How successfully did the Nazis control the churches in Germany?

In Nazi Germany many of the public were religious and the churches had significant power. In the north there was protestant and in the south catholic, of these churches there were many different branches. The Nazis needed to control or ban them and make a new church for the public. If the church opposed the Nazi’s actions they could use their power to turn the public against the Nazis. To stop this opposition it was vital that the church were controlled. The Nazis tried many approaches; they made new churches, they limited churches and they banned churches.



Hitler meeting with his cardinals



Firstly Hitler tried to create new churches so the German public would follow the Nazi-controlled religion. The Reichskirche was made, in 1933, to replace the protestant churches in the north of Germany. This was partially a success as many Protestants started to follow the new church. The new German protestant church did not use the bible and so some of the churches refused to follow the new church. The Protestants followed a man called Niemoller who formed a new church called it the Confessional Church which all the remaining Protestants joined. This was a failure for the Nazis as the formation of the new church resulted in more opposition. This policy was limited as the catholic population in the south did not follow the Reichskirche and the Nazis had to create a religion for them to follow.

The Catholics were then encouraged, by propaganda, to join the German faith movement. The swastika was used instead of the Christian cross, to try to make the religious public stronger followers of the Nazis. The new holy scripture was a combination of German literature and Hindu. This religion failed because only two hundred people followed it, less than 1% of the population. It was successful in moving the followers away from the Christian religion and to follow the Nazi policies than the religious views. This was limited as the Catholics refused to follow anyone other than the pope in Rome.

Hitler then tried to limit the power the churches had and did this by signing an agreement with the Catholic Church. This was called the Concordat and allowed the Catholics the control the schools but they had very little political power in Germany. This was a success for the Nazis as the Catholics could not stop the Nazis. However this made a problem when trying to introduce indoctrination into the schools. The Catholics taught them religious morals which clashed with the Nazi policies and actions. The Catholic Church had a lot of power, which limited any agreements with them. The Nazis could not ban it because then the pope in Rome would intervene. This agreement kept peace in Germany with the Catholic Church but by 1939 Germany was at war and the Nazis were stronger and took the control of the schools back. This effectively ended the Reichskonkordat.

Hitler had many of the religious leaders on his side but his actions and policies went against their religious morals. August Von Galen turned against Hitler when he announced the euthanasia programme. Galen protested and encouraged people to oppose the programme. The white rose group could have been started by Galen’s protests. This was a failure of the Nazi’s religious policies as religious leaders did not follow the Nazi beliefs and opposed their actions.

Then when the final solution started the Catholic Church did not even believe someone was capable of genocide. Some of their members protested and gathered more followers to oppose the Nazis policies outside of religion. The Confessional Church was also an example of opposition and a failure of the Nazi religious policies. The policies tried to persuade the churches to believe the Nazi goals and to appreciate their actions. However when the churches found out exactly what the Nazis were doing they protested. These protests also show a success for the religious policies. The Catholic Church had no political power and so could not stop the Nazis.

All churches who directly opposed the Nazis, like the Confessional Church, were banned to stop any strong opposition. Many of the anti-Nazi religious leaders were arrested and sent to concentration camps. Niemoller was arrested for actions against the state in 1937 with seven month prison sentence. When released he was arrested again by the Gestapo as he had many followers and could pose a threat to the Nazis. He was sent to the concentration camps. Many of the leaders were at concentration camps as they were a danger to Nazi rule. This was a success for the Nazis as they were able to stop the threat from opposing leaders, however it was limited as the religious followers could continue the work and protests.

Hitler tried to convert the religions to Nazism, but when this failed he began limiting the power of the churches and finally banning them all together. The religious public of Nazi Germany were forced to join the Nazi church or follow Nazi rules as all the religions in Germany were controlled. The failures of the policies were covered up by sending the culprit to a concentration camp. The policies were limited but the Nazis had just enough control to stop any sort of major religious uprising. The Nazis continued to have the support of the majority of the public in Germany.

Did the Nazis achieve the aims of their Jewish policy 1933 – 1945?

          The Nazis policies against the Jews where mainly to waste as little money and reasourses as possible and use the Jews possessions to make money to support Germany. This was mostly a success but the different policies had minor setbacks and failures.

          In 1933 the Nazis started acting against the Jews and they started by sacking the Jews that were teachers and civil servants. This was done by finding who was a Jew and who was not. The Jews were instantly sacked as the schools were controlled by the Nazis. This policy was a slight failure as the Jews were trained at their positions and they lose that training. However the position is now free to the Germans and that reduced the Nazi’s unemployment as they ignored the Jews in their statistics. This increased their popularity so the public supported them more in their other policies.

          Also in 1933 all Jews were banned from public. They did this by having Gestapo and informant everywhere that told the Gestapo if Jews went into the public places. This was a success as there were only Germans in the public places, and as there was no Jews they could not show the public that the Jews were not thieves and evil. This made the public had no doubt against the Nazi policies and the public stayed loyal and unaware of the Nazis wrong-doings. This ban was limited because the public places were not always under watch but this was very rare.

          Then Hitler also declared a one-day boycott of Jewish business which was done again by the Gestapo. They saw anyone who went into the Jewish businesses and sent them to concentration camps. This was a success as the Jewish business lost the profit for a day and made the public a little more towards anti Semitism. This boycott was limited because if the businesses closed for the day it would only be a minor setback.

          Then in 1935 the Nuremberg laws were passed which restricted the Jews even more. The first law was that all Jews had to wear the Star of David as a symbol of their religion. This was done by identifying the Jews and making them wear the badge. The Jews complied through fear more than loyalty. This was a success as the Jews were very scared of the Nazis and Gestapo. Very rarely did Jews go out in public without the badge and when they did they were made an example of and sent to concentration camps. This was a slight failure as the Jews could lie about their religion and their would be no proof they were a Jew if they hid. Also this had limitations because anyone that stayed indoors was safe, for example the Jews on Oskar Schindler’s list.

          Another law was that the Jewish population could not be called a German citizen. This allowed the Germans to ignore their rights and attack them. The Jews were now persecuted more harshly from now on. This was limited as it still did not make random attacks acceptable or legal but it was another step to making the Jews alien to Germany.

          The third law was that Jew could not marry non-Jews; this was done through the Gestapo and enforced through fear. This was a success as the Jews could not increase the Jewish population. This meant that there would be less Jews in the future as the Nazis labelled someone as a Jew if they were even only one quarter Jewish. The failure was that the Jews would not have to be married to have children and so could boost the population.

          The final law in the Nuremberg laws was that all Jewish children were expelled from German schools and forced to go to Jewish schools. This was carried out by the secret police and their informants. This was a success because it stopped the Jewish children affecting the indoctrination of the German students. The Jewish students could have convinced the other students that the Nazi anti-Semitism was wrong as the Jews were just normal people and were not thieves and evil. By expelling them they ensured the indoctrination would work and the German children would hate the Jews. This stopped possible Nazi opposition in the future. This was limited as the Jewish children still posed a threat if they were not controlled and could meet with the German children.

          Then in 1938 a Jew in France killed a German diplomat, this gave Joseph Goebbels a reason to attack the Jews in Germany. The SA and SS attacked the Jewish communities and businesses. The SS and SA were strong believers in the Nazi policies against the Jews and so attacked them willingly. The night became known as the Kristallnacht, which means night of broken glass as the shop fronts and windows were all smashed. All the money and possessions were taken from the Jews and they were then sent to concentration camps. Ninety one Jews died and twenty thousand were sent to the concentration camps. To try to destroy the Jewish religion two hundred synagogues were burnt to the ground. This was a success in that the Nazis managed to get many Jews off of Germany's streets. This reduced the risk of the German public realising that the Jews were being unfairly used as scapegoats and punished. It was also a failure as the Nazis then had to clean up the broken glass which would cost a large amount of money. To cover this the Nazis fined the Jews in total one billion marks but this was also a failure as they got very little of that money. The money was taken from businesses and in possessions from the Jews.

          The Jews that obeyed these strict laws were sent to ghettos were the Gestapo could watch them and where they could not escape easily. There was a high wall built around the ghetto and the Jews were only fed 300 calories of food a day. This limit on food meant there was more food for the army and the Aryan race. The German public could not find out about the Jews living conditions due to the high wall. The Jews again complied through fear. This was a huge success as the Nazis could get more food for the army, take the Jew’s houses for Aryans and take the Jew's possessions and money to build the German economy. By 1941 almost all Jews in Poland were living in the ghettos and at the ghetto Warsaw almost half a million people were living where just over one hundred thousand had lived before. The crowding and living conditions made the captives rebellious and in 1943 Warsaw was taken over by the Jews inside. This was the failure and the limitation was that many man had to patrol the ghetto instead of fighting in the war.

          In 1942 a secret conference was made between leading Nazi officials. The public would not even know this meeting ever happened. That is where they decided that the final solution was the only way to stop the Jewish way of life. The final solution was the complete extermination of all the Jews in Europe. They came to this conclusion because the German army was taking control of neighbouring countries and ghettos were becoming too dear for the Nazis to afford. Killing the Jews was cheaper than keeping them in ghettos. Some of the concentration camps were converted into death camps and more were built. Many of the death camps were in Poland to stop the German public from knowing about the final solution but also many of the Jews were in Poland and it saved money to build the camps where the Jews where. The Jews were sent to the camps and if they were fit and healthy they would be worked into an early grave. If they were not healthy they were immediately sent to the “showers”. Before they were gasses all hair, rings and belongings were taken to be used or sold. Then they were gassed by Zyklon B. This created a small failure for the Nazis there were piles of bodies and they could not risk the SS to touch them for fear of death by gas. The healthy Jews had to move the corpses to the incinerator. The ashes are still around the death camps today. The death camps were a success for the Nazis as six million Jews were killed and it saved money and the Nazis even made money by make clothes and furniture out of the Jew’s hair. The Jews did hard labour and saved the Nazis employment costs. The final solution was limited as the bodies could only be incinerated one at a time and there were always piles of corpses on the ground that easily spread disease.

          The Jewish policies were mostly successes but many had minor setback like the Warsaw rebellion. The Nazis were able to save resources from limiting the Jews that were desperately needed during the war. Then they could also improve the lives of the Aryans and exploit what the Jews left behind: houses, money, possessions to build and supply Germany. The Nazis managed to use the Jews to fund and supply the German army and public, all with the support of the public as they were kept unaware of most of the policies.



The success of groups who opposed the Nazis

There were many groups who opposed Hitler because of hit actions, his policies or his leadership. Some continued with their lives ignoring the Nazis policies, using passive resistance. Very few protested in clear view of the Nazis, because they were scared of Hitler’s power. Many were found by the Gestapo, the secret police, and either executed or taken to concentration camps without trial or explanation.

          Many of the groups were unsuccessful in changing Germany during the war but some had influences on the future.

         

          The White Rose group were students from the University of Munich. They hated Hitler because of his crimes the Nazis had committed and not been punished for. They made leaflets and posters trying to persuade the public that the Nazis were damaging Germany. They quoted the bible and other well known books with what they believed were proof that the Nazis were the enemy.

The leaders of the white rose group

          They were trialled and found guilty of treason, then sentenced to death, the same day they were executed by guillotine. The last to die shouted “long live freedom” hoping it would show the bad side of the Nazis. Even though they had many who believed them they failed to change anything. This was not passive as they printed many leaflets and all knew they were opposing Nazism.

However the last leaflet was smuggled to the allies who reprinted it many times and air dropped them over Germany after the war. The White Rose was well known in Germany post-war. During the war they did not manage to change a thing.

         

          Hitler banned the swing movement from Germany because it was of American origin, and so impure. A group who met frequently ignored this policy and continued to play in secret. They also disagreed with the policies toward the Jews and allowed them to join the clubs.

          They were found by the Gestapo and taken without trial to concentration camps. This was passive and unsuccessful as they were stopped and did not manage to change the public opinion of the Nazis.

         

          The Edelweiss pirates consisted of 14 to 17 year olds who had avoided the Hitler youth by leaving school and were too young for military conscription. It was legal to leave school but they did not want to join the army at 17. The Edelweiss pirates helped anyone who did not want any part of the army, for example deserters and refugees. They stole weapons from the army and a group of them attacked the Gestapo. This was not passive resistance as they physically attacked the Nazis and expressed their hate openly.

          The Gestapo rounded up the members and either shaved their heads as a sign of shame or sent them to concentration camps. After their attack on the Gestapo 12 of them were publicly hanged.

         

          The Jews in Germany obviously disliked his policies on them and in the Warsaw ghetto a large group of them joined together and fired upon the German troops who controlled the ghettos. This was very aggressive and 56,000 were captured and sent to death camp or shot on the spot.

          This was unsuccessful as they were easily killed by the troops and then their deaths came quicker rather than later in the death camps.

         

          In 1944 a group of officers in the army joined together who hated Hitler due to his failures in Russia and wanted to kill Hitler. They initiated operation Valkyrie on the 20^th July after several attempts were stopped at the last moment.

          The briefcase bomb was placed a few meters away from Hitler under a conference table. The bomb detonated but Hitler survived. This was very aggressive but again failed. It slowed the Nazis progress but they continued. a film of this assassination attemp was made in 2008.

Some of the group were successful in their goals but the Nazis were still not stopped.

          The church opposed the Nazis due to their policies and wanted Germany to be a Christian country not a Nazism country

A Catholic cardinal, Galen, campaigned against the Nazis. He managed to gather followers but nowhere near enough to overthrow the Nazis. He was attacked but survived the war. He did not change Germany but he did slow them taking over the church in Germany. Just enough for the church to keep control over Germany’s religion.

          Two Protestants, Niemoller and Bonhoeffer, criticised the Nazis in their sermons and ignored the Nazis rule. This was passive resistance as they did not express their opposition openly. Niemoller was trialled but was suspended and survived but Bonhoeffer was sent to a concentration camp where he died. This was a failure but showed that all typed of Christianity opposed Hitler, therefore showing he was indeed damaging Germany.

          Oskar Schindler was an industrialist who believed it wrong to unfairly act against the Jews in Germany. He made a list of all the Jews he could save and then set up a factory. He gave jobs to the Jews and they lived quietly under the Nazis. He protected about 1,200 Jews and gave them shelter and food.

          He was not found by the Gestapo and the Jews survived. This was secretive and passive but was successful; it did not change Germany significantly but did save many Jews.

          The groups that opposed Hitler did not successfully change Germany but all slowed the Nazis. Without the groups opposing Hitler he would have found it easier to fight the war and it would have lasted longer.  This reduced the damage left after the war. Hitler used his dictatorship to silence all resistance and none could gain enough power and support to stop the Nazis. overall their opposition was a failure as the Nazis continued ignoring the pests.

The Nazi’s attempt to create the Volksgemeinschaft

          When coming to power in 1933, 30^th January, Hitler used propaganda to show the German people the perfect “people’s Community” (Volksgemeinschaft). Hitler promised to unify Germany into a Volksgemeinschaft, but he only wanted the perfect Germans to be part of his people’s community. Hitler divided the German people into two groups; the National Comrades, like the Aryans who were to be part of the people’s community and the Community Aliens who would have been disposed of. The Community Aliens were groups like the Jews, homosexuals and tramps. Hitler introduced benefits for those who he saw as the perfect race and punishments for the aliens.

          The Jews were the main part of Germany’s aliens. When Hitler came to power he had many Jewish businesses shut down. Then he continued to shutdown all of the foreign owned shops. Hitler wanted his People’s Community to be supplied with German goods and by German shops. On the 2^nd may 1933 Hitler stopped all of the Trade unions; this stopped future strikes ensuring a peaceful People’s Community. By taking over the economic side of Germany he could keep the peace and block foreign goods but also make money for himself in the process.

The German Labour Front (DAF) was set up to control the workers for Hitler. The DAF created many jobs in Germany. The DAF introduces new policies which were designed to keep the workers happy and therefore they would work harder. One of these policies was the Beauty of Labour which improved the conditions in the factories and received better quality work as a consequence. The second policy was Strength through Joy, in which the workers got a free holiday or event to keep the workers refreshed and working longer and better. Then Hitler saw that there was potential money to be made. He created Volkswagen because cars were very dear at the time; this made the public happy as they could afford cars but also made Hitler money and ensured the workers would get to work this cost a substantial amount of money but it was necessary for the creation of the Volksgemeinschaft. He succeeded in creating the economy for the People’s Community; Germany was now apparently self-sufficient.

          The disabled were also classed as aliens to the People’s Community and Hitler made plans to stop disabled people from living in Germany. On the 14^th July 193 a law was passed that meant all people who had a hereditary illness or deformities would be sterilised to guarantee their illness would not be passed on to children. They also sterilised the homeless and even depressed people; to make Germany seem like a nice place without weird people or tramps on the streets. Then to stop accidental disabled babies being born he introduced euthanasia which allowed doctors to kill a baby if it was disabled.

          All aliens were sent to concentration camps for very minor offences, they were taken off the streets making Germany seem like a nice friendly place. In the concentration camps the Nazis humiliated the aliens and used their differences as an embarrassment. They forced Jews to have a large “J” printed on their passports and to wear a Star of David at all times to separate them from the public. Homosexuals had to wear a pink triangle for the same reason and the disabled were worst hit as they had to wear badges saying “I’m a moron” and “feeble minded”. This humility made the aliens more inclined to leave the country which is what the Nazis wanted. The aliens were used as free labour while they were in the camps which saved money for the Nazis in both employment costs and upkeep for the aliens as many died.

          The aliens that survived and stayed in Germany were then exterminated once and for all. The pink triangles on the homosexuals were used as target practice for the army and the rest were used as test subjects for gasses and many experiments. The Nazis succeeded in eliminating all the aliens as very few were able to hide form the Nazis and many left the country. Some aliens went into hiding but the Nazis found them using the Gestapo and could deal with them. This left Germany populated only by perfect Germans.

          Then the Nazis had to prepare for the future and the future of Germany was the youth. Many organisations like the Hitler youth and the League for German Maidens were set up to teach the youth to follow the Nazis. In the Hitler youth they were taught like the military, neat, tidy and organised. The youth saw Hitler as a father figure in the fatherland and obeyed him. Then Hitler used indoctrination in the education system to recruit them into the army as loyal Nazis. There were subtle Nazi views added into all the school work to brainwash the youth, as they were naive and didn’t see the wrong side of the Nazis. it was fun for the youth and they never heard the other side of the argument that showed the Nazis true nature. Some of the youth did not want to join the Nazis but the Nazis crushed them and hung the culprits. The future of the People’s Community was successfully secure and the Nazis would keep control for years to come.

          The Nazis were successful in creating the Volksgemeinschaft even with the difficulties it faced. All aliens were taken out of Germany leaving only true Germans. All disabled or homeless people were taken from Germany as they were seen as worthless by the Nazis. Then the economy was taken over and built up around the Nazis. Then finally all those who id not belong were killed and the future of the Volksgemeinschaft was secured. The creation was completely successful but the Nazis were not around long enough to see it continued.

The significance of the night of long knives

          The night of the long knives was significant because it was to eliminate the remaining threats and opponents that could cause a problem if allowed to continue. In the source it shows the corpses of the opponents, like von Schleicher and Ernst Röhm. These significant opponents of Hitler needed to be eliminated so Hitler could get the support of the army who feared an attack from the three million strong SA.

Hitler needed these men and their cohorts dead because they had too much power, and their ideal Germany differed from Hitler’s. In the source there are many SA thugs who would follow Röhm over Hitler and this shows that they were too powerful. If Röhm did turn on Hitler he would have easily defeated the fuehrer by the amount of SA men.

Hitler had chosen the German army over the SA which he promised Röhm would control, in doing this he had to stop the victims before they could revolt which was again a threat to his rule. In the source it shows scattered papers on the floor with the words “Hitler’s unkept promises”, this clearly shows they have been forgotten by Hitler and he would no longer try to please because he was now a legal dictator.

Hitler had no need of the SA once he had dictatorship powers over Germany and so his intimidation army was of no use to him. He needed to get the support of the army who wanted the SA stopped. By eliminating the key leaders in the SA Hitler gained the German army. In the source it shows armed soldiers, these were the army and the SS, helping Hitler gather the SA men. Hitler is also holding a smoking gun which shows that he was the man who ordered the murder and that they are already dead. The SA men were forced into Hitler’s loyal armies, from fear of following their leaders to the grave.

          Goering was Hitler’s associate and one of the men who compiled the list of eliminations, but he was also a ruthless man who wanted the SA leaders dead. In the source it shows him as the god of war ready to kill the SA, which symbolises him and his actions in the night of the long knives.

          Joseph Goebbels was the main culprit who persuaded Hitler to stop the SA and the source shows him as a lapdog following Hitler, encouraging him on almost.

          From all these it was clear the reasons Hitler had them killed and why it was significant in how he kept his power in Germany.

To what extent did Hitler consolidate his power in 1933 and 1934 by legal means?

          In 1933, 30th January, Hitler was appointed chancellor, by Hindenburg, the German president, so that the Nazi-supporting public would follow him. Hindenburg new not appointing Hitler would mean Hitler would use his private army to take control. However Hitler wanted full control of Germany so that he was the sole leader and could not be opposed.

          Hitler would need the Enabling Act to take control of Germany after Hindenburg. The enabling act allowed Hitler to pass decrees without involving the president or anyone else, this meant he was a legal dictator and could change Germany to what he wanted.

          Hitler used his position to legally achieve his goal; his high position meant he had a strong influence on everything that happened in the Reichstag and the constitution.

          On the very day Hitler was appointed he managed to get Goering, a friend and ally, appointed as the minister of interior. This was the first step to corrupting Weimar as Goering would help and support Hitler.

          Goering then used his power to order the police to co-operate with the SS and SA on 17th February. This change was forced upon them and so made them unhappy but it was legal. This gave Hitler more control over who was arrested and who was not so he could ignore Nazi crime and focus on his political rivals. This weakened the support towards the other parties in the Reichstag and so made it unfair in the Reichstag due to proportional representation.

          Just over a week later the Reichstag was burnt to the ground, which makes historians very suspicious because it gave the Nazi party a brilliant opportunity. The next day he blamed the fire on the communist parties and Hitler used this event to greatly reduce his opponents. Hindenburg was persuaded to use article 48 to allow Hitler’s army to arrest and hold any suspects without trial. It also allowed Hitler to take control of regional governments. The police and Hitler’s armies then arrested every suspected communist, broke up all communist meetings and made the public think that communism was the enemy. This proved to the public that Hitler was trying to save Germany from the apparent threats. Over 4000 opponents of the Nazi party were arrested and held without trial. This was harsh but legal

          On the 5th March the Reichstag elections were held. After the recent attack on the Reichstag the Nazi party used slogans like “the war against Marxism”. The public saw Hitler as a protector and saviour. The storm troopers(SA) lined the voting booths and were watching who each person voted for. This intimidated the voters and they knew if they did not vote for the Nazi party they would be beaten by the brutal SA. The Nazi part got 52% of the votes and had 288 seats in the Reichstag; however the communist parties still got 81 seats. The majority of the communist and other Reichstag members were arrested so the Reichstag was mostly Nazi.

          On the 13th march Joseph Goebbels was appointed as the head of the ministry of propaganda. This was legal but then Goebbels went on to take control over the media and he banned all newspapers that did not support for the Nazi party. This was harsh but was vital to Nazi domination; this stopped the public seeing that the Nazis could be blamed for the fire which would have lost them many votes.

          On the 24th march the enabling act was agreed, due mostly to the Nazi opponents being held without trial. This was legal but it went totally against the democracy. Hitler now could change Germany and become a dictator.

          On the 7th April all courts, administration and education were purged of their Nazi opponents and mainly the foreigners and Jews. This meant he could change the history of what happened to make the public follow Hitler. This was not legal I think because they were innocent but Hitler could because he solely controlled Germany.

          On the 1st May all workers were given the day off, but then the next day Hitler banned all trade unions and forced the workers to work for the new German Labour Front (DAF). Again this was legal due to Hitler’s power but was very harsh because the workers were happy with their unions. They were now forced to work for the Nazis.

          Hitler then fulfilled his promise to make jobs by creating a major programme of works. This was legal and helpful for the public were so many were unemployed.

          In July Hitler passed a law which stopped new parties forming which meant there was no longer any type of democracy because the former parties had been wiped out and everything was controlled by the Nazis.

          He then also made an agreement between the government and the church to protect religious freedom but the catholic church were forced out of politics. This was harsh but was the last step for the Nazi party to have control.

          In 1934 the Nazis took over everything including the state governments. This meant there no chance of losing power. Now Hitler was forced to wait for Hindenburg’s death to become sole leader of Germany.

          The army were not convinced the Nazi party were helping Germany and were cautious of the SA who were very powerful and a threat if they were to rival Hitler. On the 30th June he had all the SA leaders executed along with other remaining rivals like Von Schleicher. This has come to be known as “the night of long knives”. The military were then satisfied and willing to follow Hitler and the SA broke up and joined the SS or the army.

          In August Hindenburg died and Hitler was named the Führer. The military swore an oath of loyalty to Hitler and he was then a dictator of Germany.

          Hitler was mainly legal in how he consolidated his power; he used the president’s emergency powers and his own position to change Germany, for example when he appointed Goebbels. However many of his changes were carried out harshly and although it made him less popular he could not be overthrown because the Nazis controlled everything. His main consolidation of his power was when he eliminated all his opposition; it was not the popular act but he disguised it as a criminal arrest which hid its true nature from the public. He was a strong powerful chancellor but was not the most popular at stages.

The story of Lukas Schmidt from 1918 until 1930

◊————―————―—— 1 9 1 8 ——―————―————◊

          I have managed to survive the Great War. I am a wealthy businessman in Berlin and I will admit I have made my fair share of marks. I remember before the war, when I got shipments in from all over the world and especially Britain. Trade flourished everywhere; now no-one wants to trade.

I understand that Germany could not continue fighting the war, but to surrender. Now I fear Germany will be punished without reason. The treaty and its terms will be decided on in the years to come. I have been told that the American president is trying very hard to punish Germany as little as possible. This is promising but the godforsaken French will be there and will poke there insignificant noses in and bellow their hatred of Germany from the rooftops. I hope this president of America ignores them.

There are fears that we will be forced to pay reparations which would completely and utterly bankrupt Germany and me.

The last months have been utterly terrible because the Kaiser was forced to abdicate. He was a great, incorruptible man. He refined Germany and all his work will crumble under this new government. Before the war ended there was a huge revolution which is why our great leader has fled.

The former enemies have forced us to become a democratic country. The Weimar republic has been founded. There are so many problems facing them.

They need to repair the economy and build up the trade. At this point in time Germany has yet to recover from the war, still bankrupt from the war expenditure.

Somehow they need to convince the public that being a democracy is a good change. They need to solve the problems quickly.

During the war the women were encouraged to work because of the lack of men, now the men are back and the social opinion is separated. Many think women should not work however I believe they can if they wish. 

The war has left our once proud country in shock and needs a few years to settle down.

◊————―————―—— 1 9 1 9 ——―————―————◊

I have discovered that the public are always expressing their dislike for the government openly which makes me feel that the government are fighting for a lost cause.

To start with the structure of the government is easily corruptible because once a president is elected then he could appoint whoever he wanted in the courts, as chancellor and the government ministers. He also the sole controller of the armed forces which meant he had the power to do whatever he wanted. If this happened Germany would no longer be democratic. They should have made almost every position elected so the public could vote for what they wanted, making the democracy more popular.

Two parties have formed which oppose the government, The Freikorps and The Spartacists.

The Spartacists wanted Germany to follow Russia and become a communist country which was ruled by the workers and soviets. Becoming a communist country would just make them follow Russia and there would be a national civil war which would devastate Germany. They should go to Russia then they would be either happy or they would realise their idea is utterly stupid.

The Freikorps is made up of the Great War soldiers who do not want communism. They wanted the Kaiser back and for Germany to be a capitalistic country. I have to agree with them because if Germany is communist then my whole business would not make me any profits which would be terrible. I do not have a wife so there is no problem with the women a worker there; I have a maid who is incidentally a woman but a man in this position would be completely stupid so no-one bothers me.

The Spartacists are trying to create soviets and are failing because the Freikorps and the army are killing them all, which is good. One night the fighting was only a few streets down and I gave a group of Freikorps shelter for the night. They told me that almost all the communists were dead and now they were after the cowardly leaders.

The bloody communists tried to take over Bavaria and the great Freikorps were victorious again. This time they killed 600. My life just gets better and better.

The terms of the treaty of Versailles were announced and I am very angry at them. My cousin’s family were living in the West Prussia and now they live in Poland. They are disgusted and have informed me that they feel deserted by the government. Proof that now, even more ordinary people hate the government.

◊————―————―—— 1 9 2 0 ——―————―————◊

Another communist revolution failed against the magnificent Freikorps and I was told 2000 communists dead, how many are there?

In March, Wolfgang Kapp led 5000 Freikorps here. We called it the Kapp Putsch. The Freikorps got to Berlin but were somehow stopped by the communists. I thought them dead. They caused a strike which stopped our march. Then quietly assassinated Wolfgang. None of the 5000 was punished though because I and other Freikorps have positions in the government courts.

◊————―—————— 1 9 2 2 ——―————―————◊

I have expanded my business and have named the second business, the Kapp Laden. A memorial to the first try by Wolfgang Kapp.

The government has not started to pay the reparations this year which will not work out well.

As a result of the Weimar republic’s actions, the damn French have taken over the Ruhr. The government has informed us that they are taking the reparations in form of goods and raw materials. This will mean even less trade for my businesses.

The public are saying that Ebert has ordered a strike to stop the French getting the money and goods from the Ruhr. This caused many deaths of the strikers; the French are definitely evil and violent. Luckily none of my relatives live in the Ruhr because many have lost their lives to the thieving French.

The government have started printing more money! This is outrageous! My business will collapse around me if they continue. I admit they need money but to print more money is not the way of gaining it. They will ruin the economy. I haven’t much faith in the government so I am going and spending all my money on dear goods like jewellery or gold; hopefully the government can’t make gold.

A loaf of bread is now 160 marks; at the start of 1922 it cost less than one mark; I am very happy I am spending all my money. I have changed my shop into a more profitable business in the current disaster; I am now trading goods for goods instead of the useless marks.

◊————―————―— 1 9 2 3 ——―————―————◊

          The government have continued to print money and a loaf of bread is now 250 marks I am so glad I have no money. Its only January!

          I am too disgusted with the government to say more than; a loaf of bread is:    July – 3465 marks, September – 1,512,000 marks, November – 201,000000000 marks. People are using bank notes to start fires.

          I have most of Berlin’s jewellery in my pocket. I can still buy goods and when the mark goes back to normal I will sell it all, and be rich. In some ways this economic crises will pay off after all. How can I be such a genius?

In November, 1923, Adolf Hitler started a revolution. He thought we would support him. He took control of Bavaria by force; using Nazi storm troopers. Hitler is seen as a trouble-maker and Ebert responded quickly. The police moved in and killed 16 Nazis, this sent the revolution into chaos and it broke up quickly. Hitler escaped however was later taken to court were he was punished very lightly. High treason would usually get a life sentence but Hitler only got 5 years. He should have got the whole life sentence because he tried to kill everyone and I think he is a cruel man from the reports I have received.

We have a new chancellor in the Republic who seems promising, his name Stresemann; I feel he will go far.

◊————―—————―— 1 9 2 4 ―—―————―————◊

          Stresemann has become the foreign minister and is now trying to resolve the problems in Germany. Luckily he is a Freikorps supporter so he should keep Germany strong and independent.

          Stresemann has started getting loans from America and using them to build up the industry; the Dawes plan, making me and my workers happy. The income and trade is very low nationally and this plan will increase it rapidly. If the Americans decide to stop the loans then the whole plan will fail.

          There is less censorship which is making most entertainment more related to sex; this does not bother me because as I have said I have not married.

          The political side is also settling and the opposition of democracy is admitting it is working; one political leader said “the republic is beginning to settle and the German people are becoming reconciled to the way things are.” This is great because they have been arguing for power for long enough.

          Stresemann is also reintroducing trade with the other European countries. This is further increasing trade and showing the other countries that we have changed and no longer argue over the war.

          Hitler has already been released from prison and he has written a book while he was locked up. It’s called “Mein Kampf” and it explains Hitler’s ideas. Hitler going to prison has just given him time to think they should have shot him at the revolution. I fear the public will be narrow-minded about the problem he has outlined and follow Hitler with his rash thinking and genocide ideas.

◊————―————―— 1 9 2 5 ―—―————―————◊

          The national income is still rising past expectations, which is Stresemann’s proof that the Dawes plan will work. Everyone calls him the saviour of Germany.

          Berlin has become a brilliant place for a bit of nightlife but is not so good because the music is very loud until about mid-morning. However many of the musicians are Jewish and immigrants which is lowering moral and traditional values.

There are many new movies being filmed in Berlin and shown to the public at cinemas. I was intrigued and purchased a cinema because I think it will create a lot of money in Berlin and then all around the world.

          Stresemann has signed a new treaty which agrees to the treaty of Versailles however Stresemann assures us that this is the first step in a plan of his to soften the Versailles terms on Germany. This is helping towards foreign trade.

          The elections are receiving more democratic outcomes and the parties supporting the communists, Nazi’s and Freikorps are not getting many votes.

         

◊————―———―—— 1 9 2 6 ―——————―————◊

          The trade is still increasing and is recovering from the war. The reparations are being paid and the loans from America.

The price of land has risen 700% in large towns which distressing many people. I have started selling more products which may have put the local shops out of business but that’s too bad.

          To say my cinema is doing well would be very modest of me, whereas in reality the film business is booming.

          The communists and Nazis are creating more organisations which are increasing their influence. The election made a nationalist, who wanted a Kaiser back, as president. He wrote to the Kaiser for permission to be president which could have stopped the democracy completely. Also we are getting a new chancellor almost every year.

          Germany has been accepted into the League of Nations, I think this is almost surrendering completely however I have full confidence in Stresemann because he is working towards the greater good. This has angered many nationalists.

◊————―————―— 1 9 2 7 ―——―————―————◊

          The new music and some of the films are a bit graphic when it comes to certain points. I am not sure whether I approve or not; I can’t decide.

          The election gave democratic parties the majority of the votes which is settling the political battles.

          Stresemann has continued his plan and the reparations are now to be paid over a longer period of time instead of the original time set at the treaty of Versailles.

          The Nazi party has started producing propaganda by the tonne; they are also getting bolder in that this latest propaganda is titled “We demand”. It outlines that the Nazi party want to drive out all foreigners from Germany, because apparently they are steeling jobs and money from the German people. He primarily blames the Jews for the unemployment in Germany, which is not at all fair because the Jews are just people looking for work, the same as any other unemployed person. He is just using them as scapegoats as an easy way to show he will change things when elected.

They then want the empty homes to be given to war veterans and the jobs to the unemployed. Admittedly this is a way of decreasing unemployment but it is so brutal and unjust.

The propaganda is aimed at the working German, right at the bottom, who is admittedly very poor and almost living in poverty under the Weimar government, they see Hitler as a chance to improve their living conditions and lives as a whole. They are not well enough informed of the dangers of Hitler’s plans and Weimar is trying to fix this problem reasonably and legally.

The public are going to see Hitler as a powerful leader who will strengthen Germany; then vote for him because the republic is more considerate of more variables in a way and less narrow-minded.

◊————―————―— 1 9 2 8 ―——————―————◊

          The national trade is the same as before the Great War and industry is once again flourishing but I think the trade will continue to increase in the following years.

          There is new architecture which is very strange, new and exiting but still strange, it’s called Bauhaus.

          The Nazi party got less than 3% of the vote; they have proved themselves a bad leader for Germany and the public have realised that.

          The next step in Stresemann’s plan is to make the eastern border of Germany the same or similar to 1913 and I believe this will be achieved very soon.

          The Nazis are still spreading their plague of narrow-mindedness to the working people, the workers in my factory are becoming more a Nazi supporter everyday.

◊————―—————— 1 9 2 9 ―——―————―————◊

          The income is still increasing and the whole country is very happy. Many people are calling it the golden years, which I agree and it is all down to Stresemann.

The democracy is safe and the eastern borders have been realigned. All is good.

Stresemann has died and I now fear that his successor will not be as talented. He fixed many problems in Germany and the next foreign minister will probably undo the work and his plan.

To make things worse there has been a major stock market crash in America. The loans have stopped funding German industry and there is even less jobs. Hitler will use this to his advantage. Nazi supporters have used this as an example of depending on foreigners; they are saying the government is weak because of them depending of the Americans.

Unemployment is rising and the Nazi party are getting more seats in Reichstag as a result of it. I think that unemployment will continue to rise and Hitler will continue to gain votes until he is president. I hope the government will create a plan to lower unemployment, therefore decreasing Hitler’s popularity. Reducing the levels of unemployment will show the lower class workers that there is more than one way to get them working and again have faith in them. I fear this is impossible now Stresemann has died because we need a brilliant politician like him to think of ways to fix this.

The results of the Wall Street Crash in America are that unemployment has risen to six million, six million votes for Hitler.

◊————―————―— 1 9 3 0 ―——―————―————◊

The Nazis are gaining support and in this years election they got more seats in the Reichstag than the communist parties which is good, because I hate communists, but bad because I also hate Nazis.

          As I expected the level of unemployment is rising and the Nazis are gaining more supporters because of it. Weimar has not seen the problems and has done nothing to lower unemployment in anyway. They can’t do anything without help because their funding is gone; Chancellor Brüning has cut expenditure and worst of all there is less unemployment pay. These will in no way help the depression the Wall Street Crash has cause. He also ignored the Reichstag before starting this which will infuriate the Nazi party; the Nazis will undoubtedly take control soon.

Why was the Weimar Republic doomed?

          The republic was doomed to fail for many reasons. It had formed into a Germany that was largely socially divided, where Germany was only getting one third the national income as it did in 1913 and where many people believed a Kaiser was the correct way to run a country. A democracy was viewed as week compared to the Kaiser.

          The structure of the government was easily corruptible because once a corrupt man was elected president he could appoint whoever he wanted in the courts, as chancellor and the government ministers. This meant a criminal if in league with the president would not be punished justly and the ministers would just follow him, making the president a Kaiser in some ways. He also solely controlled the armed forces which meant he had the power to do whatever he wanted. If this happened Germany would no longer be democratic. Also the Reichstag was weak due to proportional representation and they very rarely agreed on one topic.

          Two parties formed which opposed the government, the Freikorps and the Spartacists. The Freikorps was made up of Great War soldiers who did not want communism. They wanted the Kaiser back and for Germany to be a capitalistic country. If a Kaiser returned then the former enemies - USA, France and Britain – would force him to abdicate and either democracy would once again rule or the country would turn communist.

The Spartacists wanted Germany to follow Russia and become a communist country which was ruled by the workers and soviets. Becoming a communist country would just make them follow Russia and there would be a national civil war which would devastate Germany.

In 1919 the Spartacists joined Great War soldiers who wanted communism and tried to form soviets in towns and cities. The Weimar government sent the army to aid the Freikorps in stopping the communism spreading and there were many casualties. Eventually the Freikorps won and the leaders of the revolution were murdered.

          In February the leader of Bavaria was murdered and the communists seized the opportunity to make it a soviet state. Again the Freikorps moved in with the army to stop the communism spreading and more street fighting occurred. There were 600 communists’ deaths. The spread of communism was to be stooped at all costs of by the Freikorps.

In May the terms of the treaty of Versailles were announced and the government had no choice but to sign and agree with the terms. The unfairness of the treaty, in the eyes of the public, was the fault of Ebert and the government. Ebert was seen as a backstabber which made him even more unpopular. If the public did not believe in the democratic government then they would never agree and would not follow his rule, leading to civil war.

The public saw the republic as the November Criminals because they signed the treaty of Versailles and surrendered. This meant the public would not follow the republic willingly. When the Freikorps and the Spartacists formed the public followed them and there were large street fights, resulting in many casualties.

          In 1920 the communists tried to cause a revolution in the Ruhr, the police, army and the Freikorps attacked killing. There were 2000 casualties, many communist.

          In March, Wolfgang Kapp led 5000 Freikorps into Berlin, the Kapp Putsch; the government could not use the army to stop the revolution because they refused firing at the Freikorps. The revolution was stopped by a general strike in Berlin, which made Kapp realise he could not succeed and he fled. The rebels were not punished suggesting that the courts were already corrupt and the governments downfall had already begun.

          In 1923 the Nazi party had grown to 55,000 members and the government had ordered the Ruhr back to work. Hitler counted on the nationalists for help when he would take control of Bavaria and then marched on Munich. Kahr was one of the nationalist politicians that helped Hitler plan the revolution had called off the attack. Hitler continued however when he got to Munich Kahr had called the police and many of Hitler’s storm troopers were killed.

          Hitler was arrested and went to prison but only for a short period because the Nazis had friends in high positions in the courts. He got publicity from the revolution that spread his ideas. This showed Hitler he did not have enough public support to take control of Germany.

          For the next two years Germany continued to be unstable and any spark could cause civil war. Luckily there were no sparking events because Ebert used appeasement often. There were many political assassinations, implying there were very violent groups opposed to the government, Ebert let this go without massive investigation. He knew civil war would completely destroy his country.

          The public divides were growing as the public followed a party and each party and there followers hated their opposition.

The republic was also doomed to fail because if a corrupt man was elected as president or any high position he could influence the government enough to appoint other corrupt men. This made it possible for Hitler to gain power.