GERMANY AFTER WORLD WAR ONE

AND THE CREATION OF NAZI GERMANY

FROM 1919 TO 1939

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The legacy of World War I:

At the end of World War I, the victorious Allied forces (Britain, France, Italy and the USA)
drew up a peace treaty, known as the Treaty of Versailles. These countries did not discuss
the terms of this treaty with the defeated countries (Germany and Austria-Hungary) or the
USSR (which had been an ally but left the war early.) The treaty was signed by the Weimar
Republic, which was the new government of Germany after the abdication of Kaiser
Wilhelm II and the collapse of the German Empire in November 1918.

Why had Russia “left the war early” in 1917?

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The treaty created a new Europe. As a result of this treaty Germany lost a huge amount of
land to other countries such as France and Belgium. New countries were created such as
Hungary, Czechoslovakia and Poland. All German colonies were put under the supervision
of the Allied forces. For example, SWA now Namibia.

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Terms of the Treaty of Versailles:

The Treaty of Versailles stated that Germany was to blame for World War 1 and therefore
needed to be punished. Germany was punished through:
• the loss of territory;
• her military power was weakened through the abolition of conscription
• the army was limited to 100 000 volunteers
• the navy was reduced to 36 ships and no submarines were allowed
[try and find out what happened to these ships eventually]
• Germany was not allowed to have military planes or heavy weapons
• Germany also had to pay large sums of money as reparations for war damage
suffered by the Allies.
This amount (132 billion gold marks, or about $269 billion today plus interest) was so large
that Germany was unable to pay back the money. The Germans kept asking for the amount
to be reduced, however the allies would not allow it.

Germany lost 13% of its territory. This territory contained 16% of Germany’s coal
production, 15% of its agricultural production, and 48% of its iron production. Six million
Germans became citizens of other countries overnight.

Conscription:
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Reparations:
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Why did the Allies take such a harsh stand against Germany in the Peace Treaty?
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As a result of the Treaty of Versailles being so harsh, the German people felt humiliated
and angry. They blamed the Weimar government for their unhappiness because the
government had signed the Treaty of Versailles. The situation in Germany became worse.
Germany was unable to pay the reparations payments and Germany’s economy collapsed.
The German people believed that because the Weimar government signed the treaty they
were to blame for the problems occurring in Germany. Many Germans also believed that
Germany would have won the war and that Germany should have continued fighting.
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Problems facing Germany:

Political problems:

❖ Germany had a coalition government, which was a democracy.

❖ At least six other political parties existed in opposition to the German government.
❖ The government was weak and inefficient.
❖ The government had surrendered at the end of World War 1 which meant that the
people of Germany did not trust or support them.
❖ The government signed the Treaty of Versailles.

Economic Problems:

❖ The rate of inflation was high:

In 1914 1 US dollar = 4.2 marks, in January 1923 1 US dollar = 18 000 marks.

❖ As a result of the Treaty of Versailles, Germany lost:

➢ 13% of its territory – splitting the country in half
➢ Many of its resources – especially coal and steel
➢ All its colonies
➢ The income from the Port of Danzig, which became an international port.

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Activity 1:

1. In your opinion, do you think the Treaty of Versailles was fair or unfair?
Give reasons for your answers. (4)
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2. Do you think a country should be punished (have to pay reparations) if they have
been defeated in a war? Explain your answer. (4)
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[8]

The Failure of the League of Nations:

The League of Nations was an international body which was set up after World War One
to preserve international peace and security. There were a number of successes, but,
overall, it failed for the following reasons:

➢ It failed to prevent World War Two

➢ It failed to get the nations to disarm before the war
➢ It failed to check the aggressive actions of various nations (such as Germany, Italy
and Japan) before the war.
➢ It failed to get all the major nations of the world to participate in its work

As a result of the failure of the League of

Nations, certain powers were allowed to conduct
policies, which, in the end, led to a disruption of
world peace. This led to the success of the Nazi
party in Germany under its leader Adolf Hitler.

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Origins of the Nazi Party

Adolf Hitler was born in April 1889 in a small town on the border of Austria and Germany.
He was not very successful at school and attempted to get into Fine Arts Academy in
Vienna, but was rejected. He remained in Vienna, but had a difficult time, experiencing
poverty, hunger and homelessness.

In 1913, Hitler moved to Munich in Bavaria, Germany and in 1914, he joined the army at
the start of World War One, rising to the rank of corporal. He won the Iron Cross for bravery
and at the end of the war was temporarily blinded by gas.

After the defeat of Germany, Hitler, like many other Germans was a bitter ex-soldier, but
he saw the perfect opportunity for a political party that would solve the problems of the
German people.

In 1919 Hitler joined a small party, the German Workers' Party, hoping to find a home
among people with ideas similar to his own. By 1923 Hitler had radically changed this party,
becoming its leader. He provided discipline and direction for the members, created a
uniform, flag and symbol, and gave the party a new name - the National Socialist German
Workers' Party, or Nazi Party.

The Nazi Party was militaristic. Its members wore uniforms, they marched with the new
goose-step march, and they saluted their leader, Hitler, with the strong-arm salute. They
adopted the emblem of the swastika (seen on the flag above.) Hitler began to give the
people of Germany what they wanted - someone to blame for their difficult living conditions.

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Hitler blamed the communists, the November criminals (the people who had surrendered
in World War I, and later signed the hated Treaty of Versailles), and most of all, the Jewish
people. Hitler promised that he would overthrow the Treaty, restore the pride of the
Germans, and restore Germany to her former glory and more - making her the strongest
country in the world. Hitler seemed to be an answer to a prayer to many of the disheartened
Germans. The popularity of the Nazi Party began to grow.

In 1923, Hitler led the Nazi Party in the Munich putsch. (Define what this means by writing
it in the relevant space on this page.) The putsch failed and Hitler and some of his
supporters were arrested and sentenced to five years in prison.

While in prison, Hitler wrote a book which he called Mein Kampf (My Struggle). In it, he
claimed that in order for the German, or Aryan, race to stay superior it had to be kept pure
and uncontaminated by other races. Hitler's policy of creating Lebensraum (room to live)
for this superior race was part of the reasoning behind his later invasion of neighbouring
countries.

Militaristic:
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Munich Putsch:
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Mein Kampf:
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Aryan:
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The beliefs outlined in this book were based on a number of 'isms':

 Anti-Semitism and racism - Hitler blamed the Jewish people for all Germany's
misfortunes.
 Hitler believed that the pure-bred Germans, who were tall, blonde and blue-eyed (the
Aryans), were the Herrenvolk, or 'master race'. He believed that other people were
racially inferior, and should be enslaved for the benefit of the master race.
 Anti-communism - Hitler hated the communists and wanted them destroyed;
 Nationalism - the need to unify all German-speaking people;
 Expansionism - the need to expand the country to acquire lebensraum, or 'living
space', for the German people;
 Totalitarianism - Hitler claimed that the state was more important than the individual,
and that the interests of the state must always come first;
 Militarism – the desire of a government to have a strong military which they are
prepared to use aggressively to defend their national interests.

These 'isms' would form the basis of Nazi policy. A propaganda department, led by
Goebbels, one of the top Nazi members, would ensure that these policies were spread
throughout Germany. All of these 'isms' would break the terms of the Treaty of Versailles.

Conscription was needed to build up a new army and provide discipline for the youth. Re-
armament was essential to provide Germany with the tanks, planes and ships they
needed. Goering referred to this as needing 'guns before butter'. (Discuss what the
meaning of this phrase is.)

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Define the following terms:

Propaganda:
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Rearmament:
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Activity 2:

Study the source below and answer the questions on the following page:

The Nazi Party demands the following:

1. A union of all Germans (in Europe) to form a great Germany.

2. Abolition of the Treaty of Versailles
3. Land and territory … for our surplus population.
4. German blood as a requirement for German citizenship. No Jew
can be a member of the nation.
5. Non-citizens may live in Germany only as foreigners, subject to the
law of aliens.
6. Only citizens may vote or hold public office.
7. The state must ensure that every citizen can live decently and earn
his livelihood. If it is impossible to provide food for the whole
population, then aliens must be expelled.
8. A thorough reconstruction of our national system of education.

1. The above source outlines what the Nazis planned to do if they were voted into
power. Use the above source to complete the following table. Where possible you
need to extract those points from the manifesto that refer to the aims in the table.

Nazi aims Relevant points from the Nazi political manifesto

Revenge for the Treaty
of Versailles

Only “pure Germans”

allowed to live in
Germany

Make Germany a strict

military country

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2. Point 4 of the manifesto says that only those with “German blood” could be citizens
of Germany.

2.1. Who did the Nazis regard as non-citizens?

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2.2. What does the manifesto reveal about how people who were not regarded
as citizens would be treated in Germany if the Nazi’s got into power?
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2.3. Today there are many people who have citizenship of South Africa even
though they were not born here. Do you think points 4 to 7 of the manifesto
would be acceptable in South Africa today? Motivate your answer.
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Independent Research: The Great Depression

Instructions:
The purpose of the following exercise is to research the Great Depression of the 1930s
and its impact on Germany. Research and answer the following questions regarding the
Great Depression.

1. What was the Great Depression?

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2. Which major event led to the Great Depression?

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3. Briefly explain the causes of the Great Depression.
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4. What were the results of the Great Depression for:
a) The USA
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b) Germany
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c) The world
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During the early 1930s, Hitler made many speeches in which he promised to make
Germany rich and powerful again. He promised the people jobs and a stronger economy.
Millions of Germans believed him. He was a gifted public speaker and his stirring speeches
appealed to the ordinary people. In 1933, he was elected chancellor (prime minister), and
when the president died a year later, he declared himself Führer (true leader) and became
a dictator.

Hitler's rule of Germany is known as the Third Reich.

What is a “Reich”? _______________________________________________________

The Nazi Party was the only legal political party and Germany became a totalitarian state.
Hitler decided what Germans could hear, see, read, think and do, and those who disagreed
with him were destroyed. He established the secret police called the Gestapo and gave
them the power to find and punish anyone who did not support the Nazi Party.

Nazi Germany became a fascist state. Not all fascist governments are exactly the same,
but they usually have most of these features in common. Some features of a fascist state
are the following:

▪ It uses violence to keep control of people.

▪ It uses symbols to unite people.
▪ There is no freedom of speech or the press.
▪ No opposition is allowed - everyone has to support the party and the leader.
▪ There is hatred of communism, trade unions are banned, and fascist leaders
cooperate with the landowners and factory owners.
▪ It uses propaganda through newspapers, radio, education, films, posters and
leaflets, songs, symbols, and parades.
▪ There is a big emphasis on the military. The state builds a strong army, navy and air
force and is willing to go to war.
▪ There is a secret police force which spies on people.
▪ There is brutality and ruthlessness.
▪ There is a belief in a great leader who holds all the power; people are encouraged to
worship the leader.
▪ There is a strong sense of pride in the country and belief that one's country is better
than others. This is called nationalism.
▪ There is hatred of other races of people, like Jews and black people.
▪ There is hatred of democracy - people exist to serve the government, not the
government to serve the people.

The Nazi totalitarian government had total control over men, women, youth, newspapers,
radio, art, books, music, universities, schools, police, army, law courts and religion. In other
words, they controlled every aspect of life in Germany.

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Case study: Totalitarianism

A totalitarian state is one in which the ordinary people have no power and are completely
controlled by the government. This is run by one political party and, more often than not,
one leader, acting like a modern-day dictator. Nazism and Fascism are both extreme forms
of totalitarianism.

In a totalitarian state, there is usually an extreme sense of nationalism and people are
encouraged to feel superior to other cultural groups or people. The Nazis, for example,
considered themselves superior to all, especially blacks, Slavs and Jews. In a totalitarian
state, people are not allowed freedom of thought, movement or speech, and must do
exactly as the leader of the country wants, or face extreme punishment.

List EIGHT characteristics of totalitarianism (refer to the above description).

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To control every part of every German's life, the Nazi Party had to persuade people to
believe that Hitler had the answers to all their problems.

• The Nazi Party used terror, on the one hand, and propaganda on the other. The
Nazi Party used propaganda to tell people how to think.
• They wanted to control people's thoughts, to stop people fearing the enemy and to
encourage people to work together to defeat the enemy.
• Nazi propaganda used fear, exaggeration and lies to get people to support them.

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Describe what it must have felt like to live in a society such as this.

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Who were the people that performed the above actions?

• SS is an abbreviation of Schutzstaffel or Protection Squad. They wore sleek black

uniforms with badges of double lightning, skulls and silver daggers.

• The SS was established in 1925 as Hitler's small personal bodyguard, but it grew
with the Nazi movement and became very powerful in Nazi Germany.

• SS men were taught racial hatred and told to harden their hearts to human
suffering. They had to declare absolute obedience and loyalty to the Fuhrer.

• During World War Two the SS carried out massive executions.

• The Gestapo, a division of the SS, had unlimited powers. One of their functions
was getting rid of opposition, as well as running concentration camps.

• In June 1934, the Gestapo executed many of Hitler's political opponents in what
became known as the "Night of the Long Knives” - this brought an end to outright
opposition to Hitler in Germany for many years.

• When he came to power, Hitler had ordered the manufacture of warships, guns,
aircraft and tanks, and Eastern Europe was a source of much-needed oil, coal and
iron ore.

Activity 3:

Study the cartoon on the following page and answer the questions.

3.1. Identify the key characters in the cartoon. (6)

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3.2. Explain how you identified each character. Use visual clues from the cartoon to
motivate your answer. (6)
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 A cartoon by David Low from a British newspaper, July 1934.

3.3. Who or what do you think the cartoonist is referring to with the boots at the bottom
of the cartoon? Explain your answer. (4)
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3.4. What point is the cartoonist making with this cartoon? Explain your answer with
TWO visual clues from the cartoon. (4)
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3.5. Provide TWO visual clues from the cartoon that show that the cartoonist is biased.
(4)
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The Nuremburg Laws:

The town of Nuremberg was the second-largest town in Germany. Nuremburg became the
centre of the Nazi Party in the 1930s. Nuremberg has become synonymous with the word
Nazi for three reasons:
▪ many famous Nazi rallies (large public gatherings with music and speakers) were held
there
▪ the Nuremberg Laws would form the basis of anti-Jewish policy
▪ after the war, the Nazis would face the consequences of what they had done at the
Nuremberg Trials.

Hitler wished to create an Aryan identity amongst Germans. This means that they would
see themselves as a race superior to all others. The perfect German would be tall, blonde,
blue-eyed and athletic. At the opposite end of the scale would be the Jews, an inferior race,
not worthy of German citizenship or protection from the German State. The main aim of
the Nuremberg Laws was to deprive the Jews of their livelihood and citizenship. Hitler also
realised that the more he was able to dehumanise the Jewish people, the less likely the
German people would be to resist when he began to remove Jewish people from society.

The Nuremburg Laws were passed in 1935 and removed all rights from the Jewish people.
They were deprived of German citizenship, they were forbidden to marry non-Jews, they
could not be employed in any government office, they could not serve in the army, and
they were not allowed to practise medicine or any other profession like teaching, journalism
or law. The only form of employment open to them was menial labour (work normally
associated with a servant), like street cleaning. By 1936, more than half of the German
Jews were unemployed. This was what Hitler wanted to achieve. Hitler did not view the
Jewish people as being part of Germany. When German employment figures were
published, they did not include Jewish people, because they were no longer seen as
German citizens.

Over the next few years, more restrictions would be placed on the Jewish community. In
1938 all Jewish people had to register all property that they owned with the Nazi Party. No
Jewish person was allowed to attend a German school or university. Their passports had
to be stamped with a large 'J' and all Jewish people had to carry identity cards and wear a
yellow star on their sleeve.
On 9 November 1938 German Nazis attacked Jewish people and property. The
name Kristallnacht refers ironically to the litter of broken glass left in the streets
after these pogroms. The violence continued during the day of November 10, and
in some places acts of violence continued for several more days.
By 1939, no Jewish person was allowed to run a business of any kind. They were losing
the ability to support themselves. Hitler had succeeded in removing all basic human rights
from Jewish people and in convincing the German people that Jewish people were a threat
and a danger to German life. The stage was now set for the “final solution”.

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Dehumanise:
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Final solution:
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Nazis affix a sign to Jewish store urging shoppers not to patronize it, 1933.
(German Federal Archives)

This chart was designed to help Germans determine their racial status as outlined
by the 1935 Nuremberg Laws.
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