AS Modern History - Germany 1919 - 1963 exam questions overview

1. Western Allied Aims + Policies

- Wanted a wealthy and rich west allied zones

- Truman Doctrine and Marshall Plan, Bizonia + Trizonia

- Stalin thought he was being ganged up on, introduction of Deutchmark annoyed Stalin further but Allied forces pressed on with it anyway

- should take quite a bit of blame as pushed on with deutchamrk even when stalin didnt like it, and formed bizonia and trizonia, looked like ganging up on Stalin

2. Legacy Of WWll

- Red Army wanted revenge on facism, stalin wanted to make sure germany could never wage war on russia again

Zones- UK Zone - 27% of land + 22 million people, US Zone - 30% of land + 17 Million people, FR Zone - 12% of land + 6 million people

3. Communist (USSR) Aims + Policies

- Wanted a weak and neutral Germany that could never attack Russia again

- Berlin Blockade - shut off West Berlin - provoked by Americans, didnt need to do it and it didnt work

- Should take half the blame for division of Germany as it was Stalind idea to put up Berlin blockade

4. Germany - W.Allied Zones + Adenaur

- Made W.Germany a very wealthy country, didnt have much choice as was being bossed around by everybody

- had to make a choice whether to stay on west or east side, but didnt have a choice when it was divided

- didnt have much blame as they didnt really have a choice as they were being bossed around and caught up in the middle of it

1.Role Of Depression - wall street crash 1929 - Americans call in German loans, 1 worker in 3 becomes unemployed + Job uncertainty for many more

- soup kitchens/ homelessness were introduced

- Govt was under pressure to cut spending E.G on the welfare state

2. Role of Hindenburg/ Political Elites - Hindenburg president until he dies in 1934

- took lots of advice from other people and plotted and schemed regardless of the political outcome - used article 48

- Brunings Govt - 1930 - SPD + Nazis - Nazis wouldnt let bills pass cause chaos in Reichstag

- Papen Govt - KPD + Nazis - unworkable, extremist leftwing and extremist rightwing

- Schliecher - diagonol front - leftwing Nazis

3. Role of Extremist Parties (NSDAP + KPD) - Volksparti - Peoples party - had appeal to everyone, Hitler was brillaint leader and great politcal strategist

- made things unworkable though in the Reichstag - wouldnt pass bills

- Communism - had no real programme for the furture, KPD used violence to create fear of a russian style revolution

- Thalmann stood for president, collided with Nazis disrupting the Reichstag

4.Role Of German Society/Weimar Legacy - Conservative classes were in conflict with lower classes

- Depression caused panic, wanted Weimar to do something about it, depression also caused people to vote for extremist parties

- Weimar System - unworkable govts no bills were passed whilst these govts existed

1. Treaty of Versialle/Foriegn Relations - 29 million marks in reparations to be paid, loss of territory + army cut to 100,000 with no navy or air force

- versaille caused hyperinflation, people and government had no money

- Stressmans foreign policy - ehrsfullingpolitik - Loacarno Pact and Dawes and Young Plan, stressman agreed to western borders and reparations reduced, people still not happy about eastern borders

2. Threats to political society - Leftwing - 1918 -23 series of uprisings, merseberg, ruhr, red army created a fear of russian style revolution

- Rightwing - Junkers, ex army officers, aristocrats - Kapp Putsch - freikorps take over berlin, white terror + Munich putsch are other examples

- Weimar political system had good laws but had serious flaws as it had no attempt to democratise at all

3. The economy and its impact on soceity - Hyperinfaltion made the currency useless and everything was worth nothing

- middle calsses lost lots of savings in the banks as lots of banks collapsed E.G 5 in 1923

- Invention of new currency called reichsmark was breath of fresh air for economy, but middle classes now didnt trust the banks

4. Elites, Middles and working classes - germany was formed through war and it was the armys job to protect the government + reichstag

- Middle class - Lawyers, doctors and factory owners - all lost savings

- working class - factory workers, farmers, miners - some of them wanted a socialist revolution

1. Role Of Depression - Economic uncertainity, fear of communist revolution, middle class lost savings in banks and people were losing their jobs, turned to extremist ideas as a last resort and looked for an outsider to take charge

- voters were switching to nazis, there was no need to listen to hitlers apocalyptic views before the depression but they switched because of it

2. Role of Political System - hindenburg papen and schliecher, Hindenburg appointed hitler as chancellor and papen, bruning, schliecher and muller all messed up giving hitler a chance, papens cabinet of barons and schliechers diagonol front failed

- weimar system - coalition govts of muller and bruining collapsed, KPD and NSDAP in govt together meant that reichstag was unworkable

- unworkable govts were made because of proportional representation, Harzburg Front 1931 - DNVP working with hugenburg but not other parties in reichstag

3. Role Of Hitler - Hitler was deictaed to his task and was a lead to a new future, nazism was mixture of new and old ideas but it changed over time to include more capatilist views

- Political deals - Hitler had goring and his prescence to reassure him that communism wouldnt come through the back door, Dusseldorf meeting 1931 secured support from big businesses

- Position of fuhrer + his vision - had leadership principle of total obidience, democracy was seen as degenerate, fuhrer ruled by decree because he was the best person for job

4. Role Of NSDAP - Organsiatios, Hitler Youth, teachers doctors and lawyers, used violence to intimidate opponents, Volkischer beobatcher newspaper, nazi on every street

- electioneering and campaigning - speeches which targeted certain people, SA - appealed to some as excitement and radicalism, others saw it as counterweight to communsim

- Propoganda - Directed at certain people, e.g Farmers, mothers, unemployed, tended to solidify views instead of changing them