History

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Germany and Growth of Democracy

Before World War One

Germany was unified as a single country in 1971 when 25 independent states joined together to form the German Empire under a federal system.

The Kaiser was an autocratic dictator with absolute power to command the army, control foreign policies and appoint the Chancellor.

The Chancellor was in charge of the government and had authority over the Reichstag, the German parliament.

The Bundesrat was the federal council made up of 58 representatives from the 25 states who introduced laws to the Bundestag to be approved.

The Bundestag was the federal parliament made up of 397 deputies that voted on laws introduced by the Bundesrat.

Weakness in the system include the Chancellor always having to please the Kaiser and Prussian influence being dominant in parliament.

Prussia was the largest and richest of the states, so gained 17 representatives in the Bundesrat, while 14 were needed to veto any law.

Germany experienced rapid industrialisation with the introduction of modern industries like manufacturing which increased the population heavily.

Industrial and demographic changes led to huge social changes as the industrial workers became the largest group in society.

Support for the SPD party grew rapidly, making them the largest party in the Reichstag by 1912.

The Chancellor Otto von Bismark pushed social reforms to weaken their influence.

In 1891 the Social Law banned Sunday working and employment of children under the age of 13.

In 1911 sickness and accident schemes covered 14 million Germans, and by 1914 Germany had sickness and disability payments and pensions.

From 1897 Germany began the policy of Welpolitik to turn Germany into a world power by building an empire and growing trade.

Admiral von Tirpitz campaigned for Naval laws, and brought about the opening of the Kiel canal in 1895 and by 1914 had the second largest navy.

The laws pleased the Kaiser and increased support for him but the budget went into deficit as the national debt grew.

Impact of World War One

War weariness was the suffering the citizens felt in Germany during the war due to food and money shortages.

The British Naval Blockade led to severe food shortages and lack of supplies to the civilians meaning no medicine or food or clothing.

Food shortages led to 750,000 deaths, 40% drop in industrial output, 35% of trade was done illegally and machinery and factories exhausted.

Germany lost $40 billion in the war and 1.7 million young men with money still owed to countries.

By 1918 Germany was close to defeat so General Ludendorff suggested that the country become democratic for less severe punishment.

Thousands of Germans still protested against the war, and on 3rd November German soldier mutinied at the Kiel naval base.

Other soldiers refused to follow orders and took over towns and set up councils to govern the cities.

On 9th November, the SPD declared the creation of a German republic, the Kaiser abdicated and on 11th November Germany surrendered.

The Treaty of Versailles made Germany accept the blame in article 231, and £6.6 billion in reparations.

The army was reduced to 100,000 men and 15000 ships, and French and Belgium troops occupied the industrial area of Ruhr after missed payment.

In 1922, they confiscated industrial goods so the German government ordered the workers not to work properly.

In return, the government payed their wages by printing out money which caused massive hyperinflation; bread increased from 250 to 200 billion.

Borrowers and people on wages could pay their loans back, but people on fixed incomes could not keep up with the prices.

Weimar Republic

The Weimar Republic was established by Friedrich Ebert as a representative democracy in Weimar as there was was unrest in Berlin.

Elections were held every every four years for everyone above 20, the Reichstag made all laws and everyone had right to free speech.

The president controlled the army and chose the chancellor who was responsible for day-to-day running of the country.

Proportional representation was each party getting percentage of seats as votes, making it difficult to pass laws.

Article 48 gave the president power to act as a dictator in emergency situations.

Many Germans hated the new government for signing the armistice so violent uprisings came from all political sides.

The Spartacist uprising from 5-12 January 1919 was 50,000 communists rebelling in Berlin that were stopped by Freecorps, ex-soldiers by May 1919.

The Kapp Putsch from 13-17 March 1920 was Wolfgang Kapp leading the Freecorps to takeover Berlin, stopped by workers not cooperating.

Afterwards, some communist workers stayed on strike and captured areas, but the Freecorps killed 1000 workers to end it.

356 politicians were assassinated and let off lightly by judges who preferred the Kaiser's government.

The Munich Putsch was led by Hitler with 2000 supporters on 8th November 1923 to try and capture Berlin.

The event brought Hitler attention as he was jailed after failing when betrayed to the police who defeated them in a gun battle.

In 1923, the Weimar Republic was on the verge of collapse when Gustav Stresemann was made Chancellor.

He solved the hyperinflation by calling off the workers' strike and making the new currency retenmark, and renegotiated reparations.

The Dawkes Plan in 1924 gave Germany more time to pay the reparations and Germany was given a loan from America.

The Young Plan in 1929/30 reduced reparations by 20% and continued to receive loans from America.

However, Germany was still losing money and was too reliant on America, and unemployement was still rising.

As foreign minister, Stresemann improved Germany's relations by entering the league of nations in 1926 and gained the Ruhr back.

With no more censorship, and Berlin becoming the third-largest city in the world, Germany flourished in culture.

Albert Einstein was a promising figure in science, Bauhaus produced architecture and with more freedom, artists flourished like George Gros.

Jazz, classical and cabaret music became popular and Fritz Lang produced Metropolis and actresses like Marlene Dietrich became popular.

However, 30% of votes still went to anti-Republic parties, a new president was elected and the Chancellors kept changing.

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Germany and the Depression

Impact of the Depression

In October 1929 the Wall Street Crash on the US stock exchange brought about a global economic depression.

Germany was worst affected because American banks called in on all foreign loans, which was Germany's main way to pay reparations.

German industries were forced to pay their loans, causing bankruptcy and mass unemployment.

By 1933, 1 in 3 Germans were unemployed at 6 million, industrial production halved and farmers slipped into further debt.

In 1930, Chancellor Bruning raised taxes, cut wages and reduced unemployment benefit, but would not be passed by the Reichstag.

President Hindenburg used article 48 which gave the power to pass laws and to govern without decree, undermining democracy.

The Germans started to get desperate and looked to extreme political parties for solutions, and Nazi party numbers soared.

Failure of Weimar Democracy

In 1928, the Nazis had 12 seats in the Reichstag, which rose to 230 being the largest party by July 1932.

Wealthy businessmen feared communism so began to finance the Nazis. The middle-class felt that democracy failed, so supported Hitler.

Nationalists blamed the Treaty of Versailles so supported the Nazis. Support for Hitler was strong among rural areas with farmers and shopkeepers.

Hitler was portrayed as Germany's saviour that could be trusted with his passionate speeches, and Jews were scapegoated for the depression.

The SA intimidated political opponents, protected meetings and provided opportunities for young men to become involved.

In April 1932, the elections resulted in Hindenburg winning again, with Hitler second. In May, Bruning resigns and Von Papen is made Chancellor.

In July, the Reichstag elections result in Nazis being the largest party with 230 seats, but Von Papen still made Chancellor.

In November, another election was called by Von Papen to win a majority, and Nazis lost 34 seats but remained the largest.

In December, Von Papen resigned and Von Schleicher was made Chancellor, but he too resigned when a coalition with Nazis wasn't made.

In January 1933 Hitler was made Chancellor in backstairs intrigue as Hindenburg and Von Papen believed they would be able to control him.

Hitler's Dictatorship

On 27th February 1933 the Reichstag building was set on fire supposedly by a communist Van der Lubbe, gaining support for the Nazis.

In the March elections, Nazis gained 44% of the votes and 288 seats, so they joined with nationalists to form a majority.

With the fear of communism, Hindenburg signed the Enabling Act which gave HItler the power to make laws without the Reichstag.

In July political parties except from the Nazis were banned which removed all sources of opposition.

The Gestapo, a secret police, was established, concentration camps for opponents were opened and police were given more powers.

On the 30th June 1934, the SA leader Rohm demanded control of the army but HItler did not want to upset the army or businessmen.

In the NIght of the Long Knives Hitler's personal bodyguards, the SS, murdered 400 SA members including Rohm and Schleicher.

On the 2nd August Hindenburg died and Hitler appointed himself as Fuhrer, absolute leader of Germany

Germany was a one-party state, the army and judges swore allegiance to Hitler not Germany, trade unions were banned, concordat with Pope.

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Experience of Germans under Nazis

Economic Changes

Hitler wanted to make Germany autarky, self-sufficient, and by 1939 there was virtually no official unemployment.

Huge public work programs were started such as the creation of autobahns which gave work to 100,000 people in public work schemes from 1933.

Rearmament was officially announced in 1935 and created jobs for millions of workers.

The National Labour Service meant all young men had to spend 6 months doing natural work in RAD and then were conscripted into the army.

However,1.4 million men were in the army, Jews were sacked and women gave up their jobs for men, so there was invisible employment.

In 1933 Shacht made the New Plan o limit imports and made trade agreements but was sacked when he wanted more time.

In 1937 Goering made himself economics minister to create a self-sufficient Germany to not need to trade internationally.

The Four Year Plan increased military production and raw materials and control on prices and wages were tightened.

However by 1939 Germany was still importing one-fifth of its food and one-third of raw materials.

Big businesses experienced 70% salary rise with big weapons companies, smaller ones thrived as their value doubled with less competition.

Farmers had their debts written off and agricultural prices increased and their land couldn't be repossessed but they hated government meddling.

Industrial workers need to be productive and controlled. The Labour Front replaced trade unions to set wages.

Strength through Joy gave rewards for work such as holidays, and Beauty of Labour helped Germans see that work was good in conditions.

However, wages fell, number of hours worked increased and serious accidents in factories increased.

Food rationing was introduced in August 1939 and clothing in October. Diets were monotonous with bread and potatoes.

There were meat shortages due to lack of import, Jews got little food and there were shortages of coal in winter.

In 1942 Britain started targeting large industrial cities with bombs and it was not distinguished between military and civilians.

300,000 were killed and 800,000 injured and 7,500,000 were made homeless but industrial production continued.

At the outbreak of war, many Germany left western borders with France to avoid the fighting, but soon returned.

Thousands of refugees were made from the bombings and many civilians fled west to avoid the advancing Russians.

13.7 million young men served in the army creating a huge labour shortage, so women entered the workforce in large numbers.

Social Policy and Practice

Women were encouraged to have many children, with loans given to newlyweds, awards for having many children and could have a child with SS.

Women were given financial incentives to stay at home and were not conscripted until 1943, but women in employment rose as they were needed.

They were expected to emulate traditional fashions which meant no make-up or trousers or dying of hair or smoking.

Children from the age of ten were encouraged to join Hitler Youth Groups and was made compulsory by 1936.

Boys wore military-style uniforms and was centered on physical exercise and rifle practice, while girls learned domestic skills for motherhood.

All teachers had to join Nazi Teacher's Association and taught history about Nazis and eugenics about Nazi racial theories to indoctrinate them.

Hitler saw Christianity as a threat due to its size and possible opposition to Nazism as it emphasized peace.

Muller established the Reich Church to promote Nazi values, and a concordat was agreed with the Pope to leave each other alone.

Nazis believed that the Aryans were the master race and part of the Volk community and we encouraged to have children.

Undesirables were 'sub-human' such as Jews and Gypsies and disabled people and were sterilized, killed in secret and sent to death camp to work.

The Nuremburg Laws stripped Jews of German citizenship, outlawed marriage between them and Aryans and took away rights.

Kristallnacht took place on 9th November 1938 where SS organised attacks on Jewish homes and synagogues in retaliation to an assassination.

The Final Solution was decided at the Wansee Conference in 1942 to discuss the mass-murdering of Europe's 11 million Jews.

SS groups called Einsatzgruppen went around towns and villages and executed Jews, with 1.2 million being killed in this way.

2.5 million Jews and millions of Gypsies, homosexuals and disabled people were sent to extermination camps to be gassed to death.

The Warsaw Uprising in 1943 lasted 43 days before the Germans regained control and executed 550 people.

Control

Goebbels was the minister of propaganda and controlled censorship and terror to brainwash people into obeying the Nazis.

All newspapers and radio broadcasts were controlled by the government, and the were cheap so most Germans could afford them.

Mass rallies were held to display Nazi support and Berlin hosted the 1936 Olympics to showcase Aryan strength by winning.

The Shutzaffel, SS, were led by Himmler and oversaw other organisations, the were loyal to Hitler and were his personal bodyguards.

The Gestapo were the secret police that monitored German people for signs of opposition, and people informed them about others.

The SD were the intelligence gathering agency of the SS, and was responsible for the security of high ranking officials.

Hitler encouraged Aryan art depicting military and physical prowess, and was interested in architecture to promote Nazism.

Nazis ceremonially burned thousands of books in 1933 in the Burning of the Books by anyone who had contrasting ideologies.

The Nazi party took over film production and Goebbels himself looked at the story of each movie to ensure it promoted Nazism.

Jazz music and classical music by Jews were banned as they were referred to as degenerate.

Protestant pastors led by Niemoller formed an alternate church, but were sent to concentration camps in 1937.

The Catholic Archbishop Von Galen led a successful campaign to end euthanasia, but 400 priests were imprisoned.

The Edelweiss pirates based in Rhineland were anti-Nazi youth. In 1942 700 were arrested, and in 1944, 12 were hanged for killing the Gestapo chief.

The White Rose Group were led by Hans and Sophie Scholl and published anti-Nazi leaflets at Munich university, and were executed.

Swing Youth were people who rejected Nazi values and drank alcohol, listened to Jazz and did British related things, so were monitored by Gestapo.

In July 1944, The Kreisau Circel decided to assassinate Hitler because they didn't like his policies, but the attempt failed and 5000 were executed.

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Conflict in Korea

Causes of Korean War

The Truman Doctrine advocated containment and rolling back communism to stop it getting more powerful.

The domino effect was America's fear that once one country fell to communism, strengthened by Chinese revolution, all of Asia would soon follow.

In 1945 Korea was split along the 38th parallel with a communist North led by Kim-Il-Sung and capitalist south led by Syngman Rhee.

Syngman Rhee was known for being a harsh ruler and was unwilling to cooperate properly with USA, and wanted unification of Korea.

Kim-il-Sung was popular in North Korea and had USSR and Chinese support, and also wanted unification of Korea.

Kim-Il-Sung wished to invade the South, but Stalin didn't let him until June 1950, US troops had left Korea, and USSR developed nuclear weapons

USSR supplied North Korea with tanks, artillery and aircraft, but said that reinforcement troops must come from China.

The UN council met quickly to discuss, and USA urged them to get together an army to defend South Korea.

USSR was boycotting the meetings because USA vetoed the decision to let Communist China join the council.

USA provided 50% of armed forces, 86% of naval forces and 93% of air forces, and 16 other UN states sent troops to fight.

Development of Korean War

North Korean forces had driven the South back to the area around the city of Pusan, so General MacArthur first stopped their complete collapse.

On 15 September 1950, UN troops launched an amphibian landing at Inchon behind the North Korean line.

The UN forces drove the North Korean troops back and captured most of North Korea by October.

The Chinese leader Mao Tse Tung was alarmed by the UN actions and feared an American invasion, and were obliged by Stalin to come to their aid.

At the Yalu River on 25 October 1950 on the Chinese border, 200,000 Chinese troops joined the North Koreans with tanks and planes.

The North pushed UN forces back into South Korea and re-took Seoul, but by March 1951 UN forces pushed back and took Seoul again.

Truman felt defending South Korea was satisfactory, but MacArthur sent troops back into North Korea and asked to bomb Chinese cities.

Truman did not want to risk a nuclear war so sacked MacArthur, but this was met with uproar as he was a well-known war hero.

End of Korean War

By the end of 1951, the front line held stable with both sides heavily fortified with artillery, mines and barbed wire, causing a stalemate.

USA attempted to use planes to bomb North Korean areas with napalm killing 1 million people in the air raids.

Stalin sent Soviet fighter planes and pilots but were disguised as Chinese and North Korean to avoid knowledge of direct confrontation.

The Russians' MiG plane was much better than UN planes, so they offered a large reward for any pilot that would defect and bring them technology.

Peace talks began but neither side could agree, until In November 1952 when Truman was replaced by Eisenhower and March 1953 Stalin too.

On 27 July 1953 the Korean Armistice Agreement was signed which ende the fighting with both sides at the 38th parallel again.

Korea remained split in two countries with no formal peace treaty and around 2 million casualties across the peninsula.

80% of important buildings destroyed and housing was ruined in the North forcing civilians into caves, and there was a massive loss of money.

The war led to massive rearmament in USA as their budget rose from $48 to $60 billion from 1951-52, nuclear bombs from 100 to 750 1948-52.

Army size increased by 50% to 3.5 million soldiers, and trade ceased with China and USSR continued their arms race with America.