Provides an in depth summary of all the events required on the IGCSE History Germany syllabus, with over 12000 words of detailed notes including the rise of Hitler, his consolidation of power and his ultimate downfall.
Revision Plan Germany 1918-1945
Read each topic aloud twice in one day: once in the morning, once in the
afternoon
TOPIC 1: EFFECTS OF THE WAR ON GERMANY: THE
EFFECTS OF THE WAR ON GERMANY AND THE GERMAN
REVOLUTION OF 1918.
First, read “Timeline of Hitler’s Rise to Power Phase 1 (below):
Timeline of Hitler’s Rise to Power
Phase 1: The Nazis become the largest party in the Reichstag
(1918-July 1932)
1918
November 9, 1918: Friedrich Ebert Proclaims Germany a Republic, but does
not remove top civil servants and army commanders from their posts.
November 11, 1918: One of the first acts of the new government is to sign the
armistice ending World War I. the terms of the armistice were harsh and, in
the eyes of German citizens, humiliating.
Winter 1918-19: the Weimar Constitution is established. Among other points, it
gives the president the right to rule by decree (without consulting the
Reichstag) if there is an emergency. It also provides that representatives to
the Reichstag will be elected by proportional representation.
1918-23
The Weimar Republic survives various revolts, both from the right
wing and the left wing. Communist revolutionaries are punished
harshly, while right-wing revolutionaries are treated sympathetically
by the army and the courts:
- Bavarian Democratic Republic: Nov, 7, 1918-May,
1919.
- Sparticist Revolt: January-March 1919.
- Kapp Putsch: March 1920.
- There were about 6 more left wing revolts or waves of
unrest that were suppressed by the government with the
help of the army and some of the Freikorps who had
been involved in the Kapp Putsch between 1919 and
1923.
- Munich Putsch November 1923:
1919
June 1919: Germany is forced to sign the Treaty of Versailles, which most
Germans believe to be both excessively harsh and unfair. They particularly
resented:
Territorial losses (many German-speaking people ended up as minorities
in countries like Poland or in the “international cities” of Memel and
Danzig)
War Guilt Clause
1
, Revision Plan Germany 1918-1945
Read each topic aloud twice in one day: once in the morning, once in the
afternoon
Reparations: Most Germans at the time and many economists today
blamed reparations for Germany’s post-war financial problems.
November 1919: Hitler joins the German Workers’ Party (DAP), shortly to
become the National Socialist German Workers’ Party (NSDAP) or Nazi party.
He is a talented politician and speaker. He is quickly put in charge of
propaganda.
1920
Nazi Party purchases a newspaper, the Volkischer Beobachter
1921
Hitler becomes leader of the Nazi party
Hitler sets up the Storm Troopers (SA) commanded by Ernst Rohm)
1923
January-November French and Belgian Occupation of the Ruhr and
Hyperinflation
France and Belgium occupied the Ruhr valley when Germany fell behind
on its reparations payments. The workers of the Ruhr went on strike. In
order to pay the striking workers, the government printed extra money.
This meant that the German Mark lost its value rapidly, resulting in
hyperinflation. This wiped out the savings of everyone who had savings
and damaged the government’s reputation.
(November) Munich Putsch
Hitler used his trial for this affair to publicize his views.
1923-29
Period of recovery under Stresemann’s leadership (He wasn’t Chancellor for
very long, but he was still influential). Nazis remain a marginal party.
1929
October 3: American stock market crashes, causing a worldwide depression.
Germany is one of the worst-hit countries.
1929-32
Steady rise in Nazi and Communist (KPD) vote in Reichstag elections
2
, Revision Plan Germany 1918-1945
Read each topic aloud twice in one day: once in the morning, once in the
afternoon
Increasing instability of Weimar Government
The instability of Weimar governments described below made the
president the kingmaker. When it became impossible for any coalition to
retain a majority in the Reichstag, government had to be carried out by
presidential decrees. This was provided for under Article 48 of the Weimar
constitution, but this article was supposed to be used in emergencies, not
for long-term government. Hindenburg was advised by an unsavory man
named Schleicher. Between May 1928 and January 1933 there were four
elections and five different chancellors:
1930:
Hindenburg refuses to support Muller because he wants to increase employers’
unemployment contributions. This forces an election and Bruning becomes
chancellor.
(The Nazis got 18.3% of the vote, and the KPD got 12.1% of the vote.)
1932
(March-April) Hitler runs for president against Hindenburg. He gets a
respectable 35% of the vote and a lot of publicity.
(June) Schleicher persuades Hindenburg to replace Bruning because of proposed
land reforms. Papen becomes Chancellor with no Reichstag support at all, just
because he’s Hindenburg’s friend.
July Election: Nazis win 37.4% of the vote; Communists win 14.5%. This
makes the Nazis the largest party in the Reichstag.
Why was there a revolution in Germany in 1918?
Cause 1: Effects of the War on the army: The war was affecting Germany badly. Their
armed forces had run out of reserves and were badly supplied. In August, 1918 they
were pushed back almost to Germany’s borders. Soldiers were surrendering in large
groups. This meant morale in the army was very low and many soldiers joined the
revolt against the government.
Cause 2: Effects of the war on civilians: The British successfully blockaded German
ports, causing shortages of food and other essentials in Germany. About 750,000
German citizens would die from malnutrition in 1918. These bad conditions made
people turn against the government and also made them more desperate.
Cause 3: Kiel Mutiny: When the admirals realized that the war was about to end they
tried to order all the ships of the German fleet (which had been in harbor at Kiel since
the first year of the war) to sail out, fight the British ships and go down fighting. The
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