Timeline:

March 1918-- Treaty of Brest Litovsk

June 1918-- Ludendorff Offensive grinds to a halt.
August 1918-- Allies counter-attack, pushing the German
forces back.
25 October 1918-- Naval commanders at Kiel try to order
their ships to sail out and die fighting the British. Sailor
mutiny.
26 October-5 November 1918-- Strikes and demonstrations
against the war and the Kaiser spread all over Germany.
Soldiers mutinied and joined the protests.
6 November 1918-- By this point, soldiers and workers
councils had taken over many cities.
7 November 1918-- Social Democrat leaders send an
ultimatum to the Kaiser that unless he abdicated they would
join the revolution.
9 November 1918-- General Strike in Berlin: Ebert
announces abdication of the Kaiser and formation of a German
Republic with himself as Chancellor
10 November 1918-- Kaiser Wilhelm fled into exile in
Holland.
11 November 1918-- An Armistice was agreed between
Germany and the Allies.
5 January 1919Sparticist Uprising (Radical communists;
attempting to stage a revolution like the Bolsheviks, crushed
by Freikorps, two leaders captured and killed without trial)
28 June 1919Treaty of Versailles
November 1919Hitler joins the German Workers Party
(DAP)
1920Hitler becomes leader of the German Workers Party
(DAP); German Workers Party (DAP) is renamed the National
Socialist German Workers Party (NSDAP or Nazi party)
20 March 1920Kapp Putsch

July 1921Hitler founds the SA (Sturm-Abteilung or Storm

Troopers);
January 1923 Occupation of the Ruhr
January November 1923 Hyperinflation
Also in 1923KPD (communist) coalition governments
established in Saxony & Thuringia
14 August 1923Stresemann becomes Chancellor
8-9 November 1923Munich Putsch (Beer Hall coup)
February 1924Hitlers trial and imprisonment for leading
the Munich Putsch; Hitler writes Mein Kamp; Nazis change
policies and try to win by democratic means
April 1924Dawes Plan is announced
May 1924Nazis get 6.5% vote in Reichstag elections
December 1924 Nazis get 3% vote in Reichstag elections
1925Hindenburg is elected President; The Locarno Treaties
August 1927Kellogg-Briand Pact
May 1928 Nazis get 2.8% vote in Reichstag elections
1929The Young Plan
3 October 1929Stresemanns death; Wall Street Crash
causes Depression in Germany
September 1930Nazis win 18.3 % (107 seats) in Reichstag
elections
19315 major banks crash; more than 20,000 businesses go
bankrupt.
July 1932Nazis 37.4% vote in the Reichstag elections(230 seats)
and becomes largest party ; KPD gains 14.5 % of the votes.
November 1932Nazis 33.1% vote; Communists 16.9%
30 January 1933Hitler is appointed Chancellor
February 27 1933Reichstag Fire

February 28Emergency Decrees

March 5 1933Reichstag Election; KPD Banned
March 22 1993First concentration camp opens in Dachau
March 24 1933Enabling Act
1 April 1933One day boycott of Jewish businesses
organised by the Nazis
April 7 1933Civil Service Purged of Jews and Opponents
May 2 1933All trade unions incorporated into DAF (German
Workers Front)
June 19 1933SPD Banned
July 14 1933Law Against the Formation of New Parties; All
other parties dissolve themselves
July 20 1933Concordat with Catholic Church
November 12 1933Reichstag Elections. Nazis win 92% of
votes
Also in 1933: Sterilisation law passed (This was one way the Nazis
persecuted people. In 1933 they passed this law allowing the Nazis to
sterilize people to prevent them from passing on hereditary illnesses or
undesirable characteristics including chronic alcoholism and simplemindedness. Between 320,000 and 350,000 men and women were
sterilized under this law.)

January 1934State Governments dissolved. From this point

forward, they were governed by Gauleiters, appointed by
Central Government
June 29-30 1934Night of the Long Knives
August 1, 1934Offices of President and Chancellor merged
August 2 1934Hindenburg dies; army swears oath to him
In 1935: Hitler set up a New Department for Church Affairs to
control the churches. The Gestapo Arrested 700 Protestant
ministers who were opposed to the Nazis.

March 1935Conscription introduced; Reich Labour Service

(RAD) mandatory for young men
September 1935the Nuremburg Laws
1936Olympic Games; Compulsory to join Hitler Youth; Nazi
ran campaign pressuring children not to attend Church schools
or youth movements; Hundreds of Catholic priests and nuns
who opposed the Nazis were taken to court and charged with
offenses ranging from illegal currency dealings to
homosexuality; Hitler remilitarizes the Rhineland; Lebensborn
programme introduced
1936-40 Four Year Plan
1937Duty Year introduced; Christmas carols and nativity
plays banned from schools; Hitler Youth made compulsory (not
enforced until 1939)
In 1938: Priests stopped from teaching religious classes in
schools.
April 1938Jews had to register their property easier to
confiscate
June-July 1938Jewish doctors and dentists forbidden to
treat Aryan patients
October 1938Jews had to have a red letter J stamped in
their passports
9-10 November 1938Kristallnacht
12 November 1938Jews fined for 1 million marks for
property damage on Kristallnacht (most of the land was rented
from German owners)
15 November 1938Jewish pupils separated from Aryan
children and had to attend separate schools
December 1938All remaining Jewish businesses
confiscated
In 1939: All remaining Church schools abolished.
January 1939Jews had to add new first namesAbraham
for men and Sarah for women; Reich office for Jewish
immigration established to promote emigration by every
possible means

12 March 1939nearly 30,000 Jewish men and boys sent to

concentration camps
1st September 1939German invasion of Poland
3rd September 1939Britain and France declare war on
Germany; WWII starts
22nd June 1941Operation Barbarossa begins
1942Plans for Final Solution Finalized
In 1942: First air raid by Britain on Cologne
January 1943Germans defeated at Stalingrad
-In 1943: Air raid in Hamburg (firestorm, 30000 people died,
emergency services collapsed after 3 days under pressure of
providing food and shelter, government stepped in and built
emergency accommodation for air-raid victims)
January 1944Germans abandon siege of Leningrad
July 1944Stauffenburg Plot
Measures taken in July 1944: All non-German servants and
workers obligated to go into armament factories; Volksstrum
formed; age limit for compulsory labour for women raised to
50; all entertainment, sans cinemas, closed; rail way and
postal services reduced; all letter boxes closed
In 1945: -Air raid in Dresden (150000 killed, 70% properties
in city destroyed)
-Government plans in chaos: ration cards no longer issued
people relied on black market or on scavenging for food
April 1945Allied and Soviet troops advance into Germany
May 1945Berlin captured; Hitler & Goebbels commit suicide

German Revolution in 1918

Reasons:
- Kiel Mutiny (Admirals tired to order German Navy to sail out
on a suicidal mission to fight the British sailors reluctant to
die mutinied uprising spread to Germany)

British Naval Blockade (British navy blockaded German

ports shortage of food in Germany people starving and
suffering from malnutrition+ made worse by the fact that
agriculture was disrupted as farmers were being drafted into
the army 750,000 died from malnutrition in 1918 more
civilians dissatisfied with government & turned against them)
Germany losing war (After Ludendorff OffensiveGerman
armed forces ran out of reserves & badly supplied in August,
1918 pushed back almost to Germanys bordersWith
American troops arriving in ever-greater numbers, the German
generals knew it was inevitable that Germany would be
outnumbered and defeated thought that a civilian,
seemingly democratic government would get better peace
terms form the Allies recommended to the Kaiser that he
hand over power to a civilian government 10th November
1918, the Kaiser abdicated and fled into exile in Holland)

Why unrevolutionary?
- Agreement between Ebert and Groener (Ebert agreed that he
would not attempt to encroach on the armys prestige and
independence in return for their support army maintained its
power strongly right-wing & became an anti-democratic
force in Weimar Republic forced Ebert to respond
excessively harshly to left-wing opposition like the Sparticists
& offered little support against right-wing uprisings like the
Kapp Putsch)
- Ebert and SPDs moderate & in practice cautious and
conservative (wanted to protect and propagate workers rights
yet feared a communist revolution like that in Russia & didnt
want the government to take everyones property
determined to prevent communist take over appeased
landowners and industrialists)
- Civil service positions (judges, teachers etc.) remained the
same as it were under the Kaiser many not loyal to Weimar
Republic & uninterested in democracy & strongly right-wing
e.g judges lenient after Munich Putsch and Hitler received light
sentence as they were sympathetic of his cause OR e.g.
Freikorps unpunished for Kapp Putsch
- Kaisers abdication was mainly motivated by the fact that he
thought a left-wing democratic civilian government would
have had better peace terms. There wasnt really so much
unrest that the Kaisers government couldnt have held on.
Weimar constitution
strength
-Democratic (universal suffrage,
proportional representation)
-Gave equal rights to all

weaknesses
-Germany in 1919 was largely
divided in terms of political
views, hence due to proportional
representation, no party could

Germans
-Proportional representation very
fair as it made sure that political
parties were allocated seats in
the Reichstag in proportion to
the number of votes they got. It
also allowed less popular parties
to get a few seats in the
Reichstag.

gain a majority and there were

25 coalition governments in 14
years no stable or strong
government to pass laws and
difficult to get Reichstag to vote
on anything

-Proportional representation
allowed a few radical parties like
the Nazis or the KPD to gain
representation
-Each state had its own traditions -Article 48 gave the president
so it was right that they should
the power to pass laws and rule
keep relatively autonomous state without consulting the Reichstag
governments to control over
in cases of emergency. In the
their own affairs.
crisis of 1929-1932, this eroded
Weimar democracy and
effectively, Germany was being
governed dictatorially before
Hitler came to power.
-States could be hostile to the
government and even try to
overthrow it.
Treaty of Versailles:
Article 231- blamed Germany and her allies
(Austria-Hungary, Turkey) for starting WW1
Reparations: 6.6 billion
Restrictions on German armed Forces:
o army 100,000 men
o navy 15,000 men and six battleships
o air force disbanded
o no tanks or submarines
o Rhineland demilitarized.
Territorial Loss: Germany lost 13% of its land (not
counting colonies), 6 million (10%) of its population (not
counting colonies), 10% of its industry, 15% of its
agricultural land, 16% of its coal fields, 10% of its industry
(including almost half of its iron and steel industry
o Posen and West Prussia taken from Germany and
made part of the newly established Poland. ;
separated East Prussia form the rest of Germany
o Danzig: made this an international city, run by
the League of Nations, so that both Germany and
Poland could use the port
o Memel: made international city administered by
the League of Nations, but annexed by Lithuania in
1923

o Colonies became mandatesgiven to other

countries
o Alsace and Lorraine to France.
o Northern Schleswig to Denmark.
o Eupen and Malmedy to Belgium.
o Part of Upper Silesia to Poland.
o The Saarland by the League of Nations for 15
years (plebiscite to determine its future).
Reaction:
- Resentment from people in Germany, especially discharged
soldiers (many joined Freikorps) and Nationalists.
- Created the Stab in the Back Myth: This was a version of
history popular among right wing Germans during this period. It
was encouraged by the army officers, for instance army leaders
like Ludendorff encouraged this view, claiming that the army
would have fought on to preserve Germanys honour, if only
weak politicians and Communist revolutionaries had not
demanded peace. According to this version of events, the
German army had been winning the war until they were let down
by civilian politicians who failed to support the army and signed
the armistice behind the armys back.
** In fact, the army was losing ground fast in November 1918 and
the officers knew it, the Kiel Mutiny was an example for
disproving the Stab in the Back Myth. They had deliberately set
up the civilian government to make peace with the allies.
- Many people preferred to believe the myth rather than the facts.
As a result, right-wingers who looked back fondly to the pre-war
days when Germany was powerful were happy to blame the new
democratic government for making peace. The treaty became
a symbol of Germanys humiliation and defeat, making
the Germans less likely to support the Weimar Republic
Why were Germans resented it?
Expected terms to be less harsh:
o Kaiser had been removed by January 1919, which was one
of the Allies conditions for peace. Since the revolution had
overthrown the Kaiser and the new government was
democratically elected, many Germans believed it couldnt
be blamed for the war.
o They assumed that the allies would try to help the newly
established Weimar Republic. The Social democratic leaders
expected they would have great problems settling Germany
down after the chaos of war and revolution. They assumed
that the Allies would want to help them and give their new
government a good chance to establish itself. A harsh treaty
would make it far more difficult for them to create a stable
government.

President Wilson of the USA believed in a fair treaty and

was to be the main force in the treaty negotiations. He
believed that the treaty should not be too harsh on Germany
because he stated that if the treaty punished Germany too
greatly it might one day recover and want revenge.
Consequently Wilson declared Fourteen Points which he
believed should be features of a just and fair treaty.
o Finally most Germans felt that all countries should bear
equal blame for the First World War. In their view, Germany
had been forced into war by the way it was treated by other
countries and that the war had sparked between Austria and
Serbia. They did not expect to be punished as if they were
the guilty party. Hence many resented article 231, which
blamed Germany and her allies for starting the war.
Reparations: 6.6 billion. Government responded to credit
loss (used to finance WWI) by printing more money, also when
they were falling back with their reparations, French and Belgian
forces occupied the Ruhr and the Weimar government
responded by printing money for those engaged in passive
resistance, both resulted hyperinflation. Furthermore, in order
to pay for the reparations, Stresemann negotiated the Dawes
Plan so Germany could receive loans from America, making the
German economy very dependent on US loans, which was why
they were so badly affected by the Wall Street Crash. Most
Germans resented having to pay at all and many considered the
amount to be more than Germany could afford. Many historians
now think Germany could have paid, but rightly or wrongly
many Germans blamed these payments for the problems of the
German economy in the 20s and 30s.
National self-determination applied unfairly: Germany was
also angry because the statesmen who had written the various
peace treaties after World War I said they were using the
principle of national self-determination. This meant that the
borders would be drawn so that people who spoke the same
language would all end up in the same country. However, this
was not the case with the German-speakers. Danzig was made
an international city, although it inhabitants were Germanspeaking. Posen and West Prussia had large German minorities
(although they also had a lot of Polish people). German-speaking
Austria and the Sudetenland (which had been party of the
Austro-Hungarian empire before World War I and had 3 million
Germans in it) were not allowed to join to Germany. Anschluss
was forbidden.
Territory was taken.
o Note: They expected to lose Alsace & Lorraine to France
because it was only taken after the Franco-Prussian war in
1870-1, North Schleswig didnt bother them. EupenMalmedy went to Belgium
o Resented the loss of Posen, West Prussia, Danzig, Memel,
o

Part of Upper Silesia and Southern Silesia.

o Germany lost 13% of its land (not counting colonies), 6
million (10%) of its population (not counting colonies), 10%
of its industry, 15% of its agricultural land, 16% of its coal
fields, 10% of its industry (including almost half of its iron
and steel industry)
o Colonies all became mandates, for example Rwanda
became a Belgian mandate. In theory, the new colonial
masters were supposed to be guiding these territories
towards independence. In practice, they treated them like
colonies. Many Germans resented this hypocrisy, especially
as some of the new colonial overlords had terrible records
ruling their own colonies.
Restrictions to the German Armed Forces (long military
tradition in Prussiamany Germans found the restrictions
humiliating). It was also perceived as unfair because other
countries didnt disarm.
o Army: 100,000
o Navy: 15,000 & 6 battleships
o Rhineland demilitarized
o No airforce
o No tanks

Spartacists uprising: Berlin on 5th January 1919 radical left-wing

party tried to stage a communist revolution brutally crushed by
the army and the Freikorps leaders Liebknecht and Luxemburg
captured and murdered without trial demonstrates how little
government had over army and Freikorps Ebert put Weimar
government in hands of army and Freikorps, who were disloyal
(dependent on them) & fatally undermined the SPDs as
representatives of the working class)
Kapp Putsch: Freikorps (militia made of ex-soldiers) marched on
Berlin in 20th March 1920 when government tried to reduce their
size declared new national government Weimar government had
to flee army refused to support Ebert as so many of the rebels
were demobilized soldiers only stopped by general strike led by
workers government took little action against12,000 Freikorps due
to lack of support from army and judges (Kapp died before he could
be prosecuted, 412 granted amnesty, 294 prosecuted, 285
prosecutions dropped, 7 convictions overturned on review; only 1
person punished)
Hyperinflation: Refers to financial crisis during January-November
1923, during which German money, due to quantitative easing, lost
so much value that it became worthless.
Causes:

o Debts from war: Germany had large debts from WW1 (instead
of raising taxes, Kaisers government borrowed many from
German citizens in the form of war bonds and promised to
pay these back with interest when Germany won the war)
Germany lost the war and due to the Treaty of Versailles, lost
10% of its industry and 15% of its farmland still had to pay
back these debts Weimar government responded by printing
money
o Occupation of the Ruhr: Germany short on money & unwilling
to pay reparations fell behind on reparation payments
France and Belgium responded by marching its troops into the
Ruhr (Germanys most important industrial region) occupied
it workers in Ruhr factories went on trike Weimar
government printed extra money to pay their wages in order
to support them (momentarily gained popularity because
people were rallying behind them) so they can continue to go
on strike became obvious that the government was just
printing money caused people to lose confidence in German
currency
o People lost confidence in German money value becomes
increasingly more worthlesshyperinflation

Effects:
o Wiped out savings of the middle class & old people who lived
on their life savings and fixed pensions (had to spend life
savings just to purchase food)
o People started bartering goods
o Prices rose so fast that wages couldnt keep up and everyday,
after receiving their money, people had to run to the shops to
spend their money before it became worthless
o Unemployment as smaller businesses and companies were
going bankrupt
o Benefitted those in debt, like the government, who could
repay debt with worthless money fraction of real cost
o Workers were protected to a certain extent as their wages
rose along with inflation & unemployment benefits increased
weekly however prices rose to fast that wages couldnt keep
up at times
o Rich protected as they possessed land and foreign currency
o Caused anger, dissatisfaction and resentment towards the
Weimar government as well as making many doubt the
competence of a democratic regime
Stresemann: Chancellor of the Weimar Republic from AugustNovember 1923 and then Foreign Minister from 1923-29. He

negotiated the end of the French and Belgian occupation of the Ruhr
and the Hyperinflation crisis the Dawes Plan, the Locarno Treaty and
the Young Plan
Action
August: Stresemann becomes
Chancellor and calls off passive
resistance

October: The government

scrapped the old money and
introduced the Rentenmark. The
next year a permanent currency,
the Reichsmark, was introduced.
The government gave orders to
depose left-wing governments in
the states of Saxony and
Thuringia.

In November, the government

agreed to resume reparations
and the Dawes Plan was
negotiated in April 1924. (&
Young Plan in 1929)

How it helped
Prevented the policy of passive
resistance from bankrupting
Germany as this meant the
workers of the Ruhr went back to
work and the government didnt
have to print money to pay them
any more.
By strictly limiting the amount of
this currency in circulation the
value of German money was
stabilized, bring the predicament
of hyperinflation under control.
This action helped the
government gain the support of
the army, who were strongly
right wing. As a result, it was
much easier for the government
to get the army to act against
the much more dangerous rightwing nationalists in Bavaria.
By these plans, the reparations
were spread out over a longer
period and Germany received
loans from the USA to help to
stabilize the economy and
enable them to pay regular
reparations, the plans also
helped Germany rebuild trade
and industry.

Rentenmark: This was the new currency introduced by Stresemann

in October, 1923 to replace the worthless currency and end the
Hyperinflation crisis
Dawes Plan: This was negotiated by Stresemann (First as
Chancellor, then as Foreign Minister) in 1924. The USA loaned
Germany 800 million marks to help stabilize its currency and the
reparations payments were spread out over a longer period of time
in smaller installments. This helped the German economy to
recover. In fact, Germany received more in US loans than they ever
paid out in reparations. Furthermore, this plan affirmed that
sanctions for non-payments must be agreed by all Allies, not France
alone. However, it also made the German economy very dependent

on the US economy, which meant that it was badly hit by the Great
Depression of 1929-32.
Young Plan: This was a new plan for Germanys payment of
reparations. Stresemann negotiated it shortly before his death in
1929. It reduced the total amount of reparations Germany would
have to pay by three quarters, spread the payments out over a
longer period of time (until 1988) and Allied supervision of the
railways, the Reichsbank and custom duties was discontinued. This
was resented by many in Germany who believed Germany shouldnt
pay reparations at all, but it was quite an achievement to negotiate
it
Recovery of German economyhow far?
Strengths

Weaknesses

Through the Dawes Plan,

Germany was lent 800 million
marks by the USA to invest in
industry and commerce.
Economy started to recover by
1929. Shops and theatres
were doing good business.
Cafes were full. Architects
were creating exciting new
buildings. Film makers were
producing successful new
films. (Weimar culture: painters
Otto Dix & George Grosz;
actressMarlene Dietrich;
directorFritz Lang produced
Metropolis, which was the most
technically advanced film of
the decade)
1928 industrial production
levels surpassed pre-WWI
levels.
Germany one of the worlds
leading exporters of
manufactured goods by 1930.
(Huge exporting nation).
By 1924, German money was
destabilized after the
hyperinflation crisisnew
permanent currency, the
Reichsmark was brought in.
Big businesses, like chemicals
and steel did well. So did the
big cities where these
industries were based.

It depended on American
loans, which could be
withdrawn at any time. The
Great Depression 1929-1932
dealt a severe blow on
Germanys economy given its
dependence on Americas
economy.
Unemployment was a serious
problem. The economy might
be growing, but it wasnt
creating jobs fast enough for
Germanys rising population.
Employers complained about
the money the government
spent on welfare benefits for
the poor and unemployed.
They said taxes were too high.
Some sectors of the economy
were in trouble throughout the
1920s, farming in particular.
Income from agriculture went
down from 1925 to 1929. By
1929, farmworkers earnings
were little more than half the
national average.
There was extreme income
disparity.
There was still a concentration
of power in the hands of just a
few industrialists who ran
more than half of Germanys
industry.

Wages of workers rose.

Foreign policies:
Aims:
1) End reparations or reduce it to an extent that it is tolerable for
Germany
2) Protect German speakers (10 to 12 million) outside Germanys
border
3) Readjust Germanys eastern borders and reclaim Danzig, Posen
and West Prussia
Locarno 1925

League of Nations 1926

A group of treaties negotiated

between Germany and Britain,
France and Italy in 1925.
Stresemann was the German
foreign minister at the time.
These treaties confirmed
Germanys boundaries with
Belgium and France,
guaranteeing that Germany
would not try to take back
Eupen-Malmedy or AlsaceLorraine. They did not agree on
Germanys eastern boundaries
with Poland, Lithuania and
Czechoslovakia, but Germany
affirmed that these would be
settled by negotiation, not war.
These treaties normalized
Germanys foreign relations after
WWI.
This was an attempt to form an
international organization to
keep world peace. It was
founded in 1919 and lasted
officially until 1945, but it
actually fell apart around 1936.
Germany joined this organization
as a permanent member of the
Security Council in September
1926 (had veto power). It is one
of Stresemanns achievements
as foreign minister as it meant
that Germany was being treated
with respect on the international
stage again rather than being
treated as a defeated power and
a pariah. Also Germany used its

Treaty of Berlin 1926

Kellogg-Briand Pact 1928

position to raise matters of

German interest.
o In April 1926 Stresemann
signed this treaty with the
USSR.
o Had both public and secret
clauses
o Used this treaty to put mild
pressure on the West to
improve its relations with
Germany through fear of
Germany moving closer to
the USSR.
o Agreement to renounce
war as an instrument of
international policy.
o Initiated by American
Secretary of State and the
French Foreign Minister.
o Of the 64 states invited to
sign it, only Brazil and
Argentina declined.
Germany, Italy, Japan and
the USSR all signed it.

Overall achievements and failures:

Evidence Suggesting He was
Successful

The Dawes Plan made a

vital contribution to German
economic recovery (800
million marks as loans).
The Young Plan reduced
both current payments and
total burden by one-third
and the rescheduling of
payments over a longer
time span reduced the
likelihood of payment being
fully implemented. It also
ended Allied supervision of
the reparations (troops
withdrawn in June 1930)
The Locarno pact gave
France a sense of security,
which allowed Germany to
recover without fear from
France. Germany, in
actuality, lost nothing by

Evidence Suggesting He was Not

Successful

Stresemanns achievements
were too subtle to be greeted
enthusiastically by the
majority.
Concrete gains from his
diplomacy were not gain. Full
withdrawal of French
occupation of the Ruhr only
happened after his death.
Germany lacked the power to
insist and exert pressure on
revision yet could not gain
international support for the
territorial changes required
Stresemanns approach
fundamentally flawed.
Might have been better to
accept eastern borders and
concentrate on building up
economic and political
influence in the new sates in

signing Locarno, as it had

no sound claim to AlsaceLorraine. On the other

hand, Stresemann also won

advances on the evacuation
of the Rhineland.

By voluntarily accepting its

western borders, Germany
was able to concentrate on
revision in the east.
Germany entered the
League of Nations as a
Permanent member of the
Security Council
Germanys status as a great
power was formally
acknowledged & it had veto
power.
Stresemann subtly used
Germanys position to
weaken the provision for
collective security and he
raised the issue of German
minorities living in other
states.
Transformed Germany from
being a distrusted outcast
to being actively involved in
European diplomacy. In
practice, Germany made no
real sacrifice, but gained
prestige and good will vital
for securing revision.

eastern and southeastern

Europe.
The economy was too
dependent on American
loans.
Concessions gained were not
sufficiently dramatic (very
few real concessions were
achieved) hence failed to win
significant domestic support
for the Weimar regime
(remained fragile):
His conciliatory approach
was perceived as a sellout by nationalists
Nationalists opposed any
payment of reparations
did not matter if
reparations were
rearranged.
Nationalists resented
Locarno as they believed
it only benefitted the
French
Nationalists believed that
Germany should have
nothing to do with the
League of Nations, which
they regarded simply as
the enforcer of Versailles.
Germany sill occupied
and disarmed
nationalists resented this.

Hitler and the Nazis:

Hitler and the German Workers Party (DAP): The DAP was a
political party in Germany founded in 1919 by Anton Drexler. Hitler
was sent by the army to investigate it in September 1919 and he
ended up joining it. In 1920 it would be renamed the National
Socialist German Workers Party (NSDAP) or Nazi Party. Hitler
became the leader in 1921. In 1920 its programme (known as the
25 point programme) included:
Abolition of the Treaty of Versailles
Anschluss
Confiscating profits made by businesses during the war

Abolition of lending money for interest

Generous pensions for old people
Acquiring living space in Eastern Europe
Denying German citizenship to Jews
A strong centralized government in Germany ruled by a
dictator.

Changes to the party 1920-22.

o SA foundedHitler own private army comprising mostly of
young men and former members of the Freikorps. Supposedly
the SA was formed to protect Nazi meetings from intimidating
by left-wing oppoenents, yet in practice the SA often started
the violence themselves by breaking up SPD or KPD meetings.
o Nazi flag designedSwastika became its symbol; used
colours red, white and black, which were the colours of the
German flag under the Kaiser; symbol became well-known.
o Hitler became undisputed leader in 1922: known as
charismatic public speaker built up small base of support
spread outside of Bavaria
o Nazis published their own newspaper to help spread their
ideas
o From 1920 to 1923, they mainly gathered support from
extreme nationalists and anti-Communists
o 3000 members by 1922
The Munich Putsch, 1923
Causes:
1) Many German nationalists were angry when Stresemann
agreed to pay reparations and called off passive resistance in
the Ruhr. Hitler hoped that these angry people would help him
overthrow the government.
2) Bavaria, the province where Munich is located, had almost
had a communist revolution in 1919. This had been crushed
by the army and the Freikorps. The new government of
Bavaria was very right wing and didnt approve of the policies
of the Weimar Republic. Hitler hoped they would support his
taking over the government.
3) He also thought the army would support him. The army had
not opposed the Kapp Putsch of 1920. Many army officers
disapproved on the Weimar Republic, and General Ludendorff,
who had led the army during World War I was friendly with
Hitler at the time.
Events:

o 8 November 1923: 600 SA marched onto a beer hall in Munich

and stopped a meeting of the Bavarian PM, his officials and
around 300 businessmen.
o Hitler stopped the meeting, took PM and his minister into a
side room, where he coerced them into supporting him in
overthrowing the Weimar government.
o The government and the army did not support the Nazi
takeover. When the Nazis tried to march to the centre of
Munich on November 9, they were stopped by the police and
the army. They were outgunned.
o 16 Nazis and 3 policemen killed.
Effects:
o Nazis gained a lot of publicity, particularly through Hitlers trial
in February 1924, during which he spoke eloquently in his
defense and became a household name.
o Hitler and the Nazis received a very lenient sentence for trying
to overthrow the government, reflecting how little support the
Weimar government received from the judiciary left over from
the Kaisers reign, which was sympathetic of Hitler. Hitler was
only sentenced to 5 years of imprisonment but only served 9
months, during which he wrote his bestselling autobiography
Meim Kampf.
o Convinced Hitler to take power legally through elections as he
learnt he could not seize power without the support of the
populace and the army.
Reorganisation of the Party 1924-28/ Nazi methods to win support.

Hitler decided to reorganize the Nazi Party to make it more

effective in elections.
In 1928 the Nazis decided on another change of policy. They
were increasingly convinced that they were getting nowhere
in their appeals to the working classes. But they were doing
well among the middle classes and among farmers, where
most of their new members were coming from, who feared a
Communist takeover and were becoming increasingly
insecure as they felt they were losing their states because big
businesses were squeezing out small businesses and workers
were gaining more rights. They began to focus on the parts of
their message (e.g. anti- Marxist ideas), which would appeal
this section of society.
Many anti-big business policies that had been in the original
21 point programme were dropped. He cultivated the support
of wealthy businessmen promising them that, if he came to
power, he would destroy Communism and the Trade Unions.
This gave him the finance to run his campaigns.
Public meetings: For political parties at that time, these
were the main methods in communicating with the public.

The Nazis were the only party in Germany to run evening

classes for their members to train them in public-speaking
skills. Nazi activists in villages and towns throughout
Germany would put on meetings with visiting speakers. If a
subject proved popular they would repeat it. In this way the
Nazis developed a very sensitive system of propaganda. They
learnt the skill of focusing on issues that people thought were
important and were prepared to alter their policies
accordingly. As a result, their party membership doubled
between 1927 and 1928.
He put Josef Goebbels in charge of propaganda. Goebbels
and Hitler believed that the best way to get the support of the
masses was by appealing to their feelings rather than by
argument. They waged a propaganda campaign using
posters, leaflets, radio and film, and organised rallies. A cult
of personality was built amongst Hitler. Technology was used
to redouble their propaganda and during the presidential
election of 1932, Goebbels chartered planes to fly Hitler all
over Germany in order to speak 4 or 5 mass rallies per day.
Also, local groups were trained in propaganda skills. Realising
that the anti-Semitic aspect of Nazi ideology did not appeal to
a wide range of people, it was toned down. Instead, knowing
that their anti-Communist-stance was very popular, Nazi
propaganda placed especial emphasis on it, whipping up fear
and hate of the communists.
He reduced the number of Stormtroopers (SA) and set up the
SS, a personal bodyguard fanatically loyal to himself.
He set up a network of local parties. He merged with other
right-wing parties, then took them over.
He set up the Hitler Youth, which attracted young people to
the party as well as organizations for women, students,
lawyers, factories workers and almost every group in society
to make them feel included and valued by the party.
The Nazis discovered their anti-Semitic policies appealed to
the working classes most and increased their anti-Semitic
propaganda when they ran public meetings directed towards
that class.
During the Great Depression, they set up soup kitchens,
which increased their support and popularity.
** Despite initial hype and rise in membership, the Nazis were
still a fringe party before the economic crisis in 1929.

Impact of Wall Street Crash.

o Weakened the Weimar Government (support from populace
fell):
- Unpopular economic policies: The government did not want to
solve the depression by printing more money for fear of initiating
another hyperinflation crisis akin to that in 1923. As a result the

Chancellor raised taxes, cut wages and reduced unemployment

benefit, which weakened support from the German people.
- Presidential rule: The response to the crisis (raising taxes,
reducing unemployment benefits, cutting wages) caused the
Social Democrats to withdraw from the coalition, as a result the
government collapsed. In order for his government to survive the
Chancellor fell back on Article 48 of the Weimar Constitution,
which allowed the President to govern without consulting the
Reichstag. This meant that Germany was ruled by Hindenburg on
presidential decree, who appeared to be controlled and
influenced by business and army leaders, consequently
contributing to the erosion of democracy in the Weimar
government.
- The rise of extremism: To many Germans it seemed that the
Weimar government was making a mess of handling the
situation. People deserted the democratic parties and turned to
either the Communists or the Nazis, who were open about
overthrowing the Weimar regime. Since many Germans, who had
never bothered to vote in elections before, due to a lack of
interest in politics, became more involved as they desired a
solution to the countrys economic crisis, the claims of the
Communists and Nazis that stated they could solve all of these
problems, appealed to many Germans.
o Affected Germany particularly detrimentally as the USA had
called its loans back from the Dawes Plan. Furthermore,
Germany was an export economy and countries stopped
buying German goods, causing the economy to collapse and
workers to be laid offGreat Depression & Unemployment In
January 1932 6 million (1/3) of the German workforce were
unemployed unemployed workers likely to support KPD
people worried about rising support of KPD started to support
the Nazis as it seemed like they could control the KPD

Goebbels and the work of the SA.

-Goebbels: Former journalist. Small, weak and crippled in the foot.
Also very intelligent, well-educated and good at public speaking. He
edited the Nazi newspaper and was in charge of its propaganda
operation. After the Nazis came to power, he served as Minister of
Popular Enlightenment and Propaganda. In May, 1945 he was with
Hitler in the bunker under Berlin. He helped persuade Hitler to
commit suicide. He then poisoned his own six children, shot his wife
and then shot himself.
-The SA: During the 1920s and early 1930s its members disrupted
Communist meetings, defended Nazi meetings, fought against
communists in the streets and gave an impression of a powerful

party by appearing in uniform. This convinced some people to

support the Nazis because they could fight the communists and it
convinced others not to oppose the Nazis for fear of being beaten up
or even killed. . By 1932, there would be about 400,000 men in this
organization. (There were only 100,000 men in the German army.)
This probably influenced Hindenburg to allow Hitler to be Chancellor
for fear that he might start a civil war
Events of 1932 to January 1933 including the roles of von Papen,
von Schleicher and von Hindenburg.
September 1930Nazis win 107 seats in Reichstag
elections.
March to April 1932Presidential election.

Hitler ran against Hindenburg. He gained 35% of the vote and lost,
but he gained a respectable amount of support and became very
well known in Germany.
Hindenburg: This was the President of Germany from 1925-1934.
He had been one of the leaders of Germany in World War I. He
didnt really believe in democracy, but he tried to uphold the
constitution because he had sworn to do so. He ended up using
article 48 of the Weimar constitution to govern by decree during the
Depression when no party or coalition could control the Reichstag.
This meant he had the power to choose the chancellor and the
cabinet. After several attempts to find an alternative solution, he
reluctantly appointed Hitler Chancellor in 1933. This persons health
was failing in 1933-34, which may have helped Hitler get power.

July 1932Nazis 37.4% vote in the Reichstag elections (230

seats) largest party ; KPD gains 14.5 % of the votes.
After this election Hitler demanded to be appointed chancellor as
normally the leader of the largest party in the Reichstag held that
position. Hitler refused to co-operate with Von Paupen (chancellor)
in establishing a right-wing coalition government with other rightwing parties so Hindenburg called another election.

November 1932-- Nazis 33.1% (largest party) and KPD

16.9% in Reichstag elections. (The fact that Nazi support had

fallen from the level at the previous election, while the KPD support
had risen may have helped convince Hindenburg that Hitler could
be controlled and that he was needed to stem the communist tide)

3 December 1932Hindenburg (reluctantly) appoints von

Schleicher Chancellor.

Von Schleicher stopped supporting Von Papen which triggers a

power struggle between the two and ended with them handing
power to Hitler.
Von Papen: This was a good friend of President Hindenburg.
Hindenburg had appointed him Chancellor from May- November

1932 even though he had absolutely no support in the Reichstag.

He had to govern through Hindenburg using presidential decrees.
Schleicher convinced Hindenburg to dismiss this person and appoint
him at the end of November. This person responded by convincing
Hindenburg to dismiss Schleicher and appoint Hitler Chancellor with
this person as Vice Chancellor in January, 1933. There were only two
other Nazis in the Cabinet.
Von Schleicher: This was a German general who had a lot of
influence on President Hindenburg between 1929- 33. He convinced
Hindenburg to dismiss Bruning because Bruning wanted land
reforms that would hurt rich noblemen. Later he got Hindenburg to
dismiss Papen. He convinced Hindenburg to make him Chancellor in
December 1932 because he thought he could convince some Nazis
to break away from Hitler and join him in a coalition. This failed, and
he was dismissed and replaced by Hitler in 1933. This persons
behind-the-scenes maneuvering helped to erode democracy in
Germany.

4 January 1933Von Papen can see that von Schleicher is

having difficulty keeping a Reichstag majority. He sees his
chance to win back power. He privately agrees to work with
Hitler. Hitler will be chancellor. Von Papen will be in the
Cabinet.
22 January 1933Von Papen asks Hindenburg to make Hitler
Chancellor. Hindenburg refuses.
28 January 1933 Von Schleicher finally has to admit defeat
in raising support in the Reichstag. He has to resign.
30 January 1933Hitler becomes Chancellor.

Hindenburg wants Von Papen back but is advised that reappointing

such an unpopular Chancellor might trigger a movement against
Hindenburg himself. Von Papen persuades Hindenburg that as long
as the number of Nazis in the Cabinet is limited, then even with
Hitler as Chancellor the most extreme Nazi policies could be
resisted. He also warns that the alternative is a Nazi revolt and civil
war. Consequently Hindenburg appoints Hitler as Chancellor and
von Papen as Vice-Chancellor.

Establishment of Nazi dictatorship:

Reichstag Fire: This happened on 27th February 1933. It was
set by a Dutch Communist, although there is some evidence
to suggest that he was helped or encouraged by Nazis. Hitler
got Hindenburg to declare a state of emergency in 28th
February. This remained in place until 1945. The Emergency
Decrees gave Hitler the power to have the police put people
in protective custody indefinitely without charge and
suspended civil rights. Hitler used these to suppress the
Communists and other opponents. The police can use

emergency powers to search houses, confiscate property, and

detain people indefinitely without trial. It decreed the death
penalty for a wide range of crimes. The police could ban
meetings, close newspapers, round up political opponents and
drag them off to detention centres or concentration camps.
The Communists were banned as a result of the Reichstag
fire for the 5th March 1933 election, and those elected were
not allowed to take their places in the Reichstag. The party
was banned and all its leaders interned in concentration
camps.

March 1933 Election: Nazis 44% (largest party) KPD 12.3%

Most communists had been imprisoned or at least prevented
from campaigning by emergency powers, but the Nazis still
didnt get an outright majority. However, they were able to
make an alliance with other right wing parties to control the
Reichstag.

Enabling Act: Passed March 24, 1933. This gave Hitler the
power to make laws without consulting the Reichstag.
Effectively, it gave him dictatorial powers. The Reichstag had
in effect voted itself out of existence, through the next eleven
years of Nazi rule the Reichstag met only 12 timesbut
simply to listen to Hitler speaking and they never held a
debate nor did they have any say on policies. This in turn,
allowed him to pass laws like the Law Against the Formation
of New Parties on 14th July 1933 (right-wing parties joined
Nazis, Catholic Centre Party disbanded due to concordat with
Catholic Church, all other parties dissolved themselves
Germany officially becomes a single-party state) and laws
banning trade unions other than the DAF on 2nd May 1933 (the
only workers organization allowed were those ran by the Nazi
party impossible for the workers to organize strikes to
oppose the government), banning the SPD on 19th July 1933
(the second largest party in the Reichstag and the only party
to vote against the Enabling Act once they were banned,
there was no-one left to oppose the Nazis in the Reichstag),
purging the Civil Service of Jews and political opponents on 7th
April 1933 (made it more likely that officials, teachers, judges,
etc would support the Nazis).

The Night of the Long Knives: The SS broke into the

Rhms hotel and the homes of about 90 other opponents and
potential opponents (including von Schleicher, Gustav Ritter
von Kahr, and Gregor Strasser) and arrested them. They were
accused of plotting a coup. Rhm and leading SA members
were shot on July 12, allegedly for plotting to overthrow Hitler.
This purge allowed Hitler to blame the previous excesses and
violence of the Nazis on Rohm and the SA while it won him the

support of the Army, big businesses and industrialists.

Furthermore, it eliminated the possibility of internal opposition
from Rohm and the SA. Because lots of people were killed,
each murder got less attention than it otherwise would have.
Reasons:
1) By 1934 the SA had more than 2,500,000 men and its
leader Ernst Rohm was a potential rival to Hitler (been in
the party longer than Hitler and had large loyal following)
Hitler feared a potential coup against him.
2) Rohm and some other leaders of the SA wanted to push for
the original left wing policies such as reducing the power of
big businesses, which Hitler was slowly dropping as he
wanted support from conservatives and big business
owners.
3) Hitler wanted to appease the army and his right-wing
supporters. The army, which was supported by businesses,
was completely opposed to being taken over by the SA and
was very suspicious of Rohm (also if Hitler used the SA to
control the army, then he would have to go along with their
other demands. Hitler knew he needed their loyalty and
support and that an efficient army was needed for him to
retake the land lost in the Treaty of Versailles.
4) The SA was beginning to get out of hand and was
interfering in the running of the country and the law courts.
Hitler could also blame the previous excesses and thuggery
the Nazi Party was reputed to have on the SA.
5) Rohm was a homosexual; this was an embarrassment for
the Nazis as they opposed homosexuality because it
contradicts the traditional idea of family. If someone like
Rohm held such a high position, it made them appear
hypocritical.
6) Many leading Nazi officials like Himmler didnt like Rohm.

Gleichschaltung: This means Coordination. All clubs and

organizations were merged into Nazi organizations. For
instance, in Northeim all the sports clubs were merged into a
Nazi sports club. All the choirs merged into a Nazi choir, etc.
They also tried to merge all the Protestant churches into a
Reich Church. In this way, the Nazis controlled peoples leisure
activities as well as their work and informants could easily
monitor what people were saying. It made organized
opposition difficult. Government control over young people
was particularly strong:
o 19: Men and women had to spend six months doing
labour service.
o 19-21/2 Men had to serve in the army for two years
(longer once the war started)

There were Nazi student organizations and Nazi trade

unions to take up the work of indoctrinating the young
when they left the army.
For older people, there were Nazi organizations for women, all
workers and employers belonged to the DAF, and leisure
activities fell under Strength Through Joy.
The police state: if there were opposition, the SS and the
police would have absolute power to arrest, punish and if
necessary to execute the enemies of the state who did not
follow Hitler or submit to his demands for total loyalty.
o The SS: Elite Nazi mens organization (Only open to
radical Nazis who could prove racially pure ancestry
back four generations). This organization began as
Hitlers bodyguard but during the period of the Third
Reich they controlled the secret police and the
concentration camps. They also had their own military
units that fought alongside the regular army. They were
in charge of the final solution (The plan to eliminate all
Jewish people under German rule between late 1941
and 1945.)
o The Gestapo: This was the secret police force of Nazi
Germany. Although they had a lot of power, they didnt
have many men or much technology. They couldnt
possibly spy on everyone. Most of the people arrested
were denounced by informers. The Gestapo arrested
people who acted or spoke out against the Nazis and
imprisoned offenders often without trial.
o Informers: The Nazis relied heavily on these for
information on opponents. The whole country was
divided into block, each with a block warden who visited
everyone weekly and wrote periodic reports on the
political reliability of everyone on the block. Also,
neighbors were encouraged to report on each other.
Children were even encouraged to report on their
parents.
o The police, the court and the prisons: The Nazis
took over these law enforcement institutions from
Weimar Germany. The Nationalist Socialist League for
the Maintaenance of the Law was set up and all judges
had to be members of it or were dismissed. After
purging them of Jews and opponents they simply used
them to increase Nazi control by passing new laws. For
instance listening to foreign radio stations was
punishable by death. This could be done officially
through the courts. It was not necessary to take the
offender to a concentration camp and shoot him there.
State governments dissolved and governed by Gauleiters
appointed by the Central government. Gauleiters were the
leaders of the Nazi party in the various districts. Once the
o

Nazis came to power, they were put in charge of the districts.

They had a lot of autonomy (independence) to use their own
judgment about how they implemented Nazi policies. As a
result, the effects of the Nazis rule varied from district to
district.
Propaganda & Censorship:
Propaganda:
- Education: Rewrote school curricula to include Nazi propaganda.
All students were required to study "Race Studies" as a subject.
Maths word problems were written to emphasize the cost of
keeping the mentally disabled. The entire History syllabus was
rewritten to emphasize German greatness and twisted Nazi racial
ideas.
- Goebbels expanded his use of rallies and parades. These days
were celebrated during which people were expected to attend
parades and speeches and hang out Nazi flags:
January- Day of Seizing Powermass torchlight processions
February- Founding of the Nazi Party Day
March- War Heroes Day
April- Hitlers birthdayarmy parades, flowers for Hitlers
portrait in schools
July- German Culture Day
September- Reich Party DayNuremburg ralliesthousands of
people from all over Germany gathered to watch parades and
displays and listen to speeches helped the Nazis project an
image of unity and strength.
November- Anniversary of the Munich Putschsilent march
through Munich.
- Hitler continued to make well-publicized speeches, which were
broadcast on the radio. There were radio speakers on street
corners and in workplaces. Also cheap peoples receivers were
marketed to the public, to endure there was a radio in every
home.
- Nazis controlled newspapers: took over most of the publishers,
put controls on what journalists could write and set up a press
agency to indicate what the news should be to newspapers. AntiNazi newspapers were closed. By 1944 there were only 1000
daily newspapers, most were controlled by the Nazi Party.
Newspapers were put up in public display boxes. Some Nazi
newspapers threatened people who cancelled their subscriptions.
Even newspaper sellers at train stations were following Nazi
instructions.
- They made propaganda films such as I Accuse (promote
euthanasia programme) and The Eternal Jew (propagate antiSemitism) to raise support for their ideas. Admission to cinemas
was only allowed at the beginning of the entire programme so
during non-political films, people had to watch short propaganda

films that carried the Nazi message prior to the playing of the
movie. By 1934, film-makers had to send the plot of every new
film to Goebbels for approval.
Young people were also indoctrinated through the Hitler Youth.
Goebbels set up the Reich Chamber of Culture of which
Musicians, writers and actors had to be members of. He could
stop any musician, actor, writer or artist from working by ending
his or her membershipmany who were deemed unsuitable were
banned. Some left Germany in protest and some gave in and
started to produce work, which was acceptable to the Nazis.
Goebbels drew up guidelines for what was acceptable for music:
had to be German i.e. folksongs, marching music or classical
music by Bach, Beethoven and Mozart. Jazz not permitted as it
was classified as black, therefore racially inferior.
Goebbels drew up a list of banned books, which were removed by
the Gestapo from bookshelves and libraries. In May 1933 the
Nazis encouraged students to burn the books they believed were
un-German and Jewish. Goebbels wanted books about race, war
and the Nazi movement. One popular topic was the heroic
actions of the German soldiers in the First World War.
Censorship: Every word published in Nazi Germany was
censored. Books written by Jews and opponents of the Nazi
regime were publicly burned.

Policies towards women

~Encouraged them to dress modestly, not wear makeup etc
~Encouraged them to stay home and bear more children:
- The government offered special loans to new brides who agreed
not to take a job. These loans were reduced by 25% per child so
women who had 4 children no longer had to repay them, thus
incentivizing them to stay home and have children.
-Propaganda campaign to encourage women to stop slimming and
smoking and do sport to increase fertility. There was a lot of public
pressure to stop women from smoking, for instance in certain cities
police chiefs put up posters in restaurants, forbidding women to
smoke
- Women were awarded the Honour Cross of German Motherhood for
bearing children: bronze crosses were given to mother of four or five
children, silver for six or seven, gold for eight or more and cross
bearers were also entitled to a special salute from the Hitler Youth.
- Monthly subsidies were given to families for every child money=
incentive alleviated financial burden of having to many children
-Contraceptives and abortion banned
-Better prenatal care for women
-Lebensborn programme: Encouraged single, unmarried Aryan
women to have children with SS men.This organization also
organized the adoptions of the resulting babies and of Nordic

orphans and children of single mothers from occupied Norway and

Denmark so these racially valuable children could be Germanised.
-Divorce Law of 1938: This law made it easier to get a divorce. One
of the new reasons people could use to get a divorce was infertility.
The aim was to get people into 'productive' marriages rather than
being unproductive. This is when Nazi ideas started to depart from
Catholic ideas of having traditional families with loyalty in marriage.
~Not meant to work meant to stay home and focus on families:
-15% of teachers, all women doctors and civil servants were sacked.
Women in high-ranking, professional jobs sacked.
-Marriage loans provided an incentive for women not to take a job.
-Restrictions for what jobs women should take were introduced
they ended up with jobs men didnt want. Women were only
employed in low-ranking jobs such as agricultural work, domestic
service and secretarial work
-Schoolgirls discouraged to go to university. Until the war, there was
a quota in universities for the number of girls cannot exceed 10%.
~Many unfit women sterilized to prevent them from having children.
Reasons for sterilization included congenital feeblemindedness,
schizophrenia, manic depression, epilepsy, Huntingdons chorea,
hereditary blindness, hereditary deafness, serious physical
deformities and chronic alcoholism. Women with low resistance,
women who had born abnormal children, women who were carriers
of colour blindness, and racially unfit women were also sterilized.
About 350,000 people were sterilized during the Nazi Regime, many
of them women. Given the Nazi emphasis on women as childbearing machines, and marriage as an institution to facilitate childbearing, this left these women with no honorable role in society
~On the other hand, a lot of women got involved in public life for
the first time through the Nazi womens organization and the BDM.
~Duty year: This was introduced in 1937 as Germany began to face
a labour shortage (Germany rearming yet many men conscription to
the armies). It required all unmarried women under the age of 25 to
spend a year working for room and board in a factory, farm or
household. This increased the number of women working in
Germany, along with the fact that employers preferred women
workers because they were cheaper.

Y
Y

Policies towards children & the youth

-The term Hitler Youth (Hitler Jungend in German), abbreviated
to HJ is used as a blanket term for all the Nazi youth organizations,
and also as the name of the organization for boys 14-18 years old.
-The League of German Maidens (Bund Deutches Mdchen in
German), abbreviated to BDM was for girls aged 14-18
-The Jungvolk was for boys aged 10-14
-The Jungmadel was for girls aged 10-14

There was also an organization for boys aged 6-10 called the
Pimpfen.
The Nazis made every effort to get the support of Aryan young
people and they were very successful, at least at first.

Nazi Youth Organizations:Many youths were enthusiastic about

the Nazi message that they were the future of Germany. They
also enjoyed the frequent hikes and camping trips, the
sporting events and the movements practice of having youth
led by older youths. Girls appreciated the chance to be
independent and to take part in sports and camping trips that
had previously only been for boys. In 1936, membership in
Nazi Youth organizations was made compulsory and this was
enforced from 1939.
SchoolsNazis used the schools to push their propaganda,
using the special classes in racial biology and insinuating their
message into mathematical problems, English readings,
History lessons, etc. They also increased the time devoted to
sport, pressured all teachers to join the Nazi party and forced
schools to accommodate Hitler youth activities and promote
enrolment in the Nazi Youth organizations.

-Most young people were enthusiastic participants. Many enjoyed

the sense of importance the Nazis gave them and the Hitler Youth
activities. Others might not have enjoyed it, but they were
ambitious and the route to advancement seemed to be through the
Nazi Youth organizations. The face remains that some young people
did NOT join the Nazi youth organizations voluntarily. Many avoided
joining the Nazi Youth organizations as long as it was optional:
Membership in the Nazi Youth Organizations:The Hitler Youth and
the other Nazi Youth organizations were popular even before Hitler
came to power. There were 107,956 young people in Nazi Youth
organizations in 1932. In 1933, most other youth organizations
were merged into the Nazi youthorganizations. Membership rose to
2,292,041.There was intense pressure to join the Nazi youth
organizations between
1933 and 1936. For instance, schools were given a special banner if
90% of their pupils joined. By 1935, 3,943,303 children were
members.
In 1936, membership was officially made compulsory, but this law
wasnt enforced until 1939. There were 5,879,955 young people in
Nazi organizations by 1937. In 1939, there were 7,728,259.
-Many young people who did join voluntarily became less
enthusiastic over time. There were several reasons for this:

Some young people and their parents were concerned that

they did not have time to keep up with their schoolwork

because of the huge time commitment demanded by the Nazi
youth organizations.
When the war started, a lot of experienced youth group
leaders joined the army, leaving inexperienced teenagers in
charge of leading groups. These youths were unable to make
the activities so interesting. Also, some youths resented being
bossed around by young people about the same age as
themselves. In particular, young people who left school at 14
to go to work resented being treated like children.
When the HJ became compulsory, a lot of people who didnt
really want to join joined. Their lack of enthusiasm made the
whole movement less fun.
Once the war started, the Nazi youth organizations were
increasingly dedicated to military drill and work contributing
to the war effort. This wasnt as much fun for young people.
The HJs insistence on controlling every aspect of young
peoples lives was resented by many. Some HJ leaders even
tried to stop their members from socializing with their friends
outside of club time.

Policies towards churches

- Concordat with Catholic Church: This was signed in June 1933
between the Catholic Church and Hitler. Hitler promised that the
Catholics could carry on their religious work, and that Catholic
schools and youth groups would be left alone. The Pope promised
the Vatican would stay out of politics. Contrarily all Protestant
churches were united into one Reich Church under a pro-Nazi
Bishop Muller.
- German Christians: This was the name of a faction within the
Reich Church that tried to purge German Christianity of all unGerman elements. Given that all of the central figures of
Christianity are Jews, this involved some very radical changes.
The Confessional Church broke away in protest.
- The Faith Movement: The Nazis' alternative to Christianity. It
involved pagan-style worship of nature centred on the sun. The
movement's flag was a golden sun on a blue background, often
with a Nazi swastika attached.
- Confessional Church: This was the name taken by the group of
Protestants who withdrew from the Reich Church set up by the
Nazis because the German Christians were trying to corrupt
Christian doctrine to make the church more Aryan. Simply by
refusing to go along with the Reich Church, these Protestants
were demonstrating opposition to the Nazis, and they were
allowed to get away with it, at least at first. Dietrich Bonhoeffer
and Pastor Niemoller were part of this church.
- Many of the SS especially anti-Christian. New marriage & burial
services devised.

Policy against Churches varied from place to place depended

on how Gauleiters implemented them (some ordered SA to beat
up priests; others went to Church on Sunday)
In 1939: Protestants still largest religious denomination. 3 million
Nazi Party members paid Church taxes and registered as
Christians (majority).

Reasons to be against the Church:

- Catholic Church in Germany in 1933: About 1/3 of Germans
belonged to this Christian denomination. They were the majority
in the Southwest of the country, particularly in the province of
Bavaria. At this time, most children of this denomination went to
church schools and many adults in this denomination voted for
the Catholic Centre Party.
- Protestant Church in Germany in 1933: About 2/3 of Germans
belonged to this Christian denomination, making it the biggest
organization in Germany (even larger than the Nazi Party in
1933). As such, it was a potential threat to the Nazis.
- People who believed in God might be less likely to worship Hitler
as the leader of Germany.
- Church meetings could be used for spreading ant-Nazi ideas.
Reasons for not destroying Churches
- Because 2/3 of Germans were protestants, making it the biggest
organization in the country, if the Nazis if they could coopt it, it
would be a powerful ally.
- Many Church members voted for Hitler, particularly Protestants.
Protestant church pastors were among the most popular and
successful Nazi election speakers/
- Common ground on several issues: importance of family life,
emphasis on military (1936priests accompanied troops as they
entered Rhineland).

Martin Niemller

Paul Schneider

Catholic/
What did he/they
Protestant/
oppose?
Other
Protestant German Christians
formed Confessional
Church with

Bonhoeffer
Nazi control of
churches.
Everything that came

How did the Nazis deal

with him/them?
Put in concentration camp
in 1938.
Although Hitler ordered his
death shortly before the
end of the war, he
survived.
Sent to Buchenwald

Cardinal Galen

Catholic

Josef Fath

Catholic

Jehovahs Witnesses

Other

up that he felt
corrupted Christian
doctrine or went

against Christian
values.
Criticised Goebbels in
particular
Publicly attacked
Nazi policies.
Launched large
public protest
against
euthanasia
campaign
(publicly halted
though continued
in secret
demonstrates
Nazis willingness
to bow to public
pressure when
faced with serious
protests)
Clashed with
Hitler Youth
leaders and
school teachers.
Nazis from luring
young people
away from
Catholic beliefs.
Refused to join the

army or to swear
allegiance to anyone
but God.

concentration camp in
1937.
Kept there for 2 years.

Left alone because

the Nazis didnt want
to make him into a
martyr.
Three Catholic priests
were executed for
distributing copies of
his sermons.

Unknown.

Most ended up in
concentration camps.
1/3 died.

Policies towards Jews

Had to wear yellow starts segregating them from the rest of
the population, making them more easier to identify
Declared as German subjects, not citizens in the Nuremburg
laws Nazis excluding them from social benefits, policies
etc. by making them exclusive to German citizens
How did persecution accelerate from 1933 to 1945?
-Nazi propaganda gradually increased anti-Semitism to the point
where more radical measures were acceptable. Although many Jews
were persecuted by the Nazis in 1933 as members of the KPD or
SPD, the only official actions directed against Jews as a group were a
one day boycott of Jewish shops on April 1 and the Law for the
Restoration of Professional Civil Service, which sacked all Jews
working for the government. In fact, some Jews retained their
positions because Hindenburg insisted that veterans of WWI be
exempted. These veterans would lose this protection when
Hindenburg died the following year. Meanwhile, the Nazis
coordinated all of German society so that all group activities were

supervised by the Nazi party and increasingly excluded Jews. This

coordination made it easier for the Nazis to reach the population
with propaganda. All of this paved way for the Nuremburg laws of
1935, which deprived Jews of citizenship and forbade marriage
between Jews and Aryans. After this point, Jews were increasingly
excluded from German life. They could be deprived of any right
simply by decrees limiting that rights to citizens. Gradually, fewer
and fewer Aryans knew any Jews. This reduced the chance of them
opposing anti-Jewish measures.
-In 1936, anti-Semitic measures were dialed back in order to make a
good impression on international visitors for the Olympics, but they
resumed in 1938. Jewish doctors, dentists and lawyers were
forbidden to treat Aryan patients (limiting another source of positive
contact), Jews had a red J stamped in their passports, and, on
November 9-10 Jewish homes, businesses and synagogues were
destroyed by the Kristallnacht programme. At least 91 Jews were
killed during this, and then the Jewish community was fined for the
damage of Aryan-owned property. Many non-Jewish Germans
disapproved of this pogrom, but by then Nazi control were so
absolute that this disapproval did not develop into open opposition.
Even so, enough people expressed disapproval that the Nazis
decided to avoid public violence against the Jews thereafter. They
did; however, ban Jewish children form government schools and
confiscate Jewish property.
-As late as 1938, the Nazi plan for Jews seems to have been to
confiscate their property and drive them out of Germany. For
example the Reich office for Jewish Emigration was established to
promote emigration by every possible means. World War II
changed this (also many countries had a quota for the number of
Jews they were willing to accept as they didnt want an influx of
immigrants). The Nazi party line was that Jews caused the war, so
they were punished for it. The war also meant it was more difficult
to get in and out of Germany so policies relating to emigration were
dropped. Furthermore, the invasion of Poland and the eastern part of
the USSR brought the whole Pale of Settlement (heavily inhabited by
Jews) from the Old Russian Empire under German control, massively
increasing the number of Jews. The violence and ruthlessness
inherent in war also made violence against Jews seem much more
acceptable. Hitlers chaotic administrative style played a role. He
tended to make vague speeches and encourage his underlings to
put his policies into practice. They competed to implement ever
more radical policies to gain his favour. When Germany invaded the
USSR in 1941, the frontline soldiers were followed by
Einsatzgruppen, whose job was to round up Jews and exterminate
the. At first they were only supposed to target Jewish leaders, but
they began to exceed their orders and soon the orders changed to
men, women and children. It was a small step from this to the final

solution. The remaining Jews in Germany and Poland were first

shipped to Polish ghettos and then incarcerated in concentration
camps, where the strong were worked to death and the weak were
gassed.

Therefore reasons causing acceleration of persecution:

-Radical Nazi racial policies & propaganda (removal of Jews from
regular Germany society many didnt know Jews by the time more
radical measures were introduced)
-Elimination of opposition (no one to oppose Nazis)
-Hitlers chaotic administrative style (Nazis tried to compete for his
favour by introducing ever more radical policies how Kristallnacht
came to being)
-World War Two (pale of settlement brought under control,
emigration impossible, violence and ruthlessness inherent in war)
Einsatagruppen & final solution
Why didnt the Nazis just round up the Jews right away in 1933?
The Nazis wanted to increase their persecution of Jews gradually so
that no single move appeared important enough to provoke
significant outrage from the German population. Additionally in
1933, the Jews were very much part of regular German societythe
Nazis aimed to gradually separate Jews from other Germans through
means such as firing Jews from government positions, the
Nuremburg Laws in 1935 and banning Jewish doctors to treat
Aryans so that by the time the Nazis introduced more radical
measures like rounding them up in concentration camps, the Jews
were already ostracized and alienated from regular German society
and most Germans didnt know any Jews. Additionally, the Final
Solution was only decided in late 1941 hence total extermination
and genocide of the Jews wasnt the plan back in 1933.
What was the real reason for Kristallnacht? What does this
demonstrate about the Nazi government?
One reason for Kristallnacht was the power struggle between
leading Nazis. Goebbels was out of favour with Hitler because of his
affair with a Czech actress and he decided to win his way back into
Hitlers favour by suggesting that Kristallnacht should take place to
satisfy the hatred many Nazi hardliners had for Jews. Hitler agreed
and decided to use it to speed up the removal of Jews from German
economic life. Other Nazi leaders, especially Goering and Himmler,
disapproved and were irritated by the events of Kristallnacht. This is
an example of the chaotic ways in which the Nazis made up policy
Hitlers advisers tried to compete for his favour by proposing
increasingly racist policies, he would then give them the order to
implement them and they would then run everything their way
claiming to have received orders from Hitler.

Policies to reduce unemployment

Jews and political opponents (SPD and KPD) were fired
from government jobs, creating jobs for other Germans and
not counted in the unemployment statistics.
They financed public works (ie building highways, etc.) to
make work for unemployed people. All unemployed people
had to work on these to receive benefits, even if they had
professional training.
They began rearming Germany secretly in 1933, which
created work.
They introduced conscription in 1935, which took young men
out of the workforce.
Anyone labeled workshy could be incarcerated in a Hashude
or a concentration camp and therefore not accounted in
unemployment statistics.
The Labour Service (RAD)
All nineteen year old youth in Nazi Germany had to do six months
labour service (later increased to a year for girls called the Duty
Year). However, this was unpopular because it was hard, poorly paid
manual labour. It was another way the Nazis could control and
indoctrinate them young adults.
The Labour Front.
(German Workers Union)DAF: A national trade union under the
control of the Nazis. All independent trade unions were disbanded
and workers had to join this trade union. It put them to work
building new motorways, hospitals schools and settled disputes
between employers and employees. This way, there was no chance
of them going on strike or organizing opposition in other ways. This
was one way the Nazis controlled the workers, who mostly voted for
the socialists before 1933
o Strength Through Joy: Part of the DAF. It one way the Nazis got
support from the German people. It organized areas of leisure
such as cheap holidays, concerts, etc for workers. It also
supervised absolutely all hobby clubs, from archery to chess.
This also helped the Nazis to control Germany.
o Beauty of Labour: Part of the DAF. It worked to win the support
of the workers by improving workplaces with canteens,
ventilation and washing facilities.
During WW2:
The Holocaust: This refers to the mass murder and genocide of 6
million Jews, as well as various other undesirable groups such as
homosexuals and gypsies, under the Nazi regime. The word Shoah is
used by the Jews to describe the Holocaust.
Groups that were persecuted:

o Communists, SPD (leaders incarcerated in concentration

camps)
o Churches (marginalized, Nazis planned to gradually reduce
the influence of Christianity on Germany)
o Jewish (main group)
o Mentally handicapped or ill (euthanasia programme from
1939)
o Gypsies (labeled asocial and workshy)
o Homosexuals
o Non-conformists (e.g free-thinkers, intellectuals, Jehovahs
Witnesses)
-

Death camps were constructed in 1942, specifically dedicated to

systematically killing Jews and other undesireables (as opposed
to concentration camps, whose main purpose was slave labour or
punishment of criminals.) It should be noted that hundreds of
thousands died in ghettos or concentration camps as well from starvation, illness or bullets. Those who survived were
shipped to these special camps. They were all in the East, in
German-occupied Poland. They were Auscwhitz, Belzec,
Majdanek, Kulmhof, Sobibor and Treblinka. This is where in
infamous gas chambers were.

Concentration camps are where political prisoners and Jews as

well as other persecuted minorities (before the construction of
death camps) were sent to.

Ghettos: From 1939, Jews in the territory controlled by the Nazis

were forced to move into these neighbourhoods (usually the old
medieval Jewish neighbourhoods of Polish cities) that were fenced
off from the rest of the cities. These were incredibly crowded. The
able bodied were put to work, while the rest were allowed to starve
slowly or die of disease.
Death squads AKA Einzatsgruppen: These were special SS units that
followed the German army in to the USSR in 1941. They rounded up
Jews and Communists and executed them (about 500,000), first with
bullets, later by gassing them in vans.
The Final Solution
On 22 June 1941 Hitler ordered the beginning of Operation
Barbarossa, the invasion of Germany. Very quickly the Nazi forces
overran large areas of the western Soviet Union. This brought many
more Jews under their control. Now the Nazis were faced with many
millions of Jews. Senior Nazis began to discus how they were to be
dealt with

The Nazis considered a number of solutions, one particularly

ludicrous one was to round up all the Jews in Europe and deport
them to Madagascar, which was an island off the south-east coast of
Africa. This had been a French colony before the war and was now
under the control of the French Vichy government. This was never
taken seriously. Instead the Germans began to slaughter Jews
indiscriminately. The first attempts involved Einsatzgruppen,
murder squads. These were sent into the Soviet Union following the
army. They rounded up Jews and carried out mass slaughter. They
shot thousands of Jews.
The Einsatzgruppen were specially selected and trained units of
Security Police and the Sicherheitsdienst (SD). After the invasion of
the Soviet Union, they rounded up Jews and then searched them for
anything of value. The Jews were shot with automatic weapons and
then allowed to fall into anti-tank ditches that had been dug to stop
the German advance. On other occasions the victims were forced to
dig their own mass graves. Then they were lined up and shot with
machine guns. The dead and dying fell back into the pits and then
more bodies were heaped on top of them. As many as 700,000 Jews
were killed in this way.
There were four Einsatzgruppen, A, B, C and D. They covered the
area from the Baltic to the Caucasus. Between them they had
eighteen special task forces, but they were also assisted by police
and army units as well as local volunteers. From November 1941
gassing trucks were also used. They used carbon monoxide from the
exhaust to kill their victims. But the Einsatzgruppen did not prove
effective enough for the Nazis. The numbers of Jews killed was too
low and the squads proved to be expensive. A more efficient way of
carrying out mass murder was needed.
In January 1942, at the Wannsee Conference, the decision was taken
to adopt the Final Solution, the mass murder of Jews using
Extermination Camps. These new Extermination Camps were only
built outside of Germany, in an effort to keep their purpose secret
from the German people. Inside Germany were Concentration
Camps such as Belsen, near Hannover, and Sachsenhausen, near
Berlin. Conditions here were little better than in the Extermination
Camps. Soviet prisoners of war, political detainees, or Jews were
worked to death and died in thousands. At Belsen there are mounds
containing the remains of tens of thousands bodies.
The main proponent of the Final Solution was Reinhard Heydrich, the
deputy of Heinrich Himmler the head of the SS. Heydrich was also
Protector of Bohemia and had his headquarters in Prague. He drove
around the city without a bodyguard and became the only senior
Nazi figure to be assassinated when he was ambushed and shot in
1942.

In July 1941 Goering ordered Heydrich to prepare for the Final

Solution of the Jewish Question in Europe. This was to involve the
murder of 11,000,000 Jews. However, the Final Solution was to be
only the first stage of a much bigger project European
reconstruction along racial-political lines. This would lead to the
resettlement of as many as 50,000,000 Slavs.
A conference was called by Reinhard Heydrich for 9 December to be
held at a SS guest house at Wannsee, south east of Berlin. But the
conference actually took place six weeks later than wasoriginally
planned. The original meeting was postponed, possibly because of
failure of the German forces to capture Moscow and also because of
the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. When the meeting took place on
20 January 1942,
By the time that the Wannsee Conference finally took place on 20
January 1942, the mass slaughter of Jews had already been
underway for six months and 700,000 were dead. The purpose of
the Conference was to involve other departments and ministries in
the project that had been decided upon by the RSHA (Reich Security
Main Office). There was to be no discussion. The Final Solution had
already been decided upon. The Conference was merely intended to
work out how it was to be put into practice.
There were fifteen people at the Wannsee Conference.

Reinhard Heydrich: Chief of the Security Police and the Security

Service who called the meeting. He wanted to obtain the cooperation of the others in the Final Solution.
Dr. Rudolf Lange: Security Police and Security Service who
represented the SS in northern Russia. Lange had led an
Einsatzgruppen in Latvia.
Dr Eberhard Schongarth: Security Police and Security Service
who had commanded a special unit in Russia and later
commanded the Security Police in the Netherlands.
Adolf Eichmann: Reich Security Main Office (RSHA) who was
responsible for the deportation of Jews to extermination camps.
Eichmann took the minutes during the Conference. He escaped
at the end of the war and fled to Argentina. He was captured by
Israeli agents in 1960, tried and then executed in 1962.
Heinrich Muller: Reich Security Main Office who was responsible
for the murder of political prisoners by the Gestapo.
Otto Hofmann: SS Race and Resettlement Main Office who had
been in charge of the sterilisation of people of mixed blood and
the Germanization of Polish children
Fritz Kritzinger: Reich Chancellery who was responsible for
drafting laws against Jews from 1939 to 1943.

Dr Gerhard Klopfer: Nazi Party Chancellery who was responsible

for questions of race and national characteristics and occupation.
Martin Luther: German Foreign Office who was responsible for
negotiations between the Foreign Office and the SS.
Dr Josef Buhler: Office of the Governor General of Poland who had
been responsible for the murder of Jews in occupied Poland.
Dr Roland Freisler: Reich Ministry of Justice who became President
of the Peoples Court, which tried political prisoners.
Erich Neumann: Representative of the Four Year Plan who used
Jewish labour in German industry and the economy.
Dr Wilhelm Stuckart: Reich Ministry of the Interior who was coauthor of the Nuremberg Laws and proposed compulsory
sterilisation of people of mixed blood.
Dr Georg Leibbrandt: Reich Ministry for the Occupied Territories
Dr Alfred Meyer: Reich Ministry for the Occupied Territories

After the Wannsee Conference there was a series of other meetings

beginning on 29 January and continuing throughout the year to
decide on how the Final Solution was to be carried out. For example:
29 January: Departmental meeting in the Reich Ministry for the
Occupied Territories to decide how exactly to define the term Jew.
23 February: Departmental meeting in the Foreign Ministry to decide
how to deal with the property of Jews.
6 March: Meeting in the Reich Security Main Office to decide on the
sterilisation or persons with mixed blood and on mixed marriages.
The decision led to the setting up of extermination camps, such as
Treblinka and Auschwitz, where Jews were taken to be killed. All of
these camps were set up outside Germany and were run by special
units of the SS, the Death's Head SS. The Nazis wanted to hide the
true facts from the German people. Jews were told that they were
going to be resettled.
Deportations had begun in late 1941, but increased in the spring of
1942. Each household received precise written instructions. Each
person could take one back-pack, a mess kit and spoon, but no
knives or scissors, two blankets, sheets, warm clothing and heavy
shoes. Maximum weight was 25 kg. Valuables had to be handed
over as did house keys. Jews were then put into trucks and taken to
railway stations where there were shipped off in groups of 1,000.
Trains normally left twice a week. Jews were told that they were
being resettled, but news soon got out that they were being
exterminated. When they arrived, the able-bodied were sent to work
camps. Women, children, the old and the sick were exterminated in

gas-chambers, which were disguised as shower blocks. The dead

bodies were ransacked for anything of value
The French Vichy government co-operated with the Nazis and began
to send trains east in 1941. Most went to Auschwitz or Sobibor. Jews
were deported from Le Bourget-Drancy, a Concentration Camp set
up on the outskirts of Paris. When France was defeated by the
Germans in 1940, part of the country was not occupied and was
given a French puppet government. This was set up in Vichy. The
Germans demanded that the Vichy authorities hand over 75,000
Jews. The Vichy government did so. Many were taken to Le BourgetDrancy and then brought to Auschwitz.
Theresienstadt, a transit camp near Prague was officially the Reich
Nursing Home for elderly Jews. By September 1942 58,000 people
were squashed into the space set aside for 7,000. Only 60% of the
inmates had anywhere to sleep. Altogether 141,000 people passed
through Theresienstadt. 33,550 died there and 88,200 were
transported to extermination camps. 23,000 people survived.
From 1942 to 1945 at least 4,000,000 Jews died in the camps; many
were gassed, others were shot and then buried in mass graves.
Heinrich Himmler, the head of the SS, ordered the building of a
Concentration Camp at Auschwitz on 27 April 1940. Rudolf Hoess
was appointed the commandant. The first prisoners arrived on 14
June 1940. They were 728 Poles sent by the Gestapo at Tarnow. The
original camp contained twenty buildings, but this was enlarged
during 1941-2, when a further eight buildings were added. The
average number of prisoners was between 13,000 and 16,000, but
reached 20,000 at one stage in 1942.
In 1941, Auschwitz Camp was selected by Heinrich Himmler as the
site for the Final Solution. Auschwitz was in the middle of a
restricted area of about 40 square km. The inhabitants of this area
had been removed. By spring 1942 the plans for the extension of
the camp were well underway. 8,000 prisoners of war died building
the camp.
The camp at Auschwitz was made up of blocks. These had been
originally built for prisoners of war. Each block housed between 700
and 1,000 people. At first inmates slept in straw on the floor. Later
three storey bunks were built, but these did not provide much
improvement.
As the number of inmates grew, Auschwitz expanded. A second
camp was constructed at the village of Brzezinka, about two miles
away. This became known as Birkenau, or Auschwitz II. Auschwitz III
was set up on land owned by IG-Farbenindustrie, a German chemical
company. From 1942 to 1944 about forty more branches of

Auschwitz were set up at local factories, steelworks and mines.

These were run by Auschwitz III. It was one of these factories that
was owned by Oskar Schindler.
Jews arrived first of all from the surrounding area of Silesia, but then
from all over Europe, including Norway and France. In addition to
Jews, at least 12,000 Soviet prisoners of war were brought to
Auschwitz, of whom about 8,320 died. Some of these were used in
experiments to discover the effectiveness of Zyklon B, others were
shot and many died of exhaustion. 21,000 gypsies were also
murdered at Auschwitz.
Jews who arrived at Auschwitz were usually told that they were
being transported east to be re-settled. They were often sold
fictitious businesses or plots of land, or offered work in non-existing
factories. These stories encouraged Jews to bring their most
treasured and valuable possessions with them. These were all looted
by the Nazis.
Until 1943 all arrivals were photographed in three poses. Beneath
the photographs is the inmates name, occupation, date of birth,
date of arrival at the camp and date of death. From 1943 inmates
were tattooed with a prison number. They also wore one of twelve
distinguishing marks.
Arrival at the camp was by train in cattle cars that held about fortyfive people. Inmates stepped out of the trains onto the ramp at
Birkenau. Inmates lined up for selection. They were immediately
inspected by two SS doctors. The old, the handicapped, the sick,
pregnant women and mothers with young children were killed
immediately. In the winter more people were killed on arrival
because there were fewer jobs in the area. About 75% of Jews were
killed in this way.
The victims were herded into what the Nazis described as shower
blocks and were told to undress. They were then crammed into a
second chamber about 210 sq. metres. These contained artificial
showers. The remains of some of the showers can be seen in the
museum. Each block held about 2,000 people. Gas was pumped into
the block. After 15 minutes all the people were dead and their
bodies were then ransacked for anything of value. The bodies were
then burnt in the ovens, or on large bonfires. 10: The Nazis used
phrases which attempted to hide what was going on.
Accommodated separately referred to people who had been
gassed immediately. The healthy were then used as slave labour.
They usually lasted bout nine months at most.
Auschwitz continued to operate until a few days before the camp
was overrun by the Soviet army on 27 January 1945. The guards

tried to destroy the camp before the Soviet forces arrived, but
failed. About 7,500 inmates were left. The rest, about 55,000 had
been forced to march west.
Changing role of women:
Effects of War:
1939 Law preventing more than 10% of university students from
being female was dropped.
During the war, more men were drafted into the army, exacerbating
labour shortages, hence demand for female workers
increased.
1943- Women between 17 and 45 (who didnt have young children)
required to register for work They were paid and treated
normally, but many didnt want to work, and only about 1
million showed up.
1944 Women between 45 and 50 years old required to register for
work. Fewer German women ended up working outside the
home than British or American women in the same period.
Y -It was harder for women to run homes and do domestic work as
rationing made it difficult to cook (had to deal with black
market) and their husbands were away at war.
Y -It was harder for mothers to look after children due to the
bombing and them being pressured to work.
Y -As casualties mounted there was even greater pressure to
increase the birth rate. Women were encouraged to have
children whether they were married were not, for instance the
Lebensborn programme was launched to encourage procreation
outside of marriage during which, in effect, in state-run brothels
Aryan women had babies with SS men. Despite increasing
women workers, gender roles were still enforced and there was
even a campaign against women wearing trousers.
Reasons:
-Nazi philosophy: wanted women to stay home, bear children etc.

-The war: more women working due to shortage of male workers

(many had been drafted to army)

-General recovery of economy after Great Depression: more families

financially stable willing to have more children

Total War
1941 (October) 1943: Total war: From 1943 Germany started to
suffer defeats in the War it had become clear that the war was no
longer in Germanys favour, therefore the government decided to
increase their war efforts. Every part of German society was geared
towards the war effort, producing arms, growing food, caring for the
sick of fighting. Anything that did not contribute directly to the was
effort was eliminated, for example professional sport was ended,
non-essential businesses were closed, magazines not important to
the war was closed and the manufacture of civilian clothing was
ended. Clothing and furniture shortage caused exchange centres to
be opened where people could swap furniture and cloths. However,
cinemas remained opened so propaganda films could be played to
raise morale.
Measures taken in July 1944:
-All non-German servants and all workers going into armament
factories.
-To save fuel, railway and postal services were reduced, and all letter
boxes were closed.
-All theatres, opera houses, music halls and places of entertainment
(except cinemas) were closed.
-The age limit for compulsory labour for women was raised to fifty.
-The Volksstrum (Home Guard) was formed in preparation for the
final defence of Germany. It was comprised of the old, unfit and
youth all those who had previously not been considered fit for
conscription to the army. They did not have adequate equipment or
weapons, often using improvised transport such as bicycles and
borrowed guns. This revealed to the German population how
desperate Germany was and how they were losing the war.
Rationing:
1939-41: Goods, clothing, hot water and soap were rationed for
everyone. Workers in heavy industries pregnant women,
nursing mothers and children got extra rations. 2/5 of
Germans actually ate better than before the war. The lack of
soap was probably the hardest to deal with.
1941-1943: For most of this period, the food supply in Germany was

kept up by taking food from occupied territories. However,

factories stopped making civilian clothes, so new clothes
could not be purchased after 1943. Exchanged centres
opened where people could exchange clothing.
1944-1945: The rationing system completely broke down by 1945
and everyone had to fend for themselves on the black market.
Effects of allied bombing
1939-41: First air raid on Berlin happened in 1940.
1942-45: From 1942, air raids became more frequent. In 1943, they
caused a firestorm that killed 30,000 people in Hamburg. In
1945 possibly as many as 150,000 people were killed over two
nights in Dresden. Between 1940 and 1945, 800,000 German
civilians were killed in air raids and 7,500,000 were made
homeless (almost 1/10 of the population).
Effects: -Destroyed key industries
-Lowered German morale. People less enthusiastic about the war
and wanted it to end.
- The mass destruction of air raids in general put Nazi administration
into chaos. By early 1945, government plans were in chaos and
ration cards were no longer honoured, instead people relied on the
black market or on scavenging for food.
Effects on Youth
Hitler Youth became more militarily oriented, dropping many
previously popular activities and lost a lot of good leaders to the
army. By this time, it was also compulsory (people who were
unwilling also had to join). As a result of all of these factors, it
became less popular. The bombing raids and rationing probably also
helped sap young peoples enthusiasm for a regime that had lots of
promises but did not seem to deliver.
There was greater opposition among young people, ie Swing Youth,
Eidelweiss Pirates and White Rose Group. Opposition also took form
in absenteeism, meaning many young people who were forced to
join Nazi organisations stopped turning up.
Growing opposition:
-The war galvanized opposition Why?
Shortages caused by lack of access to imports as well as
the quantities of resources devoted to the war effort led
to rationing, which led to a poor diet. This sapped morale
and increased low-level grumbling.
Bombing of German cities further sapped morale and raised concerns
about the government that had brought this on Germany.

By the end of the war, government was beginning to break down.

Rations were no longer reliable and people turned en masse to the
illegal black market.
It became obvious that Germany was losing the war. This led to more
opposition motivated by anger at the government that had caused this
disaster. The Stauffenberg bomb plot was motivated by this (+
sufferings of German army in Russia & brutality of SS). Also, if the
Germany was losing the war, then there was no point in being loyal to
the Nazis because they wouldnt be around very much longer.
The slaughter of Jews and Poles in the East outraged some principled
Germans, such as the White Rose Group and Dietrich Bonhoeffer.
Young people became disaffected with Nazism, that seemed to promise
only drudgery followed by conscription into the army. Swing Youth and
Edelweiss Pirates both arose during the war.

Eidelweiss Pirates
Groups of working class youths who stopped attending HJ meetings
and formed their own groups. These were not really connected to
each other, some groups confined themselves to avoiding HJ
meetings and holding their own camping trips, having sex, etc.
However, once the HJ tried to assert its authority over these youths,
some went further, beating up HJ patrols, helping escaped prisoners,
and sheltering army deserters. The Nazis broke these groups up
whenever they could, but they were reluctant to send them all to
concentration camps. Instead, they made an example of the
ringleaders. 12 were hanged publicly in Cologne in 1944.
Swing Youth
Middle-class youths who wanted to dance and listen to swing-music,
which was a blend of black jazz and white dance-band music and
was not approved of by the Nazis. They wore English-style clothes,
girls wore make-up and Jews were accepted into their groups. Some
of these young people were harshly punished, e.g sent to
concentration camps.
White Rose Group
Opposition group at Munich University led by a brother and sister
called Hans and Sophie Scholl. Inspired by a philosophy professor at
the university, Kurt Huber, they secretly printed and distributed a
series of six leaflets, trying to awaken the German people to oppose
the Nazis. They were caught and most of the group was executed by
guillotine. This harsh punishment shows how much courage it took
to express even non-violent opposition to the Nazis.
Stauffenburg Plot
Reason: -Army leaders alarmed by the way Hitler was leading
Germany into a disastrous defeat for WW2; hence they wanted to
get rid of him Germany clearly losing the war

-Members of army appalled by Nazi actions e.g. concentration

camps, brutality of SS, anti-Semitic campaign, Holocaust
-Plotters wanted to end suffering of German army in Russia for
example (harsh conditions)
Events: Stauffenburg carried a bomb in a briefcase into a high level
meeting, and then excused himself. Someone moved the bomb
before it went off and Hitler was only wounded.
Result: Failed attempt. Von Stauffenburg, Beck and some of the
other leading plotters were quickly captured and executed. Hitler
would then kill nearly 5000 of his opponents by torture, shooting,
hanging or garroting, including Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Von Stauffenburg: A devout Roman Catholic and an early Nazi
supporter in the 1930s due to their opposition to the growing
perceived threat of a Communist takeover, his experiences with the
brutality of the SS and suffering of the German army as well as his
disgust by the anti-Semitic campaign compelled him to turn against
Hitler and the Nazis. He was the leader of the July 1944 Bomb Plot.
Defeat and Hitlers death
1944-45: Defeat: The Russians and the Western allies invaded an
occupied Germany. Hitler finally committed suicide in
May, 1945 and Germany surrendered.