Y9 History

Week beginning 18/05/20

The Treaty of Versailles and effects on Germany. The Rise of the

Nazi Party

Please spend ONE HOUR on each lesson this week.

Lesson One

1. Read the information about how Germany was treated at

the end of WWI.

2. Answer the questions at the end of the section in full.

3. Complete the extended writing activity.

Activity One

A German cartoon made just after WWI. Germany is the woman in the bed

while the Vampire is George Clemenceau, the leader of France.

World War One ended on 11th November 1918. Most of the

fighting had occurred in France and Belgium and indeed

the Germany Army, although running out of supplies, was

not defeated and had not retreated back into their own

country. However, it was the leaders of France, Britain and

the USA who would decide how Germany would be treated

at the end of the war with Germany not allowed any say.

Look at this map of Europe before and after WWI. What do you notice?

The signing of the Treaty of Versailles

The discussions about the treaty between Britain, France and the USA began

in January 1919. Germany was not invited to contribute to these discussions.

Germany assumed that the 14-point plan, set out by President Woodrow

Wilson of the USA in January 1918, would form the basis of the peace treaty.

However, France, who had suffered considerably in the war, was determined

to make sure that Germany would not be able to challenge them again.

Under clause 231, the ‘War Guilt Clause’, Germany had to accept complete

responsibility for the war. Germany lost 13% of its land and 12% of its

population to the Allies. This land made up 48% of Germany’s iron production

and a large proportion of its coal productions limiting its economic power.

The German Army was limited to 100,000 soldiers, and the navy was limited to

15,000 sailors. As financial compensation for the war, the Allies also

demanded large amounts of money known as ‘reparations’.

The Treaty of Versailles was very unpopular in Germany and was viewed as

extremely harsh. Faced with the revolutionary atmosphere at home, and

shortages from the conditions of war, the German government reluctantly

agreed to accept the terms with two exceptions. They did not accept

admitting total responsibility for starting the war, and they did not accept

that the former Kaiser should be put on trial.

The Allies rejected this proposal, and demanded that Germany accept all

terms unconditionally or face returning to war.

The German government had no choice. Representatives of the new parties

in power, the SPD and the Centre Party, Hermann Müller and Johannes Bell,

signed the treaty on the 28 June 1919.

Many Germans were outraged by the Treaty of Versailles. They regarded it as

a ‘diktat’ – dictated peace. Müller and Bell were branded the ‘November

Criminals’ by the right-wing and nationalist parties that opposed treaty.

This video also sums up some of the key features of the Treaty.

A map showing changes to Germany after the Treaty of Versailles

This video clip helps explain why the government in Germany already faced

big challenges in 1918. Now they were also associated with the Treaty of

Versailles.

Activity Two

Questions

1. In your opinion, who was to blame for the war?

2. What was decided in the Treaty of Versailles?

3. In your opinion, what should be done with the German army after the

war?

4. What was decided in the Treaty of Versailles?

5. In your opinion, what should happen to German territory after the war?

6. What was decided in the Treaty of Versailles?

7. In your opinion, who should pay for the war?

8. What was decided in the Treaty of Versailles?

9. What do you think was the most important consequence of the Treaty

of Versailles?

10. Would it be fair to blame the German government for the situation in

Germany in 1918? If so, why?, if not, why not?

Activity Three

Extended Writing

Imagine you are a British journalist working in Berlin in 1919. Your editor wants

you to send a report on why the German government is so unpopular and

how the people of Germany view the Treaty of Versailles. What will you write?

Offer as much detail as possible, making sure you stay focused on the

question.

Lesson Two

1. Read the information about the Weimar Republic.

2. Complete a strengths and weaknesses table about the

Weimar Republic and answer the extension question.

3. Read the information about the early years of the Nazi Party

and turn the information into a mindmap.

4. Watch the videos about the rise of the Nazi Party and make

notes on the reasons why the Nazis were able to come to

power.

5. Complete an extended writing tasks explaining why you think

the Nazis came to power.

Activity One

The Weimar Republic

The Weimar Republic was the new system of democratic government

established in Germany following the collapse of the Second Reich and the

end of WWI.

The first elections for the new Republic were held on the 19 January 1919.

They used a voting system called Proportional Representation.

The Social Democratic Party won 38% of the vote and 163 seats, the Catholic

Centre Party won 20% of the vote and 91 seats and the Democratic Party

won 19% of the vote and 75 seats. The rest of the seats were divided up

between the smaller parties.

Whilst the Social Democratic Party had won the most votes, they did not win

a majority (over 50%). Therefore, the Social Democratic Party joined a

coalition with the Catholic Centre Party and the Democratic Party to make

up a majority. This coalition then had the task of drawing up a constitution for

the new republic.

As Berlin was still in the grips of revolution, the market town of Weimar was

chosen as the meeting place. This venue gave the new nation the name the

‘Weimar Republic’.

The Weimar Republic adopted a new constitution, different to that of the

previous monarchy. Under the new republic, all adults over the age of twenty

could vote.

Instead of a monarch, there was a president elected every seven years. The

president’s power was limited by the Reichstag. However, in the state of an

emergency, Article 48 of the new constitution gave the president ultimate

authority to rule by decree.

There were two parliamentary houses in the Republic, the Reichstag and the

Reichsrat. The chancellor was the leader of the Reichstag. The chancellor

held similar position to the British Prime Minister, and was appointed by the

President. Typically, the chancellor would be the leader of the largest party,

although this was not always the case.

The Weimar Republic was a federal system. It was split into eighteen different

states called Länder, each of which had their own local government. The

Länder could send representatives from their local government to the

Reichsrat.

Despite these changes, there were also many aspects of the government

that continued as before. To maintain stability in government, many of the

old civil servants and military leaders stayed in similar positions of power, and

therefore still had enormous influence.

Political Instability

The new Proportional Representation system of voting in the Weimar Republic

caused political instability.

Whilst the new system intended to reduce political conflicts, it in fact resulted

in many different parties gaining a small amount of seats in the Reichstag. This

meant that no one party had overall an overall majority, and parties joined

together to rule in coalitions.

In these coalitions, each party had different aims which often led to

disagreements on policy. These disagreements made it difficult for the

Reichstag to govern. In the early 1920s there were many changes of

government, which made managing Germany’s political and economic

problems very difficult.

In addition to this difficulty, the unpopular reparations payments, which

Germany were forced to pay through the Treaty of Versailles, put a huge

amount of economic pressure on the government.

These tough economic and political circumstances made people susceptible

to extreme political views. In order to keep control and peace in the early

1920s, Friedrich Ebert relied heavily on the traditionally right-wing army and

Freikorps.

Throughout the war, the value of the German currency, the Reichsmark, fell

considerably. In 1914, one British pound was equal to twenty German marks.

In 1919, one British pound was equal to 250 marks. To try and meet the

requirements of government spending and alleviate the post-war situation,

the government had little choice but to print more money. This in fact made

the inflationary situation worse and again reduced the value of the

Reichsmark.

Hyperinflation and the invasion of the Ruhr

Meanwhile, in the midst of this economic

crisis, Germany continued to attempt to pay the

reparations as dictated by the Treaty of

Versailles. The reparations had to be paid in gold

marks, which maintained its value, whilst the

German currency declined. This made it

more and more expensive to pay.

In 1922, Germany requested permission to

suspend their payments whilst their economy

recovered. This was refused by the Allies. By

1923, Germany reached breaking point as

inflation started to run out of control. They

were unable to continue paying reparations.

On the 9 January 1923, in response to the lack of payment of reparations,

France and Belgium invaded the Ruhr. The Ruhr was a region of Germany

which contained resources such as factories. The French and Belgians

intended to use these resources to make up for the unpaid reparations.

German factory workers refused to co-operate with the occupying French

and Belgian armies. With the German governments support, the workers went

on strike. The French sent in their own workers, and arrested the leaders of the

German strikers and the German police. This led to violence on both sides.

With the French and Belgian occupation of the Ruhr, goods in Germany

became even more difficult to obtain, and therefore very expensive. To fix

this problem and pay the striking Ruhr workers, the government again printed

more money. This led to hyperinflation.

By the autumn of 1923 a loaf of bread cost 200,000,000,000 marks. Workers

paid by the hour found their wages were worthless, because prices had risen

since they began their shifts. The situation was critical.

Stresemann and the Dawes Plan

It was at this moment of crisis that Gustav Stresemann was elected as

chancellor in September 1923. Stresemann was a politician of the DVP, the

German People’s Party. In 1923 he formed a coalition

of the DVP, SPD, DDP and Centre Party and became

chancellor.

To try and tackle the crisis gripping Germany,

Stresemann followed a policy of ‘fulfillment’ whereby

he aimed to improve international relations by

attempting to fulfil the terms of the Treaty of Versailles.

These improved relationships would then in turn help

him to secure a reasonable revision to the treaty.

Following this policy, Stresemann made the unpopular

decision to start repaying the reparations and order the

striking workers of the Ruhr to return to work.

Stresemann also appointed Hjalmar Schacht, a banker, to tackle the issue of

hyperinflation. In November 1923, Schacht introduced a new German

currency, the Rentenmark, based on land values and foreign loans. One

Rentenmark was worth 10,000,000,000,000 of the old currency.

The Golden Years

In April 1924, Stresemann’s policy of fulfillment paid off. An American

economist named Charles Dawes was recruited to help to set a new,

realistic, target for Germany’s reparations payments. This was called the

Dawes Plan.

Under this plan, the reparations were reduced to 50 million marks a year for

the next five years, and then 125 million marks a year following that. The plan

also recommended that the German National Bank was reorganised, and

that Germany receive an international loan. This loan was for 800 million gold

marks, financed primarily by America.

These measures eased the economic pressure on Germany, and relations

with other countries began to improve and then stabilise.

This economic improvement, as well as improvements in foreign relations, led

to the years between 1924 and 1929 becoming known as the ‘Golden Years’.

The years 1924 to 1929 became known as the ‘Golden Years’, as foreign

relations improved and the economy prospered.

Stresemann worked to improve Germany’s international relations. In the

Locarno Pact of 1925, France, Belgium and Germany agreed to respect

each other’s borders. In 1926, Germany was accepted into the League of

Nations.

The Dawes Plan, alongside a sudden injection of foreign loans, helped the

German economy to stabilise and prosper. This situation allowed the German

government to invest in new public facilities, such as hospitals and schools.

Those in work saw real improvements in working conditions as wages

increased and working hours decreased.

Culture in Germany also flourished, as previously established thoughts and

beliefs were thrown aside for new ideas. The German art school Bauhaus is a

key example of this, promoting experimental modernist art and architecture.

However, not all of Germany’s problems had been fixed.

Unemployment was still very high with two million people unemployed in

1926. 1.3 million were still unemployed in 1928.

The farming industry was also slow to recover from the wartime pressures, and

agricultural and rural wages were much lower than those in big towns and

cities.

Furthermore, the sudden injection of foreign loans had left Germany

dependent on income that they could not control.

Despite this, Germany had made significant steps on the road to recovery

between 1924-29. Unfortunately, this would come to an abrupt end with the

Wall Street Crash of 1929.

The Wall Street Crash and the Depression

The Wall Street Crash was a stock market crash that took place from the 24

October to 29 October 1929. Following the optimism of the 1920s, people

were keen to invest in stocks and shares, where they believed they could

make a fortune.

This burst of investment pushed companies

stock market value higher than their real

value.

On the 3 September 1929 stock prices

reached an all-time high.

However, shortly after this, prices started to

drop. This led to mass panic selling. By

October 1929, the value of the market halved.

As the world economies were linked through international business, the Wall

Street Crash resulted in an international depression. As a result of this

international depression, and the need for money at home, the USA called in

their international loans.

Germany was reliant on international loans and investment. They had used

these, as explored above, to rebuild their economy after the war and

hyperinflation crisis, and invest in new schools, businesses and hospitals. As the

USA removed this investment, Germany fell into another economic crisis.

Activity Two

What were the strengths and weaknesses of the Weimar Republic?

Draw up a table with two columns, labelling one strengths and the other

weaknesses. Note down as many things as possible under each heading.

Strengths Weaknesses

The reliance on foreign loans following the

Dawes Plan led to a severe economic

depression following the Wall Street

Crash.

Overall, was the Weimar Republic strong or weak in your opinion? Explain

your thinking.

Activity Three

The Rise of the Nazi Party

The early years of the Nazi Party

In January 1919, Anton Drexler founded the German Workers’ Party. This party

was formed from a group who had previously met regularly to discuss political

matters.

The party met weekly in a beer hall in Munich. After the pressures of war

Munich was politically unstable. People were inclined to support new ideas

that advocated extreme change.

The party advocated a range of ideas, including hostility to the Treaty of

Versailles, nationalism, concern about the nations moral standards and

changing culture, and extreme antisemitism.

On the 24 February 1920, the German Workers’ Party changed its name to

the National Socialist German Workers’ Party (NSDAP), more commonly

referred to as the Nazi Party.

Adolf Hitler

Adolf Hitler was born on the 20 April 1889 in a small town called Braunau-am-

Inn in Austria.

In 1913, Hitler moved to Munich, and after the First World War broke out in

1914 he enlisted to join the German Army. Hitler was placed in the 16

Bavarian Reserve Infantry Regiment and served as a runner, taking messages

to and from the front line. Hitler was injured twice in the war and whilst he was

in hospital recovering from his second injury, an armistice was declared and

the war was over.

After the war, Hitler returned to Munich. He continued working for the army as

an instruction officer in the information department. His job was to encourage

nationalism and anti-communism amongst soldiers and infiltrate small political

parties.

It was through this job that Hitler first attended a meeting of the German

Worker’s Party on the 12 September 1919. Hitler entered into a discussion with

the main speaker at the event, and Drexler, impressed with Hitler’s points and

oratory skills, invited him to join the party.

Hitler joined the party and then the committee of the German Worker’s Party.

He was unimpressed by its lack of organisation, and set about transforming

the group. He became responsible for recruitment and propaganda, and

organised larger party meetings and rallies, where he would give speeches.

His oratory skills soon became indispensable to the party.

On the 24 February 1920, Hitler announced the Nazi Party’s 25-point

programme.

Following this announcement, Hitler pushed for an overhaul of the party

structure, replacing the democratic committee with a single leader who

would have ultimate control. This proposal was rejected. On the 11 July 1920,

over a disagreement about merging with another party, Hitler resigned.

Hitler stated he would only return if he was made party chairman, with

dictatorial powers. Realising the loss of their main speaker could potentially

ruin the party, Drexler and the committee agreed to Hitler’s demands. Hitler

became the party chairman.

What were Hitler's and the Nazi Party's ideas?

Prior to Hitler joining, the Nazi Party held extremely nationalist, racist and

antisemitic views. After Hitler had joined the party, he expanded upon and

marketed these ideas.

Hitler had a racist world view. He believed that people could be separated

into a hierarchy of different races, where some races were superior and

others were inferior. Hitler believed the German race to be the superior race,

and called the German race ‘Aryan’.

Hitler and the Nazis considered Jews to be an inferior race of people, who set

out to weaken other races and take over the world. Hitler believed that Jews

were particularly destructive to the German ‘Aryan’ race, and did not have

any place in Nazi Germany.

Hitler also wanted to rid Germany of the disabled, homosexuals, Roma and

Sinti, and other minorities that did not fit in to his idea of an Aryan race. The

Nazis labelled these groups ‘a-social’.

Hitler was an extreme nationalist, believing the German ‘Aryan’ race should

dominate. His expansionist policies sought ‘Lebensraum‘ for the German

people. Hitler wanted to create a generation of young Aryans who were

physically fit and totally obedient through programmes such as Hitler Youth.

He believed these policies would unite Germany and ensure it was the

strongest nation on earth.

Hitler developed and publicised all of these ideas in his books, Mein Kampf

(1925) and Zweites Buch (1928), and speeches throughout his time in power.

The Munich Putsch

On the 8 November 1923, Hitler attempted to pull off a military coup and

overthrow the Weimar Republic. This was called the Munich Putsch, although

it is sometimes referred to as the Beer Hall Putsch.

Throughout 1923, the economic and political crisis struck. The Nazi Party and

other nationalists believed that an armed takeover of Bavaria could

overthrow the Republic.

Hitler and the Nazi Party collaborated with others such as General Ludendorff

and Gustav von Kahr to put a plan together to attempt a military coup.

By August 1923, the plan was set and weapons and transport were gathered.

Following a signal from the Bavarian parliament, all of those involved in the

plan would march to Berlin to seize power.

In November 1923, the others involved in the plan began to have second

thoughts after hearing that the army in Berlin would defend the government.

Hitler was determined that the plan would go ahead. On the 8 November

1923, he marched into a beer hall in Munich, where von Kahr was giving a

speech. Hitler declared his intention to take over the government and start a

national revolution.

Von Kahr gave his support to Hitler at gunpoint. However, as soon as Hitler left

to sort out a disagreement between the SA and troops, he withdrew his

support, moved the Bavarian government, and declared the Nazi Party a

banned organisation.

On the following morning, the 9 November 1923, Hitler led a demonstration

through the streets of Munich, aiming to take control of the war ministry

building. Armed police blocked their route, and violence broke out on both

sides. Fourteen Nazis and four policemen were killed.

Hitler fled the scene, and was arrested two days later on the 11 November

1923. He was sent to Landsberg Prison and put on trial for treason. Hitler’s trial

took place from the 26 February to the 1 April 1924.

He was found guilty of treason, but, with a sympathetic judge, was

sentenced to just five years in prison. Of this five years, Hitler only served nine

months.

Task

Turn the written information above into a mindmap. Try to summarise the

main points about the early Nazi Party into different branches of your

mindmap.

Activity Four

How did the Nazis come to power?

Watch the three video clips.

Hitler's Rise to Power

How the Depression helped Hitler come to Power

How Hitler became Chancellor

The role of Hitler's public appeal in the rise of the Nazi Party

Make notes under the following headings, explaining how the Nazis came to

power in Germany.

• The Great Depression

• Nazi Ideas

• The Role of Adolph Hitler

• Propaganda

• The weak political system in Weimar Germany

What do you think was the most important reason? Why?

Activity Five

Extended writing task

“The main reason why the Nazis came to power was the Great Depression.”

To what extent do you agree with this statement?

Write a short introduction explaining your thinking.

Write one paragraph on why someone could argue it was the Great

Depression.

Write another paragraph and why someone could argue it was another

factor.

Write a short conclusion explaining which factor you think is most important

and why.