3. Germany 3
Higher Answers
Key Features:
Describe the importance of Kristallnacht (Night of the Broken Glass), November 1938. (9 marks)
Kristallnacht was a turning point in the Nazi treatment of the Jews in Germany. Prior to this event, the Nazis had used propaganda and the law to discriminate against Jewish people and Jews had faced random violence from people in the street but there had never been any official, coordinated violence against the Jews. Kristallnacht changed all this and as such, it was the first step towards the organised, official killing of the Holocaust. It was proposed by Goebbels and agreed by Hitler. It was carried out by the SA and SS. It involved the systematic targeting of all Jewish homes, businesses and synagogues. Their windows were smashed, their contents were ransacked and many were set on fire. Thousands of homes were damaged, 815 shops were destroyed, 191 synagogues were set on fire and 76 demolished. 91 Jewish people were killed in the attacks and 20,000 Jewish people were arrested and sent to concentration camps. The police were given instructions not to interfere with the attackers and the fire brigade were instructed only to stop fires spreading to non‐
Jewish buildings, not to protect Jewish properties. It was a devastating attack. Even many Germans were shocked by its violence and destruction. The streets were left covered in broken glass (hence the nickname) and stolen and broken possessions. To add insult to injury, Goering demanded that the Jewish community pay the cost of the clean up because he said it was their fault the attack had happened!
The attack was important because it was a significant step up in the Nazi campaign against the Jews. As already mentioned, it was the first time there had been coordinated, state‐run violence against the Jews and this paved the way for the Holocaust of 1939‐45. It further weakened the Jewish population, both economically and psychologically. The levels of fear would have risen significantly as a results of this attack. It was also important because it showed what the Nazis were capable of and so was a warning to anyone who might oppose them. It also shows how powerful the Nazis now were that they felt they could get away with this, that the German people would not criticise them for it, even though many were shocked by it.
•
•
Depth of knowledge of the event
Explicitly explains the significance of it
Analysis of significance:
In what ways did different groups oppose the Weimar Republic in the years 1919‐
1923? (12 marks)
There were many groups who opposed the Weimar Republic 1919‐23 but the three most significant were the Spartakists, the Freikorps and the SA.
The Spartakists were Communists, led by Rosa Luxemburg (Red Rosa), who believed there should be a workers revolution in Germany like there had been in Russia. They could be seen as a serious threat to the Republic because in January 1919 they attempted to seize control of Berlin. They captured the headquarters of the government’s newspaper and the telegraph office in order to control communications. Then again, they could be seen as not a big threat because the rising was very badly organised and lacked support from any other parties, even their fellow socialists. Consequently they failed to seize any other buildings and were soon crushed by the Freikorps who seized their headquarters, murdered Luxemburg and killed more than 100 Spartakists during the rising. Thousands of other socialist troublemakers were killed by the Freikorps in the following months, thus killing off the left‐wing threat to the Weimar Republic. The Weimar Republic also faced attack from the right‐wing, in the form of the Freikorps and the SA. These groups were full of former WWI soldiers who were very angry about the defeat and the Treaty of Versailles. They were not particularly interested in democracy and wanted a return to the old days of the Kaiser because Germany had been strong then. They hated the Weimar Republic because they thought it was to blame for everything that had gone wrong. They were a serious threat because both the Freikorp and the SA attempted to seize control of Germany. In 1920, Dr Kapp led the Freikorp in a Putsch which like the Spartakists, seized key buildings in Berlin. This was a particularly dangerous putsch because the Army were sympathetic to it and so did nothing to stop it. The government were forced to flee the city but the workers were not happy with the
Putsch and so called a General Strike which brought the Putsch to an end because nothing was working. This putsch showed how weak the Government was because they had to rely on the willingness of the workers to rescue them.
PTO
The SA were also a significant threat as seen by the Munich Putsch in 1923. Although this also failed, it again showed how unpopular the Weimar Republic was and how far people were willing to go to challenge it.
Arguably the Munich Putsch was less of a threat because it was outside Berlin and the army this time supported the government but it also launched Adolf Hitler and the Nazis on to the national stage and thus laid the foundations of their later success.
In conclusion, the Weimar Republic faced opposition from both ends of the political spectrum. The opposition was extreme and resulted in armed risings that the government struggled to survive. It was both the aims and the methods of these groups made them very dangerous to the Weimar Republic.
•
Detailed knowledge of the range of opposition groups
•
Explains their motives and methods
•
Explains their significance in terms of how much of a threat they were
Evaluation of causation:
‘Many Germans voted for the Nazis in the years 1928–33 because they were afraid of communism’. Do you agree? Explain your answer. (16 marks)
In 1928, the Nazi Party had just 12 seats in the Reichstag but by 1933 they had 288 making them by far the biggest party in Germany. Fear of communism was a very important factor in this rise to power but it was not the only one.
The Wall Street Crash must get credit for a lot of the Nazi support. It totally destroyed the economic revival Germany had been enjoying since 1923. It caused massive unemployment which left millions of people unable to feed themselves or keep a roof over their heads. It reminded Germans of the hyperinflation crisis of 1923 and seemed to prove, yet again, that the Weimar Republic was a failure. This event made people turn to the Nazi Party. The Nazis had always said that accepting American loans was shameful and un‐German and now they had been proved right so maybe they were right about other things too.
Another reason that the Nazis grew in popularity in this period was their own set up. First of all they had a very persuasive and talented leader in Adolf Hitler. Nazi propaganda had developed Hitler’s image as a ‘superman’ who could fix all the problems in Germany. This kind of strong leadership was very attractive to the Germans, many of whom felt let down by the leaders of the Weimar Republic. He was also a brilliant speaker which allowed him to grab the imagination of many Germans and convince them to vote for him. The Nazis also knew what to say. People were angry and wanted someone to blame so the Nazis told them to blame the Jews and the Treaty of Versailles. People were unemployed so the Nazis promised them jobs. People were despairing so the Nazis offered them hope and the belief that Germany would once again be strong. The Nazis did not care if some of their promises were contradictory, they just cared that they had something to offer everyone and so could appeal to every section of society, from the very rich to the very poor.
The Nazis were also very good at getting their message across. Goebbels led a brilliant propaganda campaign. They used Hitler’s brilliant oratorical skills , flying him around the country to make multiple speeches in the
same day for maximum effect. They also organised massive rallies, regular parades and marches, used the newspapers and radio and even just basic posters. The Nazis and their message were everywhere. The SA were another reason that people voted for the Nazis. They were a symbol of strength and order which was very attractive amidst the chaos of the Great Depression. People flocked to join them, particularly former soldiers and members of the Freikorps and by 1932 they had 300,000 members. They were also a useful tool for attacking the opponents and competitors of the Nazis. The SA would raid socialist and communist political meetings, attack their leaders, tear down their posters and generally make it very difficult and dangerous for other parties to run their campaigns, thus increasing the likelihood that people would vote for the Nazis.
The Nazis were also very good at taking advantage of situations as they arose. The Wall Street Crash is an example of that – the Nazis grabbed the opportunity to blame the Weimar Republic and the Jews for the whole thing. The Reichstag Fire is another example – the Nazis used this to ruin the reputation of the Communist Party and then ban it.
But the fear of Communism was perhaps the most important reason that people voted for the Nazis and it links in to many of the reasons already mentioned. The middle and upper classes in Germany held most of the power. These people were terrified that they would lose everything if the Communists were in charge. Consequently, when the Wall Street Crash happened, they voted for the Nazis because it looked like the Nazis would and could protect them. Nazi propaganda fuelled this fear but also promised to protect Germany. The SA were already protecting Germany from the Communists by going around and attacking them. If it had not been for the fear of Communism, these powerful people might not have been willing to support such an extreme party and would not have spent huge sums of money financing the Nazi election campaigns and so the Nazis might not have won so many votes. In conclusion, fear of Communism was a huge factor in making people vote for the Nazi Party.
•
•
•
•
Two sided argument
Detailed knowledge of range of factors behind Nazi popularity in this period
Factors linked together
Importance of communism weighed against other factors and explicit judgement made