Weimar Germany | UPSC Mains: World History PDF Download

Weimar and Nazi Germany, 1918-39

The Weimar Republic, 1918-1929

After World War One, Germany became democratic. All adult Germans were able to vote and the system of proportional representation meant a wide range of views were given a voice in Parliament. There was also an elected President instead of the Kaiser.
However Germany still faced problems. The Treaty of Versailles had embarrassed Germany as the ‘war guilt’ clause had to be accepted, as did military restrictions. Reparations were huge and there was political and economic instability:

• In the first four years of the Weimar Republic there were three serious attempts to overthrow the government
• In 1923 there was a hyperinflation crisis that left Germany’s currency worthless

Between 1924 and 1929, Germany did better. The politician Gustav Stresemann arranged American loans and Germany could pay reparations again. By the late 1920s the Weimar Republic was a key member of the League of Nations and its culture was modern and vibrant. The government was still quite unstable but this was not as much of a problem in a time of greater wealth, which the loans had helped create.

Gustav Stresemann

Hitler's rise to power, 1919-1933

The Nazi Party had been founded in 1920 and Hitler became its leader soon after. During the hyperinflation crisis Hitler decided to try and seize power in the Munich Putsch (1923). He was jailed briefly and after this promised to win power only through elections. The Nazi Party membership grew but didn’t have very many seats by 1928 as people were less likely to vote for extreme parties in times of stability.
In 1929 the Wall Street Crash brought a worldwide depression. The loans given to Germany were recalled and the economy collapsed. Unemployment rocketed, poverty soared and Germans became desperate. This led to a chain of events that ended in the destruction of German democracy:

• With the government unable to win a majority in the Reichstag, laws could only be passed by presidential decree. As a result, not enough action was taken to tackle the economic and social consequences of the Depression and Germans increasingly began to look to the political extremes for answers.
• The Nazis benefitted from this the most, as a combination of policies with widespread appeal, a charismatic leader in Hitler and the violence of the SA helped make them the largest party in the Reichstag by the middle of 1932.
• In January 1933, Hitler was appointed Chancellor by President Hindenburg.

Nazi control and dictatorship, 1933-1939

Hitler quickly set about dismantling German democracy. He forced the passing of the Enabling Act through the Reichstag, which gave him unlimited powers for four years. He then eliminated any potential sources of opposition: other political parties, trades unions and even Ernst Rohm, the leader of the SA.
By the time President Hindenburg died in August 1934, Hitler was able to declare himself Führer and had absolute power in Germany.
Nazi Germany was a totalitarian state, which means that the government sought to control every aspect of life. To understand how Germans experienced this, one has to consider how control was established (police state, removal of opposition, propaganda and censorship), and how everyday life and society was influenced with Nazi ideals.

The police state

Hitler used three weapons to control the German people:

• The Schutzstaffel (SS). This organisation was responsible for ensuring the population remained under control and any potential threats to the Nazis were dealt with. It oversaw the Gestapo (secret police), which spied on ordinary Germans, and it ran concentration camps where enemies of the state were sent.
• Control of the legal system. All judges had to swear an oath of loyalty to the Führer and all lawyers had to join the Nazi Lawyers’ Association. It was made harder to defend people placed on trial for suspected crimes and the death penalty was used much more widely than before.
• Propaganda and censorship. Joseph Goebbels ran the Ministry of Propaganda, whose job it was to convince the German people to embrace Nazi rule. This was achieved through control of the press, radio and the arts, and through rallies and sporting events.
• The police state and laws protected the Nazis against opposition. It is difficult to know how large opposition to the Nazis was, because fear and intimidation stopped many from openly opposing them. Despite this, limited numbers people did oppose them – religious figures, old political opponents and youth groups like the Edelweiss Pirates.

The police state and laws protected the Nazis against opposition. It is difficult to know how large opposition to the Nazis was, because fear and intimidation stopped many from openly opposing them. Despite this, limited numbers people did oppose them – religious figures, old political opponents and youth groups like the Edelweiss Pirates.

Life in Nazi Germany, 1933-1939

Alongside control and suppression, the Nazis tried to influence every part of German life.

The Economy

Hitler claimed that he had dramatically reduced unemployment figures under the Nazis. Certainly, rearmament created jobs. But National Service meant young men were not counted as being unemployed any longer. Women and Jews were left out of the figures altogether. Therefore, we can’t be sure of how many people truly found jobs under the Nazis. However, living standards for working class Germans did not really improve and workers were expected to take part in Nazi Party schemes like Strength Through Joy, which gave them cheap holidays, in return for giving up their trade union rights.

The Nazis aspired to achieve autarky, or economic self-sufficiency, but in general the economy was geared towards preparing for a future war. As such, workers were expected to work long hours for modest pay and to toe the line.

Social policy

The Nazis’ social policies affected two groups in society the most – women and young people:

• Women were expected to embrace a life based around the ‘3 Ks’ of Kinder, Küche, Kirche (Children, Kitchen and Church). It was their duty to produce and raise children, in order to secure the future of the Reich. They were encouraged to give up work and received loans and awards for having lots of children.
• Young people were a particular target for the Nazis’ propaganda, as they represented the future. The school curriculum was altered to promote Nazi ideology and all young people were expected to join a Nazi youth organisation such as the Hitler Youth or the League of German Maidens.

In addition, the Nazis sought to control or limit the influence of Christianity. They set up an official state church, called the Reich Church, which adapted protestant teachings to Nazi ideology. Also, despite signing a Concordat with the Pope in 1933 in which Hitler promised to leave the Catholic Church alone if it stayed out of politics, the Nazis attempted to interfere with it and placed restrictions on worship.

Persecution

Nazi ideology centred on the belief that the Aryan of northern Europe was superior to all others and that some races were sub-human. Nazis also believed any weaknesses in the Aryan race, such as disabled people, should be weeded out to maintain racial purity. Therefore, many groups who the Nazis did not like were targeted and persecuted. This was done in many different ways; ‘euthanasia’, imprisonment in concentration camps and the loss of civil rights.
The group targeted most by this persecution were the Jews. Under the Nazis Jews in Germany had their rights gradually taken away, including their German citizenship. During World War Two, this deteriorated further and the Holocaust saw 6 million Jews from across Nazi-occupied Europe murdered.