20th Century History: Weimar Republic & The Nazis

16 Questions

Who was the first president of the Weimar Republic in 1919?

Friedrich Ebert

What was Gustav Stresemann known for?

Setting up the Dawes Plan

What was Hermann Goering's role in the Nazi Party?

Architect of Nazi police

Who was Adolf Hitler's propaganda minister?

Josef Goebbels

What was Heinrich Himmler's role in the Nazi Party?

All of the above

Who led the Imperial German Army during World War I?

Paul von Hindenburg

Who appointed Adolf Hitler as Chancellor of Germany?

Paul von Hindenburg

What was Neville Chamberlain's occupation?

British Politician

What was the term used to describe the political union of Germany and Austria?

Anschluss

What was the name of Hitler's book, which means 'My Struggle' in English?

Mein Kampf

What was the term used to describe the hatred of Jews?

Anti-Semitism

What was the name of the German parliament?

Reichstag

What was the term used to describe the policy of giving in to Hitler's demands in order to avoid war?

Appeasement

What was the name of the youth organization of the Nazi Party in Germany?

Hitler Youth

What was the name of the law that enabled Chancellor Adolf Hitler to assume dictatorial powers?

Enabling Act

What was the term used to describe the expansion of Germany towards Poland?

Lebensraum

Study Notes

Key Figures

Friedrich Ebert: First President of the Weimar Republic in 1919
Wolfgang Kapp: Led the Kapp Putsch
Gustav Stresemann: Chancellor in 1923, set up the Dawes Plan
Adolf Hitler: Dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 until his suicide in 1945
Hermann Goering: Nazi leader, architect of Nazi police, and president of the Reichstag
Josef Goebbels: Hitler's propaganda minister, master orator, and propagandist
Heinrich Himmler: German politician, leader of the SS, and assistant chief of the Gestapo
Ernst Rohm: Early ally of Hitler, co-founder and leader of the SA
Paul von Hindenburg: President of Germany from 1925 until his death, appointed Hitler as chancellor
Neville Chamberlain: British Prime Minister, known for his foreign policy of appeasement and the Munich Agreement

Terms and Concepts

Weimar Republic: Historical period in Germany from November 1918 to March 1933
'November Criminals': Term for those who formed the Weimar government and agreed to the Versailles Treaty
'Stab in the Back': Antisemitic conspiracy theory widely believed in Germany
Freikorps: Body of soldiers to keep peace
Reichstag: German parliament
Hyperinflation: Impoverished millions of German citizens and paved the way for the rise of the Nazi Party
Dawes Plan: Led by Charles Dawes to pay reparations
Mein Kampf: Hitler's book, meaning "My Struggle"
National Socialist Teachers League: Carried out the educational goals of the Nazi Party
Strength Through Joy: Tool to promote the advantages of Nazism to the German people
Aryan Race: Germany's superior race, according to Nazi ideology
Hitler Youth: Youth organization of the Nazi party in Germany
Enabling Act: Law passed by the German Reichstag in 1933, enabling Chancellor Adolf Hitler to assume dictatorial powers
Fuhrer: German word for leader
Gestapo: Secret police
SA: Stormtroopers, helped raise Hitler to power
SS: Hitler's bodyguards, later his elite force in charge of the Final Solution
Anti-Semitism: Hatred of the Jews
Nuremberg Laws: Banned marriage between Jews and non-Jews, forced Jews to wear a yellow star of David
Anschluss: Political union of Germany and Austria
Lebensraum: Expansion of Germany towards Poland
Sudetenland: Area in Czechoslovakia, annexed by Hitler
Munich Agreement: Agreement allowing Hitler to claim the Sudetenland, negotiated to avoid war
Appeasement: Policy of giving in to Hitler's demands to avoid war
Auschwitz/Dachau/Treblinka: Concentration camps
Final Solution: Nazi plan to eliminate Europe's Jewish population
Holocaust: Extermination of Hitler's enemies