Nazism and The Rise of Hitler

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• Questions
• Summary

1. Germany fought the First World War (1914–1918) along with the Austrian empire and against the Allies (England, France and Russia).
2. Germany initially made gains by occupying France and Belgium. However, the Allies won defeating Germany and the Central Powers in 1918.
3. A National Assembly met at Weimer and established a democratic constitution with a federal structure.
4. The Republic, however, was not received well by its own people largely because of the terms it was forced to accept after Germany’s defeat at the end of the First World War.
5. Many Germans held the new Weimer Republic responsible for not only the defeat in the war but the disgrace at Versailles.

1. The birth of the Weimer Republic coincided with the uprising of the Spartacist League on the pattern of the Bolshevik Revolution in Russia. The Sparta cists founded the Communist Party of Germany.
2. Political radicalisation was heightened by the economic crisis of 1923. As Germany refused to pay the war reparations, France occupied its leading industrial area, Ruhr.
3. Germany retaliated with printing paper currency recklessly. The value of the mark collapsed. Prices of goods soared. There was hyperinflation.

1. The war had a devastating impact on the entire continent both psychologically and financially.
2. From being a creditor, Europe became a debtor. The supporters of the Weimer Republic were criticised and became easy targets of attack in the conservative nationalist circles.
3. Soldiers came to be placed above civilians. Aggressive war propaganda and national honour became important.

1. 1924–1928 saw some stability, yet it was built on sand. Germany was totally dependent on short-term loans, largely from the USA.
2. This support was withdrawn with the crash in 1929 of the Wall Street Exchange.
3. The German economy was hit badly. The middle class and working population were filled with the fear of Proletarianisation.
4. The Weimer Republic had some inherent defects:
   1. Proportional Representation
   2. Article 48 which gave the President the powers to impose emergency, suspend civil rights and rule by decree.