Authoritarian Regimes – Case Study: Nazi Germany CHAPTER 4: Authoritarian Regimes – Case Study: Nazi Germany

Focuses of Chapter 4 What led to the rise of Hitler / the Nazi Party? Weaknesses of Weimar Republic Strengths of Hitler / the Nazi Party How did Hitler become the dictator of Germany by 1934? What was the impact of Hitler’s rule on Germany? Political control Social control Economic policies

Hitler – The Leading Man of the Chapter Hitler – the aspiring artist

Hitler – The Leading Man of the Chapter Hitler – the soldier in WWI

Hitler – The Leading Man of the Chapter Hitler – the dictator

1914-1918: World War I – The Great War that should end all wars Background to Germany 1914-1918: World War I – The Great War that should end all wars Allied Powers Britain Russia USA France Central Powers Germany Italy Austria-Hungary VS

Background to Germany 1918: - Germany was forced to sign an armistice, they agreed to a ceasefire because they were running low on supplies - Persistence would lead to defeat as USA had entered the war in 1917

Background to Germany 1919: Signing of the Treaty of Versailles Signed by the Weimar Republic First democratic govt of Germany 1919-1924: - A very weak Weimar Republic was in power

What was the Nazi Party known as before? German Workers’ Party Background to the Nazi Party What was the Nazi Party known as before? German Workers’ Party

Background to the Nazi Party How did it come to be known as Nazi Party? Anton Drexter was the leader of GWP - invited Hitler to speak Hitler spoke - party's popularity rose Hitler gained power Had more say - suggested for change in name

Background to the Nazi Party How did it come to be known as Nazi Party? From GWP, it became National Socialist German Workers’ Party (Nazi Party). Hitler got rid of Drexter and became its new leader. Nazi Party = Hitler Engaged private army (SA), led by Ernst Rohm - maintained order during Hitler's speeches and got rid of oppositions

Ernst Rohm Poster on Sturmabteilung (SA)

Background to the Weimar Republic New government that replaced the German monarchy after WWI = Weimar Republic It was a democratic government Elections were held to choose the President and representatives in the German Parliament (the Reichstag) Head of government (Chancellor) appointed by the Reichstag – must have 50% of support from the Reichstag

Background to the Weimar Republic System of proportional representation A political party will receive the same percentage of seats in the Reichstag as their votes Is this good or bad?

Background to the Weimar Republic Bad because: Difficult to get a single majority party Hence had to form coalition governments Coalition governments were weak and disunited especially in times of crisis

Background to the Weimar Republic Largely an unstable period for Germany Faced many political and economic challenges which made the Weimar Republic weak

Rise of Hitler Focus 1: What led to the rise of Hitler? Weaknesses of Rejection of Democracy Threats from right and left wings Treaty of Versailles Weaknesses of Weimar Republic Hyperinflation Great Depression Ruhr Crisis

Political Challenges (1) Blame for the Treaty of Versailles Weimar Republic signed the Treaty of Versailles Stabbed-in-the-back theory People blamed Weimar Republic and supported the Nazis who promised to get rid of the treaty

Political Challenges (2) Rejection of Democracy Weimar Republic was a democratic govt No able leader, except for Gustav Stresemann who died in 1929 Coalition governments were formed but were not united Different parties had different views of how Germany should be governed

Gustav Stresemann Ended the Ruhr occupation by France Introduced new currency (Rentenmark) Negotiated the DAWES PLAN (1924) and the YOUNG PLAN (1929) Improved foreign relations Economic stability  political stability (more support for Weimar Republic)

Political Challenges (3) Threats from the Left and Right Wings Political assassinations Putsches = attempts to overthrow the Weimar Republic

Political Challenges (3) Threats from the Left and Right Wings Examples of putsches 1919: the Spartacist Uprising by Communists (left-wing) 1920: the Kapp Putsch by Freikorps (right-wing) 1923: the Munich Beer Hall Putsch led by Hitler (right-wing)

Economic Challenges (1) Hyperinflation Treaty of Versailles  printed more paper money to pay off the debt  HYPERINFLATION  savings became worthless  poverty

Price of bread, 163.15 marks in 1922, went up to 201,000,000,000 marks in 1923 HYPERINFLATION Price of egg , which was just 1.6 marks in 1921 went up to 320,000,000,000 marks by Nov 1923

Economic Challenges (2) The Ruhr Crisis France invaded the Ruhr region after Germany failed to pay reparations Weimar govt. got German workers to go on strike, causing industrial production to collapse

Economic Challenges (3) Impact of the Great Depression Wall Street Crash (1929) American investments and loans withdrawn from Germany German businesses went bankrupt and unemployment increased Weimar govt cut down on welfare payments, causing widespread poverty People blamed Weimar Republic and supported the Nazis who promised them jobs

Number of Unemployed 1928 2 million 1929 2.5 million 1930 3 million 1931 5 million 1932 6 million

Rise of Hitler Focus 1: What led to the rise of Hitler? Hitler’s Charismatic Leadership of Hitler Exploited Fear of Communism Hitler’s (the Nazi Party’s) Strengths Nazi Election Campaign and Propaganda

Charismatic Leadership of Hitler Brilliant public speaker Able to stir up emotions with his passionate speeches Portrayed the Jews as public enemies – a way to unite the people Convinced people that he was the leader who would make Germany strong again

He was holding the masses, and me with them, under an hypnotic spell by the sheer force of his beliefs. His words were like a whip. When he spoke of the disgrace of Germany, I felt ready to attack any enemy. Karl Ludecke, an early follower of Hitler (1924) "Ein Volk, Ein Reich, Ein Fuhrer!" – One People, One Empire, One Leader.

Exploited Fear of Communism Spread fear about the aims of Communists Communists wanted nationalisation (state control) of all major industries – alarmed businessmen Businessmen provided financial support to Hitler to get rid of the Communists

Number of seats in Reichstag Date of Election Number of seats in Reichstag Nazis Communists May 1928 12 54 Sep 1930 107 77 Jul 1932 230 89 Nov 1932 196 101 The growing vote for the Nazis and Communists, 1928-32.

Hitler’s financiers Many industrials bankrolled the Nazis, including allegedly: Hjalmar Schacht, Head of the Reichsbank, organised fund-raising parties for Hitler Fritz von Thyssen, the German steel businessman Alfried Krupp, the owner of Krupp steel firm Emil Kirdorf, the coal businessman IG Faben, the German chemicals firm, gave half the funds for the 1933 elections The German car firms Skoda and Opel Schroeder Bank – on Jan. 3, 1933, Reinhard Schroeder met Hitler and asked him to form a government

The SA (Sturmabteilung) Private army of the Nazi Party Protected Nazi gatherings, broke up meetings of rival political parties, fought in street battles against the Communists and other political opponents The SS (Schutzstaffel) Hitler’s personal guards Destroyed all opposition to Nazism and made sure that party members remained loyal

Nazi Election Campaign and Propaganda Used the mass media to spread Nazi views Portrayed as modern party in touch with modern technology and ideas E.g. Hitler travelled around by plane Created the image of a disciplined and strong political party with the ability to solve Germany’s problems Huge and well-organised party meetings and rallies – floodlights, military music, marches by Nazi supporters The SA and the SS looked smart in uniform

The caption says: “Germany Awake!” This poster of 1932 says: “Hitler – our last hope”

The President, Hindenburg, appointed Hitler as Chancellor in 1933 Beginning of the end for Weimar Germany and the start of the “Third Reich” (the third German empire)