The Depression and the Nazis

How did the Depression Help the Nazis?
After reading pages 191-194, do you agree with Goebbels' view that people rallied to support Hitler for positive reasons - or do you think that Gordon Craig (bottom, pg. 193"negative cohesion") was right that people supported the Nazis out of fear and disillusionment?
Work through questions 1 - 3 to help you make up your mind.
1. Look carefully at Sources 3-7 and 9. For each source, write two sentences explaning whether you think it is evidence that:
Supports the view of Goebbels
Supports the view of Craig
Could be used to support either interpretation

Source 3: Source 3 supports the views of Goebbels. It supports Goebbels because it shows how fasdt the Nazis got into power.

Source 4:Source 4 supports the views of Goebbels. It supports Goebbels because its telling you about how the Nazi storm troopers won her over.

Source 5: Source 5 supports Goebbels. It supports Goebbels because it is a poster that was created by the Nazis and is was against Versailles.

Source 6: Source 6 supports the views of Goebbels. It supports Goebbels because it is a pictire of a Nazi party rally inh Frankfurt.

Source 7: Source 7 supports the views of craig. It supports craig  because its a Nazi election poster that shows the peoplke doing the opposite of what it says they are doing

Source 9: Source 9 suppports the views of Goebbels. It supports Goebbles because it is pro Nazi.

2. Now work through the text and other sources on pages 191-94. Make a list of examples and evidence that seem to support either viewpoint.

Craig: Source 10, the eyewitness didnt much like Hitler.
negitive cohesion: they hate the same thing

3. Decide how far you agree with each of the following three statements and give them a score on a scale of 1-5. And then, write a short paragraph explaining your score for each statement.
a. Very few people fully supported the Nazis (Score = 2.5    ) Explanation: Half the people voted for Nazis because they wanted change, not because they supported them. It had to do with negitive cohesion. because people agreed with what he was againts they thoughgt Nazis were ok.




b. The Key factor was the economic depression. Without it, the Nazis would have remained a minority fringe party. (Score = 5    ) Explanation: The people wanted change. Because they weren't happy, having to do with the depression, they neededc something new. if the depression hadnt happened and the people were happy they wouldnt have wanted the change.




c. The politicians of the Weimar Republic were mainly responsible for the rise of the Nazis
(Score =  2.5   ) Explanation: alot of different things had to happen at the same time to contribute to the rize of the Natzi party. this included America wanting their loans back because their economy was failing. the social democratic party made a mistake thinking that Germany would fall for these nfalse accusations and promises.

The Birth of the Weimar Republic

1. Why was it called the Weimar Republic and not the Berlin Republic?

Because the new government met in the small town of Weimar

2. What new rights did Friedrich Ebert promise the German people?

freedom of speech, press, and religion

3. Hey, a democracy. Sounds great! Why was this a shock to the Germany peoples' systems?

it was a big change from Germans autocratic system

4. What positions did the opposition on the right hold that restricted Friedrich Ebert's new government?

All the Kaisers former advisers remained in their positions in army, judiciary, civil service and industry

5. What was the name of "powerful myth" that developed and what "evidence" was there to support the myth?

That men such as Ebert stabbed Germany in the back and caused the war because he mad an agreement with the army to put down the rebellion

6. Study Source 3: What position was Ebert elected to in Jan. 1919? Who elected him?

president: ELECTED BY THE PEOPLE! :D

7. Study Source 3: How would a Chancellor gain power in the Weimar Republic? (Why you need to know this: By 1933 Hitler will have this job.)
because he was in charge of day by day goovernment

Impact of WWI on Germany

Make a list of the challenges facing Friedrich Ebert when he became the leader of Germany following the abdication of Kaiser Wilhelm II on Nov. 9, 1918.

Organize the challenges as follows:

Political Challenges

Became an unstable democratic republic
despised new democratic leaders


Social Challenges

deepend divisions in german society

women worked in factories


Economic Challenges


virtually bankrupt
Economic chaos

Germans React Angrily to the Treaty

Under each of the following six points briefly explain why Germany reacted so angrily to the Treaty of Versailles.

1. Germans were no aware of the situation in 1919.

• They thought that the German government had simply agreed to cease fire and that Germany should have been at the Paris Peace Conference
• Angry that the government was not represented at the talks and that they were forced to accept a harsh treaty.

2. War guilt and reparations

• Germans felt that the blame should be shared
• They feared the reparations would cripple them

3. Disarmament

• An army of 100,000 was small for Germany's size plus the army was a symbol of German pride
• None of the allies were disarmed to the extent that Germany was

4. German territories

• Germany lost alot of territory
• It was a major blow to German pride and it's economy
• Lost important industrial areas
• Britain and France was increasing their empires

5. Fourteen Points and League

• Treatment of Germany was not keeping up with Wilson's 14 points
• Divided by the terms forbidding Anschlus with Austria or hived off into new countries such as Czechoslovakia to be ruled by non Germans
• Felt insulted

6. Double Standards?

• Many people felt that the Germans were themselves operating a double standard
• Their call for fairer treatment did not square with the way that they treated Russia in the Treaty of of Brest-Litovsk in 1918- Versailes was much less harsh than Brest-Litovsk
• Germany's economic problems were partially self inflicted
• Other states had raised taxes to pay for war- Kaiser's government planned to pay war debts by extracting reparations from defeated states

Germany is "Punished" by the Big Three at Versailles

1.       Using information and sources on pages 14 - 17, summarize the aims of the three leaders at the Paris Peace Conference.
Georges Clemenceau (France)
Attitude towards Germany:
Powerful and threatening, Did not like Germany

Main Aim:
To cripple Germany, demanded a treaty to weaken Germany as much as possible.

How he felt about the treaty
Felt strongly about the treaty, he demanded it
Woodrow Wilson (United States)
Attitude towards Germany:
didn’t like Germany, wanted to punish Germany but didn’t want the treaty to be too harsh


Main Aim:
He wanted to strengthen Democracy in Germany so the people wouldn’t let the leaders start another war

How he felt about the treaty
He wanted it but he didn’t want it too harsh so that Germany wouldn’t want revenge
David Lloyd George (Great Britain)
Attitude towards Germany:
He wanted to make amends with Germany



Main Aim:
to make amends with Germany  and for Germany to lose its navy and colonies

How he felt about the treaty:
he wanted it but again he didn’t want it to be too harsh so Germany wouldn’t seek revengeMain Terms of the Treaty of Versailles against Germany

2. Read pages 18 - 19. Summarize the main terms of the Treaty of Versailles:
War Guilt:
Germans had to accept the blame for starting the war

Reparations:
Germany had to pay 6,600 million for war damages

German Territories and Colonies:
Germany’s over sea territory was taken away, colonies became mandates controlled by the League of Nations

Germany's Armed Forces:
limited to 100,000 men

2.       Soldiers had to be volunteers

3.       No armored vehicles, submarines, or aircrafts

4.       Only six battleships allowed

5.       No German troops allowed in Rhineland

League of Nations:set up as an international police force, Germany wasn’t allowed in until it proved it was a peace-loving country

The German Revolution

1. Using the documents in Chapter 1 as evidence, list the ways in which conditions in Germany worsened during the war.
protests broke out
famish
crops failed


2. Give two reasons why the war caused such bad conditions for German civilians.
they were fed up with war, protests
3. After reading Chapter 2, give two reasons why Kaiser Wilhelm abdicated on November 10, 1918.
Two reasons he abdicated were the mutiny and the lack of the support of his generals.
4. Using the information you have read in this chapter, give evidence to support the statement that there was "revolution all over Germany."
The mutiny started on a ship and spread inland

5. Study the information about the German Socialists in Chapter 2, page 5. What did the three Socialist groups have in common?
To improve workers' conditions and to give democratic rights to all Germans
6. In what ways were the Socialist groups different.
One group wanted to support the government the other two wanted to overthrow the government.

7. After reading Chapter 3 make a time chart of the events of the German Revolution from Nov. 10, 1918 to Jan. 15, 1919. You should be able to find six events.

1. Ebert's Socialist government
2. The Spartacist revolt
3. The Free Corps
4. new laws
5. weirmer republic
6. sailors revolt

8. At what time would you say the Communists had their best chance of seizing power? Explain your answer.

When the sparticists began their reveloution because they were a communist group.

Contenders & Issues

1) the key issues were, leadership, the NEP, power, and policies
2) Alexei Rykov would b most hindered by the leadaership issue
3) it would effect jobs, food supply and and how the problem would be dealt with
4)I think that Permanent Revolution would most appeal to party members after so many years of conflict. It would help Trotsky the most