Germany from 1919 to 1934

The Weimar Republic

President Ebert – first president of the Weimar Republic.

The end of an empire

• Kaiser Wilhelm II was monarch of the German Empire who ruled with a parliament i.e.

(a constitutional monarchy).

After the war Germany became a republic

• President Ebert became the first democratically elected president

• Many political parties competed for votes• Riots and unrest were prominent in the early

1920s due to social and economic needs of the people e.g. unemployment, food shortages, housing, inflation, etc.

• Due to unrest the seat of govt moved to the city of Weimar instead of Berlin.

Some of the parties that featured were

• The Socialist Democrats• The Communist Party• The Nationalists• The German Workers Party (Hitler became the

leader in 1921) and others…..

All made promises to the people to gain votes.

Aims of HitlerLebensraum/Living space

Unite all Germans outside the borders

Socialism – State should help all Germans who were suffering

Lebensraum/Find living space for Germans

Nationalism –Germany should be proud, united and strong

Anti- Semitic – hatred of Jews

Eastern Europe – invade, expand and conquer the Slavs

Build up the economy again

Un-do T of V

Life in Weimar

• Democracy: elections, secret ballot, political parties, constitution, human rights.

• New system for Germans who were used to a semi-autocratic system (hereditary emperor and an elected parliament)

• But too many parties and the voting results showed that voters were torn between liberal, moderate and conservative parties.

Posters – propaganda for various causes

Economic problems

Joblessness was rife but also hyperinflation as currency devalued. Housing and food shortages made people frustrated.

Devaluation and hardship• Year Month Marks needed to buy one US dollar • 1919 April 12• December 47• 1921 November 263• 1922 July 493• August 1,000• October 3,000• December 7,000• 1923 January 17,000• April 24,000• July 353,000• August 4,621,000• September 98,860,000• October 25,260,000,000• November 2,193,600,000,000• December 4,200,000,000,000

Culture and society

Painted during the period of Weimar rule: What does each painting portray about society?

What view of society is represented here?

Freedom of expression: themes, colours and form.

Let’s sum up:

• Germans gained more freedom and many rights under the Weimar Republic

• The country had a liberal constitution (many rights) that was based on democracy

• BUT it was a relatively new system which meant that the Germans needed to be prepared for the changes that were introduced…..

What was education and schools like in the Weimar Republic?•In classrooms pupils were encouraged to be obedient and to respect authority.•Schools changed very little after WWI and were traditional and conservative.•No criticism of courses or subject matter allowed.• Albert Speer (Nazi) recalled learning about the “God-given order of things”.

CASS Task 1

Question Describe/ explain effects/ influence (how)

WHAT WAS THE IMPACT OF EDUCATION ON PUPILS IN WEIMAR GERMANY?

schooling teaching learning and thinking

Prim and secondary

Germany 1919 - 1933

The collapse of democracy in Weimar…. WHY?

1925-1929

•Economy improved•Loans from the USA•But flaws in economy as they relied on credit and imports rather than the manufacturing sector

Consequences

•Support for Moderate parties •Nazi Party few votes•All seemed well on the surface.

Chain reaction

1929Great Depression in USA

• Loans (Dawes and Young Plan) ended and Germany stopped repaying the war debt

• Economic troubles spread to Weimar Rep too

Germany after 1929• Shortage of jobs –

massive unemployment

• Increased urbanisation

• Radical parties gained support

• More unrest and instability

Support for Nazis grew steadily• Promoted NAZISM as an

ideology (combination of socialism and nationalism)

• Outlawed radical parties as dangerous

• Promoted the idea of law and order

• Encouraged the Germans to support a more centralised system of control.

Election results in Germany

Federal election results of the Nazi Party

Date Votes % Nazi Seats Background in Reichstag (parlt)

May 1924 1,918,300 6.5 32 Hitler in prison Dec 1924 907,300 3.0 14 Hitler released May 1928 810,100 2.6 12 Sept 1930 6,409,600 18.3 107 After the financial crisisJuly 1932 13,745,800 37.4 230 Nov 1932 11,737,000 33.1 196 March 1933 17,277,000 43.9 288 After Hitler had become Chancellor

Nazis still no majority

How did Hitler take control?

The President von Hindenburg appointed Hitler as Chancellor – this gave him more power and he began to consolidate and centralise his control.

The Reichstag building caught fire in 1933 and Hitler immediately blamed the Communist Party for this incident and banned the Communist Party from the Reichstag (this party was the biggest opposition party to the Nazis).

Hitler used propaganda to win votes and passed two decrees that took way the right to privacy and property.

On 23 March 1934 Hitler passed the ENABLING ACT that gave him emergency powers; anyone thought to be an ‘enemy of the State’ could be prosecuted.

By 1934

• The Weimar Government ceased to exist and in the place of the liberal democracy there a new form of government was introduced that was:

• Totalitarian (one ruler, one empire, one nation) and

• Autocratic (power centralised in the party; no opposition was allowed.