Germany 1929-1934

By Ph0en1x

  • The 25 point plan of the NDSAP is written

    These included Racist, Nationalistic, anti-democratic and Volksmeigenschaft policies
  • Period: to

    Party Membership increases

    1925 = 27,000
    1928 = 108,000

  • The Strasser brothers motion to replace the 25 point program with their own.

    This was the first sign of open revolt against Hitler's control over the party.

  • The Bamburg Conference

    Hitler ensured that it was on a date that the Northern leaders, who supported the Strassers', would not be able to attend due to train schedules.
    Hitler then persuaded Goebbels to switch sides and prevented a takeover of the party.

  • The Nazis lose seats in the Reichstag

    During the Election they only received 2.6% of the vote, equating to 12 seats.
  • Period: to

    The Grand Coalition

    The government represented 5 different political parties - which made decision making tricky.
    The DNVP and Hitler called for a plebiscite and in December 1929 a national referendum was called. The plebiscite failed but it brought publicity to the Nazi Party.
    The Coalition struggled with its economic policy due to its own internal division and eventually Muller was forced to resign.

  • The KPD shifts its focus

    Instead of focusing on industrial workers they instead focused on the unemployed.
    They set up 'communities of the unemployed' and staged hunger marches and protests. However, they had a 50% membership turnover and had little support outside of industrial areas. As well as this they ignored the threat of the NDSAP to focus their efforts on the SPD.

  • Goebbels becomes master of Nazi Propaganda

    Propaganda was adapted to suit the audience hearing it.
    Eg,
    'Blood and Soil' for farmers in rural areas.
    'Work and Bread' for struggling workers.
    Hitler often used the 'politics of anxiety' to persuade crowd

  • A SPD mayor was shot dead and the case was ignored by the police.

    The SA began a sustained attack against socialist and communist opponents.
    Trade Union offices, KPD offices and the homes of left-wing politicians were at risk.
    The SPD and Centre party papers were banned.

  • Bruning becomes Chancellor

    He was manouvered into power by Oskar Hindenburg, Otto Meissner and Kurt Von Schleicher. They were all conservative nationalists and wanted a government that relied more heavily on article 48.
    Bruning happily delivered, partially due to his lack of support from the Reichstag.

  • In July, Bruning became reliant on using Article 48 when his Finance bill was rejected

    Bruning wanted to address the spiralling government deficit and so bypassed the Reichstag.
    But the Reichstag responded by passing a motion demanding the withdrawal of the decree and so Bruning dissolved it and called for a new election, allowing the number of seats held by the Nazis to jump from 12 to 107.

  • By January 1931 there were 5 million unemployed.

    A year later this was officially 6.16 million, but most likely to be 7.6 million if counting the unregistered and had impacted almost 23 million people.

  • The collapse of the Danat Bank revived fear of financial crisis.

  • The 'Prussian Coup'

    Schleicher and Papen used the increased street violence as an excuse to abolish the Prussian State Government. The PSG had been the most powerful state government and had been dominated by the SPD and ZP.
    Papen declared himself Reich Commissioner of Prussia

  • the Number of homeless people was between 20,000 and 500,000 by 1932

  • The KPD had 17% of the vote (2 million votes)

    The Nazis attacked the increasing threat of communism to play to the fears of the middle-class and encourage their vote.
  • Period: to

    Between April and November, Hitler addressed 148 mass rallies

    • Averaged at 3 major meetings a day.
    • Crowds = 20,000 - 30,000 in big cities

  • Bruning was forced to resign.

    When Bruning planned to convert Prussian Junker's estates into allotments for the unemployed Hindenburg became displeased as it was a threat to the Junker's property interests. Schleicher also influenced Hindenburg to withdraw his support for Bruning.

  • Papen becomes Chancellor

    Schleicher recommended Papen because he was politically inexperienced and so Schleicher could use him to further his own power.
    Papen's Cabinet was known as the 'Cabinet of Barons' as many of its occupants weren't even from the Reichstag.

  • Papen and Schleicher strike a deal with Hitler

    HItler agreed not to oppose the new governmnet in exchange for a new round of elections and the end of the government ban on the SA and the SS
  • Period: to

    86 people died due to increasing levels of street violence.

    The Reichstag Election of July 1932 was marred by street violence in which many people died.

  • The Reichstag election

    The Nazis become the largest party in the Reichstag with 37.3% of the vote. This granted them 230 seats - the majority.

  • The Reichstag passes a vote of no confidence in Papen

    Spearheaded by the KPD it garnered 512 votes to 42.
    Papen's response was to dissolve the Reichstag and call another round of elctions set for November, but he also considered a radical alternative: The declaration of martial law and establishment of a presidential dictatorship.
    Schliecher opposed this plan and believed that Papen's plan could lead to civil war.

  • The Nazis lose ground

    The November election led to a loss of seats, their morale was low and funding was running out.

  • Papen is forced to Resign

    Schleicher informed Hindenburg that he wouldn't permit the army to back Papen's plan to declare civil war. This caused Hindenburg to withdraw his support and Papen was dismissed from office in December

  • Schleicher becomes Chancellor

    Schleicher's aims were to gain support from the political left-wing Trade Unions and to split the Nazis, thereby attracting the more socialist Gregor Stasser by offering him the Vice-Chancellorship.
    The Trade Unions broke off negotiations due to suspicion.
    Strasser wanted to accept the post, but party leadership refused and he was forced to resign.

  • February - The SA and Stalhem merge to form the Auxillary Police

    By January 1934 the SA had 3 million members.
    The Orpo were forbidden from interfering with the Auxillary police and the SA used their new powers as an excuse to attack communists, socialist headquarters and newspapers.

  • The Reichstag met 72 times in 1933

    In 1937 it had met 4 times.
    In 1939 it didn't meet at all.

  • Papen meets Hitler in secret

    It was agreed that Hitler would head a Nazi-Nationalist government with Papen as Vice-Chancellor.

  • Schleicher is forced to resign

    The conservatives were afraid of Schleicher's government and so began to consider a Hitler government. Hindenburg was pusuaded by Papen, his son and State Secretary Meissner to remove Schleicher.

  • Hitler becomes Chancellor

    Papen remains Vice-Chancellor,a s per their agreement.
    The number of Nazis in the cabinet was limited and the conservative faction was convinced that Papen would be able to control the Nazis whilst using them for electoral support.

  • Torchlight Procession

    100,000 Nazi members made a procession through the streets of Berlin the evening of Hitlers appointment as chancellor.

  • Meeting with the Army and Big Businesses

    This was to reassure them that he had no intention of challenging their influence in Germany.
    Hitler made it clear that the Army and Big Businesses would retain some autonomy in exchange for supporting his dictatorship.

  • The Reichstag Fire

    It was blamed on the communists and gave Hitler a plausible reason to persuade Hindenburg to pass the Decree for the Protection of People and State.

  • The Decree for Protection of People and State was passed

    The Decree suspended civil liberties established during the Weimar Republic. Hitler was granted 'emergency powers' to arrest and detain without charge. It legalised full scale assault on the Communists. 10,000 communists were arrested in the first 3 weeks.

  • Dachau was opened

    The first permanent concentration camp was designed to hold political opponents of the regime.
    By July - 26,789 political prisoners had been arrested and taken into 'protective custody' at 70 different camps

  • The March Election

    The SA patrolled the streets; many of the Nazi's opponents were locked up, including anyone campaigning for the SPD or KPD. The Nazis flooded the country with propaganda, parades, rallies and leaflets.
    They won 43% of the vote and combined with their DNVP allies, they now had a majority.

  • Day of Potsdam

    • An attempt by Hitler to reassure the conservatives by portraying the Nazi Regime as respectable.
    • A Propaganda Triumph
    • Hindenburg, Hitler, Kaiser Wilhem's son and many generals were present.
    • Hitler gave a speech symbolically aligning Nazism with the forces of old Imperial Germany

  • The Malicious practices law was introduced

    Introduced on the Day of Potsdam, this legislation banned criticism of the regime and its policies.

  • The Enabling Act is passed

    It allowed Hitler to bypass the traditional government process and make laws without reference to the President or Reichstag for 4 years. This ended democracy as Hitler could now dismantle the constitution and enable 1-party rule.

  • The First Law for the Coordination of the Federal State

    This law dissolved the existing state assemblies and replaced them with Nazi dominated assemblies.

  • The 2nd Law for the Coordination of the Federal States

    This created the new post of Reich Governor to oversee the government of each state. The RG's were accountable to the Minister of the Interior and responsible for ensuring each state followed the policies laid down by Hitler's government.

  • HItler outlawed the SPD

  • The DNVP votes itself out of existence

  • The Centre Party votes itself out of existence

  • The Law against the Formation of New Parties

    Outlawed all non-nazi political parties.

  • The Law for the Reconstruction of the Reich

    This further centralised the German state by entirely abolishing state assemblies and making state governments subordinate to the Reich Government.
    This meant the position of Reich Governer became redundant but Hitler didn't have the position abolished.

  • The Reichsrat was abolished.

    The Reichsrat housed the representatives of each state's government.

  • The People's Court was set up

    This dealt with political crimes. It had 3 Nazi judges alongside 2 professional judges. there were no juries and defendants had no right to appeal.
    This meant the justice system couldn't interfere with the Nazi use of terror.
    between 1934 and 1939, 3400 communists were put on trial there.

  • The Night of the Long knives

    1. Ernest Rohm (head of the SA) is captured and killed the next day.
    2. 50 leading members of the SA are taken to Berlin and shot.
    3. Between 100 and 200 political opponents are killed.
    4. SS moved to take down their own political opponents such as Gregor Strasser and Von Schleicher.
    5. Papen is imprisoned. This reassured the Army, conservatives and Hindenburg that the SA wouldn't create a 'second revolution'.

  • Hindenburg dies

    This allowed Hitler to combine the post of Chancellor and President to form the role of the Fuhrer.