4p345f

, 1918-45

Aims of this chapter • P. 190, green box • At the end of the unit, try to answer to the 3 points in the box: – “I know everything”: WELL DONE, PAL! – “I don’t know anything”: WOULD YOU MIND TO START TO STUDY, ONE DAY OR ANOTHER?  – “I know something…”: IT’S A REALLY, REALLY, REALLY HARD EXAM… MAKE YOUR OWN CONSIDERATIONS…

Introduction • Before the armistice of 1918, on 11 Nov 1918 Wilhelm II(Kaiser of ) abdicated • Democracy was set in , known as Weimar Republic. Democracy lasted for 14 years, then (1933) it was replaced by Hitler’s dictatorship and the THIRD REICH, that collapsed in 1945 (suicide of Hitler and defeat of )

Was the Weimar Republic doomed from the start?

How did emerge from the defeat at the end of the First World War? •

From October to November 1918 some events happened in , and they are known as the German Revolution -

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Naval mutiny Rebellions among workers and soldiers

The Kaiser was forced to abdicate (he fled to Holland) The power ed to the Social Democratic Party (EBERT) that was the largest party in the Reichstag In a general atmosphere of chaos, they declared a Republic with Ebert as Chancellor  his first aim was to restore order and to hold democratic elections ASAP

• BUT it was not easy. There were a lot of extremists that wanted to overthrow the new govern. – Spartacist League: inspired by the Bolshevik  in 1919 they changed their name in German Communist Party (sounds as a non-sense ;) ) and the planned a revolution!

Who? Rosa Luxemburg and Karl Liebknecht • Why? To establish a communist-style governm. • How? Formation of a revolutionary committee, general strikes, newspaper • What response? Leaders murdered by Freikorps (special corps, independent) • Reasons of failure? They were divided, loyalty of the army • Significance? It showed the weakness of the governm. It led to other communist rebellions.

What happened next? • During 1919 elections, Ebert’s Party emerged as the biggest one in the country. • Now, they had to rebuild the country as a new republic. • Since in Berlin there were rebellions and street fighting they met in Weimar. • On July 1919 they approved the republic. • For its structure look with attention at p. 192 fig. 9.2 (CAREFULLY!)

Few words on the structure • The President appoints the Chancellor; he is the supreme commander of the Army; he can be a “dictator” on article 48; he is elected every 7 years by 20year old German people • The Chancellor chooses a team of ministers • The Reichstag is elected by 20y; for max 4 years; makes law and control the budget • The Reichsrat: it includes representative from the 18 provincial state parliaments; could veto Reichstag laws (but 2/3 of Reichstag vote cancels the veto); advises the Chancellor on laws

Some of its features

• It has a proportional representation = more or less, if I get 4 votes I’ll have 4 seats in the Parliament. – ADV: fair – DISADV: extremist; wasted votes (difficult to get the 50%); very often they were coalition govern  it led to an election every 18 months

• Article 48: it gave to the President a lot of power; he used it more and more between 1929 and 1933, undermining confidence in the Reichstag • Forward looking features: equal voting rights to women and men; right to speech; in some respects Weimar constitution was the most democratic in the world

What was the impact of the Treaty of V.? • Army: it was unpopular, but the right wing hated it (remeber the disarmament clause)  many discharged soldiers ed the Freikorps. The Allies, not so stupid, then started to consider the Freikorps part of the army • Who were they? Anti-communist, violent; formed by Ebert at the eve of the Spartacist revolt; well equipped; in January 1919 they were 4000

• Economy: the treaty was a big slap for (reparations, territories, resources). – Reparations was settled at £6.6 billion. The governm. thought it was a strain too big. In 1922 it failed to pay the second installment. The French thought it was a bluff, so, together with Belgian, they occupy the Ruhr in January 1923. it led to a serious crisis: • German govern authorised ive resistance (no orders and they refused to work) • The French expelled 100.000 Germans • The revenue of the governm. fell • So the govern decided to print money  hyperinflation

The Weimar governm. response • In 1923 there was a huge risk that the economy and the governm. would collapse. • was saved by Stresemann who became chancellor and Foreign Minister in 1923: – He ended ive resistance – Rentemark was introduced to stabilise the currency – He resumed reparations

• All those initiatives led to a period of political recovery (1924-29)

To what extent did the Republic recover after 1923? • If 1919-23 was a critical time, the next 6 years were characterized by recovery and stability, thanks to Stresemann. Moreover: • 1. DAWES PLAN: in April 1924 = huge loan from USA to help the economy. Moreover, reparations were linked to what could afford. The more stable Reichmarch replaced the Rentenmark  it brought to an economical revival. By 1928 the industrial production exceeded pre-war levels.

• BUT there were also ECONOMICAL problems: unemployment, farming sector very weak and strong dependency from USA. The 1929 American crisis hit as well  so, had to cope with world recession and had to repay huge amounts of money to USA. Unemployment started again to rise: in 1932 6 millions (1/3 of the workforce, 10% higher than in other countries) • It led to POLITICAL problems: in 1930 extremist parties rose to 31% (from 13% in 1928) and to 52% in 1932. • It was quite clear that the Weimar Republic could only prosper under favorable conditions

What were the achievements of the Weimar period? • Political: – Stresemann wanted to improve the situation of G. • In 1923 it was still the enemy • In 1929 (when he died) it was a strong power in Europe

– was reassured and leaved the Ruhr in 1923 – On 1926 was itted in the LN – Young Plan: reparations £2.2  WAS A RESPONSIBLE MEMBER OF THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY

• Cultural – The 1920s was a glorious moment in : democracy, no censorship. – A lot of night clubs, dance halls, cafés  a lot of cabaret artists.

Cabaret and cinema • Seen with disgust by the right wing, as decadence • Critical, unconventional interpretations of the new social order • Some of those artist was forced to leave under the Nazi regime • (Marlene Dietrich, The blue angel)

Expressionism • No censorship • Critical, unconventional interpretations of the new social order

• Fritz Lang, Metropolis

• Bauhaus

Why was Hitler able to dominate by 1934?

What did the nazi party stand for in the 1920s? • 1919- establishment of the German’s worker party by Drexler • 1919  Hitler ed • 1920  25 points programme and renamed it National Socialist Party (Na-zi)  swastika • 1921  Hitler replaced Drexler • 1921  he founded SA • 1923  Munich Putsch

– It was strongly anti-semitic and nationalist. – The 25 points included: • • • • • • • • • •

A greater (Austria, Poland, Cz.) Vs Tr. Of Vers More territories Citizenship only for blood (ius sanguinis) No more immigration Nationalisations of industries More welfare Special education for gifted children Sport A strong power

The Munich Putsch • Nazis wanted to overthrow the Weimar Republic (learning by Mussolini). • The government was unpopular due to hyperinflation, the end of the ive resistance, the resumed reparations • Hitler hoped to have help from army and Bavaria • WHAT HAPPENED? – SA forced a meeting with the Bavarian Prime Minister, that was forced to declare he would the revolution, but the day after he changed his mind – Hitler staged a march in Munich to gain public – Police ended all this pagliacciata  Hitler went to jail

• WHY? – Army remained loyal to Weimar – Bavaria too – The Nazi party was only 3000

• It was a humiliation, but it gave him considerable publicity • Hitler understood he had to move inside the law  to expand the party

• Mein Kampf: Landsberg. Very high loyalties – Aryan – Dangers of communism – ’s destiny as a dominant state

• Nazi tactics (1924-29) – Nationalism + anti-semitism stand still – Propaganda – From 3000 to 100.000

Why did the Nazis have little success before 1930? • Nevertheless the propaganda, the Party had little impact on the elections, until 1924 when he got 6.5%, thanks to the process. But it declined on 1928 at 2.6% • It was the same moment of recovering for Weimar republic. So, why to switch the vote?

Why was Hitler able to become Chancellor by 1933? • It depended a lot on the economic depression. The governm took the blame for the harsh situation, and voters started to the Communists and the Nazis. • In 1930 (max unemployment) the Nazis got 6 million votes (the second largest party, after the Social Democrats. The Communists were the third!) • The Nazis used this critical situation and started to blame the governm. Goebbels made very strong propaganda, also with technological methods. • The Communists tried to blame the capitalistic system, giving the Nazis the role of “defensor pacis”.  from the industrialists

•

Hitler’s political manoeuvrings (1932-33) In 1932 the Nazis won the election (more than 13 million

votes). So, Hitler should have become Chancellor, but Hindenburg didn’t trust “the little vulgar caporal”. • Franz von Papen (Centre Party) formed the new governm, but without the Nazi it was impossible  Schelicher, a former general, tried to form a new governm but he had the same issue.

• Von Papen became a rival of Schleicher and he tried to persuade Hindenburg to make a deal with Hitler: he would become Chancellor with von Papen as Vice-Chancellor.

How did Hitler consolidate his power in 1933-34? • On 1933 Hitler’s influence was limited, he was simply the head of another Weimar coalition. Within 18 months he got absolute power. HOW???? – 1. he called for general election (with a lot of police and SA). The worst episode was the Reichstag fire (27 February – a communist was charged and Hindenburg was persuaded to issue an emergency decree that increased police powers. People’s fear of Communism whipped up)

– 2. He got a vote of 43.9%  he still needed the of the Nationalists. – 3. The enabling act: On 23 March 1933 Hitler introduced an act (he convinced the Reichstag with threats + promises, and with a lot of SA + SS) that established his dictatorship – 4. Now he was a dictator and he could act as he pleased. But there were organisations that could have stopped him: • The unions could have organised a general strike • The opposition parties could have regrouped • The Civil service could have stalled procedures and stop nazi laws • The state governm could have continued to follow non-nazi laws • The army could have organised a coup

– SO Hitler needed to resolve all those potential threats.

• And, in fact, he consolidated his power between March 1933 and August 1934 – 1. Trade unions abolished, a Labour Front (Nazi) was set up in its place – 2. All political parties were banned – 3. The Civil service was “purged” of all the enemies of the state. – 4. State parliaments were abolished in early 1934.

– 5. The night of long knives, 30 June 1934: Army: Hitler was afraid of Rohm, leader of SA that wanted to merge the army with the SA. Moreover, he started to see Rohm as a threat because he wasn’t satisfied with Nazism and arguing in favor of a second revolution. On 30 June 1934 Rohm and other generals were arrested and shot by SS – 6. When president Hindenburg died Hitler proclaimed himself Chancellor and Reich Fuhrer – SA: private army of the Nazi Party (1921) – SS: Hitler’s bodyguard (1925)

The Nazi regime

How effectively did the Nazis control (1933-45)? • The opposition: In the election of 1933 Nazis got 44% . It means that the 56% didn’t like Nazis. Anyway, during the Third Reich other elections revealed a stunning approval rate: up to 90%, but it was not a “sincere” figures because: – All the opposition party was banned – The Nazis themselves counted and published the votes

•  it’s difficult to measure the real entity of the opposition

• The main sources of opposition were: – Trade unions: they were officially banned in 1933 but some of them continued to work secretly organising illegal strikes – Right-wings groups: the most important was the Kreisau Circle who thought to a substitute for Hitler. It was composed by the high German society – Left-wings groups: the more important were Communists and Social Democrats, and they both maintained an underground network, spreading propaganda and new ideas – The army: twice officers thought to kill Hitler • In 1930, General Beck • 1944, after Stalingrad  it led to 5000 executions

– The churches: Catholic and Protestant. The Catholic bishop Galen of Munster succeeded in stopping the euthanasia program; the Protestant Pastor Niemoller formed a rival church to the Nazi one, and thus he spent 8 years in a camp – Youth: Edelweiss Pirates and Navajos offered a refuge for anti-Nazi teens. The White Rose movement was linked to Munich university.

• But how did the Nazis deal with the opposition? (try to guess…). • Sadly, it worked well, since there were no signs of revolts and opposition. There was some plots, but they all failed. The program of indoctrination was strong and there was an effective system of terror and violence:

– Informers: everyone was encouraged to report any suspect anti-Nazi activity. There were specific nazi officers too. It created fear and anxiety. – The SS: led by Himmler, they pursued enemy of the state; for this reason they had very wide powers, and they run the camps. – The Gestapo: it was the secret police, under Himmler control from 1936. They could spy everyone and arrested them for small suspicions. – Concentration camps: not only for Jewish people, but also for the opponents of the regime, gypsies, beggars, tramps, workshy (chi non voleva lavorare). They used them as slaves. – Nazi courts and judges: all the judges had to declare their loyalty to Hitler. Capital offences (reati punibili con la morte) were increased from 3 to 43 between 1933 and 1943. Listening a foreign radio, or telling a joke on Nazis carried to death.

Nazi use of culture and mass media • In 1933 Goebbels was appointed minister for propaganda and Enlightenment  to persuade Germans of the benefits of Nazi rule. They tried to create loyal followers of Hitler. – Art: see Saddam (no expressionism because it was “decadent”; only celebration of the Aryan race) – Music: popular, jazz and Jewish music banned, they preferred Wagner and Beethoven – Literature: books were censored (public burning), only propaganda books were encouraged – Film and theatre: historical themes to make comparisons; propaganda movies; official newsreels to broadcast the Nazi message (see Italy, Istituto Luce)

– Radio: a lot of radios everywhere, all the stations were controlled by the Nazi – Mass rallies: a lot of public occasions. The most spectacular was at Nuremberg. The aim was to reinforce the personality cult centered on Hitler, and to raise money ;) – Posters – Sport: 1936 Berlin Olympics. But Jesse Owens (a BLACK American) ruined the Nazi (very stupid) dream.

• + the extraordinary speaking abilities of Adolf Hitler https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3C9iUaP 51CI

Why did the Nazi persecute many groups?

• The aims of the Nazi violence were not only Jewish people but also: – Homosexuals – Beggars – Mentally handicapped – Drunkards – Prostitutes – Gypsies

Because all of them were considered incompatible with the “glorious” Aryan race. He had a “clear” manifesto about that.

• The master race theory: Hitler believed that Germans formed a superior race (races don’t exist!), for this very reason should rule the world (obvious, isn’t it?). The WWI defeat, or the 1923 and 1930-33 crisis was fault of the Jews. He discouraged marriages between German and non-German people. • The efficiency requirement: since was overburdened with undesirable people, it was better to get rid of them. They didn’t contribute and cost a lot in of care and welfare.

Jews • SO, the Nazis separated Jews from Aryans – They ordered to boycott Jewish shops in April 1933 – “Jews not wanted” started to appear in the shops and restaurants – Jews where fired from many places – In 1935 NEUREMBERG LAW denied German citizenship to Jews and prohibited marriage – During the KRISTALLNACHT in 1938, (la notte dei cristalli) Jews where fiercely attacked, and after that they were banned from schools and public and private places (such as theatres). – For all those reasons, 550.000 (40%) Jews left their country.

The gypsies • They were worst than Jews because they violated the racial and the efficiency requirements. • So, they were discriminated and a lot of them were sent to the camps. • In 1938 they were forced to be r ed.

• What happened to all of the “undesirables”? – In 1933 a Sterilisation Law was ed for people with rather unspecific illness (such as “debolezza”)  it ended with the forced sterilisation of 700.000 persons – In 1939 the Nazis started to kill the mentally ill with a secret euthanasia program (from starvation to gas chambers). The campaign ended in 1941, after the death of 70.000 people.

Can we talk of a totalitarian state? • Totalitarian: a state that controls all the aspects of public and private life with the aid of propaganda and violence. • So, Nazi was a totalitarian state, but it was not a perfect totalitarianism. We’ll see why in the next slide.

• Political system: Nazi was a one-party state with charismatic leader. There were small opponents group stopped by Gestapo  FULL CONTROL • Economy: was largely private and independent, the control of the governm. was linked to the war production  INCOMPLETE CONTROL • Society: women and children were strictly controlled but groups of teenagers escaped from this control  PARTIAL CONTROL • Mass media and culture: COMPLETE • Religion: they tried to control the Catholic and Protestant church but they failed INCOMPLETE CONTROL

• So, the main exceptions to a totalitarian state were religion and economy. If the government would have worked well, the German state would have been really totalitarian, but Hitler had to use “divide et impera”, to prevent alliances against him. Moreover, Hitler didn’t understand the importance of istrative details.

Living in Nazi • Young people: Nazism affected the life of young people in 2 ways, in order to create a new generation of loyal Nazis – Education system: after 1933 all the school was placed under the control of the Ministry of Education. Every teacher had to take a loyalty oath and the Nazi Teacher’s League. Some books (history and biology) were rewritten, according to Nazi ideology. A great emphasis was placed on sport and physical education.

– Youth movement: Hitler Youth was established during 1920s (while other groups such as boy scout were banned). It was organised by age and sex. For the boys this experience was aimed at making good soldiers (physical, technical training + political indoctrination); girls ed the League of German Maidens at 14 and they were prepared to motherhood

• The Rebels: – The Swing movements: they loved jazz, long hair, dancing, they preferred English and American culture and they were tolerant with Jews. In 1941 over 300 were arrested, some of them were sent in the camps

– The Edelweiss Pirates: they were working class adolescents (14-17). They were a collection of groups that shared the dislike for the strict regimentation and sexual segregation of the Hitler Youth. The believed in freedom of expression, they painted anti-nazi slogan on the walls. During the war their activity became more threatening. After the assassination of a Gestapo leader 12 of them were publicly hanged, other were sent to camps.

• The Nazi policy towards women and family: – At the core of the Nazi ideology was the traditional family, because it gave stability to society and it raised the birth rate. In fact, after 1900 many woman started to pursue careers and the birth rate fell. During the Weimar Republic, they acquired the right to vote and to study Law and Medicine. The Reich wanted to stop all of this and suggested that women follow the 3 K (Kinder, Kirche und Kuche). They deprived women of the vote and removed them from professions. Moreover the Reich needed people for the army and for the war industries. – The Reich took measures to encourage marriage: loans, fertility medals (!) (gold for 8 children and more), family allowances (assegni familiari), free classes in parenting skills. – The Lebensborn program: selected unmarried women were encouraged to get impregnated by racially pure SS men and to give the babies to the Fuhrer, in state institutions. TERRIBLE.

– All those measures increased the birth and marriage rates, but most couple opted for a maximum of 2 children. – After 1937 there was a U-turn: • the Nazi regime needed women in the industries and farms, with very low wages, so sometimes they were forced to accept • the marriage loans was cancelled • It reveals the contradictory nature of Nazism: women should be mothers and stay at home, but we need them also in the army!

• Did most people benefit from Nazi rule? – Those who suffered the most were a minority: gypsies, jews, communists and socialists, devout christians, but until 1939 (the starting of the war) the majority of Germans accepted the Nazi regime because their life standard had improved since the Great Depression • Working class: there was a great reduction of unemployment (from 6 millions to a few hundred thousands), partly through public works, rearmament, National Labour Service; there were also benefits. • Farmers: price guarantees, elimination of debts, and protection against their estates being broken up to pay death duties (tasse di successione) • Businessmen: elimination of Jewish business; large firms gained contracts from the rearmament programme, benefited from the absence of trade unions and Communists

• How did the coming of war change life in Nazi ? – War broke out in September 1939 and was affected by shortage of food and labour, but for the first 2 years they were galvanized by victories and luxury goods were imported from conquered territories (mostly for the officers). The turning point was in 1941-41, after the defeat in Russia. Disillusionment with Nazism became widespread, encouraging opposition.

• Let’s analyses the situation: • Shortages: food rationing was introduced in September, in November clothes rationing. Then other items like soap and toilet paper. Black market flourished. Labour shortage became more and more serious. • Bombing: 3.6 million homes were destroyed. 150.000 people died during bombing in February 1945. • Total war: in 1944 Goebbels introduced measures to direct all the resources towards war. • The Final Solution: The killing of Jews started in 1941. At the Wannsee Conference (1942) Nazis decided to eliminate all European Jews, evacuating them in remotely located camps in Poland such as Treblinka and Auschwitz. The Nazis killed 6 million Jews (Rome has a population of 4 million people) through gassing, shooting, starvation, working to death.

Revision • Read Key Points on p. 220 • Read Revision tips on p. 220

Final task for my tireless students • P. 221 n. 1-10. As usual, you have to use sources and your knowledge.

The end!