Germany 1918-1939

NMG 2006

How to use this power point

• There are a number of different questions including multiple choice. They are followed by the correct answer

• Each answer is accompanied by an explanation• The idea is that you try to get the answers

without cheating!• Download an answer sheet from the website

Question One

a) What does this poster show?

b) When do you think this poster was printed

i) 1919 ii) 1924 iii) 1933 ?

c) What is this poster a good example of?

Answer to question one

• A) It shows a Jew – as a Communist, as money grabber and as a slave driver

• B) iii) 1934 – once the Nazis were in power they could attack the Jews at any time

• C) The poster is an excellent example of Nazi propaganda. It feeds off resentment against Jews

Question Two

• A) Who was blamed for causing the Reichstag Fire?

• B) How did the Reichstag Fire help Hitler achieve power?

March 1933

Question Two

• A) Marius van der Lubbe, a Dutch communist, was executed for the crime. The Nazis blamed the Communist party and they were prevented from fighting the March Election

• B) The Nazis made good propaganda of the event. They won 288 seats in the elections.

Question Three

• A) What is happening in this picture?

• B) What does it tell us about the success of the Nazi policy in schools?

Question Three

• A) Race studies was a new subject under the Nazis. The two Jewish students are being held up to ridicule in the classroom

• B) Nearly all teachers were members of the Nazi party and so would have enforced the poor treatment of the Jewish students. But it does not tell us about the reaction from the students

Question Four

• Give 2 examples of the terms of the Treaty as it affected Germany

• How important was the Treaty of Versailles to the long term survival of the Weimar Republic?

The Treaty of Versailles

June 1919

Diktat

Question Four

• Loss of land eg Polish Corridor: Army reduced to100,000: War Guilt

• Immediate effect was great bitterness against ‘the November Criminals’ – those who had agreed the Armistice. Opponents of the Republic could always use this as a weapon. Hitler promised that he would destroy the Treaty of Versailles

Question Five

• A) Why did the French and Belgians invade Germany in 1923?

• B) Why didn’t the Germans stop them?

• C) What was the result of this?

French and Belgians

Invade the Ruhr(1923)

Question Five

• A) Germany failed to pay its instalment on the reparations

• B) German army had been reduced to 100,000 – more or less a police force!

• C) Government called for passive resistance – printed money to pay wages and this led to hyper inflation

Question Six

• A) July 1934 – what event is being referred to in the Cartoon?

• B) How important was this event in establishing Hitler as a Dictator?

Question Six

• A) Event is ‘The Night of the Long Knives’ – the arrest and execution of 180 members of the SA + other political opponents (400 in all)

• B) Event removed Rohm as threat to Hitler, ensured loyalty of the Army to Hitler, and cemented his position as unchallenged party leader

Question Seven

• A) Who produced this poster – the Communists or the Nazis?

• B) What does the poster tell you about the German communist party?

Question Seven

• The Nazis produced this poster as part of their anti-Communist campaign

• It tells you that the Nazis saw the Communists as a major threat – portraying them as traitors, saboteurs, killers, and common criminals.

• Middle and upper class Germans would only be too willing to believe all this!

Question Eight

• A) What does this picture show?

• B) What message is being put over?

• C) How important were the young people to Hitler?

Question Eight

• A) It shows members of the Hitler Youth at a summer camp

• B) Summer camps are fun, the boys are brave

• C) The young were seen as the future. The boys were the new soldiers, girls were to produce babies for the master race

Question Nine

• A) How would you describe the conditions under which Hitler is being held?

• B) What does this tell you about the attitude of the authorities?

• C) Was this a setback for the Nazis?

Question Nine

• A) Comfortable – can wear own clothes, not obvious that he is in a prison cell – can have visitors

• B) Bavarian government was sympathetic- Hitler received short sentence, served in comfort

• C) Hitler able to re-think ideas, wrote Mein Kampf & was able to rebuild party

Question Ten

• A) What is this cartoon a good example of?

• B) Why did the Nazis produce cartoons like this at this time (1930?)

Question Ten

• A) This is a good example of Nazi propaganda

• B) The Nazis are looking for votes. Many small shops were going out of business because of the numbers of large department stores.Hitler promised to stop the building of these stores and to prevent price cutting to protect smaller businesses

Question 11

The ruler of Germany after 1918 was :

• A) Friedrich Ebert

• B) Kaiser William II

• C) Adolf Hitler

Question 11

Answer is

• A) Friedrich Ebert

He was the leader of the Social Democrats the largest political party in the Reichstag (German parliament)

Question 12

The ‘November Criminals’ were

• A) A group of left wing revolutionaries who tried to seize power in Berlin

• B) The Allies who had imposed a large war fine on Germany at Versailles

• C) The Social Democrats who had agreed to the armistice which ended the war

Question 12

The answer is

C) The Social Democrats who had agreed to the armistice which ended the war

Furthermore they were accused of betraying an undefeated German army – the ‘stab in the back’

Question 13

Who became the next President of the Republic in 1926 after Ebert’s death

• A) Field Marshal von Ludendorff

• B) Adolf Hitler

• C) Field Marshal von Hindenburg

• D) Gregor Stresemann

Question 13

The Answer is

c) Field Marshal von Hindenburg

This was a vote against the Republic as he represented the old Germany, the Germany of the Kaiser. The result showed that many Germans were unhappy with democracy

Question 14

The currency crisis of 1923/24 was caused by:

a) Invasion of the Ruhr which caused the German workers to go on strike

b) Printing of too much money by the government which backed the strike

c) French destruction of German industry

Question 14

The answers are:a) The invasion of the RuhrFrench and Belgian troops occupied the Ruhr

to enforce reparation payments ANDb) Printing of too much moneyThe government had to pay the workers but

was not getting money in

Question 15

Under the Weimar Constitution the President was granted special powers by:

a) The Enabling Act

b) The Law for the Protection of the German People

c) Article 48

Question 15

The answer is

c) Article 48

This allowed the President to ignore the Reichstag and pass laws by himself. Between 1930 and 1933 more and more laws were passed this way, paving the way for a dictatorship