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The golden Years of the Weimar Republic
The golden Years of the Weimar Republic
Between 1924 and 1929 the Nazis were unable to make much progress in getting elected, never rising above 3% of the votes (see source 11). For a year after leaving prison the Nazis were an illegal party and Hitler was even banned from public speaking. The main reason for their lack of success was the success of the Weimar government and economy during this time.
Through the leadership of Gustav Stresemann , Germany managed end hyperinflation with a new currency and borrowed money from America to stabilise the economy. These years became known as the Stresemann Era or the Golden Age of Weimar Stresemann oversaw the following main events
Dawes Plan (1924) – An American loan plan to solve the problems of reparations by reducing the repayments and spreading them over (60 years).
Treaty of Locarno (1925) – Acceptance of Germany’s new borders, Germany admitted to the League of Nations.
Young Plan (1929) – Further reduction in reparation debt owed by Germany to the Allies.
A giant problem with the Weimar Republic’s economic success, however, was its reliance on US loans to pay reparations and invest in industry, and in October 1929 that became a huge problem when the Stock Market on Wall Street crashed.
Further Information : Useful Video on the Golden Age
The Nazi's take Advantage of the Great Depression
The Nazi's take Advantage of the Great Depression
The Wall Street Crash was the beginning of the Great Depression, a time of massive unemployment around the world. Germany was relying on US to keep its economy and the Depression not only meant no more money was coming, the US demanded immediate payment of loans already given. Unemployment hit Germany harder than most countries with employment reaching 20%. With 7 million unemployed people in 1932 people looked to the extreme political parties such as Nazis and Communists. The German people relived their old fears and lack of trust of Democratic leaders. The Nazis appealed to both conservative forces in Germany that were afraid of communism, and the workers. Between 1929 and 1933 the Nazis became the most popular party in Germany.
Hitler was a busy campaigner in the early 1930’s, making numerous speeches and appearances, both in person and on the radio. He was seen as very modern politician, taking to the air in a “Hitler over Germany” campaign. He used his speeches to convince many Germans that he was Germany’s only hope, and spoke charismatically on his old topics, the hated Treaty of Versailles, the November Criminals of democracy, the hated Communists, and the hated Jews.
Source 1: Hitler over Germany
Source 2
Source 3
There were 3 main elections in 1932 and 1933. One for the Presidency, and 2 General Elections to control the Reichstag. The Nazis having won almost 20% of the vote in 1930 were building on Hitler’s speeches, a vast propaganda campaign led by Joseph Goebbels who created rallies and films, and the use of terror and violence against opposition politicians led by the SA.
Source 4
Activity
Activity
Why were the Nazis electorally ineffectual During the Golden Age of Weimar? 1 paragraph
Use Source 1 and 2 to describe the electoral success of the Nazi Party between 1928 and 1933. 1 paragraph, use statistics
Use the information in Sources 9 and 10 and your own knowledge explain why the Nazis were successful between 1930 and 1933. 3 paragraphs refer to the sources
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