Download Germany 1918-45 - Beverley High School

Germany 1919-1945 Revision:
How Did Hitler get into Power?
It all started in the First World War. Hitler was a soldier fighting in France and
in October 1918 he was injured in a gas attack. He was sent to hospital to
recover. Then on 11th November 1918 Germany signed an armistice. They
agreed to stop fighting – the allies (Britain, France and the USA) had won.
Hitler could not believe it. Neither could lots of soldiers. The fact was that the
German people were starving and were at the point of giving up. The soldiers
had no idea how bad things were back in Germany but the leaders did. They
could not carry on. The leader of Germany, the Kaiser, had to leave
(abdicate). This caused chaos.
Soldiers looked to blame people for ‘stabbing them in the back’. They
blamed the Weimar Republic and the Jews. They didn’t really have a reason
but they had to blame somebody.
Without a leader loads of people tried to take over Germany including all the
angry soldiers that had come home from the war (the Freikorps). In 1919 a
new government was formed in Germany called the Wiemar Republic. It was
going to be a democracy. This was a new idea and would take some getting
used to.
The Weimar Republic had a parliament called the ‘Reichstag’. Each MP was
chosen by the people of Germany voting for them. It was a very fair system.
Everyone (men and women) over 21 had a vote. They used a system called
proportional representation too. This meant that if 50% of the people voted
for one party then that party would get 50% of the MP’s.
This had problems though:
1. 100 parties could each get 1% of the vote. This would mean that these
100 parties would never agree on a damn thing! Nothing would get
done.
2. Germans were not used to voting and lots did not bother.
3. People thought the Weimar Republic was connected to the evil ‘Treaty
of Versailles’ and hated it as a result.
There were also money problems due to the enormous reparation payments
Germany had to make – £6.6 billion. They tried their best but in 1923
Germany could not afford it any more and stopped paying. France then
invaded the Ruhr (the industrial area of Germany) and took what they wanted
in place of the payments. This pushed Germany over the edge. The economy
fell apart. There was no money around so Germany printed more and more of
it. This caused prices to rise dramatically. This was called hyperinflation. In
1918 a loaf of bread cost 0.63 marks. In November 1923 it cost 201 billion
marks. Peoples’ savings became worthless and many lost everything.
Putsches
There were three major attempts to take over Germany between 1919 and
1923. All of them failed.
Takeover 1 Sparticist Uprising (1919). This was organised by Karl
Liebknecht and Rosa Luxemburg in Berlin. They were communists and
were stopped by the Freikorps and shot and thrown in the river.
Takeover 2 Kapp Putsch (1920). This was organised by Wolfgang Kapp in
Berlin . He had the support of the Freikorps and he took over the Reichstag
but all the workers went on strike and after 4 days he gave up.
Takeover 3 Munich Putsch (1923). This was organised by Hitler in Munich.
He was fed up with hyperinflation and so were many others. He tried to take
over Munich and then march to Berlin. Hitler thought the Freikorps would
support him as he had so many old soldiers in the SA but they did not. They
fired on them and killed 16 Nazis. Hitler was later arrested.
Gustav Stresemann
In late 1923 the situation in Germany was grim. Many were without a job or
money. A solution was needed and this was Gustav Stresemann. He was a
very clever chap. He got rid of the old currency and brought in the
Rentenmark. He burned all the old banknotes and stopped hyperinflation.
This would not solve all the problems though – there was still the HUGE
problem of reparations. He had to get them started again but in a way
Germany could afford.
Germany had to pay because France and Britain owed billions to America
after the war and they needed this reparation money to pay America.
Stresemann came up with two plans to help pay:
The Dawes Plan (1924). This allowed Germany to pay the allies by giving
them some of their industrial output every year in return for French troops
leaving the Ruhr. America would also lend Germany money to help rebuild its
industry.
The Young Plan (1929). This cut reparations by 75% (¾) of what they were
and they could pay over the next 59 years.
Everything looked hunky dory, hooray.
Stresemann was not finished though. He now wanted Germany to become a
world power again but not by fighting. He knew the best way was through the
League of Nations.
The Locarno Pact (1925). This agreement said that the borders of France,
Belgium and Germany would be the same forever. This made the allies happy
as it showed Stresemann did not want war. He did not say anything about
borders with Austria or Czechoslovakia though because he wanted them to
join together with Germany one day. This plan is the same as Hitler’s but
Stresemann wanted it peacefully, Hitler wanted to fight.
The allies were so happy with Germany they let them into the League of
Nations in 1926. All the time the German army was building up but the allies
trusted Stresemann and were not really worried.
When Hitler heard about this he was extremely angry but what could he do –
he was in prison.
Then, just as everything was going so well – Stresemann died.
The Nazis (NSDAP).
It all started with the German Workers
Party (DAP). This was run by a chap called
Albert Drexler. He would moan on about
Jews and reparations but no-one really
took any notice. Then in 1920 Hitler met him
and decided to join. Hitler gave a speech
ranting about the Jews and reparations too
but everyone took notice. He was a gifted
speaker. Drexler put him in charge of sorting out the party and speaking in
public. Hitler began to make some important friends and designed the new
symbol of the party – the swastika. By 1921 he decided he was too important
to follow Drexler so he took over and renamed the party the Nazi party.
The SA.
There were so many political parties in Germany no-one knew who to vote for.
Hitler solved this problem by recruiting his own private army (the Sturm
Abteilung or the SA) and getting them to beat up and disrupt any other
party meetings. They also made people stand and listen to Hitler. They were
led by Ernst Röhm. They had a posh new brown uniform and it gave lots of
unemployed young men a job. Lots of people signed up for it.
Prison.
In 1923 Hitler was arrested and put in Langsberg Prison. This should have
been the end of the Nazis. Hitler used the trial to get in the papers. He knew
the judge would probably be soft on him as he knew the judge beforehand.
Hitler ranted and raved on as usual and admitted he was guilty but not of
treason but of trying to save Germany from the evil Weimar Republic. People
thought he was a hero and fighting for his beliefs and the judge gave him 5
years (but let him out after only 9 months).
Mein Kampf.
Hitler’s spell in jail gave him a chance to write down all his strange ideas
about taking living space (lebensraum) away from Russia and how Germany
could be great again. This became the book Mein Kampf (My Struggle).
Hitler also realised that violence was not the way to get power, he would have
to do it legally.
All this made no difference really because in 1924 the Nazis were a joke.
They had only 32 seats in the Reichstag and this fell to 12 by 1928. This was
really PATHETIC. People were happy with their lives as Stresemann had
sorted things out.
THEN, in 1929 the Wall Street Crash happened. This was the answer to
Hitler’s prayers.
Everyone lost all their money again.
Everyone lost their jobs again.
People lost their houses again.
The German economy fell apart again.
This time there was no Stresemann to sort it out. People could forgive the
Weimar Republic for messing it up once but not twice. They decided that a
new solution was needed. They looked to people with mad, strange ideas and
one of these was Hitler.
He had not changed his message:
Everything was the Jews’ fault and the Treaty of Versailles must be
destroyed.
But now people began to listen. Maybe he was right. By 1933 6 million
people were unemployed and Hitler offered them hope.
Propaganda.
Hitler knew that he must impress the German people if he was to be voted
into power. The way to do this is to show them what they want to see. The
Nazis employed a propaganda minister, Josef Goebbels and it was his job
to show the Nazis as strong, organised and good enough to run the country.
He used posters, newspapers, radio, mass rallies (meetings) and Hitler’s
speeches to try and get votes. The SA also continued to break up opponents
meetings.
The Nazi party vote rose.
Nazis
1930
107
July 1932
230
Nov 1932
196
Communists
77
89
100
The Nazis were getting more popular but they needed a majority in the
Reichstag to form a government. In 1930 they did not get it so they walked out
and forced another general election. In July 1932 they did not get it so they
walked out again. They still did not get it. They walked out again. But this time
the vote fell to 196 seats. They had peaked. People were getting fed up with
the Nazis. If Hitler was going to become Chancellor he would have to move
now.
Hindenburg.
Hindenburg was the President. He was the most powerful man in Germany.
He chose the Chancellor and there was no way he was going to pick Hitler
because he hated him. He tried everyone else in the job until there was noone left apart from Hitler but he still would not give him the job. Hitler then
tried to convince him. He wrote a lovely letter to the paper saying how great
Hindenburg was and he also asked Von Papen (a friend of Hindenburg’s) to
suggest Hitler becomes chancellor with Von Papen as Vice Chancellor
(second in command). This way Hitler could be controlled and everyone
would be happy. Hindenburg agreed and in January 1933 Hitler become
Chancellor.
Hitler was now the second most powerful man in Germany but he still had to
get rid of Hindenburg.
Hitler had a plan.
Reichstag Fire.
In February 1933 (one month into Hitler’s chancellorship) the Reichstag
caught fire and was destroyed. What a MASSIVE coincidence. A Dutch
communist was blamed and executed. This gave Hitler a perfect
opportunity. He asked for emergency powers from Hindenburg pretending to
him the Communists were trying to take over. Hitler then arrested all the
Communists leaders.
Hitler gets his majority.
Hitler then called another election in March 1933 fully expecting to get his
51% majority. He didn’t. Now he had to cheat. He then chucked out all the
Communist MP’s and made a deal with the Centre Party. This gave him his
majority and he could then form a government.
The Enabling Act (1933).
Hitler wanted total control of Germany. This meant he had to be able to make
laws without the Reichstag. The only problem is that the Reichstag had to
vote for this. Lots did not want to because it was really voting the Reichstag
out of existence. With some persuasion from Hitler and some bullying from
the SA the Enabling Act was finally passed and Germany became a
Dictatorship.
The Night of the Long Knives (1934)
Hitler was determined to take over from Hindenburg when he died (he was
84) but he needed to support of the army. The big problem was the SA.
Röhm wanted the army to be part of the SA but the army did not. They saw
the SA as just thugs. Hitler tried to tell Röhm that he would have to join the
army but he refused. Hitler had to do something drastic. He used his loyal SS
to arrest Röhm and the other SA leaders and had them shot. This was called
the ‘Night of the Long Knives’. The Army were pleased and agreed to swear
an oath of loyalty to Hitler himself and not just their country. When
Hindenburg died in August 1934 Hitler took over completely and called
himself Führer (meaning leader).
SA member
(brown uniform)
SS member
(black uniform)
The Shutzstaffel (SS)
SS means protection squad and was set up in 1925. It was Hitler’s personal
bodyguard. They wore black instead of brown to show they were different
from the SA. They were an elite force with only the best men being allowed to
join and they were super-loyal. In 1929 Heinrich Himmler took over as leader
and used them to ‘deal’ with the Jews. One part of the SS that looked after
police work was the Gestapo. This was set up in 1933 and led by Reynard
Heydrich. It was their job to spy on people and round up Jews.
Concentration Camps.
Pretty soon all the prisons were full and Hitler needed more space for his
‘enemies’. He built huge work camps for these people called concentration
camps. They were guarded by the SS. This scared people into doing exactly
what the Nazis said. By 1939 162,734 people were under arrest.
Controlling Peoples’ Minds.
The Nazis had many ways of doing this. When Hitler took power he
immediately began to make people think he was strong and popular. To do
this he set up the ‘Ministry of Peoples’ Enlightenment and Propaganda’.
Radio
Germany had more radios per head then any other
country. Hitler used this by transmitting his speeches
whenever he could. He thought if you tell someone
something enough times they will end up believing it and
it worked.
Books
The Nazis burned any books they believed were
unsuitable. This included books by Jews mainly or by
people Hitler did not like.
Newspapers
They were only allowed to print what the Nazis allowed
them to print. Journalists were regularly told what to write
by the ‘Ministry of Peoples’ Enlightenment and
Propaganda’.
Rallies
Women
Hitler organised massive gatherings to show his
popularity, the most spectacular being at Nuremburg. He
also used the 1936 Olympic Games to show how great
the Nazis were. He was a bit upset that a black man,
Jesse Owens won some medals though.
Women were told to stay at home and have kids. They
were rewarded with medals for this.
Young People
Hitler also realised that if you want people to believe everything you say you
need to start with the kids at
school. He changed the timetable to make sure everything that was taught
was approved by him. Kids were taught:
1.
2.
3.
4.
Germans were best at everything
Jews were evil and how to spot them
Nazis were great and so was Hitler
The Treaty of Versailles was a crime.
This, Hitler hoped, would create a nation of committed Nazis.
Boys were encouraged to join the Hitler Jugend (Hitler Youth) at 14 and
were taught how to use guns and swore an oath to Hitler.
Girls were encouraged to join the Bund Deutscher Mädel (League of
German Maidens). This taught them how to be good wives and mothers.
The Persecution of the Jews
As soon as Hitler came to power he began to plan how to get rid of the Jews.
He did not want to kill them – just get them to leave Germany. To do this he
would make their lives as unpleasant as possible.
On 1 April 1933 the SA stood outside all Jewish shops telling people not to
use them. Six days later the Nazis banned any Jew from working for the
government. Many lost their jobs.
Nuremburg Laws (1935). These laws banned any Jew from using
restaurants, public parks, swimming pools, cinemas or theatres. They were
not allowed to vote, marry a German or be a German citizen.
Kristallnacht (1928). In November 1938 a German official was shot dead in
Paris by a Jew. The Nazis used it as an excuse to destroy and Jewish shop,
home or church (synagogue) in Germany. It was known as Kristallnacht or
the ‘night of broken glass’. Over 30,000 Jews were arrested.
All of this convinced all the Jews who could afford it to leave Germany. Half
the Jews left. 1.5 million could not afford it. They had to stay and suffer. Most
of them would die in the concentration camps.
Jobs
For anyone who was not a Jew Germany was doing well. Hitler had begun a
huge rearmament programme building up the army, navy and air force and
he was building motorways (autobahns) all over Germany. It gave nearly
everyone a job. The trouble with this was that it was not going to work for a
long time. Eventually Germany would get in debt again. In 1933 Germany had
stopped paying reparations so this helped a bit but not enough.
Four Year Plan (1936)
This was Hitler’s way of making the army grow massively and get Germany to
produce everything it needed so it did not rely on foreign imports. This would
be important when war came. Hitler expected war around 1940. It needed a
short war though. The economy could not support a long war. This was going
to be Hitler’s gamble.
Civilian Suffering
At the start of the war the Germans celebrated as they won battle after battle.
As the war went on though the tide turned. Germany had invaded Russia and
this was a step too far. They had made too many enemies and they began to
lose battles. Britain and America launched huge bombing raids over
Germany dropping thousands of tons of bombs. Women went to work in the
factories and they gave up warm clothing to help the soldiers in cold Russia.
Bombing raids killed half a million people in total in Germany with 135,000
being burned alive in one night in Dresden. By May 1945 the Germans were
tired of fighting. 3 million Germans were dead. It was time to give up. Hitler
committed suicide on 30th April 1945.