Germany after WWIApril 1st, 2019

Why did Germany’s democratic government fail after WWI?

The Weimar Republic (1919 – 1933)

• Created directly after WWI

• The “perfect system” of democracy

• Political Parties were elected to seats in the Reichstag

• No party ever won more than 50% of the seats, minority and coalition governments were the norm

• The government proved to be very ineffective when it came to passing legislation and implementing policies

What is a minority government?

• Canada’s House of Commons – 2008

Pierre Trudeau’s 1978 Liberal Minority

Current House of Commons (2019 Liberal Majority)

The Treaty of Versailles

• Proved to be humiliating and economically crippling for Germany

• Massive reparations caused widespread economic problems

• Inflation - a general increase in prices and fall in the purchasing value of money

• Hyperinflation – inflation at a dangerously high rate

• In 1923 to buy one dollar of US currency it cost 42 hundred million marks.

• The German currency in effect became worthless

*Reparations were finally paid off in 2010

The government was forced to abandon its currency in 2008 when Z$35 quadrillion = USD$1

Social Reactions

• People were economically depressed and became angry

• Blame fell on many groups• The Treaty Versailles

• Former Germany Military Leaders

• Communists

• Jews

• Politically, people began to support groups that:1. Shared their beliefs about blame

2. Emphasized economic recovery over personal freedoms

Review

1. What was the name of the democratic government established after WWI in Germany

2. Name two problems faced by Germany after WWI; one economic, one political

3. What does the following cartoon represent?

Adolf Hitler & the Nazi Party

Review Quiz

1. What was the name of the democratic government installed in Germany after WWI?

2. What were the two major problems faced by Germany after the war? (One political, one economic)

3. What were the targets of blame and frustration for many Germans

4. Describe the following cartoon…

Adolf Hitler 1889 - 1945

• Born in Austria

• Fought for Germany in WWI• Dispatch runner• Twice decorated• Survived gas attack• Promoted to Corporal

• Failed Artist

• Joined the German Worker’s Party, which became the National Socialist Worker’s Party (Nazi Party)

• Became leader of the Nazis

Platforms of the Nazi Party• Avenge Versailles

• Rebuild Germany’s military

• Regain lost territory

• Racial Purity• Create a society of Aryan Supremacy

• Get rid of Gypsies, Jews, Ethnic Minorities

• Pan-Germanism – unite German speaking peoples (Austria, Czechoslovakia)

• Lebensraum• Expand living space

• Create more land for the German people to settle

The Storm Troopers (S.A.)

The Beer Hall Putsch - 1923• Hitler & the Nazi party attempted a coup against the government in

Bavaria• Hitler and the SA seized control of a Munich Beer Hall where gov’t officials

held a meeting• Hitler was joined by fellow Nazis Rudolf Hess, Eric Ludendorff and Herman

Goering• Declares that the revolution has begun and the Nazi Party is going to form

the new government, forces the leaders present to surrender their power• The next morning Hitler and his Nazi Stormtroopers are met by Police while

marching to the center of Munich• A fire fight erupts between Police and the Nazis. • Hitler flees, is arrested 2 days later• Found guilty of treason, many hail him as a hero• Sentenced to 5 years in prison, paroled after 9 months.

Adolf Hitler: Reading & Questions1. What 2 ideas influenced Hitler early in life? Describe them.

2. How did Hitler become involved with the German Worker’s Party?

3. What book did Hitler write in prison? How was it received? What did he discuss in it?

4. What economic event bolstered support for the Nazi Party? How and why did attitudes change?

5. Describe the progression of events that led to Hitler’s ascent to power after his release from prison

6. How did Hitler establish a totalitarian state?

7. What measures taken by Hitler helped improve the German economy?

Cause & Consequence – The Beer Hall Putsch 1923

1. What causes led to the Beer Hall Putsch?

2. What consequences stemmed from it?

Cause & Consequence

The Beer Hall Putsch (1923)

Landsberg Prison • Hitler convicted of treason

• Sentenced to 9 years, serves 5 months

• Wrote Mein Kampf

Timeline – Hitler’s Rise to Power

• 1929

• 1930

• 1932

• 1933

• 1934

Hitler’s Rise to Power

1929 – Nazis win 12 out of 577 seats in the Reichstag

1930 – Nazis support increasing to 107 seats (2nd largest party)

1932 – Nazis 37% of popular vote. 230 seats (Largest party, minority)

1933 – Hitler appointed Chancellor by President Paul von Hindenburg

1933 – Reichstag fire used as anti-communist propaganda

• Election leads to a slim Nazi Majority.

• 2/3 of the Reichstag votes in favour of enabling act giving Hitler dictatorial powers.

• Third Reich begins

1934 – Hindenburg dies and Hitler becomes Der Fuhrer

The Third Reich

• Hitler gained total control of Germany by 1934

• Hitler’s Nazi government was known as the Third Reich

• Three major factors ensuring Hitler’s control of the German people• Propaganda

• Violence & Intimidation

• Indoctrination

Economic Reforms

• Prices, production, banking and foreign trade all became controlled by the government

• Trade unions abolished

• Remilitarization financed by forced loans

• Imports restricted

• Foreign exchange controlled by gov’t

• Payment of foreign debts suspended

• Compulsory military service curbed unemployment

May 11 – Rise of Dictators Quiz

1. He led the Fascist government in Italy

2. Actual problems in postwar Germany (2)

3. Perceived problems in postwar Germany (2)

4. Name of Hitler’s book he wrote in prison

5. 3 main platforms of the Nazi party

The Third Reich

• Hitler gained total control of Germany by 1934

• Hitler’s Nazi government was known as the Third Reich

• Three major factors ensuring Hitler’s control of the German people• Propaganda

• Indoctrination

• Violence & Intimidation

From Friday…

1. Describe life in North Korea

2. How does the Kim Regime keep Totalitarian control over the citizens?

3. List social, economic and political aspects of life in North Korea that are similar to life under the rule of Benito Mussolini and/or Joseph Stalin

Totalitarianism under the Third Reich

• Opposition parties outlawed

• Civil liberties under the Weimar constitutions are abolished

• Secret Police – The Gestapo – arrest those who violate the law (no warrants, no trial)

• Night of the Long Knives – “Blood Purge” – dissidents from within the Nazi Party removed, SA disbanded

• Rise of the SS under Heinrich Himmler

The SSSchutzstaffel (Production Squadron)

• The SS, a hand-picked elite guard that took the place of the SA.

• General SS

• Waffen SS

• SS-Totenkopfverbände

• The Gestapo, Secret Police, was also branch of the SS

Totalitarianism under the Third Reich

• Nazi indoctrination in schools, youth groups (Hitler Youth)

• Josef Goebbels – propaganda minister

• Nuremberg Laws – Jews were denied citizenship, disallowed from practicing business; strict rules regarding marriage

Nazi Germany Textbook

Pages 49 – 52

• Nazi Beliefs

• Nazi Propaganda

• Nazi Treatment of Opponents

• Reaction within Germany

Read and respond to questions 1 - 9

The Hitler Youth

• Began in 1920’s

• Mandatory for all German children

• At age 10 boys enlisted in Deutches Jungvolk

• At 14 they joined the “Hitlerjugend” – The Hitler Youth”

• They practiced "military athletics“ which included marching, bayonet drill, grenade throwing, trench digging, map reading, gas defence, use of dugouts, how to get under barbed wire and pistol shooting.

• Girls were enlisted in Jungmadelbund where they had to be able to run 60 metres in 14 seconds, throw a ball 12 metres, complete a 2 hour march, swim 100 metres and know how to make a bed.

Philosophy

• Hitler knew Germany would need dedicated soldiers

"The weak must be chiseled away. I want young men and women who can suffer pain. A young German must be as swift as a greyhound, as tough as leather, and as hard as Krupp's steel.“

- Adolph Hitler

• In addition to military training, the Hitler Youth program served as a way of brainwashing children to accept the ideals of the Nazi party

Josef Goebbels and family 1942

PropagandaIdeas spread to influence public opinion, for or against a cause. May or may not be factual.

Propaganda

"The most brilliant propagandist technique will yield no success unless one fundamental principle is borne in mind constantly – (the message) must confine itself to a few points and repeat them over and over.“

- Adolph Hitler

• Ad nauseam

• Appeal to fear

• Bandwagon

• Half-truths

The Triumph of the Will

• Propaganda Film by Leni Riefenstahl, produced under supervision of Joseph Goebbels

• Released in 1935

• Depicts the 1934 Nazi Party Congress in Nuremberg

• Over 700,000 supporters in attendance

Education for Death: The Making of the Nazi

• Released in 1943

• Produced by Walt Disney under contract for the United States