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World War 1
-11 million Germans fought in the war
-2 million troops died
-4 million troops were wounded
-150 billion marks in debt
-750,000 Germans died of food shortages -
Kaiser Wilhem II abdicates
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Period: to
Council of People's Representatives
-82% of Germany's electorate voted -
Adolf Hitler Joins the Nazi Party
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Period: to
Weimar Repbulic
Advantages:
-Voting age reduced from 25 to 21
-Women able to vote
-Proportional representation means small parties have a chance to be in government Disadvantages:
-Proportional representation means conflicting perspectives which leads to no decisions being made
-Article 48 means the President can suspend government under the guise of 'emergency power' -
Sparticist Revolt
-Extreme left-wing/communist revolt
-Led by Rosa Luxemburg and Karl Liebknecht
-Crushed by the Friekorps and ex-army soldiers -
Period: to
President Friedrich Ebert
-First president of Germany
-Leader of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) -
Treaty of Versailles was signed
-"Stab in the back"
-Germany lost 13% of its land, including industrial areas
-Germany's army was reduced to 100,000 men, its navy to 6 battleships, demilitarisation of the Rhineland and no tanks, aircraft, and submarines
-Reparations set at £6.6 billion
-Germany had to take full blame for World War 1 (Diktat) -
Kapp Putsch
-Extreme right-wing/fascist revolt
-Led by Wolfgang Kapp
-Put down by the workers going on strike -
Hitler Becomes the Leader of the Nazi Party
-The Sturmabteiling (SA) was established -
Germany Can't Pay First Reparations
Germany was still in debt and economic depression because the war -
Hyperinflation
-The government had to pay workers who were going on strike so they printed more money
-$1 was worth 4,200,000,000 marks
-Nobody wanted to trade with Germany so shortages of food and goods worsened
-The middle class got hit the worst, pensions became worthless, and savings were lost
-Businesses and farmers benefitted, businesses were able to pay off debts and rise in food prices helped farmers -
Ruhr Gets Invaded by France
-Since Germany could not pay reparations, France stormed into the Ruhr, containing 80% of Germany's coal, iron and steel.
-The 100,000 German soldiers couldn't face the 750,000 French soldiers
-Ebert told all workers to go on strike -
Gustav Stresemann Appointed as Chancellor
Successes:
-Strengthened the confidence of the German people in the Weimar
-Reduced support for extremist political parties
-Improved relations with other countries and reduced the economic hardships of the German people
-Made Germany an international power once again Failures:
-Hated terms of the Treaty of Versailles were still in place
-The League of Nations was a symbol of the unpopularity of the Treaty of Versailles
-Some on the right were against the new border with France -
Period: to
Chancellor Gustav Stresemann
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Munich Putsch
-Hitler and the SA burst a the beer hall
-Hitler, Ludendorff and 3,000 supporters stormed through Munich to try and gain support -
Hitler is Arrested and The Nazi Party is Banned
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The Rentenmark
-Introduced the Rentenmark to replace the German mark
-Stabilise the currency
-The value was based on property values rather than gold reserves -
The Dawes Plan
-Payments were staged to match Germany's capacity
-In return, the French withdrew troops from the Ruhr
-Germany loaned $3 billion from America to improve the economy
-Employment and trade increased
-Economic recovery depended on American loans, so it remained fragile -
Hitler Was Put on Trial
-Charged with high treason
-Turned the trial into a propaganda success and gained nationwide publicity
-Imprisoned for 9 months
-Wrote Mein Kampf which held his political views
-Realised violence would not work -
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Nazi Party Lean Years
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The Reichsmark
-Backed by gold reserves -
Schutzstaffel (SS) was Established
-Responsible for the removal of all opposition
-Hitler's personal army
-Separate from the SA
-In 1934, there were 50,000 members
-In 1939, there were 250,000 members -
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President Paul von Hindenburg
- Didn't want Hilter to become Chancellor
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The Locarno Pact
-Signed by Germany, Britain, France, Italy and Belgium
-Germany agreed to keep its border with France -
Germany Joins the League of Nations
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Period: to
Chancellor Hermann Müller
-Disagreement in government about the level of unemployment contributions -
Kellogg-Briand Pact
-Singed with 64 other nations
-Nations would keep their armies for self-defence -
The Young Plan
-Reparations were decreased from £6 billion to £1.85 billion
-Lower reparations meant lower taxes, including spending money for German taxpayers
-Extreme political parties were completely against paying reparations at all -
The Wall Street Crash
-America took back their loans from Germany
-Weimar Republic lost support
-More support for extremist parties like the Nazi and Communist Parties -
Election
-The Nazi Party won 196 seats -
Period: to
Chancellor Heinrich Brüning
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Sicherheitsdienst (SD) Were Established
-Organised by Heydrich
-Under the command of Himmler
-Intelligence agency
-Found factual and potential enemies of the Nazi Party and removed them -
Election
-The Nazi Parrty was the largest party with 230 seats
-Posters and rallies
-Hitler was a good orator
-Hitler appealed to all sections of society
-Hitler provided Germany with a scapegoat: The Jews
-Hitler won support from business and industrialists who funded the Nazi Party -
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Chancellor Franz von Papen
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Period: to
Chancellor Kurt von Schleicher
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The Gestapo Were Established
-Secret police
-Set up by Goering
-In 1936, they were under the control of Himmler and the SS
-Sent political opponents to concentration camps
-Large network of spies and informants -
The German Lawyers Front
-Lawyers had to swear to be loyal to the Fuhrer
-More than 10,000 members by the end of the year -
Concentration Camps Were Established
-Run by the SS and SD
-Used to detain political prisoners
-By 1939, more than 150,000 people were imprisoned -
Goebbels Was Appointed as Minister of Public Propaganda and Enlightenment
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Hitler Reached a Concordat with the Pope
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Law for the Encouragement of Marriage
-Provided loans to help young couples get married as long as their wife left work
-Couples get to keep 1/4 of loans for each child they have
-Maternity benefits increased -
Autobahn Project
-In 1933, 18.4 billion marks were raised for the project
-In 1938, 37.1 billion marks were raised for the project
-7,000 miles
-In 1935, 125,000 men were employed for the project -
German Labour Front (DAF)
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SA Organised a Boycott of Jewish Shops and Businesses
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Hitler Becomes Chancellor
-Made a deal with previous Chancellor von Papen -
Period: to
Chancellor Adolf Hitler
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The Reichstag Building Was Set on Fire
-1 week before the general election a fire started
-Marinus van der Lubbe, a Dutch communist, was accused of setting the fire
-Hindenburg signed the 'Decree for the Protection of People and State'
-4,000 Communist Party members arrested
-SA killed 51 Nazi opponents
-Communist and socialist newspapers were banned -
Enabling Act
-In the March elections, the Nazis gained 288 seats
-They had to form a coalition government with the National Party
-The Enabling Act gave Hitler the power to pass laws without the Reichstag's consent for 4 years -
Law for the Prevention of Hereditary Diseased Offspring
-Compulsory for people to be sterilised if they were mentally ill, alcoholic, deformed, epileptic, deaf or blind -
Strength Through Joy (KdF)
-Make the benefits of work more enjoyable
-Provided leisure activities for workers
-This included sports events, films, theatre shows, outings and even foreign travel
-By 1936, there were 35 million members in the KdF -
The People's Court Was Established
-Tried cases of treason
-The judges were loyal to the Nazis -
Bernhard Rust was Made Education Minister
-"The whole purpose of education is to create Nazis"
-Controlled the teachers and made them join the Nazi Teacher's League"
-Controlled the curriculum: History, racial purity studies, physical education, eugenics and geography (lebensraum)
-For boys: military preparation
-For girls: needlework and cooking to become good homemakers and mothers -
Local Councils Banned Jews from Public Spaces
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Night of the Long Knives
-Heard that Ernest Rohm (SA) was going to seize power
-SS, Hitler's personal army, killed Rohm and the SA and any political opponents
-400 people were killed -
Adolf Hitler Becomes Fuhrer
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Period: to
Führer Adolf Hitler
-Combination of Chancellor and President
-Hitler called a referendum and more than 90% of voters supported him -
Reich Labour Service
-Provided young men with manual labour jobs
-From 1935, it was compulsory for men ages 18-28 to serve 6 months
-Provided public work such as repairing roads, planting trees and draining marches -
Reich Citizenship Law
-Part of the Nuremberg Laws
-Only those of German blood could be citizens
-Jews lost their citizenship, the right to vote and hold government office -
Law for the Protection of German Blood and Honour
-Part of the Nuremberg Laws
-Forbade marriage and sexual relations between Jews and German citizens -
Lebensborn (Foundation of Life)
-Started by SS leader Heinrich Himmler
-Provided nurseries and financial aid for women who had children with SS soldiers
-To create 'genetically pure' children
-Between 1938-1941, on Lebensborn home helped 540 women give birth -
The Reich Church was Established
-All protestant churches merged to form the Reich Church
-Led by Ludwig Muller -
Berlin Olympics
-Used propaganda to prove the Nazis' power to the world -
Martin Niemöller was Sent to a Concentration Camp
-Set up the Pastors Emergency League (PEL) to campaign against the Nazis -
Divorce Laws
-Changed to encourage childbirth
-If a wife would/could not have children, or had an abortion, this could be used as grounds for divorce by the husband -
Kristallnacht
-Goebbels organised anti-Jewish demonstrations which involved attacks against Jewish shops, property, homes and synagogues -
Compulsory to Join Nazi Youth Groups (10+)
-Only 'unwanted' minority groups were omitted e.g. Jews
-Closed down all other youth groups
-German Young People (boys, 10-13)
-Young Girls (girls, 10-14)
-Hitler Youth (boys, 14-18)
-League of German Maidens (girls, 14-18)
-Boys focused on military training, sport, hiking and camping
-Girls focused on physical fitness and preparing them for motherhood through domestic skills