World Studies – Postwar Germany Notes
Weimar Republic
- After World War I, Germany replaced it’s monarchy and set up
a democratic republic called the Weimar Republic.
- It ruled from 1919 to 1933.
- Germany lost World War I, and the Allies wanted to punish
Germany for the war.
- The Treaty of Versailles, which ended World War I, required that
Germany pay $35 billion in reparations to the Allies for all the
destruction caused by WWI.
- The Weimar government was responsible for paying the
reparations to the Allies.
- Many Germans felt that the Weimar betrayed the people by
accepting the Treaty of Versailles.
- The government thought it could pay off its debts by printing
more money.
- This backfired, and inflation skyrocketed.
- Inflation is when the price of things goes up, and money
becomes worth less.
- In 1910, 4 German marks equaled $1. By 1923, 4 trillion marks
equaled $1.
- Germany money was worthless.
- As a result, people’s savings became worthless.
- The German people were growing increasingly unhappy with
the Weimar.
The Nazi Party
- Many political parties grew out of the unrest with the Weimar
Republic.
- One of the parties was the National Socialist Workers Party.
- a.k.a. The Nazi Party.
- Adolf Hitler, a World War I veteran, was one of the first
members.
- He and his followers, a group of street thugs called the
Brownshirts, tried to seize power by force in 1923 because they
were unhappy with the inflation.
- This was known as the Beer Hall Putsch.
- The revolt was quickly squashed by police.
- Hitler was put on trial, found guilty, and sent to prison.
- In prison, he wrote his autobiography Mein Kampf
(My Struggle).
- In it, he blamed Jews, Communists, and others for Germany’s
defeat in World War I.
- He wrote that the German people were a master race, and were
destined to rule the world.
- The master race were called Aryans, and were the light-haired,
light-skinned people of northern and western Europe.
- He was sentenced to 5 years in prison, but only served 9 months
because many people felt his actions were patriotic.
The Rise of Nazism
- In 1929, the Great Depression happened, and the world
economy collapsed.
- Every industrialized nation on earth saw huge unemployment
and poverty.
- Hitler had been released from prison by this time, and the Nazi
party started to grow in popularity.
- The German people were suffering, and wanted a
government which would help the country recover.
- By 1932, the German people were so desperate that they began
to consider extremist groups who they previously ignored.
- After years of hearing Hitler blame the Jews, many
Germans began sympathizing with him and his beliefs.
- They wanted someone to blame for their misfortunes, and Hitler
provided the Jews as scapegoats.
- In the elections of 1932, many Nazis were elected by the
German people into government positions.
- Hitler, being the leader of the Nazi Party, became chancellor
(leader) of Germany.
- Hitler and the Nazis came to rule the government by being
democratically elected by the German people.
- The election of Hitler and the Nazis is seen as one of the
greatest failures of democracy.
- The German people democratically elected Hitler and the Nazis,
knowing full well how racist the Nazi policies were.
- The majority (German Christians) elected a leader who
promised to persecute minorities (Jews, homosexuals, disabled),
and that’s what eventually happened.