Objective 1 Describe the conditions in Germany’s Weimar Republic

Totalitarianism Totalitarianism is government control over every aspect of public and private life. In the years after WWI, poor economic and political conditions allowed charismatic totalitarian rulers to take power in the USSR, Italy, and Germany. Totalitarian governments use police terror, religious & ethnic persecution, indoctrination & propaganda, and censorship to hold power and control their people.

Conditions for Totalitarianism The question is not, “Why was Hitler the way he was?” The question is, “Why was Hitler able to come to power over a nation?” Totalitarianism doesn’t just *happen*. There are people just like Stalin and Hitler everywhere, but they don’t rule in stable societies.

Conditions for Totalitarianism Economic and Political Conditions: When things are bad, people are more willing to follow anyone promising a solution. Poor economy + uncertainty = transfer of loyalty to a STRONGER leader Examples: Hyperinflation in Germany, Russia post-Civil War, Italy rebuilding from WWI

Today’s Analysis of Conditions “Weimar Republic”: German democracy after WWI and the Treaty of Versailles 1919-1933

Was blamed and punished for the war German Conditions Germany lost the war Was blamed and punished for the war Reparations: billions of dollars Germany was ordered to pay as punishment for WWI

What is inflation? Money is just paper. It is not actually worth any more than the paper it is printed on.

What is inflation? But, there is an agreement between you and the gov’t that it represents a certain value.

The MORE money that is printed, the lower its VALUE. What is inflation? The VALUE of money comes from the fact that there is a limited amount of it. The MORE money that is printed, the lower its VALUE.

This is because things are worth what people are willing to pay. What is inflation? This is because things are worth what people are willing to pay. If everyone got $10 million/ year salary, then a Starbucks coffee would cost, like, $150,000, because people would be more willing to spend that much.

What is inflation? That is called inflation. Sometimes, the government prints more bills, to pay debt or stimulate spending. Soon, those bills are worth less, since everyone can get more of them.

What is inflation and hyperinflation? During inflation, the AMOUNT of money increases, while the VALUE of the money decreases. During hyperinflation, inflation runs OUT OF CONTROL.

Effect of bad conditions German people lost faith in their government (also democracy) Situation was really unstable; high unemployment and crime rates; people started to look for a strong person to come to power Eventually, when Hitler came into the picture, people were looking for a nationalistic person who will promise to improve things