History Notes:
Weimar and Nazi Germany 1918-1939:
The Weimar Republic 1918-29:
● The Weimar Republic was set up in 1918 following the abdication of Kaiser Wilhelm
II.
● Friederich Ebert, leader of the Social Democratic Party of Germany, announced the
establishment of a German republic in coalition with other socialist parties. He was
later appointed as chancellor.
● The country was run by the Kaiser and his Chancellor, with the Reichstag having little
power. Germans were unfamiliar with a democracy.
● The new constitution included the following:
○ All German citizens aged 20 and above had equal rights and suffrage.
○ Ministers were elected through proportional representation.
○ Citizens could vote for the President and members of the Reichstag.
○ The Reichstag passed laws and appointed a Chancellor with the President’s
approval
○ The President is elected every 7 years.
○ Article 48 stated that the President could pass laws without the Reichstag’s
permission in times of crisis.
● Passing laws was hard as there were too many different parties in the Reichstag.
● Article 48 could easily be abused to turn the government into a dictatorship.
● Spatacists:
○ The Communist uprising in Russia inspired others to take over in surrounding
nations.
○ A group of Communists known as the Spartacists aimed to take down
Friederich’s government.
○ They were led by Luxemburg and Liebknecht.
○ They managed to take over some government headquarters but had little
support. Freiderich sent the Friekcrops, a volunteer regiment, to take down
this uprising.
○ Freriderich was fully reliant on the army and the Freikcorps which he didn’t
have full control on and lost popularity by the working class who favoured
Socialist parties.
● Kapps Putsch:
○ Wolfgang Kapp and members of the military were upset at the new
government and restrictions installed by the Treaty of Versaille.
○ Due to the limitation of 100,000 soldiers, many previous armyy members
joined unofficial military groups such as the Freikcorps which Ebert wanted to
take down.
○ In retaliation, they marched into Berlin and declared a new institution.
○ In response, the only was to retaliate was to call upon workers to strike and
not support this new government.
○ After only a few days, the rebels stood down and the Putsch failed.
● Due to the lost of WW1, Germany was severly impacted negatively:
○ German citizens suffered from war wearriness after defeat and the loss of
soldiers. Many blammed politicians for having betrayed the military, mainly
Jewish ones which led to the Dolchtoss theory.
○ Germany was also facing an economic struggle due to the war.
○ Years of poor harvest led to famine and malnourishments across Germany.
○ Machinery was either destroyed or no longer fit for use due to the war. The
government was also debt due to war finances.
○ The Treaty of Versaille only worsened things with reparations and ruining
Germany’s reputation. As a result, Germany was left isolated with no one
willing to trade with them.
○ Politically, the country was split between far right and far left. Elites were
upset at the creation of Republic which favoured the poor over them whereas
Communists saw this as an opportunity to create a Communist government.
○ Ebert had to rely on the Freikcorps to maintain peace in the country which
was unreliable and suffered from multiple uprisings.
● Treaty of Versaille:
○ Article 231 said Germany had to accept the blame for starting the war which
was an outraage to German citizens as they had seen it as self-defence. This
would later be used in Hitler’s propaganda.
○ Germany had to pay $6.6 of reparations which was unrealistic and crippled
Germany’s economics. As Germany couldn’t pay those in time, France would
later take over the Ruhr.
○ Loss of land further impacted Germany’s economy as agricultural land and
resource-rich land were taken away as well as territories.
○ Restrictions on the military meant law and order couldn’t be kept effectively in
the country and defence against possible invasions would be impossible. This
also left many soldiers and commanders upset.
● Occupation of the Ruhr:
○ As Germany couldn’t pay its reparations, the French decided to occupy the
Ruhr. It took machinery, land, and resources and used its factories as
reparations.
○ The German government retaliated with a “passive resistance” which told
workers to stop working and payed their wages regardless.
○ French soldiers shot at resisting workers and forced out many citizens from
the Ruhr.
○ The German government still had to pay those workers and had to print
money leading to inflation.
● Hyperinflation:
○ Due to the reparations of the Treaty of Versailles as well as the war, Germany
was left in debt.
○ Occupation of the Ruhr meant a great part of its industry was lost and striking
workers still had to get paid.
○ The government simply decided to print lots of money which made it lose its
value leading to hyperinflation.
○ By Nov ‘23, $1 was worth 4.2 trillion German marks.
○ Prices skyrocketed and many suffered from famine and unemployment.
○ People who owed money were able to pay off all their debt with worthless
money. Farmers profited from this as food prices rose significantly.
○ People with a fixed income or saved money lost all of it as they became
worthless.
● Golden Age of Weimar Germany 1924-29:
○ Gustav Stresemann became Chancellor in 1923 and participated to the
economic recovery of Weimar Germany.
○ He was able to stop the occupation of the Ruhr by prommissing payments of
Germany’s reparation costs, calling off the passive resistance and installing
the Rentenmark which had a set value and stabalised German economy.
○ He also helped by introducing plants to help with economic recovery.
○ The Dawes Plan in 1924 allowed Germany to pay 1B marks in the first 2
years and 2.5B marks every years after it, giving it more time to pay off
reparations. Germany was also loaned 800 million marks by the US.
○ The Young Plan in 1930 allowed Germany to pay 20% less of its reparations
and postpone its reparations for its year if needed. They were given 58 years
to fully pay the reparations and given money by US banks.
○ The industry was growing and working hours increased suuggesting
progress. However, unemployment rate actually increased and Germany was
becoming too dependent on American loans.
○ International relations got better due to agreements between countries.
○ The Locarno Pact of 1925 agreed that Germany and surrounding countries
would respect their new territories.
○ A year later, Germany joined the League of Nations.
○ The Kellog-Briand Pact of 1928 agreed that 62 countries which signed were
to solve problems peacefully.
○ These improvements to Germany’s stability and reputation made the Weimar
Republic popular.
○ Living standards improved for those who lived in industrial areas as their
economy was improving and citizens enjoyed more freedoms. Women started
to vote and break out of gender norms. Arts and media was no longer
censored allowing for more expressive and experimental styles to emerge.
○ People in rural areas however didn’t experience much change and were still
recovering from the hyperinflation.
Hitler’s Rise to Power 1920-1933:
● Hitler:
○ He was born in Austria in 1889.
○ He suffered hardship as a kid.
○ He left to Vienna to become an artist but was rejected from an art university.
○ He had to live as a vagrand and leave Vienna to avoid military service.
○ During WWI, Hitler joined the German army which was a very enjoyable
experience to him.
○ He won 2 Iron Crosses for bravery.
○ After their defeat in WWI, he was shocked and led to believe in the “Stab in
the Back” theory and blamed the “Novermber Criminals” for signing the
Armistice.
● Early Nazi Party:
○ The 25-point plan listed out key goals and beliefs of the Nazi party such as
autarky, more lebansraum, the need for a Fuhrer, social Darwinism and the
need to strengthen Germany.
○ This appealed to many groups of people. Socialist liked the implementation of
pensions and extra land for farmers. Nationalists liked the disapproval of the
Treaty of Versaille and the laws against foreigners. Racists liked the belief in
Aryan superiority. Fascists liked the implementation o fa Fuhrer and strong
government.
○ Nazi membership grew from 2,000 to 20,000 between 1920 to 1923.
○ The SA was a paramilitary group which protected the Nazis and threatened
opposition. They were mainly unemployed men and former soldiers who were
upset at the Treaty of Versaille and didn’t liked the new Weimar Republic.
● The Munich Putsch:
○ Germany was at its weakest because of the hyperinflation.
○ Nationalists were unhappy at the call of the general strike.
○ The Nazi party was at its biggest so far and the Bovarian state seemed to be
unhappy with the Weimar Republic. Hitler hoped they would support his
uprising alongside other politicians.
○ Mussolini, an Italian fascist recently took over Italy and formed it into a
dictatorship. Hitler looked up to him and tried to copy his rebellion.
○ Hitler and General Ludendorf amassed a group of rebels alongside German
politicians.
○ Those 2 politicians called off the rebellion but were forced to call it back at
gunpoint by Hitler in a local beer hall where they were having a political
meeting.
○ Hitler and his SA marched into Munich but were stopped by the police and
army reinforcement warned by one of the politicians.
○ As a result, the Nazi party was banned and Hitler was arrested. However, the
judge was very lenient and Nazis had gained a large amount of publicity.
● The Lean Years 1923-29:
○ During the lean years of the Nazi party, its membership grew significantly but
their seats in parliament didn’t.
○ Hitler planned to change and reform the Nazi system.
○ The 25-point plant established the goals and beliefs of the Nazi party clearly.
○ The structure of the Nazi party changed with Hitler at the top, then the SS,
leadership corps, the SA and party members.
○ Josef Goebbels was a key reason for the growth of Nazi support with his
development of propaganda techniques.
○ Hitler was a very charismatic man and gave speeches which appealed to
Germans. His book Mein Kampf highlighted his struggles growing up, which
many Germans identified with, and discussed his beliefs such as his hatred
for Jews and the “November Criminals.”
○ During Hitler’s arrest and jail time, Nazis split into 2 groups where the North
focused on Socialist and Communist ideas whereas the South was more
keen on Racist and Nationalist aspects of Nazism.
○ This was resolved during the Bamberg Conference of 1926 where Hitler
stated he wanted to focus more on Nationalism.
○ Although these changes proved to be helpful, the party still didn’t grow in
popularity as Germany was more stable. Scaremongering was less effective
and people voted for more moderate parties rather than extremists.
Additionally, after the Munich Putsch, the Nazi party was banned.
● Growth in Support:
○ The Wall Street Crash of 1929 led to a rise of unemployment worldwide,
including in Germany.
○ Unemployment led to the Weimar Republic becoming increasingly unpopular.
Germans wanted change and a strong leader.
○ Political failures also played a role. Chancellor Muller resigned after his
government couldn’t agree on a plan to tackle unemployment. Chancellor
Bruning, named the Hunger Chancellor, took away benefits and was
extremely unpopular.
○ Extremism on both the Left and Right grew as Germans became more
worried. Communists and Nazis became the leading political groups during
the Great Depression.
● Hitler becoming Chancellor:
○ In the April ‘23 elections, Hitler came second to Hindenburg as president.
○ In May, Bruning resigned and Papen was assigned as the new Chancellor.
○ In December, Papen resigned and Schleicher was assigned as the new
Chancellor. He tried to split the Nazis by asking Strasser to become the Vice
Chancellor which he was forced to refuse by Hitler.
○ In Jan ‘24, Hitler was appointed as Chancellor. Papen and Schleicher thought
they could manipulate him to get what they wanted.
Nazi Control and Dictatorship 1933-39:
● Hitler’s rise to power:
○ The Reichstag Fire in 1933 caused an outrage among Germans. Van der
Lubbe, a Communist, was blamed for starting the fire. This was used to
suggest there was a crisis caused by a Communist threat. Hitler was able to
persuade Hindenburg to pass a law which restricted personal liberties
allowing him to imprison Communist opponents.
○ In March 1933, the Enabling Act was passed which allow Hitler to pass laws
without the approval of the Reichstag. This was done as Hitler, with his new
powers, and his SA essentially threatened and forced other parties to agree.
Hitler was now able to destroy all opposition.
○ Nazi officials were put in charge of local governments and opposition as well
as unwanted groups such as Jews were removed from any position which
provided influence.
○ Trade unions could unite people to revolt and start strikes. Hitler decided to
take down all trade unions and force all citizens to join the German Labour
Front (DAF).
○ Germany became a one-party state which meant there was no more
opposition and Nazis gained full political control.
○ The Night of the Long Knives saw many Nazi leaders and the SA, including
Ernest Rohm who wanted to fulfil a more Socialist government, killed to
reinforce Nazi strength.
○ Hindenburg died allowing Hitler to take power as the leader and Fuhrer of
Germany.
● Police force:
○ Hitler needed to lead Germany with an iron fist and groups required to assist
him.
○ The SS led all groups under Hitler and protected him. They would take down
opposition and later set up concentration camps for them.
○ The Gestapo was the secret police force which monitored the local German
population for signs of rebellion or opposition. They were greatly helped by
German citizens who would report others for insulting and disagreeing with
Hitler.
○ The SD was the Nazi’s intelligence force which aimed to protect Hitler and
other high-ranking Nazi officials
○ Nazis also controlled the legal system. Judges were to pledge an oath of
allegiance to Hitler. Lawyers had to join the Nazi’s Lawyers Association which
meant they could be controlled. Standardised punishments were abolished
and local law enforcers could choose the punishment for criminals which
could be biased against them or excessively harsh.
○ The Nazis also saw the Church as a threat to their reign as the Pope and the
Church as a whole had significant power worldwide and especially in
Germany.
○ The Nazis set up a Reich Chruch which taught Nazis ideas and removed
Jewish aspects of the Church such as the Old Testament. Hitler also signed a
Concordat which stated he wouldn’t interfere with the Catholic Church. He
would later repeatedly break his promise. The Confessional Church was also
oppressed under Hitler’s rule.
○ Students were taught Nazi beliefs in state schools and Catholic schools were
suppressed. Students were also expected to take part in the many branches
of the Hitler Youth.
● Propaganda:
○ Nazi Propaganda was led by Joseph Goebell in the Ministry of Enlightenment
and Propaganda.
○ He used tactics such as speeches and events to raise popularity in Germany.
Posters of Hitler’s face were put everywhere and people had to gather with
the Heil Hitler salute to further increase popularity and loyalty.
○ However, most of the propaganda was to oppress the opposition. Media was
censored to favour Nazi beliefs and crush any form of outcry for oppressed
groups. Western forms of art and music was seen as degenerate. Hitler
promoted classical styles. There would be frequent burnings of Jewish literary
works to promote hate towards them.
● Opposition to Hitler:
○ Most of the population now followed Hitler and started to like the authoritarian
regime as well as the disbandment of the Treaty of Versailles. However,
opposition remained.
○ The Church still remained a great form of resistance to the Nazi regime. The
Confessional Church was set up in response to the Reich Church. A pastor of
the Confessional Church, Bonhuffer was linked to the 1944 bomb
assassination attempt. Hitler made a similar Concordat to the Confessional
Church. The Pope became upset with Hitler’s reign calling him “ a mad
prophet”. A Catholic Archbishop called von Galen successfully led a
campaign to end the euthanasia of disabled people.
○ There was also opposition from the youth. The Edelweiss Pirates were a
group of young rebels who opposed the strict regime of the Nazi Youth. They
spread anti-Nazi propaganda and in 1944 were able to kill the chief of the
Gespato. The White Rose group similarly spread anti-Nazi propaganda. They
were a group of students from the University of Munich who led protests but
were quickly stopped by Nazi police officers.
○ Workers were likely the greatest group of opposition to Hitler who would strike
and spread anti-Nazi propaganda. Nazis struggled to stop them as they were
extremely widespread and any attack on them would only make the situation
worse by causing public outrage.
○ In 1944, a bomb was planted by Colonel Stauffenberg next to Hitler in an
attempt to kill him at a political meeting. The bomb detonated but didn’t kill
Hitler. Stauffenberg and rebels who rose up in retaliation to the assassination
attempt were killed the same day.
Life in Nazi Germany 1933-39:
● Nazi policies towards women:
○ The three Ks - Kinder (children), Kuche (kitchen) and Kirche (church).
○ The Law for the Encouragement of Marriage gave 1000 marks to newly
married couples and 250 marks for every child they had.
○ Awards such as the Mother’s Cross were given to mothers depending on how
many children they had.
○ Aryan women could volunteer to have a baby for an Aryan member of the SS.
○ The Law for the Reduction of Unemployment was passed which gave
financial incentives for women to stay at home.
○ Women were expected to look good and be traditional. They would avoid
masculine activities such as smoking but encouraged to stay fit and athletic.
● Nazi policies toawrds the youth:
○ Boys and girls aged 10 and above were forced to join the Hitler Youth or the
League of German Maidens.
○ The Hitler Youth aimed to prepare boys to be soldiers by wearing military
outfits and participating in military activities. Girls would be taught home
economics and treating soldiers. They were also expected to wear classical
Germanic clothing.
○ By 1936, the Hitler Youth was made compulsory to join.
○ Nazis also controlled education by including Nazi ideology in subjects like
history and PE as well as introducing new ones such as Race Studies.
○ Adolf Hitler schools were set up for future potential leaders to be taught Nazi
ideologies and politics.
● Employment and Living Standards:
○ Hitler wanted to lower unemployment rates. He began to introduce huge
building programmes such as building schools, hospitals, public buildings and
the autobahns which would connect the entire country. Autobahsn alone
created 80,000 jobs for men.
○ Rearmmament created millions of jobs for Germans and was necessary for
preparation of war.
○ The National Labour Service meant all men had to spend 6 months in the
NLS and be conscripted into the army.
○ Although employment rate went up, there was a large number of invisible
unemployment which included women, Jews and about 1.4 million men in the
military.
○ One of Hitler’s main goals was Autarky. He hoped to be able to produce his
own raw materials in Germany rather than having to inport them by hoping
technological advancements would allow the synthetic production of them. It
failed and Germany was still 33% reliant on imports for raw materials.
○ Big businesses and farmers profited vastly from Hitler’s changes which aimed
to please them and gain support in the time before war.
○ Nazis were greatly unpopular by workers who mostly voted for Socialist
parties. Given their goal of rearmmament, they were forced to make attempts
to please the workers. The Labour Front wsa set up as a replacemnt of the
trade unions which set wages but favoured employers. Strength throughJoy
gave workers reward for their work such as free holidays and evening
classes. Beauty of Labour aimed to make work seem enjoyable and promote
better working conditions.
○ From 1933 to 1939, wages went down, hours rose by 15%, serious accidents
in factories were more frfequent and employers would blacklist employees
that complained about conditions.
● Persecution:
○ Many scientists in Nazi Germany believed in Eugenics and thought
“degenerates” had to be killed to preserve a puro bloodline.
○ Many non-Aryan groups were sterilised to prevent the propagation of “impure”
blood.
○ Between 1939 and 1941, 100,000 disabled people were secretly euthenised
without their families’ consent often by gassing them.
○ Concentration camps were set up to persecute and kill opponents of the
Nazis as well as minorities such as homosexuals and Jews.
○ Jews were by far the most prosecuted group under Nazi Germany
○ In 1933, Nazis organised a boycott of Jewish businesses, Jewish people lost
their jobs and Eugenics were taught in school.
○ In 1935, the Nuremberg Laws were introduced which stripped rights from
Jews. It also made Jews no longer Germans and restricted marriages with
Germans and Jews.
○ By 1938, Jewish children couldn’t go to school and Jews had to put Israel or
Sarah in their names.
○ The 9th of November 1938, in retalliation to the assassination of a German
ambassador by a Jew in France, the SS ordered attacks on Jewish homes,
businesses and synagogues. This was known as the Kristallnacht.
