Hitler's germany lesson 2 weimar republic 2

Where did we stop?

Recap

Thinking of Hitler’s rise as the growing of a plant

What was Germany like Post-WW1?

Rise of Hitler

(1) Favourable Circumstances

WR was a coalition government

Opposition from left and right wings

WR made bad decisions

Lost a capable leader/ Great Depression

(2) Hitler’s own abilities

Excellent speaker & charismatic leader

Reorganized the Nazi Party

Used propaganda

Made deals with politicians

“Why did the German people support the Nazis?”

Weimar Republic…

Reasons for the Rise of Nazis Weakness of the Weimar Republic


Weakness of the Weimar Republic: (c) WR made bad decisions

WR’s handling of the Ruhr Crisis 1923Printed more money to pay debtsHyper-inflation



WR’s handling of the Ruhr Crisis 1923After the 1st

reparation payment,

WR claimed that it did not have money to make the 2nd one

France sent

troops into Ruhr and take

her resources e.g. coal



WR’s handling of the Ruhr Crisis 1923The WR

responded by

instigating a strike of all workers in Ruhr

Production of coal AND basic goods stopped



Printed more money to pay debts The WR made the mistake of deciding to print more money to pay the people on strike, but it caused the value of the currency to decrease drastically and the country spiraled into hyperinflation.

Hyper-inflation

Impact of HyperinflationPrices rose rapidly – pensioners could not

afford a cup of coffee with their monthly pension

People had to spend quickly after they got their payWhy?

Many saw their savings and pensions wiped out virtually overnightThink about the price of bread!


Weimar Republic…



Weakness of the Weimar Republic: (d) Lost a capable leader

Chancellor Gustav Stresemann

•Chancellor from August to November 1923•Served as Foreign Minister after that until his death in 1929



Ended Ruhr Crisis 1923

Resumed industrial production

Locarno Pact 1925

Eased border tensions between France and Germany

LON 1926

How is this significant?




Helped to solve HYPERINFLATION PROBLEM

Replaced worthless currency with a new currency called Rentenmark




Inspired the Dawes (1924) and Young Plan (1929)

Dawes Plan – USA loaned money to Germany and reparations payments stretched over a longer period

Young Plan – Reduced further reparations payments



Weakness of the Weimar Republic: (e) Lost a capable leader

Under his leadership, the German people enjoyed a

period of economic recovery and peace.

The blunders of the WR were temporarily forgotten.




During Stresemann’s leadership of the WR (1923-

1929), the Nazis did very poorly for the

Elections.

Why?




Does this source help explain the reason why the Nazis were unable to gain support from the German people? [5]Stresemann was one of the few really outstanding political figures of the Weimar period and under him, the Republic was well on the road to recovery. To the onlooker, Weimar Germany looked strong and vibrant and life returned to some form of normality for the German people.

Extract from a textbook about the situation in Germany from 1924 to 1929



Died of heart attack in 1929

What do you think would happen to the

German people?



Weimar Republic…


A time when there is a great decrease in business activities with widespread unemployment

Began in the U.S.A – 24th October 1929: ‘Black Thursday’1920s: time of prosperity -> buying of sharesBy 1929: many companies were losing money

as they were not able to sell their goods -> selling of sharesWhat happens when too many people sell

their shares at one shot?

The Great Depression

Began in the U.S.A – 24th October 1929: ‘Black Thursday’By 1929: many companies were losing

money as they were not able to sell their goods -> selling of shares

Those who bought shares on credit had to sell their possessions to repay banks

Many tried to withdraw savings but some banks did not have the money to pay them and had to close downHow would you feel if your bank suddenly

closed down?

The Great Depression

The Great Depression: Effects

Loss of life savings

Increase in number of poor people who were unable to afford goods

Companies stop making huge profits

Wages of workers cut. Many were also retrenched.

The Great Depression: Effects


Weakness of the Weimar Republic: (e) The Great Depression

What do you think this means for Germany?


Weakness of the Weimar Republic: (e) Impact of the Great Depression Germany relied

heavily on USA’s loans

USA stopped buying from

Germany

Factories closed

Unemployment increased


Weimar Republic…



WR was a coalition

government

Opposition from left and

right wings

WR made bad

decisions

Lost a capable leader

The Great Depressio

n

Weimar Republic could

not manage all these problems


WR was a coalition

government

Opposition from left and

right wings

WR made bad

decisions

Lost a capable leader

The Great Depressio

n

German people’s support for the Nazis went up

German peoples’ support for political parties of the WR went down

German people:

Lost faith in the Weimar

Republic

Became easily influenced by

extremist politicians

“Why did the German people

support the Nazis?”

In hard times, people are so desperate that they begin finding easy answers to difficult problems …

Next Lesson…

Adolf Hitler: The Rise of Evil

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Hitler's germany lesson 2 weimar republic 2