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  Germany 1929-1945  [Revision Cascade]

This Cascade will give you points and ideas for writing an answer about any of the topics in the list.  And, when it comes to revision, you can use it to test your memory of the points and ideas you might want to raise in the exam.

Click on the yellow arrows to reveal the paragraph points, and again to reveal ideas for developing the point.

I have given you five points for every topic but, in practical terms for the exam, you will probably get away with remembering three or four.
  • open section 1.   Nazi reorganisation 1924–28
    • open section a. Merged with other right-wing parties
      • Hitler took over or merged with other Nationalist and right-wing groups, turning the Nazis into a national organisation; in 1925, the Nazi Party had 27,000 members; in 1928 it had 100,000
    • open section b. Rich supporters in Germany and America
      • Hitler secured the help of rich backers in both Germany and America, by appealing to their fear of communism.
    • open section c. Hitler Youth
      • Hitler set up the Hitler Youth (HJ) and BDM (Bund Deutscher Madel or League of German Girls), which gave young people fun, but taught them to love Hitler.
    • open section d. Goebbels organised Nazi propaganda
      • Hitler put Josef Goebbels in charge of propaganda (e.g. posters and radio); the Nazis controlled the Volkischer Beobachter and Der Sturmer (which published scandals with a Nazi spin). .
    • open section e. A modern organisation
      • Hitler made the Nazis appear a really modern organisation (e.g. he campaigned by plane).
  • open section 2.   Growth in Nazi support, 1929–32
    • open section a. 1930s Depression
      • Alienated people and created angry young men who were prepared to adopt fascist ideas
    • open section b. Financial backing
      • From financiers and industrialists such as Schacht and Krupp (and the American Ford) who wanted weak trade unions and feared communism
    • open section c. Goebbels organised Nazi propaganda
      • Josef Goebbels was in charge of propaganda (e.g. posters, radio, Nuremberg rallies); the Nazis controlled the Volkischer Beobachter and Der Sturmer (which published scandals with a Nazi spin)
    • open section d. Sturmabteilung
      • Attacks on other parties by the 60,000 SA not only frightened the Nazis’ opponents, but made voters want strong government and law and order .
    • open section e. Hitler’s personal qualities
      • Hitler was a war-hero, well known because of Mein Kampf and the Munich Putsch, a brilliant speaker and a good organiser, motivated by driven self-belief; he travelled by plane (seemed modern)
  • open section 3.   Depression: impact on Germany
    • open section a. Unemployment created anger
      • The Crash wrecked the economy – unemployment grew (from 2 million in 1928 to 6 million in 1932); many people blamed the government
    • open section b. Bruning’s government, 1930–1932
      • Bruning’s government cut social benefits and public workers’ pay – there was social hardship and the government became unpopular
    • open section c. Growth of Communism
      • Workers turned to Socialism – the number of Communists in the Reichstag grew (from 54 in 1928 to 101 in November 1932); but this frightened the middle class
    • open section d. Hindenburg ruled by Article 48
      • Hindenburg was forced to rule by decree (Article 48) – a sign of the political chaos .
    • open section e. Growth of the Nazi Party
      • The number of Nazi seats in the Reichstag rose (from 12 in 1928 to 230 in July 1932); the number of SA grew to 60,000
  • open section4.   Failure to deal with the Depression
    • open section a. Bruning
      • Bruning’s government (1930–1932) cut social benefits and public workers’ pay – there was social hardship and the government became unpopular
    • open section b. Papen
      • Papen's government (Jun-Nov 1932) was called the 'cabinet of barons'; after riots and marshal law, he was defeated in a vote of confidence and had to resign
    • open section c. Schleicher
      • Schleicher (Nov 1932) set up a huge public works programme, but he was hated by his Cabinet and unable to form a 'cross-front' of support in the Reichstag; in Jan 1933 he resigned
    • open section d. Hindenburg
      • Hindenburg was forced to rule by decree (Article 48) – a sign of the political chaos .
    • open section e. Hindenburg and Papen
      • Hindenburg and Papen foolishly invited Hitler to join the coalition government in 1933
  • open section5.   Hitler became Chancellor: causes
    • open section a. 1930s Depression
      • Alienated people and created angry young men who were prepared to adopt fascist ideas
    • open section b. Weaknesses of the Weimar government
      • The historian AJP Taylor blamed the Weimar politicians – weak, selfish and uncommitted to democracy – more than anything else for the rise of Hitler
    • open section c. Strong party organisation
      • Gave Hitler the finance and the platform for his bid for power
    • open section d. The elections of 1930 and 1932
      • Did not give the Nazis a majority, but made them the largest party .
    • open section e. Hindenburg and Papen
      • Hindenburg and Papen foolishly invited Hitler to join the coalition government in 1933
  • open section 6.   Hitler became Chancellor: events
    • open section a. Bruning’s government, 1930–1932
      • Bruning’s government cut social benefits and public workers’ pay – there was social hardship and the government became unpopular
    • open section b. Period of unstable government, 1932–33
      • Political disagreements over the crisis led to short, unstable, powerless governments (Bruning → Papen → Schleicher in 1932)
    • open section c. Nazi electoral success, Jul & Nov 1932
      • The number of Nazi seats in the Reichstag rose (from 12 in 1928 to 230 in July 1932), though it fell back slightly to 196 in November 1932
    • open section d. Papen’s offer to Hitler, 4 Jan 1933
      • On 4 January 1933, Franz von Papen offered Hitler the post of Vice Chancellor in a coalition government led by Papen; Hitler demanded to be Chancellor .
    • open section e. Hitler becomes Chancellor, 30 Jan 1933
      • On 30 January 1933, Papen and Hindenburg agreed: Papen became Vice Chancellor – Hindenburg and Papen thought they could ‘box in’ Hitler
  • open section 7.   The coalition government, 1933: facts
    • open section a. Papen became Vice Chancellor
      • Papen thought that through his allies in the Cabinet he would be the real power in the government – decisions were taken by a majority vote
    • open section b. Hugenberg became Economic Minister
      • Papen’s DNVP ally Alfred Hugenberg was Economic Minister AND Minister of Agriculture
    • open section c. The Cabinet was anti-Nazi
      • Of Hitler’s 10 Cabinet members, 6 had been in Papen’s ‘Cabinet of Barons’ (1932) and 2 more were from Papen’s allies the DNVP
    • open section d. Frick and Goering
      • The Nazis only had two of the ten Cabinet seats – Wilhelm Frick Minister of the Interior, and Hermann Goering, Speaker of the Reichstag .
    • open section e. Plans to ‘box in’ Hitler
      • Hindenburg and Papen thought by controlling the Cabinet they could ‘box in’ Hitler, whilst using his Nazi deputies to give them a majority in the Reichstag
  • open section 8.   Consolidating power: facts
    • open section a. Reichstag Fire, 27 Feb 1933
      • Hitler used this as an opportunity to take emergency powers and arrest his Communist opponents
    • open section b. General Election, 5 Mar 1933
      • Although only 44% voted Nazi, by arresting some deputies and terrorising others, Hitler was able to get a majority in the Reichstag
    • open section c. Enabling Act, 23 Mar 1933
      • The Enabling Act gave the Cabinet the right to make laws and overrule the Constitution
    • open section d. Elimination of opposition, 1933–34
      • A series of acts destroyed opposition – in the trade unions, other political parties and in the Nazi Party (‘Night of the Long Knives’) .
    • open section e. Death of Hindenburg, Aug 1934
      • Hindenburg died and Hitler declared himself Fuhrer; the army swore an oath of allegiance to him, and a plebiscite gave Hitler a 90% approval
  • open section 9.   The Reichstag Fire, 27 Feb 1933: facts
    • open section a. Van der Lubbe
      • A Dutch Communist was captured in the Reichstag with petrol, rags and matches – he was executed in 1934
    • open section b. Leipzig Trial, Dec 1933
      • Held in Germany, it found der Lubbe guilty, but found the Communists accused with him NOT guilty
    • open section c. Sefton Delmar
      • Delmar was a Daily Express journalist who happened to be with Hitler when he learned of the fire; he said Hitler was surprised, and immediately blamed the communists
    • open section d. Paris counter-trial, 1934
      • Hitler’s opponents claimed the Nazis started the fire; in Paris, Communists held a counter-trial which produced a (forged) confession from an SA leader, Karl Ernst .
    • open section e. Franz Halder
      • One of Hitler’s generals, at the Nuremberg trials after the war, claimed that in 1942 Goering had said he had started the fire; Goering denied this
  • open section10.   The Reichstag Fire: results
    • open section a. Reichstag Fire Decree
      • Abolished civil rights and allowed the Nazis to ban anti-Nazi leaflets
    • open section b. Communists arrested
      • Hitler arrested thousands of Communists and prevented them voting in the march 1933 election
    • open section c. Nazi propaganda of a Communist coup
      • Nazi propaganda terrified people that the Communists were about to take over, and of the need to vote Nazi in the March 1933 election
    • open section d. General Election, 5 Mar 1933
      • By creating fear of a Communist coup, the Nazis were able to get 44 % of the vote in the March election, which (with the support of the DNVP) gave Hitler a majority in the Reichstag .
    • open section e. People's Courts, Apr 1934
      • Hitler was furious with the Leipzig Trial – he introduced Volksgerichtshof ('People’s Courts’) with Nazi judges who gave the ‘right’ verdict
  • open section 11.   The Enabling Act, 23 Mar 1933: events
    • open section a. General Election, 5 Mar 1933
      • Although only 44% voted Nazi, the Nazis were supported by the DNVP, giving Hitler 340 votes – he needed a two-thirds majority (432)
    • open section b. Opponents arrested
      • Under the Reichstag Fire Decree, Hitler was able to arrest all the communist and some SDP deputies
    • open section c. Catholic Centre Party's support
      • Hitler got the support of the Catholic Centre Party (73 votes) by promising its leader, Ludwig Kaas, protection for the Catholic religion and schools
    • open section d. Intimidation by the SA
      • On the day of the vote, thousands of Nazi SA intimidated deputies as they entered the Chamber .
    • open section e. Passed 444 to 94
      • Only 94 (SDP) deputies voted against the abolition of democracy in Germany
  • open section 12.   The Enabling Act: effects
    • open section a. Hitler became legal dictator
      • The Act gave Hitler the right to make laws, break the constitution and ignore the President – it made him the legal dictator of Germany
    • open section b. The Reichstag lost power
      • The Reichstag rarely met again, except to listen to Hitler’s speeches at key moments (such as the outbreak of war)
    • open section c. German democracy was destroyed
      • The Weimar Republic, set up in 1919, came to end
    • open section d. German elections
      • Future elections (Nov 1933, 1936 and 1938) simply asked voters to approve a list of Nazi Party candidates .
    • open section e. Gleichschaltung
      • Gleichschaltung means ‘bringing into line’ – Hitler was able to use his powers to abolish all opposition, 1933-34
  • open section 13.   Nazi rule facts
    • open section a. 42 Gauleiters
      • Germany was divided into 42 Gaus, each with a Nazi Gauleiter with the power to make laws
    • open section b. Control of the police
      • The police were put under the control of Himmler
    • open section c. Blockleiters
      • Each street and block of flats had a Blockleiter who reported ‘grumblers’ to the police
    • open section d. People's Courts, Apr 1934
      • Volksgerichtshof (People’s Courts’) were set up with Nazi judges who gave the ‘right’ verdict .
    • open section e. Volksgemeinschaft
      • The Nazis believed in ‘national community’ and encouraged community, charity and obedience; informers enthusiastically reported troublemakers to the Gestapo
  • open section 14.   Eliminating opposition: events
    • open section a. Hitler set up the Gestapo, 26 Apr 1933
      • The Gestapo (State Secret Police) was formed under Heydrich; opposition groups like the Reichsbanner (SDP terrorists) were hunted down and destroyed
    • open section b. Trade unions were banned, 2 May 1933
      • Trade unions were given May day as a holiday … and banned; their offices were raided, their leaders arrested and their funds confiscated
    • open section c. Law against the Formation of Parties, 14 Jul 1933
      • All political parties except the Nazis were banned
    • open section d. Night of the Long Knives, 30 Jun 1934
      • Codeword ‘Hummingbird’ – Hitler ordered the SS to kill more than 400 SA men .
    • open section e. Hitler became Fuhrer, Aug 1934
      • Hindenburg died and Hitler declared himself Fuhrer; the army swore an oath of allegiance to him, and a plebiscite gave Hitler a 90% approval
  • open section 15.   Night of the Long Knives: causes
    • open section a. A rebellious organisation
      • A million SA – formed to rebel and destabilise the government – were an embarrassment now Hitler was in power
    • open section b. Rohm wanted a Socialist revolution
      • Rohm, the SA leader, wanted a socialist revolution; Hitler’s rich backers wanted a Fascist state
    • open section c. Rohm wanted to control the Army
      • Rohm wanted control of the army; the generals wanted rid of him – Hitler chose the army
    • open section d. Rohm was homosexual
      • Rohm and many SA were homosexuals; this contrasted with the traditional, ‘family’ morality Hitler wanted to encourage .
    • open section e. Codeword ‘Hummingbird’
      • Codeword ‘Hummingbird’ – Hitler ordered the SS to kill more than 400 SA men
  • open section 16.   Nazi police state: facts
    • open section a. Gestapo, 26 Apr 1933
      • The Gestapo (State Secret Police) was formed under Heydrich; informers enthusiastically reported troublemakers to the Gestapo
    • open section b. 200,000 SS
      • Led by Himmler, the SS hunted down opponents and ran the concentration camps
    • open section c. Concentration camps for opponents
      • Jews, Communists, gypsies, homosexuals, alcoholics and prostitutes were sent there for e.g. anti-Nazi graffiti, owning a banned book, saying business was bad
    • open section d. Blockleiters
      • Each street and block of flats had a Blockleiter who reported ‘grumblers’ to the police .
    • open section e. ‘Speak through a flower’
      • Germans learned Durch [die] Blume reden (‘speak through a flower’); parents feared their children would report them to the Gestapo
  • open section 17.   Censorship and propaganda: facts
    • open section a. The Reich Ministry of Propaganda
      • Set up under Joseph Goebbels, it spread Nazi beliefs like Volksgemeinschaft (people’s community); newspapers were heavily censored
    • open section b. Volksempfanger
      • Radio – every family was given a cheap Volksempfanger (‘people’s receivers’)
    • open section c. Reich Chamber of Culture
      • Reich Chamber of Culture – ‘decadent’ art was stopped (book-burnings, jazz banned)
    • open section d. Triumph of the Will
      • Films were produced – e.g. Triumph of the Will by Leni Riefenstahl (the 1934 Nuremburg rally) and Der Ewige Jude (The Eternal Jew, 1940) .
    • open section e. Olympic Games, Aug 1936
      • The August 1936 Olympic Games showcased Nazi achievements
  • open section 18.   Persecution of the Churches: facts
    • open section a. Concordat with the Pope, 20 Jul 1933
      • Hitler agreed to leave the Catholic Church alone if it stayed out of politics
    • open section b. Bishop von Galen of Munster
      • Bishop von Galen of Munster opposed euthanasia of the mentally ill; Hitler stopped it
    • open section c. ‘'With Burning Concern’, 1937
      • The Pope issued the Encyclical ‘With Burning Concern’ against Nazism; priests and nuns were arrested
    • open section d. Niemoller’s Confessional Church
      • Niemoller’s Confessional Church opposed Nazism; he was sent to a concentration camp .
    • open section e. Reich Church
      • Hitler formed the Reich Church (old Aryan mythology) as an alternative religion
  • open section 19.   Opponents of the Nazis
    • open section a. Reichsbanner, 1933
      • Reichsbanner (paramilitary wing of the SDP) – hunted down and destroyed in 1933
    • open section b. Warsaw Ghetto, 1943
      • Some Jews fought back (e.g. Bielski brothers in Belarus; Warsaw ghetto uprising 1943)
    • open section c. ‘'Swing’ groups, 1944–45
      • ‘Swing’ groups such as the Edelweiss Pirates – 12 youths arrested and hanged in Cologne, 1944
    • open section d. Sophie Scholl and the White Rose, 1944
      • White Rose group (Munich students) led by Sophie Scholl – guillotined in 1944 .
    • open section e. Claus Stauffenberg and the Beck Group, 1944
      • Beck group (army) attempted the 1944 bomb plot (led by Claus Stauffenberg) – all executed.
  • open section 20.   Jewish persecution: causes
    • open section a. Long history of Anti-Semitism
      • There was a long history of anti-Semitism in Germany
    • open section b. Gegenrasse theories
      • Nazi race theories led them to regard ‘lesser races’ as Untermenschen; Jews were held to be even worse – a Gegenrasse (an anti-race)
    • open section c. Hitler blamed the Jews
      • Hitler blamed the Jews for all Germany’s problems
    • open section d. Boycott of Jewish businesses, 1933
      • Many Germans hated Jewish businessmen for their success; the Nazi persecution started with a boycott of Jewish businesses .
    • open section e. Juden sind hier unerwuenscht, 1935
      • The Nazis encouraged ordinary Germans to indulge their anti-Semitism; ‘Jews not wanted here’ signs were put up around Germany
  • open section 21.   Jewish persecution: facts
    • open section a. Nuremberg Laws, Sep 1935
      • Law for Protection of German Blood forbade Germans to marry Jews; other Nuremberg Laws forbade Jews to vote, to be lawyers, own a bicycle, go out at night
    • open section b. Kristallnacht, 8–9 Nov 1938
      • Kristallnacht – Jewish businesses, synagogues and homes were destroyed; many male Jews were killed or put in concentration camps
    • open section c. Ghettoes, 1939 onwards
      • Jews were forced to live in ghettoes
    • open section d. Einsatzgruppen, 1940–1941
      • Einsatzgruppen (1 million Jews were killed by shooting and executions) .
    • open section e. Wannsee Conference, 20 Jan 1942
      • The Wannsee Conference was held which proposed the ‘Final Solution’ – death camps (Auschwitz), gassing, medical experiments
  • open section 22.   Other persecuted groups
    • open section a. Untermenschen
      • The Nazi regime despised some people as socially or racially Untermensch (subhuman) – whom it called the 'germs of destruction'
    • open section b. Gypsies
      • Gypsies were sent to extermination camps with the Jews – 85% of Germany's gypsies were killed
    • open section c. Black people
      • Black people were sterilized and killed
    • open section d. The physically or mentally disabled
      • The physically or mentally disabled, deaf people, and people with a hereditary illness were sterilised (and put to death before Bishop Galen’s campaign) .
    • open section e. ‘'Undesirables’
      • ‘Undesirables’ (homosexuals, prostitutes, mentally ill) were sent to concentration camps
  • open section 23.   Control of education: facts
    • open section a. Indoctrination
      • Indoctrination to create ‘Nazi’ people – e.g. Hitler: ‘Your child belongs to us already’; 97% teachers were in the Nazi Teachers’ League
    • open section b. Nazi ideas
      • The work reinforced Nazi ideas (e.g. maths questions about the cost of the mentally ill, science taught Aryan superiority)
    • open section c. Order Castles
      • There was an emphasis on PE; pupils good at sport went to Adolf Hitler schools, and the best to ‘Order Castles’, where they were trained to be soldiers
    • open section d. Kinder, Kuche, Kirche
      • Girls’ education focussed on the three Ks – children, cooker, church – and become a mother .
    • open section e. Anti-Semitism
      • Young pupils read anti-Semitic books such as the Poisonous Mushroom; Jewish children from the class used as examples that Jews were Untermenschen
  • open section 24.   Nazi boys facts
    • open section a. Hitler Jugend
      • Range of youth groups – boys 6-10 went to the Little Fellows, boys 10-14 went to the Young Folk
    • open section b. Youth Law, 1936
      • The Youth Law (1936) made the HJ (Hitler Youth) compulsory – it had 5 million members
    • open section c. Military activities
      • ‘Military’ activities (uniforms, camps, marches, war games) to train boys for the army and to love Hitler
    • open section d. Volkssturm
      • In 1945 Goebbels organised the Volkssturm (a German Home Defence Force) for teenagers and old men for a last defence of Berlin .
    • open section e. Edelweiss Pirates
      • Towards 1945, youth gangs such as the Edelweiss Pirates rejected Nazi youth culture, drinking and dancing to American jazz and 'swing' music
  • open section 25.   Nazi girls facts
    • open section a. Bund Deutscher Madel
      • Range of youth groups – girls 10-14 went to the Young Girls
    • open section b. Lebensborn
      • ‘Aryan’ girls were sent to have babies to SS officers in special camps; Aryan-looking children were kidnapped and given to German families for adoption
    • open section c. Preparation for motherhood
      • Activities to learn to be good mothers (cooking, chores) and keep fit for childbirth
    • open section d. Community work
      • BDM girls took part in community service, and during the war collected money, knitted socks, visited wounded soldiers etc. Before starting work, many did a 'Land Girl Year' working on a farm .
    • open section e. Sophie Scholl and the White Rose, 1944
      • Not all German girls accepted Nazi ideals (e.g. Sophie Scholl)
  • open section 26.   Nazi women: facts
    • open section a. Job discrimination
      • Not equal to men – banned from jury service, ‘encouraged’ to resign jobs for men; they were not allowed to serve in the armed forces – even during the war
    • open section b. Kinder, Kuche, Kirche
      • Emphasis on ‘family’: 3Ks – children, cooker, church
    • open section c. Law for the Encouragement of Marriage, 1933
      • The Law for the Encouragement of Marriage (1933: loans for newly-weds and families with children); Mother Cross (for having eight children)
    • open section d. German Women’s Enterprise
      • German Women’s Enterprise trained women to be good wives and mothers .
    • open section e. Plain peasant fashions
      • Women were banned from smoking, and encouraged to be plain (flat heels, plaited hair, no make-up)
  • open section 27.   Economic policy: features
    • open section a. Autarky failed, 1936
      • The 4-Year Plan, first under Schacht, then Goering, tried to achieve autarky (self-sufficiency) – it failed
    • open section b. Full employment
      • Full employment – on public works (autobahns, housing), on rearmament, on conscription (army, National Labour Service), and because Jews were sacked
    • open section c. Rearmament
      • Schacht invented Mefo bills (a way of paying for rearmament without borrowing); the government bought 12 billion Reichsmarks’ worth of rearmament
    • open section d. National Labour Service
      • National Labour Service – compulsory work camps for young men (e.g. environmental work) .
    • open section e. Failure and crisis
      • Promises (e.g. rebuilding Berlin, ‘Volkswagen’) never happened and the public works and rearmament programmes created inflation and the 1939 economic crisis
  • open section 28.   Standard of living
    • open section a. Nazi Party members benefited
      • Nazi Party members got the best jobs, best houses and special privileges; businessmen who joined the Nazi Party got government orders
    • open section b. KdF and SdA
      • Kraft durch Freude (‘strength through joy’) offered such as picnics, theatre trips, holidays; Schonheit der Arbeit (Beauty of Work) taught workers to be proud
    • open section c. DAF
      • Trade unions and strikes were illegal – under the DAF (German Labour Front), conditions and hours worsened, wages fell
    • open section d. Better health
      • Smoking was discouraged and there was screening for breast cancer .
    • open section e. Failed promises
      • Promises of hospitals, swimming baths, rebuilding Berlin, and the ‘Volkswagen’ never materialised
  • open section 29.   Germany in the Second World War
    • open section a. Victory and defeat
      • Initial successes (controlled all Europe), but slide to defeat after Stalingrad (1943)
    • open section b. Speer and the War economy
      • Economy geared up to war production; Speer became Minister of Armaments
    • open section c. Slave labour
      • Use of slave labour (Jews, Slavs etc.) and prisoners of war
    • open section d. Technological developments
      • German inventiveness was applied to military – nerve gas, rocket (first manned rocket flight, 1945), microwave ovens, missile guidance systems, ejection seat, atomic research .
    • open section e. Economic disaster
      • The long war wrecked the German economy
  • open section 30.   Life in Germany in the Second World War
    • open section a. Hardship and suffering
      • Hardship – food rationing (1939) and food shortages after 1942, no post, clubs closed, fear, grief and mourning for dead
    • open section b. Bombing
      • Bombing (e.g. Dresden 1945) led to housing shortage and millions of refugees – led to loss of morale
    • open section c. Patriotism
      • Patriotism – e.g. women donated fur coats for the Eastern Front
    • open section d. Propaganda
      • Propaganda and increased repression; ghettoes and the Holocaust .
    • open section e. Women were conscripted into war work
      • Women were never allowed to join the armed forces, but were conscripted to war work (1942)

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