have

possibly have hap-

pened between 1928

and 1929 that would

cause all of these

people to vote for the

Nazis?

Date (all Sept) Unemployment

Numbers

1928 650,000

1930 3,000,000

1931 4,350,000

1932 5,102,000

Hindenburg and Von Papen.

Remember that Von Papen persuaded Hindenburg (the President) to appoint Hitler Chancellor in Jan 1933 because

Von Papen thought that he could control Hitler if he (Von Papen) was Vice Chancellor. The Nazi vote was also on

the decline (see table) and they thought that the Nazis were a spent force. However, we must not forget that Von

Papen was also motivated by revenge as he felt betrayed by Von Schleicher who had become Chancellor after him.

Von Papen saw Hitler as a way of getting back at Von Schleicher, however he had underestimate Hitler rather dras-

tically…..

Don‟t underestimate the role

of the Nazis in all of this

though. Remember Joseph

Goebbels propaganda and

their proactivity eg. Hitler

flying to several speeches a

day enabling to spread his

message more widely.

Sig

ns

the

Lo

carn

o T

reat

y i

n 1

92

5 t

o

agre

e G

erm

an

y‟s

wes

tern

bo

ard

ers.

Ger

man

y j

oin

s th

e L

eag

ue

of

Na-

tio

ns

in 1

92

6,

it i

s b

eing a

ccep

ted

into

the

mai

nst

ream

again

.

The

arm

y a

re a

llo

wed

to

rem

ove

left

win

g

go

ver

nm

ents

fro

m p

ow

er i

n b

oth

Sax

on

y a

nd

Thuri

ng

ia—

this

mad

e th

em

mo

re l

ikel

y t

o

sup

po

rt t

he

arm

y a

gai

nst

oth

er t

hre

ats

eg.

Mu

-

nic

h P

uts

ch

The

Naz

i‟s

gain

ed l

ess

than 3

% o

f th

e

vo

te i

n 1

92

8.

All

of

the

extr

em

e p

arti

es

wer

e st

rug

gli

ng.

A „

Gra

nd

Co

alit

ion

‟ w

as f

orm

ed w

hic

h

incl

ud

ed t

he

SD

P,

Cat

ho

lic

Centr

e P

ar-

ty,

DD

P a

nd

DV

P.

This

mad

e th

e go

v-

ern

ments

str

on

ger

(b

igger

maj

ori

ty).

The

Ren

ten

mar

k w

as i

ntr

od

uced

(1

Ren

ten

mar

k =

3 b

illi

on m

ark

s) t

o s

top

hyp

erin

flati

on,

and

then

a n

ew

curr

en-

cy w

as i

ntr

od

uce

d.

The

Daw

es P

lan (

19

24

) sa

w A

mer

ica

loan

Ger

man

y 2

5 b

illi

on w

ort

h o

f m

arks.

This

was

plo

ug

hed

into

ind

ust

ry w

hic

h

enab

led

Ger

man

y t

o b

eco

me

mo

re p

rof-

itab

le.

The

Yo

ung P

lan e

xte

nd

ed R

epar

atio

n

pay

ments

, w

hic

h m

eant

that

th

e yea

rly

cost

went

do

wn.

Unem

plo

ym

ent

was

stil

l o

n t

he

way u

p—

6%

of

Ger

man w

ork

ers

wer

e unem

plo

yed

by 1

92

8.

Des

pit

e th

e G

rand

Co

alit

ion a

round

30

% o

f th

e vo

te

regula

rly w

ent

to p

arti

es w

ho

op

po

sed

the

Rep

ub

lic.

Bet

wee

n 1

91

9 a

nd

19

33

ther

e w

ere

20

sep

arat

e co

ali-

tio

n g

over

nm

ents

.

Ever

yth

ing r

evo

lved

aro

und

th

e A

mer

ican

lo

ads,

and

in

19

29

the

Wal

l S

tree

t C

rash

occ

urr

ed. T

his

cau

sed

Am

eric

a to

sto

p l

end

ing G

erm

any a

nd

cal

l in

thei

r

loan

s.

19

24—

19

29:

Th

e

Go

lden

Yea

rs

The Reichstag Fire: February 1933

Hitler had scheduled another election for March 1932 in or-

der to get an overall majority.

However, on the 27th February the Reichstag fire occurred.

Hitler blamed the Communists and demanded special powers

to deal with them.

A Communist called Marius van der Lubbe was caught red

handed in the Reichstag and admitted starting the fire (but he

claimed that he acted alone).

Don‟t forget that there was a tunnel between Goering‟s of-

fice and the Reichstag itself.

The Enabling Act was passed on 24th March 1933.

The Enabling Act:

This gave Hitler the

power to pass laws with-

out going to the Reichs-

tag,.

Made him a dictator for

4 years.

Allowed him to ban the

Communist Party.

Allowed phone-tapping

etc.

Allowed the Gestapo to

hold people without

trial.

The Night of the Long Knives 29th-30th June 1934

Hitler was unable to persuade the army to support him

(yet) and they were the only group in Germany with the

power to present a real threat. There were also elements of

the Nazi Party who were proving problematic, not least the

SA who were at odds with the army (the army didn‟t want

the SA leadership made Generals).

Hitler chose to deal with both of these problems at the

same time.

On the 29th-30th June squads of SS men broke into the

homes of Rohm and the other leading members of the SA

and arrested them.

Hitler accused Rohm and the others of plotting to over-

throw him.

Rohm and as many as 400 other opponents (100 Nazis)

were executed, including the former chancellor Von

Schleicher (remember him?).

Hindenburg praised Hitler‟s „determined action which has

nipped treason in the bud.‟

Hitler was left in a much stronger position both within his

party and on the outside too.

What Next?

Shortly after the Night of the Long Knives President Hindenburg died.

Hitler took over as Supreme Leader (Fuhrer) of Germany, combining the posts of Chancel-

lor and President.

The army swore an Oath of Loyalty to Hitler in August 1934.

Hitler brought back conscription and planned to make Germany a great power again.

Remember:

Make sure that you are clear

on:

The SS

The Gestapo

The Police and Courts

Concentration Camps

Propaganda

Economic Policies.

Watch

out Ernst!

Why was there little opposition?

1) It‟s for the good of Germany—Economically Germany was

recovering, traditional values pleased many Germans as did

the clampdown on Communists, Nazi foreign policy was

also making Germany feel great again eg. Anschluss, Sude-

tenland etc.

2) I don‟t want to lose my job—no one could afford to lose

their job after the depression, and no business could afford to

lose out on Nazi generated income. With an active SS and

it‟s special security service (the SD) listening to everything,

your job could depend on silence.

3) Have you heard the good news—Propaganda, headed by

Joseph Goebbels and the Ministry of Propaganda and En-

lightenment, this was a particularly important aspect of Nazi

control (see box on this page).

Propaganda

1) The Nuremberg Rallies—

These took place in the

summer of each year,

they brought a sense of

„belonging‟. They em-

phasised the triumph of

order (the Nazis) over

chaos (pre Nazis).

2) The 1936 Olympics—

Goebbels saw this as an

opportunity to promote

Germany internationally.

The USA threatened to

boycott in response to

anti Semitic measures on

Germany, so the Nazis

included a token Jew on

their team! A new stadi-

um was built to hold

100,000 people. Compet-

itors from 49 countries

took part. Germany

topped the medal table,

and to the German peo-

ple, already used to the

propaganda machine, this

served to reinforce be-

liefs about Aryan superi-

ority. This is despite Jes-

sie Owens, a black ath-

lete, winning 4 gold med-

als and breaking 11 world

records.

3) Control of the media—

censorship of all foreign

films, all films carried a

pro Nazi message. Book

burning held in 1933.

Radio broadcasting cen-

sored, the BBC was

banned! Cheap shortwave

radios that just picked up

Nazi stations were made

available. The SS and

Gestapo helped to en-

force this.

Controlling Young People

1) The Hitler Youth (HJ)—Set up in 1924, made compulsory

in 1936 for boys aged 14-18. You were indoctrinated and

trained up to join the army. The League for Germany

Maiden (BDM) was set up to teach girls Nazi ideas, do-

mestic skills and preparation for motherhood eg. eugenics

( choosing the correct partner). 1933 membership = 3 mil-

lion, 1939 membership = over 7 million. Activities includ-

ed, camping, hiking and sports.

2) Education—Lessons were changed eg. 15% of boys curric-

ulum time became PE, especially boxing. History became

focused on the betrayal of Germany in the Treaty of Ver-

sailles (by Jews and Communists), Geography focused on

lost land at the end of WW1 etc. Girls were taught domes-

tic skills and eugenics. Religious studies was abandoned.

All textbooks and children's books were re-written to fit the

Nazi view of racial purity eg. Cinderella became the story

of an Aryan princess trapped by evil Jewish step sisters and

rescued by an Aryan prince.

Women

Women were crucial in Hitler‟s overall plan of an Aryan race. They

were encouraged to have as many children as possible. The mother‟s

cross was created: 4 children=bronze, 6=silver, 8=gold. The birth rate

increased from 15 per thousand in 1933 to 20 per thousand in 1939.

Although women were originally forced out of work, the Nazis had to

change their mind after 1942 when they tried to encourage women

back into the war effort. There was always a mixed message about

this however, and as a result results were mixed.

The Swing Kids

This was made up of mainly middle class teenagers who wanted to embrace American culture. They went to

parties and listened to English and American music. They danced American dances, eg. The Jitterbug, and

listened to banned Jazz music. They accepted Jews at their clubs and talked about and enjoyed sex—this went

against all that the Nazis stood for. They did not, however, present a particularly active threat to the Nazis.

The Eidleweiss Pirates

These were mainly working class teenagers who were not a defined movement—groups from different cities

took different names eg. The Roving Dudes (Essen) and Kettelback Pirates (Dusseldorf) - they were classed

as a single group by the Nazis (they had many similarities). They were mainly aged between 14 and 17 and

went camping like the hitler Youth. They sang sarcastic songs that degenerated Hitler and mixed with the

opposite sex. They helped allied airmen escape, and distributed allied propaganda, they even attacked and

murdered a high ranking Gestapo officer (as well as attacking members of the Hitler Youth). In 1942 the Ge-

stapo broke up 28 groups of Pirates containing 739 youths. In 1944 in Cologne the Nazi‟s hung 12 ringlead-

ers publically for attacking a Gestapo chief.

Groups Persecuted

by the Nazis:

Jews

Gypsies

Homosexuals

Mentally hand-

icapped

Physically

handicapped

Methods of Persecution:

1) Sterilisation Programme—Between 1924 and 1945 over 300,000 people

were compulsorily sterilised.

2) Euthanasia Programme—Begun in 1939, 5,000 babies and children

(severely handicapped) were killed. Between 1939 and 1942, 72,000 were

gassed before a public outcry ended the programme.

3) Extermination Programme—Public concern did not extend to the gypsies

however, and 5 out of 6 gypsies living in Germany in 1939 were killed.

4) The ghettos—created in 1939. Able bodied Jews were used for slave labour,

the old and sick were left to die.

5) Concentration/Work Camps—used for political prisoners to „re-educate‟

them. Jews and other „undesirables‟ were also sent here to be worked to

death.

6) Einsatzgruppen—Specialist death squads that followed the army around

carrying out mass shootings of Jews and Communists.

7) Death Camps (the Final Solution)— decided upon at the Wannsee Confer-

ence in 1942. Slave Labour Camps were turned into death camps eg.

Auschwitz, Treblinka and Chelmo. Some inmates were used in horrific

medical experiments by Dr Mengele and his colleagues. Some 6 million

Jews and 500,000 European gypsies and countless political prisoners met

their end here.

Key Events:

Boycott of

Jewish Shops

1933.

Nuremburg

Laws 1935.

Kristallnacht

1938.

How did the war effect Germany:

1) Food rationing was begun in September 1939, clothes rationing followed in November. 1939-1941 was

not difficult however, because the war went so well for Germany.

2) The Invasion of the USSR (1941) - civilians had to cut back on heating, work longer hours, recycle their

rubbish, censorship was redoubled. However, when appeals were made 1.5 million fur coats were donat-

ed for the army.

3) Albert Speer takes over war production in 1942—all effort becomes focused on the armaments industry.

Postal services were suspended and letter boxes closed. All places of entertainment were closed, except

the cinemas (used for propaganda). Women were drafted into the labour force.

4) The bombing of Dresden, 1945—this was the culmination of the allied bombing effort. Between 35,000

and 150,000 people were killed in two days. The war was over within 3 months.

Revision Questions:

1) Describe the situation in Germany in 1919.

2) What were the 2 uprising‟s against the Weimar

Republic?

3) What were the three crisis's of 1923?

4) Explain how the Munich Putsch was both a posi-

tive and a negative thing for the Nazi Party.

5) How did the government solve them?

6) Give two strengths of the Weimar Government

between 1924 and 1929.

7) Give two weaknesses they faced between 1924

and 1924 and 1929

8) What was the Dawes Plan?

9) What was the Wall Street Crash?

10) How many people were unemployed in 1932?

11) How many Nazis were elected into the Reichstag

in 1928?

12) How many were elected in 1931?

13) How many were elected in July and Nov 1932?

14) When was Hitler made Chancellor?

15) Explain Von Papen‟s role in Hitler becoming

Chancellor.

16) What was the Reichstag Fire? Explain both possi-

ble causes.

17) What powers did the Enabling Act give Hitler?

18) What was the Oath of Loyalty?

19) What was the Night of the Long Knives?

20) When was the Jewish Shop Boycott?

21) Give three successful example of Nazi Propagan-

da.

22) When and what was Kristallnacht?

23) Who were the Gestapo?

Revision Questions:

24) Who ran the Nazi propaganda ma-

chine?

25) Give three example of how the Nazis

controlled people post 1933.

26) Give three example of Nazi persecu-

tion, including the number of people who

suffered.

27) Explain how the war effected Germa-

ny.

28) Give three positive/successful fea-

tures of the Nazi economic policy.

29) Give three negative/unsuccessful fea-

tures of the Nazi economic policy.

30) Who was Hindenburg?

31) Who was Ernst Rohm?

32) When was the Hitler Youth set up?

33) Why did young people join the Hitler

Youth?

34) Give three examples of how educa-

tion in Nazi Germany changed.

35) Did Nazi policy towards women

work?

36) Explain what the Mother‟s Cross was.

37) How many members did the Hitler

Youth have in 1933 and 1939?

38) Give two youth opposition groups

and explain what they did.

39) What were the BDM?

40) What was Hitler‟s book called?