Germany Revision Guide
Date / Event9th November 1918 / Kaiser Wilhelm abdicated. Weimar Republic declared.
28th June 1919 / Treaty of Versailles signed.
5th January 1919 / German Workers' Party (Deutsche Arbeiterpartei) DAP formed by Anton Drexler, Gottfried Feder, Dietrich Eckart and Karl Harrer
12th September 1919 / Adolf Hitler, who had been sent by the German Army to spy on the German Workers' Party (Deutsche Arbeiterpartei) DAP, decided that he liked the political ideas of the party and became a member.
29th July 1921 / Adolf Hitler became leader of the NSDP and took the title der Führer
4th November 1921 / SA (Sturm Abteilung) formed. Known as Stormtroopers these were the party militia. They were also known as brownshirts because of the brown shirts that formed part of their uniform.
8th November 1923 / Munich (Beer Hall) Putsch - Hitler and the NSDP attempt to overthrow the Bavarian government failed. The leaders were arrested and charged with treason.
26th February 1924 / Hitler's trial for his part in the Munich Putsch began. He was sentenced to 5 years in prison but only served 10 months. During his time in prison Hitler wrote Mein Kampf.
April 1925 / SS (Schutzstaffel) formed. The SS, who wore black shirts to distinguish them from the SA, initially formed Hitler's personal bodyguard, but later became the party militia.
4th July 1926 / Hitler Youth, League of German Worker Youth was formed. The party had had a youth section since its beginning, but this new re-organised Hitler Youth was more integrated into the SA.
1929 - 1930 / Great Depression - The world depression saw many Germans face unemployment and poverty. Support for the Nazi party increased dramatically.
During 1930 / Hitler Youth junior branches established - Deutsches Jungvolk for boys aged 10 - 14 years and the Bund Deutscher Mädel (League of German Girls) for girls aged 10 - 18 years.
September 1930 / The Nazi party gained 18.3% of the vote in the Reichstag elections to become the second largest party.
July 1932 / The Nazi party gained 37.4% of the vote in the Reichstag elections to become the largest party.
30th January 1933 / Hitler appointed Chancellor of Germany by President Hindenburg
3rd February 1933 / Hitler defined the Nazi party foreign policy. The prime goal was to secure lebensraum (living space) for the German master race.
27th February 1933 / The Reichstag Fire. A fire which broke out at the Reichstag building was blamed on the Communist Party (KPD). As a result the KPD, which was the second largest party in Germany, was banned. The banning of the Communist party gave the Nazis a clear majority in government.
5th March 1933 / With the Communist party banned Hitler ordered a new election at which the Nazi party gained 44% of the General election vote.
23rd March 1933 / Enabling Act gave Hitler power to make laws without consulting the Reichstag for a period of four years
26th April 1933 / The Gestapo, Nazi secret police, were formed
14th July 1933 / All political parties except the Nazis were banned
30th June 1934 / The Night of the Long Knives - 150 leaders of the Stormtroopers SA were executed. Many members of the SA were committed socialists and demanded that Nazi policy embrace socialist aims. This was not a direction the Nazis wished to follow so the SA were eliminated.
2nd August 1934 / President Hindenburg died. Hitler combined the post of President and Chancellor and called himself Fuhrer.
26th February 1935 / Hitler ordered Hermann Goering to establish the Luftwaffe, German airforce, in defiance of the terms of the Treaty of Versailles
March 1935 / Hitler publicly announced that the German Army was to be expanded. Conscription was introduced.
15th September 1935 / Nuremburg Laws defined German citizenship. Relationships between Jews and Aryans were banned.
7th March 1936 / Re-occupation of the Rhineland. In contravention of the terms of the Versailles Treaty, Hitler sent German troops to re-occupy the Rhineland.
December 1936 / Law concerning the Hitler Youth made membership of the Hitler Youth compulsory for all boys
November 1938 / Kristallnacht - Jewish shops and synagogues were destroyed. Following the event the Jewish population was fined for the destruction.
1st September 1939 / Hitler invaded Poland using Blitzkrieg (lightning war) tactics. Although the Poles fought back they were quickly defeated and Poland was occupied.
3rd September 1939 / Britain and France declared war on Germany
5th December 1941 / German advance in Russia halted by Russian winter and Russian counterattacks.
20th January 1942 / Wannsee Conference approved plans for the 'Final Solution'.
4th March 1943 / First allied bombing raid on German cities
20th July 1944 / July Bomb Plot failed attempt to assassinate Hitler.
30th April 1945 / Hitler committed suicide
2nd May 1945 / Germany surrendered ending the war in Europe
Germany after WWI
• Germany had suffered a great deal in World War One. As they are located in Central Europe
Germany was fighting on two fronts and the people were suffering. It was very difficult to get supplies.
• When the Americans joined the war Germany knew it had lost.
• Ebert took over.
• Germany was forced to sign the Treaty of Versailles.
The effects of the Treaty of Versailles on Germany.
• Germany had to admit war guilt.
• Germany lost all colonies.
• Military was not allowed in the Rhineland.
• Germany lost land.
• Army limited to 100,000, no air force or submarines.
• Germany had to pay reparations (compensation to rebuild)
Look at this cartoon. What does it show about how the Germans thought about the Treaty?
Germans were angry because …
• They are not strong enough to defend themselves
• It was seen as the politicians had betrayed the brave army
• They had to admit guilt
• They lost land
• The economy would be crippled
What is left or right wing?
The Weimar Republic - threats from the left wing and right wing.
• The streets of Germany were chaotic and the government weren’t strong enough to keep order.
• Left wing (communist) uprising. SPARTACISTS. They wanted a Communist Revolution like had happened in Russia. They were defeated by the Freikorps (ex soldiers)
• Right wing. Kapp & Munich Putsch. Kapp – led by Wolfgang Kapp, his supporters tried to take over government buildings. Ebert called on the army but they did nothing – he called the workers to go on strike and this worked. Kapp fled. Munich – failed as the army defeated the SA but allowed Hitler to become famous and gave him a very public trail to express his views. The short sentence he received reflects the support he had.
Did the republic face collapse in 1923? (Invasion of the Ruhr & Hyperinflation).
• The Weimar Republic was democratic. Bad points were that it took too long to get decisions made.
• The Germans were used to a Kaiser (king), they liked a single strong ruler.
• In 1923 Germany missed a reparation payment. Britain was forgiving but France wanted revenge.
• French and Belgium troops marched into the Ruhr (a rich industrial area of Germany).
• The German government asked the workers to go on strike and not to help the troops remove goods.
• To pay the striking workers – the government printed more money.
• By November 1923 – HYPERINFLATION.
• As prices rose, the government printed more money. More money meant that prices rose.
Did the Weimar Republic recover?
The new chancellor, Stresemann was relatively successful from 1924 – 9:
• Solved hyperinflation but replacing the old currency with the Rentenmark.
• Stresemann met with the French, British and Americans and agreed the Dawes Plan which meant they only repaid what they could afford.
• The French left the Ruhr (although some Germans were angry that Stresemann had agreed to repay at all!)
• Germany signed the Kellogg-Briand & Locarno Pacts with other countries where they promised not to invade each other.
• Cultural revival – music, bars and cabaret.
• However, Germany was relying on American loans.
• 1929 – WALL STREET CASH. The American economy collapsed and German had to pay back its loans. Unemployment was incredibly high and Germany sank into a depression. The Nazi Party became more popular as unemployment rose.
Rise of Nazis
• Meanwhile, the Nazi Party were becoming very popular.
• Hitler hated the Treaty of Versailles and wanted to revive national pride.
• He was a fantastic speaker and the Nazi party were well organised (SA dealing with opponents, offices in most towns, marches, demonstrations, Hitler touring Germany etc)
• Origins of the Nazi Party & Munich Putsch.
Hitler's Rise to Power.
Hindenburg (President) still hated Hitler. In 1932 Von Papen and Von Schilcher were both made Chancellor but were unpopular.
• Hindenburg was forced to make Hitler Chancellor.
• Hitler took advantage of the Reichstag Fire to warn of a communist revolution. He passed the Enabling Act which made him a dictator. The Enabling Act gave him the power to suspend people’s rights (of speech, of press etc) & Hitler could now pass laws without the approval of the Reichstag. He banned all other political parties and trade unions.
• When Hindenburg died in 1934 Hitler combined the two jobs and had total power.
• Night of the Long Knives (June 1934) – Hitler executed leading members of the SA and any other potential rival from within the Nazi party. He now had unquestioned and unchallenged control.
Life in Nazi Germany
How did the Nazis control society?
The Nazi Party wanted complete control of German society, this is called totalitarian. They did this in two ways: the carrot and the stick. The carrot was a reward that Germans could gain by being good and following the Nazi ideas. The stick was a punishment for those who broke the rules.
The main methods of control were:
Carrot: Rewards, jobs and stability.
Stick: Control and punishment – Gestapo, SS, Law Courts and Concentration Camps.
The Gestapo:
Were they completely successful? The Gestapo were the secret police. They were under the control of one of Hitler’s right hand men, Heinrich Himmler. They worked in a number of ways:
They tapped phones (listened in to conversations.
They opened mail.
They had the power to arrest and imprison anyone who spoke out against Hitler or the Nazi Party.
The Gestapo had a terrifying reputation but there were too few of them to be able to spy on every one, they therefore had to rely on informants.
The carrot:
· Stability – The Nazis were strong and efficient. People were scared of the conditions they had lived through since the First World War. There was no longer a threat of left/right wing uprisings.
· Economy – Hitler reduced unemployment and made the economy stable. Although the average wage was much lower than it had been before and people were not allowed to join trade unions, the majority of people had jobs.
· National Pride – after the humiliation of the Treaty of Versailles and the problems with Weimar, people liked the national pride that the Nazis inspired.
Youth and Women in Nazi Germany
Women were very important to Nazi Germany. It was their job to raise big families of pure bred Aryans for the future of Germany. Due to this, women became very important to the Nazis. You have to remember that although they became important, it wasn’t like women are seen today; modern women can be doctors, professors, fire fighters, police officers – this was not the sort of roles the Nazi Party wanted women to have. Women were expected to become the perfect mother. This picture shows the ideal Nazi woman:
Plain clothing
No dieting – women need to be well-built to bear a lot of children.
Peasant style hair
Stay at home
Aryan
Large family
Girls thinking about motherhood.
Boy is planting (to provide food)
Awards (the Motherhood Cross) were given out for women who had a lot of children.
However, in reality this could not be kept up.
Children:
· Schools were under strict control. Teachers were forced to teach pro-Nazi lessons and anti-Semitism was encourage. Lessons were changed to do more History and PE for boys and cooking and exercise for girls.
· Hitler Youth (HJ) – encouraged boys to develop fighting and survival skills. They would sing songs about Germany and read about Hitler’s life. They put on camping expeditions and jamborees. It was the only opportunity that most poor boys got for a holiday.
· League of German Maidens. Like the Hitler Youth but the focus was on being healthy and preparing for motherhood/looking after a husband.
Who benefitted?
The Nazi propaganda was very effective in convincing people that everything was going well for Germany. The Nazi controlled newspapers reported that everything in Germany was great. This was not always the case:
How did the Nazi's try to create a People's Community?
Opposition:
Not everyone was accepted the Nazi ideas. There were some groups who opposed the Nazi Party:
Youth Opposition: The Edelweiss Pirates (wore scruffy clothes, did their own thing) The White Rose Group (older, they printed leaflets and called people to protest against the Nazi Party) and the Swing Rioters (danced and listened to jazz) all protested the Nazi ideals. The group that were most severely punished were the White Rose Group (some were executed), because they were the more serious threat.