Germany, 1890–1945: Democracy and dictatorship

This period study focuses on the development of Germany during a turbulent half century of change. It was a period of democracy and dictatorship – the development and collapse of democracy and the rise and fall of Nazism. Students will study the political, economic, social and cultural aspects of these two developments and the role ideas played in influencing change. They will also look at the role of key individuals and groups in shaping change and the impact the developments had on them.

Part one: Germany and the growth of democracy • Kaiser Wilhelm and the difficulties of ruling Germany: the growth of parliamentary government; the influence of Prussian militarism; industrialisation; social reform and the growth of socialism; the domestic importance of the Navy Laws. • Impact of the First World War: war weariness, economic problems; defeat; the end of the monarchy; post-war problems including reparations, the occupation of the Ruhr and hyperinflation. • Weimar democracy: political change and unrest, 1919–1923, including Spartacists, Kapp Putsch and the Munich Putsch; the extent of recovery during the Stresemann era (1924–1929): economic developments including the new currency, Dawes Plan and the Young Plan; the impact of international agreements on recovery; Weimar culture.

Part two: Germany and the Depression • The impact of the Depression: growth in support for the Nazis and other extremist parties (1928–1932), including the role of the SA; Hitler’s appeal. • The failure of Weimar democracy: election results; the role of Papen and Hindenburg and Hitler’s appointment as Chancellor. • The establishment of Hitler’s dictatorship: the Reichstag Fire; the Enabling Act; elimination of political opposition; trade unions; Rohm and the Night of the Long Knives; Hitler becomes Führer.

Part three: The experiences of Germans under the Nazis • Economic changes: benefits and drawbacks; employment; public works programmes; rearmament; self-sufficiency; the impact of war on the economy and the German people, including bombing, rationing, labour shortages, refugees. • Social policy and practice: reasons for policies, practices and their impact on women, young people and youth groups; education; control of churches and religion; Aryan ideas, racial policy and persecution; the Final Solution. • Control: Goebbels, the use of propaganda and censorship; Nazi culture; repression and the police state and the roles of Himmler, the SS and Gestapo; opposition and resistance, including White Rose group, Swing Youth, Edelweiss Pirates and July 1944 bomb plot.

Conflict and tension between East and West, 1945–1972

This wider world depth study enables students to understand the complex and diverse interests of different states and individuals and the ideologies they represented. It considers revolutionary movements during this time. It focuses on the causes and events of the Cold War and seeks to show how and why conflict occurred and why it proved difficult to resolve the tensions which arose during the Cold War. This study also considers the role of key individuals and groups in shaping change and how they were affected by and influenced international relations.

Part one: The origins of the Cold War • The end of the Second World War: Yalta and Potsdam Conferences; the division of Germany; contrasting attitudes and ideologies of the USA and the USSR, including the aims of Stalin,

Churchill, Roosevelt, Attlee and Truman; effect of the dropping of the atom bomb on post-war superpower relations. • The Iron Curtain and the evolution of East-West rivalry: Soviet expansion in East Europe; US policies; the Truman Doctrine and Marshall Plan, their purpose and Stalin’s reaction; Cominform; Comecon; Yugoslavia; the Berlin Blockade and Airlift.

Part two: The development of the Cold War • The significance of events in Asia for superpower relations: USSR's support for Mao Tse-tung and Communist revolution in China, and the military campaigns waged by North Korea against the UN and by the Vietcong against France and the USA. • Military rivalries: the arms race; membership and purposes of NATO and the Warsaw Pact; the space race, including Sputnik, ICBMs, Polaris, Gagarin, Apollo. • The ‘Thaw’: Hungary, the protest movement and the reforms of Nagy; Soviet fears, how they reacted and the effects on the Cold War; the U2 Crisis and its effects on the Paris Peace Summit and the peace process.

Part three: Transformation of the Cold War • Berlin Wall: reasons for its construction and Kennedy’s response. • Tensions over Cuba: Castro’s revolution, the Bay of Pigs and the missile crisis: the roles of Castro, Khrushchev, Kennedy; fears of the USA and reaction to missiles on Cuba; dangers and results of crisis. • Czechoslovakia: Dubeck and the Prague Spring movement; USSR’s response to the reforms; the effects the Prague Spring had on East-West relations, including the Warsaw Pact; the Brezhnev Doctrine. • Easing of tension: sources of tension, including the Soviets' record on human rights; the reasons for Détente and for SALT 1; the part played by key individuals Brezhnev and Nixon.

Causes for the Munich Putsch.Group the following causes with their explanations of events.

1. Weimar weaknesses2. Nazi Party Growing 3. Stresemann calls off resistance4. Mussolini’s Example5. Bavarian Rebellion called off

Constitutional flaws/ Left Wing opponents (the KPD)/ Right Wing opponents (see page 4) had all made the government weak and vulnerable.

Invasion and inflation made the government VERY weak in 1923. Everybody was very angry with the government – there were Communist rebellions in Saxony and Thuringia.

In the crises of 1923, the membership of the Nazi Party grew from 6,000 to 55,000.

The Nazi Stormtroopers (SA) grew quickly, and wanted a revolution - in October, an SA leader told Hitler that, if there was not a rebellion soon, the SA would ‘sneak away’.

Hitler became friends with General Ludendorff (a WWI hero) – he thought that the Army would follow Ludendorff in a putsch.

In September 1923, the German Chancellor, Stresemann, called off the general strike in the Ruhr (it was ruining Germany). This made EVERY German angry with the government.

There was a right-wing revolt (by the ‘Black Reichswehr’) in Berlin on 1 October 1923, and the Rhineland declared independence on 21–22 October.

The government had to proclaim a State of Emergency, Sept 1923–Feb 1924.

In 1922, Mussolini had seized control of the government of Italy by marching on Rome. Hitler hoped to copy his example.

In Bavaria, the right-wing local government wanted to rebel against the Weimar Republic.

Its leaders – Kahr (State Commissioner), Lossow (Local Army Commander) and Seisser (Chief of Police) – planned a march of 15,000 soldiers on Berlin.

Hitler was going to help them, but on 4 November they postponed the rebellion.

Hitler hoped the Munich Putsch would force them to rebel.

What do you think is the most important cause for Hitler attempting the Munich Putsch?

Who?

Hitler and the Nazi Party and some other Right Wing Nationalists including General Ludendorff and Herman Goering.

What?

8th November 1923

Hitler stormed into meeting in Munich Beer Hall and stopped a meeting of Bavarian Kahr and his senior officials.

He demanded they join him on march to take over Munich. He left Ludendorff in charge and Kahr alerted authorities.

The army opened fire on the crowd and 16 Nazi’s shot dead. Hitler was wounded and fled.

Don’t forget!

Stresemann called off Passive resistance in 1923. Seen as giving into France.

The Nazi Stormtroopers (SA) grew quickly, and wanted a revolution –or threatened to leave 1923

Hitler thought that the Army would follow Ludendorff in a putsch. They became friends in 1923

In 1922, Mussolini had seized control of the government of Italy by marching on Rome.

Can you link the following?

Munich Putsch and Kapp Putsch

Treaty of Versailles and Hyperinflation.

Kapp Putsch and Freikorps

Spartacist’s and Freikorp.

November Criminals and the Kapp Putsch

Kapp Putsch and Strikes in Berlin.

Extension – Can you link another event ?

The odd one out?

Gustav Stresemann • After 1924, a politician named Gustav Stresemann led the government (he became

Chancellor in August 1923).

• At first he had opposed the Weimar Republic, but changed when he realised the alternative was anarchy.

Stresemann’s Achievements

• Dawes Plan, 1924

• Inflation controlled, November 1923

• French leave the Ruhr, April 1924

• Foreign Affairs

• Economic Growth

• Reforms

• Strength at the Centre

Dawes Plan 1924

Stresemann called off the 1923 Ruhr strike and started to pay reparations again – but the American Dawes Plan gave Germany longer to make the payments (and the Young Plan of 1929 reduced the payments).

Inflation controlled, Nov 1923

Stresemann called in all the old, worthless marks (due to HYPERINFLATION) and burned them. He replaced them with a new Rentenmark (worth 3,000 million old marks). This stabilised inflation.

French leave the Ruhr, April 1924

Stresemann persuaded the French to leave.

Foreign Affairs

In 1925, Stresemann signed the Locarno Treaty, agreeing to the loss of Alsace-Lorraine. In 1926, Germany was allowed to join the League of Nations. Germany had become a world power again.

Source A

Stresemann ... worked hard to rebuild his shattered country and for peace and co-operation abroad. Because of his leadership Germany is now prospering and has an important place in the affairs of Europe.

from The Times, 4 October 1929.

An account of his life and achievements which was written just after his death.

Economic Growth

Germany borrowed 25,000 million gold marks, mainly from America. This was used to build roads, railways and factories. The economy boomed and led to prosperity. Cultural life also boomed (the Roaring Twenties).

Source B

‘The German economy is doing well only on the surface. Germany is in fact dancing on a volcano. If the short-term loans are called in by America, most of our economy will collapse’.

from a speech made by Gustav Stresemann shortly before his death on 3 October 1929

The Locarno Pact

Gustav Stresemann’s broad aim in his foreign policy was to restore Germany’s power and prosperity. He was fully aware however, that Germany was in no position to challenge the Allies' military and revise the Treaty of Versailles by force. Instead Stresemann followed a policy of co-operation with the West and a mixture reconciliation and pressure on the other powers.

Stresemann realised that other countries could not afford to let the German economy collapse completely. His strategy was called Erfüllungspolitik (fulfilment) which meant complying with or fulfilling the terms of Versailles to improve relations with Britain and France.

As a part of his policy of fulfilment a series of meetings of foreign ministers were held. The Locarno Pact, also known as The Locarno Treaties, were discussed at Locarno, Switzerland, on 5–16 October 1925 and officially signed in London on 1 December. Germany, Britain, France, Belgium and Italy signed the Treaty.

What was decided?

Stresemann accepted Germany’s western (not eastern) borders. All countries decided to renounce the use of invasion and force, except in self-defence. The Pact reassured France about its borders and Germany about any French

invasion/occupation, as had happened in 1923. Germany also signed arbitration treaties with Poland and Czechoslovakia renouncing the

use of force and promising to refer any future disputes to an arbitration tribunal or to the Permanent Court of International Justice. (This however did not involve Germany accepting its eastern borders).

Impact of the Pact

The Treaties improved the relations between European countries up until 1930. It led to the belief that there would be peaceful settlements to any disputes in the future. This has often been called the spirit of Locarno. This was further re-enforced when Germany joined the League of Nations in 1926.

The Allies left Cologne, which they had occupied, in December 1925. The Nobel Peace Prize was given to the lead negotiators of the treaty - Chamberlain in 1925 and to Briand and Stresemann in 1926.

Reforms

Stresemann introduced reforms to make life better for the working classes - Labour Exchanges (1927) and unemployment pay. Also, 3 million new houses were built.

Strength at the Centre

• Stresemann arranged a 'Great Coalition' of the moderate pro-democracy parties (based around the SDP, the Centre party and Stresemann's own 'German people's Party', the DVP).

• United together, they were able to resist the criticism from smaller extremist parties, and in this way, he overcame the effects of proportional representation - the government had enough members of the Reichstag supporting it to pass the laws it needed.

Which of Stresemann’s actions was the most significant in helping the Weimar Republic to survive?

• Dawes Plan, 1924

• Inflation controlled, November 1923

• French leave the Ruhr, April 1924

• Foreign Affairs

• Economic Growth

• Reforms

• Strength at the Centre

• Rank his actions in order of significance (1-7).

• Which is the most significant?

• Why?

• Why this action over the others?

ESSAY WRITING

All the examples are taken from students essays.

READING THE QUESTION

Firstly, students need to be able to recognise that history essay questions fall into two categories:

• Either/or

For example: Cromwell initiated a revolution in government in the 1530s. How far do you agree? (A Level)The Treaty of Versailles was short-sighted and vindictive. How far do you agree? (GCSE)

• WhyFor example: Henry VIII broke with Rome to increase his personal power. How far do you agree? (A Level)The Nazi-Soviet Pact was the principal cause of war in 1939. How far do you agree? (GCSE)Why did the First World War begin in 1914? (KS3)

This categorisation is important for two reasons.• At GCSE and A Level, the ‘why’ is often hidden in a statement. Practice in recognising that

many history questions are ‘why’ questions helps to avoid the pitfall of only talking about the issue stated in the question.

• It enables students to plan their assertions which will frame their answer (see below).

For higher ability students, and as students progress towards GCSE and A Level, I suggest extending this with a greater range of reasons for ‘why’ questions (three or four). For either/or questions, some students need to stick at the ‘for’ and ‘against’ structure, which is essentially two paragraphs, but some can begin to break down the issue into more nuanced ways.For example:

The Treaty of Versailles was short-sighted and vindictive. How far do you agree? (GCSE)Rather than exploring the TOV as a whole in a ‘for’ and ‘against’ structure of two paragraphs, good students should start to break down the issue of the TOV, e.g into military, territorial and financial areas, exploring the ‘for’ and ‘against’ of each issue within a paragraph. In this way, you are moving the students beyond analysis at whole essay level (i.e ‘for’ and ‘against’ the proposition) towards analysis by issue, which is much more nuanced and a better building block for A Level.

STRUCTURING A BASIC PARAGRAPH

The building block of an essay is the paragraph. A good paragraph has three parts:

ASSERTION – a statement of argument/opinion (not a statement of fact)EVIDENCE – facts and examples to back up your assertionEXPLANATION – convincing the reader that the facts you have given answer the question asked

For example:Some people think the difference between a terrorist and a freedom fighter is how violent they are. For example, Osama bin Laden blew up the Twin Towers and killed lots of people, but Martin Luther King only made speeches to get his point across. This might mean that people fighting for freedom are not violent but terrorists use terror to make people scared.

Western powers had refused to recognise Japan as an equal and Japan wanted to assert her authority. The Washington Naval Agreement in 1922 is an example of this; the League limited Japans army size to 2/3 the size of Britain’s, even though they were a permanent council member and Britain and France could keep their army. Japan wanted to prove that they were equal to both Britain and France, and Japan felt by successfully invading Manchuria they would be able to assert her authority. (‘Why did Japan invade Manchuria?’, GCSE, 6 mark, part b ‘why’ question, OCR)

Thirdly, Bismarck knew that attacking the Catholics would facilitate an allegiance to the National Liberals. Bismarck needed the support of the biggest party in the Reichstag to prove his indispensability to the Kaiser. In 1871, the Liberals held the majority in the Reichstag because their policy of free trade made them popular in the time of economic prosperity. They were an anti-clerical party so sharing their policies would allow him to make the alliance he needed. He therefore used Kulturkampf, his attack on the Church, as a way of promoting negative integration: he hoped it would unite the Protestant majority in the Reichstag and therefore distract the Liberals from striving for their agenda of constitutional reform and increased democracy. (‘Why did Bismarck persecute the Catholics?’, A Level – 12 mark ‘explain why’ question, AQA)

EXTENDING FOR HIGHER ABILITY / ANALYTICAL QUESTIONS AT GCSE AND A LEVEL

ASSERTION – a statement of argument/opinion (not a statement of fact)

EVIDENCE – facts and examples to back up your assertion

ANALYSIS – a possible interpretation of the facts/examples, which would disprove your argument as identified in your assertion. More often than not, this will appear here in the paragraph, rather than at the end, as the most common type of analysis is a contrasting two interpretations (see below). Analysis may appear at the end, but you need to be careful it isn’t ‘bolt on’.

EXPLANATION – your own argument, convincing the reader that the facts you have given answer the question asked

For example,

The military clauses of the TOV were fair, from the point of view of the time. Germany had to reduce her army to 100,000 men, was forbidden to conscription soldiers, to have an air force or a navy and had to leave the Rhineland de-militarised. Although it could be argued that this left Germany vulnerable to attack, Germany had admitted all the guilt for starting the war in 1914 and had previously invaded France in 1871 so it seemed sensible to stop her being able to do that again. [‘The TOV was short-sighted and vindictive. How far do you agree? GCSE]

WHAT EXACTLY IS ANALYSIS?

Obviously, at GCSE and A Level the ability to ‘analyse’ is essential for accessing the higher levels of the mark schemes (and, more importantly, for writing good history!). But it can be hard to explain to

students exactly what analysis is, especially if your history students study English, where ‘analysis’ really means ‘deconstruct’, whereas in History it means more ‘compare and contrast possible interpretations’.The key to success is to ensure that the core explanation is congruent with the assertion, i.e that if you took the analysis out you would still have a clear ‘traffic light’ paragraph.

• Contrasting interpretations – offering two different explanations/conclusions. New evidence may be introduced, but isn’t essential. For example:

• Comparison - exploring relative significance of your current argument by comparing it with another.For example: The financial penalties of the TOV were really unfair. Germany had to pay £6.6bn in reparations to Britain and France to pay for the war. There was no way that Germany could pay these reparations, as her economy was in crisis after the loss of the war. However, these terms weren’t as unfair as the War Guilt Clause, because this was the justification for the reparations in the first place and it also made Germany feel unfairly treated for a long-time, even after the Dawes plan made the reparations manageable. [GCSE]

[discussion of impact of war on women in Nazi Germany]….However, this impact of war on women in Nazi Germany was not as significant as the impact of Nazism on youth [discussed earlier in the essay]. This was because the war closed down opportunities for youth, restricting them to army drill for boys, and fund raising for girls. In comparison, the war actually liberated women, facilitating a return to employment, as men went off to war, rather than the previous Nazi insistence on ‘kinder, kuche, kirche’ as the limits of the female role. [A Level]

LINKS AND PRIORITY

Ideally, judgments about priority shouldn’t be a surprise conclusion at the end, but should be suggested throughout the essay. This is what you would call ‘building an argument’.

A short list of words that can be built into assertions to give a sense of priority.

Words to suggest a cause is the most important

Fundamentally,…The over-riding reason was…The most important/significant/etc…The key reason…

Words that suggest something about timing

A long-term reason was…In the short-term…The catalyst/trigger was…X was precipitated by…

Words that suggest causes with hidden importance

An underlying reason/factor was…A latent factor was…

Words that suggest causes which seem to be important but actually were not

Ostensibly…Apparently…On the surface…Although it seems that…

Words which link ideas together

X exacerbated…X facilitated…./was facilitated by…X undermined…/was undermined by…X set a precedent for…X justified…./was justified by…

Culture in Weimar Germany – was life a cabaret, old chum?

1 Living standards improved during the ‘Golden Years’ of the Weimar Republic. As an example, what was introduced in 1927?

A. Unemployment benefits - workers would receive a weekly fixed income whilst they searched for employment.

B. Unemployment insurance - workers could pay into a scheme that paid cash benefits if they became unemployed.

C. Paternity leave - new fathers received 6 months paid leave to help care for their first born child.

2 Millions more ….. were built in the years 1924-1931 by the Weimar government. What is the missing word?

A. Prosthetic limbs - they were needed to help the casualties of WWI recover. B Cars - the 1920s was the time of the automobile. C Houses.

3 Who mainly benefitted from the economic changes?A. Middle classes B Working classes C The Nazis

4 Women over the age of 20 were awarded the vote in Weimar Germany in 1919. How many women were elected to the Reichstag between 1919 and 1932?

A. 92 B 102 C 1125 Which one best describes a problem behind Weimar Germany’s improving economy?

A. High living standards could only be maintained with a strong economy. Thankfully, Germany’s economy was robust.

B. High living standards could only be maintained with a strong economy. Unfortunately, Germany’s economy was still fragile.

C. High living standards could only be maintained with a faltering economy. Thankfully, Germany’s economy was faltering.

6 Who thought that giving women the vote, and therefore more power and freedom, threatened traditional Family live and German values?

A. Some right-wing German nationalistsB. Some left-wing German socialistsC. All divorced men (divorce rates increased during the Weimar period)

7 The traditional role of women began to change in Weimar Germany. Who is not an example of the changing role of women in Weimar Germany?

A. Sylvia von Harden- journalist, painted by Otto Dix and example of ‘new women’ (independent, successful career, new styles and lifestyles)

B. Marlene Dietrich - actress and film star (one of the highest paid Actresses of the era and pictured)

C. Steffi Graf - sports star (7 time Wimbledon champion)

Further fun (?) Weimar information

Fritz Lang directed the silent film ‘Metropolis’ in 1927? This film director is an example of how cinema was changing - he was dubbed the ‘Master of Darkness’ due to his focus on dark unpleasant topics (‘Metropolis’ is set in a future urban dystopia - an imaginary unpleasant and ruined place)

The Bauhaus school of design was highly influential in Weimar Germany. It promoted experimentation and modernism. For example, in architecture it promoted straighter lines and the use of grids - this clashed with traditional German architecture.

Bertolt Brecht dramas highlighted how the arts and theatre was changing and becoming bolder during the 1920s (his Threepenny Opera criticised capitalism and showed his generation’s disillusionment with life after WWI).

RISE OF THE NAZIS

THE EVENTS OCTOBER 1929: WALL STREET CRASH

In October 1929, the American stock market collapsed in the Wall Street Crash. The crisis in the American economy marked the beginning of a worldwide slide into economic depression. Every industrialized nation was affected by the Great Depression but Germany was particularly badly hit as American banks called in the loans which propped up German industry.

1930 - 1931: THE TURN TO EXTREMISM The Great Depression quickly brought about a massive drop in world trade and German exports slumped. As German businesses closed en masse, millions of people lost their jobs. Unemployment in Germany rose from just under 2 million in 1929 to 3 million in 1930 and 4.8 million in 1931.

The Weimar government seemed entirely unable to deal with the effects of the Great Depression. Many Germans lost faith in the moderate political parties which had made up the Weimar government since the formation of the Republic and turned to extremist parties on both the left and right-wing for solutions. In the national elections of September 1930, the Nazi Party won 107 Reichstag seats to become the second largest party in the Reichstag after the SPD. In the same election, the KPD won 77 seats.

1932: NAZI TRIUMPH As unemployment reached 6 million, the Nazis realised that the Depression presented them with an ideal opportunity to gain political power. They made an extraordinary effort to win over the German people and in the national elections of July 1932, the Nazi Party won 230 seats to become the largest political party in the Reichstag.

The KPD also made gains in the July 1932 elections winning 88 seats. As political extremism increased, so too did politically motivated violence between the left and right-wing. A period of intense street battles between the SA and the paramilitaries of the KPD left over 500 people killed or injured.

Yet another national election was held in November 1932. This time, the Nazi share of the Reichstag dropped to 196 seats (largely as a result of a backlash against the violent conduct of the SA). Yet still the Nazis remained the largest party within the Reichstag and on the brink of winning political power.

RISE OF THE NAZIS ANALYSIS HOW DID THE NAZIS BECOME THE LARGEST POLITICAL PARTY IN THE REICHSTAG?

THE EFFECTS OF THE GREAT DEPRESSION

The government’s inability to deal with the Depression caused the German people to experience a widespread loss of faith not only in the moderate political parties but also in

democracy itself.

A substantial number of Germans turned to political extremism for solutions to Germany’s economic crisis.

Unemployment caused many men to join the SA and membership rose to 0.5 million in 1932.

EFFECTIVE ELECTIONEERING The Nazi election campaigns of 1930 and 1932 were very well organised and

made use of innovative electioneering methods.

The SA were used to disrupt the campaigns of the Nazis’ political opponents, especially the KPD. While many Germans were appalled by the violent methods of the SA, elements of the middleclass found their assaults on the communists to be reassuring.

Depression: the rebirth of a strong Germany and a return to full employment.

The Nazis promised to deliver to Germany what people wanted most in the midst of the the moderate political parties and ‘weak’ democratic government.

The Nazis played on the resentments felt by many Germans and blamed the Great Depression on

USE OF POPULIST POLITICS

Conflict and tension: The First World War, 1894–1918 (page 18) •

Conflict and tension: The inter-war years, 1918–1939 (page 19) •

Conflict and tension between East and West, 1945–1972 (page 19) •

Conflict and tension in Asia, 1950–1975 (page 20) •

Conflict and tension in the Gulf and Afghanistan, 1990–2009 (page 21)

Party to prevent the communists from taking political power.

The German middle-class in particular feared the rise of the KPD and gave their vote to the Nazi regime.

The gains made by the KPD in the 1930 elections made many Germans fearful of a communist

FEAR OF COMMUNISM

Additional Specimen Material Session Time allowed: 1 hour 45 minutes

1 Read Interpretations A and B in the Interpretations Booklet. How does Interpretation B differ from Interpretation A about life for young people in Nazi Germany? Explain your answer using Interpretations A and B. [4 marks]

2 Why might the authors of Interpretations A and B have a different interpretation about life for young people in Nazi Germany? Explain your answer using Interpretations A and B and your contextual knowledge. [4 marks]

3 Which interpretation do you find more convincing about life for young people in Nazi Germany? Explain your answer using Interpretations A and B and your contextual knowledge. [8 marks]

4 Describe two problems faced by the German government in dealing with hyperinflation. [4 marks]

5 In what ways did the lives of people in Germany change during the First World War? Explain your answer. [8 marks]

6 Which of the following was the more important reason why Hitler was appointed Chancellor of Germany in 1933:

• the economic weakness of the Weimar Republic • the political weakness of the Weimar Republic? Explain your answer with reference to both bullet points. [12 marks

TIMELINE TIME

……. Put the following events in order

1. The Kapp Putsch occurs

2. Stresemann dies

3. Hyperinflation occurs

4. Stresemann signs the the Locarno Treaty

5. WW1 ends

6. Stresemann becomes Chancellor

7. Passing of the Enabling Act.

8. The Weimar government is set up

9. The Wall Street Crash hits America then Germany

10.The Spartacist Rebellion occurs

11.The Treaty of Versailles is signed

12.The German workers in the Ruhr go on strike

13.In the elections the Nazis win 230 seats

14.Hitler is arrested and put in prison

From 1924 to 1929, Adolf Hitler, following his experiences at Landsberg Prison, decided that all that he did at a political level would be legal and above board. If he wanted to sell the Nazi dream to the people of Weimar Germany, then he had to be seen as being a legitimate party leader and not one associated with violence and wrong-doing. Hitler's approach was to highlight the failings of the other political parties in Weimar Germany. 

As a policy, it was to fail. Between 1924 and 1929, the Nazis were politically very weak. Their representation in the Reichstag was very low compared to other parties.

Election Year

Communist Party

Social Demos

Democ. Party

Centre Party Conservatives Nationalists Nazis

1919 0 187 75 91 19 44 0

1920 4 186 39 64 65 71 0

May ‘24 62 100 28 65 45 95 32

Dec ‘24 45 131 32 69 51 103 14

1928 54 153 25 62 45 73 12

In the three elections held between 1924 and 1928, the Nazis gained fewer seats than the Communist Party and they were the weakest of the main right wing parties. The election campaigns pushed the party to the brink of bankruptcy. If the party had been declared bankrupt, it would have folded.

Weimar Germany from 1924 to 1929 was undergoing a renaissance. The government of Stresemann had got the country back on course after the nightmare of hyperinflation. The Dawes Plan had loaned Germany the necessary money to kick start her economy once again. The industrial heartland of the Ruhr settled down to productivity after the trauma of the French/Belgium invasion. Moderate politicians had won the day and there seemed no place in the new-born Germany for a political party of any extremes - be it from the left or right.

Stresemann had restored Germany's position in Europe. With the support of her previous enemy, France, Germany had entered the League of Nations in 1926. Normality seemed to be in place. Hence the Nazi Party's poor showing at the elections.

Hitler kept to his promise of working within the law. If he did not, it would have looked like an act of political desperation. However, as with any small party, the Nazi party's funds were limited. Political obscurity beckoned for the Nazis.

They were saved by an event out of their hands - Wall Street Crash of October 1929. This event was crucial to the Nazis. The Americans called back the money they had loaded Germany in 1924 and 1929 (the Young Plan). Germany had no money to invest in her economy. The growth from 1924 to 1929 had been somewhat of an illusion as a great deal of the money invested had been from overseas loans - primarily America. Money borrowed had to be paid back. In October 1929, Germany was left effectively bankrupt - again.

The impact of the Wall Street Crash took time to impact Germany. Unemployment was not a major issue for 1929. But by September 1930 it was.

September 1928 650,000 unemployed

September 1929 1,320,000 unemployed

September 1930 3,000,000 unemployed

September 1931 4,350,000 unemployed

September 1932 5,102,000 unemployed

January 1933 6,100,000 unemployed

Those unemployed turned to the one party and party leader untainted by the chaos of Weimar Germany - Adolf Hitler. Hitler's "1000 Year Reich" lasted from 1933 to 1945 and, after the impact of World War Two, had reduced Germany to rubble.

NSDAP 25 Point Manifesto The manifesto was anti-Semitic, anti-capitalist, anti-democratic, anti-Marxist, anti-liberal and nationalistic.

1. We demand the union of all Germany in a Greater Germany on the basis of the right of national self-determination.

2. We demand equality of rights for the German people in its dealings with other nations, and the revocation of the peace treaties of Versailles and Saint-Germain.

3. We demand land and territory (colonies) to feed our people and to settle our surplus population.

4. Only members of the nation may be citizens of the State. Only those of German blood, whatever be their creed, may be members of the nation. Accordingly, no Jew may be a member of the nation.

5. Non-citizens may live in Germany only as guests and must be subject to laws for aliens.

6. The right to vote on the State's government and legislation shall be enjoyed by the citizens of the State alone. We demand therefore that all official appointments, of whatever kind, whether in the Reich, in the states or in the smaller localities, shall be held by none but citizens.

We oppose the corrupting parliamentary custom of filling posts merely in accordance with party considerations, and without reference to character or abilities.

7. We demand that the State shall make it its primary duty to provide a livelihood for its citizens. If it should prove impossible to feed the entire population, foreign nationals (non-citizens) must be deported from the Reich.

8. All non-German immigration must be prevented. We demand that all non-Germans who entered Germany after 2 August 1914 shall be required to leave the Reich forthwith.

9. All citizens shall have equal rights and duties.

10. It must be the first duty of every citizen to perform physical or mental work. The activities of the individual must not clash with the general interest, but must proceed within the framework of the community and be for the general good.

We demand therefore: 11. The abolition of incomes unearned by work and the breaking of the slavery of interest. 12. In view of the enormous sacrifices of life and property demanded of a nation by any war, personal enrichment from war must be regarded as a crime against the nation. We demand therefore the ruthless confiscation of all war profits. 13. We demand the nationalisation of all businesses which have been formed into corporations (trusts).

14. We demand profit-sharing in large industrial enterprises.

15. We demand the extensive development of insurance for old age.

16. We demand the creation and maintenance of a healthy middle class, the immediate communalizing of big department stores, and their lease at a cheap rate to small traders, and that the utmost consideration shall be shown to all small traders in the placing of State and municipal orders.

17. We demand a land reform suitable to our national requirements, the passing of a law for the expropriation of land for communal purposes without compensation; the abolition of ground rent, and the prohibition of all speculation in land. *

18. We demand the ruthless prosecution of those whose activities are injurious to the common interest. Common criminals, usurers, profiteers, etc., must be punished with death, whatever their creed or race.

19. We demand that Roman Law, which serves a materialistic world order, be replaced by a German common law.

20. The State must consider a thorough reconstruction of our national system of education (with the aim of opening up to every able and hard-working German the possibility of higher education and of thus obtaining advancement). The curricula of all educational establishments must be brought into line with the requirements of practical life. The aim of the school must be to give the pupil, beginning with the first sign of intelligence, a grasp of the nation of the State (through the study of civic affairs). We demand the education of gifted children of poor parents, whatever their class or occupation, at the expense of the State.

21. The State must ensure that the nation's health standards are raised by protecting mothers and infants, by prohibiting child labor, by promoting physical strength through legislation providing for compulsory gymnastics and sports, and by the extensive support of clubs engaged in the physical training of youth.

22. We demand .... the foundation of a people's army.

23. We demand legal warfare on deliberate political mendacity and its dissemination in the press. To facilitate the creation of a German national press we demand:

(a) that all editors of, and contributors to newspapers appearing in the German language must be members of the nation; (b) that no non-German newspapers may appear without the express permission of the State. They must not be printed in the German language; (c) that non-Germans shall be prohibited by law from participating financially in or influencing German newspapers, and that the penalty for contravening such a law shall be the suppression of any such newspaper, and the immediate deportation of the non-Germans involved. The publishing of papers which are not conducive to the national welfare must be forbidden. We demand the legal prosecution of all those tendencies in art and literature which corrupt our national life, and the suppression of cultural events which violate this demand.

24. We demand freedom for all religious denominations in the State, provided they do not threaten its existence not offend the moral feelings of the German race.

The Party, as such, stands for positive Christianity, but does not commit itself to any particular denomination. It combats the Jewish-materialistic spirit within and without us, and is convinced that our nation can achieve permanent health only from within on the basis of the principle: The common interest before self-interest.

25. To put the whole of this programme into effect, we demand the creation of a strong central state power for the Reich; the unconditional authority of the political central

Parliament over the entire Reich and its organizations; and the formation of Corporations based on estate and occupation for the purpose of carrying out the general legislation passed by the Reich in the various German states.

The leaders of the Party promise to work ruthlessly -- if need be to sacrifice their very lives -- to translate this programme into action.

Consolidation of power 1933-34

Communists

• The Reichstag Fire 27th Feb 1933

• Allows Hitler to imprison many Communist leaders (prevents them

campaigning)

• Allows Hitler to use Communists as propaganda

• This gains Nazis more votes

• HOWEVER, Courts do not find them guilty…

The Reichstag

• See Reichstag Fire

• General Election 5th March – Nazis do not attain absolute majority

(288/647)

• However, enough to pass the Enabling Act on 23rd March

• This effectively gave him the power to run the country without

interference from the Reichstag

The Catholics

• The Concordat (Reichskonkordat) 20th June

• The Pope agrees to support Hitler as he sees him as the only way to stop

Communism

• German Catholics allowed to operate “freely”

• This allows Hitler to ban the Centrist Party

• But…

The Judiciary

• People’s Courts 24th April 1934

• Set up outside the Constitutional Framework

• Dealt with political issues, e.g. treason, black marketeering etc. which

were categorised as Wehrkraftzersetzung ("disintegration of defensive

capability")

The SA

• Night of the Long Knives 30th June 1934

• Some SA leaders demanded that Nazi party carry out its socialist

agenda, and that they take over the army.

• Hitler cannot annoy businessmen or army, so the SS murders approx.

400 including leader Röhm, along with a number of Hitler's other

opponents.

“They salute with both hands now!” David Low, Evening Standard 1933

Authority

• Death of Hindenburg, August 1934

• Hitler combines post of President and Chancellor

• Referendum is run to gain people’s acceptance

Furthermore…26th April 1933 – Local Government & Police reorganised &

the Gestapo is created. 2nd May 1933 Trades Union are banned. 14th July

1933 Political parties are banned.

Conflict and tension: the inter-war years, 1918–1939 This wider world depth study

enables students to understand the complex and diverse interests of different

individuals and states including the Great Powers. It looks at concepts such as national

self-determination, ideas of internationalism and the challenges of revising the peace

settlement. It focuses on the causes of the Second World War and seeks to show how

and why conflict occurred and why it proved difficult to resolve the issues which caused

it. This study also considers the role of key individuals and groups in shaping change, as

well as how they were affected by and influenced international relations.

Part one: Peacemaking • The armistice: aims of the peacemakers; Wilson and the

Fourteen Points; Clemenceau and Lloyd George; the extent to which they achieved their

aims. • The Versailles Settlement: Diktat; territorial changes; military restrictions; war

guilt and reparations. • Impact of the treaty and wider settlement: reactions of the

Allies; German objections; strengths and weaknesses of the settlement, including the

problems faced by new states.

Part two: The League of Nations and international peace • The League of Nations: its

formation and covenant; organisation; membership and how it changed; the powers of

the League; the work of the League's agencies; the contribution of the League to peace

in the 1920s, including the successes and failures of the League, such as the Aaland

Islands, Upper Silesia, Vilna, Corfu and Bulgaria. • Diplomacy outside the League:

Locarno treaties and the Kellogg-Briand Pact. • The collapse of the League: the effects of

the Depression; the Manchurian and Abyssinian crises and their consequences; the

failure of the League to avert war in 1939.

Part three: The origins and outbreak of the Second World War • The development of

tension: Hitler's aims and Allied reactions; the Dollfuss Affair; the Saar; German

rearmament, including conscription; the Stresa Front; Anglo-German Naval Agreement.

• Escalation of tension: remilitarisation of the Rhineland; Mussolini, the Axis and the

AntiComintern Pact; Anschluss; reasons for and against the policy of appeasement; the

Sudeten Crisis and Munich; the ending of appeasement. • The outbreak of war: the

occupation of Czechoslovakia; the role of the USSR and the Nazi Soviet Pact; the invasion

of Poland and outbreak of war, September 1939; responsibility for the outbreak of war,

including that of key individuals: Hitler, Stalin and Chamberlain.

How does propaganda work ?

Are you persuaded? HOW DOES PROPAGANDA WORK? I want to belong. these people know best. They are young and

handsome. We can have fun too.

THE LEAGUE OF GERMAN GIRLS

The girls undertook some of the same activities as the boys. These

included camping and sports.

Instead of the military aspect however, girls were taught to look after

their health and to prepare themselves for motherhood.

A typical activity for the girls was to take the infants of larger families for

an airing in the park while their parents were at work.

Women in Nazi Germany

Women were not expected to work in Nazi Germany.

In Weimar Germany there had been 100,000 female teachers, 3000

female doctors and 13,000 female musicians.

Within months of Hitler coming to power, many female doctors and civil

servants were sacked. This was followed by female teachers and

lawyers.

By the start of the Second World War, very few German women were in

full-time work.

As housewives and mothers, women’s lives were controlled

Women were not expected to wear make-up or trousers.

The dyeing of hair was not allowed nor were perms.

Only flat shoes were expected to be worn.

Women were discouraged from slimming as this was considered

bad for child birth.

Women were encouraged to have a well-built figure as slim

women, so it was taught, would have problems in pregnancy.

Mother of the year!

YOUTH AND EDUCATION

THE NAZIS AND GERMAN YOUTH

The control of German youth, especially the male youth, was important to the Nazis for

a combination of reasons. The Nazis understood that the German youth was the key to

the continuation of the Nazi state and believed that if they could indoctrinate the

German youth with their ideology, they would be able to create a ‘Nazi generation’

which accepted Nazi ideals and values without question. At the same time, Hitler

anticipated that Germany would be involved in wars of conquest for several years and

he wanted German boys to grow up in a militaristic environment so as to ensure that the

German military had a constant supply of trained and disciplined personnel.

NAZI YOUTH MOVEMENTS

The HJ was formally established by the Nazi Party in 1926 but it remained a relatively

small organisation until 1933 when its membership rapidly expanded to 2.3 million in

the wake of Hitler’s rise to power. In 1936, the Nazis made membership of the HJ

compulsory for all males aged between 10 and 18. The HJ was a paramilitary

organisation and emphasis at meetings and in weekend camps was on fitness and the

development of martial skills. Members were made to hike, participate in military style

manoeuvres and were taught how to shoot. The BDM was formed in 1930 as a female

subdivision of the HJ. The BDM was intended to prepare young German females for the

role which the Nazis wished women to occupy within the Nazi state and provided

training in domestic skills and readiness for motherhood. In 1939, membership of the

BDM became compulsory for all females aged between 14 and 18.

EDUCATION IN NAZI GERMANY

The Nazis realised that controlling the nature of education received by children was vital

to their attempts to indoctrinate German youth. In 1934, Nazi Party member Bernhard

Rust was appointed as Minister of Science and Education. Rust dismissed teachers who

the Nazis considered ‘undesirable’ and set about revising the national curriculum of

state secondary schools so that it incorporated elements of Nazi ideology, including Nazi

beliefs on the natural superiority of the Germanic people. Rust also supervised the

production of a range of text books for use in secondary schools; these books were little

more than compilations of Nazi propaganda. The Nazis established several ‘Adolf Hitler

Schools’ throughout Germany. These schools accepted 12 year old boys who had been

identified as potential future Nazi Party leaders and provided them with six years of

intensive leadership training.

HOW SUCCESSFUL WERE NAZI ATTEMPTS TO INDOCTRINATE GERMAN YOUTH?

INCREASE IN PREJUDICE TOWARD GERMAN JEWS SUCCESS There is substantial

documentary evidence to suggest that from as early as 1934, German Jews experienced

an increase in the prejudice directed toward them from non-Jewish German youth.

Much of this prejudice was directed at German Jewish school children; systematic

bullying of Jewish children caused many Jewish parents to withdraw their children from

state schools well before the Nazis banned German Jewish children attending state

schools in 1938.

THE SS and the HOLOCAUST SUCCESS By the time the Nazis occupied Poland in 1939 and

began the genocide of European Jewry, many of the men and junior officers of the SS

had practically grown up under the Nazi regime and hence been indoctrinated with Nazi

ideology for several years. Several historians have suggested that the SS were only able

to carry out the atrocities of the Holocaust because the moral sense of many of their

members had been corrupted by Nazi indoctrination.

YOUTH AND RESISTANCE UNSUCCESSFUL German youth was the source of the majority

of the active resistance offered to the Nazi regime within Germany. Members of the

Edelweiss Pirates, the Swing Kids and the White Rose Group had all experienced a Nazi

education and in many cases had been members of Nazi youth groups, yet all firmly

rejected the Nazi regime and its ideology.

HITLER’S WORDS AND DEEDS

1 He who is not bodily and mentally sound must not be allowed to have children. All they will do is pass bad genes into their children. We must get rid of these people.

2 Tramps, beggars and alcoholics were sent to prisons or sterilized. Hitler believed these people offered nothing to Germany.

3 A programme was started to kill disabled children. Parents were told their child was going to a ‘rest home’ then later killed. This was called T-4*.

4 This is the first country that people are being taught that each race must be pure and not mix with other races.

5 All the best inventions in the world have been created by the Aryan race. The Aryan race will prove to be the greatest at the Olympics.

6 Very religious people were put in prison. Hitler wanted people to think he was a God.

7 By 1939 many anti-Jewish laws had been introduced, for example Jews couldn’t marry non-Jews, many were sacked from jobs and could not be out their home between 8pm and 6am.

8 The symbol of all evil is the Jew. The Jew is the Devil living on Earth.

Jewish shops had signs telling people not to shop there. In 1938 the Nazis told people to go around and smash up Jewish shops. This was called Kristallnacht (Crystal Night) The night of broken glass.

How to identify a Jew . This story was given to school children in Nazi Germany

• Answer the questions below once you have read the story

• What do Jews apparently look like?

• How does the ‘best scholar’ (best pupil) describe Jews?

• Who else is the story racist about?

• Describe the effect this story would have on a young child? What will they think about Jewish people?

Why did the Nazis hate the Jews?

• Jews in Germany often had money and were concentrated in certain professions –

many Germans were jealous of this

• Jews tended to marry Jews – they were accused of ‘not fitting in’

• Jews had been hated for years – in the 14th century Jews were blamed for the plague, 100,000 were killed in Germany

• Before World War I the German Kaiser said that the Jews were the ‘curse of my country’

• In short, The Nazis message was not new, Jews had been hated by some in Germany for a long time

*ACTION T4

The most radical element of Nazi eugenics was Action T4, an involuntary euthanasia programme which began in August 1939. The first targets of Action T4 were children with severe physical and mental disabilities. Between August 1939 and 1941, over 5000 children were removed from state hospitals and taken to ‘paediatric clinics’ where they were killed, usually by lethal injection. In October 1939, Action T4 was extended to disabled adults kept within state care facilities. By 1940, the number of adults being eliminated under the auspices of Action T4 was so high that ‘special treatment’ centres were constructed throughout Germany and each was equipped with a gas chamber. Action T4 was ended in August 1941 after it was exposed and condemned by the Catholic Bishop of Münster, Clemens von Galen.

The ‘Final Solution’

Death Camps

In a series of meetings between 1941-2 leading Nazis met and decided the ‘Jewish

problem’ needed to be solved. They decided that every Jew in Europe should be killed,

around 11 million people.

Meetings chaired by Reinhard Heydrich. His nick-name

was the ‘Blond Butcher’.

Jews were taken from their homes and forced to live in concentration camps.

Killing took place by shooting them. Later this changed as Nazis decided that shooting

was ‘too stressful’ for the Nazi soldiers.

At first the Nazis put Jews into a small room and pumped carbon dioxide from lorry

exhausts into the room. Later gas chambers were developed. Jews were told they were

going for a shower and then gassed.

This was called the Holocaust: the extermination of the Jews

Some people who were not killed in the gas chambers were used for medical

experiments, for example testing the human body to see at what low temperature the

body dies or raising the volume and seeing at what volume the ear drums burst. The

overall aim was to help the German army in combat situations.

One doctor called Joseph Mengele enjoyed testing on

twins who he found ‘interesting’. After the war he

escaped and lived in South America until 1979.

The government say that we must learn about the Holocaust. It is a legal requirement.

Write a paragraph explaining why you think the government requires this. Why is what

happened so important for us to know?

Fun questions (?) 1918 -1923

1. When was the armistice signed? What was the armistice?

2. When did the Spartacists rebel?

3. Why did the Spartacists rebel?

4. What was the purpose of the Treaty of Versailles?

5. Which part of the treaty did Germany hate the most?

6. Who was involved in the Kapp Putsch?

7. Why did the Kapp Putsch take place in March 1920?

8. What caused the Ruhr Crisis?

9. What were the key events of it?

10. What were the consequences of it?

11. What was hyperinflation? How did it cause the government to be weak?

12. How did hyperinflation come to an end?

13. What were the causes of the Munich Putsch?

14. What were the main events?

15. What were the consequences of the Munich Putsch?

Fun Questions 1924-1933

1. How did things improve economically during the Golden Years?

2. How did things improve politically during the Golden Years?

3. How did things improve internationally during the Golden Years?

4. How did things improve culturally during the Golden Years?

5. What problems were still underlying in each one of these area:

a. Economically?

b. Politically?

c. Internationally?

d. Culturally?

6. What happened in October 1929?What were the effects of it?

7. How did it help Hitler become Chancellor?

8. When did Hitler become Chancellor

9. How did the Treaty of Versailles help Hitler to become Chancellor. How did the constitution help

Hitler to become Chancellor?

10. How did the Nazi policies help Hitler to become Chancellor?

11. How did propaganda help Hitler to become Chancellor?

12. What do you think the most important reason for Hitler becoming Chancellor?

Fun Questions 1933-1934

1. Was Hitler in a secure position when he became Chancellor? Why/why not

2. What was the first thing Hitler did when he became Chancellor? Why?

3. What happened on the 27th February 1933?

4. What was the result of this?

5. Why was this event important?

6. What was the Enabling Act and why did Hitler need it passed?

7. What happened on the 30th June 1934?

8. Why did this happen?

9. What was the result of it?

10. Why was this event important?

11. What happened on 2nd August 1934?

12. Why was this important?

13. What happened immediately after?

14. Why was this important?

15. What was the result of all these events?

Fun Questions: Policies

1. What were the aims of Nazi policies? 2. What groups were there for boys to join?

3. What did boy groups do?

4. What groups were there for girls to join?

5. What did girl groups do?

6. How did education change under the Nazis?

7. Why were youth really important to the Nazis?

8. What were policies for women?

9. Why were women really important to the Nazis?

10. How did the Nazis tackle the high unemployment caused by the Great Depression? 11. What was Strength Through Joy?

12. How did youth oppose the Nazis?

13. How did the church oppose the Nazis?

14. How did the military oppose the Nazis?

15. Who were the ‘undesirables’?

16. How did the Nazis deal with all undesirables? (be really specific here, they were all dealt with

differently)

COPY 10 Downing Street, Whitehall, S.W.1.

PRIVATE 13 July, 1944

My dear Henry,

You wrote to me on 1 July about the German plans for the massacre of the Hungarian Jews.

I have forwarded your letter to the Foreign Secretary and fear that I can add nothing to the

statement he made in the House on 5 July in replying to Silverman’s Question.

There is no doubt in my mind that we are in the presence of one of the greatest and most

horrible crimes ever committed. It has been one by scientific machinery by nominally

civilized men in the name of a great state and one of the leading races of Europe. I need not

assure you that the situation has received and will receive the most earnest consideration

from my colleagues and myself but, as the Foreign Secretary said, the principal hope of

terminating it must remain the speedy victory of the Allied Nations.

Yours sincerely,

(sd) WINSTON S. CHURCHILL

Statement made voluntarily at Gaol by Rudolf HOESS former commandant of Auschwitz

Concentration Camp on 16th day of March 1946

I personally arranged on orders received from Himmler in May 1941 the gassing of two

million persons between June/July 1941 and the end of 1943 during which time I was

commandant of Auschwitz.

Signed

Rudolf Hoess

[unknown]

Fr. Cdt. R. Auschwitz-Birkenau

Witnessed This 16th day of March 1946 at (-) Gaol, Girmany

Countersigned : - J. [unknown]

STATEMENT By Dr. Bruno TESCH

Dr. Bruno TESCH, having been duly sworn, states:-

My name is Dr. Bruno TESCH, born on 14th August 1890, in Berlin, and living at HAMBURG-

BLANKENESE, Wittspark 14.

In 1924 I founded, together with Mr. STABENOW, the firm of TESCH & STABENOW, which,

since 1927, has been under the direction of the Deutsche Gasellschaft für

Schaedlingsbekaempfung. Our firm had the sole right to supply Cyan-Gas in the form of

Zyklon B to the country east of the ELBE. On the foundation of the firm I held thirty-three

and a third percent of the shares; in 1927, some time before the alleged suicide of my

colleague, STABENOW, I acquired another eleven and two-thirds percent, so that my share

was forty-five percent. In 1942 I acquired the remaining fifty-five percent and was therefore

sole proprietor of the firm.

In 1933 I joined the NSDAP and in the same year became a supporting member of the SS.

Since 1927 Mr WEINBACHER was the Prokurist of the firm. All incoming orders went through

his hands, and in my absence, approximately two hundred days a year, he took over the

managament [sic] of the firm. Dr. Joachimhans DROSIHN was the biological adviser of the

firm. He, too, was travelling most of the time. Mr. ZAUN was the head book-keeper. Mr.

SEHM was a book-keeper. He had no reason to wish me ill; on the contrary he should be

thankful as I once helped him in a situation.

I kept no “black book” in which I recorded the misdeeds of my employees. Neither did I

keep a sealed envelope about Dr. DROSIHN.

I wrote very exact travel reports about my journeys, which on my return I divided evenly

over my secretaries for typing. My private secretary was Miss RATOKE; but also Mrs.

UENZELMANN and Miss BIAGINI and the others wrote my reports.

I was never told in BERLIN at a conference, or by any other source, that Zyklon B gas should

be used against human beings. I mentioned this fact in none of my travel reports and I have

never spread no[r] heard such a rumour in my office.

Except Zyklon gas, my firm also supplied circulation plant for gas chambers of 10 cbm size.

Chambers of the capacity of more than 50 cbm are not known to me, and therefore I did not

know that the SS was our best customer. I also know nothing of the huge deliveries which

we made to AUSCHWITZ in the years 1942-43. Since 1943 all orders of state customers went

through the Haupt-sanitaetspark, BERLIN. Our firm never supplied the Wirtschafts-

Verwaltungs Hauptaert (WVHA) either directly or indirectly. My accoutns books were

checked by Dr. PLINKER and I only know the yearly and monthly general balance.

Summary of examination of: Charles Sigismund BENDEL Occupation: Doctor

Address: 2 Rue Meilhao, PARIS.

Daly sworn,states:-

I am 30 years of age, of Roumanian nationality, born at PIATRA.

My permanent home address is as above and I am at present living there.

I first came to AUSSCHWITZ on 10th. December 1943 and remained until 18th. January 1945.

At Camp TZIGANE I was employed as a doctor. That lasted 3 months. From June 1944 until

the evacuation I was at the crematorium in BIRKENAW.

The crematorium for AUSSCHWITZ is actually at BIRKENAW and there my job was to look

after medically the 900 men who worked at the crematorium. These 900 men were not

allowed any contact with other prisoners.

There were two gas chambers, underground, roughly 10 metres long, 5 metres wide and 1

1/2 metres high, each one. These two gas chambers supplied corpses to crematorium 1 and

2.

For crematoriums 3 and 4 there were two other gas chambers measuring each one 6 metres

long and 3 metres wide and 1 1/2 metres high.

In the case of the gas chambers for crematoriums 1 and 2 the gas was poured in through the

roof. In the case of the gas for crematoriums 3 and 4 the gas was put in through small

windows in the wall.

I do not know who constructed the gas chambers, but I know they were built in 1942. They

were made of reinforced concrete and were very strong. The hermetic doors were very

strongly made of wood.

I want to say now that I was at BIRKENAW from 27th. February 1944 until 18th January 1945.

At BIRKENAW the disinfecting of clothes was done by boiling them; there was no

disinfestation by gas. I know that disinfecting of clothes at AUSCHWITZ itself was done by

use of a gas chambers which was also used for killing people.

At BIRKENAW the gas used for killing people was prussic acid, also called ZYKLON B.

The quantities of gas ZYKLON B used were as follows. For the two large gas chambers

attached to crematoriums 1 and 2 it required two tins for each chamber. For the smaller gas

chambers attached to crematoriums 3 and 4 it required one tin for each chamber. The tins

were cylindrical with a diameter of 20-30 centimetres and about 50 centimetres tall. To kill a

chamber full of people required 3-5 minutes.

The gas used to be delivered to the crematoriums by an ambulance of the Red Cross. It used

to arrive about 5 minutes after a transport of prisoners had arrived for extermination at the

crematorium. I do not know where it was stored.

In the two large gas chambers it was usual to put in each one 1,000 people, and the two

small ones 500 people each.

The tins of gas were always brought to BIRKENAW from AUSCHWITZ.

The impact of the Second World War on Germany

At the start

World War Two took place between 1939 and 1945. From 1939-1942 Germany was not that badly affected by the war. Morale was high, Germany had achieved some victories and no fighting had taken place in Germany. The standard of living was still high and Hitler limited rationing by taking food from occupied countries. Working conditions changed little. More women worked in German war industries but only gradually since this went against Nazi ideas about women’s role in the home. Most German factories still worked day shifts only.

During the war

However, this all changed from 1942. Morale fell as the German attack on Russia stalled in 1942. The standard of living fell and in May 1942 food shortages reduced the weekly bread and meat ration. But a ration book did not guarantee that people would get food. Some food disappeared into the ‘black market’ and was too expensive for many people to buy. There were bomber attacks on German cities and in one attack on Hamburg in July 1943, 50,000 German civilians died in one week. Also, in 1943 all women between the ages of 17 and 45 had to register for work.

Major-General Kehrl described the effects of the bombing in Hamburg

“Children were torn away from their parents’ hands by the force of the hurricane and whirled into the fire. People…fell down, overcome by the devouring heat, and died in an instant. People trying to flee had to make their over the dead and dying.”

Civilians had to cut back on heating, work longer hours and recycle their rubbish. Goebbels increased censorship and he tried to get people to support the war by involving them in it by asking them to make sacrifices. Hitler concentrated on the details of the war and so the German people saw and heard less of Hitler. In 1942 the ‘Final Solution’ began.

In 1942 all efforts were put into winning the war. All entertainment was closed apart from cinemas as Goebbels still wanted people to watch propaganda films. People’s lives got worse as the war went on. Civilians had to stop using heating, work longer hours and recycle their rubbish.

They donated 1.5 million fur coats to help clothe the German army in Russia. Hitler became less visible as he disappeared into bunkers and hideouts to

stop any attempts to kill him.

From 1942 Albert Speer was in charge of Germany’s war economy and all effort was focused on the weapons industries. More women were sent to work and country areas had to take evacuees from the cities.

As the war continued to go badly for Germany, support for the Nazis fell. People stayed away from Nazi rallies and refused to give the ‘Heil Hitler’ salute. Himmler even contacted the allies to ask about possible peace terms. Hitler blamed the German people for not being strong enough sacrificing enough for a reason why they lost the war. As the Allies bombed more German cities he claimed that it was their own fault.

Can you explain how and why the mood of the German people changed over the war?

Write a definition in your own words to the key words.

Source Question:

1. Study at sources A and B, How useful are they in telling us about the tactics used by the allies against Nazi Germany?

2. Study the maps in source C. Describe how these support the idea that Germans would turn against the Nazis as the war continued?

War Economy

Rationing

Civilian:

Source A is useful as it shows that _______________________________________________________________________________________

._______________________________________________________________________________________

Source B is useful because __________________________________________________________________

However the sources aren't totally useful as ___________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________________

Source A:

The German people are close to breaking. Their support for the Nazis is at an all time low and they want to end the war. The leaflets that we are dropping are showing that the people have had enough. Hitler is making them suffer and if we continue to drop bombs and target cities with information about German losses then they will surrender soon.

From a secret report from the British government in 1944 but then published after the war.

Source B:

The city of Dresden in Germany after the allies had destroyed it through bombs. This was mainly a civilian area with few factories that were making weapons

Source C

Two maps of Europe, i) in 1941 and ii) in 1944. The maps show the territorial gains and losses of Nazi Germany during the war.