The Paris Peace Conference



RUSSIA: The Nature of the Tsar's government

Overview

The government of Russia was an autocracy, run by Tsar Nicholas II as an absolute monarch.   There were four Dumas (Parliaments) after the Revolution of 1905, but they had little power.   The Tsar used the Okhrana (secret police) and the Cossacks (mounted soldiers) to control the people - the worst example was Bloody Sunday (1905).

   

Facts

1.   After 1906, Peter Stolypin, the Tsar's Chief Minister, organised the government well and increased the power of the Tsar..

2.   There were THREE main opponents of the Tsar.  

a.   The Kadets (middle-class businessmen who wanted a Parliament like Britain's).

b.   The Social Revolutionaries (who wanted a peasant revolution)

c.   The Bolsheviks (Communists) who wanted a workers' revolution.

3.   Don't forget to mention how Rasputin ruined the Tsar's government after the assassination of Stolypin in 1911.

 

   | |

|RUSSIA: The February (March) Revolution |

|Overview |

|In 1917 there was tremendous anger in Russia with Tsar Nicholas, the War, the food shortages and the inflation.   There were riots which ran out of |

|control - the tsarina and Rasputin could not handle things - and eventually the Duma took control, formed a Provisional Government, and forced Nicholas |

|to abdicate |

|  |

|Facts |

|1.   On Sun 4 March 1917 the workers at the Putilov factory went on strike, demanding a 50% pay increase to pay for food inflation.   |

|2.   On Thurs 8 March there were bread riots because of food shortages. |

|3.   On 12 March many soldiers in Petrograd, and the sailors in Kronstadt, shot their officers and joined the revolution. |

|   |

|RUSSIA: Role/importance of Rasputin |

|Rasputin was a friend of the royal family because he could heal Alexis's haemophilia.   He became powerful after 1915, when Nicholas went to the Front, |

|leaving the tsarina in charge of the government at home.   |

|  |

|Rasputin harmed the government in two ways: |

|1.   He put tramps and peasants into government jobs, dismissing ministers he disliked.   |

|2.   he ruined the reputation of the monarchy - opposition leaflets suggested that he held the tsar and tsarina in his hands like a puppet. |

|  |

|But he was NOT a major cause of the revolution (his murder in 1916 did not stop it). |

|   |

|RUSSIA: Impact of WWI |

|World War One harmed Russia (and the Tsar) in THREE main ways: |

|1.   It took 14 million peasants away to the army = food shortages, because there was no one left to run the farms. |

|2.   Food shortages caused bread riots (remember that the March revolution began with  bread riot on 8 March) and inflation. |

|3.   Disastrous defeats ruined the tsar's reputation, and led the soldiers to join the revolution (12 March) - i.e. the tsar lost control.. |

|   |

|RUSSIA: Causes of Russ Rev |

|(Wishy-Washy Nicholas) |

|IF YOU ARE ASKED THIS, MAKE SURE YOU GIVE SOME FACTS AS WELL. |

|1.   Weakness of Russia (huge size/ poor). |

|2.   World War One (remember the facts from above). |

|3.   Nicholas was a rotten ruler (remember the facts from above).   His biggest mistake was taking personal command of the army, which ruined his |

|reputation. |

|   |

|RUSSIA: The Provisional Government |

|Overview |

|In March 1917 the Duma formed a 'Provisional (= temporary) Government' and forced the tsar to abdicate.   But it never managed to do anything about its |

|six problems (see below) - so nobody lifted a finger to help it when the Bolsheviks revolted in November and it fell from power. |

|  |

|Facts |

|1    In March, the Petrograd Soviet issued Order No. 1 forbidding people to obey the provisional government unless the Soviet agreed. |

|2.   In April, the German government smuggled the Bolshevik leader Lenin back into Russia.   (The Bolsheviks rioted in July but were defeated.) |

|3.   In August, there was a Tsarist revolt led by General Kornilov - he was only defeated by the Bolsheviks. |

|  |

|  |

|RUSSIA: Six Problems of the Prov Gov |

|(SIPS BK) |

|1.   The Petrograd Soviet was a rival for power (nb Order No.1). |

|2.   Inflation and hunger got worse because the Prov Gov didn't end the war.   |

|3.   The Prov Gov angered the peasants by making them give back the nobles land they had taken. |

|4.   The Prov Gov angered the soldiers by forming death squads to stop them deserting. |

|5.   The Prov Gov did not stop Lenin and the Bolsheviks campaigning against it (remember Lenin's slogans - 'Peace, Bread, Land'). |

|6.   General Kornilov tried a rebellion to bring back the Tsar in August 1917, and the Prov Gov could not stop him (he was defeated by the Bolsheviks). |

|   |

|RUSSIA: The Bolshevik Seizure of Power |

|Overview |

|The Bolsheviks power was growing throughout 1917 - in July they rioted, and in September they took control of the Petrograd Soviet. |

|In November 1917 they staged a short sharp military takeover - Trotsky's Red Guards simply took over the main points of Petrograd and on 8 November 1917|

|Lenin proclaimed the new Communist government. |

|   |

|Facts |

|1.   On 6 November 1917 the Red Guards took over bridges and the telephone exchange.   |

|2.   During the day of 7 November 1917 the Red Guards took over banks, government buildings, and the railway stations. |

|3.   On the night of  7 November 1917 the Red Guards took the Winter Palace and arrested the Provisional Government leaders (almost without any |

|fighting).     |

|  |

|RUSSIA: Why did the Bolsheviks Succeed? |

|(Prov Gov - Bugger Off!) |

|IF YOU ARE ASKED THIS, MAKE SURE YOU GIVE SOME FACTS AS WELL. |

|1.   Prov Gov - remember that the Prov Govt had failed to solve its problems (SIPS BK) and everybody hated it = when it was attacked, nobody fought to |

|defend it. |

|2.   German money = finances Bolsheviks |

|3.   Bolshevik propaganda - slogans such as ‘Peace, Bread, Land’ and ‘All Power to the Soviets’ = Bolsheviks got the public’s support.   |

|4.   Organisation - Lenin was a brilliant organiser, and Trotsky was a brilliant leader of the Red Guards = Bolsheviks were well-disciplined.    |

|   |

|RUSSIA: Lenin's Government |

|(Damn! - Powerful Communists Turn Up) |

|1.   'Dictatorship of the proletariat') - when  the Social Revolutionaries won more seats than the Bolsheviks, Lenin used the Red Guards to close it and|

|ruled by decree. |

|2.   Peace (the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk gave much of Russia’s best agricultural and industrial land to Germany). |

|3.  Communist laws (Land given to the peasants/ factories run by the workers/ laws to make Russian society communist (see below - especially War |

|Communism). |

|4.  Terror (e.g. the CHEKA/ newspapers censored). |

|5.  USSR (constitution adopted in 1923). |

|   |

|RUSSIA: The Civil War |

|Overview |

| In 1918 an alliance of 'Whites' (Tsarists, Social Revolutionaries, nobles + Britain, France and America + escaped Czech prisoners of war) tried to get |

|rid of the Bolsheviks ('the Reds').   The War lasted 3 years.   It led to famine and disease - millions died- and there were many cruel atrocities on |

|both sides.   In the end, the Bolsheviks survived - the last White army was defeated in 1920.   |

|Facts   |

|1.   White armies led by General Denikin (with an army of 60,000) |

|2.   General Yudenich (attacking from Finland) got within sight of Petrograd and was only stopped by an inspired defence led by Trotsky. |

|3.   The British, American and French armies went home in 1919 |

|   |

|  |

|RUSSIA: Why did the Bolsheviks Win the Civil War? |

|(Why Bolsheviks Won) |

|IF YOU ARE ASKED THIS, MAKE SURE YOU GIVE SOME FACTS AS WELL. |

|1.   Whites were disunited and thousands of miles apart. |

|2.   Bolsheviks - many Russians were Communists, who believed they were fighting for a better world = fervent soldiers.   They had a brilliant leader in|

|Trotsky, control ofMoscow and Petrograd (with their factories), the railways (vital), an army of 300,000 men, very strict army discipline, and internal |

|lines of communication. |

|3.   War Communism - The Bolsheviks nationalised the factories.   They introduced military discipline and strikes were made illegal. Food was rationed|

|and peasants had to give food to the government = Bolshevik armies had the supplies they needed. |

|      |

|RUSSIA: Bolshevik Society |

|(Look This Way) |

|IF YOU ARE ASKED THIS, MAKE SURE YOU GIVE SOME FACTS AS WELL. |

|1.   Laws - land was taken from the nobles and given to the peasants, and factories were run by the workers.    Lenin banned religion, destroyed |

|churches and killed priests., gave workers an 8-hour day, unemployment pay and pensions.   There was a huge campaign to teach everyone to read, science |

|was encouraged, Latin and History were banned.   Free love, divorce and abortion were allowed. |

|2.  Terror - ‘the dictatorship of the proletariat’ (the CHEKA arrested, tortured and killed all opponents/ Tsar and his family were killed/ all |

|newspapers were censored. |

|3.  War Communism (severe rules during the civil war): larger factories taken over by the government/ military discipline in factories and strikers |

|shot/ Rationing, and peasants had to give all surplus food to the government.   (Some Bolsheviks believed that 'war communism' was pure communism, and |

|ought to go on forever.) |

|   |

|RUSSIA: The Kronstadt Mutiny |

|Overview |

|The Kronstadt sailors had been fanatical supporters of the Bolsheviks but when  they rebelled, complaining about War Communism and the Cheka.   Trotsky |

|attacked across the ice and captured the fortress.   Thousands of sailors were shot or sent to Siberia - but Lenin realised that War Communism was too |

|tough, and he brought in the ‘New Economic Policy’. |

|   |

|Facts |

|1.   In January 1921Lenin reduced rations to 1000 calories a day |

|2    At first Trotsky's young Bolshevik troops were driven back - so the Cheka used machine guns to keep them attacking. |

|3.   On 16 March an army of 50,000 crack Bolshevik troops attacked.   In an 18-hour battle, 10,000 Red Guards were killed, but Kronstadt was taken.   |

|   |

|RUSSIA: The New Economic Policy   |

|Overview |

|The Kronstadt Mutiny scared Lenin - he realised that War Communism was too tough, and he brought in the ‘New Economic Policy’.   He allowed private |

|enterprise - traders (called 'nepmen') set up small private businesses/ Lenin let the peasants sell their surplus grain and some (the 'kulaks') became |

|rich.   The NEP kept Lenin in power, but many old Bolsheviks hated the NEP because it allowed capitalism. |

|   |

|Facts |

|1.   Lenin allowed freedom to national cultures. |

|2.   He allowed freedom of religion to the Muslims. |

|3.   Lenin brought in experts, on high wages, to increase production. |

|  |

|  |

|RUSSIA: Stalin's Seizure of Power |

|Overview |

|When Lenin died in 1924, it looked as though Trotsky would take over - he was a genius, and leader of the Cheka and Red Guards.    HOWEVER, he was a |

|big-head and everyone hated him!   Stalin was General Secretary of the Communist Party, and he had used his position push his supporters into positions |

|of power.   |

|Most of all, the Politbureau was divided into 'leftists' (who wanted to bring back War Communism) and 'rightists' (who supported the NEP) and Stalin |

|used this to take power.   First, he joined with the leftists to get rid of Trotsky.   Then, he joined with the rightists to get the leftists |

|arrested.   Then, he arrested the rightists because he said the NEP was not communist! |

|   |

|Facts |

|1.   Lenin in his Testament (Will) had said that Stalin was too power-mad to be trusted as leader. |

|2.   The 'leftists' on the Politbureau were Zinoviev and Kamenev - Stalin got then arrested in 1927. |

|3.   The 'rightists' on the Politbureau were Bukharin, Rykov and Tomsky - Stalin got then arrested in 1929. |

|  |

|RUSSIA: Stalin's Purges |

|Overview |

|Stalin was murderously insane, but he also believed that Russia had to be united if it was to survive.   Political opponents, 7 million kulaks, navy, |

|army and church leaders, and perhaps 10 million ordinary people were sent to the 'gulag' (labour camps) and/or put to death.   Russia lived in terror. |

|   |

|Facts |

|1.   Stalin used the murder of Kirov (an opponent) in 1934, as an excuse to begin the Great Purges.   |

|2.   One feature of the Terror were the public 'Show Trials' (e.g. Zinoviev and Kamenev 1936/ Bukharin, Tomsky & Rykov 1938).   |

|3.   'Russification' - all the races of the USSR were forced to use the Russian language and traditions.   Nationalist and Muslim leaders were |

|imprisoned. |

|   |

|RUSSIA: How did Stalin keep power? |

|(TAC) |

|1.   Terror - Secret Police (called the NKVD after 1934)/ the Great Purges/ 'Russification'/ Show Trials meant that even ordinary people lived in fear -|

|20 million Russians were sent to the camps, where perhaps half of them died |

|2.   ‘Apparatchiks’ (party members loyal to Stalin) got all the new flats, jobs, holidays =  a kind of bribery |

|3.   Cult of Stalin - Censorship (History books and photographs were changed to make him the hero of the Revolution)/ Propaganda (pictures, statues, |

|continuous praise and applause)/ Mothers taught their children that Stalin was ‘the wisest man of the age’ |

|      |

|RUSSIA: Collectivisation |

|Overview |

|Stalin knew that Russian farming had to produce more - both to feed the people and to earn money by exporting it.   Stalin's answer was collectivisation|

|- to amalgamate all the small farms in each village into one big 'kolkhoz'.   The peasants - especially the wealthy kulaks, of course, did not want to |

|do this.   When collectivisation was made compulsory, they burned their barns and killed their animals.   The result was a terrible famine (5 million |

|died). |

|But Stalin carried on collectivisation with appalling human cost and, by 1937, 99% of the land was in collective farms. |

|   |

|Facts |

|1.   Collectivisation - by 1939  90% of the peasants lived on one of the quarter of a million kolkhoz |

|2.   Grain production - rose 1927-37 from 73-97 million tonnes. |

|BUT |

|3.   Stock -  numbers fell 1928-38 (cattle 70-50m/ sheep 150-50m). |

|4.   Human cost -  appalling (7 million kulaks shot or sent to the gulag). |

|      |

|RUSSIA: The 5-Year Plans |

|Overview |

|Stalin stated (correctly) in 1931 that Russia had 10 years to modernise, or be defeated by Germany.   So he brought in two 'Five-Year Plans' to |

|industrialise Russia.   production concentrated on heavy industry (coal and steel production rose x4, and electricity rose x7).   One miner, Alexei |

|Stakhanov, cut 102 tons of coal in one shift (workers could become 'Stakhanovites').   |

|Production rose, but the human cost was terrible. |

|   |

|Facts |

|1.   Successes - Moscow Underground/ Belomor Canal/ Dneiper dam |

|2.   Enthusiasm - fanatical young Communists called 'Pioneers' moved into barren areas and set up new towns - e.g. the steel town of Magnitogorsk. |

|3.   Women - Stalin set up crèches so women could work.   Women went to university and became doctors and scientists. |

|BUT |

|4.   Human cost -  appalling (slave labour/ accidents/ workers who made mistakes were sent to the gulag). |

|   |

| |

|GERMANY: The Weimar Constitution |

|Overview |

|At the end of October 1918, the German navy mutinied. Rebellion spread throughout the country and Kaiser Wilhelm II ran away. Germany made peace, and |

|set up new government - a republic. The new government was proclaimed in February 1919, in the town of Weimar. |

|The new government was "a brave attempt at democracy", but it had TWO weaknesses which proved fatal in the end - proportional representation (which |

|meant no government ever got a majority) and Article 48 (which gave the President the right to make laws in an emergency). |

|  |

|Facts |

|•     A Bill of Rights guaranteed equality, and religious & political freedom. |

|•     The Reichstag was elected by all men and women over 20, and the government had to be the ruling party in the Reichstag. |

|•     The President was elected (the first President was Ebert) |

|  |

|GERMANY: The Effects of Versailles on Germany |

|1.   Germany hadn't been included in the negotiations = the Weimar politicians who signed the Treaty were regarded as traitors (the 'November |

|criminals'). |

|2.   War Guilt = made Germans angry (they said Russia caused the war). |

|3.   Economic (reparations/ loss of Saar coal/ loss of Posen wheat) - damaged the German economy already ruined by war and led to failure to pay |

|reparations = invasion of Ruhr = hyperinflation. |

|4.   Territorial (loss of territory & colonies/ Anschluss forbidden) = determination to get revenge and destroy the Treaty. |

|5.   Military (navy cut to 6 ships/ army to 100,000/ Rhineland demilitarised) = weakened and isolated Germany, which felt humiliated and determined to |

|rearm. |

|   |

|GERMANY: Weimar Problems, 1918-24 |

|Overview |

|At the end of WWI the German economy was ruined, millions were dead, and the German government had collapsed - so it is hardly surprising that the new |

|government ran into difficulties.   |

|The challenge came mainly from two groups of people.   The Communists - inspired by the example of the Russian Revolution - mounted a number of |

|rebellions, trying to start a revolution.   At the other extreme, the German Nationalists - angered by Versailles - also wanted to destroy the |

|government. As well as rebellions, they also carried out an assassination campaign, murdering politicians they held to be the 'November criminals'.   |

|The right-wing rebels were helped by private armies of disbanded soldiers called the Freikorps.   They were also helped by the Army (which refused to |

|attack them) and the judges (who refused to convict them). |

|   |

|Facts |

|•    1919: Spartacists revolt (Communist) |

|•    1920:Kapp Putsch (right-wing) |

|•    1923 Crisis - France invades the Ruhr = strike and hyperinflation ... leads to rebellions all over Germany (including Hitler's Munich Putsch). |

|GERMANY: Spartacists |

|Overview |

|At the end of WWI the German economy was ruined, millions were dead, and the German government had collapsed - so it is hardly surprising that there was|

|a revolution in 1919.   |

|The first challenge came mainly from the Communists - inspired by the example of the Russian Revolution.   |

|In Jan 1919 there was a Communist uprising in Berlin.   The rebels called themselves the Spartacists (after Spartacus, the slave).   At first they were |

|successful - President Ebert had to flee to Weimar.   However, Ebert asked for help from the Freikorps.   They enjoyed putting down the rebellion with |

|great cruelty. |

|   |

|Facts |

|•     Led by Karl Liebknecht and Rosa Luxemburg, who had founded the German Communist Party in 1918. |

|•     The Spartacists began their rebellion by declaring a General Strike and occupying key buildings.   |

|•     Freikorps brutality: Communists who were captured were shot (including Liebknecht and Luxemburg) |

|GERMANY: Kapp Putsch |

|Overview |

|At the end of WWI the German economy was ruined, millions were dead, and the German government had collapsed.   The Nationalists, angry at Versailles, |

|wanted to destroy the government - so it is hardly surprising that there was a rebellion in 1920.   |

|In March 1920, a number of Freikorps bands rebelled, and asked Wolfgang Kapp to be their leader.   At first they were successful - President Ebert had |

|to flee to Dresden.   However, Ebert asked for help from the workers of Berlin.   They called a General Strike - without power or transport, Kapp could |

|not run a government and the Putsch failed. |

|  |

|Facts |

|•     Kapp was a Monarchist member of the Reichstag. |

|•     The Army refused to attack the Freikorps. |

|•     The Freikorps' leaders were Herman Ehrhardt and General Luttwitz. |

| |

|  |

|GERMANY: Crisis of 1923 |

|Overview |

|Remember that the German economy had been ruined by the war.   And remember how the Germans did not want to pay reparations?   Well, in 1923, Germany |

|failed to make a payment, and France invaded the Ruhr to TAKE their money in industrial goods.   The German army could not fight the French, of course |

|(it was too small) - but the German workers DID go on strike.   They refused to make stuff just for the French to confiscate it!   The government tried |

|to help the strikers by paying their wages - but since they did this simply by printing more money, it led to hyperinflation. |

|This caused economic chaos, a LOT of human suffering, and led to a number of rebellions.   The government almost collapsed. |

|The crisis was ended by Stresemann, who called off the strike and negotaiated the Dawes Plan with America. |

|  |

|Facts |

|•     There were right-wing and Communist rebellions all over Germany. |

|•     The Rhineland declared independence (October). |

|•     On 8–9 November 1923, Hitler’s Nazis tried to take control of Bavaria (the Munich Putsch). |

|  |

|GERMANY: Effects of Hyperinflation |

|Effect on Germany |

|1.   Huge rise in prices - money became worthless (people carrying wages in wheelbarrow/ using money to light the fire/ run to shops). |

|2.   People who had savings or lived on fixed incomes (e.g. pensioners) were ruined. |

|3.   Some businessmen made huge fortunes - e.g. they were able to pay off their debts for almost nothing. |

|   |

|Reaction of Germans |

|4.   Hatred of Jews, many of whom owned businesses and shops. |

|5.   Reputation of central government ruined - people looked to extremists such as Hitler for a solution. |

|6. General anger and hopelessness - 'Life was madness, nightmare, desperation, chaos'.   People never forgave the Weimar government |

|  |

|GERMANY: How did the Weimar Republic Survive? |

|(Stresemann Gets Everything Fine) |

|1.   Set one against the other - The government couldn;t stop either right-wing or Communist rebellions - so it asked the right-wing Freikorps to put |

|down Communist uprisings, and it asked the workers to go on general strike to defeat the Kapp Putsch in 1920 = the two sides destroyed each other and |

|the government survived. |

|   |

|2.   Great Coalition - Stresemann arranged an alliance of the moderate pro-democracy parties = the government had enough supporters in the Reichstag to |

|pass the laws it needed. |

|   |

|3.   Economic prosperity - Stresemann made Germany prosperous, and this made people happy = they stopped wanting to rebel. |

|  |

|4.   Foreign affairs - Stresemann persuaded the other countries to let Germany join the League of Nations = Germany became a world power again. |

|   |

|GERMANY: Weimar Prosperity |

|Background |

|•     Stresemann made Germany rich, restored political stability ('Great Coalition') and made Germany a world power again |

| |

|Meat |

|•     No rebellions after 1923 |

|•     American loans were used to build roads, railways and factories.   The economy boomed and led to prosperity. |

|•     Cultural life also boomed (the Roaring Twenties), e.g. cabaret, artists, writers, film stars (e.g. Marlene Dietrich and the great novel All Quiet |

|on the Western Front). |

| |

|End |

|•     Germany was only OK on the surface: |

|•     It depended on American loans = when the loans ended, the Republic collapsed. |

|•     Right-wing nationalists still hated the 'November criminals' = waiting for a chance to attack the Weimar government. |

| |

|   |

|GERMANY: The Role of Stresemann |

|(DIFFERS) |

|1.   Dawes Plan - Stresemann negotiated the Dawes Plan, which gave Germany longer to make the payments (and the Young Plan of 1929 reduced the payments)|

|= prosperity.   |

|2.   Inflation controlled - Stresemann replaced the old, worthless marks with a new Rentenmark = economic stability |

|3.   French left the Ruhr when Stresemann called off the general strike and paid the reparations. |

|4.   Foreign Affairs - Stresemann joined the League of Nations (1926) = made Germany a world power again. |

|5.   Economic Growth - huge American loans built roads, railways and factories = economic and cultural boom. |

|6.   Reforms - Stresemann brought in unemployment pay and built 3 million new homes = life better for the working classes. |

|7.   Strength at the Centre - Stresemann arranged the 'Great Coalition' alliance of the moderate pro-democracy parties = the government had enough |

|supporters in the Reichstag to pass the laws it needed. |

|   |

|GERMANY: Hitler's Early Career |

|1919 |

|•    After WWI, Hitler worked as a spy for the Army.   |

|•    One of the groups he checked out was the German Workers' Party - he joined them and took over!   |

| |

|1923 |

|•    During the crisis of 1923, the Nazi Party grew quickly. |

|•    In November 1923, Hitler attempted the Munich Putsch.   He failed and was sent to Landsberg prison. |

| |

|1924 |

|•    In prison, he planned a new strategy - to get elected to power.   |

|•    He put Goebbels in charge of propaganda, promised businessmen he would destroy the Trade Unions and started the Hitler Youth. |

| |

|1924-28 |

|•    The Nazis appealed most to the middle class (farmers, small businessmen), as well as to nationalists and fascists.   They recruited poorly from the|

|workers and intellectuals. |

|•    During the prosperity of the late 1920s, support for the Nazis fell. |

| |

|  |

|GERMANY: Hitler's Beliefs |

|IF YOU ARE ASKED THIS, MAKE SURE YOU GIVE SOME FACTS AS WELL. |

|(Foul Nazi Racists) |

|Hitler's beliefs - 'National Socialism' - can be found in his speeches, in the Nazi's Twenty-five Point Programme, and in Mein Kampf (1924).   They |

|included: |

|1.   Fascism - a strong central government with Hitler as dictator. |

|2.   Nationalism - unite all German-speaking people in one country; destroy the Treaty of Versailles; Germany should rule the world. |

|3.   Racism - Jews were untermensch. |

|  |

|GERMANY: Munich Putsch |

|Overview |

|During the crisis of 1923, Hitler had been planning a revolution with the leaders of the state of Bavaria.   When they tried to call it off, he decided |

|to go it alone. |

|On 8 November 1923, he marched into a meeting in a Beer Hall, and forced them at gunpoint to agree to support him.   (They went straight home and called|

|in the army.) |

|Nazi stormtroopers took over the army barracks, beat up Jews and smashed up the local newspaper offices.   But when they marched into Munich next |

|morning they were sopped by the police and defeated in a short gunfight.   |

|Hitler was put on trial and sent to Landsburg prison, but he turned the trial into a publicity opportunity.   In prison, he planned a new strategy - to |

|get elected to power.   |

|  |

|Facts |

|•    In leaders of Bavaria were Kahr (State Commissioner), Lossow (Army Commander) and Seisser (Chief of Police) - they planned a march of 15,000 |

|soldiers on Berlin. |

|•    Hitler was supported by the WWI war-hero, General Ludendorff . |

|•    When the Nazis marched on Munich, they were stopped by police in Residenzstrasse, 16 Nazis were killed. |

|  |

|GERMANY: Hitler's Rise to Power |

|Overview |

|In 1929, there was an economic depression in Germany.   |

|Frightened and angry, many Germans turned to Hitler - the Nazis grew quickly and became the largest party. |

|But the depression DID NOT bring Hitler to power.   In the November 1932 elections the Nazis got fewer seats!   Hitler contemplated suicide ... but then|

|he was saved by President Hindenburg and Chancellor Papen. |

|The government could not pass any laws because it did not have a majority in the Reichstag.   Hindenburg offered Hitler a deal - he could be |

|vice-chancellor if he would support the government.   Hitler demanded to be chancellor.   Hindenburg and Papen agreed, thinking they could control |

|him.   |

|So Hitler became Chancellor, and immediately set about making himself absolute ruler of Germany. |

|  |

|Facts |

|•     During the depression, unemployment rose to 6 million.   |

|•     In 1930 the government cut spending and unemployment pay (exactly the WRONG thing to do during a depression). |

|•     The Nazis had only 12 seats in the Reichstag in 1928.   This rose to 230 in July 1932 - but fell to 196 in November 1932 . |

| |

|GERMANY: Why Hitler Came to Power |

|IF YOU ARE ASKED THIS, MAKE SURE YOU GIVE SOME FACTS AS WELL. |

|All the following played a part.   Remember that the last two are the most important. |

|1. Anger at the Treaty of Versailles. |

|2. Proportional Representation weakened the Weimar government. |

|3. Money from big business. |

|4. Goebbels' propaganda. |

|5. Hitler's beliefs were popular. |

|6. The Stormtroopers beat up opponents. |

|7. Hitler was a brilliant speaker. |

|8. Economic Depression. |

|9. In the end, Hitler was given power by Hindenburg. |

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|GERMANY: Hitler's Consolidation of Power     |

|(There were EIGHT steps to total power, which you just need to learn - sorry:) |

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|(Rigged General Election Leads To Psychopath Nazi Fuhrer) |

|1.   Reichstag Fire (Feb 1933) |

|•    A Dutch Communist, van der Lubbe, burned down the Reichstag. |

|•    Hitler to imprison many Communist leaders, which stopped them campaigning. |

|•    Hitler set up the Nazi People's Courts (where the judges did as Hitler wanted). |

|2.   General Election (Mar 1933) |

|•    44 per cent of the population voted for the Nazis - NOT a majority. |

|•    Hitler immediately arrested the 80 Communist deputies |

|•    gave Hitler the majority he needed to pass the Enabling Act |

|3.   Enabling Act (Mar 1933) |

|•    The SA bullied all the non-Nazi deputies. |

|•    The Reichstag voted Hitler the right to make the laws. |

|•    made Hitler an absolute dictator |

|4.   Local govt (Apr 1933) |

|•    Hitler reorganised the local government of Germany under Nazi 'Gauleiters'. |

|•    Each block of flats was run by a 'Blockleiter'. |

|•    Hitler set up the Gestapo. |

|5.   Trade unions (May 1933) |

|•    Trade Unions were abolished |

|•    Their leaders were arrested. |

|•    Instead Hitler set up the German Labour Front |

|6.   Political parties (July 1933) |

|•    Hitler banned all other political parties. |

|•    made Germany a one-party state - only the Nazi party is allowed. |

|•    destroyed democracy - Germans could no longer get rid of Hitler in an election. |

|7.   Night of the Long Knives (June 1934) |

|•    The SA leader Röhm was a rival to Hitler.   He wanted to take over the army - this would have lost Hitler the support of the Army generals. |

|•    Röhm and the SA wanted the Nazis to be more Socialist - this would have lost Hitler the support of his big business backers. |

|•    Hitler ordered the SS to kill more than 400 SA men, including Röhm |

|8.   Führer (Aug 1934) |

|•    Hindenburg died, |

|•    Hitler declared himself Fuhrer (leader) |

|•    combined the roles of president, chancellor and head of the army. |

|   |

|GERMANY: How did Hitler Control Germany? |

|(Overdo The Power - You Worthless Ranting Rogue) |

|1.   One-Party State - After 1933 other parties banned/ an offence to belong to another Party/ leaders imprisoned. |

|2.   Terror - The Nazis set up the Gestapo and the SS to arrest opponents and 'grumblers'/ Jews, Communists, gypsies, homosexuals, alcoholics and |

|prostitutes were sent to concentration camps for 'crimes' e.g. saying that business was bad./ On the Night of the Long Knives, Hitler killed his |

|opponents in the Nazi Party |

|3.   Propaganda - Run by Josef Goebbels - he used book-burning, censorship, cinema, Mein Kampf, newspapers, posters, Olympic Games, rallies, and |

|Hitler's speeches/ Cult of personality - to make Germans worship Adolf Hitler/ Every family got a cheap radio. |

|4.   Youth - School lessons included hidden indoctrination - eg getting children to laugh at Jews/ German boys had to attend the Hitler Youth (exciting |

|activities and Nazi indoctrination)/ German girls went to the BDM to learn how to be good mothers, and to love Hitler. |

|5.   Workforce - The German Labour Front took away the right to strike/ The National Labour Service sent men on public works programmes / To keep the |

|workers happy, the Nazis set up the 'Strength Through Joy' (which offered good workers picnics, free trips to the cinema and a few free holidays) |

|6.   Religion - Hitler promised the Pope he would leave the Roman Catholic Church alone if it stayed out of politics/ Protestants & Jehovah's Witnesses |

|who opposed the Nazis sent to concentration camps/ Hitler started 'German Church'. |

|7.   Racism - Hitler said Jews and gypsies were untermensch/ The Racial Purity Law (1935) forbade marriage between Germans and Jews/ Kristallnacht (9-10|

|November 1938) |

|GERMANY: Life in Nazi Germany |

|(Different groups had different experiences.   For some it was all good - for some it was all bad.   For many people, it was a mixture of good and bad:)|

|   |

|(NOW YOU) |

|Nazi Party members |

|•     very happy - they got the best houses, jobs in the government and power over other people. |

|  |

|Ordinary people |

|•     Nazi economic policies gave full employment/ the Strength through Joy (KdF) gave people fun and holidays/ trust in Adolf Hitler gave a sense of |

|security |

|On the other hand, |

|•     Wages fell/ strikers could be shot/ all culture had to be German. |

|  |

|Women |

|•     The Nazis gave newly-wed couples money for having babies/ women who had more than 8 children got a gold medal.    |

|On the other hand, |

|•     Women doctors, teachers and civil servants were forced to give up their careers. |

|  |

|Youth |

|•     Most were very happy - the HJ provided exciting activities for young boys/ young people had power because parents were frightened that their |

|children would report them to the Gestapo. |

|On the other hand, |

|•     SOME girls were unhappy with the emphasis on the three Cs (Church, children, cooker)/ 'Aryan' girls were bred with selected 'Aryan' boys/ |

|Eidelweiss Pirates drank, danced to American jazz music, sheltered army deserters and even attacked the Gestapo.   |

|   |

|Opponents |

|•     Many Germans welcomed political repression because it brought political stability after the Weimar years. |

|On the other hand, |

|•     Communists were put into concentration camps/ Protestant pastors such as Dietrich Bonhoffer were executed/ Blockleiters and Gestapo informers made|

|life terrifying for everybody.. |

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|Untermensch |

|•     Many Germans approved of Nazi racism. |

|On the other hand, |

|•     'The Holocaust'`-`Jews were forced into walled ghettos, put into concentration camps, used for medical experiments / 85% of Germany's gypsies |

|killed/ black people sterilized/ mentally ill patients killed/ deaf people, physically disabled and families with hereditary illness sterilized/ |

|beggars, homosexuals, prostitutes, alcoholics, pacifists, hooligans and criminals said to be 'anti-social' and put in concentration camps |

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|GERMANY: Nazi Economic Policies |

|(EFIC) |

|Employment |

|• Unemployment fell from nearly 6 million to virtually nothing |

|• The RAD (National Labour Service) sent men on public works; eg the autobahns, |

|• Re-armament set steel mills, coal mines and factories back into production. |

|Farming |

|• The government kept food prices at the 1928 level.   |

|• Farmers were organised into the Reich Food Estate.   |

|• Although they were strictly controlled, they were given subsidies. |

|Industry |

|• The Nazis believed that Germany should be self-sufficient.   |

|• They stopped imports, and subsidised industry.   Production rose, especially of oil, steel, coal, explosives.   |

|• Businesses were strictly controlled, but they were happy because the workers were too. |

|Conditions |

|• The Beauty of Work movement made people proud of their work. |

|• Trade Unions were banned, wages fell and workers were forbidden to strike. |

|• The Strength through Joy movement gave people cut-price holidays, theatre trips and concerts. The KdF designed the Volkswagen (or ‘People’s Car’) |

|‘Beetle’. |

|   |

|GERMANY: The Holocaust |

|• 1935 - 'Nuremberg laws' - Jews were forbidden to marry 'Aryans'.   'Jews not wanted here' posters were put up in public places. |

|• 1938 - Nazi mobs destroyed Jewish synagogues and businesses.   It was called Kristallnacht, from the glass left from broken windows. |

|• After 1940 - All Jews were forced to live in separate ghettos and had to wear the yellow 'star of David'. |

|• 1941 - Conquest of Russia; the Germans captured vast numbers of Russian Jews.   Einsatzgruppen were set up to shoot them all. |

|• 1942 - Wannsee Conference: decision to implement the 'final solution' - the genocide of gypsies and Jews. |

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