Transcript Germany Key Information Booklet

GCSE Germany
Key Information
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The Weimar Constitution:
• President is elected every 7 years by the German people.
• Article 48 meant that in an emergency the President can make laws
without consulting the Reichstag
• Members from political parties were voted in the Reichstag by
Proportional Representation.
• A problem was that too many small parties involved the need for
coalitions which were often not stable
• Constitution guaranteed equal rights such as the right to vote
Threats from the left – Spartacist
Uprising (1919)
• Led by Luxemburg and Liebknect
• They captured the headquarters of the
governments newspaper and telegraph bureau
• They were defeated by the Freikorps who hated
Communism
• Hundreds were killed and the leaders were shot
• Defeat of the Spartacists relied on antiRepublican forces
Threats from the right – Kapp Putsch
(1920)
• Nationalists marched on Berlin with Freikorps
troops
• Kapp set up a right wing government and the
army did not stop him
• The SPD led government fled to Dresden
• The government survived because of a
workers strike
Threats from the right – Munich
Putsch (1923)
• Hitler and his Nazis staged an attempted
Putsch in Munich when the SA burst in on a
meeting of the Bavarian government
• Hitler declared himself leader and planned to
march on Berlin the next day
• However two key nationalists informed the
Bavarian police and during the march the
Nazis were met with armed resistance
• Hitler was arrested
Treaty of Versailles
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Germany had to accept the blame for starting the war
Germany had to pay £6,600 million in Reparations
Germany could only have an army of 100,000 men
No submarines or aircraft
Lost territory to France and Poland
The government were viewed as traitors for signing the
treaty and accused of ‘stabbing the army in the back’
• It led to more support for more extreme right wing
parties like the DNVP
Economic Crisis (1923):
• Germany could not afford to pay their reparations
• The French sent troops into the Ruhr and took over mines and factories
• The German government called on workers to carry out ‘passive
resistance’
• To pay the workers the German government printed more money
• Striking workers spent this money which caused shop keepers to put up
prices
• The government responded by printing more money
• This resulted in hyperinflation
• Middle class lost their savings
• Workers lost jobs as businesses collapsed
• Pensioners on fixed income could not afford to buy what they needed
• Debts were wiped out
• Farmers benefitted from higher food prices
• Big businesses benefitted as they traded in gold
The Stresemann years:
• POLITICS:
• There were no more attempted uprisings and there was greater support
for pro-Weimar parties but there were problems in forming coalitions. At
first the SPD refused to join and Hindenburg worked to set up coalitions
without them. This undermined democracy
• ECONOMY:
• A new currency called the Rentenmark. Dawes plan provided a loan from
the USA to pay 4/5 of the reparations. The Young Plan extended the
deadline to 1988
• Living standards improved
• Car ownership increased by 400%
• Small firms struggled as they did not benefit from US loans
• INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS:
• 1925 Lacarno pacts secured borders. 1928 Kellogg Briand Pact assured
peace with over 60 countries. In 1926 Germany was allowed to join the
League of Nations
Weimar Culture:
• New artists (Grosz and Dix) painted every day life
in an objective and modern way
• Bauhaus movement made objects that could be
mass produced
• Berlin became famous for its night life,
transvestite balls and open discussion of sexuality
• Many conservatives were angry at this culture
and believed it to represent a decline in decency
Depression:
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US loans were recalled
German exports could not be sold
Businesses closed
Unemployment rose
People could not afford their mortgages and
lived in shanty towns
• Banks collapsed
• Middle class lost their savings
Reasons for the rise of the Nazi vote:
• DEPRESSION: 6 million were unemployed and banks collapsed
– this caused a rise in votes for extreme parties
• PROPAGANDA: The modern and exciting ‘Hitler over
Germany’ campaign promised the people solutions which
included jobs, higher food prices and the removal of the
Treaty of Versailles
• GOVERNMENTAL FAILURE: People lost faith in democracy as
Muller’s, Brunning and von Papen’s government all collapsed
• 1920s REORGANISATION: ballot not bullet / Local Gauleiter /
Fuhrerprinzip all made the party into one that could be voted
for
How was Hitler made Chancellor
(January 1933):
• Hitler demands the post of Chancellor
• Hindenburg says no
• Schliecher persuades Hindenburg to make him
Chancellor
• Hitler and von Papen meet in secret and plan to
make Hitler Chancellor and von Papen vice
Chancellor
• Von Papen convinces Hindenburg by saying that
Hitler could be tamed
How did Hitler consolidate his power?
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Reichstag Fire:
Van der Lubbe is caught red handed
Hitler blames the Communists
This leads to the passing of the Decree for Protection of People and
State which allows the Nazis to round up communists
Enabling Act:
The Reichstag votes to pass law making powers to Hitler
This act is passed because of SA intimidation, banning of Communists
and a deal with the Centre Party
Night of the Long Knives:
SS murder SA leaders including its leader Rohm
This is because the SA were demanding to remove the power of the
Middle Class
This gained the support of the army who were worried about the SA
How did the Nazis control Germany?
• PROPAGANDA:
• The ‘People’s Radio flooded the market
• Cinema: Triumph of the Will and Olympia portrayed Nazi
messages
• Nazi press agency controlled all newspapers
• TERROR:
• SS had unlimited powers to deal with the opposition
• Gestapo could arrest people merely on suspicion
• Confessions were extracted by torture
• Concentration camps were set up from 1933
• Block wardens spied on communities
How successful was Nazi economic policy?
• Unemployment was reduced dramatically (less than
0.5 million) because of the National labour Service,
rearmament and removal of the Jews and women
• The Four Year plan failed to bring about Autarky as in
1939 Germany continued to import 33% of raw
materials and significant amounts of food stuff
• People lost freedoms as membership of trade unions
was banned and was replaced with the German
Labour Front. They were compensated with Strength
Through Joy and Beauty of Labour
How successful were Nazi policies towards women?
• Successful encouragement of marriage via the Law for the
Encouragement of Marriage – 1000 mark loan which was
reduced by 250 marks with the birth of each child.
Motherhood crosses for 4, 6 and 8 children
• Successful removal of women from the workplace, including
doctors, civil servants, teachers and lawyers. However the
Nazis had to back track on these policies as they needed
women to work during WWII
• The denial of freedom of expression was not as successful as
women still wore trousers, high heeled shoes and make up
How successful were Nazi policies towards the youth?
• Children were indoctrinated via the education system
where all subjects took on a Nazi bias. This explains the
enthusiasm for the genocide that they were involved in
their later lives
• Children prepared for their later roles. 15% of time in
school for boys was spent and hiking/camping in the
compulsory Hitler Youth prepared them for life in the
army. Girls learnt needlework and cookery. Many
children enjoyed these activities
• However there were youth opposition movements. The
Swing Youth were groups of upper and middle class
youths who met in bars and nightclubs and listened to
jazz. The Edelweiss Pirates went on hikes to beat up
Hitler Youth patrols
How successful was Hitler in removing the power of
the church?
• The Concordat with the Catholic Church was broken as
youth groups were closed down, priests were harassed
and crucifixes were banned in schools
• However Catholicism was not destroyed, only attacked
• The Protestant Church was restructured into the National
Reich Church where the Bible was replaced with Mein
Kampf and a sword
• However an opposition movement broke away and
formed the Confessional Church
• The German Faith Movement was a disaster because
only 5% joined
Nazi cultural attitudes:
• The Nazi Chamber of Creative Art laid guidelines
down for artists, sculptors, writers and musicians
• Many Weimar artists to flee
• House of German Art was set up to show what
was acceptable and the House of ‘degenerate Art’
to show what was banned
• Public book burnings
• They closed down the Bauhaus movement
• They disapproved of the cabaret culture because
it was sleazy
Nazi treatment of the Jews
1933
Boycott of Jewish shops and banning of Jewish doctors
and from government jobs
1934
Jews excluded from parks, playing fields and swimming
pools
1935
Nuremburg laws removed citizenship
Illegal for a Jew to marry an Aryan
1936
Olympic Games
1938
Goebbels gave the green light for Kristallnacht where
Jewish property was attacked
1939
Reich Office for Emigration discussed the Madagascar Plan
Jews forced to leave their homes and live in ghettos
1941
Einsatzgruppen
1942
Wannsee conference planned the workings of the death
camps, including Auschwitz and Treblinka
Life in Germany during WWII
• Clothes and hot water were rationed and some
goods were replaced with Ersatz goods but the
success of Blitzkrieg kept this to a minimum
• Defeats in the Soviet Union saw a reduction in
morale. Goebbels propaganda campaign helped as
evidenced by the donation of 1.5 million winter coats
• Total War forced longer working hours and
compulsory labour laws and closed non essential
businesses
• 1945 air raids destroyed Dresden and killed 3 million
civilians
Why did Germany become divided?
• The Yalta Conference decided that Germany and Berlin should
be split between the USA, USSR, France and Britain
• At the Potsdam Conference this separation was confirmed
• Relations between the USA and USSR worsened due to the
Soviet takeover of Eastern Europe and the US use of the
atomic bomb. Thus the country would never be united again.
Truman responded by offering Marshall Aid to West Germany
• In the Berlin Blockade the USSR tried to force the USA out of
Berlin by cutting the road, rail and canal links. The USA
responded with an airlift. After this there was little hope of a
unified Germany
• In 1949 two countries were confirmed: FDR and GDR
The Nuremburg Trials:
• Hitler and Goebbels committed suicide in the bunker at
the end of WWII
• 21 senior officials were put on trial
• Accused of planning the war, war crimes against peace
and war crimes against humanity
• Schacht, von Papen and Fritsche were found not guilty
• Seven were jailed. Speer for 20 years and Hess for life
• The rest received death sentences
• Goering committed suicide after he was sentenced to
execution
Adenauer’s Economic Miracle
• Unparalleled economic growth
• 600% increase in industrial production. Unemployment
reduced from 9% to 0.4%
• Due to use of the latest technology, Marshall aid the Korean
War and a lack of support for striking
• European Coal and Steel Community brought together
France’s iron ore and Germany’s coal which resulted in 170%
increase in trade. This led to the European Economic
Community (EEC)
• Unemployment did rise again to 1 million in the mid 1970s
• In the 1960s and 1970s there were political problems
including the rise of the NDP (neo-Nazi party)and the BaaderMeinhof gang (terrorist movement)
Life in East Germany
• One party state
• The state owned most of the land and industry
• Great economic problems due to lack of industrial capacity, USSR
demands for reparations and thousands of skilled workers who left
to live in the west
• Poor pay and high work quotas
• 300,000 workers went on strike in 1953 which was put down by the
Soviet army
• 3 million East Germany fled to the west by 1961
• Berlin Wall was built: 4 metres high, 111km long with 300 watch
towers
• It was justified as a means of keeping out American spies
• Peter Fechter tried to cross, was shot and fell into the narrow strip,
he bled to death
• Secret police was called the Stasi
• Unemployment was reduced in 1970
The reunification of Germany
• Gorbachev said that the USSR could not defend Eastern
European countries from internal opposition
• Hungary removed its barriers to Austria which allowed
hundreds of East Germans to escape
• East Germans demonstrated for more freedom
• Kohl (West German chancellor) pushed for reunification
• East Germany announced it will open its borders
• 10th November 1989 – East Germans pull wall down
• Kohl poured money into East German economy
• 1990: Germany is reunited with Kohl as Chancellor
ESSAY:
Change:
Impact of Change:
The Weimar Republic
Working class:
Became poorer during hyperinflation. Living standards improved in the Stresemann years.
Unemployment rose by 6 million as a result of the depression. People could not pay their mortgages and
set up shanty towns. Dependence on soup kitchens
Middle class:
Lost savings during hyperinflation. More luxury goods during the Stresemann years. Car ownership rose
by 400% by 1927. Savings lost again in the depression as banks collapsed.
Businessmen:
Many benefitted from hyperinflation. Businesses closed following depression as exports could not be sold
Farmers:
Survived during hyperinflation as inflation pushed up prices
Working class:
Full employment due to the National Labour Service, rearmament and conscription. However not an
increase in wages. Working hours rose dramatically. Little consumer goods. Price of food rose and greater
taxation from 1936. Demise of trade unions. Beauty of Labour/Strength through Joy
Women:
Loans for marriage and written off when had children. Dismissed from jobs. Dictation of appearance
Children:
Teachers forced to join the German Teachers League. Nazi bias to subjects. Military training and
preparation for motherhood. Hitler youth
Church:
Initial Catholic support but opposition grew following the breaking of the Concordat. National Reich
Church/German Faith movement
Jews:
Exclusion/Nuremberg Laws/Kristallnacht/Ghettos/Deportation/Death camps Military training
Jews:
WWII created the conditions for the Holocaust
Working class:
Initial celebration. Total War. Bombing campaigns
Women:
Drafted in to keep up production
West Germans:
Transformation into a prosperous state. New currency. Free market. Reduction in unemployment.
Modernisation of industries. 2 million new homes. Unemployment rise in 1970s
East Germans:
Many left for a better life in West Germany. Berlin wall made it harder to leave. Reunification of Germany
removed Berlin Wall
The Nazi Years
WWII
East and West Germany
Pace of change: