I. Germany: The Weimar Republic
1. Reparations
a. The new German republic-generally known as Weimar Republic-faced staggering reparations payments.
b. When the Weimar Republic proposed a three-year moratorium on making reparation payments, the French occupied the Ruhr Valley and seized goods as payments.
2. Inflation
a. The Weimar Republic supported itself by printing vast amounts of paper money. By December 1923, one dollar was worth 4 trillion German marks.
b. The 1923 inflation destroyed the savings and incomes of the German middle class. Feeling betrayed by their government, embittered Germans would later be susceptible to Nazi propaganda
II. Hitler and Nazi Germany
A. Reasons Why the Weimar Republic Failed
1. Many Germans refused to believe that their army had been defeated in battle. They believed instead that the German army had been betrayed by socialist and liberal politicians associated with the new Weimar Republic.
2. The Versailles Treaty outraged German nationalists who resented the war-guilt clause and the loss of territory to Poland. Constant nationalist agitation undermined support for the Weimar Republic.
3. Conservatives wanted a strong leader who would restore order and reduce the power of labor unions.
4. Runaway inflation during the early 1920’s destroyed middle-class savings, thus eroding confidence in the government.
5. The Great Depression has a particularly devastating impact on Germany. Millions of workers lost faith in the Weimar Republic.
6. Article 48 of the German constitution helped to undermine the republican government by allowing the president to rule by decree in cases of national emergency.
B. Reasons Why Adolf Hitler Rose to Power
1. The weakness of the Weimar Republic helped prepare the public for a bold leader who would restore German pride.
2. Hitler concluded that he would not attempt to overthrow the Weimar Republic by revolutionary means. Instead, he would use the electoral process to legally gain power.
3. Hitler was a spellbinding demagogue who denounced the Weimar Republic and the Versailles Treaty. He skillfully used modern propaganda techniques to convince the German people to follow his leadership.
4. Hitler offered the German people an ideology that exploited their fears. The Nazi program included the following key points:
a. Nationalism: German national honor would be avenged by regaining the lands taken by the Versailles Treaty.
b. Master Race: The Germans were a master race who needed land in eastern Europe and Russia.
c. Anti-Semitism: Jews were an inferior race responsible for many of Germany’s problems.
d. Anticommunism: Marxists were responsible for fomenting labor unrest. Much of Hitler’s anti-Semitism focused on alleged Jewish responsibility for the rise of communism.
e. The Fuhrer: Parliamentary government produced weak, vacillating politicians. Hitler believed that Germany required an absolute leader, or fuhrer, who would embody the national will.
A. Hope for Peace
1. The Dawes Plan
a. At the end of 1923, a committee of experts led by American Charles Dawes devised a plan to reestablish a sound German currency and reduce reparation payments.
b. The Dawes Plan provided a series of American loans to Germany. The infusion of American money revitalized the German economy, thus ending the inflationary spiral.
2. The Locarno Pact
a. France, Germany, England, Italy, and Belgium signed the Locarno Pact guaranteeing the borders between Germany and France.
b. The Locarno Pact marked an important turning point in Franco-German relations and appeared to offer the hope of a new era of peaceful relations between these two rivals.
3. The Kellogg-Briand Pact: 1928
a. In 1928, 62 countries including the United States signed a pact promising “to renounce war as an instrument of national policy.”
b. At the time, the Kellogg-Briand Pact appeared to bolster collective security and promote a renewed spirit of optimism.