4. Germany 4. Higher Answers

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1 4. Germany 4 Higher Answers

2 Analysis of causation: Describe the ways in which the Nazi Party grew in the years (9 marks) The Nazi Party had only 12 seats in 1928 but by 1932 had 288. This was a massive increase and was due to a number of reasons. The Wall Street Crash was perhaps the most important reason. It destroyed the German economy and left people jobless, homeless and hungry. Many Germans blamed the Weimar Republic for allowing this to happen and many turned to the Nazis instead. There were several reasons they turned to the Nazis. First of all the Nazis were very well organised. They had a representative in every town who organised meetings, made speeches and generally made sure that the Nazis had a high profile. The Nazis also had Adolf Hitler. They created an image of him as a superman who could rescue Germany from all her problems and this was very attractive in comparison with the ineffective leadership of the Weimar Republic. The Nazis also knew how to get their message across. Goebbels organised a brilliant propaganda campaign. They used Hitler s brilliant oratorical skills but they also organised giant rallies, huge marches, used the newspapers and radio and of course posters. The Nazis gave the Germans someone to blame for all the problems the Jews and they promised everyone what they wanted, even if that meant contradicting themselves. The upper and middle classes supported them because they promised to stop the Communists and these two groups had the most to lose from a Communist revolution. These groups were also attracted by the sense of order and discipline that the Nazis provided. They were worried about a break down in law and order that would ruin the country. Workers outside the big cities also supported the Nazis because they promised to protect small businesses which was who most of these people worked for. Farmers supported the Nazis because they had faced an economic slump even before the Wall Street Crash and the Nazis were the only ones who had paid them any attention. So the Nazis did a lot to ensure that people voted for them but as the Golden Twenties proved, people only turned to them when things went wrong so the Wall Street Crash was the key way in which the Nazi Party grew Describes how action/events led to increased support, i.e. gives reasons. This question requires explanation rather than description, despite the wording of the question Detailed knowledge of the factors behind the rise of the Nazis in this period

3 Analysis of consequence: Describe the ways in which hyperinflation affected Germany in (9 marks) Hyperinflation had a devastating effect on Germany in 1923 but it was not terrible for everyone. In a matter of weeks, the value of the mark completely collapsed and at the same time, prices rocketed. Between July 1923 and November 1923, the price of a loaf of bread rose from 3,500 marks to 210,000,000,000 marks. This created chaos. The people worst affected by hyperinflation were those on fixed incomes, such as pensioners. They had a fixed amount of money each month to live on and this was suddenly worthless. They were ruined. Some middle class people also suffered because they had savings in the bank which again became worthless. Then again, some middle class people owed the bank money, e.g. a house mortgage, and the inflated currency meant they could now clear this debt. Working class people were better off than some because they were typically paid weekly and so their wages kept up (to an extent) with inflation. The rich were also not too badly affected because they typically had valuable possessions which did not lose their value, e.g. land or diamonds. Farmers did quite well out of hyperinflation because the high prices meant they got a lot for their produce. Businessmen could also benefit from hyperinflation because, like those with mortgages, they could easily pay off any bank loans, but there were many businesses which collapsed under the pressures of hyperinflation, creating high levels of unemployment. Even though some people benefitted from hyperinflation, overall, it was terrible for Germany. The hugely inflated currency made the practicalities of every day shopping almost impossible. People had to carry their money around in rucksacks and wheelbarrows because they needed so much of it just to buy basic essentials. They had to run from their place of work to the shops so that their wages would still be worth enough to buy the things they needed. Many people stopped using money at all and resorted to bartering. Businesses went bankrupt which created high unemployment which created poverty and destroyed people s faith in the Weimar Republic. As the chaos of hyperinflation turned people against the Weimar Republic, it created more support for extreme parties, in particular the Nazis. The Nazis decided to try to overthrow the government and launched the Munich Putsch which while a failure, launched them as a national party and made Hitler famous. This might not have happened if it had not been for hyperinflation. So hyperinflation had a massive and far reaching impact on Germany in Recognises that hyperinflation affected different groups in different ways and includes wide range of these Explains the economic and the political effect

4 Evaluation of consequence: The Munich (Beer Hall) Putsch was a total failure for the Nazi Party. Do you agree? Explain your answer. (16 marks) The Munich Putsch ended with Hitler in prison and the Nazi Party being banned which would suggest it was a total failure but in the longer term it could be seen as a success for the Nazi Party. The Putsch failed to achieve its aim of seizing control of Germany which makes it a failure. The Putsch leaders expected thousands of supporters to flock to their side which did not happen further evidence that it was a failure. They also expected the police and army to at least ignore the Putsch if not join it. In fact both groups stood behind the government and helped to defeat the Putsch again proving it was a failure. Hitler was found guilty of treason and sent to prison, along with other leaders of the Putsch. The Nazi Party was outlawed. It looked like the Nazis were a dead duck. However, although in the short term the Putsch was certainly a complete failure, in the longer term, it could be seen as the beginning of their rise to power. The Putsch made Hitler famous. Before the Putsch, he was just a small time politician in Bavaria and the Nazi Party was just yet another right wing political party. The Putsch put the Nazis and Hitler on the front page of every newspaper in the country and now everyone was talking about them. Although the Putsch had failed, it allowed Hitler to present himself as a man of action. He might have failed but at least he had attempted to make a difference, rather than just talking about it like the other politicians in Germany. This was a very attractive image in the Weimar Republic because there was a lack of strong leaders. The trial was also useful to the Nazis. It created an arena where Hitler could show off his oratorical skills and impress people with the depth of his belief in his ideas. It allowed him to present his aims and ideology while all the journalists in the country took notes and then wrote about it in their papers and talked about it on the radio. Suddenly a huge number of people who had previously never heard of Hitler and who certainly did not know what he stood for, were now very well informed and very impressed. This spreading of the Nazi message continued once Hitler was in prison. This gave him time to write Mein Kampf which, because of the Putsch, became a best seller. It was full of Hitler s ideas and plans and everyone was reading it. It also generated a lot of income which would help the Nazis to fund their future PTO

5 activities. By the time Hitler emerged from prison, he was an important national figure with a significant following. Perhaps the most important success of the Putsch was the lesson it taught Hitler. He had tried to seize power by force and failed. This made him realise that if he wanted to control Germany then he would have to win power democratically. From this point on the Nazis dedicated themselves to winning votes in elections and this proved to be a very successful strategy because by November 1932 they were the largest party in the Reichstag with 288 seats. When Hitler became Chancellor he did so legally and this made it much more difficult for his opponents to resist him. The Putsch was also a success in that it revealed how much support there was among the elites for the ideas of the Nazis. Having committed treason, Hitler should have been sentenced to death or at least a very long time in prison but in fact he was out of jail in just nine months. The Nazi Party should have been permanently outlawed but it was able to relaunch just two years later in The fact that these things were allowed to happen showed that many of those in power in Germany liked Hitler s ideas and would support him in the future. This kind of support was crucial in his election successes and in his becoming Chancellor in So overall, while in the short term the Putsch was an utter failure, in the long term it was crucial to the Nazis success. It transformed Hitler into a national figure whose ideas were widely known and appreciated. It made the Nazi Party the leading right wing party in the country. It set them on a path which would ultimately lead to Hitler becoming the leader of Germany and so achieving his goal. Two sided argument Recognises the issue of short term failure.v. long term success Explains in detail how the putsch helped Hitler in the long run Good range of points