History 2.5 - Nazi Germany

The French Minister Raymond Poincare interpreted it as

"Germany, far from making the slightest effort to carry out the treaty of peace, has always tried to escape her obligations."

On January 30, 1933, Hitler was appointed to the position of Chancellor. Formerly, President Hindenburg had refused to appoint Hitler to the position of Chancellor because he disliked Hitler and was suspicious of his motives.

"That man for a Chancellor? I'll make him a postmaster and he can lick the stamps with my head on them." Instead, in July 1932, Hindenburg had allowed von Papen to remain as the Chancellor despite his lack of support in the Reichstag.

Many people also felt betrayed because the Weimar Republic had agreed to sign the Treaty of Versailles.

This dislike was further increased when the Weimar Republic abandoned the Ruhr resistance on September 26, 1923 and resumed paying reparations to the French.

The German people also received 'work and bread' as promised by Hitler, however non-Germans and lost all their jobs as a result, especially Jews.

This was a process that contributed to Hitler's elimination of Jews.

A final consequence of Hitler's appointment to the position of Chancellor was the impact on New Zealand because Hitler's persecution against Jews caused a considerable amount to search for refuge.

About 1,100 Jews were eventually accepted by New Zealand, however thousands of others were denied entrance.

A final important cause behind Hitler's eventual appointment to the position of Chancellor on January 30, 1933 was his dominant personality and drive along with his use of the Nazi campaign.

After the failure of the Munich Putsch in November 1923 and his subsequent imprisonment, Hitler reorganised the Nazi Party and changed his method in gaining power.

In 1942, the Jews' fate were sealed when Nazi leaders decided to execute or overwork the Jews at the Wannsee Conference.

By 1945, 6 million Jews were murdered in concentration camps. This was known as the Holocaust. Hitler's persecution against Jews would have major consequences on New Zealand.

Hitler was a charismatic leader and orator and he was able to identify the German people's fears and negative outlook and exploit it.

By targeting many German's grievances and aspirations, Hitler eventually rose to power. The German people believed that Hitler would "make Germany great again".

By 1932, ⅓ of the German population was on the unemployment benefit. Chancellor von Schleicher wanted to implement wage cuts and tax increases, and when the Reichstag opposed his idea, he asked President Hindenburg to invoke article 48 so that he could bypass their votes.

Consequently, the Weimar Republic became progressively unpopular and support for extremist parties such as communism and the Nazis increased.

Throughout January 1933, Hindenburg and von Papen attended many clandestine meetings with important individuals, and on January 30, 1933, Hitler was appointed to the position of Chancellor.

Formerly, Hindenburg and his allies believed that they could repress Hitler and reduce his influence, however it soon became clear that Hitler could not be controlled.

"If you win, you need not have to explain...If you lose, you should not be there to explain!" This quote by Adolf Hitler formed the basis of Nazi Germany.

Hitler's appointment to the position of Chancellor on January 30, 1933, was an event of major significance to history.

This was because New Zealand preferred British migrants, and had placed strict regulations on racial minorities.

Gerty Gilbert, a Jewish refugee accepted into New Zealand, consolidated this: "New Zealand was one of the prize places to go to but it was incredibly difficult to get in. New Zealand didn't want us; nor did anyone else really."

On November 12, 1938, the Jews were also ordered to pay a fine of 1 billion marks to the Nazi government. This was the prelude to the mass amount of Jews sent to concentration camps.

Hitler believed "The struggle for world domination will be fought entirely between us, between Germans and Jews. All else is facade and illusion."

This allowed the SA to search houses, confiscate property and detain people indefinitely without trial.

Hitler had encouraged President Hindenburg to pursue a "ruthless confrontation with the KDP" consequently, 4000 Communist leaders were arrested and imprisoned.

The causes include the German people's anger and hatred towards the Treaty of Versailles, the ensuing economic crisis caused by the Great Depression, the weakness of the Weimar Republic and Hitler's charisma and dominant personality.

Hitler's appointment to the position of Chancellor was to have severe consequences. This includes the passing of the Enabling Act 1933 and the elimination of opponents, the impact on the German economy, the Holocaust and the impact on New Zealand.

Under the Nazi regime, the German economy prospered, the government income increased from 5 billion marks to 15 billion.

However, government spending also increased from 12 billion to 30 billion reichsmarks. The government was also 40 billion Reichsmarks in debt to the government, however the Nazi Party was the government.

The German politicians who had signed the armistice on November 11, 1918 were accused of being traitors, and were denounced as the 'November Criminals'.

In his novel Mein Kampf, Hitler called the signing of the Treaty of Versaille the "greatest villainy of the century", a perspective also held by many of the German people at the time period.

The Nazi Party also held mass rallies, established soup kitchens and provided shelter for the unemployed. This was known as Volksgemeinschaft.

It appealed to Germans after years of disillusionment and lack of pride in their country.

In December 1932, Hindenburg then appointed von Schleicher as the Chancellor. However, it was apparent that the democratic approach of the Weimar Republic was lacking.

It was imperative for Hindenburg to select a candidate that had support in the Reichstag.

During the Ruhr resistance, the Weimar Republic printed a vast amount of money to support the workers as all production was stopped. However, this led to hyperinflation.

Its terrible effects caused widespread starvation and poverty as the German peoples' savings became redundant. This feeling of betrayal by the German people was only exacerbated by the Great Depression in 1929.

An important cause of Hitler's eventual appointment to the position of Chancellor on January 30, 1933, was his manipulation of the German people's anger and hatred towards the Treaty of Versailles.

Many of the German people were bitter over the signing of the Treaty of Versailles on June 28, 1919. They felt betrayed by their government, and many believed that the clauses were too harsh.

"The authority of the Führer has now been wholly established. Votes are no longer taken. The Führer decides."

On July 14, 1933, the Nazi party was the only legal party. Although this was the prelude to many devastating consequences, a positive impact was Hitler's influence on the German economy.

After the elections on March 5, 1933, the Nazi party had 288 seats out of 647. However, Hitler was not satisfied.

On March 24, 1933, the members of the Reichstag met at the Kroll Opera House to vote on the Enabling Act. The Enabling Act passed with 444 votes in favour and 94 votes against became the foundation of the Nazi regime as it allowed Hitler to pass laws without the involvement of the Reichstag.

Hitler's appointment to Chancellor also allowed Hitler to consolidate his power and establish a dictatorship, eventually beginning World War II.

On September 3, 1939, New Zealand formerly declared war on Germany. New Zealand was an active participant in the war, and 140,000 New Zealanders out of the population of 1.6 million served. One in every 150 New Zealanders were killed in the war, and data shows that our nation's ratio of killed per million was the highest in the Commonwealth, at the figure of 6684.

Instead of using violence, Hitler focused on increasing his political support - "We shall have to hold our noses and enter the Reichstag".

The Nazi party developed a shrewd and manipulative system of propaganda by focusing on issues that the public believed to be important and people began to support the Nazis because they shared similar fears and dislikes. Historian Gordon Craig described this to be negative cohesion.

A further and most important consequence of Hitler's appointment to the position of Chancellor was the elimination of Jews.

The Nuremberg Laws were introduced on September 15, 1935, it stripped Jews of their German citizenship and prevented them from marrying people of German blood.

The situation for Jews only deteriorated. On the pretext that a Polish Jew assassinated German politician Ernst vom Rath on November 10, 1938,

The SA ransacked at least 10,000 Jewish stores. This was known as Kristallnacht.

The Great Depression in 1929 and the ensuing economic crisis was another important cause behind Hitler's eventual appointment to the position of Chancellor.

The Wall Street Crash on October 24th 1929 and the following Great Depression meant that Germany was in a precarious position as the Dawes Plan in 1924 meant that the German economy was solely supported by loans.

Another important cause behind Hitler's eventual appointment to the position of Chancellor was his exploitation of the weakness of the Weimar Republic.

The Weimar Republic was unpopular with the German people because of their democratic approach to govern the nation when prior to 1918, Germany was governed by the Kaiser.

The German people thought that the Weimar Republic was weak because in the period of 14 years, 9 elections were held.

The decision making process was also slow - there was never a majority in the Reichstag as all parties were given a voice.

The Treaty of Versaille had stripped Germany of her lands and oversea colonies. This devastated their economy and left many German people unemployed because of the loss of lands including Alsace Lorraine and the Saar Coalfields - which, possessed a wealth of resources.

The rise in unemployment was further exacerbated by the German military being reduced to 100,000 men. Germany was also held responsible for beginning WWI as stated in the war guilt clause, and had to pay reparations of 132 billion gold marks.

This was more than Germany could afford to pay, and further depressed the economy. "And so it had all been in vain. In vain all the sacrifices and privations; in vain the hours in which, with mortal fear clutching at our hearts, we nevertheless did our duty; and in vain the death of two millions who died."

The signing of the Treaty of Versailles caused resentment and unrest from the German people and augmented their belief that the Weimar Republic was weak.

As stated by Stresemann, "The German economy is only doing well on the surface. Germany is in fact dancing on a volcano."

This was accurate because the Great Depression had ruined Germany's economy, closed half her factories and small businesses and caused widespread civilian unrest due to starvation and poverty when the U.S. recalled their loans.

In June 1933, Hitler ordered the creation of the Autobahn, a public network of motorways, providing 80,000 men with jobs for the next five years.

Through rearmament in 1935, new jobs were also created in the industry - it became mandatory for Germans around 18 - 25 years of age to enlist in the German military for two years.

Another consequence of Hitler's appointment to the position of Chancellor was the positive impact on the German economy.

When Hitler was appointed Chancellor in 1933, unemployment was high at 6,000,000 people and the German economy was suffering. However, this was reduced to 300,000 in six years.

An immediate consequence of Hitler's appointment to the position of Chancellor was the Reichstag fire and the passing of the Enabling Act.

When the Reichstag building was set on fire by Dutch Communist van der Lubbe on February 27, 1933, Hitler used it as evidence of a Communist plot to persuade President Hindenburg to pass an emergency decree to suspend all civil liberties including individual privacy, freedom of speech, press, and assembly.