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World war 1: 1914-1919, reason for conflict.
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France had a long standing desire to regain the provinces of Alsace and Lorraine, taken by
Germany after the Franco Prussian war of 1870-71
Germany was Europe’s dominant economic and military party. The expansion of German
influence, Germany’s colonial ambitions posed a long term threat to Brittan and France
colonial empires.
Directly challenged British naval supremacy.
Germany became feared for the aggressive way in which it seemed intent on exercising its
new found power.
Austria Hungary and Russia were rivals; Austria wanted to restrict the growing influence of
Serbia in the region. If Serbs within the multicultural Austo-Hungarian Empire broke away to
join an enlarged Serbia, it could lead to the collapse of the empire as its many other ethnic
groups might also seek national independence. (Which did happen after the war)
The Germans thoughts that their neighbours were encircling them with a hostile alliance.
Which enabled Germany to a ‘defensive war’ to defeat their nations enemies before they
became too powerful.
Proposed by some historians as an explanation for world war 1, is that Germany was
planning an ‘aggressive war’ of expansion and aimed to dominate Europe. According to
Germany’s neighbours they were justified in forming a defensive alliance.
War on the western frontThe Schlieffen Plan
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Germany assumed there would be a war on 2 fronts, against France and Russia
simultaneously
The Germans believed that they had to do a massive strike through Northern France to
encircle Paris.
It was assumed that the French would mobilise faster than Russia.
A relatively small German force with Austrian support would hold Russia in East Prussia.
Developed in 1891 and 1905 by Graf Alfred Von Schlieffen
The right wing of the German army would invade France by advancing through Belgium.
The smaller left wing would hold the French Army on the Rhine Border, against the expected
attack through Alsace and Lorraine.
The German armies in the north would wheel around to encircle Paris, The French capital.
The Schlieffen plan failed. Reasons include:
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When war broke out Russia mobilised quicker than expected.
Austria did not provide the Germans with the support they had expected against Russia.
The Belgians refused to grant the Germans permission to pass through their country. The
Germans invaded, the Belgians put up fierce resistance, this held out for twelve days slowing
the Germans down.
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The German invasion, outraged Brittan came into the war in support of their French ally.
Brittan was quickly sent to France and held up the Germans at the Battle of Mons in late
August.
German armies experienced major supply problems. In some places it was 128km from
supply base to front line. This then weakening the German troops.
With delays in the German advance, the French had time to regroup.
5 days of fighting the German advance was stopped.
Reasons for the stalemate:
Meaning the movement of war had ended at the western front. There was static warfare between
the trenches, neither side could make a breakthrough and the front line stayed the same until 1918.
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Machine guns were one important aspect of new technology. The machine gun had the
equivalent firing power of 40-50 trained riflemen.
Advances to technology had made artillery more effective. The advances explosives, and
recoilless field guns allowed the delivery of a rain of shrapnel on advancing troops.
The rapid development of heavily defended trench systems meant that nether side could
outflank the enemy.
The stalemate lead to many troops dying or being injured due to the advancement sin
technology.
Germany 1918-1939:
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In November 1918 the German revolution began.
On the 9th of November it was announced that Kaiser Wilhelm had abdicated (Giving up of
power) and that a national assembly was to be elected to draw up a democratic
constitution.
Some protesters wanted to replace the army with a militia (a military force that is raised
from the civil population to supplement a regular army in an emergency), nationalise
industry and remove from their positions key public servants and judges whose loyalty
remained with the old conservative order.
Of the prospects of a violent revolution, that would change, Friedrich Ebert the pragmatic
(dealing with things sensibly and realistically in a way that is based on practical rather than
theoretical considerations.) declared “I don’t want that, indeed I hate it like sin.”
Elections for the national assembly were held on the 19th of January 1919, with the 423
deputies being elected.
Political parties supporting a program of moderate reform – the social democrats, the centre
party and the German Democrats – received a very solid majority of votes and formed the
government the Weimar Coalition.
The national assembly met from the 6th of February 1919 at Weimar, a city 240 km to the
southwest of Berlin. (Chosen as it was away from the trouble in those revolutionary times) by
the end of July, the assembly had drawn up a new constitution. Which provided for:
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The election of a Reichstag at least every four years, by all men and women over the age
of 20.
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Elections to be conducted on the basis of proportional representation.
The election of a president every 7 years.
President would elect a member of the Reichstag a chancellor, who would then select
other Reichstag members to be minsters.
The president in times of emergency could under Article 48 to ‘rule by decree’ and under
article 25 to dismiss the Reichstag and arrange new elections.
Compared to other political systems, the Weimar republic was extremely democratic. However the
state of the Weimar government would depend on the willingness of politician to work in harmony.
There existed opportunity’s for individuals to disrupt the Weimar’s operation. The construction of
the constitution was very forward looking, and during the Weimar period Germany had one of the
best successful social welfare systems in the world.
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The constitution went to safeguard the fundamental rights of the German citizens, these
were specified in 56 articles.
All citizens were entitled to free welfare.
The labour exchanges and the unemployment insurance law of 16th July 1927 provided for
unemployment benefits.
The Versailles Peace settlement:
The peace terms for the Allies were presented to Germanys new democratic government on the 7th
of May 1919. The terms of the treaty deemed to be far tougher on the German society then first
expected.
The chancellor at the time Philipp Scheidemann stated that the allies wanted to turn Germans into
“Slaves, doing forced labour behind barbed wire and prison bars.” Scheidemann did not want to
accept the terms of the treaty so resigned on the 20th of June. A new government had to be formed
under the chancellorship of Gustav Bauer who only agreed to the peace settlement because “We
cannot assume the responsibility of a new war.”
The German government only had minutes to decide before the allied ultimatum expired. The
national assembly voted to accept the treaty. On the 28th June 1919 the treaty of Versailles was
signed.
In addition to the peace treaty:
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Germany was restricted to a maxium of 100,000 long term soliders.
Conscription was abolished.
Navy was restricted to 15,000 sailors.
130,000 machine guns were destroyed.
Heavy artillery and modern technology such as tanks were banned.
Article 231 required that Germany accept sole guilt for the outbreak of the war.
Allies demanded Germany to pay reparations, to compensate for the damages of the war.
To ensure compliance, for much of the 1920s an allied occupation force was stationed in the
Rhineland.
1923: French occupation of the Ruhr:
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The German government was forced to agree to pay reparations to the allies.
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Initially 20 billion gold marks by may 1921 gradually increasing to 6billion gold marks per
year.
38million tons of coal annually for ten years.
Large ammounts of timber and chemicals.
On the 26th of December 1922 the Reparations commission announced that Germany had
failed to deliver the agreed amount of coal and timber. In response French and Belgian
troops occupied the ruhr idnustral region, commening on 11th January 1923.
German government then directed the workforce in the Ruhr to follow a policy of ‘passive
resistance’ by stopping work and refusing to co-operate with the occupation force.
Previously from 1916 inflation had been on the rise due to the Reich government’s
expenditure mainly on the war effort.
Before the war it took the Germans 4 marks to purchase 1 US dollar; by the end of 1919 it
took 47 marks. It kept rising.
The Weimar government were faced with massive expenses such as the costs involved in
helping soldiers return to civilian life.
They chose not to increase taxation significantly.
By December 1922 it now took 7000 marks to purchase 1 US dollar.
To cover its expenses they simply printed more money.
In September Gustav Stresemann decided to end ‘passive resistance’ returning to a policy of
‘fulfilment’
Hyperinflation has taken hold. Goods were costing a billion times what they had 9 years
before.
The hyperinflation affected the middle class in a variety of ways
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They saw the value of their bank savings and government bonds wiped out.
Retiree saw the value of their pensions being wiped out, some being forced to seek charity.
But those with mortgages on their homes benefited as the debt was wiped out due to the
devaluation of the currency.
This had political repercussions
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Those who suffered finically tended to lame the moderate democratic parties which had
been in coalition government during the period of hyperinflation. When the great
depression struck only a few years after the hyperinflation, large sections of Germany’s
middle class would put their trust in the right wing political extremism.
The financial and political turmoil of 1923 provided an opportunity to take or putsch. Even
though it was a failure, this putsch brought Hitler to national prominence for the first time.
Rise of the Nazi party:
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Hitler’s National Socialist German Workers party was an ultra-nationalist political party,
heavily tinged with anti-Semitism, whose supporters came from a variety of social
backgrounds.
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The party had been founded on the 5th of January 1919. Hitler achieved the status of the
party’s star attraction, because of his ability as a public speaker who could get crowds to
rallies and pay entrance and membership fees, which were crucial for party finances.
On the 29th of July 1921 Hitler was acclaimed as the party’s leader with dictatorial powers.
Hitler failed in his attempted seizure of power in 1923, the Munich beer hall putsch, the
event made Hitler and the Nazi party well known through Germany.
When Hitler was released from prison in 1925 the Weimar republic had been stabilised and
would last until 1929. During this time support for the Nazi party according to the Reichstag
election results was very low. During this time it allowed for the Nazi party to reorganise so
that it would be ready for instability to return.
Thus giving full control to Hitler. The Hitler youth was formed in 1926 and the Nuremburg
rallies and other aspects of a highly successful propaganda apparatus were developed.
By the 1930s, the Nazi party was winning votes of the middle class, such as small farmers
and they provided the bulk of votes.
In September 1928 the German government was presented with the young plan. It offered a
rescheduling and reduction of Germany’s reparation payments. Nationalists were opposed
to any agreement with the Versailles treaty that Germany should pay as a result of their ‘war
guilt’
Alfred Hugenburg a leader of the nationalist party formed a front with Hitler, opposing the
young plan. Even though this front failed and the government accepted the plan and soon
fell apart, the Nazi party benefited finically from the connection of big business and Hitler’s
reputation was enhanced by the association with conservative leaders.
13.7 million Germans voted for the Nazis in July 1932.
The general reason got much of the Nazis undoubted popular appeal can be traced back to
their racially based, ultra nationalist ideology. Their electioneering speeches were filled with
references to Germans sharing a common racial/ cultural heritage, combined with a
commitment that on coming to power the Nazis would set about building a national ethnic
community, in which all racially pure. It promised to do away with the class based strife so
characterised of Weimar politics:
The middle class it was an end of the threat of communist revolution.
For the workers it seemed like a commitment to the type of social equality and justice they
had been longing for.
When the great depression reached its worst the Nazi message proved most attractive. With
unemployment ravaging society, nazi organisations were going door to door collecting food
and clothing for the poor, running soup kitchens, holding Christmas parties for the less
fortunate.
It was a coordinated effort designed to project a caring image. Unlike other political partys
who only talked.
SA functions involved protecting party meetings against attacks by political opponents and
the distribution of propaganda leaflets at the election times. Violent street brawls occurred
against parties.
The Nazis involvement in such violence added to their appeal for the middle class because
they were attacking the communists.