WJEC GCSE History

Paper 1
Germany 1918-45
Revision Booklet

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 Germany – 1919-1933: Weimar Republic*
*Weimar is the town the politicians met in and a Republic is a country without a
King or Queen

The end of WWI – November 1918

 Germany was in a very poor state: the blockade of Germany had lead to a
lack of food and supplies. People were starving. Riots were breaking out.
The navy had mutinied (rebelled) against the Kaiser (king of Germany).
 The Kaiser realised the situation was hopeless and abdicated (quit his
job) in October 1918. Germany was left without a leader and in a mess.
 The biggest political party in Germany was the Social Democrats. Their leader,
Friedrich Ebert, took on the job of running Germany. He tried to improve people’s
lives by giving them better working conditions and freedom of speech.
 Ebert and his government signed the armistice and withdrew from Germany from
WW1 in November 1918.

The Weimar Constitution

 The Social Democrats won the January 1919 elections. They held the first
meeting of their new government in a town called Weimar – and got the nickname
“The Weimar Government”.
 Their first job was to write a new constitution (set of rules) for Germany.
 Their new rules included:
1. everyone over the age of 20 could vote, people voted for MPs who would sit in the
Reichstag, the Reichstag would suggest and vote on new laws,
2. the Chancellor would be head of the Reichstag and would be voted for every 4
years,
3. There would be a President who would choose the Chancellor and keep control of
the army and he would be voted for every 7 years.
4. Germany would use a system called Proportional Representation; this means each
political party would get a fair share of the seats in the Reichstag – if a party won
10% of the votes they would get 10% of the seats.
5. Proportional Representation seemed fair but had lots of problems; there was so
many parties in the Reichstag that no party ever had a majority (over 50% of the
seats) so they couldn’t pass laws by themselves. This meant parties had to make
deals with each other and this slowed the whole process down. It also helps
Hitler get into power later.

Strengths of the Weimar Constitution Weaknesses of the Weimar Constitution

 Very fair, particularly the voting  Proportional Representation meant
 Allowed lots of people to have their that there were loads of different
say parties in the Reichstag – it was
 State governments would ensure local difficult to get them to agree on
issues were addressed anything
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 Wouldn’t allow one person to take over  Article 48 could be abused so that the
– the Chancellor and President President stopped listening to the
balanced each other Reichstag
 A poor Chancellor or President would  State governments could pass laws
only be around for a limited time that went against what the Reichstag
wanted

Not everybody was happy with Germany being a democratic country

and they didn’t like the way Weimar Germany was being run by
Ebert.

The Spartacist Revolution January 1919

 In January 1919, the German communist party (the Spartacists)

decided that they wanted to take over Germany from Ebert.
 They started a revolution attempt on 6th
January. It was not successful. In a week,
Ebert with the help of his Freikorps (ex-WWI soldiers paid
to help the government keep order) had stopped the
rebellion and killed many communists. The Spartacist
leaders, Rosa Luxemburg and Karl Liebnecht, were
murdered.
 It was helpful for Ebert that the Spartacists were no longer
a threat. However, he had to rely on the Freikorps to keep
order – that made him look weak to the public, and it was risky as the Freikorps
could turn on him at any point.
 The German communists continued to create riots around Germany, even after the
Spartacist Revolution failed. Freikorps had to be sent round to fight them and
stop them.

Other opposition to the Weimar Government

 The right wing also hated the Social
Democrats. The Freikorps
themselves went against Ebert in
1920 when they supported Wolfgang
Kapp in his attempt to take over the
country (Kapp Putsch).
 It was only because of the workers in
Berlin going on strike and refusing to
help the Freikorps, that the Putsch
failed.
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 Over 200 people connected to the Weimar Government were assassinated
between 1919 and 1923. The most famous was Walther Rathenau, the politician
who had been involved with the armistice and the Treaty of Versailles. These
assassinations showed how much people disliked their new government and also
made people feel that they were doing a bad job as they weren’t stopping violence
on the streets.

The Treaty of Versailles – June 1919

 This is the peace Treaty Germany had to sign after World War
One. The government had no choice but to sign the treaty; if they
didn’t sign the war would continue and Germany would lose.
 The Main terms can be summed up as BRAT
 Blame – Germany had to accept responsibility for starting the war
and causing all the damage. This is called the War Guilt clause.
 Reparations – Germany had to pay £6.6 billion to pay to repair the
damage caused by the war.
 Armed Forces – the Germany army was reduced to 100,000 men, and they couldn’t
have any tanks, submarines or planes. The Rhineland (an area of Germany that
borders France) was also demilitarised so no German troops could go there.
 Territory – Germany lost 13% of their land and 12.5% of their population. They
also lost all their colonies so they no longer had an empire. Germany was also
forbidden to join with Austria. Some of the land they lost was industrial land with
coal mines etc on; this meant they lost a way to produce income for Germany.
 The Germans were outraged. They
called the Treaty a “diktat” (dictated
peace) and accused the Weimar
Government of “stabbing them in the
back” by agreeing to such harsh
terms. People began to look to other
politicians to rule Germany better
than the Social Democrats.

The beginnings of the Nazi Party

 Anton Drexler had a party called the German Workers Party.
 Hitler joined this in 1920 as he agreed with what the party was saying about
getting rid of the Treaty of Versailles.
 Hitler soon became its leader. He re-named it the
National Socialist German Workers Party
(NSDAP/Nazi Party).
 He gave the party a new flag and a new private army to
protect it (the SA/Brownshirts).

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 The party was small and would meet in beer houses. It began to attract attention
because of Hitler’s powerful speeches, especially his rants against the Treaty of
Versailles. The SA would also beat up opponents, especially the communists.

1923 – The Invasion of the Ruhr, Hyperinflation and the Munich Putsch
 Germany paid her first reparation payment in 1921 but couldn’t afford the 1922
payment.
 France and Belgium decided to invade Germany in January 1923 and take the
payment by force. They invaded the Ruhr, Germany’s main industrial area, to take
goods, such as coal.
 The Germans reacted with passive resistance. They went on strike and refused
to make the goods that the French and Belgians wanted. They sabotaged
factories and flooded mines.
 The French and Belgians reacted with violence: shooting some Germans and
expelling some others.
 The Weimar Government supported the strikers by printing more
money to pay them so that they could afford to keep striking.
 Too many notes in the economy meant that prices went out of
control. November 1923 was the worst month: bread cost
201,000,000,000 marks.
 People had to carry their wages home in wheelbarrows. Prices went up so fast
that a day’s wages would just buy a cup of coffee the next day. The middle
classes and the elderly suffered badly as their savings and pensions were wiped
out. This was called hyperinflation.

 Hitler chose November 1923 as the moment to attempt his Munich Putsch (putsch
= take power by force). He thought people were so fed up of their situation that
they would support another leader.
 On the evening of 8th November 1923, Hitler and 600 Nazis seized a beer hall
where a meeting between the Bavarian leaders was taking place. Hitler and his men
arrested the three leaders (von Kahr, bon Seisser and Von Lossow). He made them
swear their support for Hitler’s takeover before locking them in a room.
 The three men escaped and called the police, who went after Hitler
and arrested him. The Putsch was easily stopped.
 Hitler got very useful publicity from his trial, and Hitler’s name was
known all over Germany.
 Whilst Hitler was in prison he wrote Mein Kampf, in which he
explained all his ideas for Germany.
 Hitler also changed his strategy; he decided it would be best to get
power by winning votes, rather than taking power by force.

 Hyperinflation ended in November/December 1923 as Stresemann introduced the

Rentenmark, and signed the Dawes Plan, which meant America lent Germany
money to help rebuild industry so they could pay the reparations.
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1924-9 – The Economic Boom of the Stresemann Years
 Gustav Stresemann was Germany’s Chancellor in 1923-4 and her Foreign
Secretary after that.
 He helped Germany get back on her feet
o Economic measures – replaced the old currency with the Rentenmark,
the Dawes Plan 1924 (800,000,000 mark loan from the USA), the Young
Plan 1929 (reduced Reparations payments by 67%)
 This increased the amount of money and foreign goods in Germany. People had
more money to spend and the standard of living rose.
 This was an age of cinema, clubs, sex, modern art and architecture,
industry, radios, cars. Many urban people loved it; many rural people
deeply disapproved.
 On the surface, Germany was doing well. Underneath, there were
problems: Germany was dependent on foreign loans and not making
enough of her own money yet to stay afloat.

1929 – The economic Bust and the Wall Street Crash

 In 1929, the USA’s economy collapsed. They recalled all
their loans. Germany’s money stopped and they spiralled
into Depression.
 Unemployment rocketed. It peaked at 6,000,000.
 People lost their homes and had to live on the streets,
scavenging on rubbish tips for food.
 The Weimar Government dealt with it poorly – they
refused to print more money but raised taxes and cut
wages instead. This increased people’s suffering.
 Violence began to break out again as people got desperate. The Weimar
Government failed to deal with it.

The Changes to the Nazi Party: 1924-1929

 Whilst Hitler was in prison the Party had been banned but operated in secret.
 In February 1924 the ban on the Party was lifted and the Nazi Party was
relaunched and Hitler slowly began to take control again.
 At the Bamberg party Conference in 1926 Hitler strengthened his position as
leader. Hitler created the SS (Blackshirts) as his private bodyguards, Hitler also
set up the Hitler Youth to rival other youth groups.
 In 1928 Hitler decided to target rural voters, as well as urban voters.
 In 1925 the Nazi Party had 27,000 members by 1928 this had increased to
100,000.
 However the Nazis only won 12 seats in the 1928 election, so Hitler appointed
Goebbels as Party Propaganda Leader.

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1929-33 – The increased popularity of the Nazis and Hitler becoming Chancellor

Why did people vote for the Nazis?

1. The Great Depression
 The Wall St Crash in America had a big impact
on the economy in Germany.
 The loans from America as part of the Dawes
Plan were withdrawn.
 Unemployment in Germany reached 6 million
people, this meant 40% of the workforce were
without a job.
 The Nazis promised ‘Work and Bread’ – this
meant they were going to provide jobs for
people so they could look after their families.
 The Nazis offered a simple promise that
appealed to the people.
 The Nazis tried to appeal to workers who would otherwise vote for the
Communist Party.

2. The Nazis use of Propaganda

 The Nazis put Josef Goebbels in charge of propaganda.
 He made sure that their message was clear, simple and easy to
understand.
 The Nazis owned 120 daily or weekly newspapers which were read by
hundreds of thousands of people and constantly put across a positive
message about the Nazis.
 Hitler also made speeches on the radio and at mass rallies.

3. The role of the SA

 The Weimar Government appeared to be disorganised and were unable to
solve the problems in Germany. President Hindenburg had to start
running Germany using Article 48 (emergency powers) which was
unpopular.
 In comparison the Nazis appeared as very organised, particularly the SA
as they marched in their smart uniforms through the towns and the
cities.
 The organisation of the SA and the Nazis encouraged more people to
vote for the Nazis.
 The SA also had another role; they were a violent group that would
beat up opposition to the Nazis such as Communists.
 There were countless battles between the SA and the Red Front
Fighters (the Communist private army). Hitler was trying to show the
German people that the Communists were violent and the SA could deal
with them.
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 4. Hitler’s promises
 Hitler made promises that appealed to people.
 He promised to get rid of the Treaty of Versailles (which made Germany
look weak), solve Germany’s problems and provide jobs.

The Election Results

 During the 1930s (the Great Depression years) the Nazi votes rose.
 Election results:
o 1928: 12 seats.
o 1930: 107 seats.
o July 1932: 230 seats (the Nazis were the largest political party, 37%,
but they did not have a majority in the Reichstag).
o Nov 1932: 196 seats (The SA’s campaign of violence began to have a
negative impact and the vote reduced to 33%).

How did Hitler become Chancellor? (Political Scheming)

 It is the President’s role to choose the Chancellor of Germany.
 Hitler asked to be Chancellor but Hindenburg (the President) refused as he didn’t
trust Hitler.
 Hindenburg chose von Papen to be the Chancellor. However as he was not the
leader of the largest party he found it very difficult to run the country, as he
couldn’t pass laws without a majority. He decided to hold another election in
November 1932.
 However von Papen could still not get a majority in the Reichstag.
 Hindenburg then chose von Schleicher as the next Chancellor, after he convinced
Hindenburg that the country was moving towards Civil War. However he couldn’t
get a majority in the Reichstag either. Hindenburg had to keep ruling with Article
48.
 Von Papen was determined to regain power and so he met with Hitler in early
January 1933. They decided that von Papen would help Hitler become Chancellor if
Hitler made von Papen vice Chancellor. This is called political scheming.
 Von Papen convinced Hindenburg that he could control Hitler.
 Eventually, Hindenburg had no options left and made
Hitler Chancellor on 30th January 1933.

The Temporary Triangle, January 1933

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 Nazi Germany – 1933-45
1933-4 – Hitler’s consolidation of his power and his rise to become Führer
(supreme leader)
 Hitler was now the Chancellor of Germany, and was the leader of the largest
political Party in Germany.
 However Hitler and the Nazi Party did not have a majority in the
Reichstag. That meant Hitler still needed the support of other political parties
to pass laws; he couldn’t do what he wanted.
 Hitler decided to call another election for March 1933. He hoped he would
get a majority this time.

1. The Reichstag Fire

 One week before the election on February
27th 1933, the Reichstag building was set
on fire.
 It is not known for definite who started
the fire (people think it was the Nazis), but
the Nazis arrested Marinus van der
Lubbe, a Dutch Communist.
 Hitler and the Nazis then claimed that the
Communists were about to stage a takeover
of Germany.
 Hitler then persuaded Hindenburg to sign
the ‘Decree for the Protection of the
People and State’. This allowed the Nazis
to imprison large numbers of their political opponents, mainly the Communists.
The Communist and Socialists newspapers were also banned.
 This helped the Nazis as their main rivals found it difficult to campaign in the
week before the election and lots of Germans were worried about voting for
the Communists.
 At the election the Nazis increased their vote to 288 seats (44%); but they
still didn’t have a majority in the Reichstag.

2. The Enabling Law

 Hitler formed a coalition with the Nationalist Party so that he had a majority
in the Reichstag and could start to get things done.
 On 23rd March 1933 Hitler passed the Enabling Bill. He had used some
underhand tactics to do this;
- Communists Party members couldn’t vote
- Anybody who was absent was counted as present and voting in
favour of the Bill
- The SA intimidated members as they entered the Reichstag

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 - Hitler made promises to the Catholics (such as no interference
with Catholic schools) so that they would vote in his favour
 Due to all of these tactics Hitler was able to pass the Enabling Act. This
meant he could make laws without consulting the Reichstag for the next 4
years. The Act enabled Hitler to turn Germany into a dictatorship.
 With the power of the Enabling Act, Hitler then:
- Banned opposing parties and put leaders in concentration camps.
- Banned Trade Unions.
- Put Nazis in charge of all state governments.
- Used fear and intimidation to make sure people didn’t challenge
the Nazis.

3. The Night of the Long Knives

 Hitler had now increased his control over Germany, so he turned his attention to
the threats from within his own Party.
 The SA, under their leader Röhm, became a threat due to their numbers and
military training. Röhm also wanted the SA to
join with the army as Hitler had previously
promised, but this scared Hitler.
 On the 30th June 1934 Hitler had Röhm and
400 leaders of the SA shot by members of
the SS (the Blackshirts; Hitler’s private
bodyguards). This was called the Night of
the Long Knives.
 Hitler also used the opportunity to get rid of
other enemies such as von Schleicher.
 Hitler told the German people that he had protected them from a takeover.

4. The Death of President Hindenburg

 Hindenburg died in August 1934 (he was old and frail).
 Hitler then combined the role of Chancellor and President to make himself
Führer, which means Supreme Leader. Nobody could stop him due to the
Enabling Law.
 Hitler then made the army swear an oath of loyalty to him, rather than the
country.

Hitler was now in total control over

Germany; he had turned the country
into a dictatorship by legal means.

1.

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How did Nazi economic and social policy affect life in Nazi Germany?

1933-39 – How the Nazis changed the lives of

workers
 The German economy was still suffering badly from
the Depression, but Hitler knew he had to deliver
his promise of ‘work and bread’; he needed to
create jobs.
 Unemployment was tackled by creating massive
public works programmes such as the building of
the autobahns (motorways). Millions of men were
given jobs through this, although they were paid poorly.
 Men aged 18-25 were made to join the RAD (Reich
Labour Service) for 6 months. They did hard manual
labour such as tree felling and ditch digging. They had
to wear Nazi uniform and lived in camps.
 All workers joined the DAF (German Labour Front)
which controlled the workers and settled disputes
between them and their employers. It persuaded
employers to improve working
conditions in factories.
 The KDF (Strength through Joy) organisation was set up
to organise the leisure time of the workers, providing
them with cheap theatre tickets, cruises, skiing holidays
and saving up for VW Beetles. This encouraged them to
work harder.
 From 1935 German men began to be conscripted into
the army and more and more factories were set up for
arms production. These both created jobs. Germany tried
to achieve autarky (self-sufficiency) so that they could
keep fighting when other countries stopped trading with
them.
 Women and Jews were sacked from their jobs which created jobs for the men.
This was known as invisible unemployment as they were not counted in the
unemployment figures.
 When Hitler came to power there were 6 million people unemployed, by 1938
that had reduced to 0.5 million. For this reason many people supported Hitler
and the Nazis; they made life better.
 The government took control of prices, wages, profits and imports which stopped
big businesses from running their affairs in their own way.
 Jewish small businesses were closed down allowing other German small businesses
to flourish.
 Farmers were given help in paying off loans but were given quotas for production
to meet which limited their freedom.
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1933-39 – How the Nazis changed the lives of women
 Women lost lots of the freedoms they had gained in the
Weimar period.
 Women were expected to stay at home and be housewives
and mothers. Many women were forced to leave their jobs.
 The role of women can be summed up in the 3Ks; Kinder,
Kuche, Kirche which means children, cooking and church.
 The Nazis encouraged women to have large families to
increase the birth rate and to ensure the future of the
master race. Medals were awarded for women who had
large numbers of children.
 People were encouraged to get married and have children
by being offered marriage loans which were reduced each time a child was born.
They were lent 1,000 marks when they were married and allowed to keep 250 for
each child.
 Women were discouraged from wearing make-up, smoking and dieting.
 Lebensborns were also set up where women could ‘donate’ a baby to the Führer by
becoming pregnant by racially pure SS men.

1933-9 – How the Nazis changed the lives of young people

 Hitler wanted to indoctrinate (brainwash) young people to become perfect Nazis.
He did this in two ways: the Hitler Youth Movements and through Education.
 The Hitler Youth Movements:
o 4 different groups, 2 for girls, 2 for
boys.
o Boys trained to be soldiers: marching,
camping, weapons training, fitness
training.
o Girls trained to be good mothers:
domestic training, fitness training.
o Both groups trained in utter loyalty
to Hitler: listening to Mein Kampf, saluting the swastika, singing Nazi
songs, reporting on “anti-Nazi” activities in their families and
neighbourhoods.
 Education:
o New curriculum. Maths questions promoted messages of war and getting
rid of minorities, History focused on the Nazi Party, Geography focused
on the “Greater Germany”, Biology focused on recognising the Aryan
race. Eugenics was introduced which was race studies.
o New resources: History books were rewritten without German defeats,
Story books were written warning children of the dangers of the Jews.
o Boys were educated to be soldiers, girls educated to be mothers. They
had separate timetables.
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 o Lots of PE lessons for everyone to keep everyone fit and healthy for
their new roles.
o Teachers had to join the Nazi Teachers’ Association or lose their jobs.
o Jewish pupils were persecuted in lessons, by students and teachers.
They had to leave German schools in 1938.
 Membership of the Hitler Youth became compulsory in 1939. About 7,500,000
children were members; about 1,000,000 refused.
 Some young people chose to join anti-Nazi groups like the Swing Movement and
the Eidelweiss Pirates.

Propaganda – Keeping people supporting the Nazis

 Hitler set up the cult of the Führer, presenting himself as the greatest saviour of
Germany. His image was used very carefully – he was only ever shown serving
Germany.
 Goebbels (Hitler’s Propaganda Minister) made sure that people were bombarded
with information to keep them loyal to the Nazis.
 Posters, pictures, art exhibitions and films were all made to show how great the
Nazis were.
 Hitler’s speeches were regularly broadcast on the radio to remind people of how
much the Nazis were improving their lives. Cheap radios were sold to people and
connected up to loudspeakers so that
everyone could hear.
 The newspapers were banned from
printing anything that hadn’t been
checked by the Nazis first
(censorship).
 Great rallies were held, such as those
at Nuremberg, to show people how
organised and powerful the Party was.
 In 1936, Hitler used the Olympic
Games to showcase to the world how efficient, modern and advanced the German
nation was.

Terror / Intimidation – Keeping people supporting the Nazis

 The concentration camps were used to imprison anyone

who went against the Nazi state. These were run by the
SS. In the camps, people were expected to work to
benefit Germany. They were often worked to death with
very long hours and insufficient rations.
 The Gestapo (secret police) would go round checking that
people were being loyal to the Nazis. People who weren’t

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 would often be taken off in the middle of the night for torture or to be taken to a
camp.
 The legal system also helped to control Nazi Germany. All judges had to become
members of the Nationalist Socialist League for the Maintenance of Law; this
meant they had to be members of the Nazi Party who would uphold Nazi views in
the law courts. Judges knew that the Minister of Justice would check if they had
been lenient and sometimes Hitler would alter sentences if he thought they were
too soft.
 Germany was subdivided into tiny blocks of about 30-40 houses. Each block would
have a Nazi living there who would keep an eye on all the families and report to
the police and the Gestapo if they noticed anti-Nazi behaviour.
 Children in the Hitler Youth were expected to spy on their parents and
neighbours.
 People were too scared to go against the Nazis.

Nazi Racial Policy – 1933-1945

 The Nazis believed that the Aryans were the master race.
 Hitler wanted to keep the master race pure. This meant Aryans and non-Aryans
should not have children.
 Hitler wanted a pure Aryan state. He was going to achieve this by;
o Selective breeding
o Destroying the Jews
 Hitler and the Nazis believed that Jews were inferior, who could be blamed for
all of Germany’s problems such as the Treaty of Versailles, hyperinflation and
the Great Depression. They were being used as scapegoats.

1933-39 – How the Nazis changed the lives of minorities

 The Nazis believed in Aryan superiority. Anyone who didn’t fit in with their idea
of a top class human being had to be removed from society.
 Vagrants and the homeless were taken to camps to be re-educated and taught how
to work so that they could become useful German citizens.
 Homosexuals were sent to concentration camps.
 Blacks and the mentally ill were sterilised so that they couldn’t reproduce or
killed.
 Gypsies were sent to concentration camps and later (during WWII) exterminated
with the Jews. – These groups were known as Utenmensch.

1933-39 – The treatment of the Jews

 Jews suffered badly in Nazi Germany and the longer the Nazis were in power the
worse the treatment became.
 Key moments of persecution were
o 1933: the SA organised boycotts of Jewish shops and businesses.

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 o 1934: Jews were banned from public places such as parks and swimming
pools.
o 1935: the Nuremburg Laws. This took away their German citizenship and
banned them from marrying or having
sex with Germans
o 1938: Kristallnacht. This was a physical
attack on Jewish businesses, homes and
synagogues, causing colossal damage and
killing 100 people. The event was
supposed to be a spontaneous attack by
the German people after a Jew shot a
Nazi official in Paris, however it is more
likely to be a planned by the attack by
the Nazis. Many Jews were arrested and taken to concentration camps.
The survivors were given a 1 billion Reichsmark bill to clear up the mess.
After Kristallnacht Jewish children were also banned from German schools.

1933-9 – How the Nazis changed the Churches

 Hitler wanted to control the church as he wanted
the German people to be loyal to him before anybody
else including God.
 In 1933, Hitler signed the Concordat with the
Pope. The Nazis and the Catholic Church agreed to
keep out of each others’ affairs.
 In 1933 the Protestant Church was reorganised into
the National Reich Church and given new Nazi
bishops. The motto of the Reich Church was ‘the
swastika on our chests and the cross on our hearts’.
The church was Nazified – the Bible was replaced
with Mein Kampf and the cross with the swastika.
 In 1935 the Ministry of Churches was set up. Church schools were abolished and
the Nazis aimed to influence young people by promoting the Hitler Youth rather
than the Church youth clubs.
 There were some Protestants who opposed the Nazis. In December 1933 Pastor
Martin Niemoller set up the Pastor’s Emergency League, and the following year
they set up the Confessional Church, although the Nazis later banned this.
 Hitler broke his promise with the Catholic Church and began to close down
catholic schools and youth groups. In 1937 the Pope made his famous statement
‘with Burning Anxiety’ in which he attacked the Nazi system for their abuse of
human rights. As a result 400 Catholic Priests were arrested and sent to
concentration camps.
 Hitler tried to control the church but was not able to get them rid of them
completely.
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 Germany During the War – 1939-1947
Life in Nazi Germany during the early war years (1939-41)
 At first the war had very little impact on people living in Nazi Germany. The
Blitzkrieg method brought lots of victories and there were no shortages for civilians
(people living in Germany). In fact supplies increased; as the Nazis took over other
countries supplies of raw materials and luxuries were sent back to Germany.
 Rationing was introduced in 1939 to control supplies, and this meant 2 out of 5
Germans followed a healthier diet than they had before the war.
 Although the Nazis believed that a women’s place was in the home, women were
needed in industry. By 1939 6.2 million women were working, but the Nazis found
many women were reluctant to join the workforce. In January 1943 the Nazis had to
conscript women into the workforce.
 Goebbels made effective use of propaganda during the war.

Life in Nazi Germany during the latter war years (1942-45)

 Germany was defeated at Stalingrad in the Soviet Union and forced to retreat; this
was a turning point in the war for Germany.
 From 1942, Germans began to experience bombing raids on their major cities,
such as Dresden, from British and American bombers. Hundreds of thousands of
civilians were killed. By the end of the war 3.5 million civilians had been killed. As a
result there were food shortages and rationing increased.
 In 1943 Albert Speer became Reich Minister for Armaments and Production. He
took direct control of the war economy; civilian goods stopped being produced and all
factories began to produce items needed for the war effort. As a result production
increased e.g. munitions output increased by 60%
between 1939 and 1944.
 In 1944, all workers had to go into armaments
production. Women went back to work; their children
were in day care. People had to work longer and longer
hours.
 In 1944 the Volkssturm (the People’s Home Guard)
was set up. This was a people’s army, made up of Hitler
Youth and men who were not fit enough for the national
army, which would defend German cities if they were
attacked by the allies. They lacked experience, were
poorly trained with few weapons and were never a serious
fighting force.

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How were Jewish people treated during the war years?
1. Ghettos
 The Jews were rounded up and put
into ghettos, sections of cities with
walls built around them.
 They were designed as holding camps
so that the Jews could easily be
transported to their next
destination.
 Once inside the ghettos, Jews were
not allowed to leave and anybody who
tried to leave was shot.
 The conditions in the ghettos were terrible; there were serious food shortages as
they had to survive on starvation rations, as well as fuel shortages and
overcrowding. Thousands died from cold, hunger and disease.
 Around 55,000 Jews died in the Warsaw ghetto alone.

2. Einsatzgruppen
 As the German army invaded Russia, the ‘Jewish
problem’ got worse as the Nazis now had more
Jews under their control.
 The Nazis organised special murder squads
known as the Einsatzgruppen. These squads
followed the advancing German armies and
rounded up all the Jews.
 The Jews were takes to the outskirts of villages
where they were forced to dig their own graves
before being shot.
 It is estimated that by 1943, 2 million Russians, mainly Jews, had been murdered
in this way.

3. The Final Solution

 In the summer of 1941 a decision was taken by senior Nazis to seek a final
solution to the Jewish problem.
 They were concerned as each new victory brought more and more Jews under
their control and they didn’t know what to do with them. They wanted a
permanent solution.

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 The Nazis also needed an efficient solution, shooting all the Jews was no longer an
option, as there were too many Jews and it would waste bullets in the war, and
take too much time.
 In January 1942 the leading Nazis met at Wannsee in Berlin and worked out the
details of the ‘Final Solution’. Death camps were to be built in Poland, far away
from Germany.
 6 death camps were built.
 When the Jews arrived they were split into 2 groups; those who could work and
those who were to be killed immediately. The second group went straight to the
gas chambers which were disguised as showers.
 By the time the camps were liberated at the end of the war, 6 million Jews had
been worked to death, gassed or shot.

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Opposition to the Nazis
 Young people opposed the Nazis:
o The Edelweiss Pirates. Working class movement who beat up the Hitler
Youth. They refused to join the Hitler Youth and instead met up in mixed
groups to mock the Hitler Youth. During the war they distributed leaflets
dropped by the allies. The Gestapo caught a group of pirates and they were
publicly hanged.
o The Swing Youth. Middle class movement who listened to jazz music and
went clubbing. The Nazis were threatened by their activities so closed
down the bars they were known to attend.
o The White Rose movement. This was started by students Hans and Sophie
Scholl and Professor Kurt Huber at Munich University. They spread anti-
Nazi leaflets and urged Germans not to support WW2. Their activities were
reported to the Gestapo by a janitor at the university and they were
hanged.

 The churches opposed the Nazis:

o Protestants set up the Confessional Church which was anti-Nazi.
o Protestant pastors such as Dietrich Bonhoeffer and Martin Niemoller
spoke out against the Nazis. Bonhoeffer was also involved in sabotage work.
o Niemoller was arrested and sent to a concentration camp but survived.
o Bonhoeffer was arrested in 1942 for plotting against Hitler. He died in a
concentration camp in 1945.
o Von Galen also spoke out against the Nazis; he gave a number of sermons
attacking Nazi policies. He was arrested in 1944 and died in 1946.

 The army opposed the Nazis (July Bomb Plot):

o Army officers became more and more critical of Hitler in 1943 as the war
went very badly.
o Two assassination attempts had been organised in 1943, but both had
failed.
o On 20th July 1944, Count von Stauffenberg attempted to assassinate Hitler
with a bomb in a suitcase. It was called ‘Operation Valkyrie’.
o However the plot failed as somebody at the meeting moved
the briefcase so it was further away from Hitler.
o The bomb exploded killing 4 people, but Hitler survived
with minor injuries.
o Stauffenberg was arrested and his accomplice, Beck,
committed suicide.
o Hitler took revenge on all those involved in the plot, and
5,746 people were executed.

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The defeat of the German army and the death of Hitler

 By the end of 1944 the German

army had been pushed back out
of the Soviet Union (Russia).
 During 1945 the Soviet army
continued to advance and
liberated the countries Germany
had once occupied e.g. Hungary
and Austria.
 The Soviet army began to
attack Berlin on 16th April 1945
with around 1.5 million soldiers.
 By April 24th Berlin was
surrounded, and the only people
left to defend it were around 100,000 men who were members of the Volkssturm
or the Hitler Youth.
 On the 30th April Hitler committed suicide in his bunker, after killing his wife
Eva Braun and his dog.
 On the 1st May, Goebbels committed suicide with his wife after killing his children.
 On the 8th May Germany surrendered.

How was Germany punished by the allies?

 The Yalta Conference – February 1945

o The allied leaders met to discuss what to do with Germany after the war.
o They decided to divide Germany into 4 zones (US, British, French and
Soviet).
o They decided to divide Berlin into 4 zones too.
o To hunt down and try Nazi war criminals in an international court of justice.

 The Potsdam Conference – July 1945

o The allies agreed the following;
o Divide Germany into the 4 zones as agreed
at Yalta.
o To demilitarise Germany.
o To re-establish democracy in Germany.
o To ban the Nazi party.

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The Nuremberg Trials
 The allies agreed to put the leading members of the Nazi Party on trial, as war
criminals.
 The trials were held at Nuremberg as it was a place that was strongly associated
with the development of the Nazi party.
 The Nazis were accused of conspiring to;
o Wage war
o Commit crimes against peace
o Commit crimes against humanity
(including the newly defined crime of
genocide)
o Commit war crimes such as abuse and
murder of prisoners
 The trials began on 21st November 1945 and
ended on 1st October 1946.
 Almost 200 Nazis were tried at
Nuremberg; 142 were found guilty of at
least one of the charges, 4 defendants had
to be removed from the trials due to illness
and 4 more committed suicide.

Denazification
 Denazification was the allies’ policy of removing traces of the Nazi regime from
German society, culture, press, economy, education and politics.
 The following measures were introduced;
o Wearing the German army uniform was banned
o 2 million Nazis were forbidden to work as
anything but manual labourers
o The Nazi Party was banned in October 1945
o Publication and dissemination of any Nazi
literature was banned. Anybody found to have any
of the 30,000 banned books was arrested
o German streets were renamed.
 The allies also controlled the media to make sure that only negative messages
about the Nazis were presented to the public.

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