Rise of Hitler Timeline - 1918 to 1934

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Date/period Event(s) November 1918

Kaiser forced to leave Germany due to violent unrest

Early 1919

Weimar Republic took to power led by Fredrick Ebert

Set up in Weimar as Berlin was too violent

Ebert was leader of Social Democratic Party so the new government was democratic

28 June 1919

Treaty of Versaille signed

Germany take full blame for the war, Army reduced to 100,000 men, only allowed 6 war ships, forced to pay £6600 million in reparations, Germany lost its empire, German military banned from the Rhineland, air force disbanded, Navy reduced

1919

Hitler joined the German Workers' party

Difficulties in 1919 - 1924

Extremists from both right and left

Spartacists

Weak government

The power given to the Freikorps by the government

The Kapp Putsch

Occupation of the Ruhr

Inflation

The Munich Putsch

1919

Karl Leibknecht and Rosa Luxemburg led the Communists

Tried to take over Berlin as a Spartacist revolt

Defeated by Freikorps

1920

Some right wing Friekorps took part in Kapp Putsch

Led by Wolfgang Kapp

Took over Berlin to form new Government

Workers staged a General Strike

Kapp gave up

Government didn’t punish the rebels as judges sympathised for them

1922

Walter Ratheneu was a Foreign Minister and was Jewish

Assassinated by former Freikorps

Many Germans turning anti-Semetic

1923 Occupation of the Ruhr

Germany could not pay reparations

French and Belgium troops invaded the Ruhr

Seized raw materials

Legal under TOV

Lead to Hyperinflation

November 1923 Hyperinflation

France and Belgium occupied the Ruhr

Led to fury so passive resistance started

Hyperinflation began: wages paid twice a day, middle classes lost out as bank savings were worthless, German Mark worthless

November 1923 Munich Putsch

Government was weak

Hitler planned to overthrow the Weimar

Soldiers occupied a Beer Hall in Munich where local leaders were meeting and announced a revolution

Forced leaders to join him

The next day Hitler marched into Munich with the SA but it was quickly stopped when police fired at the rebels

Aftermath of the Munich Putsch

Imprisoned

Wrote Mein Kampf - believed Aryans were master race, would join Austria and Germany, reverse TOV, create a Greater Germany, Lebensraum, believed other races were inferior

Nazi party banned

Economy was improving so people didn’t look for alternatives

Decided to use persuasion instead of violence

Decided to work through the democratic system

1923 Gustav Stresemann becomes Foreign Minister

Stopped passive resistance of the Ruhr

Accepted The Dawes Plan then replaced by The Young Plan which reduced reparations

Agreed to The Locarno Treaty

Created a new temporary currency

Stabilised currency

Inflation reduced

Restarted paying reparations

Industries began to recover

1925

Troops left the Ruhr

1926

Germany joined the League of Nations

1925 - 1929 The Golden Years

Ended passive resistance

Bought Locarno Treaty with Britain and France

Introduced a new currency

Germany became the biggest exported of manufactured goods in the world

More freedom for women

Culture was thriving

-unstable political system

-mass unemployment

1930 The Great Depression

6 million were unemployed

Germany’s biggest bank collapsed

Weimar Government kept changing

Extremist Groups becoming more popular as they promised stronger leadership-promised prosperity and to make Germany great again, party grew to over 300,000

1932 Presidential Elections

Hitler and a Communist candidate stood against Hindenburg

Hindenburg was a national hero

At first Hindenburg didn't win the majority

On the second he won by 53% to Hitler’s 36.8% vote

July 1932

Von Papen Chancellor

Nazis won 230 seats

Biggest party in the Reichstag but didn't have majority

Hitler demanded to be made Chancellor but Hindenburg refused - did not like him

November 1932

Nazis lost 34 seats

Couldn't afford propaganda

People were worried about the violence of the SA

Von Schleicher appointed Chancellor

28 January 1933

Von Schliecher resigns due to no support

30 January 1933

Hindenburg offered Hitler Chancellor as long as Von Papen was Vice Chancellor – so he could be controlled

Von Papen was Vice Chancellor

27 February 1933 Reichstag Fire

Marrius Van Der Lubbe was blamed (Dutch Communist) as he was found in the Reichstag

Number of conspiracies claiming Goering organised it

Allowed Hitler to imprison many Communist leaders so they couldn’t campaign during the elections

People thought a Communist revolt was going to happen

Emergency decree established which gave police and the SA the right to search homes, ban Communist parties, arrest leaders and stop any Communist propaganda (banned all freedom)

March 1933

Hitler calls another election to make the Nazis stronger

44% voted for Nazis which wasn’t the majority so Hitler was not happy

To gain majority SA intimidated people when voting and joined the Nationalists

23 March 1933 Enabling Act

Enabling Act passed

End the democracy and Germany would become a dictatorship

uWon from 444 votes to 94

Nazi Revolution: all Government departments were purged (removed Communists and Jews), new Nazi Trade Union called The Labour Front

April 1933

Put Nazi officials in charge of states

May 1933

Abolished trade unions and made strikes illegal (imprisoned union leaders)

29 June 1934 The Night Of the Long Knives

Hitler felt power was threatened by the army so got rid of the SA by executing 77 leaders

Ernst Rohm wanted to become leader of the army and it was rumoured that he wanted to attempt a coup (no evidence)

Hitler knew the SA had power to overthrow him

For the army - only organisation that could overthrow Hitler, popular war heroes, trained elite soldiers

For the SA - 2 million men, loyal to Hitler from the start, SA disrupted public meetings, helped Hitler enforce laws and become Chancellor

2 August 1934

Hindenburg dies

Hitler declares himself Fuhrer

Now he was Chancellor, president and head of the army

Every solider swore an oath of personal loyalty to Hitler