Germany: The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich

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Questions and Answers

What event led to the occupation of Germany by Allied forces?

Germany's inability to pay reparations

What was the popular myth that spread in Germany after the Great War?

Germans were stabbed in the back by Communists, Jews, and Socialists

What triggered hyperinflation in Germany?

Attempts to pay reparations

What event further crippled the German economy after the Treaty of Versailles?

French occupation of the Ruhr region Signup and view all the answers

What event led to the Nazi party gaining political relevance?

Renegotiation of reparations and the onset of the Great Depression Signup and view all the answers

What impact did the Great Depression have on Germany's economic recovery?

It killed the economic recovery, leading to surging unemployment Signup and view all the answers

Who became the chancellor of Germany in January 1933, marking the end of the Weimar Republic?

Adolf Hitler Signup and view all the answers

What was the violent campaign by Nazi Stormtroopers to enforce political power in Germany known as?

The Stahlecker Action (Night of the Long Knives) Signup and view all the answers

What did the Nazis pass to prohibit marriage and sexual relations between Jews and Germans, and formally establish Jews as second-class citizens?

The Nuremberg Laws Signup and view all the answers

What deal was signed between Germany and Italy, allowing Hitler to point his military westward and southward with little fear of attack from the rear?

The Pact of Steel Signup and view all the answers

What state fell to Nazi control, bringing the whole republic closer to collapse?

Prussia Signup and view all the answers

What did the Nazis create to strip the legislative powers of the Reichstag and place them in the hands of the Nazi cabinet?

The Enabling Act Signup and view all the answers

What did Germany violate by rearming and expanding its military with the goal of establishing a 'Greater Germany'?

The Treaty of Versailles Signup and view all the answers

Which concentration camp opened in February 1933?

Dachau Concentration Camp Signup and view all the answers

What did the Nazis focus on in service to the superior German race, leading to social programs and policies such as marriage subsidies, discouragement of women from working, and forced sterilization?

Expansion Signup and view all the answers

Which country did Hitler attack in 1939, leading to the start of World War II?

Poland Signup and view all the answers

Study Notes

It's April 1933, Berlin, Germany: President Paul Von Hindenburg's health is failing, Reichstag shuttered, Nazi party legally recognized.
Hitler's grand plan: Transform Germany into something unrecognizable.
Germany recovering from Great War, still rearming but Treaty of Versailles hamstrung military.
Treaty demanded reparations, which Germany couldn't pay, leading to occupation by Allied forces.
German economy crippled, hyperinflation, depression, and social unrest.
Popular myth spread that Germans were stabbed in the back by Communists, Jews, and Socialists.
Republic's Achilles heel: Hyperinflation triggered by attempts to pay reparations.
French occupation of Ruhr region further crippled German economy.
Hitler's coup attempt in Munich (Beer Hall Putsch) a failure, he was sentenced to five years in prison.
New coalition government took a harder line on Germany's problems, repayments to France began.
Field Marshal Paul Von Hindenburg elected as president of Germany.
Germany entered the League of Nations, allied military control withdrawn.
Economy industrialized, employment fell, politics swung leftward.
1929: Reparations renegotiated, Nazi party gained political relevance, and the Great Depression hit.
Depression killed Germany's economic recovery, unemployment surged, and middle class regained footing was lost.
President Hindenburg appointed Chancellor Heinrich Bruning to deal with crisis, but his rule was a failure.
New elections determined control of Reichstag, Nazi party became a persistent thorn in Chancellor Bruning's side.
Financial crisis forced closure of National Bank and other institutions, unemployment soared.
Presidential election cycle brought Germany to the brink of chaos.
Prussia, Germany's largest state, fell to Nazi control, bringing the whole republic closer to collapse.
President Hindenburg replaced Chancellor Bruning with a new non-partisan government.
Germany reached a settlement to end Versailles reparation payments.
In January 1933, Adolf Hitler became the chancellor of Germany, marking the end of the Weimar Republic.
In February 1933, the Dachau Concentration Camp opened.- The Stahlecker Action, also known as the Night of the Long Knives, was a violent campaign by Nazi Stormtroopers to enforce political power in Germany.
The Nazi create the Enabling Act, stripping the legislative powers of the Reichstag and placing them in the hands of the Nazi cabinet.
The Nazis purged elected state governors, replacing them with Nazi governors, and stripped the states of their independent authority.
Universities and the Civil Service became targets for Nazi purges.
President Paul Von Hindenburg, who could have revoked Hitler's chancellorship, did nothing to stop his rise.
The Nazis focused on expansion in service to the superior German race, leading to social programs and policies such as marriage subsidies, discouragement of women from working, and forced sterilization.
The Nazis passed the Nuremberg Laws, prohibiting marriage and sexual relations between Jews and Germans and formally establishing Jews as second-class citizens.
Unemployment was high in Germany during the Great Depression, and the Nazis instituted wage and price controls while sending military spending through the roof.
Germany's military-industrial complex had a massive appetite for resources due to military spending.
Germany violated the Treaty of Versailles by rearming and expanding its military, with the goal of establishing a "Greater Germany."
The Nazis seized the Sudetenland from Czechoslovakia, but were later forced to make a peace deal due to British and French intervention.
Hitler became increasingly frustrated and determined to wage war, eventually attacking Poland in 1939.
The Pact of Steel was signed between Germany and Italy, allowing Hitler to point his military westward and southward with little fear of attack from the rear.
The Soviet Union and Germany signed the German-Soviet Non-Aggression Pact, allowing Hitler to focus on conquering the west.
Hitler attacked Poland in 1939, marking the beginning of World War II.
The Nazis made exponential military gains, conquering Poland, Denmark, Norway, Belgium, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, and France within a year.
The Soviet Union was eventually able to stall and collapse the German advance, and Germany's war effort began to stall due to a lack of resources and manpower.
The Nazis' grand mobilization strategy collapsed inward upon itself, leading to Germany's defeat in the war.
Germany went from a state of destruction and economic liability in 1918 to a continent-crushing warpower in just 21 years.
The legacy of the period is one of destruction, pain, and genocide, with millions of people killed and an entire continent brought to ruin.

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Description

Test your knowledge on the rise and fall of Nazi Germany, from the aftermath of World War I to the devastating consequences of World War II. Explore the economic, political, and social factors that led to the ascent of Adolf Hitler and the subsequent collapse of the Third Reich.