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Weimar Germany during the Stresemann Era (1923-1929)
Gustav Stresemann was Chancellor for a few months in As Chancellor he: Called off Passive Resistance in the Ruhr Issued the Rentenmark and burned the worthless German Currency …ending the Hyperinflation Crisis!
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Weimar Germany during the Stresemann Era (1923-1929)
For most of the 1920s (he died in 1929) Stresemann was the Foreign Minister for Germany. His job was to negotiate treaties and agreements with other countries. He was VERY good at his job… A few things helped him succeed: • He was smart. Stresemann had studied philosophy and literature at Berlin University and had a PhD in economics. He was from the Right-wing (but moderate) Liberal Party so he appealed to a wide range of parties in the Reichstag. The economies of many European countries were beginning to recover from the war. This made countries less tense and more willing to discuss potentially tricky issues. America was going through an economic ‘boom’. France and Britain owed the US money for wartime loans. Some US politicians wanted to make sure that Europe recovered so that France and Britain could pay back the money they owed! • • •
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Weimar Republic Stresemann !! Economic accomplishments of the 1920s
1924 Dawes Plan – 2 Billion dollars of US loans pour into Germany. Factories start opening, unemployment drops, reparations start to get paid and German exports increase. KEY FACT By 1928 German Production had returned to pre-war levels
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Weimar Republic Stresemann !!
Economic accomplishments of the 1920s 1929 Young Plan – Allowed Germany to extend the period over which it repaid reparations.
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Weimar Republic Stresemann !!
Political accomplishments of the 1920s Locarno Treaties (1925) Accepted the Western borders of Germany as detailed in the Treaty of Versailles. France and Belgium (the countries that shared these borders) agreed to take any future disagreements to the League of Nations. There would be NO Ruhr occupations in future.
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Weimar Republic Stresemann !!
Political accomplishments of the 1920s Germany joins the League of Nations (1926) Locarno proves that Germany is becoming a good neighbour. Germany is admitted into the League of Nations in 1926.
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Weimar Republic Stresemann !!
Cultural accomplishments of the 1920s The Kaiser had heavily censored art and theatre in Germany. During the Weimar Period Germany celebrated a new openness and went through a dramatic and unprecedented cultural revival. Berlin became a world capital of cinema, theatre, art, and literature. Stars like Marlene Dietrich, film directors like Fritz Lang and playwrights such as Brecht made Germany the centre of avant garde (cutting-edge) culture. People flocked from New York and London to witness the remarkable developments going on inside Germany.
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Weimar Stresemann Era Of course, not all Germans benefited from or approved of these developments. Weimar Germany had yet to recover fully from the legacy of the war: 1. Resentment caused by the Treaty of Versailles 2. Fragility of the ‘Miracle’ recovery. Anger about ‘decadent’ (obscene, indulgent) Weimar culture. Anger about the ‘Selling Out’ of Germany
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Weimar Stresemann Era 1) Resentment caused by the Treaty of Versailles: Many Germans still resented the reparations and loss of land. The Dawes and Young Plans made repaying the reparations easier but many felt that Germany should not have been given the bill in the first place! Germans also looked across their borders to land that HAD been theirs and contained people who HAD been their neighbours. This sense of a diminished Germany still caused feelings of anger and resentment. The military limitations imposed by the Treaty still angered many Germans.
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Stresemann Era Weimar 2) Fragile recovery
a. The ‘miracle’ recovery was based upon U.S. loans. Some Germans were concerned about the fate of Germany if the flow of U.S. funds were to stop or if the American banks demanded immediate repayment.
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Stresemann Era Weimar What is the message of this cartoon?
The source is a Nazi Party cartoon from The large figure represents Germany. The small figure is a Jewish banker.
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Stresemann Era Weimar 3) Anger about Weimar Culture
a Many of the artists in Weimar Germany had served in the army during World War One and had been horrified by their experiences of war. They used their art to criticise military values and political leaders. More dangerously, they blurred lines of race and sexuality. Depictions of homosexuality, the love of ‘black’ Jazz music and mocking satire were key features of Weimar culture. b This was too much, too soon for many Germans who felt that everything they valued in German culture was being attacked by these decadent ‘artists’
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Weimar Stresemann Era 4) Weimar Government was betraying (“selling out”) Germany. a. Nationalists (people who felt that the main goal of politicians should be making Germany strong again) felt betrayed by Locarno and the League of Nations. Why?
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Germany in October 1929: A tale of two leaders.
Stresemann. Successful Foreign Minister, Nobel Peace Prize Winner in 1926. Adolf Hitler. Rejected from Art School. Party polling at less than 3%. Good public speaker.
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October, 1929: The month that changed everything!
Gustav Stresemann dies of a stroke. October 29, 1929 Wall Street Crash triggers Great Depression. Germany’s recovery and stability is about to face its greatest challenge yet…
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The Great Depression (1929)
It started in America. Wall Street is the street in New York where people can buy shares in companies. The more confident people are about a company the more the shares will rise in value. In 1929 in America people began to realise that too many factories were producing too many products – the American market was filling up with products that nobody wanted to buy. People realised that their shares in factories were about to become worthless.
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The Great Depression (1929)
On October 29 people began selling shares to make money before anyone else realised they were buying worthless investments. Problem was – everyone was doing the same thing! The value of ALL shares ‘crashed’. This was the Wall Street Crash. American factories started closing. Banks realised that all the money they had lent to factories and businesses was likely to be lost. They started to panic. They turned to loans made to other countries and started demanding repayment. Germany had received large sums of money from US banks. These loans had poured into Germany and been used to build up the economy. Now the tide turned the other way. As American banks started demanding their money back German factories had no choice but to shut down and sell out.
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Unemployment in Germany (1921-1939)
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The impact of the Depression
6 Million unemployed (1.3 before the Depression). Industrial production halved. Banks collapsed wiping out the savings of many German families. People were thrown out their homes and many starved in the streets. Political parties in the Reichstag bickered and refused to cooperate – no party seemed to have a clear idea of how to handle the crisis. In 1930 Chancellor Bruning CUT government spending on work and welfare – which made even LESS money available to create jobs! •
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Nazi Propaganda Nazi Propaganda used striking images and simple slogans. This poster states “Arbeit and Brot” “Work and Bread”
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How much did support for the Nazis rise during the 1929 Great Depression? “Before”…
May 1924 6.6% (32 seats in the Reichstag) December 1924 3% (14 seats in the Reichstag) May 1928 2.6% (12 seats in the Reichstag)
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18.3% (107 Seats in the Reichstag) July 1932
How much did support for the Nazis rise during the 1929 Great Depression? THE GREAT DEPRESSI ON THE GREAT DEPRESSI ON THE GREAT DEPRESSI ON September 1930 18.3% (107 Seats in the Reichstag) July 1932 37% (270 seats in the Reichstag) November 1932 33% (196 seats in the Reichstag) March 1933 (Just after the Reichstag fire) 44% (288 seats in the Reichstag)
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Why would unemployment lead to support for the Nazi Party increasing?
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From what you know of the period is it fair to say that without the Great Depression the Nazis would never have come to power?
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active (presenting reasons to be angry)?
Why were the Nazis able to take advantage of the Great Depression? Were they passive (taking advantage of anger) or active (presenting reasons to be angry)?
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Competing explanations for the Nazi rise in the polls.
It is important to remember that History is rarely a case of A leads to B leads to C leads to Nazis! As each of these causes flashes up rank them from 1-5 1. Not helpful to the Nazis 2. Helped a little 3. Helpful but not essential. 4. Very helpful, an important cause of rising Nazi popularity. 5. Without this the Nazis would still have been receiving 2.6% of the vote!
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Multiple causes for the rise in support: Nazi Strengths
Hitler’s speeches A powerful, charismatic speaker. Used film, radio and records to spread Nazi message. In 1932 traveled by plane to campaign in Presidential election (first politician to do so!) An exciting, modern leader (yet also a man of the people)
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Multiple causes for the rise in support: Nazi Strengths
Propaganda campaigns Designed by Goebbels Generalised slogans (hard to criticise) Posters and pamphlets were everywhere Bold, striking images •
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Multiple causes for the rise in support: Nazi Strengths
Violent treatment of opponents SA (Stormtroopers or Brownshirts) attacked communists, often with the support of police and the army Impressed many Germans with their apparent order and discipline
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Multiple causes for the rise in support: Criticisms of Weimar Government
Weak coalitions and Thirteen (!) Chancellors ( ) meant that Weimar lacked decisive, effective leadership. Germans had traditionally favoured strong, authoritarian governments. As the Depression impacted on Germany criticisms of ‘Weak’ Democracy grew louder. Specific Criticisms Chancellor Bruning’s spending cuts (1930) caused more unemployment and hardship. Weimar’s association with the Treaty of Versailles became in increasing cause of discontent.
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Multiple causes for the rise in support: Nazi Policies
Large businesses owned by Jews would be nationalized, old age pensions would increase, large industries were to share their profits
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Multiple causes for the rise in support:
Business concerns about communism Support from Big Business • As the Depression really impacted upon Germany business became concerned about German workers seeking radical solutions. In particular, Business did not want communists to gain influence in the Reichstag: Nazis were anti-communist
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Multiple causes for the rise in support:
Treaty of Versailles and the memories of 1923 The Treaty of Versailles was still despised by many Germans. Many Germans felt that the treaty was the cause of the 1923 Hyperinflation crisis. The economic recovery of the Stresemann era led to an uneasy acceptance of the Treaty. As Germans faced yet another economic crisis (only 6 years after the last one) old resentments resurfaced. Weimar was forever going to be associated with the Treaty of Versailles (Reparations, Loss of land, War Guilt, Reduction in Military). The Nazi Party were promising to tear up the Treaty of Versailles!!! This poster (from 1938) shows how Hitler has torn up each term of the Treaty of Versailles!
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Which causes best explain the rise of the Nazi Party?
The impact of the Depression Hitler’s speeches Propaganda campaigns Violent treatment of opponents Criticisms of Weimar Government Nazi Policies Business concerns about communism
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Patterns: Crisis and response
1919 Crisis: Treaty of Versailles. Consequence: Political instability 1923 Nazi plan to seize power: Munich Putsch. 1929 Crisis: Great Depression Consequence: Political instability 1933 Nazi plan to seize power: Turn electoral support into demand for Chancellorship
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How did Hitler become Chancellor in 1933?
True or False: The Chancellor was the most powerful person in Germany. True or False: Under the Weimar Constitution the leader of the largest party in the Reichstag automatically became the Chancellor. Both are false. The Weimar Constitution (1919) gave extraordinary powers to the President (including the power to appoint and dismiss the Chancellor). The Chancellor was like a Prime Minister. The President was more like a King. The President had the power under Article 48 of the Constitution to shut down the Reichstag and “Rule by Decree” (which means “What I say is the law, IS the law!”
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Why was the fact that Hindenburg was the German President in 1933 a problem for Hitler’s ambitions to become Chancellor? HINT: There were two main reasons why Hitler would have had sleepless nights because of President Hindenburg… • Hindenburg was a genuine war hero who been Germany’s military leader during World War One. He shared the army’s suspicion of Hitler. In fact, he disliked Hitler intensely. . Hitler had challenged Hindenburg for the position of President in Hitler lost by 19 million votes to 13 million. This meant that Hindenburg would be President until 1940 (a seven year term). Even in 1933 there were signs that the worst of the Depression was over. Hitler knew that if he had to wait until a change of President to become Chancellor the chances are the Nazi Party would no longer be around!
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Why did Hindenburg appoint Hitler to the position of Chancellor in 1933?
It is history, so there has to be more than one reason 1. Business Pressure Leading industrialists and businesses put pressure on Hindenburg to appoint the staunch anti-communist Hitler to the position of Chancellor. Restore Credibility of the Reichstag. Hindenburg had already had to use Article 48 to pass the unpopular spending cuts proposed by Bruning. Only the Nazi Party had the electoral support to be effective in the Reichstag. – 2. –
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Why did Hindenburg appoint Hitler to the position of Chancellor in 1933?
It is history, so there has to be more than one reason 3 Trouble in the streets The SA were causing unrest. Battles between communists and Nazis convinced many Germans that strong leadership was needed to restore order. Scheming of Von Papen and Hindenburg. Hindenburg was still concerned about giving too much power to Hitler. Franz Von Papen was a former Chancellor and close friend of Hindenburg. He came up with the plan of making Hitler Chancellor but appointing Conservatives loyal to Von Papen in key positions in the Reichstag Cabinet (the most important ministers) – 4 –
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With Von Papen as Vice Chancellor and Conservatives in Cabinet they could surround and control Hitler!
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Message? A British Cartoon from 1933 “The Temporary Triangle”
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From Chancellor to Fuhrer
Hitler was appointed Chancellor on January 30, There are four steps he needed to go from the insecure position of Chancellor ~ remember there were 13 from 1919 to 1933! ~to being the Fuhrer (Supreme Leader) of Germany. Steps to Power: Reichstag Fire Night of the Long Knives Death of Hindenburg
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