The Weimar Republic and Hitler

Paper 2: (HL/SL) Authoritarian and Single Party States

Paper 2: (HL/SL) Democratic States – challenges and responses

1. What do we already know about Germany after World War One?

Watch the movie Make Germany Pay to review the Peace Conferences and introduce the difficulties faced by Germany after 1919.

2. How and why was the Weimar Republic created in 1918?

Picture

The End of the First World War, the German Revolution and the Abdication of the Kaiser:
With a partner discuss what you already know about the set up of the Weimar Republic.  Link to the end of World War One.  Complete the first five pages of the worksheet below using the white books to help if you need them:
The Weimar Republic worksheet

3. What problems did the Weimar Republic face between 1918 and 1923?

Picture

* Effects of the Treaty of Versailles
* Constitution
* Putsches and Uprisings
* Hyper Inflation
* Ruhr Crisis
Use the pdf below to help you focus on the problems the Weimar Republic faced between 1918 and 1923. Complete the table about the Putsches and then make an Inspiration to show all the problems the Weimar Republic faced.
Problems faced by the Weimar Republic
Life in the Weimar Republic during the Great Inflation

The reparation payments were finally paid in 2010:
Final reparation payments

4. How did the Weimar Republic Survive after 1923?

Picture

Who was Gustav Stresemann and what was the ‘Stresemann Era’?
Stresemann

Make a simple chart like the one above to show how Germany recovered after 1924 and what weaknesses remained.
German Recovery 1924 – 9

How did the Great Depression affect Germany?
Germany and the Wall Street Crash

Picture

6. Opinions of the Weimar Republic

Read the pdf above. For each of the historians (i) summarise their view of the recovery in one sentence (ii) do any of the Historians believe the period 1923 – 29 was a time of genuine recovery for Germany?
Paper 2 Essay Question:

“Internal political extremism was the main challenge to democracy in the twentieth century.”

With reference to one democratic state, to what extent do you agree with this statement?

Complete an essay scaffold to answer this question.

Perspective (Grade 11)

What different perspectives of the Weimar Republic can you identify?

What views would these groups have?

Who was Adolf Hitler?

Picture

Create a biography of Adolf Hitler on one side of A3 using a Pages template.
Include the following:
*A Photo of Hitler
*Key points about: childhood and family, life before the first world war, experience during the first world war, first political experiences, Munich Putsch, time in prison up to 1924. BULLET POINTS ONLY
*Images or pictures to communicate Hitler’s background
*No information after 1924.
What kind of leader was Hitler?
Different Historian’s views of Adolf Hitler:
Views of Hitler
*Submit to drop box

Hitler in Vienna 1913 (with Trotsky, Stalin, Freud and Tito)

Picture

To read more about how these famous men lived in Vienna at the same time use this link: Vienna 1913

Hitler’s Ideology

Hitler’s ideology was known as Nazism and was made of many elements such as German Nationalism. His ideology changed over time and was used to justify evils such as the Holocaust.  Much of Hitler’s ideology was expressed in Main Kampf.
2. Make a copy of the table in the document above about Hitler’s ideology. Add an extra column to the table. In this column write an example of something that Hitler did during his time in power which shows him implementing his ideology.
3. Describe how Hitler’s ideology changed over time.
4. Make a plan for this Paper 2 Essay title:
Assess the methods used by Hitler to implement his ideology after 1933. How successful was he?

Hitler’s consolidation of power

Picture

How did Hitler consolidate his power after he had become Chancellor?  How did he create a single party state?
Consolidation of Power
Eight steps to becoming a dictator
Think about these IB style paper 2 questions:
What methods did Hitler use to consolidate his power between 1933-34?
Evaluate the methods used by Hitler to eliminate opposition.

The Nazi Revolution

Picture

To understand Hitler’s economic and social policy you must first:
  • Find out what the problem was
  • Find out what Hitler was aiming at (hint: ideology)
  • Find out what Hitler did
  • Decide if it was successful by comparing the data to the aims.
This Key Note  gives details about Hitler’s economic and social policies after 1933.
How successful was Hitler’s Youth Policy?
Opposition to the Youth Policy
How successful was the policy towards women?
Opposition to the Women policy
How successful was Nazi religious policy?
Opposition to Nazi religious policy
Listen to an audio recording from the BBC Bitesize.
Group activity: In you table groups decide how you would answer this question:
To what extent did Hitler succeed in creating a totalitarian society in Germany after 1933?

Hitler’s Foreign Policy

Picture

What were Hitler’s aims in foreign policy?  How did they fit his ideology?
Aims in foreign policy
How did Hitler destroy the Treaty of Versailles?
Why did Hitler sign the Nazi Soviet Pact in August 1939?
Was Hitler to blame for the outbreak of the Second World War?

The Holocaust

Picture

How did the Holocaust develop from 1933 to the Final Solution in 1942?
Look at the timeline of the Holocaust below.  With a partner discuss how it can be divided into three sections – discrimination, persecution and extermination.
Timeline of the Holocaust

Who was responsible for the Holocaust?
How could the Holocaust happen?
Lithuania Holocaust Article:
http://edition.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/europe/06/03/lithuania.nazi.prosecutions/index.html?hpt=C1

Historiography

This BBC In Our Time podcast includes an interview with Ian Kershaw and discusses the different theories of Historiography surrounding Hitler:

Historiography of Hitler

This is a summary of Historian’s views from johndclare:

Hitler Historiography

 

Propaganda

Here are some helpful links:
Nazi propaganda posters

Hitler’s idea of the People’s Car was a huge success but was not mass produced until after the Second World War:

http://www.bbc.com/culture/story/20130830-the-nazi-car-we-came-to-love