Was the Weimar Republic doomed from the start?

- End of WWI
o Kaiser Wilhelm II orders the navy in a suicide mission.
o The navy mutinies.
o Kaiser abdicates.
o Friedrich Ebert (SPD) and Groener (Army) signed the peace treaty with France.
- Weimar Constitution
o Democratic institutions
o Emphasis on democracy and individual rights.
o Everyone over 20 could vote.
o Freedom of Speech, freedom of religion and equality.
o Separation of powers.
o A president and a Chancellor. (The president protects the constitution and the
Chancellor is the head of state.)
o Decentralization.
o Judges appointed by the president.
- Treaty of Versailles
o Wilson’s promises are not kept.
o Germany is heavily punished.
- Consequences of the treaty.
o Many ex-soldiers see it as a “stab in the back” by politicians. Some of them were Jewish.
o These politicians are called the “November criminals”.
o League of Nations is seen as a “League of Victors” built to keep Germany down.
- Spartacist Movement (left wing)
o Led by Rosa Luxemburg and Karl Liebknecht.
o Started a failed communist revolution in 1919.
o The government of Ebert and Groener have them killed.
o A second uprising in Bavaria. 600 communists killed.
o A third uprising in the Ruhr valley. Form a workers army of 50.000 members. Defeated
by the Freikorps and the army. 1.000 communists killed.
- Freikorps (right wing)
o A paramilitary movement.
o Supported Ebert’s government until the communists are defeated and Ebert has them
disbanded.
o 2 leaders, Lüttwitz and Kapp refuse.
o Kapp Putsch (1920), the Freikorps take control of the government through a coup. The
army refuses to fight them. Kapp is made chancellor but has little popular support.
o General strike. No water or electricity. The Putsch (coup) collapses after 4 days, Kapp
escapes to Sweden.
o Judges supported the Putsch, only one person is sent to prison.
 o The Freikorps reorganize into a secret society to assassinate government officials. By
1923 they have killed 354 politicians.
- French occupation of the Ruhr 1923
o In 1923 Germany could not pay its reparations.
o French and Belgians entered Ruhr to seize goods.
o German government ordered “passive resistance”. This meant that the German
population of the Ruhr refused to work in the mines or accept orders from
the occupiers.
o French troops killed 100 protesters and expelled 100.000 from the region.
o German government printed money to pay. This led to inflation and other countries not
accepting German money.
o In 1914 1us$ was worth 4.2 Marks. In November 1923 1us$ was worth 200.000.000.000
Marks.
o Stresemann became Chancellor in 1923. Resumes payment of reparations. French and
Belgians leave Germany. Resigns and becomes foreign minister.
- Stresemann’s Economic Policies
o Destroys the old currency (Mark) and creates a new in 1924 (Reichsmark).
o Dawes Plan 1924. Germany will only pay reparations when it can. No more occupation
of the Ruhr. USA lends Germany money to kickstart the economy. By 1928 the German
industry is same as before the war.
o Stresemann negotiates the Young Plan. An agreement where Germany will pay less in
reparations and with more time.
o Germany finished paying reparations for WW1 in 2010.
- Improvements in the Weimar Republic
o More support from the public over time.
o Society was freer. Late-Night clubs. Tolerance for different lifestyles (LGBTQ+ groups
were more accepted)
o Germany (and especially Berlin) becomes a beacon of new art, film, and theater.
German Expressionism emerges as a modern artistic movement.
o But the economy depends on USA help.
Why was Hitler able to dominate Germany by 1934?

- Nazis in the 1920s

o In 1919 Hitler joins a new small political party to spy for the government.
o In 1921 he becomes the leader of this political party.
o Changes the name from German Workers Party to National Socialist German Workers
Party to attract more supporters.
o Creates the 25-Point Programme. (Opposition to the Versailles Treaty, All Germans
under one Nation, Lebensraum, Racist ideas, Opposes liberal capitalism.)
The Lebensraum (Room to live) is the idea that Germany needs to extend its borders to
the East, without consideration of the people already living there. It was a colonial
project based on the USA colonial expansion to the West by taking Indigenous land and
committing Genocide. Hitler was a cowboy fan…
o Introduces the Swastika as a symbol.
o Sets up the SA as the party’s paramilitary group. Also known as the Brownshirts. Many
of them come from the Freikorps.
o Buys a Munich newspaper to spread ideas and propaganda.
o Introduces the Hitler Salute.
- Munich Putsch 1923
o At the Munich beer hall Hitler shot a gun and called for a “National Revolution.”
o Expected the Munich governor and Munich army General to support him in marching to
Berlin, but they didn’t.
o The next day 2.000 Nazis march in Munich, but the police stop them. Kill 16 Nazis and
arrest the leaders, including Hitler.
o During Hitler’s trial he made speeches and became well known outside of Munich.
o Many judges supported the Nazis and Hitler did not get a long sentence. He writes Mein
Kampf in jail. In it, he writes the “25-Point Programme”, his plan for Germany, and his
racist ideals.
o Nazis now are more popular and get 6.5% of the popular vote in the 1924 elections.
o Hitler is released from prison in 1924 and focused on winning the next elections.
o Hitler is now the Führer and his authority is unquestionable.
o Nazis lose support in the 1928 elections. Only 2.6% of the votes.
- Nazi groups and important Nazis.
o Hitler Youth
o Order of German Women
o Nazi Teacher’s Association
o Union of Nazi Lawyers
o SA – Paramilitary group to protect nazi leaders. Led by Röhm who was involved in the
Chaco War in Bolivia.
 o SS – Hitler’s personal bodyguards. Led by Himmler. Later became the most significant
nazi organization. Were in charge of the Concentration Camps.
o Head of Propaganda – Goebbels.
o Göring. WWI Pilot, helped Hitler make important contacts with rich business men.
- Hitler becomes Chancellor.
o Stock Market crashes in the USA. Great depression starts.
o With the German economy depending on US loans, it crashed.
o Unemployment in Germany went from 1.4 Millions to 6 Millions.
o Hitler and the Nazis use the crisis to criticize the other political parties.
o Röhm returns from Bolivia and expands the numbers of the SA. They are now 4 times
the size of the German Army. Frequently beat up communists.
o With the crisis, both the Nazis and the German Communist Party grew in numbers
because the liberals seemed to be the ones that caused the crisis.
o Presidential Elections in 1932. No country gets more than 50% of the votes, so a second
round between the 3 main leaders is held. Hindenburg (supported by center-left and
center-right parties), Hitler (Nazi), and Thälmann (Communist). Hindenburg won.
Remember, in Germany the President is not the head of state.
o Federal elections are held the same year (to elect the parliament) and the Nazi party is
the one most voted, with 37.3%.
o A coalition government was needed, but Hindenburg did not trust Hitler. Von Papen, a
German Aristocrat, convinced him to form a government with Hitler as Chancellor, but
with few Nazi ministers. If Hitler fixed the financial crisis, Hindenburg could take credit
for appointing him. If he failed, Nazi support would collapse.
o Hindenburg feared a Nazi or communist uprising. Appointing Hitler as Chancellor
seemed like the least dangerous option.
- Hitler now as Chancellor, has limited power.
o Hindenburg can legally sack him.
o Hitler does not control the army.
o As a coalition government, only has 3 ministers out of 14.
o Weak economy.
o Does not have the majority of the Reichstag. (Parliament)
o Step 1. Reichstag Fire
- Reichstag Fire
o Hitler calls for another election, thinking he’ll gain more representation.
o Protests lead to chaos and violence, 69 people die in street-fighting.
o The Reichstag burns. Hitler blames the violence and the burning on the Communist
Party. Some suspect it was actually the Nazis the ones that burned the Reichstag to
blame it on the Communists, we don’t know the truth until this day.
o Hitler convinces Hindenburg (who also hated the Communists) to sign a decree that
would cut individual rights and give the government more power.
o Leaders of the Communist Party (KPD) are arrested as well as hundreds of opponents.
o Hitler wins the elections, but not by a vast majority. Not enough to change the
constitution.
- Enabling act
o A few weeks after the elections, Hitler proposes giving the government dictatorial
powers for 4 years to be able to fix the economy and stop the violence without the
hindrance of bureaucracy.
o Through promises and intimidation, he manages to get the support of all minor parties.
o The ultra-conservative monarchist party (DNPV) supports them happily.
o The Catholic Center Party supports them when Hitler promises to protect Catholic
Churches and Schools.
o No one in the Communist Party is allowed to vote.
o The SPD votes against it, but 21.7% of their deputies have been arrested and are not
allowed to vote.
o In the end the Enabling Act is passed with 444 votes in favor, 94 against, and 109
absentees. 2/3 are achieved and the enabling act passes. Hitler now is officially (and
legally) a dictator.
- The night of the long knives.
o By 1933 all other parties are banned.
o Trade Unions are banned, only the Nazi German Labor Front is official.
o Radical Nazis expect Hitler to be quicker and bolder with his moves. Hitler is still
cautious.
o Röhm (leader of the SA) criticizes Hitler for being too soft and Himmler (leader of the SS)
forges evidence that Röhm wants to do a coup on Hitler.
o On 30 June, Hitler gives the SA a holiday, and attacks Röhm and his men at a Hotel with
SS men. 200 people are killed, Röhm is executed.
o Hitler decrees that the actions were legal and necessary for the defense of the state.
o The SA was no more, most of its members joined the army.
o Hitler had no more opposition inside his party.
- Hindenburg dies.
o When Hindenburg dies, Hitler passes a decree where the offices of the President and
the Chancellor are merged into one. Hitler is now both things, he is now the “Führer”.
How effectively did the Nazis control Germany? (1933-1945)

- Opposition.
o Churches.
o There was some resistance by Catholic Priests and Protestant Pastors. Hitler feared
being too harsh on religious leaders, so they were arrested, but not usually killed.

o Youth
o White Rose movement. Young people produced pamphlets against the Nazis.
During the war, these pamphlets were thrown from airplanes over cities in Germany by
the Allies. The leaders, Hans and Sophie Scholl were arrested, tortured, and beheaded.
o Edelweiss Pirates were similar groups to the White Rose movement. Less organized, but
still delivered pamphlets, wrote graffiti, and picked up fights with the Hitler Youth.

o Political groups.
o In the Center, the SPD formed an underground movement based in Prague called the
SOPADE. Tried to report to the outside world what was happening in Germany.
o On the Left, the USSR created a spy network called the Red Orchestra. Most were found,
tortured, and killed by the Gestapo.
o On the Right, a group of conservatives called the Kreisau Circle were discussing how to
rule the country once Hitler was gone. The Gestapo executed many of its members.

o Military
o Claus von Stauffenberg attempted Operation Valkyrie. An attempt to kill Hitler with a
bomb in a briefcase. 4 people died, but Hitler survived and only hurt his ear.
o A military uprising was found by the Gestapo and 5.000 conspirators were executed.

- Control
o Gestapo, secret police with a network of informants who spied on the German
population to find any sign of opposition. Under the control of the SS.
o Concentration Camps. Under the control of the SS, political opponents were sent there.
In the gates was the message “Arbeit Macht Frei”. (Work will set you free)
o Propaganda. The state controlled the radios. Newspapers were privately owned, but the
editors were responsible for what was being published. Any criticism would lead to
punishment.
Goebbels was made minister of propaganda.
Specific art styles were favored and others were banned. Book burnings were common.
 The Berlin Olympics in 1936 were used to show how great Germany was.
Mass Ralies were held constantly to show the strength and power of the Nazis.
o Judges. Many of the old Judges already had sympathy for groups like the Nazis. That’s
why there wasn’t a great punishment for either the Kapp Putsch or the Munich Putsch.
The Nazis had full control over the judicial system. The death penalty was now available
for 16-year-olds. Even telling jokes against the Nazis was now punishable by Death.

- Persecution
o Ideological. Hostility towards Jews, foreigners, communists, and even disabled Germans
for not being “pure” enough.
o Political. All opposition was a threat.
o Churches. Some opposition came from there. They couldn’t just shut them down. Some
priests were persecuted, but they also formed alliances with conservative priests to
avoid criticism.
o Germans with certain “illnesses” were Sterilized to avoid the passing of “bad genes” and
in some cases, they were killed in an Euthanasia program. Handicapped or mentally ill
Germans were being sent to “clinics” where they were studied and killed.
o Jews. In 1935 the Nuremberg Laws deprived Jews of their citizenship. Were forbidden
from marrying or having sexual relations with Germans.
Policies against Jews were soft until 1938 for fear of international reaction.
o Night of the Broken Glass. In 1938 SS men dressed as civilians attacked Jewish homes,
shops, and synagogues. At least 100 people were killed. The next day the streets were
filled with broken glass.
Jews were blamed for the violence, and fined with 1 billion marks.
Jewish businesses were confiscated and Jewish children were banned from schools and
universities.
o When the war started and Germany invaded Poland, 3 million Jews lived in Poland. They
were banned from working and living freely, so the Reich had to maintain them. The
first Ghetto was set up in Poland in 1939 to keep them separated from the Germans.
o When the Germany Army invaded the Soviet Union, the Ghettos were no longer the
preferred method to deal with Jews. Behind the Army, specialist groups called the
Einsatzgruppen searched for Jews to kill and dump them in mass graves. By the end of
1941 these groups had already killed 700.000 people.
o The Final Solution. In 1942 a conference was held in Wannsee to deal with the “Jewish
Problem”. It was decided to attempt to kill all Jews in Europe. They would be taken to
Concentration Camps to do Forced Labor (Slavery) to pay for the war effort and then
taken to Death Camps to kill them. This was the Holocaust, around 6 million Jews died.
o The idea of the Lebensraum involved Germans populating territory that was already
populated. This implies the extermination or expulsion of the locals. It is believed that
around 10 million Slavic people died during the war.
What was it like to live in Nazi Germany?

- Youth
o Schools were used for indoctrination.
o Kids were sent to the Hitler Youth (Hitler Jügend). Did camping, and athletics, and were
trained to be future soldiers.
By 1939 it was compulsory.
Girls assisted the League of German Maidens. Learned Cooking and Domestic skills.
The indoctrination was so successful, that some kids informed the Gestapo on their
parents.
o Some refused to join and formed resistance groups like the Edelweiss Pirates. Listened
to Jazz (black music) and attacked the Hitler Youth.
In 1944, 12 pirates were publicly hanged as a warning.
The White Rose was a youth movement that produced pamphlets against the Nazis.
- Women
o More freedom in Weimar Republic. Could go to bars, could vote.
o Older women were more conservative and did not approve. Many voted for Hindenburg
and later for Hitler.
o Nazi policies: Kinder, Küche, Kirsche. (Kids, Kitchen, Church).
o Women could only do jobs men could not (like midwives).
o 10% of space for women in universities.
o Medals were given for having many children.
o Abortion was legal (and endorsed) for children who were not “pure” or who would be
born disabled. Abortion for “pure” Germanic children was banned.
Lebensborn program was an SS program to produce more “pure” children between
soldiers and unmarried women. The state would compensate women with financial
support. This program extended to very “Aryan” countries like Norway. A famous child
of this program is one of the singers of the band ABBA.
o In other occupied countries, like Poland, many children of rape were kidnapped and
taken to Germany.
If deemed “Pure Enough”, they would be put in boarding schools as foster care and
were not told about their heritage. If deemed “not pure enough” they would be taken
to experiment on them, use them as slave workers in concentration camps, or simply be
killed.
o When WWII started, many men were in the front, so women now took their places in
factories and farms.
o Many women joined the resistance, taking advantage of the prejudices of Nazis against
women by underestimating them.
 o A concentration camp for women was set up in Ravensbrück, where 50.000 women
died.
- Workers
o Hitler got to power after the worst part of the Great Depression. So there was this
image of him being responsible for the improvements in the Economy.
o The Nazi government had a good Economics Minister (Hjaldmar Schacht) who was not
and Nazi and who had helped Stresemann during his time.
o Public Works were developed like the construction of the Autobahn, the development
of the Car Industry (Wolkswagen) and the Military Industry. Many jobs were created.
o In 1936 Hitler sacked Schacht and put Göring (not an economist) in place to set up a
Four-Year Plan to make Germany ready for war in order to get Autarky. Autarky means
economically self-sufficient. A state that does not require imports or exports, but rather
has everything it needs by itself. To do this, the expansion to the east for land and
resources was needed.
o Many people argue that beyond the racism and imperialism, the Nazis had great success
in the economy, however, their economic plans depended on their racist and imperialist
ambitions.
o A main problem of the Four-Year Plan was that they couldn’t get the essential materials
they needed by themselves. The Nazi-Soviet pact allowed Germany to get these
resources through trade, but it was still expensive. The invasion of the Soviet Union,
among other reasons, was to get these resources for “free”.
o Most workers had voted for the SPD (socialists) or the KPD (communists), so the Nazis
mistrusted them. They tried to win them over through a program called “Strength
Through Joy” where they would give them vacations with skiing trips, tickets to theater
and other things. The idea was to keep them occupied to avoid them getting organized.
The workers took these things gladly, but it did not win them over. The Nazis were not
very popular among many in the working class.
o Farmers resented regulation but benefited from Nazi policies. The war effort needed
food.
o Businessmen and industrialists. Benefited from the removal of a communist threat and
Jewish competition. Large firms gained huge contracts for the war effort.
- War
o The first couple of years the war did not have much impact on the life of Germans.
Some food rationing happened, but it was not significant. However, taking the West of
Europe was not enough to gain Autarky.
o With the invasion of the USSR things got worse. Germany was not at Total War.
Total War means that all of the resources of the state are directed towards the War
Effort. All industries and all citizens are expected to help somehow. Civil liberties and
individual rights are restricted (even more than before). Food is rationed. Men are
conscripted into the army, etc.
By 1644 61% of all workers had war-related employment.
o In 1942 Hitler appointed a Minster of Armaments who managed to increase the
production of weapons by 300%, but it still was not enough, Germany was now fighting
against 3 major powers, the USA, USSR, and Britain, and could not produce enough
 tanks, planes and weapons as the three of them combined. Spain had not joined the war
as Hitler expected and Mussolini was not doing great in Africa. Japan was too far away
to help in any way outside of forcing the resources of the USA and Britain to also focus
on the Pacific.
o Allied bombings. Britain bombed economic targets from the start of the war, and since
1942 with the USA they also bombed cities to undermine German Civilian Morale.
(They didn’t have GPS back then, so sometimes they got confused and bombed allied
cities, like Nijmegen in the Netherlands and Prague in Czechoslovakia.)
It is believed that the Allied bombings killed around 300.000 German Civilians during the
war. That’s more than the nuclear bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki combined.