Rise of Hitler Nick Evans Hitler in IB

Rise of Hitler Nick Evans

Hitler in IB History n Paper 2: Rise and Rule of Single Party States n Paper 3: Option 3: Europe and the Middle East

Paper 2: Weimar and Hitler n Origin and nature of authoritarian and single party states n Conditions that produced Hitler n Emergence of Hitler: aims, ideology, support n Totalitarianism: the aim and the extent to which this was achieved

n Establishment of authoritarian and single party states n Methods: force, legal n Forms of government, ideology n Nature, extent and treatment of opposition

n Domestic policies n and impact n n n Structure and organisation of government and administration Political, economic, social and religious policies Role of education, the arts, media, propaganda Status of women, treatment of religious groups and minorities

Sample Essay Questions n Compare and contrast the conditions which helped the rise to power of two right wing leaders of single party states n “Strong economic policies are the key reason for a single party state maintaining power. ” With reference to either Hitler or Castro, to what extent do you agree with the statement?

n Evaluate the contributions to the rise to power of Hitler of each of the following: National Socialist ideology; the use of force; economic crises n In what ways, and to what extent, was propaganda important in the rise, and rule, of Hitler? n Discuss a) the ideology of, and b) the support for, one right wing ruler of a single party state.

Paper 3: Weimar and Hitler n Interwar Years: conflict and cooperation 1919 1939 n n n Germany 1919 – 1933: political, constitutional, economic, financial and social problems The impact of the Great Depression (case study of one country in Europe) Hitler’s domestic and foreign policy (1933 – 1939)

Sample Essay Questions n Evaluate the success of Hitler’s domestic policies between 1933 and 1939. n Assess the importance of indoctrination and propaganda in maintaining control in Germany under the Third Reich between 1933 and 1939.

n Why was the Weimar Republic so short lived? n Analyse the reasons for the collapse of the Weimar Republic and the establishment of a Nazi dictatorship in the period 1929 to 1934.

Why the Weimar Republic failed? n Origins n Structure of the Republic n Treaty of Versailles

n Opposition from the start n Economic problems

Origins

n Political structure of the Second Reich n Economic and social problems n Nationalism and foreign policy The Great War

n Defeat on the battlefield BUT no widespread retreat and no fighting on German soil n Deprivation at home due to naval blockade n General Ludendorff: “I have advised His Majesty to bring those groups into government whom we have in the main to thank for the fact that we are in this mess…Let them conclude the peace that has to be negotiated. Let them eat the broth they have prepared for us. ”

n Economic deprivation and war weariness caused growing unrest REVOLUTION! n Kaiser overthrown and Republic declared – two different republics from two different balconies! n Two days later – Armistice signed

n Republic born in defeat – stab in the back! “Our repeated requests for strict discipline and strict laws were never met. Thus our operations were bound to fail and the collapse had come: the revolution was only the last straw. An English General quite rightly said ‘The German army was stabbed in the back’. No blame was to be attached to the sound core of the army…It is perfectly clear on whom the blame rests. ”

“The guilty consciences of those laden with guilt later invented the ‘stab in the back’. The collapse was not the result of revolution; it was the other way about; without revolution, without the collapse, the revolution that broke out six weeks later would probably have not occurred. ” Phillip Scheidemann Socialist Leader and future chancellor

n No tradition of democracy in Germany n Sources of power in Germany unchanged from before the war n Republic born in defeat and revolution - given responsibility for defeat and no legitimacy as a result of coming to power in revolution

“There is still dispute amongst historians as to whethere was a genuine revolution in November, 1918. In view of the fact that there was so little real change…it is more accurate to talk of a revolution that ran away with the sand, rather than the genuine article. The republic that emerged contained at once too much and too little of the old Germany: powerful institutional centres of the old ruling class remained intact and were not subject to democratic control while many Germans saw the Republic as originating in a revolution and therefore illegitimate. ”

Structure of Weimar Republic n Weimar Constitution - basis for German democracy The President: elected every 7 years, appoints/dismisses Chancellor, could dissolve the Reichstag, commanded the army n Article 48 – allowed for rule by emergency decree n

n The Chancellor: had to have the confidence of the Reichstag; was responsible for policy; appointed by the President n The Reichstag: voted for every 4 years; universal suffrage over 20; deputies elected using proportional representation

n Fundamental Rights and duties of Germans: liberal rights such as freedom of speech, freedom of assembly, freedom of religion, welfare state and right to nationalize industries, equality before the law all enshrined in the Constitution. So what was the problem?

n Article 48: undermined power of Reichstag and Fundamental Rights n Proportional Representation: very democratic but it enabled small parties representation AND resulted in coalition government n Key structures unchanged: military hostile, power of landed elites unchallenged, bureaucracy and judiciary unreconciled to new government

Treaty of Versailles n Hated by Germans because: a) b) c) d) e) It was a Diktat - a dictated peace Germany lost land – 13% of its pre war borders, and 10% of its population Germany was disarmed – no air force, no tanks, only 100, 000 strong army and small navy Germany forced to take guilt for war Germany forced to pay reparations

It was the Weimar Republic politicians who signed it

Opposition n From the Left: Sparticist Uprising, 1919 – government made deal with Army to put uprising down – also used the Freikorps – militia of right wing ex soldiers n From the Right: the Kapp Putsch and series of assassinations

Main Pro Weimar Parties SPD (Social Democrat Party) DDP (German Democratic Party Z (Centre Party) Jan 1919 % June 1920 % 38 21 19 8 20 18

Main Anti Weimar Parties Jan 1919 % June 1920 % USPD/KPD (Independent Social Democratic Party/ Communist Party) 8 19 DVP (German People’s Party) DNVP (German National People’s Party) 4 14 10 15

Economic Problems n Inflation – caused by reparations and Ruhr – 1923

Marks to the $ 1914 1918 1920 1921 1922 January 1922 July 1923 January 1923 July 1923 4 August 1923 Sept 1923 October 1923 November 4. 2 8. 9 39. 5 76. 7 191. 8 493. 2 17, 792 353, 412 620, 455 98, 860, 000 260, 208, 000 200, 000, 000

n Winners: those who had debt, those who had access to cheap credit, owners of foreign exchange n Losers: people with savings, especially pensioners and the lower middle class – workers, whose wage increases did not keep pace with price hikes n Resulted in an attempt to take power in Munich by the NSDAP

The NSDAP n National Socialist German Workers Party also known as the Nazi Party

n Started as German Workers Party n Hitler joins in 1919 – through oratory, becomes central to party, renamed NSDAP n Writes 25 Point program in 1920

n By 1923, Nazi Party had 70, 000 members and the Sturm Abteilung (SA) 15, 000 members BUT n Putsch was a failure – Hitler sent to jail

n Several important results: a) Turned Hitler from obscure provincial radical into national figure b) Taught Hitler that power would not be gained by force BUT by use of the Constitution c) Made it clear to Hitler that he needed the Army d) Hitler used his time in jail to write Mein Kampf – to hone his weltanschauung – his world view

Hitler’s Weltanschauung n Nationalism: Hitler believed that Germany and the German people had lost their position of greatness – was determined to regain it – thought that Germany were destined to create a greater Germany n Race: he believed that the Aryan race was dominant race, the creative force in human history – the Jews were the absolute contrast, an represented a threat to the Aryan race’s purity

n Social Darwinism: he believed in eternal struggle – that the weak would be dominated by the strong, that superior races would dominate weaker ones n Democracy and the State: he had contempt for parliamentary democracy – personal freedom, equality, rights of the individual played no part in Hitler’s world view – instead, the individual could only find fulfilment in submitting to the will of the nation.

n Fuhrerprinzip: Germany had to find the will to renew, and this would take a strong leader who would emerge unrestrained by democracy and parliament and who would lead the nation to glory – Germany needed a leader who ruled absolutely and without restraint n Propaganda and control: he believed propaganda essential to effective leadership – if you repeat your message enough with conviction, it will be believed

n Lebensraum: was the destiny of Germany to carve out a European empire that would dominate Europe – as the dominant race, they would need “living space” and would get in in the East – untermenschen who lived there would become German slaves – this living space would come from the Soviet Union

Economic Recovery 1924 - 1928 n The Rentenmark n The Dawes Plan

n Some indications of prosperity – economic growth up, loans coming in from US gave prosperity to some, brief drop in unemployment, standard of living improved BUT

n Unemployment persistently high, welfare state cost large sums of money, balance of payments problem, loans that were short term invested long term or to pay reparations, agriculture prices remained low “Germany is dancing on a volcano. If the short term credits are called in, a large section of our economy would collapse. ” Gustav Stresemann 1928

The Great Depression n Depression began in 1928 – loans dried up n Interest rates rose to counteract this – worsened problem as business began to close n Unemployment up!

Government response n Deflationary – sought to cut expenditure and balance budget n INCREASED IMPACT OF THE DEPRESSION

n Caused political problems – government was coalition – disagreement over welfare payments – Socialists wanted them and wanted a tax increase – other parties opposed this – Muller government falls and is replaced by Bruning continued deflationary policies BUT n Reichstag refused to pass them n

n Article 48 used – President Hindenburg passed the budget by decree

n Authority taken away from elected parliament and placed in hands of President n Reichstag passed vote of no confidence – Bruning called an election DISASTER

n Extremist parties big winners!

Collapse of Weimar

n Presidential Elections, 1932

n May 1932: Bruning betrayed – von Papen installed n July, 1932: elections

n August, 1932: Hitler refused power n November, 1932: Elections n Nazi Party seats down! – 230 to 196 n Communist Party seats up! – 89 to 100

n December, 1932: von Papen removed and von Schliecher appointed n January, 1933: von Papen makes deal with Hitler and persuades Hindenburg to appoint coalition with Hitler as Chancellor

Hitler has made it!

Who supported the Nazis n Contentious question n Traditional view: petty bourgeoisie (shop keepers, white collar workers) n More recent view: support broader than thought before – German workers more attracted and support came from a broader cross section of German society

n Jurgen Falter called the Nazi Party a “people’s party of protest with a middle class bulge”

Why did Hitler take power? n Treaty of Versailles n Great Depression n Weaknesses of Weimar

“No single problem ‘caused’ the downfall of the Weimar Republic… the integration of … problems, many of which predated the Republic, progressively weakened the German state. ” J. Hiden

Historiography n Product of German history: AJP Taylor n Crisis of capitalism: Marxist historians n Product of European History: Ritter, Blackbourn n Chance events and bad luck: Kershaw

From Government to Dictatorship

Bibliography J. Hite and C. Hinton: Weimar and Nazi Germany, Hodder Education, London, 2000 n K. J. Mason: Republic to Reich: A History of Germany, 1918 – 1945, Mc Graw Hill, 2003 (2 nd ed) n R. Evans, The Coming of the Third Reich, Penguin, London, 2004 n S. Waugh, Essential Modern World History, Nelson Thornes, 2001 n