Weimar and Nazi Germany

Treaty of Versailles

• Germany did not have a say in the negotiations - they had to accept it.
• 28^th June 1919 – German representatives reluctantly signed the Treaty.
• The terms of the Treaty –     
  • 1)  War guilt
  • 2)  Reparations
  • 3)  Military restrictions
  • 4)  Territorial losses
• German government refused to sign the Treaty so a new government was formed which agreed to sign – the Weimar Government.
• Treaty weakened government – the ‘stab in the back’ myth- people thought that the army had been stabbed in the back by weak politicians.
• The majority of Germans hated it – Treaty became a symbol of humiliation and defeat.

Spartacist Rising and Kapp Putsch

• January 1919 – Spartacist members staged an attempted revolution in Berlin against Ebert’s government.
• Rising was easily crushed by the Freikorps.
• Spartacist leaders Rosa Luxemburg and Karl Liebknecht were murdered.
• Kapp Putsch – many army members hated the Treaty of Versailles and because of the military restrictions imposed by the Treaty many joined the Freikorps.
• Led by Wolfgang Kapp, Freikorps units marched into Berlin and declared a new national government, the army did not stop them and so Ebert’s government forced to flee.
• Politicians appealed to workers for help - a general strike ensued.
• General strike so successfully that Kapp’s putsch collapsed within days as public services ground to a halt.

Weimar Constitution

• Constitution – rules by which a country is governed.
• German Constitution a brave attempt to set up a  genuinely democratic government
• Main features:          
  • 1) President elected every 7 years.
  • 2) Chancellor appointed from the Reichstag by President.
  • 3) Proportional Representation - voting system in Reichstag.
  • 4) Reichstag made laws.
  • 5) German people can vote; all have equal rights.
  • 6) Article 48, in emergency President, can make laws without Reichstag.

Crises of 1923

• During first few years German government faced many crises:
  • Crisis 1 – Occupation of the Ruhr
  • Crisis 2 – Inflation which led to hyperinflation
  • Crisis 3 – The Munich (Beer Hall) Putsch

•  How Stresemann dealt with the crises:       

1) Called off passive resistance in the Ruhr
2) New currency – Reichsmark brought in
3) Resumed payments of reparations

Recovery, 1924-1929

Foreign Policy

• Stresemann was Foreign Minister from 1924-29
• Locarno Treaties 1925 with Britain, France and Italy
• Guaranteed German frontiers with France and Belgium
• 1926 Germany into League of Nations ~ status as a great power was recognised
• 1929 Young Plan ~ produced a final agreement on reparations and Allied occupation forces withdrawn from the Ruhr.

Political Problems

• No single party ever won majority in Reichstag = coalitions
• 1925 Hindenburg was elected President
• 1924-9 had a more stable government. 

The Economy

• 1924 Dawes Plan: Germany got a loan from the USA to use.
• By 1930 Germany was one of the world’s leading exporters of manufactured goods.
• Weakness = depended on American loans which could be withdrawn
• Unemployment still a serious problem
• Employers said too much money was spent on welfare benefits = taxes too high
• Extremes of wealth and poverty

Hitler and the Nazi Party

• Hitler was born in Austria and was a soldier during WWI.
• Hitler was a good speaker, organiser, he was motivated, charismatic, intelligent and enthusiastic.
• Joined Nazi Party in 1919 and became a leader in 1922.
• Extreme Nationalist Group; German Worker’s Party.
• Only had 6 members in 1919.
• Group soon spotted Hitler’s talents as a propagandist.
• By 1920 Hitler was helping to draft the Party’s programme.
• Renamed in 1920 and became National Socialist German Worker’s Party (“Nazi”)
• Hitler organised the Nazi Party along military lines.
• 1921 – set up his own private army, the SA 

Hitler and the Nazi Party: Hitler’s Henchmen

• Josef Goebbels – editor of Nazi newspaper.

• Hermann Goering – in charge of the SA.

• Rudolf Hess – responsible for party administration.

• Heinrich Himmler – regional party chief.

• Ernst Rohm – set up and ran the SA.

Nazi Party change of tactics, 1924 – 1929

• Munich Putsch, 1924 = attempt to gain power through violence, this failed.

• The only way of getting power was by legal means.

• The Nazi Party was reorganised to make it more effective in elections.

• Worked hard to win the support of working classes – public meetings and anti-Semitism.

• Year by year, the Nazis gradually increased their membership.

• 1928 – attempt to appeal to the middle classes to gain their support.

• Public meetings.

The Depression, 1929

• October 1929 the Wall Street Crash – worldwide slide into the Great Depression.

• American banks recalled the loans which were the lifeblood of German industry.

• Businesses had to close, German exports slumped and millions lost jobs.

The Depression greatly weakened the Weimar

• Government: Unpopular economic policies – taxes raised, wages cut, reduced unemployment benefit

• Presidential rule – collapse of the government, Article 48 meant that President had special powers in an emergency so Germany was ruled by Presidential decree, President Hindenburg was 84 and well past his prime.

• The rise of extremism – more people were voting in elections and becoming interested in politics as they thought the Weimar government were so awful.

• As extremism increased, so did political violence.