History GCSE

Page 1

Germany after WW1:

After the war, various civil uprisings causes the Kaiser to abdicate

Power was takes by Ebert, leader of the Social Democratic party (biggest party in the Reichstag)

This causes the Spartacists movement --> Liebknecht and Luxemburg

Spartacist Uprising:

Objective:

Establish a communist Germany

Method:

Uprising of the lower classes

Strikes

Seizing of newspapers

Government Response:

Killing of Liebknecht and Luxemburg

Storming the Spartacists headquarters

Significance:

Showed the weakness of Weimar as they needed the Freikorps help to stop the Spartacists

Lead to other Communist revolutions

☭ remained a big political party

Elections 1919:

1919: Ebert's Social Democrat party remained the largest

The other biggest parties were still Democratic

As Ebert was elected chancellor of this German Republic, he and the assembly wrote the new constitution in the city of Weimar, he therefore formed the Weimar Republic

Key articles in the constitution:

Proportional Representation:

Every party that got any number of votes would be given a corresponding number of seats in the Reichstag, no matter how small

Articles 48: Article which gave the President emergency power in certain conditions which allows him to neglect the Reichstag and pass laws without their consent

Everyone had the same rights (man of woman)

Freedom of speech, worship and of gathering

Treaty of Versaille:

Army: Due to the disarmament clause, the army shrunk massively so most soldiers which were let go joined the Freikorps which was a dangerous para military organisation on which the government has no influence

Kapp Putsch:

Revolt caused by the attempt to disband the Freikorps

Led by Dr Kapp

Tried to institute a nationalist government by sending the Freikorps to march on Berlin

The government fled to Dresden and ordered a general strike in Berlin which bought the capital to its knees and eventually stopped the revolt

Economy:

After the victors imposed 6.6 billion pounds of war reparations on Germany, the Weimar Republic could not pay, this triggered the invasion of the Ruhr:

The French and the Belgian invaded the Ruhr area with the purpose of seizing the Ruhr coal mines to gain the reparations

The Germans began passive resistance

French expelled 100,000 people form the Ruhr

The occupation of the Ruhr brought down the Germany's revenue as the coal was one of its main exports

This lead to the German gov. To print lots of money leading to hyper inflation

Stresemann rescue plan:

Plan made by Gustav Stresemann to save Weimar and the economy

Consisted in:

End the passive resistance in the Ruhr which was costing the government lots of money

New Rentenmark

Reparation payments were continued

These new changes were initially unpopular but laid the foundations for a period of economic strength

As Stresemann became chancellor, the next 6 years of Weimar (also know as the golden age of Weimar) were characterized by political and economic stability

Dawes Plan:

Consisted of linking reparation payment to the economic performance and an 800 million Mark loan from America, which was then followed by other loans

These economic plans fixed the economy and expanded it, in 1928 the economy has exceeded the pre-war levels

Still, unemployment was high, the agricultural industry had never recovered, and the economy was based on the American loans

Wall Street Crash:

In 1929, the Wall street crash triggered a worldwide period of economic decline known as the Great Depression

This particularly affected Germany as the Americans recalled their loans, putting huge strain on the German economy

1 in 3 were unemployed

This economic failure brought back political instability, support grew for radical political parties such as the Nazis and the Communists

Achievements of Weimar:

Political:

With Stresemann as the foreign minister, Germany re-established a strong diplomatic reputation

Due to Stresemann's policies, the French left the Ruhr

Locarno Treaty outlined the borders and put Germany on equal political ground as the victors

Germany was allowed into the League of nations

Hitler and the Nazis:

Reasons for Hitler's Rise:

Weimer Republic's failure

Great depression, Hitler exploits the crash for his rise

Hitler's own political talents

May 1924 Election:

Gains support due to his trial, he essentially spread his propaganda when he was put trial for the Beer Hall Putsch

Many Germans believed that Hitler was a good candidate due to his nationalist ideals

December 1924 Election:

Hitler and the Nazi's lost almost half of their supporters

May 1928:

Hitler lost even more support due to the strengthening of the Weimar Republic. This meant that the Social Democrat party (and other central parties) was gaining more votes and there were less people willing to vote for the Nazi and a convicted criminal like Hitler. The people gained confidence in the Weimar Republic due to the improved economy due to the introduction of the Renton Mark by Strassman.

From 1924 to the Wall Street Crash is know as the Gold Age of Weimar.

The political climate was stable, as shown by the fact that there was no election for 4 years (between 1924 to 1928)

Due to the proportional representation, the political climate was very unstable

The Reichstag was full of small to medium sized parties which failed to create a stable coalition

September 1930:

Due to the Wall Street crash, many Germans suffered.

Unemployment, homelessness and poverty are rampant. In the 1930 election, the Nazi's gained 18 percent of the general vote (6 million people)

After the apparent fail of capitalism because of the Wall Street Crash, many people turned to other forms of economic systems such as communism and socialism

This made the Nazi party the 2nd largest party in Germany

The Nazi party were very good at propaganda, Göbels was the chief propaganda officer which published posters which drew in more supporters

The Nazis also were technologically advances, using of planes for speeches

Many industrialists supported the Nazi party with money to try and avoid a communist Germany

In 1932, 51% of Germans voted for the Nazis and the Communists

1933, Hitler as Chancellor

Hitler is chosen by Hindenburg as chancellor after a string of unsuccessful chancellors who couldn't form a stable government without Hitler's support

Hindenburg did not approve of Hitler but he was persuaded by other politicians to make Hitler as Chancellor

Since the Nazis were the largest party, a stable coalition government was impossible without the Nazi party support

Therefore, Hitler was voted as Chancellor

Manipulative politicians like Von Papen (member of the centre party) became the vice chancellor and tried to manipulate Hitler into doing what he wanted

In Hitler's cabinet, only three out of his twelve members were of the Nazi party

This made Hindenburg believe that Hitler would be kept at bay

The cabinet was imposed as a condition of Hitler's chancellorship and Von Papen as vice chancellor