Weimar Germany 1919-1929

The key events in Weimar Germany

Effects of World War One

During the early years of the Weimar Republic, the German Government experienced a number of
problems which threatened its existence. After the end of World War One, it struggled from crisis to
crisis.

The new German Government was linked to Germany's defeat in World War One, allowing Hitler to
blame it for the outcome of the war.

The end of the war

The German army had not been defeated by October 1918. However, it was necessary for the
Government to end the war and make peace for a number of reasons:

 Germany's allies had surrendered.

 The USA had stopped trade with Germany and had entered the war in 1917 against
Germany.

 Many German civilians were starving and there were severe food shortages.

 Germany was running out of raw materials.

 Revolts had broken out across Germany.

 Sailors at Kiel and Wilhelmshaven had mutinied after being ordered to take part in one final
offensive against the British navy.

 Soldiers and workers showed communist leanings by setting up soviets (small councils
intended to replace central government) in many German cities.

The German officials agreed to an armistice (truce) to take effect on 11 November 1918.

The Treaty of Versailles

The German Government agreed to sign the Treaty of Versailles in June 1919, to make peace.

This action was very unpopular in Germany.

Leaders of the German military did not admit that they would be beaten on the battlefield, or did not
want to take responsibility for this. They placed the blame for defeat on the politicians who agreed
the treaty. They claimed these officials had 'stabbed Germany in the back' by ending the war.

Several of the politicians who signed the treaty were leaders of the Weimar government. Their
opponents began to call them the 'November Criminals' and accused them of betraying the German
army and people.

The terms of the Treaty were very damaging to Germany for a number of reasons:

 Territory was taken from Germany, depriving it of valuable industrial income.

 Germany had to accept responsibility for starting the war, leading to feelings of humiliation
and anger. This was the War Guilt Clause, which left many Germans feeling humiliated.

 Germany had to pay reparations of £6.6 billion, which would ensure that the economy would
not recover.
  Germany’s armed forces were severely reduced. For example, there was no air force, a
maximum 100,000 soldiers and a reduced navy.

The link to the armistice and Treaty of Versailles had serious repercussions for the Weimar
Government.

The accusations surrounding the ‘November Criminals’ and the ‘Stab in the Back’ claims, were used
in many of Hitler's speeches in order to discredit the government.

Characteristics of the Weimar Government

At the end of World War One, Kaiser Wilhelm II abdicated and fled to Holland. The new Government
which replaced him initially met in Weimar as there were security risks in Berlin. So, it became
known as the Weimar Republic.

Positive aspects of the Weimar Government

 All men and women over the age of 20 were able vote.

 German citizens were guaranteed freedom of speech and religion.

 All German citizens were to be equal.

 German citizens would elect the President and the Reichstag (Parliament).

 The Reichstag made the laws and appointed the Government and Chancellor.

Negative aspects of the Weimar Government

Parliament was elected through a system of proportional representation, in which German citizens
would vote for a party rather than a candidate.

This resulted in the election of many small parties. No one party could gain a majority and the
country was run by coalitions (majorities brought about by different parties working together). This
led to disagreements between parties and a lack of decisive action.

 Article 48 of the Constitution stated that in an emergency, the President could take control of
Germany and issue laws and decrees.

 This would potentially allow for dictatorship to develop.

The Weimar Constitution had serious consequences for the Weimar Government. Its survival relied
on small parties cooperating with each other. Moreover, dictatorship was a real possibility.

The Spartacist Revolt

In January 1919, the Weimar Government led by President Friedrich Ebert and his Social Democratic
Party, was challenged by a group of revolutionaries called the Spartacists.

The aims of the Spartacists

The Spartacists were communists, who wanted Germany to be run by the working classes. They
believed that power and wealth should be shared equally among the population.

They wanted to replicate the Russian Revolution of 1917 by:

 overthrowing the central government

  establishing soviets (workers’ and soldiers’ councils) in place of central government in
German towns and cities

 using violent methods

The Spartacists were led by Karl Liebknecht and Rosa Luxemburg.

The revolt

In January 1919, 100,000 workers went on strike and demonstrated in the centre of Berlin. This
demonstration was taken over by the Spartacist leadership. Newspaper and communication buildings
were seized and the demonstrators armed themselves. However, many protesters returned home
frustrated at the lack of planning by the Spartacists.

The Government, which had moved to Weimar to avoid the violence, employed the Freikorps to put
down the rising. The Freikorps were ex-army soldiers who hated the communists. Over 100 workers
were killed, even those who surrendered, during what became known as ‘Bloody Week’.

The aftermath

 Karl Liebknecht and Rosa Luxemburg were arrested and brutally murdered by the Freikorps.

 The communists and many of Germany’s working class developed a hatred of the Social
Democrats.

The Spartacist Revolt had serious repercussions for the Weimar Government. When its power was
threatened by a growing Nazi Party, the Communist and Social Democrat parties could not set aside
their differences.

Economic problems 1919-23

The French invasion of the Ruhr

Cause

 As a consequence of signing the Treaty of Versailles, the Weimar Government was obliged to
pay reparations to the victors of World War One.

 In 1922, the Weimar Government stated that it would not be able to pay the next three
years’ instalments as a result of economic hardship.

 The French believed that the Weimar Government could pay and that it was testing
international patience.

Invasion

 In January 1923, the French and Belgian armies sent 60,000 soldiers into the Ruhr region of
Germany.

 The French aimed to extract the unpaid reparations and took control of key industries and
natural resources.

 The Weimar Government instructed the Ruhr workers to go on strike, instead of helping the
French.

Consequences
This worsened the economic crisis in Germany. Government income from the Ruhr, one of Germany's
most industrialised areas, was down. The Government started to print more money in order to pay
the striking German workers in the Ruhr.

Hyper-inflation

 This was caused by the sudden flood of paper money into an economy weakened by war,
combined with the general strike.

 The inflation rate rose so dramatically that the German currency lost virtually all value. Paper
money was practically worthless (eg. a loaf of bread which cost 250 marks in January 1923
had risen to 200,000 million marks by November 1923).

Results of hyper-inflation

 Any German with savings lost the most, as their money lost its value.

 The elderly suffered greatly as their income was fixed.

 Germans who were paid monthly were also affected, as the value of their money would
decrease a great deal before they were paid again.

 Those who were paid weekly, or who could renegotiate their pay daily, were better off.

 Those who had taken out loans, found it much easier to pay them back. The upper class
landowners did not suffer many of the effects of the hyperinflation.

 There were food shortages as businesses did not have enough money to purchase produce
from farmers.

 There was a rise in crime as Germans became desperate.

In 1924, the crisis was brought to an end by the Dawes Plan and the introduction of a new currency,
the Rentenmark. The German economy was now dependent on loans from the USA.

Hyper-inflation had serious repercussions for the Weimar Government. The German economy now
relied on that of the USA. With the Wall Street Crash in 1929, the American economy went into
meltdown and the German economy was pulled down with it. Industries failed and unemployment
rose to 6 million. Social unrest followed, as people starved.

The Beer Hall putsch 1923

The Nazi Party

 The Nazi Party was formed in the years following World War One.

 By 1920, they were called the National Socialist German Workers’ Party and by 1921, Adolf
Hitler was their leader.

 The Nazi Party had grown in size and support under Hitler, having gained 20,000 members by
the end of 1922.

The aim of the putsch

 The Nazis aimed to overthrow the Bavarian Government, which was led by Gustav von Kahr
and based in Munich.
  Once they had established power for themselves in Bavaria, they could look to overthrow
the Weimar Government.

 They were supported by General Ludendorff, who they intended to make leader of Germany.

The revolt

 Leading Bavarian politicians including Kahr were meeting in the Buergerbraeukeller Beer Hall
in Munich on 8 November, 1923.

 Hitler and the SA (stormtroopers) interrupted the meeting, threatening the crowd with
violence.

 Kahr, General von Lossow (leader of the army in Bavaria) and Colonel von Seisser (head of
the Bavarian police) were locked in a back room. They were forced to publically announce
their support for the Nazis.

 Hitler left the beer hall in order to oversee clashes between the SA and the German army
elsewhere in Munich

 Ludendorff allowed the politicians to leave the beer hall.

 This was a mistake as they immediately renounced support for the Nazis.

 The next morning the Nazis, led by Hitler and Ludendorff, marched into the centre of
Munich.

 The police and army confronted them and shots were fired. The Nazi supporters and SA were
scattered.

The aftermath

 Hitler was put on trial, charged with treason.

 He was found guilty and sentenced to five years in prison, but was released after nine
months.

 During the trial, he was able to publically explain that his aim was to save Germany from the
Government, which was failing the people.

 While in Landsberg Prison, Hitler used the time to write his book Mein Kampf, in which he
outlined his fascist ideas and plans for changing German society.

The failed putsch emphasised that there was a great deal of opposition to the Weimar Government.
The fact that Hitler was only sentenced to five years and that he was eligible for parole in nine
months, suggests that German judges and courts were also opposed to the Government.

Nazi rise to power 1929-33

The main events during the Nazi rise to power

Actions taken by the Nazis

It could be argued that the action taken by the Nazis after the beer hall putsch brought them to
power. However, their rise to power can also be attributed to the circumstances in Germany at the
time.

Appealing to all Germans

The Nazis increased their popularity by appearing to provide the solution to all of Germany’s
problems. They adopted policies that could be supported by many different groups of Germans:

 Socialists – they promised that farmers would be given their land, pensions would improve
and public industries such as electricity and water would be owned by the state.

 Nationalists – they promised that all German-speaking people would be united in one
country, the Treaty of Versailles would be abandoned and there would be special laws for
foreigners.

 Racists – they promised that Jews would not be German citizens and immigration would be
stopped.

 Fascists – they promised a strong central government and control of the newspapers.

 Businessmen, landowners, the rich and the army – they promised that remilitarisation would
begin and contracts would be awarded to Germans. They also promised protection from the
communists.

 The unemployed and workers – they promised an increase in employment and wages.

The video below outlines the role of Hitler's public appeal in the Nazi rise to power.

Charismatic leadership

 Hitler was a popular and effective public speaker, at a time when politicians had to speak at
public meetings on a regular basis.

 He used these meetings to tell many Germans what they wanted to hear – that there was a
political party which would solve all their problems.

 He used simplistic language and short phrases to convey his message.

 He came across as energetic and passionate - as someone who cared about the plight of the
German people.

Use of propaganda

 Hitler put Josef Goebbels in charge of Nazi propaganda. Methods of campaigning that the
Nazis used in the 1920s included radio, mass rallies, newspapers (eg. Der Sturmer), Hitler's
speeches and posters.

 The Nazis used simple slogans to introduce their ideas and to make them appeal to the
ordinary people of Germany.

Organisation of the Party

  The Nazis were present in many German cities and towns with many local offices. Nazi party
members worked efficiently to spread policies through propaganda.

 The SA (stormtroopers) appeared to be a strong organisation which could protect Germany

from its enemies - both within Germany and abroad.

 The Nazis were able to fund their campaigns through funding from ‘big business’. Many of
Germany’s rich industrialists supported the Nazis and wanted to see them in power.
Hugenberg, a newspaper tycoon and Thyssen, a steel manufacturer made the expensive
election campaigns of the early 1930s possible.

Circumstances in Germany

Fear of communism spreading

 Communists believed all private ownership of land and assets was theft. Germany’s rich
landowners and businessmen wanted to prevent communists gaining any political influence
at all.

 The Nazis were violently opposed to communism and the SA often attacked communist
groups in the beer halls and the streets. This led to many landowners and businessmen
supporting the Nazis.

Effects of the Wall Street Crash

 The economic crash in the USA in 1929 meant that the loans given to Germany under the
1924 Dawes Plan were called in.

 The German economy could not survive and as a result businesses closed and many
Germans became unemployed. This worsened the situation with a lack of demand for goods
leading to more closures and job losses.

The video below describes how the depression helped Hitler come to power.

Political issues

 In the July 1932 Election, the Nazis won more votes than any other party. Hitler was offered
the position of Vice Chancellor in a coalition with von Papen and von Schleicher. He refused
as he did not want to be associated with a failing Government when he had no power to act.

 After the November 1932 election, Hitler refused the Chancellorship because President
Hindenburg tried to limit his powers.

 In January 1933, Hitler accepted the Chancellorship. This came after von Papen convinced
Hindenburg that he could keep Hitler under control in his position of Vice Chancellor.

The Reichstag fire

On 27 February 1933 the Reichstag building, which was home to the German Parliament, was burned
down. The communists were blamed for the fire because a Dutch communist, called Van der Lubbe,
was found in the building as it burned.

Hitler used the fire to the Nazi Party's advantage in two ways:

 He expelled the communists from Parliament and imprisoned many communist leaders. This
stopped them campaigning prior to the March elections.
  He announced that the country was in danger from the communists during the election
campaign. This encouraged many to vote for the Nazis, who were seen as anti-communist.

 Hindenburg declared a state of emergency using Article 48 of the Weimar Constitution. This
resulted in newspapers being censored and personal letters and phone calls being checked.
This is seen as the start of the end of democracy in Germany.

Both these actions helped the Nazis to win more seats in the election of 5 March 1933, increasing
their share of the vote from 33 per cent to 44 per cent. This gave the Nazis and their allies, the
German National People's Party (who won 8 per cent of the vote), a majority of 52 per cent in the
Reichstag.

The Reichstag fire was so beneficial to the Nazis that it has been suggested they started it
themselves.

Nazi consolidation of power

The following events saw Hitler and the Nazis strengthen their grip on power, ending in Hitler taking
complete dictatorial powers and the title of Führer.

February 1933

 The Nazis take control of the German police system.

5 March 1933 - General election

 The Nazis win 288 seats in the Reichstag.

 Although this does not give the Nazis a majority, it does give them enough seats to get
the Enabling Act passed.

20 March 1933

 The first concentration camps are established for political prisoners.

23 March 1933 - The Enabling Act

 The SA intimidates all the remaining non-Nazi Reichstag members.

 As a result, the Reichstag votes to give Hitler the powers to make his own laws.

26 April 1933

 The Nazis reorganise and take control of local government.

 Hitler sets up the Gestapo, the secret police of Nazi Germany.

2 May 1933

 Trade unions are abolished and their leaders arrested, which eliminates another group that
opposed the Nazis.

 The German Labour Front is established in their place, which gives the Nazis control over
German workers.

20 June 1933 - Concordat

  Hitler reaches an agreement with the Pope, which stated that the Catholic Church will be
protected, but will stay out of political matters.

 This allows Hitler to ban the Catholic Zentrum (Centre) Party without opposition from the
Catholic Church.

14 July 1933

 All political parties, except the Nazi Party, are banned.

 This destroys democracy by removing the need for elections, creating a one-party state.

24 April 1934 - People's courts

 Hitler sets up the courts where judges have to swear an oath of loyalty to the Nazis.

 This gives the Nazis greater power over the sentencing of political enemies and those
deemed to be criminals.

30 June 1934 - 'Night of the Long Knives'

 The SA cause problems by demanding to take over the army.

 Hitler cannot afford to lose the support of the army or of businessmen, who are opposed to
the socialist reforms that the SA want.

 The SS assassinate many of the SA’s leadership, including its leader Ernst Röhm. Officially just
under 100 members die.

 This wipes out opposition to Hitler within the Nazi Party. It also gives more power to the SS.

19 August 1934 - The Führer

 President Hindenburg dies of old age.

 Hitler unifies the offices of President and Chancellor and became head of the German army.

 He takes the title of Führer and has complete dictatorial powers. Within hours of
Hindenburg’s death, all members of the armed forces had to swear an oath of loyalty to
Hitler.

The nature of the Nazi Government

The Nazi Government of the 1930s developed along the lines of the ideology that Hitler described in
his book, Mein Kampf.

 The Führer Principle - there must be a single leader of a single party, holding complete
power.

 Racism - Germans were the 'Master Race' as they were descended from the Aryans and all
other races were inferior. Jewish people and Slavs were regarded as subhuman. All inferior
races had to be removed or made slaves of the Master Race.

 Lebensraum (living space) - the territorial expansion of Germany was required in order to
allow the Master Race to grow.

 Autarky - meaning that Germany must be economically self-sufficient and not dependent on
goods imported from abroad.
Control of Germany

Hitler introduced many policies and measures to ensure the Nazis remained in control, once he
declared himself Führer in 1934 after the death of President Hindenburg.

Control through fear and oppression

The Nazis created a terror-state whereby those living in Germany were too scared to disobey Nazi
laws. This was achieved through intimidation and brutality.

The Gestapo, April 1933

 The Gestapo were the Nazis secret police who gathered intelligence on people living in
Germany.

 They had over 150,000 informants throughout the country who would report any anti-Nazi
sentiment to the Gestapo.

 The Gestapo and their informants did not wear uniforms and, therefore, Germans did not
know when they were being spied on. This created tension and fear throughout the country.

 They had powers to arrest and detain those people who were considered enemies of the
state/Nazi Party. These people were often violently questioned before being released or
imprisoned.

 People’s courts were used to guarantee that those who the Nazis considered to be enemies
were charged with treason and interred in concentration camps.

The SS

By 1934, the SS had been put in charge of protecting Germany from internal and external enemies.
The SS also controlled the concentration camps where ‘undesirable people’ were imprisoned. The
first concentration camp was established in Dachau in 1933.

These ‘undesirable people’ included:

 political opponents

 homosexuals

 criminals

 gypsies

 Jewish people

 religious figures

 any out-spoken critics (including journalists and artists)

Figure caption,

Prisoners in one of the holocaust camps

Life in the concentration camps was extremely harsh. Prisoners were made to work in horrendous
conditions. Stories of what prisoners experienced increased fear among the German population.

The arrest and disappearance of thousands of people, then their subsequent reappearance with
tales of the concentration camps, terrified the population. This meant that there was little opposition
to the Nazis in the 1930s.

Control through propaganda and censorship

Figure caption,

Joseph Goebbels

Josef Goebbels was appointed Minister of Propaganda in 1933 and aimed to brainwash people into
obeying the Nazis and idolising Hitler.

Propaganda
  Goebbels controlled the media and arts, making sure that Germans were fed Nazi ideology
while censoring other information.

 The Nuremberg Rallies, held annually from 1933, glorified war and the military.

 The 1936 Berlin Olympics were intended to showcase the superior athleticism of the Master
Race.

Radios were cheap to buy and would broadcast Nazi Party messages and speeches. Loudspeakers in
public places blared out Nazi propaganda.

Hitler's picture was everywhere and he was portrayed as Germany's saviour. Simple slogans were
used to introduce Nazi ideology to the German people:

 "Free Germany from the Jews"

 "Work and Bread"

 "Smash Communism"

 "Blood and Soil"

 "One People, One Empire, One Leader"

Censorship

Any media that conveyed anti-Nazi ideas or even other ways of life, were censored. Censorship of
newspapers, radio, cinema and the theatre was enforced. Only books which agreed with the Nazi
point of view were allowed. All other books were banned and many were publically burned from
May, 1933.

Control of the Church

 Hitler believed that religion was a threat to the Nazis control over people's minds.

 The Catholic Youth League was broken up, Catholic priests were arrested and religious
teaching was banned.

 A Protestant Reich Church, with Nazi bishops, was established.

 Non-Nazi Catholic priests and Protestant pastors such as Martin Niemöller and Dietrich
Bonhöffer were sent to concentration camps.

Nazi attitudes to Jewish people

The Nazis treatment of the Jewish people derived from their social and racial policies. The Nazis
believed that only Germans could be citizens and that non-Germans should not have any citizenship
rights.

The Nazis racial philosophy taught that some races were ‘Untermenschen’ ('subhuman'). Many
scientists at this time believed that people with disabilities or social problems were genetically less
human and that their genes needed to be eliminated from the human gene pool.

As a result of these beliefs, the Nazis took the following actions:

 Tried to eliminate the Jewish people.

 Killed 85 per cent of Germany's gypsies.

  Sterilised black people.

 Killed mentally ill patients.

 Sterilised physically disabled people, eg deaf people, and people with hereditary diseases.

 Imprisoned people they regarded as anti-social in concentration camps. These included

homosexuals, prostitutes, Jehovah's Witnesses, alcoholics, pacifists, beggars, hooligans and
criminals.

Persecution of Jewish people

The following shows how the Nazis treatment of the Jewish people developed during the 1930s.

1933

 Jewish people were removed from public office and professions – civil servants, lawyers and
teachers were sacked.

 School lessons were to reflect the view that Jewish people were ‘Untermensch’.

April Boycott

 On 1 April 1933, a boycott of Jewish shops and other businesses took place.

 SA officers actively encouraged Germans to avoid entering Jewish places of work.

 Many Jewish shops were vandalised.

1935

 The Nuremberg Laws were introduced at the Nuremberg Rally on 15 September and
removed many Jewish rights.

 Jewish people were denied the right to be German citizens.

 Marriage and relationships between Jewish people and Germans became illegal.

1938

 Jewish people were banned from becoming doctors.

 Jewish people had to carry identity cards which showed a ‘J’ stamp.

 Jewish children were denied education and banned from schools.

 Jewish men had to add ‘Israel to their name, women had to add ‘Sarah’.

Kristallnacht

 On the night of the 9 November 1938 Jewish homes, businesses and synagogues were
attacked throughout Germany and Austria.

 Around 7,500 Jewish shops were damaged or destroyed. 400 synagogues were burned to the
ground.

 Almost 100 Jewish people were killed and 30,000 were sent to concentration camps.

1939
  Jewish people were banned from owning businesses.

 The first ghettos (segregated housing within towns, with a controlled entrance and exit) were
opened in Eastern Europe to separate Jewish people from ‘ordinary’ citizens.

Star of David Emblem

 On 23 November, 1939, Jewish people were ordered to wear the Star of David emblem on
their clothes. This helped identify them more easily.

The Nazis persecution of the Jewish people meant that many other Germans lived in fear of the Nazis
turning on them.

This severely reduced the number of people who were willing to openly oppose the Nazis.

Opposition to the Nazis

Those who spoke out against Hitler and his policies faced intimidation and threats from the Gestapo
or imprisonment, and in some cases execution. Hence, there was little open opposition to Hitler.

Why was there little opposition to the Nazis?

 The 'Night of the Long Knives' had eliminated almost all opposition to Hitler within the Nazi
Party.

 All other political parties had been banned in July 1933.

 Through censorship and propaganda, the Nazis eliminated opposition in the media.

 Economic opposition was eliminated as trade unions had been banned in May 1933.

 Germans lived in fear of being denounced by spies, interrogated by the Gestapo and sent to
concentration camps.

 Many Germans genuinely believed that the Nazis were improving Germany. They saw the
negative side as a ‘necessary evil’ if Germany was to be great again.

However, there were a few individuals and groups who openly opposed Hitler and his policies. The
majority ended up in concentration camps, while many were killed.

Opposition from the Church

 Some Catholic priests opposed Hitler. In 1937, the Pope issued a message called 'With
Burning Concern' which was read in every Catholic Church. It described Hitler as “a mad
prophet with repulsive arrogance”.

 The Catholic Archbishop of Munster led a successful campaign to end euthanasia of

mentally-disabled people.

 Many Protestant pastors, led by Martin Niemöller, formed the Confessional Church in
opposition to Hitler's Reich Church. Niemöller was held in a concentration camp during the
period 1937-1945. Another Protestant pastor, Dietrich Bonhöffer, was linked to an
assassination attempt against Hitler and was executed in 1945.

Opposition from youth

The Meuten
  The Meuten were gangs of working-class teenagers and young adults.

 They sympathised with socialist ideology.

 They were frequently attacked by Nazis, including the Hitler Youth.

The Swing Kids

 A youth movement that started in Hamburg in 1939 and spread to Berlin and other German
cities.

 The movement was a challenge to Hitler announcing that all German adolescents had to join
a Nazi youth movement.

 They challenged the Nazi image of youth by growing their hair and wearing fashionable
clothes.

 They also listened to swing music, which was seen by the Nazis as Black music and met at
secret dance halls. This often led to clashes with the Hitler Youth and the security forces.

The White Rose

 Formed by students at Munich University. They published anti-Nazi leaflets, but were
discovered and executed in 1943.

The Edelweiss Pirates

 They painted anti-Nazi slogans, sheltered deserters and beat up Nazi officials. In 1944, the
Cologne Pirates killed the Gestapo chief.

Economic policies
Figure caption,

Hitler opening a new Volkswagon factory

The Nazis tried to make Germany self-sufficient - that is to produce all the goods it needed without
having to rely on imported supplies. They called this policy ‘Autarky’.

The Nazis implemented a major programme of public works, such as building and repairing roads,
railways and houses.

This significantly helped reduce unemployment, as did large-scale military rearmament.

With Germany building up its armed forces, thousands of jobs in the iron, steel, aviation and
shipbuilding industries were created.
The Nazis took control of workers’ lives in a number of ways:

 The German Labour Front was established in 1933 and operated as a trade union for its
members, although it was controlled by the Nazi Party. Striking was banned.

 The German Labour Service set up in 1935 made it compulsory for young men to be
employed in public works schemes for six-month stints.

 The Strength Through Joy movement provided Nazi-approved leisure activities and holidays
for loyal workers

Militarism

The Nazis were determined that Germany be a militarist state, whereby the country was prepared
for war at any time. For this to become a reality, the Nazis launched an ambitious rearmament
programme. They also relied on the education system to prepare young men for military service,
both physically and mentally.

 The Hitler Youth developed survival skills and physical strength. It also taught boys military
skills which they would perfect when they entered the army.

 Rearmament involved increasing the amount of weapons for the army, air force and navy as
well as stockpiles of munitions. German businesses received huge orders for tanks,
aeroplanes and ships, as well as guns, bombs and bullets.

 The size of the army was increased from 100,000 men to 1,400,000. Men under 25 had to
carry out at least two years of military service.

 Conscription was introduced in 1935 and as a result most young men were drafted into the
army.

 From 1936 to 1939, Hitler’s armed forces helped fascist leader Franco to victory in the
Spanish Civil War. This provided the Nazis with an opportunity to train men and test
equipment and tactics.

 Youth movements and education

 The Nazis tried to brainwash the German population into believing in the Nazi
way of life. They believed that the best way to do this was by changing the
minds of the young.
Education

 This was controlled by the state and aimed at developing young adults who believed fully in
Nazi ideals.

 Teachers and university lecturers had to join the National Socialist Teachers' League, which
would question their suitability to teach. They were forced to teach a very specific
curriculum.

 Anti-Nazi and Jewish teachers were sacked.

 School subjects were given a pro-Nazi bias.

 History was taught to glorify Germany.

 Biology taught that pure Germans were superior.

  Textbooks were rewritten to emphasise militarism, as well as Nazi political and racial beliefs.

 Regular physical exercise was a key part of the school day for boys and girls.

 Girls attended classes that taught them how to be good mothers and wives.

 Specialist schools (Napolas) were set up for those destined to become future leaders of Nazi
Germany.

Youth groups

 Boys were encouraged to join youth groups which progressed to the Hitler Youth. It taught
survival techniques, military skills and the importance of physical fitness.

 Girls were encouraged to join youth groups which progressed to the League of German
Maidens. It taught the importance of motherhood and how to be a good wife. Women were
expected to have large families and would earn rewards based upon how many children they
had.

The Nazis continued to put forward their 25-Point Programme agreed in the early 1920s and thus
had broader social and geographical appeal than the communists, who only really appealed to the
industrial workers in Germany’s cities. Support came from:

 wealthy businessmen: frightened by the increase in support for the communists, they began
to finance Hitler and the Nazis

 the middle-class: alarmed by the obvious failure of democracy, they decided that the
country needed a strong government and gave their votes to Hitler

 nationalists: they blamed the legacy of the Treaty of Versailles and reparations for causing
the depression and so lent their support to the Nazis

 rural areas: Nazi support was particularly strong amongst both middle class shopkeepers and
artisans, farmers and agricultural labourers

The effects of propaganda

Figure caption,
Joseph Goebbels

Nazi propaganda was controlled by Joseph Goebbels and had three mains themes:

 The Führer cult. Hitler was always portrayed as Germany’s saviour – the man who would
rescue the country from the grip of depression.

 Volksgemeinschaft (people’s community). This was the idea that the Nazis would create one
German community that would make religion or social class less relevant to people.

 Scapegoating the Jews (and others) for Germany’s ills. Jews were often portrayed as sub-
human, or as a threat to both the racial purity and economic future of the country.

Hitler was a great speaker with an extraordinary power to win people over. Goebbels' propaganda
campaign was very effective and brought huge support for the Nazis by targeting specific groups of
society with different slogans and policies to win their support.

The work of the Sturm Abteilung (SA)

Figure caption,

Hitler and other SA leaders

The SA played a part in the Nazis’ increasing popularity by:

 intimidating the Nazis’ political opponents – especially the communists – by turning up at

their meetings and attacking them

 providing opportunities for young, unemployed men to become involved in the party

 protecting Hitler and other key Nazis when they organised meetings and made speeches

 Hitler's appointment as Chancellor, 1933

 
 The story of the events of 1932 and early 1933 that led to Hitler’s appointment
as Chancellor on 30 January 1933 is a complicated one. Central to the story
is the role of President Hindenburg and the fact that throughout the
Depression Germany had not had a strong government, with a Chancellor
who enjoyed majority support in the Reichstag. By 1932 President
Hindenburg had to use Article 48 to pass almost every law.
 Major events leading to Hitler becoming Chancellor:
 1932
 April - Presidential election. Hitler came second to Hindenburg, who won 53
per cent of the vote to Hitler’s 36.8 per cent.
 May - Brüning resigned as Chancellor. Hindenburg appointed Franz Von
Papen, a conservative, as his replacement.
 July - Reichstag elections. The Nazis became the largest single party with
230 seats, but still did not have a majority. Hitler demanded to be made
Chancellor but Papen remained.
 November - Reichstag elections called by Von Papen to try to win a
majority in parliament. Nazis lost 34 seats but remained the largest party with
196 seats.
 December - Von Papen resigned. Hindenburg appointed Kurt Von
Schleicher, an army general, as Chancellor. Von Schleicher tried to split the
Nazis by asking a leading Nazi called Gregor Strasser to be his Vice
Chancellor. Hitler forced Strasser to decline.
 1933
 January - Von Papen and Hindenburg turned to Hitler, appointing him as
Chancellor with Von Papen as Vice Chancellor. They believed they could
control Hitler and get him to do what they wanted.
The creation of a dictatorship 1933-34

In January 1933, Hitler became Chancellor of Germany but his real aim was to become a dictator.
Before he could realise his ambition, he needed to gain enough seats to be in a position strong
enough to allow him to make the changes that would lead to his goal. He convinced President
Hindenburg to call a new Reichstag election for March 1933. This set off a series of events that ended
with Hitler becoming Führer.
Date Events How this helped Hitler to gain power

Hitler used the fire to persuade Hindenburg

to pass an emergency law restricting
personal liberty. This enabled him to
Reichstag Fire and Reichstag election: on 27 imprison many communist leaders, which
February the Reichstag building was set on fire. stopped them campaigning during the
A Dutch communist, van der Lubbe, was caught election. Although the Nazis the did not gain
red-handed in the burning building. Days later in the overall majority that Hitler had hoped for
the election 44 per cent of the population voted in the Reichstag, it gave them enough seats -
27 for the Nazis, who won 288 seats in the after Hitler had arrested all the communist
Feb - Reichstag – still not an overall majority. Hitler deputies and the other parties had been
5 Mar had to join with the nationalists to form a intimidated by the SA - to pass the Enabling
1933 majority. Act.

The Enabling Act: with the communist deputies

banned and the SA intimidating all the remaining Arguably this was the critical event during
non-Nazi deputies, the Reichstag voted by the this period. It gave Hitler absolute power to
23 required two-thirds majority to give Hitler the make laws, which enabled him to destroy all
Mar right to make laws without the Reichstag’s opposition to his rule. This removed the
1933 approval for four years. Reichstag as a source of opposition.

Banning political parties made Germany a

14 one-party state and destroyed democracy in
July Political parties were banned: only the Nazi the country. This removed other parties as a
1933 party was allowed to exist. source of opposition.

Night of the Long Knives: Many members of the

SA, including its leader Ernst Röhm, were
demanding that the Nazi party carry out its
socialist agenda and that the SA take over the
army. Hitler could not afford to annoy
businessmen or the army, so the SS (Hitler's This destroyed all opposition to Hitler within
personal bodyguards) murdered around 400 the Nazi Party and gave power to the brutal
30 members of the SA, including Röhm, along with SS. It also showed the rest of the world what
June a number of Hitler's other opponents like the a tyrant Hitler was. This removed any
1934 previous Chancellor, von Schleicher. internal Nazi Party opposition to Hitler.

Hitler became Führer: when Hindenburg died,

Hitler declared himself jointly president,
19 chancellor and head of the army. Members of This formally made Hitler the absolute ruler
Aug the armed forces had to swear a personal oath of Germany. This neutralised any sources of
1934 of allegiance not to Germany, but to Hitler. opposition to Hitler within the army.

Hitler also extended his power in other ways:

 Local government was reorganised – with Nazi Party officials put in charge of each area of
Germany.

 Trade unions were abolished and their leaders arrested.

  A Concordat (agreement) was signed with the Pope, which allowed Hitler to increase his
power in Germany without opposition from the Catholic Church, as long as he left the
Church alone.

 People's courts: Hitler set up the Nazi people's courts where judges had to swear an oath of
loyalty to the Nazis.

By the autumn of 1934 Hitler was in complete control of Germany.

Weaknesses of Weimar government

The Weimar Republic was set up as a representative democracy which tried to give genuine power to
all German adults. However, it had major flaws that contributed to its downfall in 1933-34.

Strengths and weaknesses of the new Weimar constitution

The strengths of the Republic served to ensure that it was a representative democracy and on paper
it looked marvellous. However, hidden in the detail were two flaws that eventually helped to destroy
the Republic:
Strengths

A genuine democracy - Elections for parliament and the president took place every four years and all
Germans over 20 could vote.

The power of the Reichstag - The Reichstag appointed the government and made all laws. Almost all
political power was exercised by politicians in the Reichstag. Before 1918 the Kaiser and the military
took most of the important decisions.

A Bill of Rights - This guaranteed every German citizen freedom of speech and religion, and equality
under the law.
Weaknesses

Proportional representation - Each party got the same percentage of seats in parliament as the
percentage of votes it received in an election. This meant there were lots of small parties in
parliament making it difficult to pass laws and led to weak and often short-lived governments.

Article 48 - This gave the president the power to act without parliament’s approval in an emergency.
However, it did not clearly define what an 'emergency' was, so the power was overused, which
weakened Germans’ confidence in democracy.

Political instability in the Weimar Republic

The Weimar Republic was created at a time of confusion and chaos after Germany had lost World
War One. People were starving, the Kaiser had fled and the new Republic got off to a troubled start
for two reasons:

 Many Germans hated the government for signing the armistice in November 1918 - they
called them the November criminals. The defeat in the war came as a huge surprise to the
German people, which led to a theory that the brave German army had been ‘stabbed in the
back’ by the politicians.

 Many Germans felt their country had received a very harsh deal in the Treaty of Versailles.
They resented the government for agreeing to its conditions and signing it, even though they
were forced to by the Allies.

The Weimar Republic’s unpopularity meant it faced violent uprisings from both sides of the political
spectrum during 1919 and 1920.

The threat from the Left: The Spartacist Uprising

 During 5 – 12 January 1919, 50,000 members of the post-World War One Communist Party,
known as the Spartacists, rebelled in Berlin, led by Rosa Luxemburg and Karl Liebknecht.

 The government was saved when it armed bands of ex-soldiers, known as the Freikorps, who
defeated the Spartacist rebels.

 In the aftermath, communist workers' councils seized power all over Germany, and a
Communist People's Government took power in Bavaria.

 By May 1919 the Freikorps had crushed all of these uprisings.

The threat from the Right: The Kapp Putsch

 In crushing the communists the Freikorps had saved the government, but the terms of the
Treaty of Versailles meant Germany’s army had to be significantly reduced and the Freikorps
had to be disbanded.

 During 13 - 17 March 1920, as a reaction to this, the right-wing nationalist, Dr Wolfgang Kapp
led a Freikorps takeover in Berlin.

 The regular army refused to attack the Freikorps; Kapp was only defeated when the workers
of Berlin went on strike and refused to cooperate with him.

Other violence

Nationalist terrorists assassinated 356 government politicians, including Walter Rathenau, the
foreign minister, and Matthias Erzberger who had been finance minister. Judges in their trials, many
of whom preferred the Kaiser's government, consistently gave these terrorists light sentences, or let
them go free.

The hyperinflation crisis, 1923

The Weimar government's main crisis occurred in 1923 after the Germans missed
a reparations payment late in 1922. This set off a chain of events that included
occupation, hyperinflation and rebellions.

French and Belgian occupation of the Ruhr

 In November 1922 Germany defaulted on its reparations payment as scheduled. The first
reparations payment had taken all she could afford to pay. The French believed Germany
could make the repayment but were choosing not to, however the German government
argued they could not afford to pay.

 In response, France and Belgium sent troops into Germany’s main industrial area,
the Ruhr Valley.

 Their aim was to confiscate industrial goods as reparations payments.

 The German government ordered workers to follow a policy of ‘passive resistance’ – refusing
to work or co-operate with the foreign troops.

 In return the government continued to pay their wages.

Hyperfinflation

 Germany was already suffering from high levels of inflation due to the effects of the war and
the increasing government debt.

 ‘Passive resistance’ meant that whilst the workers were on strike fewer industrial goods were
being produced, which weakened the economy still further.

 In order to pay the striking workers the government simply printed more money. This flood
of money led to hyperinflation as the more money was printed, the more prices rose.

 Prices ran out of control, for example a loaf of bread, which cost 250 marks in January 1923,
had risen to 200,000 million marks in November 1923.
  By Autumn 1923 it cost more to print a note than the note was worth.

 During the crisis, workers were often paid twice per day because prices rose so fast their
wages were virtually worthless by lunchtime.

Hyperinflation winners

 Borrowers, such as businessmen, landowners and those with mortgages, found they were
able to pay back their loans easily with worthless money.

 People on wages were relatively safe, because they renegotiated their wages every day.
However, even their wages eventually failed to keep up with prices.

 Farmers coped well, since their products remained in demand and they received more
money for them as prices spiralled.

Hyperinflation losers:

 People on fixed incomes, like students, pensioners or the sick, found their incomes did not
keep up with prices.

 People with savings and those who had lent money, for example to the government, were
the most badly hit as their money became worthless.

Rebellions

Unsurprisingly, the hardships created during 1923 by hyperinflation led to many uprisings as groups
struggled to take power from the government.

 A nationalist group called Black Reichswehr rebelled in September.

 Communists took over the governments of Saxony and Thuringia in October.

 Communists also took over the Rhineland and declared it independent in the same month.

 An extreme nationalist right wing group called the National Socialist German Workers Party
also known as the Nazis attempted a putsch in Munich in November. This event brought
 Hitler, the leader of the National Socialists, to national prominence after he was jailed for
nine months for his part in the attempt to overthrow the Weimar Government.

The impact of the Depression on Germany

In October 1929 the Wall Street Crash on the US stock exchange brought about a global economic
depression. In Europe, Germany was worst affected because American banks called in all of their
foreign loans at very short notice. These loans, agreed under the Dawes Plan in 1924, had been the
basis for Weimar’s economic recovery from the disaster of hyperinflation. The loans funded German
industry and helped to pay reparations. Without these loans German industry collapsed and a
depression began:
The most obvious consequence of this collapse was a huge rise in unemployment. Over the winter of
1929-30 the number of unemployed rose from 1.4 million to over 2 million. By the time Hitler
became Chancellor in January 1933 one in three Germans were unemployed, with the figure hitting
6.1 million. Industrial production had also more than halved over the same period.

The impact of unemployment

 The rise in unemployment significantly raised government expenditure on unemployment

insurance and other benefits.

 Germans began to lose faith in democracy and looked to extreme parties on the both the
Left (the communists) and the Right (the Nazis) for quick and simple solutions.

Political failure
In March 1930 the German Chancellor, Hermann Müller, resigned when his government could not
agree on how to tackle the rise in government spending caused by the rise in unemployment. He was
replaced by Heinrich Brüning. His policies were ineffective in dealing with the unemployment crisis
and further undermined Germans’ faith in democracy:

 In July 1930 Chancellor Brüning cut government expenditure, wages and unemployment pay.
This added to the spiral of decline and unemployment continued to rise, as well as making
those who had lost their jobs even poorer.

 However, Brüning could not get the Reichstag to agree to his actions, so President
Hindenburg used Article 48 of the Weimar constitution, which gave the President the power
to pass laws by decree, to govern. This undermined democracy and weakened the power of
the Reichstag – arguably opening the way for Hitler’s later dictatorship.

The rise of extremism

When people are unemployed, hungry and desperate, as millions were in Germany between 1930
and 1933, they often turn to extreme political parties offering simple solutions to their problems.
Between 1930 and 1933 support for the extreme right-wing Nazis and the extreme left-wing
communists soared.

By 1932 parties committed to the destruction of the Weimar Republic held 319 seats out of a total of
608 in the Reichstag, with many workers turning to communism. However, the real beneficiaries
were the Nazis.

Reasons for the growth in support of the Nazi Party

In 1928, the Nazis had only 12 seats in the Reichstag; by July 1932 they had 230 seats and were the
largest party.

The appeal of Hitler and the Nazis

The Nazis continued to put forward their 25-Point Programme agreed in the early 1920s and thus
had broader social and geographical appeal than the communists, who only really appealed to the
industrial workers in Germany’s cities. Support came from:

 wealthy businessmen: frightened by the increase in support for the communists, they began
to finance Hitler and the Nazis

 the middle-class: alarmed by the obvious failure of democracy, they decided that the
country needed a strong government and gave their votes to Hitler

 nationalists: they blamed the legacy of the Treaty of Versailles and reparations for causing
the depression and so lent their support to the Nazis

 rural areas: Nazi support was particularly strong amongst both middle class shopkeepers and
artisans, farmers and agricultural labourers

The effects of propaganda

Figure caption,

Joseph Goebbels

Nazi propaganda was controlled by Joseph Goebbels and had three mains themes:

 The Führer cult. Hitler was always portrayed as Germany’s saviour – the man who would
rescue the country from the grip of depression.

 Volksgemeinschaft (people’s community). This was the idea that the Nazis would create one
German community that would make religion or social class less relevant to people.

 Scapegoating the Jews (and others) for Germany’s ills. Jews were often portrayed as sub-
human, or as a threat to both the racial purity and economic future of the country.

Hitler was a great speaker with an extraordinary power to win people over. Goebbels' propaganda
campaign was very effective and brought huge support for the Nazis by targeting specific groups of
society with different slogans and policies to win their support.

The work of the Sturm Abteilung (SA)

Figure caption,
Hitler and other SA leaders

The SA played a part in the Nazis’ increasing popularity by:

 intimidating the Nazis’ political opponents – especially the communists – by turning up at

their meetings and attacking them

 providing opportunities for young, unemployed men to become involved in the party

 protecting Hitler and other key Nazis when they organised meetings and made speeches

Hitler's appointment as Chancellor, 1933

The story of the events of 1932 and early 1933 that led to Hitler’s appointment
as Chancellor on 30 January 1933 is a complicated one. Central to the story is the
role of President Hindenburg and the fact that throughout the Depression Germany
had not had a strong government, with a Chancellor who enjoyed majority support in
the Reichstag. By 1932 President Hindenburg had to use Article 48 to pass almost
every law.
Major events leading to Hitler becoming Chancellor:
1932
April - Presidential election. Hitler came second to Hindenburg, who won 53 per
cent of the vote to Hitler’s 36.8 per cent.
May - Brüning resigned as Chancellor. Hindenburg appointed Franz Von Papen, a
conservative, as his replacement.
July - Reichstag elections. The Nazis became the largest single party with 230
seats, but still did not have a majority. Hitler demanded to be made Chancellor but
Papen remained.
November - Reichstag elections called by Von Papen to try to win a majority in
parliament. Nazis lost 34 seats but remained the largest party with 196 seats.
December - Von Papen resigned. Hindenburg appointed Kurt Von Schleicher, an
army general, as Chancellor. Von Schleicher tried to split the Nazis by asking a
leading Nazi called Gregor Strasser to be his Vice Chancellor. Hitler forced Strasser
to decline.
1933
January - Von Papen and Hindenburg turned to Hitler, appointing him as
Chancellor with Von Papen as Vice Chancellor. They believed they could control
Hitler and get him to do what they wanted.
Hitler's appointment as Chancellor, 1933

The story of the events of 1932 and early 1933 that led to Hitler’s appointment as Chancellor on 30
January 1933 is a complicated one. Central to the story is the role of President Hindenburg and the
fact that throughout the Depression Germany had not had a strong government, with a Chancellor
who enjoyed majority support in the Reichstag. By 1932 President Hindenburg had to use Article
48 to pass almost every law.

Major events leading to Hitler becoming Chancellor:

1932

April - Presidential election. Hitler came second to Hindenburg, who won 53 per cent of the vote to
Hitler’s 36.8 per cent.

May - Brüning resigned as Chancellor. Hindenburg appointed Franz Von Papen, a conservative, as his
replacement.

July - Reichstag elections. The Nazis became the largest single party with 230 seats, but still did not
have a majority. Hitler demanded to be made Chancellor but Papen remained.

November - Reichstag elections called by Von Papen to try to win a majority in parliament. Nazis lost
34 seats but remained the largest party with 196 seats.

December - Von Papen resigned. Hindenburg appointed Kurt Von Schleicher, an army general, as
Chancellor. Von Schleicher tried to split the Nazis by asking a leading Nazi called Gregor Strasser to
be his Vice Chancellor. Hitler forced Strasser to decline.

1933

January - Von Papen and Hindenburg turned to Hitler, appointing him as Chancellor with Von Papen
as Vice Chancellor. They believed they could control Hitler and get him to do what they wanted.

Expectations of women
  Hitler had very clear ideas about the role of women in the Nazi state. They were the centre
of family life, as housewives and mothers.

 Female doctors, teachers and civil servants were forced to give up their careers. Even at the
end of the war, women were never asked to serve in the armed forces.

 Their job was to keep the home nice for their husband and family.

 Hitler wanted Germany to have a high birth rate, so the population would grow. The Nazis
even considered making it law that families should have at least four children.

 The Law for the Encouragement of Marriage gave newly-wed couples a loan of 1,000 marks,
and allowed them to keep 250 marks for each child they had. Mothers who had more than
eight children were given a gold medal.

 Women were supposed to copy traditional German peasant dress - plain peasant costumes,
hair in plaits or buns and flat shoes. They were expected not to wear make-up or trousers,
dye their hair or smoke in public.

Nuremberg Rallies

Figure caption,

The Nuremberg Rallies

They started in 1923 on a small scale, but from 1933, Nazi rallies were held annually at purpose-built
grounds in Nuremberg.

These military gatherings would involve hundreds of thousands of Nazis, including members of the
Party, armed forces and youth groups.

The rallies can be seen as propaganda aimed to show German people and those abroad that their
country was powerful, ordered, and under the complete control of the Nazis.

Features of the Nuremberg Rallies included:

 Nazis in immaculate military dress

 marches by soldiers with flags, accompanied by drums

  torchlight processions

 speeches by Hitler and other leading Nazis

The creation of the Police State

By August 1934, Hitler was a dictator in Germany.

He used a wide variety of methods to maintain this.

Hitler and the Nazis created a Police State to exercise control over the population.

There were three main parts to it:

Image caption,

Heinrich Himmler

 The Schutzstaffel (SS) was led by Heinrich Himmler and was the most important of the three
organisations. It oversaw the others. By 1935, it numbered 200,000. Its leaders became more
important than the Party organisation in running the country. The SS set up concentration
camps where ‘enemies of the state’ were sent.

 The Gestapo was the Nazis’ secret police force. In 1934, Himmler replaced Hermann
Göring as its leader. Its job was to monitor the German population for signs of opposition or
resistance to Nazi rule and eliminate it. Although its membership was not huge, it was
greatly feared because it was so powerful. The Gestapo listened to telephone calls,
intercepted letters and encouraged ordinary Germans to inform on their fellow citizens.

 The Sicherheitsdienst (SD) was the intelligence-gathering agency of the SS. It was responsible
for the security of Hitler and other top Nazis and was led by Himmler’s right-hand
man, Reinhard Heydrich.

The legal system

The Nazis swept away many of the freedoms that Germans had previously enjoyed:

 Judges had to swear an oath of loyalty to Hitler and were expected always to act in the
interests of the Nazi state.
  The role of defence lawyers in criminal trials was weakened.

 All lawyers had to join the Nazi Lawyers' Association, which meant they could be controlled.

 Standard punishments for crime were abolished, so local prosecutors could decide what the
punishment should be.

 People’s Courts were set up in 1934 to try those accused of “crimes against the state”.

 Protective custody was introduced for those who might commit a crime. This meant people
could be arrested and interned even if they had not broken the law.

 The number of crimes that carried the death penalty increased from three to 46.

These changes meant the legal system was no longer fair.

People lost many of their civil rights.

Concentration camps

In 1933, Dachau was the first camp to be opened.

By 1939, there were six.

They were run by the Death’s Head Unit of the SS.

A wide variety of people were sent to the camps.

 Many convicted criminals were not released at the end of their prison sentences but were
instead moved to the concentration camps.

 Political opponents, like communists, as well as Jews, ministers and priests were also sent
there.

 People regarded by the Nazis as “asocial” also ended up in these camps. Nazis classified the
“work-shy", prostitutes and homosexuals as “asocial”.

Impact of the Police State

The Police State had a big impact on all aspects of people’s lives and was very successful in its aims.

 It meant there was little opposition to the Nazis. Most people complied with regulations.
They became fearful of being arrested for no reason.

 Society became more suspicious and tense. Some people publicly criticised or informed on
their neighbours to make themselves look more loyal. Children were encouraged to report
on their parents and teachers.

 Justice disappeared. Many did not receive fair trials because of changes to the law.

 The number of criminal offences committed was halved by 1939, but the number of people
in prison increased. By 1939, there were over 600,000 in prisons or concentration camps.
Many innocent people were detained as “enemies of the state”.

Propaganda and censorship

Image caption,

Dr Joseph Goebbels

Dr Joseph Goebbels was the Nazi in charge of propaganda throughout Germany and was given the
title of Minister for Popular Enlightenment and Propaganda.

He believed propaganda worked best if it were “invisible” (ie subtle) and “all-pervasive” (ie
everywhere).

The government department responsible for propaganda was the Ministry of Enlightenment and
Propaganda.

All aspects of the media, culture and the arts were censored and used for Nazi propaganda by this
department.

Much of the information Germans received reinforced the message of Aryan racial superiority whilst
bitterly bad-mouthing the Jews and other ‘enemies’ of the regime.

Question

What was the aim of propaganda and censorship?

Show answer

Censorship of the press

  Newspapers could only print stories favourable to and approved by the Nazis.

 Daily briefings were held for editors to tell them what to print and where to place articles in
their newspapers.

 Editors had to join the Nazi Party or be dismissed.

 All radio output was controlled by Goebbels’ Ministry through the Reich Broadcasting
Corporation.

 Listening to foreign stations was banned.

 Nine million radios were sold cheaply so that most Germans could afford one and thus
be indoctrinated. These “People’s Receivers” could only be tuned to the Nazi station. By
1939, 70 per cent of households owned one of them.

Large public events

Image caption,

Hitler at a Nuremberg rally in 1935

 There were mass rallies to show public support for Nazism which involved music, speeches
and demonstrations of German military strength. The biggest rally was the
annual Nuremberg Rally held in August. It lasted a week and was characterised by order and
discipline, marching, massive displays of flags and symbols and rousing music. Rallies were
held at other times in the year as well, for example on Hitler’s birthday.

 Sports events were held to allow people to be either spectators or participants in mass
activities. The Strength Through Joy (KdF) movement organised many of these. Berlin hosted
the Olympics of 1936, which the Nazis used as an opportunity to showcase the success of
the regime and to demonstrate the superiority of the of the "Aryan race". The victories
of Jesse Owens, a black athlete from the USA, infuriated the Nazi leadership.

Use of loudspeakers in public places

  Loudspeakers were placed in cafés, town squares and workplaces to blare out Nazi
propaganda. Therefore, even those people who did not have a radio did not escape the Nazi
message.

Control of culture

The Nazis’ influence on all areas of culture demonstrates the extent to which Hitler sought to control
German life and win over the people to Nazism.

Various forms of culture in Germany were heavily censored.

Art and architecture

Image caption,

Albert Speer

Hitler saw modern art, such as abstract art, as ‘degenerate’ and over 6,500 works of art were
removed from display across Germany.

Hitler was very interested in architecture and believed it could be used to project the power of the
Nazi regime.

He favoured two types - classical architecture for public buildings, and rural-style architecture for
other buildings.

The most important architect of the period was Albert Speer, who redesigned Berlin as well as
designing the main stadium in Nuremberg where the annual rallies were held.

Literature
Image caption,

Mass book burning event in May 1933

There was massive censorship of literature.

The Nazis drew up a list of over 2,500 banned authors and encouraged the burning of books that
challenged Nazi ideas and values.

In 1933, 20,000 unacceptable books were destroyed at the University of Berlin.

These included books written by Jews, pacifists and communists.

Film

All film plots were shown to Goebbels for approval before production.

The most common themes were German greatness and anti-semitism, eg The Eternal Jew.

Nazi propaganda was shown before feature films and many American films were banned.

Music

Goebbels drew up lists of what was acceptable.

Jewish composers, such as Mendelssohn and Mahler, were banned and the works of the German
composer Wagner were promoted and gained huge popularity.

They also promoted folk songs and marching music.

The Nazis were strongly opposed to jazz music, seeing it as 'degenerate'.

The impact of propaganda and censorship on the German people

Successes

 Propaganda helped reinforce existing beliefs.

 Mein Kampf became a best seller because people thought it was wise to display their loyalty.

 The scale of the propaganda campaigns meant Hitler and the Nazi Party were a constant
presence in people’s lives.
  Weekly Nazi newsreels, shown in cinemas before films, and loudspeakers in cafés and
workplaces meant the Nazi message could not be avoided.

Failures

 Propaganda was less successful at getting people to accept new ideas.

 The quality of much culture was also poor. The range of music, films and books was very
restricted.

 Some musicians, artists, actors and writers left Germany. Although, others joined the Nazis’
cultural organisations.

Opposition in Nazi Germany

It is difficult to know exactly how much support there was in Germany for the Nazi regime.

It is generally acknowledged that it was widely accepted, even if it was not always popular.

This lack of open opposition was because:

 The Police State created fear.

 Many of Hitler’s political rivals were in exile, prison or hiding.

 It was difficult for organisations to co-ordinate opposition.

 The massive scale of indoctrination and censorship convinced many of Hitler’s "greatness"
and concealed any problems.

 Many Germans liked Hitler’s decisive leadership after the weakness of the Weimar
politicians.

 The Nazis had some popular achievements, such as full employment, disciplined youth and
the KdF.

 Hitler restored national pride.

However, there was some opposition. This was in the form of:

 A great deal of private grumbling.

 Passive resistance and refusing to co-operate with regulations, including not joining the Nazi
Party, reading banned books, listening to forbidden music and not using the Heil
Hitler salute.

 Open defiance of the regime, for example by some church leaders and a number of youth
groups.

Opposition from the churches

Hitler hated all religion.

At first, Hitler tried to get the churches to encourage their members to support the Nazis, however
this proved to be difficult.

The Protestant church

The Protestant Church was divided in its opinion of the Nazis.

Pro Nazis

 Formed the German Christians/Reich Church.

 Led by Ludwig Muller.

 They adopted Nazi-style uniforms, salutes and marches.

 Their slogan was ‘The Swastika on our breasts and the cross in our hearts’.

 Any ‘non-Aryan’ ministers were dismissed.

Anti-Nazis

 Set up the Confessional Church which criticised the Nazi regime and German Christians.

 Led by Pastor Martin Niemoller who was sent to Dachau concentration camp.

The German Faith Movement

 The Nazis established their own church, The German Faith Movement, in 1934.

 This was based on pagan beliefs and had few members.

It is believed that Hitler may have tried to replace Christianity with this movement.

The Catholic church

Image caption,

Pope Pius XII labelled Hitler 'a mad prophet with repulsive arrogance'

Initially, the Concordat (an agreement signed with the Vatican in July 1933) appeared to work
satisfactorily.

The Church stayed out of politics in return for the Nazis letting its religious services, youth groups and
schools continue to operate.

However, as time passed some Catholics opposed Hitler because he broke the Concordat’s terms.

The Nazis campaigned to stop children attending Catholic schools, they ended the Catholic youth
movement and they harassed priests.

The Catholic church also opposed Hitler because of growing censorship and the persecution of the
Jews, and later its policy ofeuthanasia.

In 1937, a letter from Pope Pius XII attacking Hitler as 'a mad prophet with repulsive arrogance' was
read in every Catholic Church.

A number of priests were imprisoned for doing this.

In all, 400 German Catholic priests were imprisoned in Dachau concentration camp.

Although individual clerics opposed the regime, most remained quiet.

They did not speak out more vocally because they feared Hitler would eliminate religion completely
if there were stronger protests from the churches.

Overall, the Nazis had some successes in trying to undermine the influence of the Protestant and
Catholic Churches and limit their criticism of Hitler, but they never eliminated religion’s influence.

Opposition from young people

In 1933, Hitler Youth took over all youth movements in Germany, except Catholic ones (which were
eliminated in 1936).

Not all young people became part of the Hitler Youth movement. A significant minority managed to
avoid joining.

Some even established rival youth groups.

The Edelweiss Pirates

Image caption,

The Edelweiss Pirates

The main working class youth group which opposed Hitler was the Edelweiss Pirates.

Members reacted to the discipline of the Hitler Youth by daubing anti-Nazi slogans and singing pre-
1933 folk songs.

Their main activity was camping trips to the countryside to get away from the stifling control of the
Nazis.

In 1942, over 700 of them were arrested. In 1944, the Pirates in Cologne killed the Gestapo chief, so
the Nazis publicly hanged 13 of them.

The White Rose

The White Rose group was formed by students at Munich University in 1943.

They published anti-Nazi leaflets, distributed posters, wrote anti-Nazi graffiti and marched through
the city in protest at Hitler’s policies.

Its leaders, brother and sister Hans and Sophie Scholl, were arrested and sentenced to death.

Swing Youth and Jazz Youth

The Swing Youth and Jazz Youth groups were mainly upper middle class young people who rejected
Nazi values as well as having the money to visit night clubs.

They danced the jitterbug to banned jazz music.

They were closely monitored by the Gestapo, who regularly raided illegal jazz clubs

Introduction
Image caption,

Adolf Hitler and Nazi Youth leader Baldur von Schirach on their arrival in the stadium for the Hitler
Youth rally

Hitler’s main ways of indoctrinating and controlling young people were through:

 Education

 Youth movements

 Propaganda and censorship

Education

Schools and universities were to:

 Indoctrinate young people into the racial ideas of Nazism and make children loyal to Hitler -
this was in effect a form of brainwashing.

 Train girls to be good Aryan wives and mothers, and prepare boys to be effective soldiers.
  Make young people “swift as a greyhound, as tough as leather, and as hard as Krupp steel”.

Teachers

All teachers had to join the Nazi Teachers’ Association, which vetted them for political and racial
suitability.

Textbooks

Textbooks were rewritten, especially in history and biology, to promote Germany’s 'greatness', Aryan
'supremacy' and anti-semitism.

Curriculum

The curriculum in schools was altered to reflect Nazi ideology and priorities.

 The importance put on subjects like chemistry and mathematics was reduced.

 By the end of the 1930s, religious education was banned.

 Fitness was vital so children had at least five one-hour sessions of physical education (PE)
every week, often for two hours per day.

 Eugenics (race studies) was added to the curriculum.

 Boys mostly studied history, eugenics and PE. Boxing was compulsory.

 Girls primarily studied home economics, eugenics and PE.

Jewish children were humiliated at school and then, in 1938, banned from education.

Adolf Hitler Schools

Boys with potential to be future leaders were sent to special Adolf Hitler Schools. These were free
boarding schools, run on military lines, for boys aged 12 to 18 years.

Castles of Order were set up for young men of talent, usually in their mid-twenties. There they
completed their military and leadership training. Live ammunition was used and the frequent
endurance tasks were brutal.

Youth organisations in Nazi Germany

Image caption,

Hitler Youth poster from 1936

In 1933, the Hitler Youth (HJ) took over all youth movements in Germany, except Catholic ones -
which were eliminated in 1936.

The Youth Law in 1936 made membership practically compulsory for Hitler Youth.

The HJ aimed to:

 Control the activities of young people outside the classroom.

 Make them loyal to Hitler.

 Train boys to be soldiers and prepare girls to be wives and mothers.

  There were separate organisations for boys and girls, and for different age groups.

There were also different activities for boys and girls, although both undertook fitness and
indoctrination classes.

 Boys enrolled in the movement at six years old, and joined the main group, Hitler Youth (HJ),
at 14. By 1939, 90% of German boys aged 14 and over were members.

 Boys fired guns and marched in preparation for the army.

 Girls enrolled in the movement at the age of ten. They moved into the main wing,
the League of German Maidens (BDM), at the age of 14.

 Girls learnt how to look after a family.

The impact of Nazi actions and policies on young people

Positives

 Young people got to experience a range of new activities, like hiking weekends, in the Hitler
Youth.

 They had more freedom from their parents. Slogans like “Youth must be led by youth”
appealed to them.

Negatives

 The quality and breadth of education in schools deteriorated.

 Girls' educational opportunities decreased. Their curriculum was limited to home-making

subjects and very few went to university by 1939.

 Jewish children were persecuted at school and then excluded.

The effectiveness of Nazi actions and policies by 1939

The Nazis’ youth policies had mixed results.

Successes

 Seven million joined the Hitler Youth (HJ) movement.

 Most young people did not oppose the Nazis. Indeed, many obeyed the Nazis rather than
their parents.

 Germany had a more disciplined youth than in other European countries.

 The Nazis succeeded in ending most rival organisations, such as the Catholic Youth
Movement in 1936.

Failures

 Some young people established their own rival groups, such as the Edelweiss Pirates,
the Jazz Group and the Swing Group.

 Young people became more disillusioned with the youth movements as the years passed.
  Indoctrination was not totally effective. It reinforced existing beliefs but was less successful
in getting young people to accept new ideas.

How did Hitler change Germany from a democracy to a Nazi dictatorship?

Image caption,

Hitler greeting crowds at Nuremberg in 1933

In January 1933, Adolf Hitler became Chancellor of Germany.

He led the right-wing Nationalist Socialist German Workers Party (NSDAP or Nazi Party).

It had received 33% of the vote in the Reichstag elections in November 1932.

This, plus the support of the President, Paul von Hindenburg, was sufficient to make him Chancellor,
but did not give him complete control of Germany.

During the next 18 months, Hitler eliminated nearly all sources of opposition, both within the Nazi
Party and in Germany.

By August 1934, he had declared himself Führer - the sole leader of Germany.

The Reichstag Fire

Image caption,

The Reichstag on fire, February 27 1933

In January 1933, the majority of the seats in the Reichstag belonged to Hitler’s rivals.

This was a problem because he needed to gain control of two-thirds of the seats in order to change
the constitution to enable him to create a dictatorship.

He therefore convinced President Hindenburg to call a new Reichstag election for March 1933.

However, on 27 February 1933, a few days before the election, the Reichstag building was set on fire.

A Dutch communist, Marinus van der Lubbe, was caught in the burning parliament.

Hitler therefore used the fire as an excuse to persuade President Hindenburg that there was
a communist plot to overthrow the government.

The Law for the Protection of People and State

As a direct result of the Reichstag fire, the President, to whom the constitution had given a decree in
an emergency, approved the Law for the Protection of People and State.

The Law for the Protection of People and State was an important step in Hitler becoming a dictator.

It removed many people’s civil rights.

The key terms were:

 The removal of freedom of speech.

 The introduction of state censorship.

 The removal of personal freedom.

 The removal of a right to free assembly.

Question

How did the Law for the Protection of the People and State help Hitler?

Show answer

The Reichstag election, 5 March 1933

On 5 March 1933, a few days after the fire, the election took place. However, despite their
advantages, the Nazis still did not gain the majority of seats that they needed.

The March 1933 Reichstag election results

Party Seats

The Nazi Party 288 Seats

Social Democrats 120 seats

The Communist Party 81 seats

The Centre Party 74 seats

Party Seats

DNVP (Nationalist Party)52 seats

Overall, 44% of the German people voted for the Nazis.

Question

Why did the Nazis still not have enough votes with 288 seats?

Show answer

The Enabling Act

Image caption,

Hitler addresses the Reichstag on March 23 1933 as the Enabling Act comes into force

When the Reichstag met on 23 March 1933, Hitler was able to secure the passing of an important
law, the Enabling Act.

He did this by:

 Banning the Communist Party and arresting other opposition party members using the The
Law for the Protection of People and State.

 Persuading the Nationalist Party to support him in the Reichstag.

 Doing a deal with the Centre Party by promising to protect the rights of Catholics.

 Using SA intimidation and violence against other parties.

Therefore, on the 23 March 1933, the Enabling Act was passed by the Reichstag by 441 votes to 94.

Question

Why was the Enabling Act so significant?

Show answer

Gleichschaltung
Gleichschaltung meant the co-ordination of all aspects of life - political, social and cultural - to fit in
with Nazi ideas.

Hitler extended his power over key organisations either by taking them over, abolishing them, or
doing a deal with them.

 March 1933: State parliaments closed down and re-established with Nazi majorities.

 April 1933: Jews and political opponents removed from jobs in the civil service and legal
profession.

 May 1933: Trade unions banned.

 July 1933: All opposition parties were banned.

 January 1934: Law for the Reconstruction of the State abolished all state governments apart
from Prussia’s.

These changes made Germany a one-party state and destroyed democracy in the country.

The threat from Röhm and the SA

Image caption,

Hitler and Ernst Röhm

The SA was the military wing of the Nazi Party and its leader was Ernst Röhm.

The SA had been very important in getting Hitler into power in January 1933 and in securing
the Enabling Act in March 1933, but by 1934 Hitler wanted to get rid of this organisation.

Hitler had a number of reasons for wanting to eliminate the SA:

 It wanted to merge the German army under their control.

 It had become something of an embarrassment due to thuggish behaviour.

 It had two million members under Röhm by 1933.

  It had too many left wing ideas and talked of a second revolution which would give the SA
more control over Germany.

The Night of the Long Knives, June 1934

Despite the SA’s plans, Hitler could not afford to lose the support of the German army.

It was the only remaining group which could challenge the Nazis and so, on 30 June 1934, Hitler
ordered the SS (Hitler's personal bodyguards) to murder approximately 400 people, including Röhm.

They were mostly SAleaders but also included a number of other opponents that Hitler wanted to
eliminate, like Kurt von Schleicher, the last Chancellor before Hitler’s appointment.

In public, Hitler justified the slaughter by accusing the SA of being homosexuals and plotting against
Germany.

On 3 July 1934, the Reichstag passed a law retrospectively legalising The Night of the Long Knives.

The Night of the Long Knives was very significant because:

 It destroyed all opposition to Hitler within the Nazi Party.

 It served as a warning to all Nazi opponents, discouraging potential opponents as they knew
they would be dealt with ruthlessly.

 As a result, the Army publicly declared support for Hitler’s actions - grateful to him for
removing the SA as a threat.

 It gave more power to the brutal SS, which became more important than the Nazi Party in
running the dictatorship.

 It discouraged potential opponents because they knew they would be dealt with ruthlessly.

The death of President Hindenburg and Hitler becomes Führer

Image caption,

Soldiers swearing the oath of loyalty to Adolf Hitler, following the death of President Hindenburg on
2 August 1934

When President Hindenburg died on 2 August 1934, Hitler did not hold an election to replace him.

Instead, he declared himself President, Chancellor and Head of the Army and became known as
the Führer (leader).

Following Hindenburg's death and in return for the elimination of Rohm and the SA, the army
generals agreed to swear an oath of allegiance to the new Führer.

On 20 August 1934, all soldiers in the German army agreed to “unconditional obedience” to Hitler.

The German people subsequently approved of Hitler’s actions in a plebiscite.

Therefore, by August 1934, Hitler had absolute power over Germany - he had created a “totalitarian
state” with one party and one leader.