The Depression and the Nazis

How did the Depression Help the Nazis?

After reading pages 191-194, do you agree with Goebbels' view that people rallied to support Hitler for positive reasons - or do you think that Gordon Craig (bottom, pg. 193"negative cohesion") was right that people supported the Nazis out of fear and disillusionment?

Work through questions 1 - 3 to help you make up your mind.

1. Look carefully at Sources 3-7 and 9. For each source, write two sentences explaning whether you think it is evidence that:

• Supports the view of Goebbels
• Supports the view of Craig
• Could be used to support either interpretation

Source 3:

This source would support Craig because it would play off the fears of being poor. It was not until the country was plunged into a great depression that the Nazis starting to gain support. By playing off the fear of being poor and unemployed the nazis gain support by saying they could fix it. 

Source 4:

This source supports Goebbels because it is showing off the Nazis number which was a huge part of them gaining support. by showing off number they were able to impress people. The energy the speeches and marches gave out was uplifting for many people who were very sad most of the time due to the poor status of the government. 

Source 5:

This source can be work for both people. It is both smart of the germans part for having created the poster and the poster itself is playing off of people fear and dislike for the government. 

Source 6:

This would have been support in Goebbles. This picture shows just how big and impressive some of the rallies were by the nazis. This impressive size would have gained positive support for the Nazis. 

Source 7:

This poster would have definitely played off of the fears of the people rather then gain support based off of what the nazis messages were. This was the huge fear the public had for communist and this poster promotes that fear.

Source 9:
 This poster could be in support of both people. It shows the dislike of the current government. However also promotes that the Nazis will give bread and work to people.

2. Now work through the text and other sources on pages 191-94. Make a list of examples and evidence that seem to support either viewpoint.

Some evidence to support that the nazis did not gain power by people supporting what they were saying but supported them out of fear is that it was not until the depression that they gained support. This shows that without that fear that the people have the nazis would not have gained power. Also people did not like the current government are were looking for a change. The Nazis knew this and bashed the government all the time. Also source 7 shows the nazis used the fear of Communism to their advantage as well. All these fears made it very easy for the Nazis to use them for their advantage and take power.

3. Decide how far you agree with each of the following three statements and give them a score on a scale of 1-5. And then, write a short paragraph explaining your score for each statement.

a. Very few people fully supported the Nazis (Score = 2    ) Explanation:
 This is hard to say considering that A it is hard to determine how much someone supports a party just by a vote. Also there are few cases in which people 100% support any political party this happens a lot in the United States and yet that person may still vote for that parties candidate. Though i would have to say that due to the conditions in the state and what people were willing to do this had to be true to some extent. 

b. The Key factor was the economic depression. Without it, the Nazis would have remained a minority fringe party. (Score =5     ) Explanation: It was this event that lead to people listen to the more radical ideas that the Nazis supported and wanted. People do not listen to these ideas and undergo such new change if they do not have a good reason and this depression was what gave people what they needed to make these changes. 

c. The politicians of the Weimar Republic were mainly responsible for the rise of the Nazis 

(Score = 3.5    ) Explanation: This is true for the most part because it was not until the deep depression that people began to listen the the nazis. before the party existed but gain very little support and if it weren't for the economic claps then the Nazis would never have gain power. History can show that without the depression the party would have died and never gain power. 

Nazi Ideology

Noah Lonergan

 In the 25 point plan the Germans really focused on the unity of the German rase. They were more focused on getting German united and creating a "pure" german rase. They did this with the points like the one that states "only a member of the race can be a citizen" this type of races lead to the deep hatred to other races like the jews and other different type of people. However some of the 25 points were far more direct than this. The point that says "no jew may become a member of the states" shows just how direct about getting rid of jewish people from the country. They have goals to take back the land they lost in the Treaty of Versailles. The very society is also changing as well. With the 25 points plan everyone in society had to work. Also there was a divison of profits, land reform, death to all criminals, and education reform. These knew ideas of change would have been good news for people who are 100% german people who are upset about the treaty and who feel the rich are two rich. However these points would not be good for people who are jewish or not 100% german because they will not be treated equally in their own country.

Page 55 Sumery, Hilter Notes

• 1889- Hitler was bron an inn on the Austria German boarder. his father was a boarder patrol officer at the time. This was not Hitlers parents, Alois and Klara, first child they had, had to other which both died when they were still babies 
• Hitler first attended school at the age of six when his family was living in various small villages. Around this time Hitler had a brother who only lived to the age of six. The next sibling was Adolf's sister who would live longer than him. 
• Hitlers father dies in 1903, Hitlers grades drop and becomes very rebelious and even uses his school reports as toilet paper. All grades but Art and Gym class go down
• Hitler drops out of school.
• Between sixteen and nineteen Hitler didn't work or go to school. It was as this time he took an interest in politics and history 
• Hitler trys to get into an art school but fails to get in. Also at this time, around nineteen, his mother dies from cancer. 
• He moved into Jewish quarters and developed deep hartred towards jewish people and marxism 
• He then joins the arm and is not promoted passed corpral because they feel he does not have the leadership qualitys to lead beyond this rank.

The Munich Putsch and the Nazis 25-Point Program

The march on Munich was not a total disaster for the Nazis, because they got a lot of media attention from the trails  However the march itself was a failure because hey did not capture the city. They failed due to the fact that they overestimated their support. they thought more people would support their cause and would be meant with little opposition.

The 25 point plan was mainly use to try and create a pure bread of 100%  Germans. They have main points which help to do this including the first one which states they need to unit Germans to create one great Germany. This is also supported by say that only people who are German blood can be citizens. This is the start of the racism that will lead to the final solution

The Birth of the Weimar Republic

1. Why was it called the Weimar Republic and not the Berlin Republic?
Because Germany was in chaos and a very small town that was not in chaos was wiimar. Berlin th .capital was in chaos and unstable at the time/

2. What new rights did Friedrich Ebert promise the German people?
Freedome of speech freedom of religon and freedome of and better wprk conditions.

3. Hey, a democracy. Sounds great! Why was this a shock to the Germany peoples' systems?
they were not use to it it challenge ther noramal political views

4. What positions did the opposition on the right hold that restricted Friedrich Ebert's new government?
The advisers. Neraly all the former kisers advisers remaind in power and this meant it would have been hard for him to get things done when hes ment with constant oposition.

5. What was the name of "powerful myth" that developed and what "evidence" was there to support the myth? The power myth was that the former kyser and men like him stabbed Germany in the back during the war. There was no evidence. I think?


6. Study Source 3: What position was Ebert elected to in Jan. 1919? Who elected him?
Ebert was elicted by the people as president in position of Goverment.

7. Study Source 3: How would a Chancellor gain power in the Weimar Republic? (Why you need to know this: By 1933 Hitler will have this job.) By sucking up to the president or by becoming popular with the people the so that the president will not be able to opose him.

Impact of WWI on Germany

Make a list of the challenges facing Friedrich Ebert when he became the leader of Germany following the abdication of Kaiser Wilhelm II on Nov. 9, 1918.

Organize the challenges as follows:

Political Challenges
there were many changes in the political system in Germany it had changed to a unstable democracy. many people felt they were betrayed by the government.




Social Challenges
The war caused huge differences in the rich and poor social classes. Also many people felt that having woman work in factories while men were out fighting in the war shook up the normal life in Germany before the war. People working in factories did not like that hey could only make a certain amount while the factories owner had no limit on the amount of money they could make.  



Economic Challenges

the nation income of the country was down by tow thirds. many people were widowed meaning a lot of money was going to the families of the peoples who died in the war. Finally the industrial production was down by one third since the war had started. 



Germans React Angrily to the Treaty

Under each of the following six points briefly explain why Germany reacted so angrily to the Treaty of Versailles.

1. Germans were no aware of the situation in 1919.
Due to Germanys high censorship of the war, this was due to the fact that Germany wanted people to join the war and keep German moral up, many people though Germany was winning the war or at least not loosing it. This lack  of knowledge of the war meant that many people were surprised by the end of the war and the treaty. they though that there was simply a ceasefire.



2. War guilt and reparations
War guilt meant that Germany was to accept blame for the war. they were also forced to take the blame and reparations for the war. many people fear that the reparation payments would cripple an already struggling german economy. people in germany at the time could not deal with paying for other countries to rebuild when they themselves had to rebuild and at the time had there own people starving




3. Disarmament
This stuck Germany very hard because Germany's army was not only a army but a symbol of Germany's pride. This would be look at by Germans asa slap in the face.  This also help to give hitler more popularity when he rebuilt the army in 1935. 


4. German territories
As if the debt and the reparation payments weren't enough, Germany also lost many of their territories and land. This land was very industrial areas and would have been key in helping to pay off the reparations.   



5. Fourteen Points and League
Germany felt that they were not welcome among the other nations. They felt that the fourteen points were not followed. also they were not invited to the league of nations making them feel isolated and even more vengeful. this vengeance and feeling of isolation is key in causing the second world war.



6. Double Standards?
other countries did not feel bad for germans because they to placed a harsh treat on another country when they had won a war. Also they did have economic problems, however the problems were caused by germany themselves so there was no sympathy for germany.