Germany post WW1 and the origins of Nazism
(Source: http://www.johndclare.net/Weimar2.htm [accessed Monday 12th of January]
1: (a) Weimar Republic
At the end of October 1918, the German navy mutinied. Rebellion spread throughout the country. In November Germany was forced to cease military actions and this brought WW1 to an end. Kaiser Wilhelm II abdicated and fled the country.
Source A
This British cartoon from 1919 shows the Kaiser booted out of Germany.
Question
Find out what country Kaiser Wilhelm II fled to in 1919.
(b) New Republic declared
A new Republic was declared. In January 1919, elections were held for a new Reichstag and in February 1919, in the town of Weimar, a new government was agreed. Freidrich Ebertwas elected President of the new Republic.
Germany did not just get a new government. The Allies made sure that Germany got a different kind of government. Before1914, the government of Germany was almost a military autocracy; after 1919, it was a parliamentary democracy.
Question
Use an internet search engine to find the definitions/meanings of the following words:
· Republic
· Reichstag
· Parliamentary Democracy
· Constitution
· Proportional voting
(c) Changes in the Constitution
Germany’s Constitution in 1914
Kaiser Wilhelm II(hereditary monarch)appoints / calls/dismisses / controls
Government
Chancellor
Ministers / Reichstag
(elected)
which can stop laws proposed by the government, but cannot make laws. / TheArmy
Electors
Men over 25 can vote
Source B
There is only one master in this country.That am I.Who opposes me I shall crush to pieces.
Kaiser Wilhelm II, speaking before 1914
Source C
The old Reichstag was a useless parliament. It could speak but it had no power.
A German politician speaking in 1926.
Germany’s Constitution in 1919
Bill of Rightspromises all Germans equality before the law and political and religious freedom. / Electors
All men and women over the age of 20 can vote.
safeguards / elect
Freidrich Ebert
(elected president) / Reichstag
(elected)
controls / from which is selected
The Army / Government
Chancellor
Ministers
must have a majority in the Reichstag, and do as the Reichstag says.
Source D
The German Commonwealth is a Republic.Political authority is derived from the People.
The Weimar Constitution, 6 February 1919
Source E
The Constitution was a brave attempt to set up a democratic government…All Germans had equal rights, including the vote.Political parties were given seats in proportion to the number of votes they got.This was fair.
A modern textbook.
Question
Discuss how the Weimar settlement changed Germany's constitution in the following areas:
a. The head of State
b. The government
c. The Reichstag
d. The electorate
e. Civil Liberties.
2: Problems faced by the Weimar Republic 1919-23
Problems of the Weimar Republic
(a).Ineffective Constitution
The Weimar Constitution did not create a strong government:
· Article 48of the constitution gave the President sole power in ‘times of emergency’ – something he took often.
· The system ofproportional votingled to 28 parties. This made it virtually impossible to establish a majority in the Reichstag, and led to frequent changes in the government. During 1919-33, there were twenty separate coalition governments and the longest government lasted only two years. This political chaos caused many to lose faith in the new democratic system.
· The Germanstateshad too much power and often ignored the government.
· The Army, led by the right-wing General Hans von Seeckt, was not fully under the government’s control.It failed to support government during the Kapp Putsch or the crisis of 1923.
· Many government officials – especiallyjudges– were right-wing and wanted to destroy the government.After the Kapp Putsch, 700 rebels were tried for treason; only 1 went to prison.After the Munich Putsch, Hitler went to prison for only 9 months.
(b) Left-wing Rebellions
The CommunistKPDhated the new government:
· In Jan 1919, 50,000Spartacistsrebelled in Berlin, led byRosa LuxemburgandKarl Leibknecht.
· In 1919, CommunistWorkers’ Councilsseized power all over Germany, and a Communist ‘People’s Government’ took power inBavaria.
· In 1920, after the failure of the Kapp Putsch, a paramilitary group called theRed Armyrebelled in the Ruhr.
(c)Right-wing terrorism
Many right-wing groups hated the new government for signing the Versailles Treaty(June 1919):
· TheKapp Putsch: in March 1920, aFreikorpsbrigade rebelled against the Treaty, led by Dr Wolfgang Kapp.It took over Berlin and tried to bring back the Kaiser.
· Nationalist terrorist groups murdered 356 politicians.In August 1921 MatthiasErzberger, the man who signed the armistice (and therefore a 'November criminal'), was shot.In 1922, they assassinated WalterRathenau, the SPD foreign minister, because he made a treaty with Russia.
Questions
(a) Use an internet search to determine what constitutes Left-wing and Right-wing ideology
(b) Compare and contrast the actions of Left-wing and Right-wing groups in the early years of the Weimar Republic
(d)Invasion-Inflation: the crisis of 1923
The cause of the trouble wasReparations– the government paid them by printing more money, causing inflation.In January 1923, Germany failed to make a payment, and France invaded theRuhr.This humiliated the government, which ordered a general strike, and paid the strikers by printing more money, causinghyperinflation
Effects of Hyper inflation
Table 1: This table shows what happened to the price of bread in Berlin (prices in marks):
December 1918 / 0.5December 1921 / 4
December 1922 / 163
January 1923 / 250
March 1923 / 463
June 1923 / 1,465
July 1923 / 3,465
August 1923 / 69,000
September 1923 / 1,512,000
October 1923 / 1,743,000,000
November 1923 / 201,000,000,000
Question
If Germany experienced a 2% annualised level of inflation during the period December 1918 to December 1923 (5 years) what should the price of a loaf of bread have been at the end of 1923?
Table 2a: Price of basic goods (in marks) in Germany 1913 – 1923
Item / November 1913 / Summer 1923 / November 19231 egg / 0.08 / 5000 / 80,000,000,000
1 kg of butter / 2.70 / 26000 / 6,000,000,000,000
1 kg of beef / 1.75 / 18800 / 5,600,000,000,000
Pair of shoes / 12.00 / 1,000,000 / 32,000,000,000,000
Table 2b
Item / November 1913 / November 19231 egg / 0.08
1 kg of butter / 2.70
1 kg of beef / 1.75
Pair of shoes / 12.00
Question
If Germany experienced a 2% annualised level of inflation during the period November1913 to November 1923 (10 years) what should the price of these basic goods have been in November 1923?
(b) How did Hyperinflation affect the the coinage and banknotes in Weimar Germany?
Visit the following site: http://www.joelscoins.com/exhibger2.htm
(c) View the Youtube clip on Horror Stories of Hyperinflation: Germany in the 1920s, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QmZ36uABULY .
Question
In your opinion, what were the five most important effects of Hyperinflation on German society during that period?
Amusing story of Hyperinflation in Germany
Other occurrences during this period
· In Berlin on 1 October 1923, soldiers calling themselvesBlack Reichswehrrebelled, led by Bruno Buchrucker.
· The Rhinelanddeclared independence (21–22 October).
· InSaxonyandThuringiathe Communists took power.
5.Munich Putsch
On 8–9 November 1923, Hitler’s Nazis tried to take control of Bavaria (the Munich Putsch).
3: Origins of the Nazi Party
The Formation of the Nazi Party and its Beliefs and Organisation
(a)Early beginnings
The German Workers’ Party, led by Anton Drexler, was formed in 1919.Hitlerjoinedand soon became leader.His speeches gave people scapegoats to blame for Germany’s problems:
• The Allies.
•The Versailles Treaty and the ‘November Criminals’ (the politicians who signed it).
•The Communists, and:
• The Jews.
Nazi Flag
Source A
‘The swastika has an extensive history. It was used at least 5,000 years before Adolf Hitler designed the Nazi flag. The word swastikacomes from the Sanskritsvastika, which means “good fortune” or “well-being." The motif (a hooked cross) appears to have first been used in Neolithic Eurasia, perhaps representing the movement of the sun through the sky. To this day it is a sacred symbol in Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and Odinism. It is a common sight on temples or houses in India or Indonesia. Swastikas also have an ancient history in Europe, appearing on artifacts from pre-Christian European cultures.’
Source: http://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10007453 [accessed Monday 12th of January]
(b)Twenty-five Point Programme
In 1920, the party renamed itself the National Socialist German Workers’ Party (Nazis), and announced its Twenty-Five Point Programme.
Questions
1. Study the Twenty-Five Point Programme. Find Nazi beliefs which would have appealed to:
a. a nationalist (who thought the German race was better than others)
b. a socialist (who wanted to help the poor people),
c. someone who was angry about losing the war,
d. someone who wanted to return to the autocratic government of the past,
e. someone who hated Jews.
Tick the relevant box in the table below:
25 Point Programme / Nationalist / Socialist / Angry at losing war / Autocratic / Anti-semitic1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
2. Suggest reasons why not many students, doctors or lawyers joined the Nazi Party.
(c).Mein Kampf
After the failure of the Munich Putsch in 1923, Hitler was sent to Landsberg jail.
There he wroteMein Kampf(My Struggle) advocating:
•National Socialism– loyalty to Germany, racial purity, equality and state control of the economy.
•Racism– the triumph of the Aryan race byarmed force, becauseall races, especially the Jews, were inferior to the Aryan (pure German) ‘Master Race’.
•Lebensraum–to expand into Poland and Russia to get ‘Living Space’.
•Strong Government– complete obedience to the Führer.
(d). Organisation
At first, there were a number of people involved in running the party, but Hitler soon became the sole boss, and he built up the organisation so that he was unquestioned leader.
SourceD
Nazi Membership in the 1920s
by social group
/(%)
/ In GermanySkilled workers (e.g. plumbers) / 33 / 27
Businessmen (e.g. factory owners) / 19 / 7
Lower employees (e.g. shop assistants) / 18 / 18
Unskilled workers (e.g. farm labourers) / 12 / 37
Farmers / 11 / 8
Students / 4 / 0.5
Professionals (e.g. doctors, lawyers) / 3 / 2.5
Aristocrats (lords) / 0 / 0
Task: Construct two pie-charts and analyse the differences in the membership make-up
(a) Nazi membership in the 1920s by social group in Austria & Germany
(b) Nazi membership in the 1920s by social group in Germany only
4: Some successes of the Weimar Republic and the decline of the Nazi Party 1924-29
Successes of the Weimar Republic up to 1929
Stresemann's Achievements(DIFFERS)
a.Dawes Plan, 1924
Stresemann called off the 1923 Ruhr strike and started to pay reparations again – but the AmericanDawes Plangave Germany longer to make the payments (and the Young Plan of 1929 reduced the payments).
b.Inflation controlled, November 1923
Stresemann called in all the old, worthless marks and burned them.He replaced them with a new Rentenmark (worth 3,000 million old marks).
c.French leave the Ruhr, April 1924
Stresemann persuaded the French to leave.
d.Foreign Affairs
In 1925, Stresemann signed the Locarno Treaty, agreeing to the loss of Alsace-Lorraine.In 1926, Germany was allowed to join the League of Nations.Germany had become a world power again.
e.Economic Growth
Germany borrowed 25,000 million gold marks, mainly from America.This was used to build roads, railways and factories.The economy boomed and led to prosperity.Cultural life also boomed (the Roaring Twenties).
f.Reforms
Stresemann introduced reforms to make life better for the working classes - Labour Exchanges (1927) and unemployment pay.Also, 3 million new houses were built.
g.Strength at the Centre
Stresemann arranged a 'Great Coalition' of the moderate pro-democracy parties (based around the SDP, the Centre party and Stresemann's own 'German people's Party', the DVP).United together, they were able to resist the criticism from smaller extremist parties, and in this way, he overcame the effects of proportional representation - the government had enough members of the Reichstag supporting it to pass the laws it needed.
Decline of the Nazi Party 1924-29
(a)Elections and decline
After the failure of the Munich Putsch, Hitler decided that he would have to get power by being elected, rather than by rebellion.However, he was banned from speaking until 1928.
The prosperity of the Stresemann years, also, meant that the Nazi’s message became less appealing and the party lost support.
Source C
This Nazi poster from the 1928 election reads ‘Break the Dawes chains’.
Nazi Party performance in German Elections May 1924 – May 1928
Date of Election / Jan 1919 / Jun 1920 / May 1924 / Dec 1924 / May 1928SPD Social Democrats / 165 / 102 / 100 / 131 / 153
Communists KPD/USPD / 22 / 88 / 62 / 45 / 54
Centre Party (Catholics) / 91 / 64 / 65 / 69 / 62
DDP (Democrats) / 75 / 39 / 28 / 32 / 25
Right-wing parties (BVP/ DVP/DNVP) / 63 / 157 / 156 / 174 / 134
NSDAP (Nazis) / 32 / 14 / 12
Others / 7 / 9 / 29 / 29 / 51
Total Deputies / 423 / 459 / 472 / 493 / 491
NSDAP as a % ot Total Deputies
Questions
(a) Complete the row ‘NSDAP as a % of Total Deputies’ in the above table
(b) Construct a line graph of the performance of German political parties during the period January 1919 to May 1928
(c) During the period from May 1924 to May 1928, the SPD Social Democrats’ electoral performance improved while the Right-wing parties saw a decline in deputies elected. What factors could account for this?
(b) Re-organising the Party
In this period, however, Hitler set about reorganising the Party.He put in place many of the things which helped it take power after 1928:
•He reduced the number of Stormtroopers (SA) and set up the SS, a personal bodyguard fanatically loyal to himself.
•He set up a network of local parties.He merged with other right-wing parties, then took them over.
•He set up the Hitler Youth, which attracted young people to the party.
•He put Josef Goebbels in charge ofpropaganda.Goebbels and Hitler believed that the best way to get the support of the masses was by appealing to their feelings rather than by argument.They waged a propaganda campaign using posters, leaflets, radio and film, and organised rallies.
•He cultivated the support of wealthy businessmen promising them that, if he came to power, he would destroy Communism and the Trade Unions.This gave him the finance to run his campaigns.