https://www.google.com.sg/search?hl=en&site=imghp&tbm=isch&source=hp&biw=1366&bih=630&q=weimar+republic&oq=weimar+&gs_l=img.3.0.0l10.306.866.0.2389.7.2.0.0.0.0.639.1029.3-1j0j1.2.0....0...1ac.1.48.img..5.2.1023.RiTG4HCSuqQ#facrc=_&imgdii=_&imgrc=4Gk6tSGsmq1g3M%253A%3BKZTk_D9bheh22M%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fimg.docstoccdn.com%252Fthumb%252Forig%252F82832554.png%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.docstoc.com%252Fdocs%252F82832554%252FWeimar-Republic-(PowerPoint)%3B1500%3B1125 http://quizlet.com/23970294/weimar-republic-strengths-and-weaknesses-flash-cards/ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyperinflation_in_the_Weimar_Republic https://www.google.com.sg/search?hl=en&site=imghp&tbm=isch&source=hp&biw=1366&bih=630&q=germany+hyperinflation&oq=germany+h&gs_l=img.1.8.0l10.1150.3986.0.6790.9.6.0.0.0.0.624.1393.1j2j4-1j1.5.0....0...1ac.1.48.img..4.5.1383.LLfj3dM5MLY#facrc=_&imgdii=_&imgrc=9RtFLNXZE-13AM%253A%3ByWz35RjfbMtLnM%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.marketoracle.co.uk%252Fimages%252F2009%252FJan%252Fgerman-marks-image002.gif%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.marketoracle.co.uk%252FArticle8530.html%3B290%3B347 Nazism.net/about/nazi_ideology Prezi.com/t-d7xua3xdgm/reasons-for-hitlers-rise-to-power www.historylearningsite.co.uk/weimar_depression_1929.htm

Exploitation of the fears of Communism + Reorganisation of the Nazi Party

Exploitation of the fears of Communism + Reorganisation of the Nazi Party

Hitler cleverly exploited the fears that people had of communism to advance his own cause

-Hitler exploited these fears by giving farmers and businessmen vague promises that he would help them if he got into power

INCREASING PARTY MEMBERSHIP 
-Established local Nazi parties, thus increasing party membership

-set up youth organisation

-created Hitler Youth ESTABLISGING OF THE SA AND SS -Set up SA as Nazi party's paramilitary organisation

-Broke up Communist Party, which gained the support of anti-communists

-Set up SS as Hitler's elite personal bodyguard NAZI PROPAGANDA -Joseph Goebbels appointed to be in charge of Nazi Propaganda

-Deliberately appealed to people's emotions rather than intellect

-Portrayed Nazis as a strong party united behind one leader which led to Hitler’s rise to power

Great Depression

Great Depression

• The Great Depression, which lasted from 1929 to the early 1940s, was a severe economic downturn caused by an overly-confident, over-extended stock market and a drought that struck the South. In an attempt to end the Great Depression, the U.S. government took unprecedented direct action to help stimulate the economy. Despite this help, the Great Depression finally ended with the increased production needed for World War II.

• The Weimar Republic was devastated by Wall Street Crash of October 1929 and the Great Depression that followed. The Crash had a devastating impact on the American economy but because America had propped up the Weimar Republic with huge loans in 1924 (the Dawes Plan) and in 1929 (the Young Plan), what happened to the American economy had to impact the Weimar Republic's economy.

• Both plans had loaned Weimar money to prop up the country’s economy - especially after the experiences of hyperinflation in 1923. Now America needed those loans back to assist her faltering economy.

• Stresemann had died in 1929, but shortly before he died even he admitted that the German economy was a lot more fragile than some would have liked to accept.

"The economic position is only flourishing on the surface. Germany is in fact dancing on a volcano. If the short-term credits are called in, a large section of our economy would collapse."

• After the Wall Street Crash, America gave Germany 90 days to start to re-pay money loaned to her. No other world power had the money to give Germany cash injections. Britain and France were still recovering from the First World War and the Wall Street Crash was to have an impact on industrial Britain. Stalin’s Russia was still in a desperate state and embarking on the 5 year plans. Therefore, an impoverished Weimar Germany could only call on America for help and she was effectively bankrupt by the end of 1929 and quite incapable of lending money.
• Companies throughout Germany - though primarily in the industrial zones such as the Ruhr - went bankrupt and workers were laid off in their millions. Unemployment affected nearly every German family just 6 years after the last major economic disaster - hyperinflation - had hit Weimar.

September 1928	650,000 unemployed
September 1929	1,320,000 unemployed
September 1930	3,000,000 unemployed
September 1931	4,350,000 unemployed
September 1932	5,102,000 unemployed
January 1933	6,100,000 unemployed

• Most, though not all, of the unemployed were male. These men were almost certainly family men who could see no way ahead with regards to providing for their families. Money was required for food, heating a home, clothes etc. With no obvious end to their plight under the Weimar regime, it is not surprising that those who saw no end to their troubles turned to the more extreme political parties in Germany - the Nazi and Communist Parties.
• In 1928, the Nazi Party had nearly gone bankrupt as a result of the spending on street parades etc. which had cost the party a great deal. Bankruptcy would have automatically excluded them from politics - they were saved by a right wing businessman called Hugenburg who owned a media firm in Germany. He financially bailed them out.

Sources: https://www.google.com.sg/search?hl=en&site=imghp&tbm=isch&source=hp&biw=1366&bih=630&q=germany+hyperinflation&oq=germany+h&gs_l=img.1.8.0l10.1150.3986.0.6790.9.6.0.0.0.0.624.1393.1j2j4-1j1.5.0....0...1ac.1.48.img..4.5.1383.LLfj3dM5MLY#hl=en&q=great+depression&tbm=isch&facrc=_&imgdii=_&imgrc=lHKK0vz-0mkxNM%253A%3BLek7PTRuWmd53M%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fimg.docstoccdn.com%252Fthumb%252Forig%252F81006446.png%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.docstoc.com%252Fdocs%252F81006446%252FThe-Great-Depression%3B1500%3B1125

Nazi Ideology

Nazi Ideology

• National Socialist Program
• Racism

• Especially anti-Semitism, which eventually culminated in the Holocaust.

• The creation of a Herrenrasse (Master Race= by the Lebensborn (Fountain of Life; A department in the Third Reich)

• Anti-Slavism

• Belief in the superiority of the White, Germanic, Aryan or Nordic races.

• Euthanasia and Eugenics with respect to "Racial Hygiene"

• Anti-Marxism, Anti-Communism, Anti-Bolshevism

• The rejection of democracy, with as a consequence the ending the existence of political parties, labour unions, and free press.

• Führerprinzip (Leader Principle) /belief in the leader (Responsibility up the ranks, and authority down the ranks.)

• Strong show of local culture.

• Social Darwinism

• Defense of Blood and Soil (German: "Blut und Boden" - represented by the red and black colors in the Nazi flag)

• "Lebensraumpolitik", "Lebensraum im Osten" (The creation of more living space for Germans)

• Related to FascismNational Socialist Program

• Racism

• Especially anti-Semitism, which eventually culminated in the Holocaust.

• The creation of a Herrenrasse (Master Race= by the Lebensborn (Fountain of Life; A department in the Third Reich)

• Anti-Slavism

• Belief in the superiority of the White, Germanic, Aryan or Nordic races.

• Euthanasia and Eugenics with respect to "Racial Hygiene"

• Anti-Marxism, Anti-Communism, Anti-Bolshevism
• 
  
• The rejection of democracy, with as a consequence the ending the existence of political parties, labour unions, and free press.

• Führerprinzip (Leader Principle) /belief in the leader (Responsibility up the ranks, and authority down the ranks.)

• Strong show of local culture.

• Social Darwinism

• Defense of Blood and Soil (German: "Blut und Boden" - represented by the red and black colors in the Nazi flag)

• "Lebensraumpolitik", "Lebensraum im Osten" (The creation of more living space for Germans)

Related to Fascism

• Nazism and Communism emerged as two serious contenders for power in Germany after the First World War, particularly as the Weimar Republic became increasingly unstable.
• What became the Nazi movement arose out of resistance to the Bolshevik-inspired insurgencies that occurred in Germany in the aftermath of the First World War. The Russian Revolution of 1917 caused a great deal of excitement and interest in the Leninist version of Marxism and caused many socialists to adopt revolutionary principles. The 1918-1919 Munich Soviet and the 1919 Spartacist uprising in Berlin were both manifestations of this. The Freikorps, a loosely organised paramilitary group (essentially a militia of former World War I soldiers) were used to crush both these uprising and many leaders of the Freikorps, including Ernst Röhm, later became leaders in the Nazi party.
• Capitalists and conservatives in Germany feared that a takeover by the Communists was inevitable and did not trust the democratic parties of the Weimar Republic to be able to resist a communist revolution. Increasing numbers of capitalists began looking to the nationalist movements as a bulwark against Bolshevism. After Mussolini's fascists took power in Italy in 1922, fascism presented itself as a realistic option for opposing "Communism", particularly given Mussolini's success in crushing the Communist and anarchist movements which had destabilised Italy with a wave of strikes and factory occupations after the First World War. Fascist parties formed in numerous European countries.

Charisma + oratorical skills + Skillfulness at making deals with politicians.

Charisma and oratorical skills + Skillfulness at making deals with politicians

-Hitler was a good political strategist, willing to wait for right opportunity to take power gradually. He was skillful at making deals to advance his own position

-November 1932 elections, Nazi support dropped by 2 million votes, lost 34 seats in Reichstag. Hitler made a deal with the conservatives to get himself back to power

-Jan 1933, Hitler invited to be Chancellor. 1st yr as chancellor, Hitler ruled in Coalition gov as a result of deal made by politicians who had undermined his capabilities. When time was right & he had won enough support, Hitler acted decisively to take control over gov.

Reorganising of Nazi party

-Talk of equality, state control of economy & creation of jobs which attracted the left

-Anti-Boshelvik and anti-communist views appealed to the right

-Promised to solve G's 2 main problems of rampant unemployment & crisis in farming sector

True orator

-prep and practiced his speeches

-could gauge mood of audience

-Had incredible energy; made 3-4 speeches a day
-Appeared sincere to the people

Beer Hall speeches

-made many speeches in beer halls where ppl were at ease and easily swayed      
      
-started speeches calmly and logically

-began to rant & rave when the audience got drunk

Addressed people's concerns

-know concerns of the people

-Used 'November Criminals', communists and the Jews as scapegoats for Germany's ills exploitation of fear of communism

Sources: https://www.google.com.sg/search?hl=en&site=imghp&tbm=isch&source=hp&biw=1366&bih=630&q=germany+hyperinflation&oq=germany+h&gs_l=img.1.8.0l10.1150.3986.0.6790.9.6.0.0.0.0.624.1393.1j2j4-1j1.5.0....0...1ac.1.48.img..4.5.1383.LLfj3dM5MLY#hl=en&q=hitler+addressing+people&tbm=isch&facrc=_&imgdii=_&imgrc=AsD0E4Xgp73VjM%253A%3BAB0HZOW749kAGM%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fstatic.guim.co.uk%252Fsys-images%252FEducation%252FPix%252Fpictures%252F2007%252F11%252F13%252FHitlerrally.jpg%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.theguardian.com%252Feducation%252F2007%252Fnov%252F14%252Fresearch.highereducation%3B372%3B192

Hyperinflation

HYPERINFLATION

• The hyperinflation in the Weimar Republic was a three-year period of hyperinflation in Germany (the Weimar Republic) between June 1921 and January 1924.

• In order to pay the large costs of the First World War, Germany suspended the convertibility of its currency into gold when that war broke out. Unlike France, which imposed its first income tax to pay for the war, the German Kaiser and Parliament decided without opposition to fund the war entirely by borrowing, a decision criticized by financial experts like Hjalmar Schacht even before hyperinflation broke out. The result was that the exchange rate of the Mark against the US dollar fell steadily throughout the war from 4.2 to 8.91 Marks per dollar. The Treaty of Versailles, further accelerated the decline in the value of the Mark, so that by the end of 1919 more than 6.7 paper Marks were required to buy one US dollar.
• German currency was relatively stable at about 60 Marks per US Dollar during the first half of 1921. Because the Western theatre was mostly in France and Belgium, Germany had come out of the war with most of its industrial power intact, a healthy economy, and in a better position to become the dominant force on the European continent. However the "London ultimatum" in May 1921 demanded reparations in gold or foreign currency to be paid in annual installments of 2,000,000,000 (2 billion) goldmarks plus 26 percent of the value of Germany's exports.
• Beginning in August 1921, Germany began to purchase foreign currency with Marks at any price, but that only increased the speed at which the Mark declined in value.The lower the Mark sank on foreign exchanges, the more marks were required to buy the foreign currency demanded by the Reparations Commission.
• During the first half of 1922, the Mark stabilized at about 320 Marks per Dollar. This was accompanied by international reparations conferences, including one in June 1922 organized by U.S. investment banker J. P. Morgan, Jr. When these meetings produced no workable solution, the inflation changed to hyperinflation and the Mark fell to 800 Marks per Dollar by December 1922. The cost-of-living index was 41 in June 1922 and 685 in December, a 15-fold increase.
• In January 1923 French and Belgian troops occupied the Ruhr, the industrial region of Germany in the Ruhr valley to ensure that the reparations were paid in goods, such as coal from the Ruhr and other industrial zones of Germany. Because the Mark was practically worthless, it became impossible for Germany to buy foreign exchange or gold using paper Marks. Instead, reparations were paid in goods. Inflation was exacerbated when workers in the Ruhr went on a general strike, and the German government printed more money in order to continue paying them for "passively resisting."
• By November 1923, the American dollar was worth 4,210,500,000,000 German marks.
• As a result of hyperinflation, there were news accounts of individuals in Germany suffering from a compulsion called zero stroke, a condition where the person has a "desire to write endless rows of [zeros] and engage in computations more involved than the most difficult problems in logarithms."
• Although the inflation ended with the introduction of the Rentenmark and the Weimar Republic continued for a decade afterwards, hyperinflation is widely believed to have contributed to the Nazi takeover of Germany and Adolf Hitler's rise to power. Adolf Hitler himself in his book, Mein Kampf, makes many references to the German debt and the negative consequences that brought about the inevitability of "national socialism". Some economists, however, point out that Hitler's rise was immediately preceded by the 1931 economic crisis, which, while also being partially triggered by Germany's debt, was, unlike the hyperinflation crisis of 1923, characterized by massive deflation created by a government austerity program. Paul Krugman concurred that the "1923 hyperinflation didn’t bring Hitler to power; it was the Brüning deflation and depression." The inflation also raised doubts about the competence of liberal institutions, especially amongst a middle class who had held cash savings and bonds. It also produced resentment of bankers and speculators, whom the government and the press blamed for the inflation crisis. Some Germans called the hyperinflated Weimar banknotes "Jew confetti".
• Later German monetary policy showed far greater concern for maintaining a sound currency, a concern that even affected Germany's attitude in resolving the European sovereign debt crisis from 2009 onwards.
• The hyperinflated, worthless Marks became widely collected abroad. The Los Angeles Times estimated in 1924 that more of the decommissioned notes were spread about the United States than existed in Germany.

Sources: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyperinflation_in_the_Weimar_Republic

https://www.google.com.sg/search?hl=en&site=imghp&tbm=isch&source=hp&biw=1366&bih=630&q=germany+hyperinflation&oq=germany+h&gs_l=img.1.8.0l10.1150.3986.0.6790.9.6.0.0.0.0.624.1393.1j2j4-1j1.5.0....0...1ac.1.48.img..4.5.1383.LLfj3dM5MLY#facrc=_&imgdii=_&imgrc=9RtFLNXZE-13AM%253A%3ByWz35RjfbMtLnM%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.marketoracle.co.uk%252Fimages%252F2009%252FJan%252Fgerman-marks-image002.gif%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.marketoracle.co.uk%252FArticle8530.html%3B290%3B347

Weimar Republic

Weimar Republic

• The term “Weimar Government or Republic” refers to a period in German history between 1919 and 1933 when the government was a democratic republic governed by a constitution that was laid out in the German city of Weimar after Germany's loss in WW1. It was too dangerous to make a declaration in Berlin where there had just been a revolt by a Communist group called the Spartacists.

Under the Weimar Constitution, Germany was divided into 19 states. All citizens had the right to vote, electing members of the Reichstag or German Parliament along with the President. This seems like the perfect democracy.

Flaws of the Weimar government

The Weimar Republic was deeply troubled. When the constitution was first established, many Germans were highly suspicious of the new government, and extremists on the left and right rejected the authority of the Weimar Republic, undermining its effectiveness. While the government was theoretically a coalition (partnership) comprised of numerous political parties, it was beset (overwhelmed) on all sides, making it difficult to assert its authority.

• Weakness of the Weimar government

Ineffective Constitution

The Weimar Constitution did not create a strong government: Article 48 of the constitution gave the President sole power in 'times of emergency'. The president did not need the agreement of the Reichstag, but could issue decrees. The problem with this was that it did not say what an emergency was, and in the end, it turned out to be a back door that Hitler used to take power legally instead of voting for a member of parliament, Weimar Germans voted for a party. Each party was then allocated seats in the Reichstag exactly reflecting (proportional' to) the number of people who had voted for it. This sounds fair, but in practice it was a disaster it resulted in dozens of tiny parties, with no party strong enough to get a majority, and, therefore, no government to get its laws passed in the Reichstag. The system of proportional voting led to 28 parties. This made it virtually impossible to establish a majority in the Reichstag, and led to frequent changes in the government. During 1919-33, there were twenty separate coalition governments and the longest government lasted only two years. This political chaos caused many to lose faith in the new democratic system. This was a major weakness of the Republic. 

• The German states had too much power and often ignored the government.

• The army was not fully controlled by the government

• The Army, led by the right-wing General Hans von Seeckt, was not fully under the government's control. It failed to support government during the Kapp Putsch or the crisis of 1923.

• Many government officials - especially judges - were right-wing and wanted to destroy the government. After the Kapp Putsch, 700 rebels were tried for treason; only 1 went to prison. After the Munich Putsch, Hitler went to prison for only 9 months.

• Right Wing Terrorism

• Many right-wing groups hated the new government for signing the Versailles Treaty (June 1919): The Kapp Putsch: in March 1920, a Freikorps brigade rebelled against the Treaty, led by Dr Wolfgang Kapp. It took over Berlin and tried to bring back the Kaiser.

• Nationalist terrorist groups murdered 356 politicians. In August 1921 Matthias Erzberger, the man who signed the armistice (and therefore a 'November criminal'), was shot.

• Left Wing Rebellion

• The Communist KPD hated the new government: 
  In Jan 1919, 50,000 Spartacists rebelled in Berlin, led by Rosa Luxemburg and Karl Leibknecht. 

In 1919, Communist Workers' Councils seized power all over Germany, and a Communist 'People's Government' took power in Bavaria. 

In 1920, after the failure of the Kapp Putsch, a paramilitary group called the Red Army rebelled in the Ruhr. 

• Invasion-Inflation: the crisis of 1923

• The cause of the trouble was Reparations - the government paid them by printing more money, causing inflation. In January 1923, Germany failed to make a payment, and France invaded the Ruhr. This humiliated the government, which ordered a general strike, and paid the strikers by printing more money, causing hyperinflation: In Berlin on 1 October 1923, soldiers calling themselves Black Reichswehr rebelled, led by Bruno Buchrucker. 

The Rhineland declared independence (21-22 October). 

In Saxony and Thuringia the Communists took power.





Sources: https://www.google.com.sg/search?hl=en&site=imghp&tbm=isch&source=hp&biw=1366&bih=630&q=weimar+republic&oq=weimar+&gs_l=img.3.0.0l10.306.866.0.2389.7.2.0.0.0.0.639.1029.3-1j0j1.2.0....0...1ac.1.48.img..5.2.1023.RiTG4HCSuqQ#facrc=_&imgdii=_&imgrc=4Gk6tSGsmq1g3M%253A%3BKZTk_D9bheh22M%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fimg.docstoccdn.com%252Fthumb%252Forig%252F82832554.png%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.docstoc.com%252Fdocs%252F82832554%252FWeimar-Republic-(PowerPoint)%3B1500%3B1125

http://quizlet.com/23970294/weimar-republic-strengths-and-weaknesses-flash-cards/