Download weimar republic = germany after world war i woes = problems or

WEIMAR WOES:
“T-R-O-U-B-L-E”
WEIMAR REPUBLIC = GERMANY AFTER WORLD WAR I
WOES = PROBLEMS OR DIFFICULTIES
OBJECTIVE OF THIS LECTURE & THESE DISCUSSIONS:
Identify Major Problems Germany Faced in the 1920s.
MAJOR PROBLEMS
FOR GERMANY IN
THE 1920s
These spell:
T reaty of Versailles
R eparations payments
O ccupation of the Ruhr region
U seless money (Hyperinflation)
B ig loans from USA (Dawes Plan)
L oss of jobs (The Great Depression)
E xtremists battle for power (Nazis
and Communists)
WHY THIS BACKGROUND
INFORMATION IS IMPORTANT:
Adolf Hitler (leader of the Nazi Party)
could not have gained power if Germany’s
economy had been strong and if its
government had been popular. But events
after World War I left Germany’s economy
poor and its democratic government
feeling the blame.
T
Treaty of Versailles
1. Treaty written by the Allied Powers (Britain,
France, USA, Italy) that Germany was forced to
sign in June 1919 (after World War I).
2. Germans considered it a harsh “dictated
peace” (they were not allowed to attend the
negotiations), especially since many did not believe
Germany lost World War I.
3. Germany lost territory: all of its colonies,
Alsace-Lorraine (given to France) & the Polish
Corridor (which cut Germany into 2 pieces).
4. There were major limits placed on the size and
ability of Germany’s army and navy (100,000 man
volunteer army; no tanks, planes or submarines).
5. Germany had to accept blame for causing WWI
and was not allowed to join the League of Nations.
Vocabulary:
TREATY
A formal agreement signed by two (or
more) countries.
AN UNPOPULAR TREATY
The new Weimar Republic’s
popularity was hurt by signing the
Treaty of Versailles.
Weimar leaders tried to defy it
(they would break rules or refuse
to pay), but this led to more
t-r-o-u-b-l-e.
The first Weimar Republic Chancellor,
Philip Scheidemann, actually resigned from
government in March 1919 because he
didn’t want to sign the treaty (even though
it wasn’t finished yet).
Vocabulary:
CHANCELLOR
The highest-ranking policy making leader
of the government in Germany
(it is a job similar to a Prime Minister in other
European countries).
EXTRA INFORMATION THAT YOU DO
NOT NEED TO WRITE:
PICTURED ABOVE: A massive protest against the
Treaty of Versailles was held outside the Reichstag
building in Berlin, Germany, in June 1919. President
Friedrich Ebert asked General Paul von Hindenburg if
there was even a slight chance the military could hold
out against a threatened Allied Powers invasion. Being
told the answer was no, President Ebert agreed to
sign the treaty when it was approved in the Reichstag.
He had no choice.
R
Reparations Payments
Vocabulary:
REPARATIONS
Paying money to a victim to “right a
wrong” (to try to make amends or
repairs).
Did you know?
Germany made its final reparations
payment for World War I just last year:
October 3, 2010!
http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=images%2c
+reparations%2c
+Germany&view=detail&id=FE3E1FB5C0B1CABEE
59106B6D63E471B1C0A0B16&first=0&qpvt=image
s%2c+reparations%2c+Germany&FORM=IDFRIR
1. The Treaty of Versailles (1919) said Germany
would have to pay “reparations.” It did not say
how much.
2. In 1921, the Allied Powers announced Germany
would have to give lumber and coal to the Allied
Powers (mainly France and Belgium) every month
for many years.
3. In 1916-17, when Germany built the
‘Hindenburg Line,’ it had destroyed a large area of
France (poisoning its wells, burning its forests,
leveling its buildings), so this “repair” money.
4. It was also publicly stated that Germany would
have to make payments equaling what would today
be about $387 billion in US currency. But, in
private, the Allies told Germany it would only have
to pay about 40% of that amount. (Basically, the Allied
leaders wanted to look like they were being tough on Germany).
Many economists in other
countries thought Germany was
being asked to PAY TOO MUCH
(more than it could afford with
the bad economy after World
War I) and public sympathy
(feelings of pity and sorrow for someone else’s suffering)
in Britain and the USA started to
turn toward Germany (and away
from France).
O
Occupation of the Ruhr
1. The Treaty of Versailles gave France and Belgium
the right to occupy a coal-producing part of the
Rhineland called the Ruhr while Germany made
coal shipments as part of its reparations.
2. After Germany made its first coal shipment,
France and Belgium removed their soldiers from
the Ruhr region.
3. Big mistake: Germany missed 34 of its first 36
coal shipments! France and Belgium re-occupied
the Ruhr to enforce the treaty and get the coal
directly from the German coal miners.
Vocabulary:
OCCUPATION
The act of entering and taking control
of a country (or part of it).
4. Proud German coal miners and railway workers
refused to mine and deliver coal for France and
Belgium. This was very popular in Germany. Even
Britain criticized France for “invading” Germany.
5. The German government printed more money
to pay miners to NOT work. This led to disaster.
PICTURED ABOVE: FRANCE and BELGIUM reoccupied the Ruhr region (in red, above) of Germany
in January 1923 in order to enforce payment of coal.
Britain and other nations condemned France for
enforcing the Versailles treaty, and Germany’s
government printed extra money to pay for the defiance
of German coal workers & railway workers.
U
Useless Money
(due to hyperinflation)
1. Hyperinflation is caused by circulation (the
public availability of something) of too much money.
OKAY, maybe not entirely
useless: A man uses it for
wallpaper, a woman burns
it for heat and German
children use stacks of it as
building blocks in 1923.
Vocabulary:
INFLATION
A rise in prices for products (things
you buy) and a drop in the
purchasing power of money.
Vocabulary:
HYPERINFLATION
An insane, out-of-control rise in
prices so that money loses its value.
2. Some Weimar leaders thought inflation would
be a good way to pay back reparations more
quickly and defy the Allied Powers by paying them
in less valuable Marks (name for German money).
3. Because of this, they circulated more money
and inflation grew from 1919 through 1922.
4. In 1923, the government printed a lot more
money to pay the salaries of striking miners who
were heroes to the German people for defying the
occupation of the Ruhr. This led to hyperinflation,
which wiped out many people’s life savings and
became a major crisis (time of intense danger).
AT THE HEIGHT of the hyperinflation crisis in Germany (October 1923) prices
doubled every 3.7 days and the daily inflation rate reached 20.9% (that would be
considered high inflation if it were a yearly rate!) Money became virtually useless.
B
Big loans from the USA
1. The USA (which had embraced isolationism - a
policy of remaining apart from the political problems
of other nations) now stepped in to help propose a
solution to both the occupation of the Ruhr and
hyperinflation called the Dawes Plan.
2. Details from the Dawes Plan: Amount of
reparations cut by more than half; no German
payments for 2 years & reduced payments
afterward; new German currency to replace the
old; French & Belgian soldiers to leave the Ruhr;
AND the USA would give Germany large loans to
pump up its economy. In return, a USA (not
German) official would transfer all of Germany’s
payments, in gold.
3. As a result, Germany’s economy improved;
votes for extremist parties like the Communists
and Nazis dropped.
THE RENTENMARK:
The new German
currency issued in
1924.
CHARLES DAWES:
The American
business man
appointed to create a
plan to rescue
Germany’s economy
and solve the Ruhr
Crisis (no pressure,
eh?)
Vocabulary:
LOAN
Money that is borrowed and to be
paid back with interest.
POLITICAL SPECTRUM IN GERMANY
EXTREME RIGHT
E
AV
“H
VIOLENT DISLIKE
S”
“H
NO AV
TS E”
EXTREME LEFT
German Communist Party
(KPD)
Nazi Party (NSDAP)
 Goal: a classless society
 Want a planned economy based on needs
 Needs of society greater than those of the
individual
 Main support: working class & underprivileged
Vocabulary:
SPECTRUM
A point on a scale that runs between
two extremes.
 Extremely nationalistic ideology
 Racist; support inequality & a class system
 Individuals serve the state (not other way
around)
 Main support: middle and upper classes
AS A MATTER OF FACT
(Election results for Communists and Nazis during Dawes Plan period):
May 1924
December 1924
May 1928
KPD (Communists)
12.6%
8.9%
10.6%
NSDAP (Nazis)
6.5%
3.0%
2.6%
L
Loss of jobs
(The Great Depression)
THE GREAT
DEPRESSION hit
Germany harder than
any other European
nation.
Above, unemployed
workers receive food
at a soup kitchen.
1. October 1929: USA suffered a serious stock
market crash that only became worse. It was the
beginning of the Great Depression.
2. Germany stopped receiving USA loans (Dawes
Plan) and was asked to begin paying back its loans
immediately. This is why Germany was the
European nation hurt the most by the Great
Depression. It was most dependent on the USA.
3. Unemployment rose quickly (reaching 30%) and
became worse each year from 1930 to 1932.
4. The crisis led to bitter political arguments. The
“Grand Coalition” of moderate, pro-democracy
parties fell apart (1930), while votes for antidemocratic parties (Nazis, Communists) increased.
President Hindenburg appointed Heinrich Brüning
(Centre Party) Chancellor, without much popular
support.
Vocabulary:
UNEMPLOYMENT
The situation of wanting to have a
job but being unable to find one.
Vocabulary:
COALITION
A temporary alliance of political
parties to form a government.
5. Brüning raised taxes
& cut government
spending, hurting the
economy even more
in the short term.
These laws were
forced through by
decree. None of this
was popular.
Brüning
Hindenburg
MAKING
MATTERS
WORSE?
The Great Depression in Germany
BY THE NUMBERS
Index of Goods Production
Capital
Registered Unemployment Rate (%)
Consumer
Overall
Union Members
50
110
43.7
100 100 103 97
82.5
91
37.5
81
80
29.9
67
61
55
25
21.9
46
27.5
12.5
10
6.2
0
•
•
1928
1929
1930
1931
1932
0
1926
1927
6.3
1928
13.1 14
8.5
1929
1930
1931
1932
Left: German production of capital goods (equipment that can be used to make many consumer goods) fell by
more than half between 1929 and 1932, while consumer goods fell off more slowly. Even so, their production was
slowed by a third within four years. The result, of course, was less need for employees, as shown in the next graph.
Right: These are the official government numbers of those who registered for unemployment. The actual numbers
are believed to be higher. As noted, union members faced a higher unemployment rate than non-union workers.
Making matters worse, many of those who were employed, could only find part-time work (frequently for short
periods of time). As a result, the world economic crisis deeply affected many more Germans than the 30% who
were officially listed as out of work in 1932.
E
Extreme parties gain votes
1. The extreme parties on the left (Communists)
and the right (Nazis) began to get many more
votes from 1930-32.
2. The Communists went from 10.6% of the vote
in May 1928 to 13.1% in 1930 and 14.6% in July
1932 before reaching a high of 16.9% in Nov.
1932. Meanwhile, the Nazis went from 2.6% in
May 1928 to 18.3% in Sept. 1930 and 37.4% in July
1932, before dropping a bit to 33.1% in Nov. 1932.
3. President Hindenburg was running out of
options: he refused to give any power to the
Communists and wouldn’t allow Hitler (Nazis) to
become Chancellor. Hitler refused to join a
coalition unless he was the Chancellor.
4. So, Hindenburg appointed conservatives he
trusted like Franz von Papen (July 1932) and Kurt
von Schliecher (Nov. 1932) as Chancellor, but they
had almost no popular support.
Vocabulary:
PROPORTIONAL
REPRESENTATION
An election system in which parties
gain seats in proportion to the
number of votes they receive.
FRANZ VON PAPEN
PRESIDENT PAUL
VON HINDENBURG
In Germany, the Chancellor and the cabinet of
ministers were chosen by negotiation among parties
making a coalition to rule. But the President had to
approve of a coalition for it to take effect.
NOVEMBER 1932 ELECTION RESULTS
1. NSDAP (Nazis)
33.1% (196 of 584 seats)
2. SPD (Social Democrats) 20.4% (121 of 584 seats)
3. KPD (Communists)
16.9% (100 of 584 seats)
4. Z (Centre Party)
11.9% (70 of 584 seats)
5. DNVP (Conservatives)
8.5% (52 of 584 seats)
6. BVP (Bavarian party)
3.1% (20 of 584 seats)
Out of political desperation, President
Hindenburg was convinced by former
Chancellor Franz von Papen to appoint Adolf
Hitler as Chancellor on Jan. 30,1933 in order to
“use” Hitler’s popularity to support their
traditional conservative policies. Papen became
Vice Chancellor and the other government
ministers were “responsible” traditional
politicians who would help “control” Hitler
(according to Papen’s plan).
Therefore, Adolf Hitler was appointed as Chancellor of Germany
on January 30, 1933. He was not directly elected by the people,
but his party (NSDAP) had received the largest number of votes
in the most recent national election. He was appointed by Pres.
Hindenburg as part of a scheme by Franz von Papen.