Development of Dictatorship, Germany 1918-45

The Weimar Republic 1918-1929

The German Revolution

Causes

 Failure of WWI
 Allied Navies blockaded the German coast (Deprived of basic goods)
 Food shortages
 Deadly influenza spread since August 1918
 Military failure caused a loss in morale

Events

 29th October 1918, mutiny spread at the naval base at Kiel

 Revolts and demonstrations spread throughout the country (inspired by the Russian Revolution)
 Kaiser Wilhelm abdicated on 9th November and fled to Holland.
 The Social Democratic Party (SPD) formed a new government, Fredich Ebert, became chancellor.

Effects

 Armistice was signed in November 1918

 Unrest and political turmoil all around Germany
 Armed Extreme Groups such as the KPD, Frei Korps rose up

The New Constitution

Strengths

 More democratic, all men and women over 20 could vote, general election every four years
 Power was always shared or balanced between two groups or people, such as the Reichstag and
the Reichstrat or the president and the chancellor.
 Fredeict Ebert, president of the constitution gained support of the powerful groups in society,
such as the German Army, by promising General Groner there would be no reform in the armed
forces, reassuring industrialists that there would be no nationalization of businesses, and by
ensuring his support to the leader of trade unions, promising working standards

Weaknesses

 Proportional representation made it difficult to find solutions that please everyone; coalitions
were needed to get majority support.
 Balancing of two powers made the government unstable in times of crisis.
 Extremist Parties didn’t support it; Germans feared it was too weak.
 Treaty of Versailles

 Reparations of 6600 million pounds were needed to be paid to the Allies.

 Germany lost its 11 colonies and was given to the victorious countries as mandates.
 German Military forces and navy were limited and could be only used internally, no air force was
allowed, Rhineland was demilitarized.
 It lost 13% of European territory and half its iron and 15% of its coal reserves.

The Dolchstoss

 The terms of the Treaty were very unpopular amongst Germans, especially because they didn’t
believe their army had been defeated in the war.
 The citizens referred to the signing of the Treaty as a stab in the back, Dolchstoss, to the army by
the politicians.
 The politicians who signed the Treaty were nicknamed “The November Criminals”.

Bankruptcy

With the reparations, loss of their coalfields and spent gold reserves on the war, Germany could
not pay the reparations

Occupation of the Ruhr

In retaliation to their failure to pay, France (Who needed money to pay war debts to USA) sent
their troops into the industrial area of Ruhr and confiscated raw materials, manufactures goods
and industrial machinery. Workers went on strike or sabotaged, the French arrested those who
did and brought in their own workers.
The Germans resented the French but blamed the Weimar Republic for their weakness;
however their army couldn’t beat the French Army. This disruption increased debts,
unemployment and shortage of goods.

Inflation

The shortages caused prices of goods to rise, and in order to pay of the reparations the
government printed off more money, this caused the prices to rise again as they lost their value,
this was hyperinflation.

As a result of this, the German economy faltered along with the support to the Weimar Republic, this
encouraged the arousal of opposing political groups.
Effects

 Farmers profited from the rising food prices

 Some business could pay off their loans and buy small failing business for cheaply.
 However, everyone suffered from shortages, as marks become worthless foreign suppliers
rejected marks for goods, increasing shortages.
 Savings in bank accounts, insurance policies or pensions became worthless; this mainly affected
the middle class.

Political Problems

Left Wing (E.g. the Spartacist League, Rosa Luxemburg and Karl Liebknecth)

 Wanted a revolution in Germany like Russia in 1917

 Thought Weimar Republic gave too little power to workers
 Wanted to abolish the power in land owning classes and the army
 Wanted government by councils of workers or soldiers.

On the 6th January 1919, the Spartacist league organized for 1000 communist supporters to
demonstrate and take over key buildings in Berlin, Chancellor Ebert organized for the army to join
forces with the Frei Korps, a group of anti communist demobilized soldiers to put down the
Spartacist uprising, thousands of communists were arrested or killed, and the leader Luxemburg and
Liebknetch were murdered.

Right Wing (E.g. the Kapp Putsch by Dr Wolfgang Kapp)

 Resented that Weimar Republic Social Democrat politicians abandoned the army
 Hated communists who undermined the Kasier with revolts and mutiny
 Feared communists who pollute German traditions
 They wanted to reverses the Treaty, reinstate the Kaiser, boost the army and return Germany to
its former strength
 They gained support from the military, judiciary and the civil service.

In 1920, 5000 right wing supporters of Wolfgang marched into Berlin to overthrow the Weimar Republic
and reinstate the Kaiser, rebels controlled the city whilst the government fled to Dresden, though they
urged citizens not to co operate but to strike instead. The locals obliged as they didn’t wish the return of
the Kaiser and essential services such as electricity, water and transport failed and Kapp fled the once he
realized his inability to govern. He was then caught and arrested.
 The Stresemann Era

In September 1923, new chancellor Gustav Stresemann cancelled the old mark and introduced a new
currency called the Rentenmark. This led to a period of stability. He introduced;

The Dawes Plan, 1924

Stresemann negotiated with the Allies the unpaid reparations, the terms were;

 Annual payments were reduced to an affordable price

 American banks agreed to invest 800,000,000 marks in the German Industry

Effects

 Germany resumed to pay reparations

 The French left the Ruhr
 Germany economy recovered

The Young Plan, 1929

This Plan cut the reparation payments from 6.6 billion pounds to 2 billion with 59 years more to pay; this
strengthened the Weimar Republic making them seem trusted and stronger however this didn’t last
long as;

 There was criticism of the Young plan as there were still the annual payments of 50 million
pounds.
 Stresemann died of a heart attack on the 3rd of October.
 Wall Street Crash plunged Germany back into turmoil along with the rest of the world.

Birth of the Nazi Party

In 1925 Hitler and Anton Dexler, founder of the right wing, German Workers Party, (DAP) introduced
the 25 Point Programme, this included:

 Scrapping the Treaty of Versailles

 Expanding Germanys borders to give the citizens lebensraum
 Depriving the Jews of German citizenship
 That force and violence would be used to achieve all this
Hitler’s role

 A great orator who attracted supporters from the army, the police and small businessmen at
meetings, membership rapidly grew to 3000 during 1920.
 With their increased membership this boosted funds enough to buy a newspaper to spread
their ideologies.
 He changed the name to the National Socialist German Workers Party (NSDAP or Nazi Party for
short)
 Adopted the swastika as its emblem
 Raised arm as their salute
 Created the SA or Storm Troppers as the party’s private army, and made Ernst Rohm in charge,
they were made up of soldiers, the unemployed, students and thugs.
 As the SA was difficult to control so Hitler selected trusted members of the SA to make the SS,
which were his own bodyguard.

In 1921 Hitler pushed Dexler aside and became the party Fuhrer, cultivated loyal party leaders and
friends which would benefit him.

The Munich Putsch, 1923

Causes

 Hyperinflation was a major social burden, and the occupation of the Ruhr angered them, Hitler
wanted to exploit this discontent and most of his supporters were around Munich.
 Hitler thought that the Stresemann era would improve the economy and lessen the unrest; he
needed to act before the unrest died down.
 Stresemann’s era was starting to crack down extremist parties

Events

On the 8th of November, Hitler burst in with the SA claiming he would take control in Munich and then
the German government, he was supported by the famous German General Erich von Ludendorff Kahr,
Seisser and Lossow, however the next morning they withdrew from the arrangement and opposed him,
Hitler was outnumbered by the local police and army forced but continue to march to the town center,
however the state police stopped him and opened fire, and Hitler fled but was later arrested.
Results

In the short term, this was a failure and humiliating for Hitler, as the NSDAP was banned and he was
defeated however there were some beneficial long term effects.

 Hitler used his trial as national publicity to portray his views

 The ban on the NSDAP was weakly enforced and as a result of the publicity, it lifted in 1925,
winning 32 seats in the 1924 in the Reichstag.
 The judge was lenient with the sentences, and Hitler was imprisoned for only 9 months
 Whilst in the gaol Hitler wrote Mein Kampf (My Struggle) which contained his political ideologies
and became the main principles of the Nazi Party
 He realized he needed another, more democratic approach to attain power

The Wall Street Crash, 1929

Effects

 Banks lost money as people rushed to withdrew their savings

 Germany’s industrial output and economy fell
 Unemployment rose
 The middle class lost their savings, companies or their homes
 Negative multiplier effect of a drop in spending resulting to factory closures therefore
unemployment and further drop in spending etch.

Chancellor, Heinrich Bruning proposed banning demonstrations to calm unrest, raising taxes to pay cost
of unemployment benefits and reducing unemployment benefits to make payments more affordable.
However, this displeased the right wing parties, middle class and the wealthy as they didn’t want higher
taxes and the left wing and workers opposed lower worker’s benefits

Nazi support grows, 1929-32

As a result of the Great depression and the unrest its caused, Bruning’s supporters in the Reichstag
deserted him for extremist parties for drastic solutions, this resulted to a growth in the Nazi support as
their effective campaigning and the use of Hitler as their figurehead and key part of their propaganda
material, he was universally appealing, and Germans saw him as a man who could unite the country
under a strong leader, restore order from social unrest, scrap the Treaty of Versailles and persuade
other nations to treat German fairly.

It gained support from

  Middle class-as the Depression lost their companies, savings or pensions, they saw Hitler as the
solution who could recover Germany, they feared the communist party KPD who would abolish
private ownership, and they appreciated the traditional moral values that the Nazis
represented.
 Farmers & Big businesses - Hitler could protect them from the Communist Party who would
seize their private land or companies
 Young People and women-Hitler’s passionate and ambitious speeches attracted the young, and
propaganda claimed that the NSDAP was best for their country and family

However

 The Nazis never dominated the working class vote as they supported the communists, despite
the Nazi’s promise of “Work and Bread” on posters and the impression that the workers already
supported them through the propaganda, although some were attracted by their traditional
German values and a strong united country.

Nazis win power, 1932-33

By 1932, the NSDAP became the largest party in the Reichstag and Hitler stood for election as President,
and though he beat the Communist vote, he was defeated by President Hindenburg who was re-elected
president. Hitler was now a major political figure in Germany.

After the fall of Bruning, Von Papen and Von Schleicher, it was proposed to Hindenburg that if they
would make Hitler chancellor they could make the decisions ad use him as figurehead, and reluctantly
Hindenberg appointed Adolf Hitler as chancellor.

The removal of opposition, 1933-34

Hitler’s power as chancellor was limited however he began to remove his restrictions, by banning trade
unions, opposing parties and the following;

The Reichstag fire

Conveniently enough for Hitler, on the 27 th of February 1933 the Reichstag was destroyed by fire; a
communist supporter was accused, confessed and executed. Hitler used this to his advantage claiming it
was part of a communist conspiracy convinced Hindenburg to declare a state of emergency; Hitler could
now legally use decrees to govern Germany.

The 1933 elections

Hitler hoped for more Nazi seats in Reichstag, and called for an election, to help his campaign he;

 Raised millions of mark from rich businessmen

 Used a decree to imprison his political opponents
 Used the SA to attack his political rivals

The election resulted into 70 deaths and increased Nazi Reichstag members to 288.

The Enabling Act

This allowed Hitler to make laws without the consent of the Reichstag, the act was passed as the
Communist Part was now banned and he posted the SA and the SS inside the Kroll Opera House,
intimidating the members from other parties into signing the act. This ended the democratic
government and the Weimar Republic as it was Hitler, how the elected Reichstag who made the laws
and they turned Germany into a totalitarian state.

Night of the Long Knives

Hitler feared leader of the SA, Ernst Rohm for a number of reasons;

 The SA had 3 million members who were loyal to Rohm, this gave him the position to challenge
Hitler
 Rohm opposed Hitler’s policies and links to rich industrialists and army generals and wanted
more socialist policies and taxing the rich to help the working class.
 The German Army feared the SA as their 100,000 were dwarfed by their 3 million, and Rohm
wanted the SA to replace them.
 Leaders of the SS Himmler and Heydrich resented Rohm as they wished to reduce the SA’s
power in order to increase theirs.
 Leaders of the SS and the army warned Hitler that Rohm was planning to seize power

For these reasons Hitler imprisoned and shot Rohm and several other SA officers, this is known as Night
of the Long Knives.

Following this, Hitler was acting illegally by murdering his rivals without trial, though he claimed it was
for the good of Germany, and though some German resented the violence though others were grateful
that the SA, known for their brutality were restrained. The SA continued after 1934 though no longer
rivaled the army and was strictly under Hitler’s control.

The death of Hindenburg

As a result of this Hitler;

  Declared himself Germany’s Fuhrer (consolidated after a public vote)
 As Fuhrer he would have all the president’s power as well as those he had as chancellor
 He forced an oath of loyalty from every army solider

The Nazi Police State

Nazi Germany was a police state where the government used the police to control people’s lives and
suppress any opposing views; Hitler’s control was exerted over the SS and the Gestapo.

The SS

 Nazi’s private police force ran by Heinrich Himmler, completely loyal to Hitler
 Expanded to 50,000 members during 1930s,
 Elite group, members had to be Aryan and expected to marry racially pure wives.
 Carried out Nazi policy of racial purification

The Gestapo

 Hitler’s non-uniformed secret police force

 Feared by Germans as they couldn’t be told apart in public
 Arrested citizens who spoke or acted against Nazi ideologies, offenders could be imprisoned
without trial.

The law courts

Judges had to be members of the National Socialist League for the Maintenance of Law, certain that
they supported Nazism, Hitler encouraged them to punish even the innocent, Hitler would increase the
sentences if he found them too lenient.

Concentration Camps

These were located in isolated areas and were secretive places, not controlled by normal prison rules.
Inmates were political prisoners or undesirables, such as prostitutes, gypsies and Jews. They were used
as forced labour for industrial and business purposes. As they grew they were used for mass murder of
minority groups, such as the Jews, and there was a deliberate policy of exterminating them by working
them to death. By the end of the war there were 80,000 prisoners at Buchenwald.
 Nazis and Christianity

Christianity was suppressed in the Nazi police state, as Christianity preached tolerance and peace and
Nazism glorified racial superiority and violence.

Catholic Church

 Catholics owed their allegiance to the Pope and not to Hitler

 Catholics had their own school, which differed from the teachings of Nazi state schools

Hitler reached a concordant with the Pope the terms were;

 Confirm freedom of worship for Catholics

 Not to interfere with German Catholic schools
 Priests would not interfere with politics
 German bishops had to swear loyalty to the National Socialist regime

However, Hitler disobeyed the terms and

 Catholic priests were harassed, arrested and many were sent to concentration camps
 Catholic schools were closed or were changed to fit the Nazis views
 Catholic youth activits such as the Catholic Youth League were banned

Protestant Church

At first the Protestants were glad that Hitler had protected the from the anti-christian communists, they
even allowed Nazi flags in their churches, many Protestant pastors who supported Hitler continued their
church services as normal.

However, many opposed Hitlers policies, as they grew more troublesome they were sent to
concentration camps such as Pastor Martin Niemoller who founded the PEL, Pastors Emergency League
who campaigned against Nazi actions, the PEL was later banned.

Censorship and propaganda

Hitler controlled every aspect in Germany and it was a totalitarian state, censorship and propaganda
were two main ways in which the Nazis exerted their control in their state. When Hitler became
chancellor, Dr Joseph Goebbels became the Minister of Peoples Enlightenment and Propaganda, he
used it to spread Nazi ideology buy also to control the political, cultural and artistic aspects of Germany.

Radio, Campaigning and the Press

Expanded use of rallies, posters and parades were set up to advertise Nazi belief, a mass rally held each
year at Nuremberg to raise sense of Germany unity. Radios, speakers and Hitlers broadcasts were set up
in common places to spread Nazi ideology. Newspapers had to print information in which the Ministry
approved of, Journalists were given briefings to publicize. University lecturers and researched had to
support Nazism or be dismissed, 3000 academics suffered the latter fates.

The arts

Goebbels set up the Reich Chamber of Culture, in which all writers, artists, musicians and actors had to
be members, if the Nazis disapproved of them they were barred from working. Books which the Nazis
didn’t agree with were banned. Jazz was banned as it was referred to as black music and therefore
inferior. Nazis censored modern art, and they preferred those that portrayed heroic German folk tales.
Plays of German history were favored as they gave Nazi views and tickets were made cheaper so they
were more available to the public. Films were accompanied with newsreels advertising German
achievements, plots of films were sent to Goebbels for approval and some had overtly political
messages such as Hitlerjunge Quex

Sport

Hitler and Goebbels used the 1936 Berlin Olympics to show Nazi strength, they built a colossal Olympic
stadium to portray their power, and the organization was flawless to reflect their efficiency. Germany
won 33 medals and more medals than any other country, which supported their belief of Aryan
superiority.

Hitler as figurehead

He was the personification of Nazism, and unification of the nation. He was shown as strong, powerful,
Godlike and he was seen near children to show he a caring father figure.

Persecution of the Jews

Anti-Semitism had been around in Europe for centuries, as their religion, customs and looks made them
stand out as different, and the Christians hated the Jews as they blamed them for the execution of
Christ.

They were the scapegoats when times were hard, Germans blamed them for their defeat in WWI, they
were criticized for being communists such as Kurt Eisner, who was the Jewish leader of the communist
rising, and they were criticized of being capitalist as most of them were successful business people.

Hitler’s views

Hitler claimed there was a hierarchy of races, as outlined in Mein Kampf where

 The Aryan race was the superior, master race

 Other races, such as the Slavs of Eastern Europe were of a lesser race
 Subhumans were next, and this included Africans
 Lastly, there were the Untermenschen, such as gypsies and Jews, who Hitler deemed unworthy
of life
 Beginning of Persecution

When the Nazis came to power, they began passing laws against them, in 1933

 Nazis boycotted Jewish businesses

 Jews were banned from government jobs, inheriting land, the army and restaurants

Once the Nazis became the sole political party, the persecution increased and on 15 th of September
1935 the Nuremberg Laws were passed

 Jews were deprived of German citizenship and passports

 They lost the right to vote and hold government office
 They couldn’t marry German citizens
 Were required to wear a yellow patch for instant identification and identity cards
 Jewish doctors, lawyers and dentists were forbidden to work for Aryans.
 Were required to register all possessions, so the government could easily confiscate them

Kristallnacht

A wave of anger swept through Germany when a young polish Jew shot German, Ernst von Rath in the
German Embassy in Paris, out of anger for the way the Germans were treating the Jews, Goebbels then
announced on the Nazi paper Der Strumer, that the Fuhrer had pronounced that if the Germans wished
to take vengeance against the Jews, the government wouldn’t prevent it. This resulted in attacks on
Jewish citizens and property, at least 100 Jews were killed and 814 shops, 171 homes and 191
synagogues were destroyed. Local SS groups organized demonstration and arrested Jews and the SA
attacked them severely.

Effects

 Jews fined 1 billion marks for damage

 Jews banned from running shops or businesses
 Banned from German schools or universities
 SA and SS round up 20,000 Jews and sent them to concentration camps as punishment
 Orders sent to evict Jews from their homes and were sent to the ghettos and waited there until
they were deported.
 Nazis confined the Jews to enclosed areas, by 1942, 50,000 Jews died of hunger, disease and
cold in the Warsaw Ghetto.
Youth and education

Nazis believed that

 Young people should be trained to become good German Nazis

 Education should prepare them to serve the state
 Boys should be educated to work and serve the army, an girls to become good wives and
mothers

Nazis altered the school curriculum

 Race studies were added to the curriculum, teaching to pupils how Aryans were the superior
race and they shouldn’t marry Jews
 Mein Kampf became a compulsory school text
 History lessons condemened te Treaty of Versailles and communism
 Subjects were used for Nazi Propaganda
 Girls were taught domestic science
 PE took up 1/6 of school time to emphasis good health
 Teachers had to swear a oath of loyalty to Hitlers and join the Nazi Teachers League, were they
were expected to pass on Nazi views
 Classrooms were decorated with Nazi posters ad flags, each lesson started with a the Nazi salute
and “Heil Hitler”

Youth Movements

The Nazis banned any other movement and set up their own such as the Little Fellow, Young Germans
and then the Hitler Youth, whilst the girls had the Young Maidens and then the League of German
Maidens.

All the groups wore uniforms and swore their loyalty to the Nazis, the activities encouraged good health,
citizenship and support for their state. They did group activities to encourage unity and comradeship,
they went to rallies and camps and the Hitler Youth was used to help war effort after 1939.

Boys activities concentrated more on marching drills, map reading, signaling and rifle shooting, which
were useful for military service and fitness, whilst the girls participated in activities which prepared them
for motherhood such as cooking and setting up camps.
Opposition

 Parents disliked their children being loyal to the Nazis above anything else
 Some of the youths disliked the rules, uniforms and activities.
 Groups such as the Edelweiss Pirates arouse and openly resisted by mixing genders, listening to
modern music, growing their hair long and daubing anti-Nazi slogans on walls, after the war
broke out, rationing and working conditions worsened, and popular morale fell, the Pirates
became more daring and they began smashing factory equipment to disrupt war production and
they stole explosives and guns. They were later arrested and 13 were blamed for the death of a
local Gestapo chief and they were arrested and hanged.

Women in Nazi Germany

In Weimar Germany women over 20 could vote, work in the professions and get equal wages to men
and they began dressing more freely and enjoying social activities outside the family. Nazis however
believed that to be good mothers and women they should stay healthy, learn housecraft, raise good
German children, and stay at home and concentrate on domestic matters instead of politics or work.
They were also expected not to wear makeup or trousers and not to dye or perm their hair.

Policies were introduced to encourage or force women to leave work and concentrate on the 3Ks,
children, church and kitchen and the German Woman Enterprise was formed to arrange classes and
broadcasts to teach good motherhood. They were also introduced so the women would leave more jobs
for the men, thus reducing unemployment. However, with the rapid development of the German
industry, Nazi women were required to do some work so some were reversed in the late 30s.

Marriage and Childbirth

Birthrate was falling in Nazi Germany, in order to reverse this a series of policies such as the Law of
Encouragement of Marriage was introduced to urge young couples to marry, and the Mother Cross was
set up to encourage large families, awards were given to woman depending on the number of children
they had.

Work and employment

DAF (German Labour Front)

 Ensure workers served the best interests of the Nazi regime

 Economy worked for best interests of Germany
 Controlled power of employers
 New employment rights of workers in factories, mines and shipyards
 Regulated working hours, six hours per week, and rates of pay
  Could punish workers

This was almost a replacement of the trade unions as Hitler believed they could disrupt the economy,
and though the workers lost their freedom to collectively act against their employers they had
established working standards which prevented exploitation.

RAD (National Labour Service)

 Provided manual work for the unemployment

 Initially a voluntary scheme but in 1935 it became compulsory for all men to serve for six
months in the RAD
 Wore uniforms, lived in camps
 Wages were low and food was poor

Solving unemployment was important for Hitler as the unemployed were potential communists and thus
rivals, and Nazis believed that they sapped the strength of their country and that they should do service
to their country.

Rearmament

A main Nazi view was the need for lebensraum, this required military power, and therefore a Nazi policy
was made to make Germany a strange military nation. Hitler issued the Four Year Plan which had the
following effects;

 The government spent 26 billion marks on rearmament by 1939

 The armies need for iron and steel increased, thus German production of these trebled
 Government wished to reduce the damage of potential naval blockade, thus production of
plastic, oil and rubber grew, plastic increased by 460%
 German army grew to 900,00 in 1939.

As the army grew in size, so did the demand for uniform and equipment, the rearmament was a huge
boost to the German economy as unemployment levels decreases and production and profit increased.
As a result of this, and by banning unions, he reduced political opposition.

War and the Final Solution

WWII made matters much worse for the Jews as the Nazis no longer worried about the need of the
policies being acceptable to world opinion, and the invasions brought more Jews under Nazi control.

Einsatzgruppen were the SS death squads who would systematically murder any civilians who the Nazis
saw as undesirable, Jews would be marched to open pits and shot, by 1945 the Einsatzgruppen had
killed 1.5 million Jews, gypsies and communist leaders.
Wannsee meeting and Final Solution

After the Invasion of the USSR, Nazi leaders were debating cost rather than moral matters on what they
should do with the Jews. Goring debated against killing the Jews as they provided cheap labour which
was vital to war effort. Whilst Himmler, leader of the SS said the death squads, camps and ghettos were
expensive to run and used men which were needed in the army. Himmler’s view prevailed and they
decided that the Jews would all be exterminated in death camps, this policy was named the final
solution, and they met in Wannsee House to work out the details. Head of the Gestapo, Reinhard
Heydrich was in charge of the plans, all the Jews were to be transported to Eastern Europe, those fit to
work were housed in labour camps, where they worked to death, and the survivor would be killed,
whilst the rest were sent to the death camps where they would be gassed to death.

The Home Front

 Overall morale was big, Germany had a series of victory and there were no battles on Germany
itself
 Standard of living remained high, Hitler limited rationing by taking food from occupied countries

However from 1942

 Morale fell as the German attack on the USSR stalled, and the Germans were in retreat in Africa
and Italy
 Standard of living fell, food shortages reduced weekly bread and meat ration, working
conditions fell, and women were required to register for work
 Mass bombing on German cities killed 50,000 civilians

Opposition

 White Rose Group believed in opposing the Nazi regime with passive resistance, they mailed
leaflets which called for democracy and social justice, they also painted messages on walls
 As wartime suffering made the two founders Hands and Sophie Scholl, they left their leaflets in
public places, however they were seen and reported to the Gestapo and arrested and executed
within two days.
 Protestant and Catholic Church began to criticize the regime, Protestant pastor Dietrick
Bonhoeffer joined the German military intelligence and used this position to pass messages to
the Allies and help the Jews escape to Switzerland, however he was then caught, imprisoned
and hanged.
 Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg believed that Hitler was leading Germany to inevitable defeat, so
he and other senior officers decided to kill him by taking a bomb inside a briefcase into a
meeting with Hitler; however this failed as it left Hitler with only a cut hand and temporary
deafness. Over 5,000 people were arrested for the suspected role in the plot, and Stauffenberg
was executed. This is known as the July Bomb Plot of 1944.
Reasons for Germany’s defeat

 Germany failed to defeat Britain in an air and sea war

 Hitler decided to invade the Soviet Union, which failed as Germany lost, because the country
was too huge to conquer, it had a population of 200 million and the climate made battling
difficult. Hitler refused to strategically withdraw from Stalingrad, and he didn’t see the
importance of the war in North Africa until it was too late.
 The USA joined the allies, its resources far outweighed Germanys and
 Germany lost the war of production, as the allies were producing twice as much steel, 4 times as
many planes and tanks and 7 times as many rifles and machine guns.
 He allowed the SS and Germany Army too much control of the economy
 He reintroduced the use of women in the labour force too late
 Russia 1917-1939
Rulership of Russia

 An autocracy under the rule of the Tsar who had absolute power, there was no parliament, and
he was a weak ruler.
 Tsar had council of ministers that had little authority; civil workers of the government were
poorly paid which encouraged bribery and corruption.
 Little freedom, unions and strikes were forbidden and media was censored.
 Opposition was suppressed through the Tsars secret police, the Okhrana, opponents could be
imprisoned without trial and exiled.
 Orthodox Church had 70% of the populations support; they believed the Tsar was chosen by
God. They were unpopular to large minorities as they were very wealthy, powerful and
privileged, which contrasted to the poor lifestyle of most Russians, and the remaining
population was either Roman Catholic or Muslim.

Backward economy

 85% of the population lived in the countryside, and the Russian agriculture was poor, with
extensive tundra, forest and desert land, leaving only a measly 5% of the land arable.
 Old fashioned farming methods were still in practice, resulting in low food production and
frequent famines, subsistence farming was the most used method and this encouraged primitive
hand tools.
 Despite their oil and mineral sources, industrialization has still not occurred and considering the
size of the country there was very little manufacturing output, due to the poor infrastructure of
transport systems and the inefficient banking.

Social classes

 The wealthy made up 1% of the population yet owned a quarter of the land, some were
extremely rich.
 The middle class was increasing with the development of the industry; they lived a comfortable
life with disposable income for dining and ballets.
 The peasants were the largest and poorest group; they made up nearly 4 out of every 5 Russian.
They lived in poor conditions, survived on a staple diet of cabbage soup and porridge, were
prone to many diseases and had a life expectancy which rarely exceeded 40, they were bitter
towards the nobles and aristocrats extravagant lifestyle.
 Town workers were a rapidly increasing group as large numbers of peasants flocked towards
large industrial cities, the working conditions were atrocious and dangerous, and they worked
long hours and earned low wages and were forbidden to for trade unions to fight for better
conditions.
Growth of opposition

 Bloody Sunday, on the 22nd January 1905, Father Gapon led a peaceful march at the Tsars
winter Palace to petition for better working conditions, however the Tsar was not present and
the soldiers panicked and opened fire on the crowd, killing hundreds and wounding thousands.
 1905 Revolution, the defeat of Russia against Japan and Bloody Sunday triggered this
revolutions and there was an outbreak of strikes and mutiny, to prevent any further chaos the
Tsar issued an October Manifesto which promised freedom of speech, end of censorship and a
national parliament, Dumas. The revolution was a warning, however the Tsar ignored it.
 Stolypin’s necktie, after the 1905 revolution the Tsar appointed Peter Stolypin as the prime
minster, and though he did introduce reforms in agriculture and educations, any one opposing
the Tsar’s regime was executed; more than 3000 were executed during his time.
 The failure of the Dumas, the Dumas had little power, as the Tsar declared he had the power to
dissolve it and change the rules whenever he wanted, he went against his promises in the
October Manifesto and continued to rule like an autocrat, this stimulated further opposition.
 Industrial unrest, the rapid development of Russia’s industry led to poor working and living
conditions for the industrial workers, resulting in more strikes .

Rasputin

 Gregory Rasputin was a monk who was able to control the life threatening illness of the Tsar’s
son, Alexei who suffered from hemophilia, the Tsar and the Tsarina regarded him as a friend and
his position and power at court grew to such an extent that he had the influence to choose
government ministers.
 It was believed that he lived a hedonistic lifestyle filled with women, orgies and drinking, also
many believed he had a relationship with the Tsarina.
 Critics of the Tsar would regard Rasputin as a piece of ammunition, who represented corruption.

Political Opposition

 The Social Democratic Party, followed the teachings of Karl Marx, believed that the workers
would one day revolt and remove the Tsar, setting up a communist state. The Party was divided
into the Mensheviks who believed the party should have mass membership and were prepared
for slow change, led by Trotsky. And the Bolsheviks, who believed the Party should be small and
elite, led by Vladmir Lenin.
 The Socialist Revolutionaries believed in a revolution of the peasants were they would remove
the Tsar and share all the land amongst them.
 The Constitutional Democratic Party was developed after the growth of the middle class, who
demanded a more democratic government with a constitutional leader and an elected
parliament.
 The Octobrists were set up after the October Manifesto and believed that the Tsar would fulfill
his promises, majority of support were from middle class
 First World War

Reason for defeats

 Poor leadership of Tsar and other generals and officers

 Inadequate supplies and equipment
 Lack of infrastructure

Effects of defeats

 Morale of soldiers and citizens lowered after frequent defeats and poor equipment
 Respect was lost for officers, who seemed incompetent and ineffective.
 High casualties, due to little weapons or appropriate gear.

Economic and social effects

 Inflation
 Less food productions because of shortage of labour and horses, as 14 million men were called
up to serve the army, demand of horses meant uncultivated land, higher food prices
 Shortages, lack of fuel, vital coal, iron steel and essential supplies.
 Factories closed, unemployment rise
 Inadequate transport system and incompetent government impeded fuel and food to reach the
towns.
 Worst Petrograd winter lowered quality of living and heightened unrest.

Political effects

 As the Tsar decided to take command of the war, Tsarina was left ruling. Tsarina refused to
listen to the Dumas and would listen to Rasputin instead, rumors spread that she was a German
spy attempting to sabotage Russian war effort.
 Railway systems fell into chaos as Rasputin would constantly replace his friends for the Duma
ministers who were incompetent, and in the end nobody was organizing food, fuel and other
supplies.
 Support for the Tsar and the Tsarina fell amongst the upper and middle class.

February Revolution 1917

The severe winter, inflation, shortages, regular strikes in which soldiers would garrison and mutinied and
took sides with the demonstrators, such as International Women’s Day, as well as the instability of the
government and loss of support for the Tsar resulted to this revolution.

Finally, the Tsar abdicated and it was an unexpected end to the Romanov dynasty which occurred in a
railway carriage.
 Provisional Government

Issues

 Wasn’t an elected body and didn’t represent the Russian people

 Defeats in war, many deserters
 People wanted to end the food shortages
 National minorities, i.e. the Poles and Finns aspired for independence
 Soldiers and workers setting up soviets in cities and towns

Reforms

 Freedom of speech and religion

 Recognition of trade unions
 Secret police abolished
 Promise of an elected government, the Constituent Assembly
 Restriction on working hours
 Amnesty for political prisoners

The country was then ruled by two bodies, The Provisional Government and the Petrograd Soviet, this
was known as Dual Authority and as time passed a gulf between the two grew.

The Soviets wished to stop the war, the Provisional Government dismissed their Soviet Order Number
One, and continued the war which resulted in further defeats, desertions, and chaos as the soldiers
would seize noble’s land. This made the Provisional government very unpopular and Germany sent back
exiled revolutionaries such as Lenin in order to stir up a rebellion, who did call for their overthrow.

April Theses

Lenin did not support the Provisional Government, he wanted a workers revolution which was known as
the April Theses, the Bolsheviks grew in popularity, spreading Lenin’s views and they even had their own
Red Guard.

 End of war with Germany

 Power passed from middle to working class
 All land given to peasants
 Bolsheviks should gain control of Soviets
 Police, army and bureaucracy abolished
 Capitalist system overthrown, factories, banks and transport systems should be nationalized
 The July Days

Lenin felt that the Bolsheviks were strong enough to overthrow the Provisional Government, as the war
wasn’t going well, and they were gaining power and there was growth in opposition. The Bolsheviks
used their Red Guard causing riots and deserters, 400 were killed and injured until Kerensky, Minister of
War calmed the chaos with loyal troops. Lenin and other Bolshevik leaders fled or were arrested, and
the party was in decline.

Consequences

 A new government with Kerensky as prime minster was set up

 He accused the Bolsheviks of being German spies and Lenin’s return had been funded by
Germany as well as their revolutionary activity.
 The Bolsheviks were denounced as traitors, their newspaper Pravda was closed down.

Lenin rebuilt their reputation by appealing to peasants and soldiers, with their anti-war policy and their
slogan “Peace, Land and Bread” and “Land to the peasants”.

Kornilov Revolt

General Kornilov threatened to seize power in Petrograd as he disagreed with the Provisional
Government over ending the war as he sought to set up a military dictatorship, he then decided to
march on Petrograd in attempt to overthrow the Provisional Government, however the Provisional
Government and Kerensky armed the Bolshevik’s Red Guards and freed the imprisoned Bolsheviks from
the July Days in order to match Kornilov’s forces, additionally, railway workers prevented Kornilov and
his troops from reaching Petrograd, the attempted coup d’état failed and Kornilov was arrested.

Consequences

 Kerensky’s government was proved weak

 The Bolsheviks, those who secured control of Petrograd seemed stronger
 Morale amongst the population sank as with the arrest of Kornilov, soldiers lost their
commander in chief.
 Officers continued to be murdered, desertions increased, the army was in no state to form a
military dictatorship.
 The October Revolution

Bolsheviks seize power

 Failure of the Provisional Government, all their support was lost

 Trotsky’s organization of the Red Guards
 Lack of alternative parties, as they supported the continuation of war, and land to peasants was
not addressed
 Appeal of the Bolsheviks

Lenin

 Persuaded Bolsheviks to oppose war, raised support

 Gave simple slogans such as “Peace, Land and Bread” and “All power to the Soviets” which were
easily understood by ordinary people.
 Created Red Guard, brought in Germany funds
 Persuaded to overthrow the Provisional government

Trotsky

 Chairman of the Petrograd Soviet

 Member of the Military Revolutionary Committee
 Around when Lenin was in exile
 Determined and organized, brilliant leader

Bolshevik securing control

 Decree’s were made to follow the promises of the April Theses to please the citizens
 Decree on the press, banned all non Bolshevik newspapers
 Decree to set up the political police, known as the Cheka was used to impose their control

Dissolving the Constituent assembly

 As the Bolshevik only gained a quarter of the votes whilst the Socialist Revolutionaries had half,
Lenin was concerned
 He feared that nationalities such as Finns and Estonians wanted to break away and disintegrated
Russia.

The Red Guards killed and wounded over 100 people who supported the Assembly and they prevented
elected deputies from entering the Assembly at Tauride Palace.
 Treaty of Brest Litovsk

Lenin opposed the war against Germany, and this was one of the main reasons for their growing
support, and he feared that if he prolonged the war that he would lose support from the army. Trotsky
was sent to negotiate peace terms, which were extremely harsh, Lenin was heavily criticized for
agreeing the Treaty by many Bolsheviks, however Trotsky and he argued that it was a small price for the
coming world socialist revolution.

Nonetheless, after agreeing to the Treaty, The failure of the German spring offensive meant that the
legality of the treaty was meaningless. It lost

 50 million citizens
 27% arable land
 26% railways
 74% iron and coal

And they agreed to Germany and their allies

 1 million square km of land from the Baltic to Black sea, and the Ukraine, this was Russia’s main
grain source.
 War damage of 3 billion roubles
 Civil War

In 1918 a civil war which lasted three years broke out as a result of all the issues of the Tsarist years,
WWI and the revolutions of 1917.

Groups that opposed the Bolsheviks were the Czech Legion, who were POW in Russia, The Greens which
were national minorities who wished to establish their independence, Foreign powers, which were
Russia’s ex allies such as France, Britain, USA and Japan, who intervened as the Bolsheviks cancelled
payments of all loans given by the Allies to Russia, and they feared the spread of communism to their
own countries. And finally, the Whites which were the collective name for those who opposed the
Bolsheviks, they gained support from ex tsarist officers

Why did the Bolsheviks win the civil war?

Red Strengths White Weaknesses

The policy of War Communism meant that all the
necessary resources were put into war, even when
peasants and workers went hungry
The Red army was brilliantly led and organized by
Trotsky, he blackmailed tsarist officers into fighting
for them, and conscription was introduced to men
aged 18 to 40. Eventually they had five millions
troops
Peasants supported the Bolsheviks as they feared
the return of the Tsarist regime, for many it was
the lesser of two evils
The secret police, Cheka terrorized the citizens
into supporting the Reds as if they were found to
having helped the Greens or Whites they could be
killed, 50,000 dead was the result.
The white were divided and operated in separate
groups, and the death of the Tsar weakens their
support as now his restoration was no longer
possible.
The Whites were spread over wide areas, whilst
the Reds were in a central area and could
efficiently communicate.
There was low morale and many desertions in the
White Army.
Foreign intervention from the Allies USA, Britain
and France only increased support for the
Bolsheviks.

Opposition to War Communism

War communism were the number of measures and laws which the Bolsheviks passed in order for them
to keep the army supplied during the civil war and were prioritized over the well being of the peasants
and citizens. It was introduced for the following reasons.

 Economic, Lenin wanted to control the supply of food for the towns as the peasants were
unwilling to send their produce.
 Social, there were shortages of food and other necessities which led to rising prices and
inflation.
 Political, the policies followed the communism ideal of central control and direction of the
economy
 Military, the Bolsheviks would have guarantee supplies for the Red army during the civil war.
Main Features

 Rationing of food was strictly applied during shortages

 Private trading was banned, peasants couldn’t sell their surplus food for profit and were forced
to give it to the government, and squads were ordered to seize it if the peasants were unwilling.
 Factories with more than ten workers were nationalized and then owned by the state.

This led to inflation and a decrease in production, and food shortages as peasants didn’t respond well
and grew less and bred fewer livestock. This developed into a famine which killed 7 million people.

Mutiny at Kronstadt

In 1921 the greatest challenge for Trotsky and Lenin was the Kronstadt Naval Rebellion were thousands
of sailors objected the way the Communists, the Bolsheviks, were taking power away from the Soviets.

Lenin wanted no opposition and Trotsky stopped the rebellion by killing or wounding 20,000 men, the
surviving mutineers were either sent to a gulag or executed by the Cheka. This event made opponents
realize that the Communists couldn’t be removed and Lenin notice that he had to abandon War
Communism and replace it with the New Economic Policy.

New Economic Policy

The New Economic Policy, NEP, was intended to meet Russia’s urgent need for food, and an attempt to
persuade the peasants. The policy stated that

 Peasants were required to provide the government with a fixed amount of grain, but surplus
could be sold for profit
 Peasants who increased their food production paid less tax
 Factories with less than 20 workers were given back to the owners, and consumer goods could
be produced and sold for profit
 Money could be used again and a new currency was introduced
 Key industries such as coal and steel remained under state control.
 Electrification of Russia was the key to economic growth
 Foreign trade

The result was the growth in industrial output, such as heavy industry, electricity, and doubled monthly
wages for workers.
Struggle for Power

After Lenin’s death there was a struggle for power in Russia as there were five potential candidates to
succeed him.

 Leon Trotsky
 Gregory Zinoviev Most likely
 Lev Kamenev to succeed
 Nikolai Bukharin
 Joseph Stalin

Removal of rivals

Lenin’s Will and Testament

Lenin’s Testament meant that Stalin had very little chance of winning the leadership contest, However
Stalin convinced the Central Committee, especially Kamenev and Zinoviev to keep the Testament a secret
for the sake of the party’s unity and also as it criticized them.

Lenin’s Funeral

Stalin appeared as the chief mourner at the funeral, portraying him as a close follower, whilst Trotsky’s
absence, due to him being ill and Stalin tricking him into thinking it was the following day, made him seem
arrogant and disrespectful.

Socialism in One Country

Stalin worked closely with Zinoviev and Kamenev and together they forced Trotsky to resign as Commissar
of War, and he was no longer in control of the Red Army. Additionally, Stalin packed the Congress of
Soviets with his supporters to gain support of his policy” Socialism in one Country”

Zinoviev and Kamenev

Stalin worked with Bukharin at the right wing of the Communist Party which supported his policy, against
Zinoviev, Kamenev and Trotsky who were expelled from the party in 1927.

Bukharin

In 1928 Stalin turned against Bukharin and his supporters from the right wing of the party, as they
supported the NEP and he wished to replace it with a new policy of industrial expansion, in 1929, Bukharin
was forced to resign.
Why did Stalin win the Leadership contest?

Strengths of Stalin Weakness of Trotsky

 His role as General Secretary in the  He was seen as an outsider as he was
Communist Party allowed him to appoint Jewish and a former Menshevik
his supporters and remove those of  He made a series of tactical mistakes
Trotsky, this build up a power base and he  Promoted a world revolution, as he
soon commanded the support of most wanted to spread communism to other
Party officials. countries, however the majority of
 He built an image of a close follower of Russians preferred to concentrate on fully
Lenin, depicting himself as a natural establishing communism in the Soviet
successors, he made speeches praising Union.
him and published photos showing him at
Lenin’s side
 He played off his rivals against each other,
using Zinoviev and Kamenev to remove
Trotsky as they feared him and then allied
with Bukharin and the right wind of the
Party to remove Zinoviev and Kamenev
 He promoted “Socialism in One Country”
which won popular support as it suggested
securing communism, at home before
supporting revolutions abroad.

Purges

There are a number of reasons why it had been interpreted that Stalin introduced the purges, such as.

1. Threats to his position

He feared that his rivals were plotting to overthrow him
2. Links with economic policies
Excuses for getting free mass labor to rapidly progress his industrialization projects, and to
justify failures that were blamed on sabotage
3. Stalin not completely responsible
Though Stalin initiated them he was not the cause for all the outcomes, it was a snowball effect
and others used it to get rid of their own rivals.
4. Persecution complex
Historians believed that he was in a mental state that made him fear that everyone was against
him, and example is the murder of Kirov
Key features

1928, five were shot and 49 imprisoned on the trial of the engineers from the Shakhty mines as they were
accused of sabotage

1932, Ryutin, a senior member of the communist party criticized Stalin’s economic policies, he and his
supporters were then put on trial and Ryutin was expelled from the party and exiled.

1934, Kirov, a leading communist, criticized Stalin’s policy on industrialization and insisted that it slowed
down, this was applauded and people talked about him replacing Stalin, as Stalin saw him as a threat he
probably ordered his murder, Stalin claimed it was part of a conspiracy against him and the party and the
NKVD arrested thousands of Kirov’s supporters.

1935, Thousands of senior communists and Trotsky’s supporters were denounced, arrested, and expelled.

1936, there were the show trials of the Old Bolsheviks, these included Zinoviev and Kamenev and other left
opposition leaders who were arrested after they were forced and tortured by the NKVD to confess to
plotting.

1937,Stalin removed any opposition from the Red Army by arresting and shooting generals, by 1941 90% of
Soviet generals were purged.

1938, every party and state leaders had been purged; Stalin called an end to them and blamed the NKVD
which was then purged to remove evidence.

How were they carried out?

The Secret Police

The NKDV was the secret police; Stalin expanded its power with the decree of terrorist acts which meant
that they had the power to arrest and execute people without trial or charge.

They were assisted by an army of informers, everyone was encouraged to inform on those around them
and doing so would acquire you privileges. They were used by Stalin to remove any opposition and
many were sent killed, exiled or sent to gulags.
Gulags

The victims of the purges were sent to these labour camps, it was run by the NKVD and around 13
million people died of the atrocious living and working conditions, malnourishment and cold.

Show Trials

Show Trials were implemented in 1936 to purge Stalin’s rivals in the Communist Party, especially the Old
Bolsheviks, they were physically and psychologically tortured or had their families threatened with
death or imprisonment by the NKVD . They were forced to confess to improbable crimes to justify
Stalin’s reasoning for purging the Communist party.

Effects

 Consolidated power and control for Stalin

As all his opposition was removed
 Enormous human cost
1 million people were executed, and 8 million died in the labour camps
 Weakened army and navy
Loss of senior officers due to purges, leading to a near defeat in 1941 when Hitler’s armies
invaded
 Industrialization slowed down
As millions of scientists, engineers and others were purged, quality of production affected
 Terror spread
In fear of being purged, no one felt secure as trust disappeared
 Many expelled from Communist Party
This meant they were deprived of the Party card which were an essential in order to get a job

Cult of Personality

In order to secure his power in the totalitarian state he glorified himself through his skills of propaganda
in which he acquired through being the editor of Pravda. His name, pictures, statues, paintings, films,
parades were everywhere, there were poems and play written about him and he created the image of
being a caring leader who was savior of the USSR.

Stalin had to rewrite history in order to amplify his role in the Bolshevik revolution and remove that of
Trotsky, Bukharin, Zinoviev and Kamenev. He did this by manipulating photographs so that they were
removed and he was added, showing close links between him and Lenin.
Culture was controlled by censoring writers, filmmakers, composers and artists work by sending them to
committees such as the Union of Soviet Writers which had to be submitted to them to be controlled
before publication. Any artists who would deviate from the communist policy of social realism were
severely punished and sent to gulags. Their work was supposed to be easily understood and promote
development of communism.

Stalin tried controlling religion as he saw Muslims, Jews and the Russian Orthodox groups as a threat as
they owed their allegiance to someone other than him. He attacked religion by imprisoning Christian
leaders, closing down over 60,000 places of worship, and religious schools, banning Islamic law,
pilgrimages to Mecca, and the study of Hebrew.

Collectivization

This meant that peasants had to give up their small plots of land and livestock to join with other to
make a large farm equipped with machinery and modern farming methods, a kolkoz, the families had to
provide a fixed amount of food for very low prices to the government and had low wage. The idea is to
create a surplus of food for profit. First it was voluntary but it then became compulsory for all peasants,
by 1939, 99% of land was collectivized.

He did this for a number of reasons.

 Fear of Invasion Stalin feared an invasion from the West, and industrialization was essential for
victory in case there was such an attack as it would enable him to control and build up armed
forces, deter any potential rivals and strengthen the country.

 Disappointing output Soviet industrial production did not meet Stalin’s standards and he felt
that central control would allow him to ensure rapid growth and expansion in industry. In fact,
Stalin feared the repeat of the grain crisis in 1927 which was when farmers were still not
producing enough surplus of grain to give to the state even under the NEP. Also, the
industrialization was to be funded by the profit given by the surplus of produce, as Stalin didn’t
expect investment from the West or other foreign countries.

 Communist principles By creating and sharing the wealth which would be made by
industrialization amongst the Soviet peoples he would be creating a strong communist based
state, where the government controlled the economic activity.

 Leadership Industrialization would consolidate his power as leader as Bukharin and other right
wing member of the party supported the NEP, the Five Year Plans would discredit them, and
also it would give him total control of these areas, securing his role as leader.
Kulaks

Stalin resented the capitalist nature of the richer peasants, the kulaks, as they kept their produce rather
than supplying it to the industrial workers in the towns; anyone who opposed collectivization was
regarded as one and exiled or sent to the gulags, this was called de-kulkisation.

Effects

 Human cost, a famine during 1932-33 resulted in around 8 million peasants dead
 Benefits, towns and the Red Army were well fed and there were schools and hospitals on
collectives, also tractors were introduced on a large scale due to the MTS
 Fall in production, peasant opposition led to a grain decline, the rural population starved in
order to supply the needs of the industry
 Inefficient farming, Soviet farmers still produced less than farmers in the USA or the West.
 Greater control, Stalin secured control of the countryside as the never again openly rebelled
against communist rule. He also ensured a secure supply of food for towns and industrial
workers.

Five Year Plans

After 1928 Stalin implemented these to transform the Soviet Union into an industrialized nation in a
short time period as he was expecting an invasion from the surrounding capitalist countries and only a
strong industrial economy could provide him with the weapons and wealth needed to defeat them, also
he strongly opposed the NEP as it went against communist ideals and abandoned it as he cared for full
control of the Soviet industry.

1st FYP

These concentrated on heavy industry such as coal, steel and iron and some industries such as
electricity, motor vehicles, rubber and chemicals. Stalin was encouraged by the success as the output
was larger than the target. Many young Soviet citizens went to work to the new towns and factories as
they believed they were forming a new society.

2nd FYP

As fear of invasion from the West increased, especially from Nazi Germany heavy industry became a
priority and the production of armaments trebled. However living standards didn’t improve and strikes
were banned.

3rd FYP

This concentrated on the production of consumer industries such as luxuries and household goods,
however it was abandoned after Nazi Germany invaded the USSR in June 1941.
Effects

Advances in industry as the Soviet industries made significant improvements and by 1940 the USSER
became the world’s 2nd largest industrial power after the USA.

The Stakhanovites were a campaign which encouraged employers to work harder through the example
of Alexi Stakhanov who claimed to have lifted 102 tonnes of coal which was actually a set up. These
Stakhanovites were rewarded with medals, new houses, free holidays and other privileges. However the
campaign was dropped after they were beat up or killed by their worker colleges out of envy.

A skilled workforce, as there was an investment in education and training schemes, new elite emerged
which included teachers, factory managers, scientists etch who were paid higher wages and therefore
had a higher standard of living, this went against communist principles but Stalin realized it was
necessary to attract the right caliber of people.

Opportunities for women as they were encouraged to work in order to achieve the targets of the FYPs,
there improvements in education and health and workers children were provided with free primary
education and a free healthcare scheme.

Changes in location and organization of industry, huge towns and industrial centers were built from
scratch, workers were encouraged to move on the site and the population of USSR cities grew by 29
million.

Working and living conditions

 Peasants who were forced into factories not used to harsh conditions of industrial regime
 Demand for housing couldn’t meet the rapid movement of peasants moving to the cities, forced
to live in horrible living conditions
 Low wages
 Shortage of goods
 Crime, alcoholism and juvenile delinquency increased
 Harsh punishments for tardiness and absence, such as fines and firing
 Failures were blamed on saboteurs rather than on the system
 Secret police encouraged informing