Germany 1890-1945: Democracy and Dictatorship

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When did Germany become a unified country?
1871
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When did Kaiser Wilhelm become Kaiser?
1888
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What powers did the Kaiser have?
controlled Army / in charge of Foreign Policy / could dismiss and appoint Chancellors / could dismiss Chancellor's Ministers
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What powers did the Chancellor have?
appointed his own Ministers / led Bundesrat / put forward discussions to Bundesrat
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What powers did the Bundesrat have?
Prussia dominated / could discuss Government policies with Kaiser and Chancellor / proposed and approved Reichstag laws
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What powers did the Reichstag have?
pass, reject or amend proposed laws / reject or accept Military funding every 5 years
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Why did the growth of Parliamentary Government make it difficult for the Kaiser?
growing parties had more ability to reject Kaiser's propositions in the Reichstag
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Why did his want for Prussian Militarism make it difficult for the Kaiser?
Reichstag had to approve military spending every 5 years and believed Kaiser spent too much
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Why did Industrialisation make it difficult for the Kaiser?
poorer living and working conditions / immigration worsened antisemitism / growth of working-class interest in politics so more followed SPD
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Why did his want for Navy Laws make it difficult for the Kaiser?
Reichstag wouldn't approve all the expenses / Army Generals thought growth of Navy was at expense of Army
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Why did Socialism make it difficult for the Kaiser?
SPD often voted against Kaiser in Reichstag
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What was industry like in Germany in 1914?
coal production rivalled Britain / Iron and Steel production better than Britain / Electronics better than all of Europe
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What percentage of people lived in urban areas in 1910?
60%
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What were the disadvantages of Industrialisation?
population growth spread more diseases / Agriculture decreased so more imports (expensive food) / immigration increased antisemitism
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What was the purpose of the Navy Laws?
protect German Empire / increase industry / make Germany seen as world power / rival Royal Navy
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What was the Navy Law in 1898?
added 7 Battleships, totalling 19
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What was the Navy Law in 1900?
double number of Battleships to 38
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What was the Navy Law in 1908?
added 21 Dreadnoughts
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What was the Domestic Importance of the Navy Laws?
provided jobs / created conflict between Kaiser and Reichstag on spending / SPD's opposition helped Kaiser paint them as unpatriotic
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Why was the Navy League important?
represented German greatness / 200,000 members helped pass Navy Laws in Reichstag / increased Nationalism
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What was the Social Reform in 1891?
under 13s banned from working / women couldn't work >11hr days / businesses closed on Sundays
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What was the Social Reform in 1900?
industrial courts compulsory in towns >20,000
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What did Chancellor Caprivi do?
proposed many social laws however Kaiser sacked him in 1894 as he viewed him as too Socialist
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How many Germans were killed in the Battle of the Somme?
150,000
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How did War affect German Civilians?
food shortages caused starvation / people tired of long working hours due to fewer workers
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How many Germans died of starvation during and just after WW1?
763,000
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How did War affect the Navy?
disillusioned Sailors led a mutiny which resulted in Kaiser's abdication in October 1918
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What economic problems did Germany have in 1918?
industrial production 1/3 less than before war / average national income 2/3 less than before war / Germany's allies couldn't pay back loans from Germany
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What led to Germany's defeat in WW1?
Army Generals in control and Kaiser just a figurehead -> Navy Mutiny rid Kaiser -> Freidrich Ebert (SPD member) formed council 10th November 1918 to represent Germany until election -> Ebert signed Armistice 11th November
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What were the terms of the Treaty of Versailles for Germany?
Guilt Clause / Arms Reduction / Reparations / German Land Loss / League of Nations
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How much was Germany ordered to pay in reparations?
£6.6 billion
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What happened during the Invasion of the Ruhr? (January 1923)
Germany unable to pay reparations -> French and Belgian troops invaded Ruhr and took goods / Government ordered strike in Ruhr -> troops left
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How did the Invasion of the Ruhr lead to hyperinflation?
Ruhr (80% of German industry) not producing goods / money printed to pay striking workers meant Mark became worthless
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What were the negative effects of hyperinflation?
savings became worthless (middle class most affected) / essentials too expensive / people blamed Weimar Government
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What were the positive effects of hyperinflation?
domestic loans easily paid off / farmers got paid more / foreign visitors could buy more for their money
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What were the strengths of the Weimar Constitution?
proportional representation gave small parties fair number of seats / voting age reduced from 25 to 21 / President had to be elected
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What were the weaknesses of the Weimar Constitution?
proportional representation led to coalition parties / lots of small parties meant weak Government and disputes
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Who were the Spartacists?
left-wing Socialists / had Soviet backing / led by Rosa Luxemburg and Karl Liebknecht
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Who were the Freikorps?
right-wing ex-soldiers who kept their weapons / 250,000 members by March 1919 / organised by regular Army
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Who were the Nazis?
right-wing / hated Democracy and Communism / wanted strong Military and Government / had Paramilitary force SA / led by Adolf Hitler
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What happened during the Spartacists' Revolt? (January 1919)
Spartacists tried to take over newspapers and organise strike -> Freikorps shut them down
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What happened during the Kapp Putsch? (March 1920)
Freikorps marched Berlin fearing unemployment -> head of rebels, Wolfgang Kapp, fled -> Government organised Trade Union strike -> rebels fled the chaos
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What happened during the Munich Putsch? (9th November 1923)
Hitler + 1000 SA + 2000 supporters marched Munich to declare Hitler President -> met by State Police and Hitler fled -> Hitler found hiding 11th November and arrested
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What made Hitler try the Munich Putsch to gain power?
success of Mussolini's Fascist group in 1922 / economic crisis 1923 left people weak
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What were the benefits of the Munich Putsch for the Nazis?
Hitler wrote 'Mein Kampf' in prison so could preach his ideas / showed Hitler he need to change his tactics
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How did Stresemann stop hyperinflation?
created new currency called Rentenmark with value tied to price of gold
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What was the Dawes Plan? (1924)
Charles Dawes (American banker) designed plan to reduce reparations to £50 million a year
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What was the Young Plan? (1929)
reduced reparations to £2 billion / extended reparations until 1988
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Why were the Nazis opposed to the Young Plan?
extended burden of reparations for future generations
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What evidence was there that Germany was in a 'Golden Age'? (1923-1929)
industrial output double by 1928 / employment increased / Bauhaus School changed art
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What was the Locarno Pact? (1925)
between Germany, Britain, France, Italy, Belgium / agreed to permanent Rhineland demilitarisation
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How did the Locarno Pact aid Germany?
improved relations with bordering France / increased popularity of Weimar Government / boosted confidence in moderate political parties
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What was the Kellogg-Briand Pact? (1928)
agreement between 62 nations to avoid war
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How did the Kellogg-Briand Pact aid Germany?
showed Germany was world power again / improved view of how Germany was being led
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How did Germany joining the League of Nations aid them? (1926)
showed Germany's views counted / increased faith in Weimar Government's leadership
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What limits were there to recovery during the Golden Years?
agriculture saw little recovery / economy dependent on loans / Treaty of Versailles was still in place despite being widely hated
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How did the Wall Street Crash in America affect Germany? (29th October 1929)
USA demanded loans repaid -> businesses received no more US investment / Government had to increase taxes / millions of labourers lost their jobs
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How did unemployment change following the Depression?
1.5 million unemployed 1929 -> 6 million 1933
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How did the Depressions lead to support for Extremism?
disillusioned people wanted strong Government / Extremist parties promised work and food
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How did the number of Nazi seats change following the Depression?
3% of votes May 1928 / 37% of votes July 1932
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Why was Hitler so popular?
targeted propaganda to promise things to variety of groups / brave soldier who had won the Iron Cross / decisive so gave people certainty for future / emphasised Weimar Government failures
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How many SA members were there in 1930?
400,000
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What role did the SA play for the Nazis?
stood up to Communists / used violence to disrupt opposition rallies
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How did Hitler become Chancellor? (July 1932)
The Nazis are the largest party with 37% of the vote but are still not a majority
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How did Hitler become Chancellor? (September 1932)
Chancellor Franz von Papen calls another election and believes he can control Hitler
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How did Hitler become Chancellor? (January 1933)
New Chancellor Schleicher has little support so Papen persuades Hindenburg to appoint Hitler Chancellor and him Vice-Chancellor
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What role did Papen play in Hitler becoming Chancellor?
agreed with many of Hitler's ideas and thought he could control him so persuaded the Government to allow Hitler more power
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What role did President Hindenburg play in Hitler becoming Chancellor?
ruled by decree as he disliked Weimar republic / underestimated Hitler and thought he could control him
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How did the Reichstag Fire help the Nazis gain power? (27th February 1933, 1 week before election)
Hitler blamed Communist party and 4000 Communists were arrested / Hitler passed 'emergency Decree for the Protection of the People and the State' to imprison opponents and ban opposition newspapers
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How did Hitler change Germany into a Dictatorship after becoming Chancellor?
'the Enabling Act' (1933) was passed so that Hitler could propose new laws and overrule the constitution
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How did Hitler get rid of the SPD and other centrist parties? (22nd June 1933)
SPD banned for being 'hostile to the state' -> other parties dissolved themselves before they too could be banned
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How did Hitler eliminate all political opposition? (14th July 1933)
14th July 1933 banned any parties other than the Nazis
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Who was Röhm?
led at least 3 million SA / Hitler wanted to decrease SA to boost ** and maintain support of those who dislike SA thugs
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What was the Night of the Long Knives? (30th June 1934)
Hitler invited Röhm and 100 SA leaders to town Bad Wiessee -> on arrival they were arrested by ** and shot in Munich -> other killings occurred such as of Schleicher
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How did the Night of the Long Knives increase Hitler's power?
Papen was put under house arrest so could no longer control Hitler
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How did Hitler chance from Chancellor to Führer? (2nd August 1934)
Hindenburg died so nobody was there to stop Hitler merging Chancellor and President into Führer
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How did the National Labour Service (RAD) decrease unemployment?
all men 18-25 forced to serve 6 months
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What distorted the figures for unemployment?
Jews forced out of work / after 1935 more and more men were conscripted / opponents were sent to forced labour camps
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What public works programmes did the new Government fund?
building 7000km autobahns / building sports facilities such as Stadia for 1936 Berlin Olympics / draining marshes to create more farmland
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What were the Nazis' main aims with their economic policies from 1936?
rearmament / self sufficiency
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What was the Four Year Plan? (1936-1940)
finance Minister Hermann Goering in charge of meetin rearmament targets / very expensive but only somewhat successful
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How did the Government attempt to gain self-sufficiency? (1939)
farmers given subsidies and RAD labour / Scientists funded to find alternatives to non-German resources / controls put on imports
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How did rearmament help society?
more jobs were created manufacturing arms
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What evidence is there that the attempt for Autarky (self-sufficiency) failed? (1939)
Germany relied on imports for 1/3 of their raw materials
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How did weekly wages change between 1932 and 1939?
86 marks weekly in 1932 / 109 marks weekly in 1939
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What were the pros of the Nazis' economic policies?
public works improved transport / farmers benefitted from subsidies / unemployment reduced
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What were the cons of the Nazis' economic policies?
working hours increased after 1936 / Jewish businesses were boycotted / the unsuccessful Four Year Plan put pressure on the economy
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How did rationing due to war affect German People?
food rationing was set up August 1939 / 1943 all clothes were second hand / 1945 severe food shortages, scavenging and black markets used
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How did labour shortages due to war affect German People?
forced labour from PoW increased / after January 1943, all men aged 16-65 had to work along with women aged 17-45 (unless pregnant or farmers wife)
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How did refugees due to war affect German People?
July 1944 refugees flooded into Germany to avoid Soviet Union's Red Army / more food and essentials shortages
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How did bombing due to war affect German People? (March 1942-May 1945)
7 million homeless / 500,000 killed / 750,000 injured / factories and supply lines destroyed
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How did the Nazis enforce the policy that women should not work?
Banned women working from 1933 until 1939 when shortages of male workers required women to work
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How did the Nazis enforce the policy that women should get married?
'Law for the Encouragement of Marriage' (1933) gave to loans to married couples if the woman stopped working
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How did the Nazis enforce the policy that women should have children?
let off 1/4 marriage loan repayments per child / from 1936 child benefits given / medals for have >4 children
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How did the Nazis enforce the policy that women should stay at home?
Girls' education tailored towards being housewife / German Women's Enterprise (DFW) ran classes on home matters / grammar schools preparing girls for uni banned in 1937
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How did Hitler ensure the next generation were Nazis? (March 1939)
March 1939 compulsory for youths to join Nazi youth groups
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What Nazi youth group activities did only boys partake in?
military drills / shooting / forced military brigades to defend Berlin 1945
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What Nazi youth group activities did only girls partake in?
cookery / needlework / learning about childcare
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What Nazi youth group activities did boys and girls partake in?
learning about racial superiority / learning about Hitler / singing patriotic songs
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What was the Nazi education policy on schools?
children had to go to state school until 14 / boys and girls followed a set separate curriculum
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What was the Nazi education policy on teachers?
must be Nazis / forced to attend courses on Nazi ideas / must teach Nazi ideas
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What was the Nazi education policy on subjects?
15% time on PE / new subjects Race Studies and Eugenics taught / boys learnt to be soldiers and girls learnt to be wives
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What was the Nazi education policy on propaganda?
all lessons began and ended with Nazi salute / from 1935 all textbooks had to be approved by Nazis
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What evidence is there that the Nazi youth policies were successful?
youths generally supported Nazis more strongly than their parents / did improve fitness
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What evidence is there that the Nazi youth policies were unsuccessful?
opposition groups existed / military discipline was disliked / few other options of extra-curriculars
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Why were churches a threat to Hitler's ideas?
believed god was leader not Hitler / believed everyone is equal / believed in peace rather than militarism
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What was the Catholic church's experience with Hitler? (July 1933)
concordat reached with Pope that Catholics could continue worshipping and teaching / Hitler broke agreement by banning Catholic curriculum in schools
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What did the Pope say of the Nazis? (1937)
criticised Hitler and Nazi Policies / Priests that agreed were harassed or sent to concentration camps
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What was the Protestant church's experience with Hitler? (1933)
supported him as they feared Communism / formed Reich Church led by Ludwig Müller combining ideas
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What was the Confessional Church? (1934)
Protestant church in opposition of the Reich Church / members sent to concentration camps
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How many Protestant Churches were under Nazi control?
2000 Reich Churches as opposed to 6000 Confessional Churches
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What order was the Nazi racial hierarchy?
Aryans -> other white western europeans -> eastern europeans -> blacks and gypies -> Jews
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Why were Jews hated by the Nazis?
associated with Communism / often successful so people were jealous / blamed for Germany's WW1 defeat
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How did the Nazis control Roma People? (1942)
1942 forced deportation of all Roma people from Germany
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How many Roma people were killed by the end of the war?
200,000 / about 25% European Roma population
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What did the Nuremburg Laws say? (1935)
only those of German blood can be citizens / Jews cannot vote, have a German passport, or work for Government / no non-Aryan can have sexual relations with a German citizen
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How did the Nazis treat disabled people? (1934-1945)
sterilised 300,000 disabled people
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What led to Kristallnacht? (7th November 1938)
a 17 year old Polish Jew shot a German in the German embassy in Paris / Goebbels used it as propaganda against Jews
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What was Kristallnacht? (9th-10th November 1938)
191 synagogues, 171 homes and 814 businesses were destroyed and burnt
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How many Jews were killed during Kristallnacht? (9th-10th November 1938)
100 Jews were killed on Kristallnacht
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What economic consequence was there of Kristallnacht? (9th-10th November 1938)
Goebbels blamed the Jews and fined them 1 billion marks for damages
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What were the Ghettos? (October 1939)
1000 Ghettos were built to separate Jews from the rest of the population
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What was the T4 programme? (January 1940)
killing mentally ill and disabled people in mobile gas chambers
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What was the 'Final Solution'? (March 1942)
first gas chambers used to kill Jews at Belzec Death Camp
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What were the methods of censorship used?
public burning of Jewish books / newspapers opposing Nazis were closed / radios and newspapers were told what to say
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What were the methods of propaganda used?
Nazi posters everywhere / propaganda in films / huge military rallies to make people proud or scared
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What was the Reich Chamber of Culture? (September 1933)
led by Goebbels / sculptures, plays and films which glorified Hitler and war / banned things Nazis disagreed with
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What was the culture for Art like in Nazi Germany?
Gestapo visited artists to check they followed rules / not allowed to produce art unless member of the Reich Chamber
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What was the culture for Film like in Nazi Germany?
all cinemas had to show official Nazi newsreels before shows / details of all films had to be approved by Goebbels
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What was the culture for Architecture like in Nazi Germany?
traditional materials used / modern architecture disapproved / Hitler favoured Albert Speer as he designed major building of rally locations
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What was the legal system like in Nazi Germany?
all judges had to be Nazis and vote in Nazis' favour / trial by jury abolished in exchange for Judge's decision
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What role did the ** have in the Police State?
unlimited power to search and arrest / after 1936 in charge of Police State / in charge of WW2 Death camps
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What role did the Gestapo have in the Police State?
no uniforms so hard to identify / used torture during questioning
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How did the Police State affect German People?
fear of being sent to concentration camps / stifled debate / encouraged spying
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Why was there such little open resistance to Nazi regime?
fear of ** and Gestapo / opposition groups banned / some genuine support for Hitler
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How did the Edelweiss Pirates resist the Nazis? (1933-1939)
went on hikes to escape Nazi restrictions / wore American style clothing / read banned literature
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How many Edelweiss Pirates were there? (1939)
2,000 members, mainly urban and working-class
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How did the Swing Movement resist the Nazis? (1933-1939)
wore American clothes / drank and smoked / organised illegal dances
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How did the White Rose Group resist the Nazis? (1939-1945)
distributed leaflets about the atrocities they had witnessed of Jews being murdered
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How did the White Rose Group get dealt with by the Nazis? (1943)
all 3 leaders (Hans and Sophie Scholl and Kurt Huber) were captured and executed
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How did the Edelweiss Pirates and Swing Movement get dealt with by the Nazis? (1944)
some were publically hanged after killing the Gestapo head
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How did the Nazis deal with opposition so effectively?
severe punishments such as concentration camps / hangings were public as a message
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What was Operation Valkyrie/ the July Plot? (20th July 1944)
at a military conference in East Prussia, Count Stauffenberg tried to blow up Hitler but failed
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What were the consequences of the July Plot? (20th July 1944)
Stauffenberg + 5746 others were executed
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Card 2

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When did Kaiser Wilhelm become Kaiser?

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1888

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What powers did the Kaiser have?

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Card 4

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What powers did the Chancellor have?

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Card 5

Front

What powers did the Bundesrat have?

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