Week 2, Germany History Part 1

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Week 2, Germany History Part 1

• The Weimar Republic
• 1919-1933

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Weimar 3 Parts

• Part 1 Weimar 1919-1923 BAD
• Part 2 Weimar 1924-1929 Good
• Part 3 Weimar 1929-1933 BAD

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Weimar Part 1 1919 to 1923

• Terrible Times Inflation and Chaos

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1924 to 1929 is GOOD

• US loans Germany money and their debts are
  reduced (mid 1920s things get better)
• Art/Architecture- Bahaus school
• Music- famous composers like Arnold Schonberg
• Fashion- Berlin and important center (lots of
  clothing manufacturing)
• Modern technology, famous scientists in Germany
  Albert Einstein, Max Planck

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Jews Considered Themselves WE

• Think of how people become They
• Who is they at WMS? In the U.S.? In the world?
• How and why does this happen?
• When does it turn bad?

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Jewish Life in Europe

• Most Jews lived in Eastern Europe (Poland,
  Soviet Union, Hungary) and most lived in shetls
  (Jewish village.). They spoke Yiddish, dressed
  traditionally, etc.
• Jews In Western Europe (Germany, France,
  Britain), were assimilated. Were in all jobs,
  spoke language of country, etc. They considered
  themselves German, French, etc.

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Jewish Quarter, Paris, 1933
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Weimar 1929-1933The Great Depression Changes
Everything

• In 1929, the stock market crash in US sends whole
  world into Depression.
• Millions lose jobs.
• Weimar government cuts spending to help those in
  need because it is out of cash.
• Weimar government very unpopular, and returns
  Weimar to the chaos of 1919-24.

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Unemployment Skyrockets!
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1929 The Great DepressionEconomic Troubles
Return
Unemployment 1928- 1,862,000 1929-
2,850,000 1930- 3,217,000 1931- 4.886.000 1932-
6,042,000
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How Do Germans handle the tension?

• Underlying tensions
• WWI feelings
• distrust of Democracy
• Anti-Semitic attitudes
• Economic crisis
• Where do Hitler and Nazis come in?

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Nazi Power in 1920s
There were dozens of political parties in Weimar
that tried to elect represenatives to the
Reichstag, the legislative branch. Here are
three. The chart shows what of the Reichstag
each party controlled. What do you notice happens
over time?
1920 1924 1928 1930 1932 1933
Nazis ------ 7 2 19 38 45
Communists 1 9 11 13 15 12
Social Democrats 22 27 31 25 21 18
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What about that Hitler guy?

• Hitler and his Nazi Party had tried to take over
  the Weimar government in 1923.
• The attempt failed. Why?
• Hitler was jailed. He was supposed to spend 5
  years in jail, but he only served for 1 year.
• While in jail, Hitler wrote a book, Mein Kampf
  (my struggle). The book had two main themes 1.
  Blaming Jews for Germanys problems, and 2.
  Claiming Germany needed room to expand.

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Weimar, Part 3 1928-1933Why did the Nazi
Partys popularity increase so dramatically from
1928-1930?

• Hitler (the leader of the Nazi Party) claimed to
  have all of the answers to Germanys problems.
  The depression had just hit and many people in
  Germany needed a strong leader to help save their
  country.
• The Nazis also staged quite a campaign - they put
  on parades, broadcasted on the radio, put
  together films, gave speeches, etc.

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Not to mention

• Hitler was a very powerful speaker.

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Powerful speaker

• Germans, stand together! Up and resist the
  foe!...So long as this Treaty stands there can be
  no resurrection of the German peopleThe treaty
  was made in order to bring 20 million Germans to
  their deaths and to ruin the German nationHe who
  will not be a hammer must be an anvil. An anvil
  we are today, and that anvil will be beaten until
  out of the anvil we fashion once more a hammer, a
  German sword!

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What did Hitlers party promise the people of
Germany?

• Promised jobs and food. This attracted the vote
  of the unemployed workers, small
  farmers,industrialists, and shopkeepers, who were
  nearly bankrupt and accepted his promise of good
  earnings.
• Promised to restore law and order. This
  attracted urban Germans, who were fed up with the
  crime and disorder in the cities.
• Promised to destroy the Communists. This
  attracted the upper and middle class property
  owners, who feared that the communists would take
  over Germany and seize all of their private
  holdings and wealth.
• Promised to restore honor and glory to Germany by
  tearing up the Treaty of Versailles (refusing to
  pay the war debts, building up the German army).
  This attracted nearly all Germans who felt that
  the treaty had destroyed their country.

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What did Hitlers party promise the people of
Germany?

• Promised jobs and food.
• Promised to restore law and order.
• Promised to destroy the Communists.
• Promised to restore honor and glory to Germany by
  tearing up the Treaty of Versailles (refusing to
  pay the war debts, building up the German army).
  
• What types of people would this appeal to?

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Blame and Pride

• Blame Hitler found ways to put the blame for the
  horrid conditions on someone else, thus giving
  the German people a scapegoat for their
  suffering.
• Traitorous polticians stabbed germany in back by
  signing the Treaty of Versailles
• Jews who he claimed controlled all the money in
  the world
• Pride Called true Germans a master race that
  was destined to rule the world.

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But WHY the Jews?

• If they Jews were only 1 of the population
• And most German Jews were assimilated people who
  considered themselves GERMAN
• Then how did they become THEY? The Other?
• Why did people believe Hitler?