1. WEIMAR GERMANY AND THE RISE OF HITLER 1919-1933

2. You will learn…..
Why Germany’s new government had so many problems after WWI
How Germany recovered from some of these problems from 1924 to 1929
How events after 1929 led to the collapse of this government
What Nazism means
Why Hitler and his National Socialist Party came to power by 1933

3. THE TROUBLED YEARS 1919 - 1923 Bad state of economy made things worse
Raw materials were under foreign control, Saar and Alsace-Loraine CENTRES OF IRON AND STEEL PRODUCTION
Production in mines and factories reduced
Led to massive unemployment
Shopkeepers and traders suffered as people had less to spend
Soldiers were jobless and ended up begging

4. THE TROUBLED YEARS
Thus did not have enough money to pay for reparations
France was angry and decided to invade the Ruhr, an area in western Germany – centre of the country’s heavy industries COALMINES, IRON AND STEEL WORKS
Aggravated the situation. How?

5. THE TROUBLED YEARS
German workers went on strike, silently encouraged by the WR
Factories stopped producing goods
Prices went up
Price increase went out of control; value of money fell
Govt response : Print more money
Money became worthless - hyperinflation
People’s savings wiped out
Standard of living dropped drastically

6. THE TROUBLED YEARS
Many Germans suffered and turned very bitter
Many blamed the government
Led to support for extreme parties from both the right and the left wing
It was during this Ruhr crisis of 1923 that Hitler staged his attempted putsch in Munich

7. THE TROUBLED YEARS 1919 - 1923 “Beer Hall” Putsch
Took place in a large beer hall in Munich
3,000 Germans gathered there to listen to a speech by the state commissioner of Bavaria
Hitler jumped on a chair and proclaimed, “The national revolution had broken out.”
The Nazis then held a demonstration march to the centre of Munich
Clashed with the police
Hitler escaped but was later arrested
Sentenced to 5 years jail for treason
Served 9 months in jail before he was released

8. Price of bread, 163.15 marks in 1922, went up to 201,000,000,000 marks in 1923
HYPERINFLATION
Price of egg , which was just 1.6 marks in 1921 went up to 320,000,000,000 marks by Nov 1923

9. Weimar Republic, 500,000,000 Mark Note, Series of 1923 Probably the largest denomination banknote ever printed. Source :

10. YEARS OF RECOVERY 1924-1929 Economy began to recover in mid-1920s
Thanks to Gustav Stresemann
Who was he?
What did he do?

11. YEARS OF RECOVERY 1924-1929 Gustav Stresemann
First as Chancellor (Prime Minister), then as Foreign Minister for much of
Wanted Germany to be prosperous again
Sought better relations with other countries
One of his first achievements – persuade the French to withdraw their troops from the Ruhr
Helped to get factories producing again
People could find more work

12. YEARS OF RECOVERY
France agreed provided Germany paid reparations REASON WHY THEY WERE THERE IN THE FIRST PLACE
Streseman agreed but tried to buy time for payment
Made a deal with US – Germany would not fall back behind its payments if given more time and loans to help economy recover
At the same time, he resolved the currency problem
Withdrew all the old money (mark) and replaced it with a new currency (rentenmark) which had proper financial backing
Boost people’s confidence in the new currency

13. YEARS OF RECOVERY
Stresemann’s greatest interest was in foreign affairs
Aimed to make Germany the strongest country in Europe again
Plan was to get on better terms with other countries and convince them to trust Germany again
His hope was to recover some of the lands and rights that Germany had lost at the Treaty of Versailles

14. Stresemann’s successes in foreign affairs
Treaty of Locarno
Signed with Germany’s wartime enemies in 1925
WR agreed not to try and recover any of its lost lands in western Germany
Helped make Britain, France and Italy less suspicious
Getting Germany into the League of Nations
League of Nations – again controlled by Germany’s wartime enemies
By joining them in Sep 1926, indicate that they were on better terms
Bitter feelings aroused by war subsided

15. Stresemann’s successes in foreign affairs
Persuading Allies to withdraw their troops from the Rhineland in 1929
5 years ahead of the schedule laid down in the Treaty of Versailles
Showed that Stresemann’s policy of gaining trust among other countries worked

16. Stresemann’s successes in foreign affairs
Getting the USA to agree to an even better deal about reparation payments
The Dawes Plan 1924 in which USA would invest 40 million pounds in Germany
Followed by the Young Plan, made in 1929
In return for promising that it would continue to pay reparations, the amount that Germany had to pay was greatly reduced
From 6,600 million pounds to 1,850 million pounds
Spread over 59 annual payments

17. Effects of Wall Street Crash on Germany
Brought Germany’s prosperity to a sudden end. How?
Germany had come to rely almost totally on US loans and investments
US economy collapsed in Oct 1929
American bankers demanded that German loans be repaid
American businessmen withdrew their investments
USA and other countries had less money to buy German goods
Factories closed, leading to unemployment
A vicious cycle; worse than in early 1920s
German economy collapsed totally

18. Effects of Wall Street Crash on Germany
Banks closed and inflation was back
More people were out of jobs – 2 million in 1929 to 6 million in 1932
As in the years after 1919, the people blamed the government again
Started supporting extremist parties
Especially the National Socialist party and their leader Hitler