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November Revolution in Germany (Nobember 1918)
Occurred on 9 November, although Kaiser Wilhelm II, by then in exile in Holland, did not officially abdicate until 28 November.
The declaration of a republic by Philip Scheidemann, an SPD ( Social Democratic Party) leader, was followed two days later by the signing of an armistice with the Allied powers
was a civil conflict in the German Empire at the end of the First World War that resulted in the replacement of the German federal constitutional monarchy with a democratic parliamentary republic that later became known as the Weimar Republic
Weimar Republic
The Weimar Republic, officially named the German Reich, was a historical period of Germany from 9 November 1918 to 23 March 1933, during which it was a constitutional federal republic for the first time in history.
NSDAP
National Socialist German Workers’ Party or Nazi Party
was just one of a number of right-wing political opposition groups that developed in Germany in the early years of the Weimar Republic
founded in Munich as the Deutsche Arbeiterpartei or DAP (German Workers’ Party) in 1919 by Anton Drexler
the party soon fell under the spell of Adolf Hitler
SA
Sturmabteilung or "Brown Shirts" was the paramilitary wing of the Nazi Party
Initially, it was made up largely from the Freikorps and exsoldiers
They wore brown uniforms, following the lead of Mussolini's Fascist Blackshirts in Italy
The SA protected party meetings, marched in Nazi rallies, and physically assaulted political opponents
thus playing a key role in Hitler's rise to power in the 1920s and 1930s
SS
The Schutzstaffel
was formed in April 1925 as a section ofthe SA
functioned as a personal bodyguard for the NSDAP leader, Hitler
was considered to be an elite force and membership was restricted to those who were pure Aryan Germans
Under Himmler's leadership, the SS was used to carry out the killings on the "Night of the Long Knives"
It ultimately became one of the largest and most powerful organizations in the Third Reich
Mein Kampf (assumptions) (1923/4)
Mein Kampf is a book written by Adolf Hitler in 1923 in prison
outlined his political ideology and future plans for Germany.
the belief in the superiority of the Aryan race
the idea that Jews were responsible for many of the problems facing Germany at the time
Germany had to fight international Marxism (communism) in order to regain her world power status.
Marxism/communism was the invention of Jews intent on Jewish world domination (all Bolsheviks were Jews)
National Socialism was the only doctrine capable of fighting communism. Liberal ‘bourgeois’ or ‘middle-class’ democracy was the first stage to socialism and communism.
Lebensraum (living space) in the east. To achieve this there had to be racial unity, the elimination of Jews, authoritarian control and no tolerance of diversity or dissent.
unification not only of Austrian Germans with Germany (which was forbidden by the Treaty of Versailles ), but also the unification of Germany with German minorities
Gleichschaltung
this refers to a co-ordination process whereby all German institutions were to conform to Nazi ideals.
was the process of the Nazi Party taking control over all aspects of Germany. It is otherwise known as coordination or Nazification.
it was implemented in social, political and instutitional life
Svastyka was a symbol of it
Hitlerjugend
HJ/Hitler Youth
became compulsary in 1936 organisation for boys (14-18 years)
the purpose: to educate German children
The activities in the boys’ programme included camping and hiking expeditions, sport, music, attendance at rallies, and military training provided via specialized air and naval sections
League of German Maidens
Bund Deutscher Mädel (BDM)
established in 1933 organisation for girls, 14-18 years
programme included physical fitness and domestic science in preparation for marriage and childbearing
Nuremberg Laws (September 1935)
September 1935
Ban on the intermarriages between Jews and Germans
Jews and German cannot have sexual contact
German Jews are stripped out of their citizenship
the first amendment to the Nuremberg Laws defined anyone who had three or four Jewish grandparents as a Jew, regardless of whether that individual recognized himself or herself as a Jew or belonged to the Jewish religious community.
‘stab in the back’ myth
the idea that the German armies could have fought on but were betrayed by the traitors who had surrendered unnecessarily
In 1919 the view was widespread that the army had not been defeated: it had been betrayed - 'stabbed in the back' - by the democrats, who had needlessly agreed to the Versailles Treaty.
What most Germans did not realize was that it was General Ludendorff who bad asked for an armistice while the Kaiser was still in power (see Section 2.6(b)). However, the 'stab in the back' legend was eagerly fostered by all enemies of the republic.
the Night of the Long Knives (30 June 1934)
30 June 1934
It was a series of murders on the Sturmabteilung (SA), inculding Ernst Röhm - some 200 people were killed as Hitler used the SS t purge the leaders o f the S A and t o get rid o f other enemies.
In 1934, Hitler moved against the SA, as under Ernst Rohm was becoming a potential threat and an embarrassment.
Rohm wanted to join the SA and the army together and keep both under his control.
This was alarming both to Hitler and also the army leaders. Hitler did not want any challenge to the regular army as he needed its support for both internal security and expansion abroad.
Strength through Joy Organization
DAF established KdF (Kraft durch Freude)
Aim: raise workers morale and production levels
The movement offered incentives to working population - leisure facilities at heavily subsidized rates, of course under watchful eye of the Nazi state
Offered f.e theatre visits, sports, hiking, folk dancing, excursions by train to foreign countries, cruises on purposebuilt ocean liners, subsidized holidays in Germany and abroad, skiing holidays, cheap theatre and concert tickets and convalescent homes
According to Robert Ley, head of the DAF, it would allow the worker "lose the last traces of inferiority feelings he may have inherited from the past"
And also, it would boost output and contribute to the sense of solidarity - Volksgemeinschaft
Beer - Hall Putsch (8 November 1923)
shortly Hitler’s failed attempt to seize power, which took place on 8 November 1923 in beer hall in Munich
Nazis interrupted a political meeting in a Munich beer cellar. Under duress, three right-wing Bavarian leaders, Gustav von Kahr, Otto von Lossow and Hans Ritter von Seisser, were persuaded to agree to Hitler’s plan to march on Berlin and establish a new government. Immediately afterwards, however, Kahr contacted the police and army. On 9 November, Hitler and General Erich Ludendorff led a column of around 2000 armed Nazis through Munich. Shots were fired and Ludendorff was arrested. Hitler disclocated his shoulder when his companion was shot and both fell. Hitler escaped but was found and arrested on 11 November.
Concordat - terms (July 1933)
signed in July 1933
the Vatican recognised the Nazi regime
Hitler promised to not interfere with Church's affairs
Church would not interfere with state affairs/politics
the state promised not to interfere in the Catholic Church, which would keep control over its educational, youth and communal organisations.
Church retained a right to create Catholic schools and promoted Catholic youth organisations (but it was limited)
Concordat is concluded with the Pope whereby the Catholic Church is banned from political activity in return for a promise that its religious freedom will be upheld
Reason: Hitler wanted to cut off any religious influences, so that he could control the entire lives of German citizens.
Kapp Putsch (March 1920)
attempt by right-wing groups to seize powers
It started when the government tried to disband the Friekorps private armies
They refused to disband and declared Dr Wolfgang Kapp as Chancellor
They occupied Berlin and the cabinet fled to Dresden
The German army (Reichswehr) took no action against the Putsch (coup, or rising) because the generals were in sympathy with the political right.
In the end the workers of Berlin came to the aid of the Social Democrat government by calling a general strike, which paralysed the capital.
Kapp resigned and the government regained control. However, it was so weak that nobody was punished except Kapp, who was imprisoned, and it took two months to get the Freikorps disbanded. Even then the exmembers remained hostile to the republic and many later joined Hitler's private armies
Dawes Plan (1924)
At the end of 1923 the European countries were deadlocked regarding German reparations , so the Reparation Commission established a committee to assess this situation. The committee delivered its recommendation in April 1924 under the leadership of Chicago financier and future vice president Charles G. Dawes. The Dawes Plan decreased Germany's annual reparation payments, increasing them over time as its economy improved, but left the exact amount to be paid uncertain. Rich landowners and industrialists were content to endure the republic, as they were profiting from it, besides that- the currency had been stabilised, and industries like iron, steel, coal, chemicals, and electricals were seeing a growth.
Young Plan (1929)
In the autumn of 1928, another expert group was established to come up with a permanent solution to the German reparations issue. Owen D. Young, the head of General Electric and a member of the Dawes committee, served as the group's chairman when it suggested a plan in 1929, that would have decreased the entire amount of reparations sought of Germany to 121 billion gold marks, or around $29 billion, payable over 58 years. Another loan for $300 million would be offered on international markets. The last of the occupying forces would leave German soil and forein oversight of German finances would end. Furthermore, in order to enable the payment of reparations, the Bank for International Settlements was to be established.
The Law for the Re-establishment of the Civil Service (April 1933)
non-Aryans were forced to retire and Jews and other opponents described as ‘alien elements’ were purged from positions in the administration, courts, schools and universities
The intention was to remove anyone hostile to National Socialism as well as those of Jewish descent in public service - employees in the fields of the judiciary, diplomacy, and education.
It constituted a purge of the civil service, allowing the government to remove elements it considered anti-Nazi. "Officials who are not of Aryan descent" were to be dismissed, as were "officials whose political activities hitherto do not offer a guarantee that they will at all times support the national state without reserve "
German Labour Front (DAF)
It was an organisation which replaced trade unions and the power of organised labour (in 1933). Collective bargaining and the power to strike were forbidden. They supervised movements like Strength through Joy. They should use social peace within the employers and workers.
Gaue
The country was divided into them in
regions essentially the same as the old states or Lander
under a Gauleiter appointed by, and answerable to, Hitler
there were 32 such Gaue in 1934 and 42 by 1945
Each Gaue was subdivided into Kreis [district), Ort [town or city) , Zell/ [street) and Block [building)
The purpose of the structure was to coordinate Nazi control throughout the state and not only administer but also, in conjunction with the Gestapo, supervise the population ofthe Reich at all levels to enforce obedience and conformity.
Gestapo
the official secret police of Germany and Nazi-occupied Europe
their main role was to maintain order within Germany, however this was done in a great part by collaboration with citizens, who’d report “enemies of the state” to secret police (officers who’d not outwardly state their occupation).
Reporting somebody to the Gestapo was beneficial to ordinary people, which resulted in improving the image of police. Nonetheless, the government fostered the image of an all-seeing officer to conjure fear among the people. In this way, the Gestapo was not only feared, but also seen as a friend to people who agreed with the regime.
In 1933 Heinrich Himmler, leader ofthe SS [Schutzstaffel) originally formed as Hitler's personal bodyguard in 1925 but greatly expanded by 1933 - was appointed leader of the Gestapo.
Hence the Gestapo fell underthe control of the SS, much to the annoyance of Goring.
By 1936 Himmler's appointment as Chief of Police as well as SS leader led to a bewildering overlapping of police services and intelligence-gathering offices under Himmler and his second-incommand Reinhard Heydrich.
In 1939 the various police functions and forces were combined under the control ofthe RHSA [Reichssicherheitshauptamt, or Reich Central Security Office), which wielded authority over the Gestapo, the SS, the SD [the intelligence service ofthe SS), and the Kriminalpolizei [Kripo). From its formation until his assassination in Czechoslovakia in 1942, Heydrich headed it.
the letter ‘With Burning Anxiety’ (March 1937)
In March 1937, Pope Pius XI issued the encyclical (a papal letter sent to all bishops of the Catholic Church) With Burning Anxiety (Mit Brennender Sorge), attacking Nazi beliefs.
a criticism of Nazi breaches of the Concordat in relation to the Catholic religion in Germany.
State Labour Service (RAD)
Reichsarbeitsdienst
At first voluntary, service in the RAD became compulsory in 1935 for all Germans aged between 19 and 25.
In practice, RAD was cheap and regimented labour used to promote German recovery.
The recruits worked mainly on the land and building projects.
They were also subjected to the Party political indoctrination in the camps.
Dates
Axis Agreement with Hitler
Rome-Berlin Axis - October 1936 [informally linking Italy & Germany]
Anti-commitern November 1937 [Germany, Italy & Japan +others = anti-Communist pact]
Pact of Steel - May 1939 [military and political, Italy & Germany]
Tripartite Pact - 27 September 1940 [defensive military, Italy, Germany, Japan]
Hitler becomes Chancellor - 30 January 1933
The Reichstag Fire - 27 February 1933
The Enabling Law passed - 23 March 1933
Reich Church - May 1933
Events/issues:
Foreign policy of the Weimar Republic (Stresemann)
Under Gustav Stresemann, who acted first as chancellor and then foreign minister during 1924–29, the hyperinflation was halted. The currency was stabilized with the introduction of the Renten mark, and the Dawes Plan was negotiated with the USA. This plan froze German reparation payments for two years, scaled down the level of German repayments demanded by the Treaty of Versailles and also set up loans for Germany from the USA. These were important in helping to regenerate the German economy. This was followed up in 1929 with the Young Plan, by which the US agreed to give further loans to Germany. A much-reduced scheme of repayments for reparations was established to spread over the next 50 years.
Stresemann brought Germany back into the international community in other ways. In fact, Stresemann’s foreign policy aims to restore Germany’s position in Europe and to revise the Treaty of Versailles were not dissimilar to Hitler’s. However, Stresemann was a pragmatic nationalist who believed that cooperation with Britain and France was the best way to achieve these aims. Germany joined the League of Nations in 1926 and signed the Kellogg–Briand Pact, which outlawed war, in 1928. Meanwhile, in the Locarno Treaties of 1925, Germany agreed to uphold the western borders with France and Belgium that had been established in the Treaty of Versailles. Locarno was key to bringing about a degree of rapprochement between Germany and France and it ushered in a period of hope for European cooperation known as the Locarno Spring. Given the economic recovery and the new international standing of their country, many Germans were not interested in extreme politics and the Nazi Party was unable to make any electoral breakthrough. Although Nazi support grew in rural and protestant areas in the 1920s, it seems that it did not pose a substantial threat to the Weimar government.
Reasons for the weakness of the Weimar Republic
The Weimar Republic had to accept the humiliating Versailles Treaty which was associated with defeat and dishonour.
There was a lack of respect for democratic governments, with admiration for the army and ‘officer class’.
In 1919 the view about the Versailles Treaty not being a defeat of the German army was widespread. It was believed that democrats needlessly agreed to the treaty’s terms (stab in the back).
The parliamentary system had weaknesses: there were so many different groups that no party could ever win an overall majority (proportional voting).
The political parties had very little experience of how to operate a democratic parliamentary
System. The Reichtag (lower house of parliament) failed to give a clear lead because parties could not reach the compromise.
No strong government of the left was possible, since the communist refused to work with SPD (socialists).
Parties organised their own private armies, increasing the threat of civil war.
How was Nazi propaganda organized? - 45 w dokumencie
Joseph Goebbels, was appointed Reich Minister of Popular Enlightenment and Propaganda after March 1933
Goebbels recruited talented, well-educated party loyalists to staff the new departments of his ministry: Budget and Administration; Propaganda; Radio; Press; Film; Theatre; and Popular Enlightenment.
the state established a monopoly over all media
promoted a cult of the Fiihrer to bind the people together
Techniques used to "advertise " the party and the leader ranged from: radio broadcasts, film shows, torchlight processions, mass meetings, and the use of loudspeakers, banners and the innovative "Hitler over Germany" campaign of 1932 .
In the presidential election campaign of 1932 - during which Hitler ran against Hindenburg - Nazi " dynamism" was characterized by Hitler's literal use of flying visits across the nation to address audiences.
Article 48 of the constitution of the Weimar Republic
Allowed the German president to declare a state of emergency in Germany in times of national danger and to rule as a dictator for short periods of time.
The president appointed the chancellor (who ran the government) and, under article 48 of the Weimar Constitution, had the power to rule by decree in an emergency.
This power was used responsibly by the first president, Ebert, but the second, the old First World War general Paul von Hindenburg (1925–1934), chose chancellors from 1930 who could not command a majority in the Reichstag and allowed article 48 to be used to pass measures for which these chancellors could not get Reichstag approval
similarities and differences between Nazizm and Fascism
Similarities:
Both were intensely anti-communist and, because of this, drew a solid basis of support from all classes,
They were anti-democratic and attempted to organize a totalitarian state, controlling industry, agriculture and the way of life of the people, so that personal freedom was limited,
They attempted to make the country self-sufficient,
They emphasized the close unity of all classes working together to achieve these ends,
Both emphasized the supremacy of the state, were intensely nationalistic, glorifying war, and the cult of the hero/leader who would guide the rebirth of the nation from its troubles.
Differences:
Fascism never seemed to take root in Italy as deeply as the Nazi system did in Germany,
The Italian system was not as efficient as that in Germany. The Italians never came anywhere near achieving self-sufficiency and never eliminated unemployment; in fact unemployment rose. The Nazis succeeded in eliminating unemployment, though they never achieved complete autarky,
The Italian system was not as ruthless or as brutal as that in Germany and there were no mass atrocities, though there were unpleasant incidents like the murders of Matteotti and Amendola,
Italian fascism was not particularly anti-Jewish or racist until 1938, when Mussolini adopted the policy to emulate Hitler,
Mussolini was more successful than Hitler with his religious policy after his agreement with the pope in 1929,
Finally, their constitutional positions were different: the monarchy still remained in Italy, and though Mussolini normally ignored Victor Emmanuel, the king played a vital role in 1943 when Mussolini's critics turned to him as head of state. He was able to announce Mussolini's dismissal and order his arrest. Unfortunately there was nobody in Germany who could dismiss Hitler.
What measures were taken to fight with unemployment economic crisis in the 20’s?
Chancellor Bruning reduced social services, unemployment benefit and the salaries and pensions of government officials,
stopped reparations payments,
high tariffs were introduced in order to keep out foreign foodstuffs which would also help German farmers,
Government bought shares in factories affected by the crisis.
churches in Nazi Germany – treatment
Some of groups, such as the Jehovah’s Witnesses, refused to compromise with the regime and were deported to concentration camps.
The mainstream Churches proved much easier to influence. This is partly because the Protestant and Catholic Churches shared a good deal of common ideological ground with Nazism, in their dislike of Marxism, their conservatism, belief in family values and underlying anti-Semitism (even if in principle they spoke against it).
However, Hitler’s determination to set up an Aryanised social community left little room for religion. He feared an outright attack on the Churches would do more harm than good, but he wanted to restrict the Churches to a purely spiritual role.
The Protestant Church
The Protestant Church had never been fully united and, with the rise of Nazism, a ‘German Christian’ movement emerged.
This was mainly supported by young pastors and theology students who saw the Nazis’ ‘national uprising’ as the opportunity for religious as well as political renewal.
The German Christians described themselves as the SA of the Church and adopted uniforms, marches and salutes. Their motto was ‘the swastika on our breasts and the cross in our hearts’.
In May 1933, Hitler set up the Reich Church with the help of the German Christians, and he appointed a Reich bishop to co-ordinate the Protestant churches under his authority.
In September 1933, a group of 100 pastors headed by Martin Niemöller set up the Pastors’ Emergency League to resist the German Christians and defend traditional Lutheranism.
In October 1934, the Pastors’ Emergency League formally broke with the Reich Church to form their own Confessional Church.
This led Hitler to abandon his attempt to impose direct control on the Protestant Church through the Reich bishop.
The bishops of Bavaria and Württemberg were reinstated and orthodox officials and bishops allowed to continue in their positions.
This left the Protestant Church divided into three:
the ‘official’ Reich Church, which co-operated with the regime but tried to retain organisational autonomy
the German Christians, who tried to control the Reich Church but whose influence declined
the Confessional Church, which formed an oppositional Church and was subject to harassment from both the state and other Church authorities but had strong support in some areas.
From 1934, the Church suffered less from direct persecution than from attempts to curb its activities.
Confessional schools were abolished, religious teaching downgraded in schools, and young people’s time taken up with the Hitler Youth to such an extent that attendance at Sunday services as well as participation in other Church activities was hindered.
The weakening of the Church was, however, sporadic and unco-ordinated, because of the way the Nazi state was run, with some Gauleiters being far more anti-religious than others.
The Catholic Church
signed the concordat
however, Between 1933 and 1939, the Nazis increasingly tried to go back on their promises.
They used propaganda insulting the clergy and Catholic practices to encourage anti-Catholic feeling.
Catholic schools were closed and had almost disappeared by 1939.
Catholic organisations and societies were also removed. For example, in 1936, Church youth organisations were disbanded when the Hitler Youth became compulsory.
Why did the particular groups of the society support Hitler?
Why did the particular groups of the society support Hitler:
His arrival in power in January 1933 caused a great wave of enthusiasm and anticipation after the weak and indecisive governments of the Weimar Republic. Hitler seemed to be offering action and a great new Germany. He was careful to foster this enthusiasm by military parades, torchlight processions and firework displays, the most famous of which were the huge rallies held every year in Nuremberg, which seemed to appeal to the masses.
Hitler was successful in eliminating unemployment. This was probably the most important reason for his popularity with ordinary people. When he came to power the unemployment figure still stood at over 6 million, but by the end of 1935 it had dropped to just over two million, and by 1939 it was negligible. How was this achieved? The public works schemes provided thousands of extra jobs. A large party bureaucracy was set up now that the party was expanding so rapidly, and this provided thousands of extra office and administrative posts. There were purges of Jews and anti-Nazis from the civil service and from many other jobs connected with law, education, journalism, broadcasting, the theater and music, leaving large numbers of vacancies. Conscription was reintroduced in 1935. Rearmament was started in 1934 and gradually speeded up. Thus Hitler had provided what the unemployed had been demanding in their marches in 1932: work and bread (Arbeit und Brot).
Care was taken to keep the support of the workers once it had been gained by the provision of jobs. This was important because the abolition of trade unions still rankled many of them. The Strength through Joy Organization (Kraft durch Freude) provided benefits such as subsidized holidays in Germany and abroad, cruises, skiing holidays, cheap theater and concert tickets and convalescent homes.Gotz Aly looked at documents from the former East German archives which show in detail that the Nazis passed scores of laws extending and increasing social security provision, doubling workers' holiday entitlement, with pay, and making it more difficult for landlords to increase rents and evict tenants. According to Aly, the Nazi dictatorship was built not on ten-or but on a mutual calculation of interest between leaders and people.
Wealthy industrialists and businessmen were delighted with the Nazis in spite of the government's interference with their industries. This was partly because they now felt safe from a communist revolution, and because they were glad to be rid of trade unions, which had constantly pestered them with demands for shorter working hours and increased wages. In addition they were able to buy back at low prices the shares they had sold to the state during the crisis of 1929-32, and there was promise of great profits from the public works schemes, rearmament and other orders which the government placed with them.
Farmers, though doubtful about Hitler at first, gradually warmed towards the Nazis as soon as it became clear that farmers were in a specially favored position in the state because of the declared Nazi aim of self-sufficiency in food production. Prices of agricultural produce were fixed so that they were assured of a reasonable profit. Farms were declared to be hereditary estates, and on the death of the owner, had to be passed on to his next of kin. This meant that a farmer could not be forced to sell or mortgage his farm to pay off his debts, and was welcomed by many farmers who were heavily in debt as a result of the financial crisis.
Hitler gained the support of the Reichswehr (army), which was crucial if he was to feel secure in power. The Reichswehr was the one organization which could have removed him by force. Yet by the summer of 1934, Hitler had won it over:
Although some of the generals thought that Hitler was a contemptible upstart, on the whole the officer class was well-disposed towards him because of his much publicized aim of setting aside the restrictions of the Versailles Treaty by rearmament and expansion of the army to its full strength,
There had been a steady infiltration of National Socialists into the lower ranks, and this was beginning to work through to the lower officer classes,
The army leaders were much impressed by Hitler's handling of the troublesome SA in the notorious Rohm Purge (also known as 'the Night of the Long Knives') of 30 June 1934.
Finally, Hitler's foreign policy was a brilliant success. With each successive triumph, more and more Germans began to think of him as infallible.
The main principles of National Socialism
The Country should be united under one group; there was no place for various political groups.
In order to restore national pride and national status everyone had to dedicate their whole life so the country would be reborn.
Organisation of all lives by the state by terror and fear, if necessary.
The state was the most important matter; individuals' and their cases didn't matter.
Country had to be shaped in a way that it is always ready for war.
The race theory:
Aryans at the top of society (blue eyes, blonde hair, tall)
Slavs, people of colour were inferior
Jews and Gypsies were at the bottom of society
Shelley Baranowski and her theory of the source of German racism
Baranowski suggests that Nazi brutality in eastern Europe doing the Second World War was a revival and continuation of the Germans' pre-First-World-War attitudes, as was the creation of the concentration camps in 1933 for opponents of the Nazis.
When the colonie was rebellious, the Germans began showing signs of racism in their policies, producing a „genocidal mentality”. (African colonies, by starvation)
Similarly, during the first world war, when Germany gained control over some of Russia 's former territories German troops suppressed nationalist movements in these territories with great brutality, treating the Slavs as second-class citizens.
What, according to Ian Kershaw, made Hitler a Chancellor?
There was no inevitability about Hitler's accession to power ... a Hitler Chancellorship might have been avoided. With the corner turning of the economic Depression, and with the Nazi movement facing potential break-up if power were not soon attained, the future - even under an authoritarian government- would have been very different. ... In fact, political miscalculation by those with regular access to the corridors of power rather than any action on the part of the Nazi leader played a larger role in placing him in the Chancellor's seat. ... The anxiety to destroy democracy rather than the keenness to bring the Nazis to power was what triggered the complex development that led to Hitler's Chancellorship.
Kershaw tells us that General Ludendorff, who had supported Hitler at the time of the 1923 Munich Putsch, now wrote to Hindenburg: 'You have delivered up our holy German Fatherland to one of the greatest demagogues of all time. I solemnly prophesy that this accursed man will cast our Reich into the abyss and bring our nation to inconceivable misery. Future generations will damn you in your grave for what you have done.'
Marxist historian’s view about origins of the National Socialism
belevied that Nazism was in general the final stage and culmination of western capitalism, which was bound to collapse because of its fatal flaws
What manipulations did the Nazis use to improve unemployment statistics?
a series of measures that removed large sections of the population from unemployment tables
Victims of civil service purges were not counted as unemployed
married women were discouraged to remain in employment
Married women faced obstacles to pursuing a career
Single women were encouraged to quit their jobs, in order to be eligible for marriage loans
Introducing a labour service for young, unemployed man
Introducing a compulsory military conscription by 1935
Technically these measures removed large numbers from official statistics
Changes introduced in education system
Teachers who were seen to be hostile to National Socialism's goals or who were declared unsuitable to be in charge of the education of Aryan youth because of their Jewish heritage were expelled from schools and universities
Teachers who wanted to work in education were forced to join the National Socialist Teachers' League School (NSLB)
In schools, curriculum changes placed emphasis on sports, biology, history, and " Germanics " .
"Germanics," which aimed to demonstrate the superiority of Germans as a "culture-producing" race in contrast to "culture-destroying" races like Jews. This included language and literature studies.
Sports, as Hitler claimed that the new program's goal was to create "bodies which are healthy to the core" and capable of making a physical contribution to the country, whether that contribution be in the form of procreation or military duty.
Biology, which included a focus on race and eugenics (the study of population improvement via selective breeding), establishing the necessity for racial purity in the Reich by following the "principles" of "natural selection," and eradicating "inferiors" whose existence endangered the Aryan bloodline.
History, was used to highlight the glory of Germany’s history, the struggles of the National Socialist cause to eradicate the "evil legacy" of a corrupt and inept Weimar republic, and the dangers of Bolshevism
Incentives and disincentives introduced to increase the birth rate
Pro-natalist policies were the policies encouraging growth in the birth rate.
INCENTIVES:
monetary rewards were offered in the form of low-interest loans
married couples would receive a marriage loan of 1 000 Reichsmarks, to be repaid at 1 per cent per month, with the amount to be repaid reduced by a quarter for every child produced
A condition of the loan: the woman had to give up employment - leaving positions open for males.
income-tax reductions for married couples with children
and higher rates of taxation for single people or married couples without children
family allowance (child support) payments
maternity benefits
reduced school fees and railway fares for larger families
the provision of facilities such as :
birth clinics
advice centres
home help provision
postnatal recuperation homes
courses on household management, childbearing, and motherhood
The “Mother’s Cross” Award introduced in May 1939: gold for women who had given birth to eight children, silver for six and bronze for four
DISCENTIVES:
Denying women control over their own bodies in terms of reproduction.
Illegalization of abortion
the closing down of birth control centres
closing down access to contraceptive devices
LEBENSBORN- ‘the source of life’, the program created in 1936 that promoted giving birth to racially valuable children. It included creation of delivery rooms (izby porodowe) and orphanages for Aryan children. They took care of the single pregnant women (they gave them good medical care, food, legal support when they wanted to give their child to adoption). Later to increase birth rates they matched couples of racially pure people, the Lebensborn places were in Germany, Norway, France, Poland, Belgium. During the war they kidnapped children in occupied countries and through the process of germanization they made them Germans.
People:
Ernst Rohm
was a German military officer and an early member of the Nazi Party
as one of the members of its predecessor, the German Workers' Party, he was a close friend and early ally of Adolf Hitler
Röhm played an indispensable role in the early years of the Nazi Party as he used his World War I connections to grow the Sturmabteilung (SA, "Storm Units"), the Nazi Party's militia, which he co-founded.
Röhm was eventually made leader of the SA and led a campaign of political violence during the Nazis' rise to power.
His relationship with Hitler began to deteriorate once the Nazis seized national power in 1933. As the Nazi government began securing itself, the tension between Hitler and Röhm escalated.
Throughout 1933, Röhm attempted to obtain more power for the SA, which the German Army saw as a growing threat to their position. Hitler came to see Röhm as a potential rival and decided to eliminate him. Röhm was executed by the SS in 1934 during the Night of the Long Knives.
Franz von Papen
chancellor in the Weimar Republic between June 1932–November 1932
Appointed chancellor in 1932 by President Paul von Hindenburg, Papen ruled by presidential decree (article 48)
His failure to secure a base of support in the Reichstag led to his dismissal by Hindenburg and replacement by General Kurt von Schleicher.
Determined to return to power, Papen, believing that Adolf Hitler could be controlled once he was in the government, persuaded Hindenburg into appointing Hitler as chancellor and Papen as vice-chancellor in 1933 in a cabinet ostensibly not under Nazi Party domination.
Seeing military dictatorship as the only alternative to Nazi rule, Hindenburg consented.
Papen and his allies were quickly marginalized by Hitler and he left the government after the Night of the Long Knives in 1934, during which the Nazis killed some of his confidants
Walter Rathenau
he was killed in one of the assasinations by right-wing groups in 1922 - Victims included Walter Rathenau (the Jewish Foreign Minister)
Rathenau initiated the 1922 Treaty of Rapallo, which removed major obstacles to trading with Soviet Russia. Although Russia was already aiding Germany's secret rearmament programme, right-wing nationalist groups branded Rathenau a revolutionary, also resenting his background as a successful Jewish businessman.
Two months after the signing of the treaty, Rathenau was assassinated by the right-wing paramilitary group in Berlin. Some members of the public viewed Rathenau as a democratic martyr; after the Nazis came to power in 1933 they banned all commemoration of him.
Dr Joseph Goebbels,
Paul Joseph Goebbels (1897– 1945)
Goebbels joined the Nazi movement in 1924
became director of Nazi propaganda in 1929.
In 1933, he became minister for enlightenment and propaganda.
He committed suicide shortly before Hitler, in Hitler’s bunker in Berlin in 1945
Joseph Goebbels was responsible for the Nazi propaganda campaign from 1929 when he was appointed Reich Propaganda Leader of the NSDAP.
Prior to that he had published Der Angriff ( The Attack), a weekly newspaper dedicated to promoting Nazi ideas. Goebbels has been credited with the stage -managing of Nazi propaganda that helped capture the attention of potential supporters in the period before 1933
Martin Niemöller
Martin Niemöller (1892– 1984)
was a co-founder of the Confessional Church
In 1933, he was working as a Protestant pastor in Berlin where he initially welcomed Hitler as chancellor
However, he opposed Hitler’s efforts to politicise the Church
In September 1933, a group of 100 pastors headed by Martin Niemöller set up the Pastors’ Emergency League to resist the German Christians and defend traditional Lutheranism
He was arrested in 1937 for his outspokenness and sent to Sachsenhausen concentration camp
During his time in prison he repudiated his earlier anti-Semitism
He was released by the Allies in 1945
Leni Riefenstahl
was a great producers
flourished and produced works of art, even if the ideological themes were controversial
produced the Triumph of Will (1935) about the Nuremberg Party Rally and Olympia (1938) on the 1936 Olympic Games held in Berlin
was a particularly innovative and talented director
Werner von Blomberg
he was the Minister of Defence and Supreme Commander of armed forces.
Revelations by Berlin police that his new wife had links with prostitution occurred
It was enough for Hitler to demand his resignation and for Blomberg to agree as a matter of honour
Hitler became his own war minister, so combining his position as supreme commander (the president’s role) with an additional political role
was forced to resign in 1938
Had challenged Hitler’s concept of Lebensraum in 1937 at the Hossbach Conference of 5 November 1937, while which Hitler laid down aggressive plans for rapid expansion in the east.
Destroyed by intrigue and scandal organized by the Nazis
Werner von Fritsch
as Commander-in-Chief of the German Army from 1934
He was given charges that he had committed acts of homosexuality
Trial found no substance to the charges
But still, his honour was called into question by publicity so he resigned
Were forced to resign in 1938
Had challenged Hitler’s concept of Lebensraum in 1937 at the Hossbach Conference of 5 November 1937, while which Hitler laid down aggressive plans for rapid expansion in the east
Destroyed by intrigue and scandal organized by the Nazis
Ludwik Beck
was a general who in 1938 plotted a coupe against the regime
Worried about the possibility of war over the Sudetenland issue, he created a group of conspirators who made contact with the British Prime Minister
However Chamberlain’s policy of active appeasement and lack of support rendered any coup impractical
Beck disappointed but was not discovered as a plotter against Hitler, so he continued his work in the opposition, alongside Friederich Goerdeler, a leading conservative politician
Together they formed a Beck-Goerdeler group, which carried out anti-regime acts.
Beck był jednym z głównych organizatorów nieudanego zamachu 20 lipca 1944 w kwaterze Hitlera w Wilczym Szańcu (wśród spiskowców byli również m.in. Carl Goerdeler i Claus von Stauffenberg). Po przejęciu władzy był przewidziany do objęcia urzędu prezydenta Rzeszy. Jako jeden z przywódców spisku został aresztowany. Stracono go rankiem 21 lipca 1944 w Berlinie (według innej wersji miał popełnić samobójstwo).
Wilhelm Canaris
was an admiral and the leader of espionage. He was a deep opposer of Hitler
Even the Nazi’s own intelligence agency, the Abwehr, was rife with resistance workers.
The head of the agency, Admiral Wilhelm Canaris, supported resistance activities and did what he could to protect Jews.
Claus von Stauffenberg
an army officer who carried out the planned assasination of Hitler during the Operation Valkyrie in 1944
the July Bomb plot of 1944 - in Wolf's Lair.
The attempt was eventually a failure and Claus von Stauffenberg was arrested and executed the same day.