Germanys list of problems at this time was only growing. Losing WW1 caused many problems in itself as one might expect, never mind the Treaty of Versailles that was to follow. The most prominent socio-economic effects were most naturally the casualties, 2 million Germans were killed and a further 6 million were injured, also the increasing number of civilian deaths due to hypothermia and starvation. The reason these deaths increased, was due to food and fuel shortages caused by the cold winter of 1916-17. In these winter months there were signs of the country’s morale and unity breaking, it was not helped when Germany was hit with an influenza epidemic, wiping out 20-40 million, the resistance to the disease was lowered due to decline in living conditions.
How far were the consequences of the German inflation disastrous for Germany in 1923? (30 marks) The impact of hyperinflation was huge and caused havoc all across Germany. It has been claimed that the worst consequence of the inflation was the damage done to the German middle class. Inflation occurred as a result of a number of events including passive resistance, Germany’s debts from war reparations forcing Germany to continue to borrow more and more money. Germany was bankrupted after WW1 and robbed of its ability to feed itself and pay war reparations without printing money.
Hitler used propaganda, elimination of the opposition, and a cult of personality to gain the support and trust of the German people in a time of economic crisis to his benefit and the rest of the world's loss. Single party states arise from a crisis, and Germany was suffering from a very large one at that time. The end of World War I in 1918 had left the economic state in shambles, and the loss struck the German people hard. Furthermore, the Treaty of Versailles the following year resulted in the demilitarisation and many cuts from German land and territory. Hitler criticized the carving up of Europe by the "Big Four" (the US, UK, France and Italy), stating that the Germans were the "master race".
The 1919 treaty of Versailles required Germany to pay war reperation to France. These reperations made the people of Germany angry at the treaty and Hitler was able to manipulate and use this by promising not to pay them thereby gaining popularity. Another factor of the treaty of Versailles is the war guilt cause. This required Germany to take full responsibility for world war 1. Hitler instead blamed many others, mainly the Wemiar and the Jews, this also gained popularity with the people of Germany.
One way of achieving this was by stripping Germany of its abilities to strike again. Some terms of the Treaty were that Germanys army was reduced to 100,000 men and were not aloud tanks. Germany lost a lot of land and they suffered financially. Germany also had to admit full responsibility for starting the war and were made to pay reparations (about 6,600m). Germany felt this was unfair and felt cheated and angry.
The Great Depression was a severe period of poverty and tragedy. It effected many other countries not just America; especially in Europe, where many countries had not fully recovered from the aftermath of World War I. The cost of World War I weakened the ability of the world to respond to a major crisis. America alone had ten billon dollars of debt from the war. In Germany America’s economic failure contributed to the rise of Adolf Hiltler, so the Stock Market Crash had a domino effect on our country and others.
On the night of November 9, 1938, violence against Jews broke out across the Reich. It appeared to be unplanned, set off by Germans' anger over the assassination of a German official in Paris at the hands of a Jewish teenager. During the Holocaust, six million Jews were murdered while others were thrown out of their homes with nowhere to go, hundreds became homeless and sick. One of the most significant events that took place during this time is called Kristallnacht. This is better known as, "the night of broken glass".
When the Great Depression 1929 forced many factories to close, desperate Germans voted for the Nazi party. Hitler became the leader of Germany in 1933. He quickly destroyed democracy and set up a Nazi dictatorship. Hitler called himself the Fuehrer. He could do what he wanted.
He tried so desparately to create a total blonde-haired, blue eyed poplation and anyone who wasn’t of that demographic was to be executed. Purifying the world as a complete Aryan race was his idea of perfect. Hitler could not see a world with anyone but his “own” people and his main target were the Jewish people of the surrounding countries. Many countries that Germany asked for help were very hesitant to lend a helping hand so Adolf Hitler attempted to take over the world by himself. It is believed that Adolf Hitler had put a tremendous amount of blame on the Jewish population for the losses of World War I and embarrassment that wouled ensue Germany afterwards.
The country was faced with huge losses in manpower and economic destruction after the war, despite being one of the victors. The country was mourning the loss of an entire young male generation. With the onset of the Great Depression, the French people felt the democratic system had failed them and so they looked to extremist organisations to lead them. As the international situation was worsening, it became clear that the instability in France from 1920 to 1940 meant the nation was divided, depressed and in danger of being captured by the Germans in 1940. Immediately after the First World War, there was a period of political instability with the election of four different Prime Ministers in three years.