PreviousPreviousHomeNext

  Germany 1890-1928  [Revision Cascade]

This Cascade will give you points and ideas for writing an answer about any of the topics in the list.  And, when it comes to revision, you can use it to test your memory of the points and ideas you might want to raise in the exam.

Click on the yellow arrows to reveal the paragraph points, and again to reveal ideas for developing the point.

I have given you five points for every topic but, in practical terms for the exam, you will probably get away with remembering three or four.
  • open section 1.   Difficulties of Ruling Wilhelmine Germany
    • open section a. Kaiser
      • Historians think Wilhelm meant well, but his rule was a “disaster”
    • open section b. Weak, complex government
      • The government was a maze of different bodies – Kaiser, Chancellor, Bundesrat, Reichstag, Army – all with the power to throw a spanner in the works
    • open section c. Prussian militarism
      • Prussia – and Prussia’s needs – dominated the German government
    • open section d. Reichstag
      • Had to agree laws, and the budget, and was beginning to get organised (e.g. growth of SDP, Z) .
    • open section e. Socio-economic developments
      • Rapid industrialisation brought with it social problems and the growth of Socialism
  • open section 2.   Caprivi’s ‘new course’
    • open section a. Chancellor, 1890
      • Wilhelm replaced Bismarck with his army friend
    • open section b. Socialism
      • The Anti-Socialist law was allowed to lapse in 1890
    • open section c. Trade
      • Caprivi negotiated trade treaties which reduced tariffs, and thereby the price of food
    • open section d. Employment
      • Sunday work, work for children under 13, and more than 11 hours work for women, were forbidden .
    • open section e. Army
      • In 1893 he tried unsuccessfully to reduce the length of national service in the Army from three years to two
  • open section 3.   Why Caprivi resigned
    • open section a. Conservatives
      • Conservatives were calling him a Socialist
    • open section b. Agrarian League
      • Agrarian League was angry that food prices were falling
    • open section c. Army
      • The Army was angry at the reduction in National Service
    • open section d. Wilhelm
      • Caprivi was prepared to argue with Wilhelm, and threatened to resign – Wilhelm’s courtiers were telling the Kaiser to take on ‘personal rule .
    • open section e. Subversion Bill
      • In 1894, Wilhelm told Caprivi to draw up an anti-Socialist ‘Subversion Bill’. Caprivi refused. Although he persuaded the Kaiser to drop the idea, he resigned
  • open section 4.   Weltpolitik in Foreign Policy
    • open section a. Kruger Telegram, 1895
      • When the Boers of South Africa defeated a British Raid into their territory, Wilhelm sent a congratulatory telegram to Paul Kruger, the Boer president, and he openly supported the Boers during the Boers War (1899-1902)
    • open section b. Jerusalem, 1897
      • Wilhelm alarmed the other powers by making a trade treaty with the Ottoman Empire, entering Jerusalem (like Jesus), and promising to protect Protestants, Catholics … and 300 million Muslims
    • open section c. Kiaochow (1898) and the Boxer rebellion (1900)
      • Germany occupied the port of Kiaochow in China and forced the Chinese government to lease it to Germany as a naval base in the Far East – when this caused the Boxer Rebellion (1900) Wilhelm sent troops, telling them to act “like the Huns”
    • open section d. Morocco, 1905 & 1911
      • In 1905 Wilhelm visited Morocco and promised to protect it; France & Britain forced him to back down (Algeciras Conference, 1906), and again in 1911 when he sent the gunboat Panther to Agadir. .
    • open section e. Daily Telegraph interview, 1908
      • Wilhelm infuriated the British by telling them they were “mad as March hares” and that German people hated them
  • open section 5.   Weltpolitik in Home Policy
    • open section a. Wilhelm
      • A personal obsession of the Kaiser, who wanted “a place in the sun” for Germany
    • open section b. Colonies
      • Needed to protect Germany’s overseas possessions
    • open section c. Power and parity
      • A symbol of Germany’s power and parity with Britain
    • open section d. Support at home
      • Enthusiastically supported in Germany by the Navy League and German nationalists, and by industrialists who hoped for business contracts
    • open section e. Navy Laws
      • Needed to break a blockade in the event of a war = Admiral Tirpitz’s Navy Laws; by 1914, Germany had built 44 battleships, 58 Cruisers, 72 U-boats and 144 torpedo boats
  • open section 6.   Problems with Weltpolitik
    • open section a. International tension
      • Created tension with other powers, especially Britain
    • open section b. Arms race
      • Created a naval arms race with Britain, which immediately started building Dreadnought battleships
    • open section c. German Army
      • Created tension with the German Army, which resented the money spent on the Navy
    • open section d. Cost
      • Created huge government debt, and extra taxes – eventually the Reichstag refused to increase spending any further .
    • open section e. Reichstag
      • The SDP opposed the policy, which they said would cause a war, and the Daily Telegraph interview caused an outcry in the Reichstag which led to a curtailment of Wilhelm’s power
  • open section 7.   Was WWI Wilhelm’s failure?
    • open section a. Reinsurance Treaty
      • Cancelling the Treaty with Russia meant that Russia mobilised against Germany in July 1914
    • open section b. Weltpolitik
      • Weltpolitik gathered against him a much-more-powerful Entente of enemies
    • open section c. Schlieffen Plan
      • The ill-thought-out Schlieffen plan brought Belgium and Britain into the War and led to a ‘war of attrition’ that Germany was always going to lose
    • open section d. Falkenhayn
      • Wilhelm’s personal appointment of Falkenhayn as Army Chief led to the disastrous Battle of Verdun (1916) .
    • open section e. Navy
      • The High Seas Flett failed to break the Blockade, and the U-boat campaign brough America into the war
  • open section 8.   Impact of WWI on Germany
    • open section a. Military rule
      • Censorship; moral policing of women; military control over civilian workers (Patriotic Auxiliary Service Law, December 1916); and martial law in Berlin (Jan 1918)
    • open section b. Political opposition
      • The Burgfrieden (general support) had collapsed by 1918 and there was political ferment
    • open section c. Hunger
      • In 1916, Germans suffered the ‘Turnip Winter’, and by 1918, Germans were living on K-Brot, potatoes and berries
    • open section d. Disease
      • 750,000 Germans died from hunger and disease associated with the British Blockade, and scurvy, tuberculosis and dysentery were widespread .
    • open section e. Economy
      • War ruined trade, the economy declined 25%, the government was bankrupt, there was a shortage of male workers, and inflation.
  • open section 9.   Germany in 1918
    • open section a. Riots and strikes, Jan 1918
      • The British blockade and a harvest failure had reduced Germany to starvation (eating berries); there were Hunger Riots in Germany in autumn 1915, summer 1916, and September 1918;and half a million workers went on strike in Berlin (Jan)
    • open section b. Kiel Mutiny, Oct 1918
      • The Kiel Mutiny (Oct): German sailors refused to fight, and set up Communist-style ‘soviets’ (councils)
    • open section c. The government collapsed, 9 Nov 1918
      • Kaiser Wilhelm II abdicated (Nov) and fled to Holland
    • open section d. A humiliating Armistice, 11 Nov 1918
      • The German government signed a humiliating and harsh Armistice (Nov) which was a humiliating defeat .
    • open section e. Freikorps
      • Demobbed soldiers returned home but could not get a job; they joined Freikorps (private, right-wing armies)
  • open section 10.   Establishing the Weimar Republic
    • open section a. Berlin Strike, Jan 1918
      • In 1917-18 the harvest failed – this and the British Blockade was causing widespread hunger; half a million workers went on strike in Berlin
    • open section b. Kiel Mutiny, Oct 1918
      • German sailors refused to fight and set up Communist-style ‘soviets’ (councils); there were food riots throughout Germany
    • open section c. Kaiser Wilhelm abdicated, 9 Nov 1918
      • Kaiser Wilhelm II abdicated and fled to Holland; Philipp Scheidemann declared the new republic, with Friedrich Ebert as president
    • open section d. Armistice, 11 Nov 1918
      • Harsh terms: Germany had to withdraw from all lands it had occupied, surrender its weapons and navy, and accept blame for the war and reparations .
    • open section e. Weimar Republic, Aug 1919
      • The Weimar Constitution was declared
  • open section 11.   Treaty of Versailles: political impact
    • open section a. Harsh terms
      • Germany lost all its colonies and 10% of its land in Europe, lost most of its military and navy, and accepted blame for the war and reparations
    • open section b. Outcry in the newspapers
      • e.g. the Deutsche Zeitung vowed ‘We will never stop until we win back what we deserve’
    • open section c. Dolchstosslegende
      • The nationalist myth that the German army had been ‘stabbed in the back’
    • open section d. November Criminals
      • Weimar politicians were widely hated as the men who had betrayed Germany .
    • open section e. Kapp Putsch 1920
      • There was a nationalist rebellion against the Treaty
  • open section 12.   Reasons some Germans opposed the Weimar Republic
    • open section a. Monarchism
      • Right-wing monarchists regretted the abdication of the Kaiser and wanted to return to the old autocracy; they included many judges and civil servants, who undermined the government from within
    • open section b. Nationalism
      • Nationalists refused to accept Germany had been defeated in the War, hated the Treaty of Versailles, called the Weimar politicians 'November Criminals' and believed the Dolchstosslegende
    • open section c. Communism
      • German Communists wanted to copy the Russian Revolution and set up a government of soviets; they were a founding member of the Comintern and had a paramilitary wing ('M-Apparat')
    • open section d. Anti-Semitism
      • There was hostility to the Jewish influence in Weimar government (e.g. Hugo Pruess drafted the Weimar constitution/Walther Rathenau was Foreign Minister), culture and economy .
    • open section e. Entartung movement
      • Weimar Germany tolerated prostitution, homosexuality, drugs, cabaret, jazz and modern art; many Germans thought these entarten ('degenerate') and wanted a return to a pure 'peasant' culture
  • open section 13.   The Weimar Constitution
    • open section a. President
      • An elected president was head of state, but he did not choose the government or make laws (except in an emergency)
    • open section b. Reichstag
      • All men and women aged 20+ elected the Reichstag which chose the Chancellor and ministers who made all the laws
    • open section c. Bill of Rights
      • Guaranteed all Germans equality before the law and political and religious freedom
    • open section d. Proportional representation
      • This resulted in many parties and chaotic coalitions (e.g. Hindenburg and Papen asked Hitler to be Chancellor in 1933) .
    • open section e. Article 48
      • Gave the president the right to rule by decree ‘in an emergency’ (Hitler used this to establish a dictatorship in 1933)
  • open section 14.   Constitutional weaknesses: facts
    • open section a. Democracy
      • All men and women aged 20+ elected the Reichstag which chose the Chancellor and ministers who made the laws; but many Germans missed the Kaiser
    • open section b. Proportional representation
      • This resulted in many parties and chaotic coalitions (e.g. Hindenburg and Papen asked Hitler to be Chancellor in 1933)
    • open section c. Article 48
      • Gave the president the right to rule by decree ‘in an emergency’ (Hitler used this to establish a dictatorship in 1933)
    • open section d. Judges and officials
      • All came from the Kaiser’s time and hated the Republic; they treated right-wing rebels leniently (e.g. Hitler I923) .
    • open section e. Dolchstosslegende
      • Weimar politicians were widely hated as the men who had betrayed Germany
  • open section 15.   The Spartacist rebellion, 1919
    • open section a. Rioting in Berlin, 5 Jan 1919
      • Riots spread across Berlin, chanting ‘Down, down, down’; the disruption grew until half a million workers were on strike
    • open section b. Revolutionary Committee, 8 Jan 1919
      • The German Communist Party joined the rebellion and issued a pamphlet calling for an armed rebellion
    • open section c. Noske sent in the Freikorps, 9 Jan 1919
      • Noske (Minister of Defence) sent the Freikorps and the army to crush the rebellion
    • open section d. Luxemburg and Liebknecht killed, 15 Jan 1919
      • Rosa Luxemburg and Karl Liebknecht were executed .
    • open section e. Repression, Feb 1919
      • The workers called off the strike, but the Freikorps continued attacking into March; at least 2,000 rebels were killed
  • open section 16.   Attacks from the left, 1919–23
    • open section a. Spartacist Uprising, 5 Jan 1919
      • Riots spread across Berlin; by 7 November there was a strike of half a million – it was supported/led by the German Communist Party
    • open section b. Bavarian Soviet Republic, April 1919
      • With Russian help, communists set up a soviet in Munich; it was crushed by the Freikorps
    • open section c. Ruhr Red Army, Mar 1920
      • An army of 50,000 Communists, supported by mineworkers, took over the Ruhr; in April the Freikorps suppressed the rebellion
    • open section d. Saxon Free State, Mar 1923
      • Communists set up the free State of Saxony, led by Erich Zeigner .
    • open section e. Thuringia, Oct 1923
      • Communists rioted, and joined a coalition government which lasted until the Berlin government threatened to send in the army
  • open section 17.   Attacks from the right, 1919–23
    • open section a. Freikorps
      • Right wing soldiers who wanted a return to the old German Empire; they joined right-wing parties (which Hitler gradually assimilated into the Nazis)
    • open section b. Organisation Consul
      • A right-wing Freikorps group which assassinated left-wing government ministers Matthias Erzberger (1921) and Walter Rathenau (1922)
    • open section c. Kapp Putsch, Mar 1920
      • A rebellion of Freikorps against the Treaty of Versailles, led by Wolfgang Kapp
    • open section d. Black Reichswehr rebellion, Oct 1923
      • In Berlin soldiers calling themselves Black Reichswehr, rebelled, led by Bruno Buchrucker .
    • open section e. Munich Putsch, Nov 1923
      • Hitler planned a rebellion in Bavaria with the support of other right-wing politicians
  • open section 18.   The Kapp Putsch
    • open section a. Marinebrigade Ehrhardt mutiny, 13 Mar 1920
      • When the Freikorps group Marinebrigade Ehrhardt was ordered to disband, it refused, and occupied Berlin instead
    • open section b. General Seeckt refused to attack
      • When Noske (Minister of Defence) asked the army to intervene, it refused
    • open section c. Wolfgang Kapp formed a government
      • A nationalist civil servant, Kapp tried to form a government – but no prominent right-wing politicians or generals would help him
    • open section d. General Strike
      • The government fled to Stuttgart, where it called upon the workers to strike; Berlin was paralysed, the rebellion collapsed and Kapp fled to Sweden .
    • open section e. Move to Bavaria
      • Some conspirators went to Bavaria, where they got involved in Hitler’s 1923 Munich Putsch
  • open section 19.   1923 Crisis: causes
    • open section a. Germany stopped paying reparations, Dec 1922
      • The Germans defaulted on their reparations payments, which were damaging the German economy and causing inflation
    • open section b. France invaded the Ruhr, 11 Jan 1923
      • France invaded the Ruhr to take the reparations by force
    • open section c. Passive resistance, 19 Jan 1923
      • The German government called a general strike to resist; there was some sabotage
    • open section d. Hyperinflation, Jan-Nov 1923
      • Loss of production, together with printing money to pay the strikers, caused ‘hyperinflation’ .
    • open section e. Social chaos and rebellions, Mar-Nov 1923
      • There was social chaos, riots and looting; there were rebellions in Saxony, Thuringia, Berlin, Rhineland and Munich
  • open section 20.   The 1923 Crisis
    • open section a. Saxon Free State, Mar 1923
      • Communists set up the free State of Saxony, led by Erich Zeigner
    • open section b. Thuringia, Oct–Nov 1923
      • Communists formed a coalition government which lasted until the Berlin government threatened to send in the army
    • open section c. Black Reichswehr rebellion, 1 Oct 1923
      • In Berlin soldiers calling themselves Black Reichswehr, rebelled, led by Bruno Buchrucker
    • open section d. Free Rhine Republic, 21 Oct 1923
      • To resist the French invasion, separatists calling themselves the ‘Rhineland Protection Force’ occupied town halls and tried to proclaim a Free Rhine Republic .
    • open section e. Munich Putsch, Nov 1923
      • Hitler planned a rebellion in Bavaria with the support of other right-wing politicians
  • open section 21.   Hyperinflation
    • open section a. Prices rose
      • Prices rose – bread went up from 1 to 200 billion marks; the value of £1 went up from 500 to 14 trillion marks
    • open section b. Money became worthless
      • People got their wages in wheelbarrows; money was used as a toy, or as kindling
    • open section c. Many people were ruined
      • People on fixed incomes (pensioners, war widows) and people with savings were ruined
    • open section d. Speculators made a fortune
      • People with loans benefited. Speculators made a fortune .
    • open section e. Social chaos and rebellions
      • There was social chaos, riots and looting; there were rebellions in Saxony, Thuringia, Berlin, Rhineland and Munich
  • open section 22.   The recovery of the Republic under Stresemann
    • open section a. Grand Coalition, 1923
      • Stresemann organised a ‘Grand Coalition’ of centrist parties, which gave Germany stable government
    • open section b. Solved the hyperinflation, Sep-Nov 1923
      • As Chancellor, Stresemann introduced a new currency and reorganised the state finances; this ended the economic and social chaos behind the political instability
    • open section c. Foreign Minister, 1923–29
      • As Foreign Minister, Stresemann organised the Dawes and Young Plans, signed the Locarno Treaties and the Kellogg–Briand Pact, and joined the League of Nations
    • open section d. Economic growth
      • The economy was growing 4% a year;, production doubled, wages peaked in 1929 .
    • open section e. Cultural progress
      • Art and architecture, film and cabaret, and liberal attitudes
  • open section 23.   How did Stresemann achieve political stability
    • open section a. Grand Coalition, Aug 1923
      • Stresemann organised a ‘Grand Coalition’ of centrist parties, which gave Germany stable government
    • open section b. Called off the passive resistance, 26 Sep 1923
      • As Chancellor, Stresemann called off the passive resistance and the strike; this was unpopular, but it ended the crisis
    • open section c. Solved the hyperinflation, Sep–Nov 1923
      • As Chancellor, Stresemann introduced a new currency and reorganised the state finances; this ended the economic and social chaos behind the political instability
    • open section d. Saxon Free State, Oct 1923
      • Stresemann sent the army to suppress the rebellion in Saxony .
    • open section e. Bavaria, Nov 1923
      • Stresemann negotiated with the leaders of Bavaria to prevent a rebellion there (so that, in November, the Bavarian government suppressed Hitler’s Munich Putsch)
  • open section 24.   How did Stresemann achieve economic stability
    • open section a. Called off the general strike, 26 Sep 1923
      • This got production going, and helped to end the hyperinflation
    • open section b. Rentenmark, 30 Aug 1923
      • Stresemann called in the old worthless marks and introduced a new currency (the Rentenmark); this was vital in creating economic stability
    • open section c. Railways and Post Office reorganised
      • Stresemann reorganised the railways and the post office so they became profitable
    • open section d. Government expenditure cut
      • Stresemann sacked many public employees and cut the salaries of the others, which rescued the government’s finances .
    • open section e. Dawes Plan, 1924
      • This reduced reparations payments (so Germany found them easier to pay) and secured $800m of loans (which got German industry going and created prosperity)
  • open section 25.   The Dawes and Young Plans
    • open section a. Reduced Reparations
      • Reduced reparations payments (so Germany found them easier to pay)
    • open section b. $800 millions of American loans
      • $800m of loans (which got German industry going – the money was used to modernise factories – and created prosperity)
    • open section c. Ruhr evacuated
      • Because reparations payments were restarted, the Dawes Plan stated that the Allied troops would evacuated the Ruhr – the British left in 1926, the French in 1930
    • open section d. Reichsbank
      • The Plan set up a new Central Bank – independent of the government – to control German currency and interest rates .
    • open section e. Young Plan, 1929
      • The Young Plan reduced the total amount of reparations, and extended the final deadline by a further 59 years
  • open section 26.   Stresemann's successes abroad
    • open section a. Reparations, 1923
      • Stresemann started paying reparations so the British and French left the Ruhr
    • open section b. Dawes Plan, 1924
      • This reduced reparations payments (so Germany found them easier to pay) and secured $800m of loans (which got German industry going and created prosperity)
    • open section c. Locarno Treaties, 1925
      • Stresemann signed the Locarno Treaties, accepting Germany’s borders as set by the Treaty of Versailles.
    • open section d. League of Nations, 1926
      • Stresemann took Germany into the League of Nations; Germany was a world power again .
    • open section e. Kellogg–Briand Pact, 1928
      • Stresemann signed the Kellogg–Briand Pact outlawing war; this helped other nations to trust Germany
  • open section 27.   Cultural achievements of the Weimar period
    • open section a. Art and architecture
      • Cultural achievements included Bauhaus architecture, and ‘modernist’ art (Grosz and Dix).
    • open section b. Kammerspielfilm
      • The German film industry (Fritz Lang, Kammerspielfilm) was the largest in Europe
    • open section c. Literature
      • e.g. bleak, left-wing, anti-war novels (such as Erich Maria Remarque’s All Quiet on the Western Front, and Hermann Hesse's psychoanalytic Steppenwolf)
    • open section d. Cabaret
      • Germany was famous for its liberal and ‘modern’ attitudes – e.g. cabaret (Marlene Dietrich) – especially in Berlin .
    • open section e. Homosexuality
      • Germany was famous for its liberal and ‘modern’ attitudes – e.g. open homosexuality, left-wing plays
  • open section 28.   The extent of recovery: political
    • open section a. Success – Grand Coalition, Aug 1923
      • Stresemann’s ‘Grand Coalition’ of centrist parties gave Germany stable government
    • open section b. Success – Prosperity
      • American loans and rising wages made the German people content with the government
    • open section c. Failure – Nationalists criticised his policies
      • Nationalists attacked the Dawes land and Stresemann’s foreign policy as a sell-out to the Allies
    • open section d. Failure – Hatred of the government
      • There were strong underlying trends of nationalism, right-wing politics, anti-Semitism and a hatred of the Republic and, particularly, the Treaty of Versailles .
    • open section e. Failure – Continued desire for a strong ruler
      • Judges, officials and many people missed the Kaiser; AJP Taylor called Weimar ‘a republic without republicans’
  • open section 29.   The extent of recovery: economic
    • open section a. Success – Industrial growth
      • Factories were modernising; by 1929 production and exports were double their 1924 level
    • open section b. Success – Economic growth
      • The economy was growing at 4% a year
    • open section c. Success – Prosperity
      • The middle class was prospering and workers’ wages reached a peak in 1929
    • open section d. Failure – Prosperity depended on foreign loans
      • The economy was entirely dependent on foreign loans to keep it going .
    • open section e. Failure – Continued foreign borrowing
      • In 1924-1929, Germany paid 9 million Rentenmarks in reparations, but had borrowed 14 million Rentenmarks from abroad to pay them – this could not go on
  • open section 30.   The extent of recovery: culturally
    • open section a. Positive – Cultural achievements
      • Cultural achievements included Bauhaus architecture, and ‘modernist’ art (Grosz and Dix).
    • open section b. Positive – The film industry
      • The German film industry (Fritz Lang, Kammerspielfilm) was the largest in Europe
    • open section c. Positive – Liberal attitudes
      • Germany was famous for its liberal and ‘modern’ attitudes – e.g. cabaret (Marlene Dietrich), open homosexuality, left-wing plays
    • open section d. Positive – Anti-war sentiment
      • There was an anti-war sentiment (Erich Maria Remarque’s All Quiet on the Western Front) .
    • open section e. Negative – Right-wing hostility
      • Many Germans, especially right-wing organisations, regarded Weimar culture as decadent
  • open section31.   Weaknesses of the Weimar Republic in 1929
    • open section a. Constitutional – proportional representation and Article 48
      • The basic underlying constitutional weakness – especially proportional representation and Article 48
    • open section b. Economic – Germany was dependent on American loans
      • The economy was entirely dependent on American loans to keep it going
    • open section c. Foreign policy – hatred of Versailles
      • Nationalists still hated the Treaty of Versailles and attacked Stresemann’s foreign policy as a sell-out to the Allies
    • open section d. Cultural – hatred of 'degenerate' attitudes
      • Right-wing organisations regarded Weimar culture as decadent .
    • open section e. Political – a 'Republic without republicans'
      • There was an underlying trend of nationalism, right-wing politics, anti-Semitism and hatred of the Republic; the historian AJP Taylor called Weimar ‘a Republic without republicans’
  • open section 32.   Early Nazi Party
    • open section a. DAP, Jan 1919
      • In 1919 Anton Drexler – a right-wing Munich machine-fitter – formed the German Workers’ Party (DAP), a group which hated Versailles, Communists and Jews
    • open section b. Hitler joined the DAP, Sep 1919
      • The army employed Hitler to spy on Drexler's German Workers' Party (DAP)
    • open section c. 25-Point Programme, 1920
      • Hitler (in charge of DAP propaganda) brought out a statement of beliefs
    • open section d. National Socialism, 1921
      • Hitler took over as leader, renamed the party the National Socialist Party (Nazis) and designed its swastika flag .
    • open section e. Growth in numbers, 1923
      • Based in Munich in Bavaria, by 1923 the party had 55,000 members (including General Ludendorff) and 15,000 ‘storm troopers’ (the Sturmabteilung, or SA)
  • open section 33.   Nazi ideas in the 1920s
    • open section a. National socialism
      • The Nazis wanted to destroy the Treaty of Versailles, and advocated loyalty to Germany, state control of the economy, and equality, help for farmers and pensioners
    • open section b. Racism and Lebensraum
      • The Nazis believed in Aryan racial purity, anti-Semitism and Lebensraum (conquests in the east to give Germans 'living space')
    • open section c. Anti-Communism
      • The Nazis wanted to destroy Russia, trade unions, and the Communist Party
    • open section d. Mein Kampf, 1924
      • Hitler advocated a strong Government and complete obedience to the Fuhrer .
    • open section e. Revolution or election?
      • Until 1924, Hitler planned to take power by leading a revolution; after 1923 he changed this and worked to be elected into power
  • open section 34.   The role of the Sturmabteilung
    • open section a. Hall Guards
      • Formed in Feb 1921 by Emil Maurice to defend Hitler's meetings from attacks by Communists
    • open section b. Gymnastic and Sports Division
      • In Sep 1921 Hitler renamed it the Gymnastic and Sports Division of the Nazi Party, to avoid trouble with the government for having a private army
    • open section c. Brownshirts
      • The SA recruited ex-soldiers and angry, unemployed youths, fed and housed them in barracks, paid them a small wage, and gave them a uniform (the 'brownshirts')
    • open section d. Frontbann
      • After the Nazi Party was banned in 1924, Hitler renamed the Nazi Party (to the Freedom Party) and the SA (to the Frontbann) so they could continue to meet .
    • open section e. Street-fights
      • As well as guarding Nazi meetings, the SA went out looking for 'Zusammenstosse' (= street-fights) with political opponents
  • open section 35.   Munich Putsch: causes
    • open section a. Weimar weaknesses
      • The government of ‘November criminals’ was hated, especially during the chaos and anger of the French invasion and hyperinflation in 1923
    • open section b. Nazi Party strength
      • Based in Munich in Bavaria, by 1923 the party had 55,000 members (including General Ludendorff) and 15,000 ‘storm troopers’ (the Sturmabteilung, or SA)
    • open section c. Stresemann called off the passive resistance
      • This angered many Germans, who saw it as another surrender to the French; Black Reichswehr revolted in Oct 1923
    • open section d. Mussolini’s example
      • Hitler hoped to emulate Mussolini’s success ‘march on Rome’ in 1922 which had brought him to power .
    • open section e. Bavarian revolution cancelled
      • Kahr, Lossow and Seisser, political leaders of Bavaria, had cancelled their planned rebellion (4 November 1923); the Putsch was an attempt to force them to rebel
  • open section 36.   The Munich Putsch: events
    • open section a. The Beer Hall Meeting, 8:30pm, 8 Nov 1923
      • Hitler and 600 SA interrupted a political meeting in a Beer Hall, and forced Kahr at gunpoint to agree to support him
    • open section b. Rohm occupied key positions, 9pm, 8 Nov 1923
      • SA leader Ernst Rohm took over the Army HQ (but NOT the telegraph office); Kahr called in reinforcements
    • open section c. Attacks on Jews and newspapers, 8-9 Nov 1923
      • The Nazis rioted – Jews were beaten up, and the offices of the anti-Nazi Munich Post newspaper were trashed
    • open section d. The March on Munich 11 am, 9 Nov 1923
      • The Nazis met and marched on Munich; they were expecting to be welcomed .
    • open section e. Residenzstrasse battle, noon, 9 Nov 1923
      • The Nazis were stopped by police in Residenzstrasse, 16 Nazis were killed, and Ludendorff and Hitler were arrested
  • open section 37.   Munich Putsch: results
    • open section a. Nazi membership
      • Membership of the Nazis plummeted
    • open section b. Landsberg prison
      • Hitler was imprisoned for nine months and forbidden to speak in public until 1927
    • open section c. Publicity from the trial
      • The trial (before a sympathetic right-wing judge) gave him huge publicity; he became a right-wing hero
    • open section d. Mein Kampf
      • In a comfortable prison, he wrote Mein Kampf, outlining his ideas – it became a best-seller .
    • open section e. Hitler’s change of strategy
      • Hitler realised that he would not be able to seize power by a revolution, and decided instead to get elected into power
  • open section 38.   Mein Kampf, 1924
    • open section a. Hitler's autobiography
      • After the 1923 Munich Putsch made him famous, a publisher asked him to write an autobiography; Hitler wrote it as a political manifesto of his policies and aims for Germany
    • open section b. National Socialism
      • Hitler advocated loyalty to Germany, racial purity, equality and state control of the economy
    • open section c. An Aryan 'Master Race'
      • Hitler advocated the triumph of the Aryan race by armed force, because all races, especially the Jews, were inferior to the Aryan (pure German) ‘Master Race’
    • open section d. Lebensraum
      • Hitler advocated expansion of a German empire into Poland and Russia to get ‘Living Space’ .
    • open section e. The Fuhrer
      • Hitler advocated a strong Government and complete obedience to the Fuhrer
  • open section 39.   Why did the Nazis have little success 1924–28?
    • open section a. Economic prosperity
      • Economic prosperity: the Nazi principles of hate and blame were less than effective in a time when everyone was reasonably well off
    • open section b. Stresemann's political success
      • Stresemann's political success: the centre, pro-Weimar parties (SDP, Z, DVP) were co-operating and the government was stable and secure
    • open section c. Germany's international status
      • Germany's international status: Germany's admission into the League of Nations silenced the nationalists who were claiming that Germany had been humiliated
    • open section d. Hitler was banned from speaking
      • Hitler was banned from speaking: so the Nazis found it harder to campaign .
    • open section e. Extremism appeared ridiculous
      • Extremism (e.g. the Nazi uniforms/marching/salute) appeared ridiculous: William Shirer, an American journalist living in Germany, thought that Nazism by 1928 was ‘a dying cause … a joke’
  • open section 40.   Nazi decline,1924–28
    • open section a. Reichstag seats down from 32 to 12
      • The party, which had 32 deputies elected to the Reichstag in May 1924, won only twelve seats in May 1928
    • open section b. Votes down from 2 million to 800,000
      • The number of people voting Nazi fell from 2 million in 1924 to 800,000 in 1928
    • open section c. Ludendorff lost the Presidential election, 1925
      • General Ludendorff, the Nazi candidate in the 1925 presidential election, gained only 300,000 votes (Hindenburg got 12 million)
    • open section d. Unappealing policies
      • The Nazi principles of hate and blame were less than effective in a time when everyone was reasonably well off .
    • open section e. Shirer called the Nazis 'a joke'
      • William Shirer, an American journalist living in Germany, thought that Nazism by 1928 was ‘a dying cause … a joke’

PreviousPreviousHomeNext