3.2 Germany, 1918–45

Depth Study 3.2 – Germany, 1918‑1945

1. The End of the War and the Birth of the Weimar Republic (1918‑1919)

• Armistice (11 Nov 1918) – Ended fighting on the Western Front.
• German Revolution (Nov 1918 – Aug 1919) – Workers’ and soldiers’ councils forced Kaiser Wilhelm II to abdicate; the Republic was proclaimed on 9 Nov 1918.
• Weimar Constitution (adopted 31 Aug 1919) – Established a democratic republic; see section 2.1 for its main features.
• Treaty of Versailles (28 Jun 1919)
  • War‑guilt clause (Art. 231) forced Germany to accept sole responsibility.
  • Reparations: initially set at 132 billion gold marks – a huge fiscal burden.
  • Territorial losses (e.g., Alsace‑Lorraine, Eupen‑Malmedy, Polish Corridor, loss of colonies) reduced industrial and agricultural output.
  • Military limits (army ≤ 100 000, navy ≤ 15 000, no air force) humiliated national pride.
  Link to the Republic’s instability: The reparations and loss of productive territory forced the Weimar government to print money to meet payments, directly triggering the hyper‑inflation of 1921‑23 and fuelling public resentment toward democracy.

2. The Weimar Republic – Structure, Achievements and Why It Was “Doomed” (1919‑1933)

2.1 Constitution – key features

2.2 Why the Republic Was “Doomed” – structural weaknesses

• Political fragmentation – PR created dozens of parties; coalition governments were unstable and often short‑lived.
• Reliance on Article 48 – Frequent use of emergency decrees eroded parliamentary democracy and set a precedent for authoritarian rule.
• Economic burden of Versailles – Reparations and loss of industrial territory caused fiscal crises, most notably the hyper‑inflation of 1923.
• Extremist parties – Both the Communist Party (KPD) and the National Socialist German Workers’ Party (NSDAP) exploited economic distress and promised radical solutions.
• Weak democratic tradition – After centuries of autocratic rule many Germans were unfamiliar with, and suspicious of, parliamentary democracy.
• Great Depression (1929‑33) – Collapse of American loans deepened unemployment and discredited the democratic government.

2.3 Achievements – the “Golden Twenties” (1924‑1929)

• Foreign‑policy successes
  • Locarno Treaties (1925) – Secured Germany’s western borders.
  • Admission to the League of Nations (1926) – Marked Germany’s diplomatic rehabilitation.
  • Dawes Plan (1924) & Young Plan (1929) – Rescheduled reparations, attracted foreign loans and stabilised the currency.
• Cultural flourishing
  • Bauhaus (1919‑1933) – Revolutionised architecture, design and art.
  • Film: Metropolis (1927), The Cabinet of Dr Caligari (1920).
  • Literature: Thomas Mann, Erich Maria Remarque, Bertolt Brecht.
  • Science: Nobel laureates in physics (e.g., Max Planck) and chemistry; advances in radio and aviation.
• Social reforms
  • Women’s suffrage (1919) and universal voting rights for men.
  • Unemployment insurance (1927) and workers’ compensation schemes.

2.4 Economic Crises

1. Hyper‑inflation (1921‑1923)
   • Reparations payments forced the government to print money; by Nov 1923 the exchange rate was 4.2 trillion marks to US $1.
   • Middle‑class savings wiped out; bartering and “Rentenmark” (introduced Nov 1923) replaced the worthless Papiermark.
2. Stabilisation (1924‑1929)
   • Rentenmark (later Reichsmark) restored confidence.
   • Industrial production rose ~30 % (1924‑1929).
   • Unemployment fell to < 200 000 (≈1 % of the workforce).
3. Great Depression (1929‑1933)
   • U.S. stock‑market crash cut off American loans; German exports fell 40 %.
   • Unemployment peaked at 6 million (≈30 % of the labour force) in 1932.
   • Bank failures – e.g., the collapse of the *Dresdner Bank* (1931) sparked a credit crunch.
   • Economic misery directly contributed to the surge in NSDAP votes (see election table).

2.5 Political Landscape and Election Results (1928‑1932)

• Major democratic parties
  • SPD – centre‑left, pro‑Republic.
  • Centre Party (Zentrum) – Catholic, often king‑maker in coalitions.
  • DNVP – right‑wing monarchists; later entered a coalition with the Nazis.
• Extremist parties and paramilitaries
  • KPD – Communist, organised the *Red Front Fighters’ League* (Roter Frontkämpferbund).
  • NSDAP – National‑Socialist, relied on the SA (Sturmabteilung) and later the SS (Schutzstaffel).
  • Freikorps – Right‑wing ex‑soldiers who violently opposed communists in the early 1920s.

3. The Rise of Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (1919‑1933)

• Founding of the NSDAP (1919) – Began as the German Workers’ Party (DAP); renamed National Socialist German Workers’ Party (NSDAP) in 1920.
• Ideology (outlined in *Mein Kampf*, 1925)
  • Extreme nationalism, racial “Aryan” supremacy, anti‑Treaty of Versailles, anti‑communism.
  • Lebensraum – “living space” in Eastern Europe.
• Beer Hall Putsch (8‑9 Nov 1923) – Failed coup in Munich; Hitler sentenced to five years (served 9 months) and wrote *Mein Kampf* while imprisoned.
• Re‑organisation (1925‑1929)
  • Centralised party structure around Hitler (Führerprinzip).
  • Creation of the SA (street‑fighting wing) and later the SS (elite guard).
  • Professional propaganda machine – newspapers, radio, mass rallies, the “Hitler salute”.
• Electoral breakthrough – From 2.6 % (1928) to 37.3 % (July 1932) as economic distress grew.
• Appointment as Chancellor (30 Jan 1933) – President Hindenburg, urged by conservative elites who believed they could “tame” Hitler, invited him to form a government.

4. Consolidation of Nazi Power (1933‑1934)

1. Reichstag Fire (27 Feb 1933) – Blamed on communists; the Reichstag Fire Decree suspended civil liberties and enabled mass arrests of political opponents.
2. Enabling Act (23 Mar 1933) – Gave Hitler’s cabinet authority to legislate without the Reichstag for four years; passed with a two‑thirds majority after the Communist deputies were detained.
3. Gleichschaltung (Coordination)
   • All political parties dissolved or merged into the NSDAP.
   • State governments replaced by Reich Governors (Reichsstatthalter) loyal to Berlin.
   • Trade unions abolished; German Labour Front (Deutsche Arbeitsfront) created.
   • Culture, education and the press placed under strict Nazi control.
4. Night of the Long Knives (30 Jun 1934) – SA leadership and other perceived rivals (including former Chancellor von Papen) murdered; secured the army’s loyalty.
5. Death of President Hindenburg (2 Aug 1934) – Hitler merged the presidency with the chancellorship, adopting the title “Führer und Reichskanzler”.

5. Nazi Domestic Policies

5.1 Racial Legislation

• 1935 Nuremberg Laws
  • Reich Citizenship Law – stripped Jews of German citizenship.
  • Law for the Protection of German Blood and German Honour – prohibited marriage or sexual relations between Jews and “Aryans”.
• Kristallnacht (9‑10 Nov 1938) – State‑sanctioned pogrom; synagogues burnt, Jewish businesses destroyed, ~30 Jews killed, ~30 000 Jewish men sent to concentration camps.

5.2 Economic Policy

• Re‑armament (1935 onward) – Expansion of the army, navy and Luftwaffe created millions of jobs and stimulated heavy industry.
• Four‑Year Plan (1936) – Led by Hermann Göring; aimed at autarky, boosting steel production to 12 million t and developing synthetic fuels (e.g., from coal).
• Public‑works programmes
  • Autobahnen – high‑speed motorways.
  • “Strength Through Joy” (Kraft Durch Freude, KDF) – subsidised holidays, concerts and affordable leisure to win popular support.

5.3 Social Control and Indoctrination

• Hitler Youth (Hitlerjugend) & League of German Girls (Bund Deutscher Mädchen) – Mandatory from 1936; taught obedience, militarism and Nazi ideology.
• Education – Curriculum rewritten to stress racial theory, German history and physical fitness; teachers required to join the National Socialist Teachers League.
• Media & Propaganda – Ministry of Propaganda (Joseph Goebbels) controlled newspapers, radio, film and the arts; examples include the newsreel *Triumph des Willens* (1935) and the youth magazine *Der Hitlerjunge*.

6. Nazi Foreign Policy and the Road to War

1. Revision of the Versailles settlement
   • Remilitarisation of the Rhineland (7 Mar 1936) – German troops entered the demilitarised zone; no Allied military response.
   • Annexation of Austria – Anschluss (12 Mar 1938) – Popularly supported; achieved without conflict.
   • Munich Agreement (29 Sep 1938) – Britain and France ceded the Sudetenland to Germany in a policy of appeasement.
2. Further Eastern expansion
   • Occupation of Czechoslovakia (15 Mar 1939) – Created the Protectorate of Bohemia‑Moravia; Slovakia became a puppet state.
   • Invasion of Poland (1 Sep 1939) – Triggered World War II; the Soviet Union invaded from the east on 17 Sep 1939.
3. Alliances and pacts
   • Anti‑Comintern Pact (25 Nov 1936) – Germany, Japan and later Italy pledged to oppose communism.
   • Tripartite Pact (27 Sep 1940) – Formalised the Axis Powers (Germany, Italy, Japan).

7. Key Chronology (1918‑1945)