Germany 1918-45

By Roryindeed

  • Prince Max of Baden appointed chancellor, October reforms

    Army and Navy controlled y Reichstag.
    Chancellor and government accoutable to Reichstag.
    Prince Max set up a government. He was a democratic, moderate conservative.
    These changed happened because people were very resentful of the Kaiser for loosing WW1, there was food and fuel shortages, Spanish flu, about 2 mil Germans killed in war and wages fell below inflation rate. This meant huge civil unrest.

  • Grand fleet mutiny at Kiel

    This happenedbecause the soldiers there has heard that Germany might be planning an attack on the British fleet. These sparked strikes all over the country.
    They demanded immediate peace and the abdication of the Kaiser. This was because there was national shock that they had lost, bad economic conditions, and the troops and sailors knew that they had lost and there was no point continuing.

  • Bavaria proclaimed a socialist republic

    The King wasdeposed and it was named independent.

  • Kaier feld to Holland, Ebert appointed chancellor, Germany proclaimed a republic

    Prince Max felt that the pressure was far too strong. It was a coalition left-wing government.

  • Ebert-Groener agreement

    The army would support the republic and in return Ebert promised to oppose revolutionary socialism and preserve the authority of the generals.

  • Stinees-Legien agreement

    Trade unions promised not to interfer with the free market and private ownership, and in return there woul be workers' committees, legal recognition and an 8 hours working day. There is critisism that this was Ebert being too soft on cnversatives.

  • KPD founded

    German Communist Party. They wanted Germany only to be run by workers' councils, and refused to take part inperlimentary elections.

  • Start of Spartacist uprising in Berlin

    They occupied buildings, called for a general strike and formed a commitee. It was ened very quickly, and over 100 were killed in three days of street fighting.
    Location of Assemly's first meeting was moved to Weimar because of this disturbance.

  • National Constituent Assembly met at Weimar

    83% of people voted, 76.1% for democratic parties. This shows strong faith in democracy. Though the DVP did not support the Weimar Republic ecause they wanted a constitutional democracy. (They had 19 seats)
    Some things remained the same, such as the army and judiciary and no change to the structure of big business.

  • Creation of the German Workers' Party

    This is what the NSDAP was borne out of.

  • Treaty of Versailles signed

    Germany was humiliated by the ToV. It losts lots of territory, some of which was valuable because of the natural resources. They also had to accept war guilt and pay reparations of £6600 mil. They had to seriously down-size their army, including no tanks or military aircraft.

  • Weimar Constitution signed by president Ebert

    Voting used PR. The president had quite a lot of power, such as: to dissolve the Reichstag, appointment of the chancellor, Commander of the Armed Forces and Article 48. The Bill of RIghts included that everyone had personal liberty, the right to free speech, and equality before the law. There was also welfare provision and protection of labour.

  • DAP changed to NSDAP, 25 points drawn up

    The points included the unification of all Germans, no Jewish citizens, non-citizens should be deported, profit sharing in industrial enterprises and ensurance for old age.

  • Kapp putsch

    12,000 members of the Freikorps marched on Berlin, and seized the main buildings. The regular army did not stop them because troops did not want to fire on troops. The people stiked, and after 4 days the Putschers left becasuse of lack of support.
  • Period: to

    Hyper inflation

    This was caused by decisions made in WW1, such as war-bonds, and not raising taxes, There was high demand for goods and not enough supply, which meant pries rose. The government also ran on a policy of deficit financing, and cut government spending while increasing taxation. They also printed huge amount of currency.

  • Franco-Belgian occupation of the Ruhr

    Because of the postponement to the repayments, the French and Belgian troops occupied the Ruhr. Cuno employed "paasive resistance"; the workers went of strike so the French and Belgians would not get their money, however, the workers still needed to be paid. It couldn't collected taxes from the Ruhr, and fuel had to be imported.
  • Period: to

    Stresseman's 100 days

    Called off PR. Expenditure was sharply cut, 700,000 public employees were sacked. Appointed Schacht to introduce new currency. Extremists were defeated. Asked Allies to hold an international conference to consider German's economic situation.

  • Munich Beer Hall putch

    Hitler and his supporters stormed into a speech that Kahr was giving in one of Munich's beer halls and declaired national revolution. They had support, but not massively. The army was against them, and they were defeated easily. Hitler was arrested. Hitler used the trial as propaganda for the Nazis, and gained support through it, made himself a national figure. He won respect from ther right-wingers.

  • Introduction of the Rentenmark

    This was a new stable currency.

  • Dawes plan

    The monthly installments over the first 5 years were calculated off Germany's ability to pay. There was also a large loan to aid recovery. This was good in the short term, but meant Germany was quite reliant of foreign investment and American loans.

  • NSDAP re-formed in Munich

    The party was in disarray. Hitler wanted to established total control over party, and follow a policy of legality. However, some did nt agree with the policy of legality, and regional hostilities existed, and there was a split between more nationalist people and more anti-capitalist people.

  • Locarno conference

    This was a treaty that ensured all borders created by the ToV were respected. Demilitarisation was seen as permanent. All countries renounced the use of force.

  • NSDAP Bamburg conference

    Hitler re-established complete supremacy. Party was run by Fuhrerprinzip. Regional control was had by a Gauleiter.

  • Hugenberg leader of DNVP

    He was an extreme right-winger who was very influencial.

  • Election

    Nazis had only 2.6%, KPD has 10.6%. SPD had 29.8%.

  • Muller's grand coalition

    It had manny problems: SPD and DNVP could not be in coalition because one wanted democracy and one didn't. The communists were totally isolated. Parties found it very difficult to agree on everything.

  • Kellogg-Briand pact

    It outlawed war as an instrument of national policy.

  • Wall Street Crash

    The loans and investment from America was gone, so Germany suffered badly. By 1932 unemployment was at 5.6m. There was a slump in world trade and German exports fell dramatically.
  • Period: to

    Great depression

  • Young Plan and National Opposition

    The Young Plan (to reduce payments to £1850mil) was accepted. This was seen as betrayal by rightwingers. The National Opposition was set up against the Young Plan. They did not manage to pass a bill against paying, but they did encourage nationalism, and turn people away from the government.
    The benefits to Hitler were that party membership grew to 130,000 by the end of 1929, Nazis had a national presence for the first time, Hitler made important contacts, and he had access to Hugenburg's media

  • Resignation of Muller's government, Bruning appointed chancellor, Young plan

    An issue of finance destroyed the shaky government. Muller could not get a majority, so they had to be dissolved. Bruning was appointed. He was quite a conservative person.
    The budget plan that Bruning prose was rejected by the Reichstag, so Bruning tried to pass it anyway with Presidential Decree. The Reichstag called it unlawful, and Bruning called for another election.

  • Election (Nazi second largest party)

    Nazis went from 2.6% to 18.3%. SPD had 29.8%

  • Brunng used precidential decree

    The SPD decided to tolerate him, and he was backed b Hindenburg.

  • Five German banks fail

    The depressin is baaaaaaaaad.

  • Formation of Harburg front

    They demanded the resignation od Bruning and a Reichstag election.

  • Re-election of Hindenburg

    He was re-elected because he was the only other option between Hitler and KDP candidate Thalmann.

  • Bruning resigns, Papen made chancellor

    He wanted to turn some Junker estates into allotments for the umemployed, but the landowners were very much not happy about this. Hindenburg was persuaded to make him resign.
    Papen was an aristocrat who didn't have a lot of political experience. He was brought i by Schliecher so that he would have more power. Mosfo the cabinet was rightwingers, who were'nt nessicarily in the Reichstag.

  • Election (Nazis are largest party)

    Nazis got 37.3%, SPD got 21.6%
    KPD and Nazis got 51.6%

  • Reichstag votes "no confidence" in Papen

  • Election (Nazi at 33.1%)

  • Papen dismissed, Schleicher

    He was planning to rule by presidential dictatorship, as the situation was desperate. However the Schleicher really didn't like this, and so persuaded Hindenburd to resign him. Schleicher took his place. He had ambitions of political stability.

  • Schleicher dismissed, Hitler

    Schleicher was shitty, Hitler persuaded Hidenburg he could lead a majority.

  • Reichstag fire

    Reichstag building was set on fire by a Dutch communist. This lead to lots of anti-freedom bills. Lots of anti-Nazis were arrested, and the violence increased.

  • Last election

  • Day of Potsdam

    It celebrated the opening of the Reichstag, with Hidenburd, the Crown Prince and many generals, so it aligned Hitler with Old Germany.

  • Enabling Act passed

    Did away with parlimentary procedure.

  • First boycott of Jewish shops

  • Burning of books

  • All opposition to NSDAP illegal

  • Concordat signed with Pope

  • Night of the long Knives

  • Schacht appointed minister of economics

  • New plan introducted

    Wanted in introduce autarky

  • Mass arrests of socialists and communists

  • Nuremburg race laws

  • Himmler as cheif of police

  • Four-year plan (Goring)

  • Resignation of Schacht

  • Planned putsch by General Beck if war came of the Czehc crisis

  • Kristallnacht

  • German invasion of Poland

  • Creation of RSHA

  • War economy decrees

  • Operation Barbarossa

  • German declaration of war on USA

  • Rationalisation Decree

  • Wannsee Conference

  • Albert Speer as Minister for Armaments

  • Period: to

    Military turn of the tide

  • Hamburg firestorm

  • Stauffenberg omb plot

  • German surrender