Treaties Ending WWI & Rise of Dictators PDF

Survey Treaties that ended ww1 and their consequences Treaty of Versailles - Signed 28th June 1919 effective January 1920 - Signed in France with main nations of Germany, Britain, France, Italy, Japan and the US - Woodrow wilson: aimed for long term peace for europe (idealist)...

Survey Treaties that ended ww1 and their consequences Treaty of Versailles - Signed 28th June 1919 effective January 1920 - Signed in France with main nations of Germany, Britain, France, Italy, Japan and the US - Woodrow wilson: aimed for long term peace for europe (idealist) - Llyod George: mediator between us and france - George clemenceau: wanted to weaken Germany - Result: germany had to accept total blame for the war, land annexed, reparations, hyperinflation, reduced army Treaty of Saint Germain - Signed 10th september 1919 - Result: Austria had to accept responsibility for starting the war = pay reparations, restrict army, recognizes independence of hungary, yugoslavia, poland, and czechoslovakia Treaty of Neuilly - Signed 27th november 1919 - Result: Bulgaria had territorial concessions to greece, yugoslavia, and romania + reparations and restriction of army Treaty of Trianon - Signed June 4th 1920 - Result: Hungary lost ⅔ of prewar territory + military reductions Treaty of Sevres - Signed August 10th 1920 - Result: Abolished the ottoman empire with Britain and france claiming territories, note: negotiations later occurred in treaty of lausanne Rise of dictators after WW1 Conditions that enabled dictators to rise to power - Can be summarised as: pre-world war developments, impact of ww1, post-war constitutional and political processes, the impact of the paris peace conference, role of the personalities, impact of economic developments  - Pre-war situation: growth in population in industrial cities, spread of education (more political) -> increased mass politics, mass strike action, rise of revolutionary syndicalism, strong left and right wings - Impact of ww1: destruction of economies, mobilisation of masses, incompetence of governments, propaganda -> violence returned to society bc of war, unable to separate violence and brutality from the battlefield, hate filled ideology could not be forgotten overnight - Treaty of Versailles: perceived to be unfair, italy and japan felt cheated, redraw of eastern and southern europe -> states contained notable minority groups who were disaffected and resented by the dominant national groups of each country, loss of hope - Europe’s constitutions and the political process: demand for constitutional reform spread across europe to be democratic, republican and national character, sizeable minorities were not seen as part of the nation, parties only represented narrow sectional interests -> often harmed the development of democracy, massively fragmented legislatures, rise of extremism and instability - Role of economics: usa dominated international trade, protectionist policies were introduced by the usa, europe's prosperity linked to usa’s investments -> trade was unable to reach pre-war levels and economic growth remained modest, any economic devastation in the usa would harm europe - Importance of personality: pre-war situation, impact of ww1, paris peace conference, new constitutions and political processes and the role of economics lead to mass politics -> charismatic leaders attracted the masses, these leaders were critics of democracy and sought to undermine it (saw democracy as the reason for downfall) - Examples of impact: ❖ Kapp Putsch -> can be linked to fall of Weimar Republic: an attempted coup to overthrow the weimar republic and reverse the effects of the treaty of versailles ❖ 1920 US election: republic party won, kicked out Wildrow Wilson - League of nations had no real power and lacked bigger nations - Extreme conditions = extreme ideas = dictatorships with nationalism and scapegoats as a key feature - Because of the economy people began to seek radical alternatives (lack of trust in weimar government in germany) -> wanted simple solutions to complex problems -> Dictators blamed scapegoats for economic grievances - Impact of the great depression in the 1930’s What caused the great depression: US stock market crashing bc of the many investments meaning it was hard for them to catch up (not sustainable), and hence many countries lost millions and relied on oversupply = inflation - French occupation of Ruhr: The french occupied Ruhr in response to their lack of reparations from germany, the german government implemented the policy of passive resistance in which workers were ordered to refuse to work or cooperate with foreign troops in exchange for paid wages - European countries were split from their empires = likely to be drawn to extreme ideologies  - US had a good economy: period of isolationism, access to raw materials and lack of war impact (no rebuilding), gave loans to European countries = benefit financially as they were in debt Features of dictators - Hitler Germany = Nazism - Stalin's Russia = communism - Mussolini’s italy = fascism - Hirohito’s japan = imperialism Note that these dictators rose during the interwar period which was the 21 yr break between ww1 and ww2 Germany - Ethno-nationalism: nationhood determined by blood not place of birth - ‘Übermschen’ (aka ethnonationalism) supreme german race with right to dominate inferior races (untermenschen) Russia - Nationalism to increase appeal of socialism in one country, focused on isolationism and self-sufficiency Italy - Facism: extreme nationalism and mainly focused on military power to control the people, includes militaristic ideas of courage, unquestioning obedience to authority, discipline, and physical strength - Mussolini appealed to the workers and soldiers bc of his radical and violent views - Declared il duce = the leader, after being given the kings power bc he was popular and they feared civil war - Palingenetic myth of nation rebirth -> return to roman empire days - Spazio vitale: living space and empire building (expansion, proving power) = invasion of ethiopia - After expulsion from italian socialist party, mussolini formed the fascist party in 1919 -> harsh critique of treaty of versailles which was a popular opinion + opposed democracy, communism, and socialism - 1921 fascists controlled a chunk of Italy, used black shirts to terrorise political opponents - Black shirts were the paramilitary (military in state) = secret police - Power through coupe = consolidated fascist majority in parliament - Invasion of ethiopia 1935 to show power of regime and declare italy as an empire - State capitalism: class based system where everyone is organised into corporations which work for the state and are controlled by state interests Was popular as it focused on economic improvements, social stability (ie strengthening relationship with the catholic church), and lifting living and working standards  - Italy was allied with germany (Rome-Berlin axis) - Support of a class based society where his nations interests came before others which rejects idealistic nationalism - Foreign policy: focused on breaking off cooperate agreements and conquering territory Japan - Invasion of manchuria in order to build their empire - Motivated by ideology of pan-asianism - Used the kenpeitai (secret police) to make less democratic - Invasion of manchuria was their attempt to establish land in china, otherwise known as the rape of nanking (1937) : was renamed to manchukuo and extended further into China in the marco polo incident - Occupied French Indochina in 1940 (indochina was vietnam, cambodia, laos) - Withdrew from the league of nations and signed the anti-comintern pact with italy and germany - Allied with germany and italy (tripartite pact in 1940) = axis powers - National project known as the meiji restoration was implemented in order to modernise quickly, result was a strong economic, educational and military standings -> success was cut short by the Great Kanto Earthquake (1923) and TGD (1929) - New order: The idea of decreasing the influence of Western Nations in SouthEast Asia and expanding Japan’s control over the region - Greater Easter Asia Co-prosperity sphere = becoming economically independent - Bombing of pearl harbour to the us which reduced Japan to a constitutional monarchy bc of the USSR invasion and bombing of nagasaki and hiroshima by the US as a response (Potsdam declaration) League of nations Features - Main purpose: Avoid future conflict, also non-political issues (resolving disputes without use of force) - Aims: encourage cooperation, stop aggression, disarmament, improve social conditions - Collective security: If one nation was to be attacked then all members would have to rally around in defence and force the back down of the aggressor (article 10) - Global economy: international trading - Internationalism: notion that nations would sacrifice selfish national gain for the common good - What would wilson be considered as: internationalist (person who advocates or believes in cooperation and understanding between nations) Structure of the league of nations The Council  - Security council is modern day equivalent - Comprised of 5 permanent members (Britain, Italy, France, US, Japan)(flawed as they did not get along and had different motivations, gov, views = difficult to fully agree) and four non permanent members - Note: US senate blocked US from becoming a member - Made the ‘big’ decisions which had to be unanimous (everyone agrees) - Main role: settle international disputes The assembly - General assembly is the modern day equivalent - All members had three delegates in the assembly -> discuss any League issues relating to peace and security, admission of new members, electing non-permanent members of the council, determining budgets and making amendments to the covenant (document that established the LON) - Everyone had one vote, voting was to be unanimous The Secretariat - Day to day work of the league - Responsible for the administrative work Legal political structures - Permanent court of international justice (ICJ) - Council for the protection of minorities - Mandate commission (reform of the covenant) Social economic structures - Health organisation - International labour organisations (workers rights) - Refugee organisation - Essentially improve access to human rights globally Successes - 1921: conflict between sweden and finland over the aaland islands in the Baltic was peacefully settled - 1925: clash between greece and bulgaria was settled - Dealt with mandates -> germany’s former colonies now administers as mandates by other nations until the colonies could look after themselves (basically helping the break up of the german empire = decolonisation) Failures - 1923: Italy ignored LON during the corfu incident (italy occupation of a greek island) - Failed to deal with issues outside of europe - Several issues were not allowed to be presented to the league ie issues of debts or relations Reasons for failures - Never reflected the true balance of power in the world -> many of the major powers left - The dominant powers were Britain and France, flaw as they were viewed as second rate powers in terms of economy and military (the us was more powerful)  - Internationalism was not a popular / followed policy - There was a lack of military forces, the LON focused on moral force only - Nations did not want to get dragged into a conflict that had nothing to do with them - Relied on the anglo-french cooperation, issue: french wanted a strong LON whereas Britain wanted a flexible LON - Article 8 called for powers to disarm to a level consistent with national safety, interpreted as stronger than their neighbour = not possible Manchuria - Japan troops occupied the whole of Manchuria following an explosion on the manchuria railway (in korea) in september 1931 -> claimed that chinese soldiers sabotaged it -> japan brutally conquered manchuria by feb 1932 - 1932: shanghai was attacked -> china appealed to the LON -> oct 1932 declared japan should leave -> feb 1933 special assembly voted against japan so japan walked out - 1933: Japan annexed the region of Jehol - The league were unable to agree on sanctions -> did not send an army to protect manchuria - Key point: when a major power chose to defy the league, the league had no power to stop it (set a precedent) - Highlighted the failure of collective security Abyssinia - Oct 1935 italy launched an invasion in abyssinia -> objective to capture and destroy addis ababa - Italian ratio of troops 8:1 Abyssinian troops, abyssinian had outdated weapons - April 1936 Addis Ababa was captures - Victory in abyssinia would begin the resurgence of a new roman empire - Abyssinia was rich in resources (food and export markets), revenge (battle of adowa in 1896), abyssinia was boarded by two of italy’s colonies - Dec 1934 italian soldiers at walwal in abyssinia were killed = excuse for invasion - LON had no idea that an attack was imminent as in 1934 there was a peace deal when italy threatened invasion LON response - 7th october 1935 the LON publicly condemned italy and put in sanctions - Sanctions = trade restrictions - Was not harsh -> Britain and France were afraid of Italy’s intentions in non-european nations - LON reported that neither side was at fault (neutral) -> sought to persuade Abyssinia to accept border changes -> did not want to provoke Mussolini as their economies were recovering + were more concerned with Germany more - December 1935 Hoare-Laval Plan (secret plan between Britain and France to buy off Mussolini by giving him Abyssinia = act of appeasement) Nazi Regime Fall of the Weimar Republic - New german government led by the Social Democratic Party (SPD) with leader Friederich Ebert - New group = unstable - Ebert wanted to avoid revolution and hence made an agreement with Ludendorff’s successor (head of the high command) Groener Known as the Ebert-Groener Pact - This would guarantee that the army would support the Ebert government in exchange for Ebert maintaining discipline in the army and opposing any revolutionary/Bolshevik opposition - Army was made up of conservative elites (traditional wealthy germans) -> hitler was conservative which made them support him later - The pact had the following consequences: no right wing army coup, guaranteed the survival of Ebert’s gov, no radical socio-economic changes, guaranteed survival of the elites The impact of the TOV - Viewed as a punitive treaty (punitive = punishing) - Germany hated the treaty (stab in the back legend) - When the Weimar republic attempted to reduce the size of the army, they revolted (as they would be fired) = Kapp Putsch - Policy of inflation was enforced in order to pay for the war efforts, however by the Weimar republic continued this policy after ww1 rather than entering a recession, in order to continue to pay for their new social welfare programs and reparation payments - Loss of Ruhr = economic disaster (paying wages while earning no money) = attempting to fix the issue through printing more money leading to the German mark to plummet in value = mass unemployment and hyperinflation - Hyperinflation lead to money becoming worthless (rate of exchange would change multiple times a day), in the country become went back to a bartering system = exchanging goods - This fostered conditions for a dictatorship to rise as there was poverty, unemployment, and distrust for the government - Some people benefited from hyperinflation however most people (working class and lower middle class) were impacted negatively = they were the ones who generally joined nazism Kapp Putsch - Reichswehr: official name for the German armed forces during the Weimar republic - Wolfgang Kapp (a normal civilian) was placed as the ‘leader’ of the government in charge of the coup (which lasted 4 days) in order to hide the motives of the military - Kapp Putsch -> can be linked to fall of Weimar Republic: an attempted coup to overthrow the weimar republic and reverse the effects of the treaty of versailles - The government sought to implement the terms in the TOV = reducing Reichswher numbers = structural reforms to ensure obedience and loyalty = changes were resisted (nationalist views, belief that german would be susceptible of revolution and attack) = tensions grew = kapp putsch - The refusal of implementing demands by german general Lüttwitz was the event that triggered the putsch - The army refused to fight against the Putsch as they did not want to fire on fellow soldiers = revealed the weakness and lack of power of the government - Support was ralied through Wolfgang issuing a grandiose public statement attempting to legitimise the putsch by claiming Germany was in danger of a communist invasion - SPD responded by calling on the German people to strike = coup fizzled out - Result: Putsch almost triggered a communist revolution as it led to communism insurrections, the SPD was exposed as tenuous, fragile, and easy prey for revolutionaries (reichswehr did not defend them) Attempted Spartacists revolution - Also known as the Spartacists putsch - Spartacists: far left wing led by Karl Liebknecht and Rosa Luxemburg -> known as the communist party of Germany - In response to the attempt to seize power, the Freikorps were called to oppose the rebels = week of fighting - Freikorps: right wing volunteers who formed a paramilitary group (made up of former soldiers and hated socialists) Result and impact: - Germany’s early democracy was revealed to have: lots of opposition, reliance on the military/freikorps to maintain authority, had little authority overall on the community - Ebert issued decrees which were backdated (retrospective) to legitimise the Freikorps actions which set a bad precedent. The SPD often overlooked right-wing violence while dealing harshly with the left - The conservative elites remained in power -> SPD only appeared to be in control Weimar constitution - Following elections in Jan 1919, the national assembly appointed Ebert as president and Phillip Scheidemann as chancellor  - Assembly approved the Weimar constitution which included: president was elected every 7 years, president could appoint or dismiss the chancellor and under ARTICLE 25 could close the reichstag (representative parliament, role was to pass laws) and call elections, ARTICLE 48 gave the president emergency powers in times of crisis -> right to close parliament and issue decrees = undemocratic, known as suicide clause (it was put in as a protective measure against revolution) - Parliament had two houses: reichstag and reichsrat -> reichstag members were voted by proportional representation (one seat for every 60 000 votes) = made it almost impossible for a party to gain majority = hard to pass laws = forced the creation of the coalition government - Reichsrat was able to veto laws and had equal representation from all states based on their population - Hitler used article 48 to justify his dictatorship Political parties - Chancellor: does not represent the German population, chosen by the president, in charge creating laws - President: head of state (voted), could also dissolve the reichstag at any time, in charge of army, could pass laws without reichstag using a diktat (dictation) - There were many chancellors who were in office for a short period of time due to lack of popularity -> ineffective as the parliament was divided -> chancellors did not get along with the president - Left parties: SPD, Independent socialists (formally a part of the SPD but split, they were radical and wanted to change the structure of German society), Spartacists (KPD)(committed to revolutionary seizure of government and opposed democracy + Weimar republic) - Middle parties: centre Party (Zantrum)(supported catholic interests, always defended rights of parliament and had support from all social classes), German Democratic Party (DDP)(supported by intellectuals, backed by business, helped draft the weimar constitution) - Right parties: German People’s Party (DVP)(anti-comunist/socialist, accepted parliamentary democracy and favoured a constitutional monarchy), German National People’s party (DNVP)(support from academics and business, increasingly radical after 1920, blaming Jews for all national misfortunes), National Socialist German Workers Party (NSDAP, Nazi)(Hitler came from here, extreme right wing, anti-republic, anti-democratic, anti-socialist, anti-comunist) - There had been an increase in German political parties in 1918 bc of the spike in left wing parties and need for hope and freedom (after ww1) - There had been an increase in German political parties in 1920 bc of the Kapp Putsch which showed an unsatisfaction of the government, was also when the TOV was signed Economic issues - German economy relied mostly on American investment - US investors only gave out short term loans = withdrawal at a short notice - 1924 Dawes plan: fixed german annual reparation payments at a level within its capacity to pay + increase in American loans to Germany to boost its economy - 1930 Young Plan: Placed a time limit on reparation payments, requiring an annual report until 1988 - German borrowed short term loans for long term projects = money would not generate in time - 1920’s, German interest rates were very high to attract foreign investments = lack of domestic investment = instability - German relied on its ability to export however most nations imposed high tariffs = protectionism = limited Germany’s export ability - Structural unemployment due to technological advancements - Remember: occupation of the Ruhr = hyperinflation. Wall street crash = great depression Rise of the Nazi Party Main ideas of the Nazi Party - Gross Deutsche (Greater Germany) - Reversal of the TOV - Mein Kampf: autobiographical manifesto - Living wage + self sufficiency (autaky) in economic life Hate from Jews came from how they occupied higher paying jobs bc they were educated -> Hitler blamed them for poverty Munich Putsch 1923 - Failed coup by Hitler which led to his imprisonment - Munich Putsch took place in Berlin and is also known as the Beer Hall Putsch - Radicals and the volkisch nationalist coalition (incl Nazi’s) would unite a formation called the kampfbund (Combat League) -> wanted a violent overthrow of the government - The putsch’s success relied too much on the seizure of state offices and communication centres and the triumvirates authority (Berlin government) to bring in the military and police - Conclusion made by him: German people had a deep historical aversion to revolution and that a direct attack on weimar = fall, power would have been achieved through electoral success, nationalism and financial security would inspire people  - 26 Feb 1924 he stands trial for the putsch, he admits guilty suggesting that he was angered by the treaty -> promoted nationalism and appealed to the people -> portrays himself as a patriot trying to restore his nations honour - Banned from public speaking for 2 years + released from prison in December 1924 - He limited his public appearances and shifted to spreading his ideas to build up followers -> surrounded himself with intelligent men ie Joseph Goebbels - Built up propaganda -> swastika and the hitler salute Wall street October 1929 - Collapse of the share prices on wall street stock exchange had a disastrous effect on the german economy - Grand coalition (weimar collapse) -> poverty = strong radical ideologies - Crash led to immediate banking crisis, bankruptcy, collapse of industries + exports, mass unemployment - Prior to the foreign minister Gustav Stresemann died = republic became unstable = fall of the coalition gov - Collapse was progressive from 1930-1933, factors include: violence and armed revolt (1920-1923), lack of popular support for the republic, anti-democratic ideas, expressed by philosophers, economic problems Appeal of Nazism - Weimar failed because of Nazi appealed - Junkers (landed gentry) supported hitler, industrialists offered financial support bc of belief that nazism would resist the force of promoting communism and socialism, militarisms, middle class desperate for strong conservative leadership, working class believed the SPD failed them - Agricultural peasantry believed nazi’s would redistribute land, end slavery, and protect them from foreign competition, Hitler’s idea of ‘blood and soil’ - Young people found Nazim exciting and radical Main events: 1924 - Party was banned however they ran for the election under a different name, performed poorly (3% votes) - Hitler released from prison and began calling himself the Fuhrer - Party began to face changes -> appeared democratic on a surface level, lots of propaganda 1928 - Nazi Party received 2.8% votes 1929 - Joseph Goebells becomes head of propaganda - Belief that in order to gain vote they needed an issue to focus on (the great depression hit 1929) 1930 - Nazi party received 18.3% of votes making them the second biggest party in the reichstag - They were the only party who tried to appeal to all people across the social spectrum - Hitler used speeches to gain popularity 1932 - Nazi party received 37.3% of votes - Hitler ran against Hindenburg for president because Bruning would not give up his position as chancellor - His campaign promoted assisting economic conditions and restoring Germany to their former glory - Did not attack Hindenburg as he was a war hero but instead Bruning - Bruning was forced to step down and Von Papen became chancellor (centre party), plan was to scrap welfare - July was another election where the Nazi’s became the largest party (38%) - End of 1932 the party vote declined (to 33%) which worried them - Hindenburg refused to make Hitler chancellor despite being the biggest party, however he was unpopular as he used article 48 for every decision - Schleicher was chancellor and wanted to win over the population, Hindenburg began to plot against him, formed a coalition with Hitler where Hitler was chancellor - Von Papen is vice-chancellor and he convinced Hidenburg to appoint Hitler as Chancellor as he feared that if they didn't, Hitler would launch a military coup. Gleichschaltung - Meaning: consolidation of power - Note: Hermann Goring was the one who controlled the police force -> Gestapo (secret police established 1933) - Overview: Hitler becoming chancellor -> the reichstag fire -> the enabling act -> the night of the long knives -> death of president hindenburg -> oath of loyalty to hitler The reichstag fire - The reichstag building was burnt down with a communist found inside who admitted responsibility - 27th February 1933 - Reichstag Fire Decree -> Nazi decree which ended all civil rights guaranteed by the Weimar constitution which became a constitutional basis for Nazi actions - Hitler was able to convince people that the communists were trying to take power by terrorism (propaganda) - Banned communists from the reichstag The enabling Act - With the communists banned from the reichstag, Hitler was able to pass the enabling act  - It was announced in a propaganda video as the opening ceremony for the first reichstag -> linked the new reich with traditional German values and emphasised its legitimacy. - Enabling Act: hitler can rule alone for four years without the need to consult the Reichstag + enact legislation without the consolidation of Hindenburg - Through the enabling act hitler banned all other political parties that weren’t Nazi’s - Political prisoners (people who opposed Hitler) were put in concentration camps run by the SS - Allowed the government to move quickly to bring the key agencies and institutions of the state under the control of the Nazi party + suppress remaining elements of democracy The Night of the Long Knives - Hitler’s SS killed over 1000 SA members including Rohm - At the time most of the members of the SA were from the lower class or unemployed - The army was pleased = supported hitler - Got rid of the threat of Rohms leadership aspirations Death of Hindenburg - Hindenburg's death gave Hitler the opportunity to combine the role of chancellor and president - Called himself der fuhrer - The army swore a personal oath of loyalty to Adolf Hitler Other factors - Law for the restoration of the professional civil service Civil servants (people who worked for the government) of Jewish descent were removed - German labour front (DAF) Trade unions were abolished with leaders arrested and it being declared illegal. It was replaced by the German labour front (which was led by a high ranking Nazi official). It was compulsory and negotiations were not allowed - Concordat Hitler made an agreement with the Pope who sees him as someone who can destroy communism (communism didn’t believe in God), and hence allows Hitler to take political power in Germany as long as he leaves the catholic church alone - Law for the coordination of the states A reich governor was to ensure that the state government implemented the policies of the government in Berlin -> state completely abolishes the Reichstrat and parliament - People’s courts Hitler had set up the Nazi people’s courts where the judges would have to swear an oath to loyalty to the Nazi’s -> they were the one who dealt with crimes against the state Sturmabteilung (SA) vs Shutzstaffel (SS) Sturmabteilung - Fought for Hitler during the Munich Putsch in 1923 -> Nazi Party paramilitary - brown shirts who bashed the opponents of Hitler - Lead by one of Hitler’s earliest supporters Ernst Rohm - They supported the spreading of propaganda - Had more than 2 million members by 1934 - They were radical and violent leading to more power conservatives and Hindenburg losing favour of them + same goes for normal Germans -> increasingly hard to control - Many generals and leading Nazi’s distrusted and feared Ernst Rohm + he was a potential rival to Hitler - Ernst Rohm wanted to merge the regular german army with the SA The Shutzstaffel (protection squad) - Elite force who were physically strong and racially pure - Struck fear into the German population and could after 1933 arrest people without a trial - SS was split into three sections: 1. Reasonable for security 2. Units in the armed forces 3. Control of concentration camps - Loyal to Hitler -> helped crush the power of the SA during the night of the long knives - Head was Heinrich Himmler - Wore black uniforms and had been originally created to protect Hitler and Nazi leaders Nazi ideology Political - Principle of Fuhrerprinzip (fuhrer principle) -> placed authority in the hands of the leader - Nazi Propaganda built up the ‘Hitler myth’ -> Hitler represented the national will and worked tirelessly for his people and was above party politics or selfish motives, he brought prosperity to the people and was a statesman - The Hitler myth allowed people to separate their devotion to Hitler from their anxieties or complaints about the Nazi party - Rejection of internationalism (isolation) - Looked into own national efforts -> would only sign a treaty of it supported their interests - Broken through Tripartite - Aggressive foreign policy - Invasions - Pulled out of many agreements and treaties - Abolish T.O.V and terms Social - Volksgemeinschaft: new people’s community -> implied a classless society which would be at the heart of the community - National solidarity behind the regime ‘Ein Volk, ein Reich, ein Fuhrer (‘One people, one country, one leader’) - Believed in the protection of a harmonious national racial community -> greatness of traditional German culture - Social darwinism: evolutionary view of race -> Aryan race as the most evolved and most superior of all races - Aryan race: furthest point of human development - Justified racist beliefs and actions - Survival of the fittest - Emphasised by Hitler’s attempts to unite all racially pure Germans as the peoples community - SS reflects this ideology - Ancestral Germans were called to return to their motherland - Ghettoisation: clearing and exterminating the inferior minority groups from the population -> first step before concentration camps Economic - Concept: Autarky -> the belief that the Nazi nation should be entirely economically self sufficient - Restoration of economy - Economic part of rejection of internationalism - If in conflict with other countries they can survive without trade links Military - Lebensraum (living space) -> belief that they need to expand to exercise superiority - Nazi wanted to obtain European territory - Ties into aggressive foreign policy - Expansionist: take over or annexing other countries and incorporating them into their land - Needed a strengthened military - Hitler had prioritised military spending The role of prominent individuals in the Nazi state Hitler - Was the centre of the entire system -> nothing happened without his consent - The strength of his personality allowed him to overcome very able men  - Hitler was a weak dictator who hated being productive ie doing paperwork + he was fearful of making decisions and allowed things to drag on (fear of weakening his prestige) - Some belief that the chaotic structure of the Nazi party was to encourage his subordinates to compete + Party rivalry allowed for Hitler to stand above in a God-like manner - Hitler did not provide specific direction or policies so that his subordinates interpreted what he wanted -> ‘working towards the fuhrer’ - Authoritarian rule - Focus on master plan rather than focusing on domestic policy and day to day running of the government Herman Goring - Helped Hitler take power in 1933 and became the second most powerful man in Germany - Founded the Gestapo in 1933 (later gave command to Heinrich Himmler) - Encouraged Hitler to purge SA - 1940 he was one of the ministers in charge of the four year plan and was responsible for the functioning of the german economy in the build up of ww2 - Program of aryanisation -> limiting the economic power of the Jews - Was the successor for Hitler but was later expelled from the party (Nuremberg Trials) Heinrich Himmler - Was tasked with identifying and eliminating disloyal elements and opposition to the nazi party (Reichsfuhrer of the SS) - Set up and controlled the nazi concentration camps under the order of hitler - 1943 onwards he was chief of german police and minister of the interior (overseeing all forces) - 1945 he was found making peace talks with western allies without hitlers knowledge Joseph Goebbels - Chief of propaganda since 1929 (reich minister of propaganda) - Responsible for control and influence over media and culture and preventing criticisms of Hitler and the party from being published or spoken - Goebbels organised actions against German Jews -> also advocated the violence of Kristallnacht - Extremely anti-semetic -> supported the extermination of the Jews - Promoted nazi beliefs and values, german nationalism and superiority of the german race - Propaganda in order to promote Jew stereotypes -> materialistic, immoral, cunning, untrustworthy, physically unattractive - 1943 urged Germans to embrace the idea of total war and mobilisation Reinhard Heydrich - Head of the sicherheitsdienst (SD) which was an intelligence agency of the SS used to spy on opposition and suspicious individuals and neutralise resistance  - Controlled central immigration office and central resettlement office - Responsible for the Einsatzgruppen (task force which travelled in the wake of the German armies to round up and kill Jews and others undesirable to the regime) Ernst Rohm - Crucial in gaining Hitler and Nazi party initial power during Reichstag (SA) - Built up numbers of SA Rudolf Hess - Hitler’s private secretary - Second in line of succession (after Goring) - Lost favour with Hitler after trying to negotiate a peace settlement Various methods used by Nazis to exercise control Legislation Enabling act: - Allowed the Nazi’s to make laws without having to go through the reichstag - March 1933 Aryan clause: - Law which dismissed Jewish civil servants, academics and teachers Law against the overcrowding of German schools: - 1933 ~60 000 Jewish kids up to age 14 were in school - Limit of 1.5% of a school’s population for jews leading to the deterioration in their treatment and exclusion Law for the protection of German Blood and German Honour: - Banned marriages and extra marital intercourse between Jews and Germans Entjudung: - AKA De-jewification - Encouraged the Jews to leave Germany by making life so unpleasant that they would have to seek elsewhere to live The reich citizenship: - Stripped those no longer considered to be truly German of their citizenship - Mischlinge: a person who only had one or two Jewish grandparents, making them a half Jew (full Jew is 3-4) Nuremberg Laws - The reich citizenship - Law for the protection of German Blood and German Honour - Created to exclude and remove Jews - Also excluded against roma and black people - Laws passed from the nuremberg laws: The Law on the Alteration of Family and Personal names: Jews must have a Jewish name on a list and must choose a name for their newborn on that list. If a current Jew did not have a name on the life they had to add Sara (girl) or Israel (boy)  Decree on passports of Jews: J stamped on passports Police regulation on the marking of Jews: Jews had to wear a special yellow badge which had the star of david outlined with the word Jude Censorship and propaganda - Censorship: abolished civil rights and german democracy, illegal to oppose Hitler, closed down and took over anything anti-Nazi, banning and burning any un-German books - Propaganda: Spread Nazi ideas, glorifying Hitler and Nazi beliefs through the radio and perpetuating negative images and ideas about Jews, Nazu party rallies, youth groups - Propaganda and censorship worked together to control what students in school - Joseph Goebbels was in charge of propaganda under the reich chamber of culture (1933 set up) - Propaganda was simple, repetitive, emotional, and used the power of the masses - Mass rallies were held each year in August in Nuremberg - Goebells ensured that the radio was not just propaganda but music, entertainment, etc - 70% of German households used the radio ❖ Nazi book burnings (May 10 1933) ❖ Triumph of the will (March 28) -> Nazi film which showcased Nazi rallies to manipulate the audience into the ideology of the Volksgemeinschaft and fuhrer The gestapo - Governed by Heinrich Himmler, primarily responsible for the internal security of the reich (Germans) - Was ruthless and efficient in carrying out mass surveillance however many reports about them were dramatised, ie the fact that they were everywhere when they were not that prominent - Gestapo relied heavily upon public denunciations -> enough to terrorise the population -> presence of terror and fear of arrest - Gestapo was not concealed, rather its exploits were used to reaffirm the prevalence of the illusion of strength and to promote denunciations - Effective in maintaining public adherence to Nazism, those released from its custody provided the organisation with free propaganda regarding its behaviour The SS - Also known as the Blackshirts, effective in controlling any remaining German opposition, enabling the persistence of the Reich - Initially served as Hitler’s bodyguards - Strict intellectual, physical and racial requirements for membership ensured the SS stood out as ideal Aryan Germans  - Primary focus was as a police force to discover and remove secret opponents of the state -> moved to silent opposition in a variety of other means ie execution or forced labour Concentration camps - Initially established to detain political opponents however were expanded into a centralised system to remove further undesirables from threatening the state - Experiences of individuals detained within the camps were allowed to leak out into the public sphere which added to the growing terror in society -> ensured citizens pledged loyalty to the state Other Nazi youth - Wanted to control the families, schools and hobbies of the youth in order to turn them into loyal nazi supporters Education - Many existing school textbooks were recalled, destroyed, and replaced with official Nazi textbooks - History concentrated on the rise of the Nazi party, the injustices of the TOV, the weaknesses of the Weimar Republic, and the evil or communism and Jews - Biology taught that Germans were members of the Aryan race. Taught of eugenics which was the supposed genetic dangers of mating with other weaker races - Geography taught about the land Germany lost under the TOV and the need for lebensraum - PE was 15% of school time, pupils had to pass a PE exam and if not they would be expelled -> ensured that boys were fit for any future army service and that girls were fit for producing as many babies as possible - taught in separate schools, girls focused on domestic science lessons -> race studies and eugenics - Jews were used as examples of those possessing non-Aryan characteristics Teachers - 1933 teachers were forced to join the Nazi Teachers association otherwise they would lose their jobs and Jewish teachers were removed - Teachers who appeared to lack sufficient loyalty were rapidly removed from their posts to make way for the more fervent supporters of the regime Free time - Youth organisations - Nazis formed their own organisation the Hitler Youth with the aims of: indoctrinating children with Nazi ideology, make them feel part of a mass movement, prepare them for a military future - 1936 all other political youth organisations had been ordered to disband and young people were encouraged to join Hitler Youth instead - 1936 Hitler Youth law was introduced to encourage youths who had not already joined to do so  - Members of the youth were to be respected within the community as the future of Germany How it was organised - Boys: Pimpf (6-10) worse miniature SA uniforms and swastika armbands, Deutsche Jungvolk (10-14) was to learn about Nazi ideology and military matters, Hitler Jugend (14-18) emphasised military training - Girls: Jungmadel (6-14) for education about health and motherhood, Bund deutsche Madel (BDM) (14-21) had a strong emphasis on motherhood and household issues Anti-Nazi Gangs - Alternative youth gangs began to rival the Hitler youth and was generally made up of working class youths - They refused to conform to the Nazi ideal of how youths should appear and behave ie smoking - Often greeted each other with bye bye instead of Heil Hitler Family - Children were used as informants by the Nazi - Used to report any evidence of anti-Nazi behaviour displayed by adults to Nazi officials Women - Women were praised and valued for their activism in the Nazi movement and their biological power as generators of the race - The third reich’s aggressive population policy encouraged racially pure women to bear as many children as possible - 1936 Lebensborn (fount of life) was an extension of the SS Marriage order of 1931 -> prescribed every SS member should father four children in or out of wedlock - Single mothers were taken care of under Lebensborn (ie financial support) - This program was not aggressively promoted, instead they focused on encouraging matrimony through marriage loans, family income supplements for each child, etc - Women were later obliged to join war labour forces Religion and culture - Usage of the reich chamber of culture, to work in any area of ‘art’ people needed a membership to the reich chamber of culture (1933), a certificate of aryan heritage (1935), and a certificate of good political conduct (1938) - Promotion of Nazi ideas included: anti-semitism (the eternal jew propaganda), superiority of the aryan race, german nationalism, glory of war, importance of family, german virtues, emphasis on blood and soil (rural life) - Eternal Jew: propaganda that highlighted how Jews were communists, greedy, and physically unfit - 1935 120 art exhibitions were held in factories (tickers subsidised for workers) to allow the common people to enjoy art which was previously for the elite  - Reich cinema law (1934): all scripts had to be submitted to Goebbels ministry for approval and check before release, all actors and directors had to pass racial and political background checks - Hitler went against the concordat through removing Catholic youth groups and changed the curriculum of Catholic schools causing opposition Opposition to the Nazi Regime Left wing groups - A handful of workers were dissatisfied with the regime -> sabotaged the regime without detection through small acts ie slowing down work - The social democratic party fled the country however attempted to rouse resistance among workers by distributing leaflets and newspapers + published reports abroad to inform the world of the situation in Germany - Communist party formed underground organisations who worked to print and distribute leaflets and newspapers and attempted to sway workers in hope of sabotaging war production Youth groups - Most people apart of these groups were working class gangs who rejected the compulsory membership of Hitler Youth - Opposed the regime through their lifestyles - These groups were seen as a nuisance and embarrassment rather than a threat to the regime - The Edelweiss Pirates: association of a number of youth movements which opposed nazi rule -> openly interacted with the opposite sex, were anti-militaristic and non conforming, went against restrictions on movements through hiking -> did not join the Hitler Youth Group and dressed against conservative ideals -> punished through having their heads shaved, public denunciations or concentration camps -> viewed more as a nuisance than threat The churches - The breach of the concordat by Hitler (closing down the Catholic youth league) led to many priests and laypeople speaking out against Nazism - People Pius XI issued a statement to be read aloud in all churches which condemned Hitler’s violations of the concordat and urged German catholics to stay true to their beliefs -> read in many catholic churches - Some catholics forced the reversal of Nazi bans by displaying religious symbols The army - The only organisation which had the power to potentially overthrow Hitler - The oath to Hitler made it difficult for people to oppose Hitler as the military revolved around loyalty and obedience - Resistance groups were formed to establish an attempt to prevent the oncoming war which were rebuffed Individuals - Individuals who openly opposed the regime risked being labelled as traitors and endangering themselves and their families - Dissatisfaction was done in a lowkey manner ie lack of cooperation The intentions and authority of the UN Intentions of the UN include: - Maintain peace throughout the world - To promote friendly relationships among different nations - To assist nations to work together to improve the quality of life for poor people - Help nations achieve these goals Authority of the UN - Power of the UN lies with the security council which approves peacekeeping missions in order to maintain peace around the world - All major world powers are a part of the UN with the 5 largest from ww2 being in the security council meaning more resources to enforce things Ambitions of Germany and Japan Germany - Policy of Lebensraum meant aggressive expansionism Policy of appeasement - The western powers followed a policy of appeasement to avoid war with Hitler -> he continued to demand territory without incurring a war and essentially encouraged hitler to strive for his goals - There was no action taken against Germany’s rearmament Rearmament (1933+) - Germany had left the LON and withdrew from the disarmament conference - 1935 Hitler publicly announced Germany’s rearmament and introduced conscription - This was a rejection of the TOV which the allies allowed Occupation of the Rhineland (1936) - Under the TOV this land was demilitarised to increase french security however in 1936 30k German soldiers reoccupied this - Lack of opposition from the allied powers established a precedent - Allowed for Germany to construct the Siegfried line Anschluss: invasion of austria (1938) - Troops sent to austria were met with little resistance - They became under the reich in an event called the anschluss - Led to Hitler requesting for the Sudetenland from the allies Invasion of Czechoslovakia (1938) - Germany demanded for Sudetenland which was a part of Czechoslovakia  - In the munich agreement italy, britain and france handed the land over to Hitler - Hitler then used this land to occupy the rest of Czechoslovakia - This led to the end of appeasement Invasion of Poland (1939) - Hitler demanded for Poland then invaded it - This was the final trigger for war - Broke the terms of the Soviet-Nazi non-aggression pact Japan - Japan had the following ideologies: pan-asianism, self-sufficiency, new order, greater east asia co prosperity sphere - This led to the invasion of Manchuria (1931), China (1937) and French Indochina (1940) and the bombing of Pearl Harbour (1941) - Japan had bombed pearl harbour with the belief that the US would give up their steel and oil