GCSE History (AQA 8145) — Germany 1890–1945: Democracy and Dictatorship

Kaiser's Empire 1890–1914

Germany under Kaiser Wilhelm II was an autocratic state with rapid industrialisation and aggressive foreign policy ambitions.

The Kaiser's autocratic system and its tensions set the stage for Germany's crisis in the First World War.

Kaiser's Empire 1890–1914 — Key Knowledge

Kaiser Wilhelm II autocratic ruler, dismissed Bismarck 1890, pursued "personal rule"
Constitution Kaiser appointed Chancellor, Reichstag had limited power, federal structure
Militarism army expansion, naval race with Britain under Admiral Tirpitz
Industrialisation rapid economic growth, urbanisation, growing working class
SPD socialist party, largest in Reichstag by 1912
Social tensions demands for reform, growth of trade unions
Weltpolitik world policy — desire for colonial empire and aggressive foreign policy

Impact of the First World War

The war caused economic hardship, political unrest and ultimately the collapse of the Kaiser's government in November 1918.

Military defeat and revolution destroyed the old imperial system and forced Germany into a new democratic experiment.

Impact of the First World War — Key Knowledge

Burgfrieden political truce declared at start of war in 1914
British naval blockade caused food shortages, "Turnip Winter" 1916–17
Growing opposition Spartacist movement, strikes, war weariness
Ludendorff Offensive Spring 1918 — initial success then failure
Kiel naval mutiny October 1918, revolution spreads across Germany
Kaiser abdicates 9 November 1918, Republic declared
Armistice signed 11 November 1918, ending the war

Weimar Constitution (1.3a)

The Weimar Republic established a democratic constitution, but its design contained significant weaknesses that would later be exploited.

The constitution's democratic strengths were undermined by structural flaws that made strong government difficult.

Weimar Constitution (1.3a) — Key Knowledge

President elected head of state, could appoint the Chancellor
Reichstag elected parliament, passed laws
Proportional representation seats allocated by share of vote — led to coalition governments
Article 48 emergency powers allowing the president to rule by decree
Bill of Rights guaranteed democratic freedoms including women's suffrage
Weaknesses president could dissolve Reichstag, Article 48 open to abuse, coalitions were unstable

Treaty of Versailles (1.3b)

The 1919 peace treaty imposed harsh terms on Germany, creating lasting resentment that undermined the new Republic.

Resentment of Versailles poisoned German politics and gave extremist parties a rallying point throughout the 1920s.

Treaty of Versailles (1.3b) — Key Knowledge

War guilt clause Article 231 — Germany forced to accept sole blame for the war
Reparations set at £6.6 billion, a crippling financial burden
Territorial losses Alsace-Lorraine returned to France, overseas colonies removed
Military restrictions army limited to 100,000 men, no air force, navy reduced
"Diktat" Germans saw the treaty as a dictated peace — politicians who signed it were called "November Criminals"

Weimar Crises and Recovery (1.3c)

The Republic survived early armed uprisings and economic collapse, then experienced a period of recovery under Stresemann before the Wall Street Crash ended it.

Stresemann's recovery was real but fragile, resting on American money that would vanish after 1929.

Weimar Crises and Recovery (1.3c) — Key Knowledge

Spartacist uprising communist revolt, January 1919, crushed by Freikorps
Kapp Putsch right-wing coup attempt, March 1920, defeated by general strike
Hyperinflation 1923 — French occupation of the Ruhr, passive resistance, currency became worthless
Rentenmark new currency introduced by Stresemann to stabilise the economy
Dawes Plan 1924 — restructured reparations payments with US loans
Locarno Pact and League membership 1925 and 1926 — improved Germany's international standing
Golden Age cultural flourishing — Bauhaus, Expressionism, cabaret, cinema — but dependent on US loans

Nazi Origins and Early Years (1.4a)

Hitler transformed a small workers' party into a nationalist movement, but his early attempt to seize power by force failed.

The failed Putsch taught Hitler that he needed to gain power through legal political means rather than force.

Nazi Origins and Early Years (1.4a) — Key Knowledge

Hitler joins the DAP 1919, becomes leader, renames it NSDAP — Nazi Party
25-Point Programme nationalism, anti-Semitism, Lebensraum, abolish Treaty of Versailles
Munich Putsch November 1923 — failed coup, Hitler imprisoned, writes Mein Kampf
Reorganisation 1924–29 propaganda under Goebbels, local party branches, SS and SA established, shift to electoral strategy

Nazi Rise to Power 1929–1933 (1.4b)

The Great Depression created mass unemployment and political chaos, which the Nazis exploited to become Germany's largest party.

Without the economic crisis of the Depression, the Nazis would likely have remained a fringe party.

Nazi Rise to Power 1929–1933 (1.4b) — Key Knowledge

Wall Street Crash 1929 — US loans recalled, German economy collapsed
Mass unemployment rose to 6 million by 1933
Nazi electoral success 12 Reichstag seats in 1928, 230 seats by July 1932
Reasons for support unemployment, fear of communism, Hitler's appeal as strong leader, effective propaganda, SA intimidation
Weak Weimar government coalitions collapsed, Chancellors ruled by emergency decree
Hitler appointed Chancellor 30 January 1933 — Papen and Hindenburg believed they could control him

Nazi Consolidation of Power 1933–1934

Within eighteen months of becoming Chancellor, Hitler dismantled democracy and made himself absolute dictator of Germany.

Each step built on the last — a systematic dismantling of democratic checks that left no legal way to remove Hitler from power.

Nazi Consolidation of Power 1933–1934 — Key Knowledge

Reichstag Fire 27 February 1933 — blamed on communists, used to suspend civil liberties via emergency decree
March 1933 election Nazis won 44% but still no outright majority
Enabling Act 23 March 1933 — allowed Hitler to pass laws without the Reichstag, achieved by banning communists and intimidating the Centre Party
Trade unions banned May 1933, replaced by DAF — German Labour Front
One-party state July 1933 — all other political parties banned
Night of the Long Knives 30 June 1934 — SA leadership including Röhm murdered, won army loyalty
Führer August 1934 — Hindenburg dies, Hitler combines president and chancellor, army swears personal oath to him

Terror and Propaganda (1.6a)

The Nazi regime maintained control through a combination of fear and ideological persuasion, with no area of public life left free from state influence.

The combination of terror and propaganda meant most Germans either genuinely supported the regime or were too afraid to oppose it.

Terror and Propaganda (1.6a) — Key Knowledge

Gestapo secret police who investigated and arrested political opponents
SS elite security force, ran concentration camps, enforced racial policy
Concentration camps used to imprison political opponents, Jews, and other targeted groups
Censorship all media controlled by the state, banned books burned
Goebbels' propaganda ministry controlled radio, film, press, posters, and the arts
Nuremberg rallies mass events designed to display Nazi power and unite the population

Economy, Women and Young People (1.6b)

The Nazis reshaped German society around their ideology, reducing unemployment through rearmament while enforcing strict roles for women and indoctrinating the young.

Nazi social policy aimed to create a racially pure, militarily prepared nation — but not everyone conformed.

Economy, Women and Young People (1.6b) — Key Knowledge

Reduced unemployment through rearmament, autobahn construction, and RAD — compulsory labour service
KdF — Strength Through Joy leisure programme to reward loyal workers
Hidden reality wages fell in real terms, women pushed out of workforce, some unemployment was hidden
Women's role — Kinder Küche Kirche children, kitchen, church — the ideal Nazi woman
Incentives for motherhood marriage loans, medals for large families, Lebensborn programme
Hitler Youth compulsory from 1936 for boys — military training and Nazi ideology
League of German Maidens equivalent organisation for girls — domestic skills and fitness
Youth opposition Edelweiss Pirates rejected Nazi conformity, Swing Youth embraced banned American culture

Churches and Opposition (1.6c)

The Nazis sought to control religious institutions and faced limited but significant resistance from individuals and small groups.

Individual acts of courage existed, but the terror state made organised resistance extremely dangerous and rare.

Churches and Opposition (1.6c) — Key Knowledge

Concordat with Catholic Church 1933 agreement — the Pope recognised the regime in return for religious freedom, later broken by the Nazis
Reich Church Nazi-controlled Protestant church promoting Nazi ideology
Confessing Church breakaway Protestant movement — Pastor Niemöller and Dietrich Bonhoeffer resisted Nazi interference
White Rose student resistance group in Munich — Sophie Scholl executed 1943
July Plot 1944 — Colonel Stauffenberg's failed bomb plot to assassinate Hitler
Overall resistance was limited opposition was fragmented and ruthlessly crushed by the Gestapo and SS

Persecution of Minorities (1.6d)

Nazi racial persecution escalated from legal discrimination to systematic genocide, targeting Jews and other groups deemed inferior.

Persecution escalated gradually from discrimination to genocide — each step made the next seem less unthinkable.

Persecution of Minorities (1.6d) — Key Knowledge

Anti-Semitic ideology racial purity central to Nazi beliefs — Aryan supremacy outlined in Mein Kampf
Boycott of Jewish businesses 1933 — early public act of anti-Semitic policy
Nuremberg Laws 1935 — stripped Jews of citizenship and banned intermarriage with non-Jews
Kristallnacht 9–10 November 1938 — coordinated attacks on synagogues, Jewish homes and businesses
Ghettos and Einsatzgruppen wartime — Jews confined to ghettos in occupied Europe, mobile killing squads murdered over a million
Final Solution and Holocaust systematic genocide — extermination camps such as Auschwitz, six million Jews murdered
Other persecuted groups Roma, disabled people targeted by T4 euthanasia programme, homosexuals, Jehovah's Witnesses

Germany 1890–1945: Democracy and Dictatorship

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Germany 1890–1945: Democracy and Dictatorship