Download Germany Revision Guide

Germany Revision Guide
Date
Event
9th November
Kaiser Wilhelm abdicated. Weimar Republic declared.
1918
28th June 1919 Treaty of Versailles signed.
5th January
1919
German Workers' Party (Deutsche Arbeiterpartei) DAP formed by Anton
Drexler, Gottfried Feder, Dietrich Eckart and Karl Harrer
Adolf Hitler, who had been sent by the German Army to spy on the
12th September
German Workers' Party (Deutsche Arbeiterpartei) DAP, decided that he
1919
liked the political ideas of the party and became a member.
29th July 1921 Adolf Hitler became leader of the NSDP and took the title der Führer
SA (Sturm Abteilung) formed. Known as Stormtroopers these were the
4th November
party militia. They were also known as brownshirts because of the brown
1921
shirts that formed part of their uniform.
Munich (Beer Hall) Putsch - Hitler and the NSDP attempt to overthrow
8th November
the Bavarian government failed. The leaders were arrested and charged
1923
with treason.
Hitler's trial for his part in the Munich Putsch began. He was sentenced
26th February
to 5 years in prison but only served 10 months. During his time in prison
1924
Hitler wrote Mein Kampf.
April 1925
SS (Schutzstaffel) formed. The SS, who wore black shirts to distinguish
them from the SA, initially formed Hitler's personal bodyguard, but later
became the party militia.
4th July 1926
Hitler Youth, League of German Worker Youth was formed. The party
had had a youth section since its beginning, but this new re-organised
Hitler Youth was more integrated into the SA.
1929 - 1930
Great Depression - The world depression saw many Germans face
unemployment and poverty. Support for the Nazi party increased
dramatically.
During 1930
Hitler Youth junior branches established - Deutsches Jungvolk for boys
aged 10 - 14 years and the Bund Deutscher Mädel (League of German
Girls) for girls aged 10 - 18 years.
September
1930
The Nazi party gained 18.3% of the vote in the Reichstag elections to
become the second largest party.
July 1932
The Nazi party gained 37.4% of the vote in the Reichstag elections to
become the largest party.
30th January
1933
Hitler appointed Chancellor of Germany by President Hindenburg
3rd February
1933
Hitler defined the Nazi party foreign policy. The prime goal was to secure
lebensraum (living space) for the German master race.
The Reichstag Fire. A fire which broke out at the Reichstag building was
27th February blamed on the Communist Party (KPD). As a result the KPD, which was
1933
the second largest party in Germany, was banned. The banning of the
Communist party gave the Nazis a clear majority in government.
5th March 1933
23rd March
1933
With the Communist party banned Hitler ordered a new election at which
the Nazi party gained 44% of the General election vote.
Enabling Act gave Hitler power to make laws without consulting the
Reichstag for a period of four years
26th April 1933 The Gestapo, Nazi secret police, were formed
14th July 1933 All political parties except the Nazis were banned
The Night of the Long Knives - 150 leaders of the Stormtroopers SA
were executed. Many members of the SA were committed socialists and
30th June 1934
demanded that Nazi policy embrace socialist aims. This was not a
direction the Nazis wished to follow so the SA were eliminated.
2nd August
1934
President Hindenburg died. Hitler combined the post of President and
Chancellor and called himself Fuhrer.
26th February Hitler ordered Hermann Goering to establish the Luftwaffe, German
1935
airforce, in defiance of the terms of the Treaty of Versailles
March 1935
Hitler publicly announced that the German Army was to be expanded.
Conscription was introduced.
15th September Nuremburg Laws defined German citizenship. Relationships between
1935
Jews and Aryans were banned.
7th March 1936
Re-occupation of the Rhineland. In contravention of the terms of the
Versailles Treaty, Hitler sent German troops to re-occupy the Rhineland.
December 1936
Law concerning the Hitler Youth made membership of the Hitler Youth
compulsory for all boys
November 1938
Kristallnacht - Jewish shops and synagogues were destroyed. Following
the event the Jewish population was fined for the destruction.
Hitler invaded Poland using Blitzkrieg (lightning war) tactics. Although
1st September
the Poles fought back they were quickly defeated and Poland was
1939
occupied.
3rd September
Britain and France declared war on Germany
1939
5th December German advance in Russia halted by Russian winter and Russian
1941
counterattacks.
20th January
1942
Wannsee Conference approved plans for the 'Final Solution'.
4th March 1943 First allied bombing raid on German cities
20th July 1944 July Bomb Plot failed attempt to assassinate Hitler.
30th April 1945 Hitler committed suicide
2nd May 1945 Germany surrendered ending the war in Europe
Germany after WWI
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Germany had suffered a great deal in World War One. As they are located in Central Europe
Germany was fighting on two fronts and the people were suffering. It was very difficult to get supplies.
When the Americans joined the war Germany knew it had lost.
Ebert took over.
Germany was forced to sign the Treaty of Versailles.
The effects of the Treaty of Versailles on Germany.
• Germany had to admit war guilt.
• Germany lost all colonies.
• Military was not allowed in the Rhineland.
• Germany lost land.
• Army limited to 100,000, no air force or submarines.
• Germany had to pay reparations (compensation to rebuild)
Look at this cartoon. What does it show about how the Germans thought about the Treaty?
The French
Prime minster
Germans were angry because …
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They are not strong enough to defend themselves
It was seen as the politicians had betrayed the brave army
They had to admit guilt
They lost land
Germany
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The economy would be crippled
What is left or right wing?
The Weimar Republic - threats from the left wing and right wing.
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The streets of Germany were chaotic and the government weren’t strong enough to keep order.
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Left wing (communist) uprising. SPARTACISTS. They wanted a Communist Revolution like had happened
in Russia. They were defeated by the Freikorps (ex soldiers)
Right wing. Kapp & Munich Putsch. Kapp – led by Wolfgang Kapp, his supporters tried to take over
government buildings. Ebert called on the army but they did nothing – he called the workers to go on
strike and this worked. Kapp fled. Munich – failed as the army defeated the SA but allowed Hitler to
become famous and gave him a very public trail to express his views. The short sentence he received
reflects the support he had.
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Did the republic face collapse in 1923? (Invasion of the Ruhr & Hyperinflation).
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The Weimar Republic was democratic. Bad points were that it took too long to get decisions made.
The Germans were used to a Kaiser (king), they liked a single strong ruler.
In 1923 Germany missed a reparation payment. Britain was forgiving but France wanted revenge.
French and Belgium troops marched into the Ruhr (a rich industrial area of Germany).
The German government asked the workers to go on strike and not to help the troops remove goods.
To pay the striking workers – the government printed more money.
By November 1923 – HYPERINFLATION.
As prices rose, the government printed more money. More money meant that prices rose.
Did the Weimar Republic recover?
The new chancellor, Stresemann was relatively successful
from 1924 – 9:
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Solved hyperinflation but replacing the old currency
with the Rentenmark.
Stresemann met with the French, British and
Americans and agreed the Dawes Plan which meant
they only repaid what they could afford.
The French left the Ruhr (although some Germans
were angry that Stresemann had agreed to repay at
all!)
Germany signed the Kellogg-Briand & Locarno Pacts
with other countries where they promised not to invade
each other.
Cultural revival – music, bars and cabaret.
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However, Germany was relying on American loans.
1929 – WALL STREET CASH. The American economy collapsed and German had to pay back its loans.
Unemployment was incredibly high and Germany sank into a depression. The Nazi Party became more
popular as unemployment rose.
Rise of Nazis
• Meanwhile, the Nazi Party were becoming very popular.
• Hitler hated the Treaty of Versailles and wanted to revive national pride.
• He was a fantastic speaker and the Nazi party were well organised (SA dealing with opponents, offices
in most towns, marches, demonstrations, Hitler touring Germany etc)
• Origins of the Nazi Party & Munich Putsch.
Hitler's Rise to Power.
Hindenburg (President) still hated Hitler. In 1932 Von Papen and Von Schilcher were both made Chancellor
but were unpopular.
• Hindenburg was forced to make Hitler Chancellor.
• Hitler took advantage of the Reichstag Fire to warn of a communist revolution. He passed the Enabling
Act which made him a dictator. The Enabling Act gave him the power to suspend people’s rights (of
speech, of press etc) & Hitler could now pass laws without the approval of the Reichstag. He banned all
other political parties and trade unions.
• When Hindenburg died in 1934 Hitler combined the two jobs and had total power.
• Night of the Long Knives (June 1934) – Hitler executed leading members of the SA and any other
potential rival from within the Nazi party. He now had unquestioned and unchallenged control.
Life in Nazi Germany
How did the Nazis control society?
The Nazi Party wanted complete control of German society, this is called totalitarian. They did this in two ways:
the carrot and the stick. The carrot was a reward that Germans could gain by being good and following the Nazi
ideas. The stick was a punishment for those who broke the rules.
The main methods of control were:
Carrot: Rewards, jobs and stability.
Stick: Control and punishment – Gestapo, SS, Law Courts and Concentration Camps.
Heinrich Himmler
He is in charge of the
‘Terror State’.
Was head of police
and SS – they
became very similar.
The Gestapo
Secret Police. Loyal
Nazis. Spied on
people, arrested them
and relied on a
network of
informers.
The police and law
courts.
These were
controlled by the
Nazi Party. There
was no chance of a
fair trial.
The SS
Originally Hitler’s
bodyguard. Elite
soldiers. Wore black
shirts. Ran the
concentration camps.
Concentration camps
Prisons opponents of
the Nazis, high
death rate.
Eventually became
death camps.
The Gestapo:
Were they completely successful? The Gestapo were the secret police. They were under the control of one of
Hitler’s right hand men, Heinrich Himmler. They worked in a number of ways:
They tapped phones (listened in to conversations.
They opened mail.
They had the power to arrest and imprison anyone who spoke out against Hitler or the Nazi Party.
The Gestapo had a terrifying reputation but there were too few of them to be able to spy on every one, they
therefore had to rely on informants.
The carrot:
Propaganda
Organised by Goebbels.
A one sided point of
view.
Newspapers and
radio
Pro Nazi reports. Nazi
party tried to get a radio
in every home.
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Films and books
Theatre and music.
Designed to spread Nazi
ideas. The Eternal Jews
spread anti Semitism.
Aryan heroes.
Traditional German –
old fashioned and pro
Nazi.
Stability – The Nazis were strong and efficient. People were scared of the conditions they had lived
through since the First World War. There was no longer a threat of left/right wing uprisings.
Economy – Hitler reduced unemployment and made the economy stable. Although the average wage was
much lower than it had been before and people were not allowed to join trade unions, the majority of
people had jobs.
National Pride – after the humiliation of the Treaty of Versailles and the problems with Weimar, people
liked the national pride that the Nazis inspired.
Youth and Women in Nazi Germany
Women were very important to Nazi Germany. It was their job to raise big families of pure bred Aryans for the
future of Germany. Due to this, women became very important to the Nazis. You have to remember that
although they became important, it wasn’t like women are seen today; modern women can be doctors,
professors, fire fighters, police officers – this was not the sort of roles the Nazi Party wanted women to have.
Women were expected to become the perfect mother. This picture shows the ideal Nazi woman:
Plain clothing
No dieting – women need to be well-built to bear a lot of children.
Peasant style hair
Stay at home
Aryan
Large family
Girls thinking about motherhood.
Boy is planting (to provide food)
Awards (the Motherhood Cross) were given out for women who had a lot of children.
However, in reality this could not be kept up.
Children:
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Schools were under strict control. Teachers
were forced to teach pro-Nazi lessons and
anti-Semitism was encourage. Lessons were
changed to do more History and PE for boys
and cooking and exercise for girls.
Hitler Youth (HJ) – encouraged boys to
develop fighting and survival skills. They
would sing songs about Germany and read
about Hitler’s life. They put on camping
expeditions and jamborees. It was the only
opportunity that most poor boys got for a
holiday.
League of German Maidens. Like the Hitler
Youth but the focus was on being healthy and
preparing for motherhood/looking after a husband.
Who benefitted?
The Nazi propaganda was very effective in convincing people that everything was going well for Germany. The
Nazi controlled newspapers reported that everything in Germany was great. This was not always the case:
How did the Nazi's try to create a People's Community?
Opposition:
Not everyone was accepted the Nazi ideas. There were some groups who opposed the Nazi Party:
Youth Opposition: The Edelweiss Pirates (wore scruffy clothes, did their own thing) The White Rose Group
(older, they printed leaflets and called people to protest against the Nazi Party) and the Swing Rioters (danced
and listened to jazz) all protested the Nazi ideals. The group that were most severely punished were the White
Rose Group (some were executed), because they were the more serious threat.
Church: The Nazi Party did not try to destroy the Church (it was too powerful), instead they made their own
Reich Church. This Church was a mixture of Pagan (nature religion) and Nazi ideology. The Catholic Church were
close to the Nazi Party but there was some opposition from the Church. Galen is a good example of a bishop who
spoke out against the Nazis.
General: There was some protest and opposition from the general public, most of the serious threats were
taken to the concentration camps.
Germany at War.
During the first years of the war Germany did quite well. This was because the German army fought by the
Blitzkrieg strategy. Blitzkrieg means ‘lightning war’ and is the method of quickly entering countries and using a
lot of fire power for a quick victory. Hitler used these early victories to promote the idea that he was the
‘Master of Europe’ and used it as propaganda. The Nazis could take the resources and workforce from the
countries they conquered, this raised a lot of money. As the war dragged on Germany suffered a great deal.
They could no longer rely on Blitzkrieg as they were now fighting long battles on two fronts (West and East).
Germany was also suffering terrible aid raids and food shortages. The US joined the war in 1942 and would
bomb cities but night as Britain would bomb by day, nearly 30,000 Germans were killed in one attack.
Sources help:
Some of the cartoons and posters about the Nazi Party are difficult to understand. Here are
some notes about the sources the often use in the exam.