WHAT CAUSED THE FIRST WORLD WAR?
Introductory Background
A war broke out in Europe in 1914 and it ended in November of 1918. This war came to known
as the first world war.It was called a World War because countries in the world were involved
either directly or indirectly.
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Before 1914, there were six powerful nations in Europe namely Britain, Germany,
France, A-H, Italy and Russia.
Out of the six countries, Germany was developing at a much faster rate both
economically and politically.
Its industries were especially in the production of iron and steel.
Apart from its industries developing, Germany had the most powerful army in Europe.
Britain was still on the economic giant, it had one of the strongest navy in Europe which
had earned here the nickname “Lion of the seas”.
Britain was afraid of the growing strength of Germany over their trading partners.
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Britain Before 1900.
-Britain was the richest and most powerful country in the world.
-She followed a policy of Splendid Isolation.
This means she remained isolated with no allies or friends.-Britain was free from the wars
which affected continental Europe.
There was peace for a long period.-She become the first country in the world to industrialize.
The factory system was introduced in Britain
-Britain developed factories which used machines for production. As a result there was mass
production of consumer goods eg clothes, cooking oil, stoves, electric irons, washing
machines e.t.cThe transport system improved to transport raw materials and finished goods..-Roads were
widened or tarred.
-Canals were dug to improve ship transport.-The railway network was improved.-Ship
building programs were promoted by government.
-Britain had its own sources of fuel eg iron and coal.-Fast moving rivers made it easy to
generate H. E.P.
-Factory owners got loans from banks eg Barclays and Standard Chartered-Capital-There was
growth of towns as people left the countryside to look for employment in factories eg
London, Manchester, Liverpool, Burmingham, Coventry and BristolBritain become wealth because it had many colonies eg India, Egypt, South Africa, Rhodesia,
Ghana, Nigeria, etc-British empire
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Austria Hungary
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It was a sprawling empire in central Europe.
It was made up of different ethnic groups e.g. the Germans, Slovaks and the Slavs.
Each group had its own customs and language, many of these groups wanted
Independence from A-H.
A-H Also faced problems with its neighboring states especially Serbia which was
becoming too powerful.
Another power, Russia supported Serbia and it had a very strong army.
By 1914 the concern of the Emperor of A-H was to put its fragmented empire together.
France
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France had been defeated by Germany in the war of 1870-71 and it was worried about
the growing power of Germany and so began to build up its industries and armies.
It also developed a friendship with Russia to safeguard itself against Germany and to
revenge so as to get back Alsace-Loraine which Germany had taken from it in the war of
1870-71.
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Russia
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Russia was the largest country in Europe.
Its economy was agro-based.
Although it was the largest country, in terms of industries it was still backward.
It was nicknamed a giant with feet of clay because it had a large territory but it's army
was weak.
It had developed a friendship with Serbia in order to disturb A-H’s control over the Slavs
in the Balkans/Eastern Europe.
Russia and Germany were not in good books.
It was vast (big) in terms of territory.
Huge resources e.g manpower, minerals e.t.c
The army was very big but poorly trained and poorly equipped. A giant with feet of clay.
Industry was still backward.
Ruled by the Tsar / Czar.
Italy
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It was a newly unified state.
By 1914 the country was settled and was starting to flex its muscles it also wanted a
place on the sun. Which means that it also wanted some colonies on the African
continent
Turkey
It was now nicknamed “the Sickman of Europe”.
It was once a great power, but most areas were gaining independence in Europe where it had
colonies
Turkey refused to give independence to the Slavs.
It resulted in Slav nationalism and outbreak of WW1.
Made up of many nationalists e,g Slavs, Poles,Czechs.
SERBIA
She was one of the Balkan / Slav states.
Serbia wanted all Slav states to gain independence from Turkey and Austria-Hungary.
The Slav states would form YUGOSLAVIA.
Serbia was the leading Slav state so it led to tension and conflicts with A-H and Turkey.
The conflicts led to Crises in the Balkans:
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Bosnian Crisis, 1908.
The Balkan wars, 1912-13
WHAT CAUSED THE FIRST WORLD WAR ?
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Balkan Crisis
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Alliance System
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Naval Race
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Army’s race
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Nationalism
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Agadir Crisis (Moroccan Crisis)
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Sarajevo Assassination
1. Alliance System
 By 1914, Europe was divided into two hostile or armed camps, the Triple Alliance of
Germany, Italy and A-H also the Triple Entente of Britain, France and Russia.
 The Alliance System caused hostility between the two camps.
 They suspected each other and this sped up the production of weapons.
 This also made the two groups their armies in case of an attack from the other.
 It was also the Alliance System that made member countries to support each other
over colonies outside Europe, thereby creating tension and conflict which later
translated into the First World War
NB
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It was Germany that started the Alliance System after defeating France in the
Franco-Prussian War of 1870-71.
Germany had taken Alsace-Loraine from France and wanted to isolate her so that
she could not get friends to assist in recovering the land.
2. The Moroccan Crisis (first crisis)
1904, Britain and France signed Entente cordial which was an alliance of friendship in
which Britain recognized the French occupation of Morocco and France also recognized
the British occupation of Egypt.
This move did not go down well with Germany which also wanted to expand its empire
into Morocco.
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Germany called for a conference to be held in order to resolve the Morocan Crisis.
The conference was held in Spain at Algerians in 1906.
At the conference, Germany was heavily humiliated because France and Britain
supported each other against Germany.
Germany walked out of the conference empty handed and this created conflict and
enemity between Germany, France and Britain.
3. The Second Moroccan Crisis of 1911
 Germany was humiliated at the Algerians conference in 1906 and therefore was
looking for a chance to revenge.
 The chance came in 1911 when the people of Morocco rose up against the
Sultan (King) of Morocco who had been imposed by the French on the
Moroccans.
 The Kaizer of Germany announced that he was going to support the people of
Morocco in the fight against French-rule.
 To put pressure on the French, the Germans sent a gunboat which they
stationed at the Moroccan port of Agadir.
(The Panther)
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Britain in support of France threatened to fight Germany if she did not remove
the gunboat as it was also disturbing its trade routes.
Germany only removed the gunboat when she promised to be given two strips
of land in the French Congo.
Why did the Germans want to takeover Morocco
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Germany wanted to taste the strength of the Entente cordial recently formed by Britain
and France in 1904.
Germany also wanted to expand its empire into Mororcco.
Germany wanted raw materials for its industries.
Germany wanted the control of the port of Agadir to promote its state.
4. Naval race
 In 1889 the German Kaizer Wilheim 11 announced that he was going to expand
the Germany navy.
 This statement threatened the position of Britain who was the Lion of the Seas.
 To safeguard her position Britain started to manufacture a sophisticated type of
worship called the H.M.S dreadnought.
 When Germany realized this, they started to manufactures their own
dreadnought and other types such as the torpedos.
 The naval race was on.
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When the first world broke out in 1914 Britain had 29 dreadnoughts and
Germany had 17.
 The naval race heightened tension between Germany and Britain, which
contributed to the outbreak of WW1 as both nations wanted to be powerful in
the seas.
5. The Balkans (Eastern Europe)
Why was the Balkans politically unstable before 1914?
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The area was made up of different nationalities that were always in conflict.
The new governments that were formed after the Turkish rule were always in
dispute especially over boundary issues.
 The area was strategically positioned on the map of Europe and bigger powers
wanted to take control of the area so that they have access to the Black and
Mediterranean Seas.
 Two bigger powers, A-H and Russia bordered the area and both wanted control of
the Balkans so as to have access to the seas.
6. Bosnian Crisis 1908
This was the first Balkan crisis which came in 1908 when A-H took over the province of
Bosnian –Herzegovina.
This move did not go down well with Serbia who also wanted the same province
because she wanted to create the Yugo-Slav State.
Serbia asked for help from Russia, a friend, to fight A-H out of Bosnia-Herzegovina but
Russia could not offer the help since she was still weak because of her defeated by
Japan in the Russia-Japanese war of 1904.
Russia and Serbia protested against this move but they later would stand by its friend.
Results
1. A-H felt confident that Germany would support it future disputes and it became
careless with its foreign policy especially towards Serbia.
2. It made Russia to quicken up its arms buildup so it would be able to help its friend in
future.
3. It increased tension between Germany and Russia, Serbia and A-H, Russia and A-H ,
Serbia and Germany.
4. It led to the formation of the Black Hand organization by Serbia which was meant to
terrorize Austrian activities in Bosnia –Herzegovina.
Balkan wars 1912-13
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In 1912, members of the Balkan League, Serbia, Bulgaria, Montenegro and Greece
declared war on Turkey.
Turkey was quickly defeated since she had civil wars at home.
After the defeat of Turkey, the London conference was held to help members of the
Balkan League share the spoils of the war.
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At this conference a grudge developed between Germany and A-H against Serbia
because they denied her from taking over Albania which she wanted so that she has
access to the sea.
Although Serbia failed to get Albania she got a lot of territories than any other members
of league.
This did not go down well with other members of the league especially Bulgaria who
declares war on Serbia on what became to be known as the second Balkan crisis.
In this war Bulgaria was quickly defeated because Greece Montenegro supported
Serbia.
Results
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A-H frustrated Serbia by supporting the creation of Albania as an Independent state
thereby denying Serbia access to the sea.
Serbia emerged victorious since it got more territories from the Balkan wars and its
growing strength offended A-H.
A-H wanted access to the sea and Serbia stood on her way so she wanted to attack
and remove Serbia as an Independent State.
The Sarajevo Assassination – 28 June 1914
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Archduke Franz Ferdinand an heir to the Austrian throne.
He was assassinated in broad day light by Cavrillo Principp on the 28th of June 1914.
Historians argue that the murder at Sarajevo was a match stick that lit the oil soaked
rag.
 Austria-Hungary held Serbia responsible for the murder and responded by sending
an ultimatum to Serbia with three main demands.
a) Serbia should investigate the murder and give a satisfactory answer within 48hs:
b) Serbia should suppress all ant- Austrian agents i.e. members of the Black-Hand.
c) Serbia should allow Austrian officials to enter into Serbia so as to make sure that the
demands are being carried out.
 Serbia agreed to the first two demands and rejected the third.
 After this, A-H made efforts to get Germany’s assurance for support and declared
war on Serbia on 28 July 1914.
The Schlieffen Plan
This was a German war plan that had been devised by a German chief strategist called Von
Schlieffen.
Terms
1. Germany to attach France via Belgium.
2. Germany to defeat France within six weeks then turns to attack Russia in the east.
3. Germany not to divide its army into two fronts.
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Why did the plan fail?
1. The Russians organized their army as early as the Germans had not expected and this
forced the Germans to divide their army into two.
2. The German army failed to attack and defeat France within the expected six weeks
because they were delayed by ANTIWEP (Belgian army) by two weeks.
3. With Germany still in Belgium, Britain declared war on Germany from the West since
Germany had violated the Belgian neutrality.
4. This further complicated the plan.
How far was Germany responsible for the outbreak of World War One?
Yes it was responsible
1. It started the Alliance System which
divided Europe into two hostile camps.
2. Germany took Alsace-Lorraine from
France in the 1870-71 war which
created enemity and tension between
the two.
3. Germany had a war plan before the
war broke out.
4. Germany dragged Belgium into war it
had not planned.
5. Germany gave Austria a blank cheque
–unconditional support.
6. It created tension between itself,
France and Britain over Morocco.
7. Germany started the naval race which
created tension between itself and
Britain.
It did not cause the war alone
German did not cause the war alone as they
were other nations that contributed such as AH, Russia.
1. Russia refused to demobilize its forces
when it was told to do so by Germany
thereby enlarging the scope of the war.
2. France just like Russia is also blamed
for not demobilizing when it was told
to do so by Germany.
3. Serbia contributed by refusing the
third demanded of the ultimatum.
4. Britain is blamed for not using its super
– power position to stop the war.
Why was Germany defeated in the WW1?
1. Failure of the Schlieffen plan.
2. Germany had weak allies i.e. Italy, A-H.
3. Entry of the USA into the war in 1917 changed the complexion of the war because it
brought in new soldiers, food supplies weapons and new military tactics.
4. The blockade of the English channel by the British navy deprived Germany of very
important supplies, such as food , drugs, spare parts of vehicles , fuel etc.
5. Allied high command.
Upon the entry of the USA into the war, the Allied powers decided to put their forces
under one command which made them to win many battles.
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THE PEACE TREATIES AFTER WORLD WAR 1
How Fair were the peace treaties after WW1?
Introductory background
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The First World War came to an end in November 1918.
The leaders of the winning nations met in Paris the capital of France to negotiate a
peaceful settlement.
The leaders of the defeated nations were not invited to attend this very important
meeting which was aimed at coming up with terms and conditions that were meant to
punish them for their contribution in the war.
Aims of the Allied Powers
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Punish Germany for causing the war.
They wanted to reward winning nations.
To establish justice and everlasting peace.
Some of them wanted to cripple Germany so that it would not pose as a threat to
world peace again.
A total of six treaties were signed with different countries but the main one was the treaty
of Versailles which was specifically meant to punish Germany.
The Paris Peace Conference was initially dominated by the big 4 namely
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(ii)
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(iv)
Woodrow Wilson – USA President
David Lloyd George – The British Prime Minister
Georges Clemenceau - French Prime Minister
Victor Orlando – Italian President
Later on, Victor Orlando of Italy moved out of the conference and went home angry because his
views were not being considered. So the big 4 was trimmed to the big 3 and their roles were
very significant at the conference.
Views of The Big 3
Woodrow Wilson (USA President)
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He wanted to establish peace in the world and this explains the reason why he came to
the Paris Peace Conference with his 14 points.
He advocated for the formation of the L.O.N, an organization that was going to assist in
maintaining world peace.
He wanted a fair punishment on Germany because he was afraid that Germany would
seek revenge in future thereby causing another war.
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He wanted to strengthen democracy in the defeated countries so as to avoid another
war from breaking out.
He also wanted the peace settlement to be based on his 14 points of peace.
The Fourteen Points
1. No secret treaties.
2. Free access to the seas in peacetime or wartime.
3. Free trade between countries.
4. All countries to work towards disarmament.
5. Colonies to have a say in their own future.
6. German troops to leave Russia.
7. Independence for Belgium.
8. France to regain Alsace-Loraine.
9. Frontier between Austria and Italy to be adjusted.
10. Self-determination for the peoples of Eastern Europe (they should rule themselves).
11. Serbia to have access to the sea.
12. Self –determination for the in the Turkish Empire.
13. Poland to become an independent state with access to the sea.
14. League of Nations to be set up.
David Lloyd George - British Prime Minister
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He went to the Paris Peace Conference under public pressure to give Germany a harsh
and humiliating treaty.
 He had promised the British that he was going to squeeze the lemon dry till its pills
squick. However, despite this, he was not interested in making Germany suffer. At the
conference he now wanted a fair punishment on Germany because:
 He was afraid that Germany would one day recover and seek revenge thereby causing
another war.
 He also wanted Germany to recover quickly because they were trading partners.
 He also wanted a fair punishment on Germany because he wanted it to remain strong so
as to fight the spread of communism.
 However, Lloyd George was mainly concerned with the reduction of the Germany navy
as it was a threat to the Loyal navy.
 He wanted to enlarge the British Empire by taking Germany’s oversees colonies.
 Lloyd George was also careful to make sure that France does not get everything she was
demanding because it was going to tilt the balance of power in France’s favour.
Georges Clemenceau – French Prime Minister
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He went to the Paris Peace Conference under public pressure to secure a harsh
punishment on Germany.
At the conference, his slogan was “make Germany pay’ and he was more concerned
about the future security of France.
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Why did Clemenceau want a harsh treaty on Germany?
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Germany had taken Alsace-Loraine in the Franco-Prussian war of 1870-71 and he saw
this as a chance to revenge.
The war was fought on the French land and this had resulted in the destruction of
infrastructure, land and the death of more than six million people in France.
Clemenceau wanted to cripple Germany to a very weak position so that she would
never attack France again in future.
To achieve this, Clemenceau wanted Germany removed from the map of Europe by
dividing her into smaller states but this was denied by Woodrow Wilson and David Lloyd
George.
He also wanted Germany forces to be reduced; he also wanted Germany to lose the
Rhineland, Saar Province, Upper Silesia and Danzig.
The Treaty of Versailles
The treaty of Versailles was designed specifically to punish Germany.
It was signed by Germany and was divided into two parts (1) territorial terms (2) nonterritorial terms – punishment.
Territorial terms
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Danzig became a free city under the L.O.N.
The Saar province which was rich in iron and coal was put under the L.O.N for 15 years
but its resources where to benefit France for the 15years after which a plebiscite-vote
/self-determination would be carried out to choose whether they would want to remain
under French rule or go back to Germany.
Upper –Silesia, which had a mixture of Germans and Poles / Polish people, was given to
Poland.
Alsace-Lorraine was given back to France.
Eupen-Malmedy was given back to Belgium.
The Polish Corridor was created to give Poland access to sea.
Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania became independent states.
Schleswig was given to Denmark.
Germany lost her overseas colonies.
1. Namibia – SA
2. Tanzania – Britain
3. Togo - and Cameroon – France
By July 1920 the Big 3 were done with the treaty of Versailles and the Germany government
was called to come and sign it. This long period shows that they were a lot of disagreements
among the Big 3 over how Germany was supposed to be punished.
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Why did the Big 3 disagree over how to punish Germany?
1.
2.
3.
4.
They held different views over how Germany was supposed to be punished.
They were affected differently by the war.
Some of them were under public pressure.
The leaders held personal national interests that they wanted to achieve.
Why did Germany sign the Treaty?
1. The Germany army was now weak and they could not fight back.
2. Britain and France threatened to attack Germany if they were not going to sign.
How fair was the Treaty of Versailles on Germany?
Fairness
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It was fair for Alsace –Lorraine to be given back to France.
It was fair to punish Germany severely because it had dictated a harsh and humiliating
treaty on Russia (Brest Litovsk) which was even harsher than the Treaty of Versailles.
It was also fair for Germany to pay the Belgian war debt.
It was fair for Germany to receive a harsh punishment because she had contributed
greatly to the outbreak of the war.
It was also fair for Germany to be punished harshly because she had a war plan long
before the war broke out which means that she had an intention of causing a war.
Unfairness of the Treaty
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The reparation amount was too much and it was going to be difficult for Germany to pay
it since it was coming out of a major war.
The treaty was a dictate /diktat because it was forced of Germany even if she had not
taken part in its negotiation.
Germany was forced to sign the war guilt clause –article 231 accepting full
responsibilities of the war although other countries were responsible for the war.
The process of self-determination was not followed in the case of Upper –Silesia which
was given to Poland even though it had a mixture of Germans and Poles.
Reduction of the Germany army to 100 000 caused serious unemployment.
The treaty deprived Germany of its resources in the Saar and yet they were also
expected to pay reparations.
The treaty saw some Germans being ruled by foreign governments.
SQ
1. The treaty of Versailles was unfair and was unwise how far do you agree? (10).
2. What were the military terms of the Treaty of Versailles?
3. How do you think the Germans reacted to the terms and conditions of the treaty of
Versailles?
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Non-Territorial terms
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Germany was forced to pay reparations to the tune of 6.6million pounds.
Reparations –refers to the money that the defeated countries were made to pay to
compensate for the damages that they had caused in other countries.
Germany’s army was reduced to 100 000 men and recruitment was also banned.
The general staff of 1914 was removed and was never to be recruited.
Germany was not allowed to unite with A-H since such a union was going to make her
strong again thereby posing as a threat to world peace.
Germany was left with 6 second –hand battleships and its navy was reduced to 15000
men.
Germany was forced to destroy weapons of mass destruction e.g. tanks and submarines.
Germany was not allowed to have an air force.
Germany was made to pay the Belgian war debt.
The Rhineland was demilitarized (Germany was mad to remove its soldiers from the
area)
Germany was forced to sign the war guilt clause-article 231 which forced her to take full
responsibility of the war.
THE OTHER PEACE TREATIES
2.
The Treaty of St Germaine- Austria.
3.
The treaty of Trianon – Hungary
4.
The treaty of Neuilly – Bulgaria
6.
Treaty of Sevres – Turkey
7.
Treaty of Lausanne – Turkey
Q: By 1923, it was clear that the treaty of Versailles was the least effective of the peace treaties
of 1919-20. How far do you agree with this statement?
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What was similar about the Peace treaties.
1.
2.
3.
4.
Reparations
All countries punished lost some land.
Military restrictions.
All countries were made to sign the Covenant of the L.O.N.
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DEPTH STUDY: GERMANY 1918-45
Introduction
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After the defeat of Germany in the first World War, the Kaizer abdicated (ran away) to
Holland.
After this, there was no proper system of government in Germany until 9 November
1918 when a man called Friedrick Ebert and his social democratic party formed a new
government in a small town called Weimar and the new government came to be known
as the Weimar government.
The new government offered a democratic constitution which means that it allowed
many political parties to take part in elections to choose the leaders whom they want.
Conditions in Germany after WW1
Food crisis
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There was a severe food crisis in Germany soon after the end of the war in 1918. The
crisis was so severe that the Germans ended up mixing flour with sawdust to make it
last and some People in Germany were surviving on turnips.
There was outbreak of a deadly influenza disease that killed a lot of people in Germany
given the fact that the health conditions were also down after the war.
Thousands of orphans, widows and the disabled also wanted the attention of the
Germany government.
There was a serious shortage of drugs meaning that the health sector was basically
down.
Germany was bankrupt.
THE WEIMAR CONSTITUTION
What is a constitution?
A constitution is a set of laws and rules that are used to govern a country.
THE MAIN FEATURES OF THE CONSTITUTION
1. Germany will be ruled by an elected president with emergency powers under article 48.
This means that the president will sometimes rule by decree.
2. The president had the powers to appoint a chancellor who was the head of the
Reichstag.( Germany parliament)
3. The president was also the commander in chief of the Germany defense forces.
4. The constitution offered a voting system called proportional representation.
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Which means that for a political party to be declared the winner in an election, it
should have scored 50%+ one vote of the total number of people who have
registered to vote.
5. All citizens above the age of 20 were allowed to vote.
Weaknesses of the Weimar constitution
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The emergency powers of the President were sometimes abused.
Proportional representation sometimes would lead to the formation of coalition
governments which were not always effective in running Germany since they were
always disagreeing on very important issues.
Strengths of The Weimar constitution
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In the event that the country was ungovernable the emergency powers of the
president would be necessary.
Proportional representation had an advantage in that it made sharing of seats in the
Reichstag fair since this was done proportionally according to the percentage that
the political party would have scored.
It gave the Germans the right to choose their own political leaders.
Despite what appeared to be positive aspects of this constitution, the Germans did not accept
it.
Why did the Germans dislike the democratic constitution?
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They were used to the autocratic rule of the Kaizer and they wanted him back.
They were not used to a democratic constitution.
They accused the Weimer government leaders for accepting and signing the terms
and conditions of the Treaty of Versailles which made them to be nicknamed the
“November criminals” in other words they did not accept the constitution because it
was associated with the treaty of Versailles.
Despite the democratic constitution, the Weimer government faced many problems that
ranged from political, economic and social.
Political Problems
1. The Germans were not used to the democratic constitution.
This is evidenced by the revolt of 1920 which tried to bring back the rule of the Kaizer
that is the memories of the autocratic rule of the Kaizer were still fresh in their minds.
2. Too many political parties- the Germany political field was dominated by many political
parties e.g the liberals, Social democratic, the communists, the centre party, Nazi etc at
one time Germany had more than 21 political parties and this always led to political
violence especially in the period towards elections.
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3. Political instability.
(a) Within the 1st years of its formation, the Weimer government was rocked by coups
(violence attempts to remove it from power by force). They were 3 main coups namely
the Spartacist revolt 1919, the Kapp putsch 1920 and the Munich putsch 1923.
Spartacist revolt 1919, in 1919, a unique group of communists attempted to topple the
Weimer government from power. They were led by Karl Liebknecht and Rosa
Luxemburg. They wanted to remove democracy from Germany and establish a
communist’s government as in Russia. In other words, they wanted Germany to be ruled
by a group of workers called Soviets. The Weimar government called the Freikorps (War
veterans) to assist in crushing the revolt. The leaders, Karl Liebnetcht and Rosa
Luxemburg were charged of treason and killed.
(b)
The Kapp putsch 1920
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In 1920 General Wolsfgang Kapp, leader of the war veterans tried to bring back
the rule of the Kaizer in Germany since he was against Weimar democracy.
They seized government buildings and announced that they had taken over.
The Weimar government did nothing to stop the revolt because the army had
been depleted by the Treaty of Versailles.
The Weimar government was however lucky because it was saved by the
Germany workers who went on industrial action.
They cut water and electricity supplies which resulted in production in Berlin to
come to a standstill.
As a result, General Kapp stepped down and ran away from the country.
(a) The Munich putsch 1923 / Beer hall putsch
 In 1923 Hitler and his Nazis party attempted to remove the Weimar government
from power but they also failed. They were stopped by the Weimar police.
 They wanted to remove democracy and bring autocracy.
ECONOMIC PROBLEMS.
Besides political problems, Germany also faced a series of economic problems.
1. Reparation payment. Germany had to pay reparations to the tune of 6.6million pounds
despite the fact that she had a post war government which was being affected by a lot
of problems.
This caused hyperinflation as the Germany government printed more money to meet
the reparation payment.
21 | P a g e
2. Ruhr Invasion 1923
 In 1923 Germany failed to pay its reparations amount to Belgium and France.
 As a result, Belgium and France invaded the Ruhr basin of Germany in order to
obtain their reparations in kind.
 The Ruhr basin was the economic backbone of Germany since it had most of
Germany’s heavy industries and Germany mined most of its coal from this
region.
 In retaliation to the invasion, the Germany government incited workers in the
region to go on industrial action. This move was economically unhealthy on
Germany because it led to a drop in exports. This resulted in the Germany mark
(currency) to lose its value leading to one of the worst hyperinflation in living
memory.
3. Hyperinflation
 The reparation payment and closure of Germany industries due to war left
Germany in debt and the Germany mark lost value such that it became
worthless.
 The situation was aggravated when the Ruhr basin was invaded in 1923.
 The Hyperinflation of 1923 had adverse effects on the Germans e.g. the Germans
would need a wheelbarrow full of paper money just to buy a loaf of bread.
 Moreover, the pensioners also lost their life savings.
 During those days it was now cheap to wrap vegetables with paper money than
buy a plastic bag.
 Also workers started to earn daily wages to avoid the effects of hyper-inflation.
 Since money had become worthless the Germans resorted to barter trade e.g.
for one to get a haircut the barber required four eggs.
 The Germany mark was so worthless such that an amount of money that could
buy a house before 1914 was now just enough to buy a box of matches.
4. Unemployment
 The army cuts required by the Treaty of Versailles left a lot of Germans
unemployed.
 Some people were also unemployed as most Germany industries were out of
production because of the war.
 This kind of a situation made people to be interested in politics as they had
nothing to do.
 They were ready to cheer up any political party hoping that the leaders would
offer a solution to their problems.
22 | P a g e
5. The Great Depression 1929
The Weimar government was benefitting from loans provided by the USA.
However, after the coming of the great depression in 1929 the loans dried up thereby
sending the German-economy into chaos.
GERMANY 1923-29: RECOVERY PERIOD
This period is also known as the period of prosperity, golden days or the days of Gustuv
Stressemann.
Germany under Gustav Stresseman 1924-29



Gustav Stresseman was a Germany chancellor who came to power between the
period 1923-29.
He was fatherly, knowledgeable, diplomatic, persuasive and clever.
He was credited for the rise of the Weimar economy between 1924-29 because
of his informed policies.
Stressemann’s policies and achievements
1. To deal with hyper-inflation, Stresseman introduced a new currency, the Rentemark to
replace the useless mark.
2. In 1925 he signed the Locarno treaties which guaranteed the French German border and
this improved Germany’s relations with France.
3. In these treaties Germany accepted the demilitarization of the Rhineland and in 1926
Germany was admitted into the L.O.N and treated as an equal power.
4. He negotiated for Belgium and France to withdraw from the Ruhr basin so as to kick
start production.
5. The legal system was improved and education was also developed.
Hyperinflation
-Industrial expansion
-High exports –foreign
currency.
-New currency –Gold
-Solved the Ruhr
-Agriculture expansion
Ruhr Invasion
-USA
23 | Loans
P a g e.reparations to
-Belgium and France
U.S.A.
Loans
Reparations
- USA Loans
Unemployment
-Industrial expansion
-Building of new factories
-Public work schemes
-Agricultural expansion
-Arts and Culture
Political Instability
-USA Loans which were
used to address the
economic problems.
-People were no longer
6.
7.
8.
9.
There was improved farming and food production went up.
There were improvements in arts and culture (Cultural Revolution).
There was also reduction in unemployment and there was industrial expansion.
Stresseman also negotiated for Germany to benefit from American Loans through the
Dawes plan and the Young plan.
Dawes Plan
-
Dawes was an American banker who was placed in charge of Germany reparation
payment.
He devised a plan that was aimed at reducing the reparation amount.
The loan facility froze the reparation amount for 2 years and France and Belgium moved
out of the Ruhr basin.
Part of the loans received through the Dawes plan where channeled towards the
building of industries and factories as well as agricultural expansion.
This created employment and better standards of living in Germany.
The Young Plan
-
Young was another U.S.A financier who drew up another plan for Germany since the
Dawes plan had expired.
He further reduced the reparation amount and introduces a 3 year freeze on the
reparation and the reparation installments where spread over 59years.
Part of the money received through the Young plan was also channeled towards
economic recovery.
During this period industrial production nearly doubled within the five years that
Stresseman was chancellor.
There was also political stability in Germany since people where now concentrating on
economic recovery and where not interested in right wing political parties.
24 | P a g e
How far did the Weimar government recover?
Although there was significant recovery in Germany, there were some challenges associated
with the recovery.
1. The recovery was based on borrowed money which Germany was supposed to pay back.
- This became evident in 1929 when the U.S.A was affected by Wall Street crush /
The Great Depression and as a result the loans dried up and America was
demanding that Germany should pay back the money.
- This was unhealthy for Germany because it resulted in the post war problems
resurfacing.
- Germany’s situation was worsened by the death of Stresseman in 1929Stresseman was behind the Germany recovery plan so his death created
confusion among the Germans who had no trust in the other chancellor who
came after Gustavo Stresseman.
- Historians also argue that there was no total recovery in Germany because
entertainment was crude and vulgar.
- There were still levels of inflation and unemployment.
- Stresseman was also criticized for signing the Locarno treaties which were
viewed by the Germans as accepting the terms and conditions of the Treaty of
Versailles.
25 | P a g e
GERMANY 1929-33
THE GREAT DEPRESSION AND RISE OF HITLER TO POWER.
Early life of Hitler






Upon joining the DAP, Hitler was made in charge of party propaganda.
Propaganda is political information which is also subjected to bias or which is tailor
made to promote the interests of a certain political group.
In Germany, most of the economic problems that had been solved during the period of
recovery resurfaced because of the great depression..
People in Germany started to be more concerned about the political situation in their
country.
The Nazis under Hitler took advantage of this political situation to reach out to the
people and promised them political and economic stability.
As a result , the Nazis started to gain a lot of seats in parliament from 1929-32
26 | P a g e
FACTORS THAT ENABLED HITLER TO RISE TO POWER
1. His personality
 He was a man of humble beginnings who was made great by the upheavals of
WW1.
 He was hardened by the war and was prepared to take some risks.
2. Use of spoken words
 Hitler was a very good orator. He could speak in a wild, magnetic and terrifying
oratory to convince or sway people to think or view things in the same way with
him.
3. Use of force and violence
 Hitler used his private armies, the SS, S.A to terrorize political opponents.
 The S.A was formed in 1921 and Rohm was made in charge of it. This group was
made up of war veterans and it was used by Hitler to keep order at his political
rallies, to disrupt meetings of other political rallies and to force people to
support the Nazi party.
4. Propaganda
 Hitler, through Joseph Goebbels used propaganda to brain wash or indoctrinate
the people of Germany so that they support the Nazis ideas and policies.
 They used the Nazis newspaper in Munich, posters, campaign regalia, rallies etc.
5. Effects of Democracy
 In the elections of 1932, Hitler came second after Hindenburg and in the spirit of
unity and democracy he persuaded Hindenburg to appoint him chancellor.
 Initially, Hindenburg did not want to give Hitler the position of a chancellor. He
was later persuaded by Von Papen, a former chancellor and close friend to give
Hitler a chance.
 A meeting was quickly organized which was attended by business people and the
army officials and they agreed that Hitler be appointed chancellor in the hope
that they would calm him down.
 In January 1933, Hitler was finally appointed the chancellor.
 He therefore used his new position to consolidate his position in power in
Germany
27 | P a g e
HITLERS’S DOMESTIC POLICIES
Domestic policy aims





To eradicate unemployment.
To create a strong government that would restore peace and order in Germany.
To eliminate Jews from Germany.
To bring prosperity and raise the standards of living for the Germans.
To achieve self-sufficiency in the economy (autarky).
Steps taken by Hitler to consolidate his power /or to establish Dictatorship
1. Reichstag fire of 1933
 The Reichstag building was set on fire on 27 February 1933.
 When investigating the case of the fire the German police captured a young Dutch
communist called Marinas Van de Lubbe closer to the site and they held him as a
suspect. Because Lubbe was a communist, Hitler accused the communist for putting fire
on the Reichstag Building.
 Hitler used the fire to stir up an anti-communist campaign which resulted in the
communist party being banned and more than 4 thousand of its supporters were
arrested.
 The advantage to Hitler is that he had managed to eliminate a rival political party and he
was one step closer towards the establishment of dictatorship.
2. The Enabling Act / Bill
 This was a rule that gave Hitler the power to pass laws for the next four years
without consulting the Reichstag or president.
 This law made Hitler a legal dictator since he was now able to pass laws single
handedly.
 The effect of this was that Hitler was now making laws that favoured himself and
the Nazis party.
 This act enabled him to get rid of other political parties thereby introducing
dictatorship in Germany.
 This law marked the end of parliamentary democracy in Germany.
 To make this law pass in parliament the SS had intimidated some members of
parliament to make sure that they vote to approve the bill.
28 | P a g e
3. Propaganda
 Hitler appointed Joseph Goebbels as the minister of propaganda.
 Propaganda had one prime function, to reshape the people’s beliefs, ideas along
Nazis lines or to make people see things in a Nazis way which would make them
trust and support Hitler and the Nazi.
 Hitler through Goebbels controlled all forms of media such as newspapers,
radios, rallies etc.
 Private newspapers were banned and only government controlled newspapers
were allowed to publish and there was heavy censorship of information. Nazis
versions of events where given to the public to read.
 By 1934 about 1 600 newspapers had been shut down and 10 000 magazines
had been shut down by 1938.
 No books were published without his permission and all books with ideas
unacceptable to the Nazis were banned. Only Nazi approved artists were allowed
to showcase their works while cinemas were closely monitored and controlled,
all films were supposed to carry a pro-Nazi message or about Hitler.
 Every year, Goebbles would organize an annual rally, the Nuremburg Rally. This
was the biggest of all rallies in Germany and was held each year. It involved
marches or demonstrations from the army, torchlight procession as well as
Hitler’s speeches.
 After everything was done, people would sit down to listen to Hitler’s speeches.
 Posters about the greatness of Hitler were found everywhere in Germany and
Goebbles controlled all radio stations in Germany. This means that listening to
other radios stations was not allowed and punishable by death.
 Small radios, (people’s receivers) were made available at cheap prices and these
only received stations from Germany and they were made cheap for
affordability.
 Goebbels placed loud speakers in streets and public spaces for people to listen to
Hitler in case they did not have radios at home.
 The SS and the Gestapo helped to close down anti-Nazi newspapers, silence antiNazi writers etc.
29 | P a g e
4. Repression and Oppression
Hitler used the S.A, SS and the Gestapo to instill fear and to terrorize his political opponents.
The S.A
 It was one of Hitler’s private armies that he formed in 1921.
 The S.A were sometimes called the storm-troopers or the Brownshirts because
of the brown uniform that they put on.
 After 1921 the S.A was used by the Nazi to disrupt meetings of other political
parties.
 They were used to maintain order at Hitler’s rallies.
 To terrorize and intimidate people to support the Nazi party.
 The S.A was under Ernest Rohm and this group was banned by Hitler in 1934
during the Night of Long Knives.
The SS




This group was formed by Hitler in 1925 as his personal bodyguards but it became very
effective after 1934 when the S.A was banned.
The S.S were also called the blackshirts because of their black uniform. This group
carried out the most ruthless killings on behalf of the Nazi party between 1933 and
1945.
This group kept statistics of the Jews that they had killed and people they had killed in
the concentration camps.
The S.S were responsible for running the concentration camps in Germany and later the
neighbouring countries that Germany had colonized during the WW2.
The S.S was divided into two groups;
1. The Waffen – assisted the soldiers to fight during the WW2.
2. The death heads squads- these were responsible for running the concentration
camps and were responsible for the torture, severe deadly beatings as well as
killings in the camps.
What was a Nazi concentration camp?



Initially, Nazi concentration camps were located in abandoned houses, factories and
industries on the outskirts of towns.
In the concentration camps Nazi opponents and the Jews were sent for ill-treatment but
were sometimes overworked and starved.
Later on the concentration camps become purpose built and thousands if not millions of
people were subjected to severe deadly beatings, starved and overworked to death by
the black shirts or the Death Heads Units.
30 | P a g e
The Gestapo (Secret State Police)



It was formed in 1933 and its role was to investigate all tendencies that were dangerous
to the state.
They investigated treason and sabotage cases. They also helped to close down private
media and could send citizens to concentration camps without trial or explanation.
This group also worked closely with the German courts though it was really difficult for
one to win a case against a Nazi.
5. The Night of the Long Knives 1934
This was a plot by Hitler to eliminate his political opponents.
1. Rohm, leader of the S.A wanted to unite the S.A, SS and the regular army to create a
unified militia of which he was going to be the leader.
2. This proposal was a threat to Hitler since such a union was going to make Rohm a very
powerful person in Germany, even more powerful than Hitler himself. Hitler then
became suspicious and acted ruthlessly.
3. Rohm advocated for a second revolution in Germany which was going to involve
redistribution of land and property of the rich in Germany. This made Hitler to accuse
him of being a communist.


On the weekend of 29-30 June 1934 Hitler sent members of the S.S to arrest
Rohm and other members who were leaders of the S.A. That weekend Rohm and
other 400 SA members were killed and that included Von Schleicher the former
chancellor who was a fierce critic of Hitler.
Hindenburg thanked Hitler for having nipped treason in the bad.
SQ Why did Hitler carry out the Night of the Long Knives?
6. Hitler and the Family
 Upon coming to power, Hitler was determined to control all aspects of Germany
life. One of the institutions that he put effort to control was the family.
 For Hitler, the family was important if he was going to grow the Germany
population that had been reduced because of WW1. He therefore started the
battle for the babies.
 According to him the only objective for marrying was to give birth.
 In order to increase the population, loan schemes were given to newly weds so
as for them to start families.
 Bachelors were heavily taxed to force them to marry.
31 | P a g e

Prizes and medals were given to women with a lot of children on the day of the
fertile mother e.g. women with eight children were given a gold medal. Those
with between 6 and 7 would get a silver medal while those with below 6 would
get a bronze medal.


Women were forbidden from going to work so as for them to take care of their
children and husbands.
This was a disadvantage because if affected working women. Their jobs were
taken over by men.
7. The death of Hindenburg 1934
. In 1934, Hindenburg the President died and this provided a fine opportunity for Hitler’s
rise to power. On 2 August 1934, Hitler with the support of the army assumed twin
posts, the post of the chancellor and the president. He now ruled Germany as a Fuhrer
which means the supreme ruler of Germany.
8. Hitler and the Youth

The Hitler youth organization was formed and the youth were encouraged to
join. Initially, more than 85% of the German youth joined this organization
because they were attracted by the activities that the organization offered.
 The youth were taught to be patriotic citizens (love of one’s country).
 Boys were taught physical fitness exercises while girls were taught domestic
sciences i.e how to become good mothers.
 The youth were brainwashed so that they hate those who were accused of
backstabbing Germany at the back.
 They were made to believe that all hardships they were facing were caused by
the Jews and the treaty of Versailles.
 They were taught that loyalty to Hitler and the Nazi was good.
 The Hitler Youth had two divisions namely
a) The league of the Germany maidens (girls)
b) The Boys called the Hitler Youth
League of the Germany maidens
This was the female branch of the Hitler youth movement.


Girls would attend their activities which included being taught domestic sciences e.g
sewing or needle work.
How to become good mothers.
32 | P a g e


Girls were also involved in physical exercises e.g. javelin, long jump, sprints etc.
They would also go camping but not as frequently as the Boys.
The Boys
Physical fitness exercises:





High jump
Wrestling and boxing
Long Jump
Swimming
Camping more frequently than girls.
They were also taught how to clean a rifle and keep it in good shape.
SQ: Why did Hitler want to control the Youth?
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
To establish control.
For support.
For patriotism.
For loyalty.
To establish discipline.
To grow up with the sense of becoming a future Germany soldier (boys) mothers (girls).
Did all youth support the Hitler Youth Movement?
No : This is because some of the youth opposed the Hitler youth policies.
Although at first the youth joined the programs willingly, later membership became
compulsory. However, a number of youth groups emerged in Germany that opposed the Nazi
policies.
Youth Opposition Groups
1. The Swing movement
 It was made up of middle class teenagers who opposed the Nazi policies.
 They talked much about sex against the demands of the Hitler Youth Movement.
 They advocated for western styles especially the American style.
 They also wore English clothes and chanted songs to mock Hitler and the Nazi.
2. The Edelweiss pirates
 It was made up of working class teenagers aged between 14-18years.
 Like their counterparts the swing movement, they also composed songs to mock
Hitler.
 They attached the Hitler Youth Movement and they also talked freely about sex.
 Later during the second WW this group held army deserters.
 This group also stole weapons and attached the Gestapo.
33 | P a g e

3. Red Rose Movement
 This was made up of university students and their lecturers and it was based in
Munich.
 This group was outstanding in speaking against the Nazi genocidal and
euthanasia policies in the 1930s.
 They used non-violent methods since they were intellectual group e.g. leaflets,
posters to speak against the Nazi.
 This group was destroyed by the Gestapo in 1943.
4. The Navajos
 These ones specialized in composing songs that would speak against Hitler and
the Nazi.
Other Groups
1. The Church

Priests and religious groups e.g. the Jehovah’s Witnesses criticized Hitler’s
policies especially the genocidal and the euthanasia policies while the Roman
Catholic Church also led opposition against euthanasia in 1939.
2. The Left Wingers
 It was made up of the communists and the Socialists.
 This group was made up of people who once had been imprisoned by the Nazi
and had escaped into neighboring countries where they wrote articles criticizing
the Nazi regime.
3. University Lecturers, Writers, Artists
 These were forced to migrate from Germany because of the anti-Nazi ideas.
 They had become a target of Nazi persecution. While outside the country they
had started anti-Nazi campaign through their writings and music.
 Army Officers who were fed up with the war also spoke against Hitler.
4. The Kreisau
 This was also known as dissidents.
 This group wanted to bring back democracy and they organized the July plot on
Hitler’s life in 1943.
 They failed to assassinate Hitler and as a result the leaders were arrested and
killed.
SQ: 1. How successful were the Nazi policies towards the Youth?(4).
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2 How significant was Youth opposition to the Nazi rule? Explain your answer?(40)
9. Hitler and the Church
 Hitler signed the concordat (agreement) with the Roman Catholic Church in which the
church was required to stay out of politics.
 Later on, as the Nazi became oppressive and repressive most churches in Germany
started to speak against Hitler and the Nazi.
 Initially, the church had supported the Nazi policies towards the family because the
church supported the idea of the family and going back to the Germany traditional
values which was advocated by the Nazi.
 When the church started to oppose Hitler most churches including the Jehovah’s
Witness were banned and their leaders and pastors were sent to concentration camps.
As a way of retaliation against the Catholic Church Hitler dismantled the Catholic Youth
League and its members were forced to join the Hitler Youth League.
 Moreover, Hitler created the Nazi Christian Church after banning the churches.
 This new church was led by Ludwig Muller and it combined the teaching of Nazism and
Christianity.
 Furthermore, Roman Catholic Schools were taken over by the Nazi and R.S was banned
as a subject from school.
Why did Hitler want to control the church?



To avoid opposition.
To establish control over people of Germany
To indoctrinate the people so that they support the Nazi
SQ: Why did the Nazi want to control the church?
10. Hitler and Education
 Education was strictly controlled by the Nazi as it was used as a tool to brainwash the
pupils at a tender age.
 Most text books were rewritten and in May 1933 students took part in burning books
that were not written by German authors especially those written by the Jews.
 All teachers were forced to wear uniforms and to join the Nazi teachers association and
to swear an oath of allegiance to Hitler.
 All Jewish teachers were arrested after being reported by their pupils and all pupils were
encouraged to spy on their teachers and report them to the Gestapo if they were not
teaching according to Nazi doctrine.
 All colleges and university lecturers were supposed to believe in Hitler or else they were
sacked from their jobs.
 The curriculum was changed. It now emphasized on the teaching of three major subjects
e.g History, Biology and Physical Education.
 All pre-Nazi history books were banned. In history pupils were taught about the
greatness of the Germany race while in biology were taught about the purity of the
Aryan race.
35 | P a g e


P.E placed much emphasis on boxing which became compulsory for boys.
In Maths pupils were taught military calculations while in history the stab at the back
theory and the harshness of T.O.V were stressed.
SQ: Why did Hitler want to control education?
1.
2.
3.
4.
To indoctrinate or brainwash the pupils.
To promote the purity of the Aryan race.
To prepare boys to be soldiers.
To prepare girls to be good mothers.
11. Hitler and Trade Unions
 When Hitler came to power, he banned all the Trade Unions and replaced them with
the Germany Labor Front which was a government controlled Trade Union and all
workers were supposed to join.
 The trade union leaders were arrested and beaten up, their offices were looted and
all their properly and funds were seized.
 The S.A and the S.S raided Union offices throughout the country and they made sure
that all workers joined the Germany Labor Front as a way of stopping them from
fighting for their rights.

Strength through Joy Organization.

This was a subsidiary or department of the Germany Labour Front which helped to
organize leisure activities in order to motivate workers.
They would give the workers free movie tickets, they were also given free holidays,
cruises on the latest boats.

SQ What was the strength through joy organisation?
THE BEAUTY OF LABOUR ORGANISATION




This was another subsidiary of the Germany Labour Front responsible for improving
working conditions at work places.
It supervised and checked whether workplaces had proper ventilation and lighting.
They also promoted the canteen system in which employers were encouraged to serve
hot meals.
It promoted the factory gardens for the workers to rest during lunch hour.
36 | P a g e
12. The Crystal Night / Christallnacht of 1938




On 7 November 1938 a young Polish Jew shot and killed two Germany diplomats in
France (Paris) . When Hitler heard this, he decided to retaliate /revenge.
He instructed members of the SS and equiped them with pickaxes, hammers and
addressed of Jewish shops and workplaces and they were given instruction to destroy.
Members of the SS smashed up Jewish shops and closed them.
The Jewish workplaces were also attacked and closed and more than 100 Jewish
synagogues were burnt down and about 100Jews were killed while over 2000 of them
were sent to concentration camps.
13. Anti-Semitism
Hitler was anti-Semitic which means that he had hatred for the Jews. From 1933 Hitler was
determined to exterminate (destroy completely) the Jews.
He therefore started a series of programs in order to achieve this.
1. All Jews were removed from the government as employees and their positions were
given to the Germans.
2. Jewish intellectuals were forced to leave Germany.
- From 1933-36 persecution of the Jews increased and some of them were not
allowed to join the Germany army.
3. The Nuremburg Laws
 A law was passed stating that Jews were no longer citizens of Germany but visitors.
 In 1935 the law of the protection of Germany blood and honour was passed preventing
marriage between Germany and Jews.
 The Jews were banned from taking part in politics, while the Germany doctors were
made to attend the Aryans (pure Germans) only.
 Jewish children were forbidden to attend normal schools.
4. The Development of Concentration Camps / death camps
All jews who were found in Germany were send to concentration camps were they were
killed.
5. Introduction of the Final Solution 1942
 In 1942, a meeting was held at Vanesse by the prominent Nazis to deal with the Jewish
problem.
 They declared that the Jews were supposed to be eliminated not only in Germany but in
the rest of Europe.
 After that, death camps were established in all the countries that Germany had taken
over in the second World War such as Poland, Czechoslovakia, Austria to speed up
persecution of the Jews.

37 | P a g e
6. Holocaust
The holocaust was the implementation of the agreement done at Vanesse which saw more
than 5 million Jews being persecuted.
It is important to note that the Nazi did not only persecute Jews, the persecution was also
extended to other minority groups in Germany such as
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
The disabled.
The blacks.
Slavs.
Gypsies.
Bed wetters.
SQ: Why did Nazi persecute minority groups?



To promote the health and purity of the Aryan race.
To get rid of cross breeding of races.
The Nazi regime was racist.
14. Nazi economic policies
 When Hitler came to power as chancellor in 1933, his major aim was to make Germany
economically self-sufficient.
 The Nazi policy of self-sufficiency was called Autarky. Through this policy the Nazi
wanted to stop Germany from being dependent on imports if war began.
 Hitler remembered how Germany had been defeated in WW1 when the English channel
had been blocked by the British Navy thereby causing serious shortages in Germany.
The Nazi started a series of programmes that were meant to make Germany self –
sufficient.
 They came up with their economic 4 year plans under the supervision of Goering.
 Under the 4 year plans the Nazi started the manufacturing of synthetic rubber and
started experiments to obtain petrol from coal so as to reduce dependency from
imports.
 Farmers where given loans to produce a lot of grain which was sold at marketing boards
for storage.
Reduction of Unemployment
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The Nazi also started programmes to reduce unemployment.
Rearmament programmes which included the opening of weaponry industries.
Public work schemes e.g. construction of autobahs, hospitals, universities, roads etc.
Private companies were encouraged to build houses and this reduced unemployment.
Jobs for men were created by stopping women from going to work and by removing
Jews from the public service.
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
Agriculture was expanded.
Sample Question: Did life change in Germany because of WW2?
Yes
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Conscription was lowered to 17
Production was mainly focused on ornaments.
Unemployment was drastically reduced.
Women started to go to work.
The Germany economy improved during the initial stages of the war as they got raw
materials from the conquered lands/countries.
There was rationing of food after 1939.
There were shortages in Germany because of the Allied blockage of the English Channel.
Population decreased because about 3.5million people are said to have died because of
Allied bombings on Germany cities e.g Dresden.
Persecution of minority groups increased in Germany.
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Powers of the state control e.g Gestapo, SS were still in operation.
Youth Policies did not change.
There was still persecution in concentration camps.
Workers’ rights were still discriminated against.
Propaganda did not change.
No major resistance to Nazi rule just like it was before the war.
Jews were still being persecuted.
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No
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SAMPLE QUESTION: Did the people of Germany benefit under Nazi rule?
To some extent yes they did because:
1. Unemployment was drastically reduced in Germany through the rearmament programs,
conscription and public work schemes.
2. Programs were introduced to improve working and leisure conditions that benefited the
workers through: The Beauty of Labour organization which made bosses improve
working conditions by installing better lighting and ventilation in industries, serving hot
meals at work for the workers and creating factory gardens for workers to rest during
break and lunch times. The Strength Through Joy Organisation provided motivation to
the workers by giving them free movie tickets, cheap holidays and rides or cruises on
the latest boats for workers of outstanding performances.
3. The Youth also benefited by being offered opportunities to take up activities that
improved health and fitness.
4. Many Germans enjoyed the peace, order and regimentation that the Nazi brought to
their lives in Germany.
5. The Germans were also happy that the Nazi had managed to restore their military pride
that had been tarnished by the Treaty of Versailles.
6. Traditional values were restored and the Germans were happy.
Although the Germans benefited, it can be argued that they did not benefit to some extent
because:
1. Workers in Germany lost their rights as Trade Unions were banned thereby forcing them
to join the Germany Labour Front which was government controlled. Wages remained
low while working hours increased there were few consumer goods which means that
food became very expensive.
2. Women were affected as the Nazi held traditional beliefs about them. Those who were
going to work lost their jobs and these were given to men. Woman were again supposed
to assume traditional roles of looking after their families especially giving birth and
looking for their children.
3. The Germans were affected because the cost of living went up especially in the 1930s as
food items were now in short supply.
4. People in Germany lived in constant fear as those who opposed the Nazi were rounded
up and send to concentration camps where they were subjected to a lot of ill treatment.
Torture, severe deadly beatings and starving to death were common in the camps.
5. People were indoctrinated through schools, radios and newspapers as well as the Hitler
Youth Programs.
6. Minority groups were persecuted as the Nazis believed in the superiority of Aryan Race.
7. The Germans had no freedom of speech, religion and expression or media as all private
media was banned and there was heavy censorship of information.
8. Presence of informers made it difficult for people to express themselves and criticize the
Nazi.
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WHY HAD INTERNATIONAL PEACE COLAPSED BY 1939?
Reasons
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Hitler’s aggressive foreign policy.
Reversal of the Treaty of Versailles.
Failure of the League of Nations.
U.S.A’s isolationist policy.
Appeasement policy.
Great Depression.
Hitler’s foreign policy
Aims
 When Hitler came to power he had several aims in foreign policy to achieve.
1. To abolish the Treaty of Versailles and its humiliating terms that had caused hardships
to Germany.
2. Unite all Germany speaking people who had been displeased by the T.O.V
3. To create Lebensraum or living space of the ever increasing Germany population
(Greater Germany).
4. To fight against the spread of communism which he regarded as a contagious disease.
Hitler’s foreign policy
List of events
1. Withdrawal from the League of Nations 1933.
2. The Anglo- Germany Naval agreement 1933.
3. Rearmament 1935.
4. Remiliterisation of the Rhineland 1936.
5. The Saar plebiscite 1935.
6. The Spanish civil war 1936-37.
7. The Anti-comintern pact 1937.
8. The Anschluss 1938.
9. The Sudetenland crisis 1938.
10. The Czechoslovakia crisis 1938.
11. The Nazi- society non-aggression pact 1939.
12. The invasion of Poland 1939.
13. Outbreak of WW2.

Appeasement
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1. Withdrawal from the League of Nations 1933.

The main reason for taking Germany out of the League was to avoid clashing with the
interests of the league since it was the custodian of the T.O.V which he hoped to abolish
using force.
2. The Anglo-Germany Naval Agreement 1933
Hitler wanted to enlarge Germany’s navy. In 1933 Germany signed an agreement with
Britain in which Germany was allowed to increase its navy by 35% that of Britain.
Later on, Hitler increased the Germany navy far beyond the agreed percentage.
3. Rearmament 1935
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When Hitler came to power he started a serious rearmament program.
In 1935 Hitler announced Germany’s rearmament program against The Treaty of
Versailles.
He introduced some 4 year rearming and conscription programs which resulted in
thousands of Germans being employed as they were enlisted into the Germany army,
navy, air force and weapon manufacturing industries.
This affected countries like France and Czechoslovakia.
4. The Saar plebiscite 1935
According to the T.O.V, the Saar province was put under the L.O.N for 15years but its
resources were to benefit France.
It was also stated that after the 15 years, a plebiscite will be carried out to find out
whether the people in the Saar wanted to remain under French control or to go back to
Germany.
In 1935 the plebiscite was held and more than 90% of the people voted in favour of
returning to Germany so the coal mining area was incorporated into Germany.
This was a major success for Hitler because it boosted his popularity and influence.
5. Remilitarization of the Rhineland 1936
In the T.O.V Germany was supposed to demilitarize the Rhineland.
In 1936, Hitler decided to reverse the T.O.V by remilitarizing the Rhineland.
Hitler moved a small contingent of his troops into the Rhineland claiming that he
wanted to protect the Germany frontiers.
This was a clear defiance of the T.O.V.
Hitler instructed the army to withdraw if France and Britain were to react.
However, Britain and France did not do anything to move the Germany army out of the
Rhineland.
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SQ : Why did Britain and France fail to stop Hitler from remilitarizing the Rhineland.
Reasons
 Britain felt that the T.O.V was too harsh on Germany and they ignored arguing
that Germany was simply marching into its backyard.
 Britain and France were following the policy if Appeasement (giving in to the
demands of an aggressor to avoid a war).
 Britain and France were busy solving their economic problems that were caused
by the Great Depression.
 Britain and France as leaders of the League could not agree on what action to be
taken against Hitler.
 France could not fight Hitler without support of Britain.
6. The Spanish civil war 1936 -37
 In 1936 a civil war broke out in Spain between the communist Republican
government of Spain and the nationalist rebels led by General Franco.
 Hitler saw this as a heaven send opportunity to fight against the spread of
communism as he joined the war on the side of General Franco who was fighting
the government of Spain in order to get rid of communism.
 He also saw this as a chance to test his new weapons, soldiers as well as new
military tactics.
 In 1937 the L.O.N looked on helplessly as the Germany aircraft was making
devastating bombing raids on civilian population in various Spanish cities.
 One of the Spanish cities which was severely affected was Guernica which had
most of its buildings brought down by the Germany aircraft.
SQ: Why did Hitler join the Spanish civil war?
7. The Anti-Comintern Pact 1937
 When Hitler entered the Spanish civil war, Mussolini of Italy was already
involved supporting General Franco.
 After the war in 1937 the two became friends.
 They were united by their hatred of communism. Later on Japan joined the Pact
and the name was changed to Rome-Berlin-Tokyo Axis or the Pact of Steel.
 When the WW2 broke out they entered using the name Axis alliance.
 The main reason why the three countries came together was to fight the spread
of communism and the main country they targeted was Russia.
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8. The Anschluss 1938
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The word Anschluss means the union between Austria and Germany.
According to the T.O.V this union had been banned because it had proved to be a threat
to World Peace.
However in 1934 Hitler, attempted to unite Austria and Germany but he was
unsuccessful.
This first attempt failed because Hitler was stopped by Mussolini.
However, in 1938 Hitler’s second attempt to take over Austria was successful.
Steps taken by Hitler to achieve the Anschluss.
1. Hitler influenced the Nazi party in Austria to overthrow the Austrian chancellor
Schuschnigg which resulted in the Nazi party being banned.
 However this did not solve the problem because the Austrian Nazi Party kept on
piling pressure on the Chancellor to step down and agree to the Germany union.
2. When the Austrian Chancellor realized that the pressure was becoming too much, he
organized a meeting with Hitler in 1938.
 At the meeting Hitler told him to lift the ban put on the Nazi party in Austria and to
appoint Nazis in key government positions.
3. The Austrian Nazi party demanded for a plebiscite for the people to vote whether they
wanted the union or not. And the chancellor agreed.
 Before the plebiscite was held Hitler sent his troops to the border of Austria arguing
that he wanted to keep peace.
4. On 11-12 march 1983 Hitler organized operation Otto whereby the Germany soldiers
invaded Austria and arrested Schussnigg and other ministers and they were sent to
concentration camps.
5. A month later a plebiscite was held and 99% of the Austrians voted for the union.
SQ: Why did Hitler want to unite Germany with Austria?
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44 | P a g e
To reverse the T.O.V.
To put his home country under Germany.
He wanted Germany to have domination over the Balkans.
Germany gained more than 100 000 men for her armed forces.
9. The Sudetenland crisis 1938
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After winning control over Austria Hitler turned his attention to the Germany
Sudetenland which had been incorporated into Czechoslovakia.
Over 3 million Germans lived in the Sudetenland and Hitler argued that those people
were being ill-treated by the Czechoslovakia government.
Hitler was determined to take over the Sudetenland and put the Germany speaking
people under one government.
In June 1938 Hitler made it clear that he will fight Czechoslovakia unless something was
done to resolve the issue.
To avoid war Britain and France agreed to meet Hitler at the Munich Conference of
September 1938.
The Munich Agreement 1938
This conference was attended by;
1.
2.
3.
4.
Neville Chamberlain – Britain
Mussolini – Italy
Hitler –Germany
Deladier – France
Terms
1. They made an agreement to hand over Sudetenland back to Germany.
2. They also agreed that the independence of the remaining part of Czechoslovakia was to
be guaranteed by the Superpowers.
3. Britain and Germany made an agreement not to go to war.
10. The Czechoslovakia crisis 1938
After Sudetenland was given to Gr there was political unrest in the remaining part of
Czechoslovakia.
The Czechoslovakia President Hacha requested Germany to help restore order.
So after 3 days of acquiring the Sudetenland he invaded the remaining parts of
Czechoslovakia and announced that he had taken over.
Why did Hitler want Czechoslovakia?
1. To abolish the T.O.V.
2. To unite the Germany speaking people whom he said were being ill-treated.
3. To get rid of democracy in Czechoslovakia.
45 | P a g e
4. To gain coal, iron and the weapon manufacturing industries in Bohemia and Moravia at
Scoba.
5. He wanted to gain a strategically positioned country to enable him to have political and
economic dominance over central Europe.
11. The Nazi-Soviet Non-Aggression Pact 1939
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After taking over Czech Republic Hitler’s next target was Russia but could not attack it
since Poland was on its way.
Poland was on the way and it was a useful stepping stone towards the attack of Russia.
Agreements
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The leaders agreed not to fight each for the next ten years.
Invade Poland and divide it amongst themselves.
Increase trading contracts.
Who benefited more from the Nazi-Soviet Pact? Hitler or Stalin
Hitler
Stalin
1. He would be able to invade Poland
unopposed thereby avoiding war on
two fronts.
2. To quickly defeat Poland and use it as a
useful stepping stone to attack Russia.
1. To buy time to rearm because he knew
that once Poland was down, Russia
would be the next Germany target.
2. To hit back on the Western allies for
not inviting him to attend the Munich
Conference by showing them that he
could also befriend Hitler.
3. To delay the attack from Japan.
12. Invasion of Poland 1939
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On 1 September 1939 the Germany army invaded Poland from the West.
On 17 September 1939 Russia invaded Poland from the East.
Poland soon fell and Hitler turned against his temporary ally Russia.
Britain and France instructed Germany to move out of Poland but Hitler refused.
Hitler refused because he thought Britain and France were not going to go to war over
Poland but he was surprised because Britain and France honored their promise to
guarantee the independence of Poland and declared war on Germany. This event
marked the beginning of the Second World War.
SQ: Why did Britain and France go to war over Poland?
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THE APPEASEMENT
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It was a policy of avoiding war with aggressive powers such as Germany, Italy and Japan
by giving in to their demands.
This policy was followed by Britain and France because they wanted to avoid war they
were not yet prepared for .
Reasons for Appeasement
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Britain and France saw Hitler as someone who was standing in against the spread of
communism.
They were not so sure whether U.S.A was going to support them if they start another
war with Germany. This means that they were afraid to go to war without U.S.A.
Britain was not so sure whether its empire was going to support it if it start a war with
Germany.
They were afraid of the horrors of WW1 and wanted to avoid war at all costs.
Some people especially in Britain felt that Hitler was right since Germany was unfairly
punished by the T.O.V.
Both Britain and France were having their own economic problems and were suffering
from the effects of the Great Depression. They had large war debts and high levels of
unemployment.
Britain felt that its army was not yet ready to start a war with Hitler.
Why was Appeasement wrong?
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It encouraged Hitler to become more aggressive as he gained a lot of confidence when
nothing was done after committing an act of aggression.
It allowed Germany to grow strong, it recovered lost ground and it was becoming even
more powerful than Britain and France.
This policy was wrong because it finally led to the outbreak of WW2.
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THE LEAGUE OF NATIONS
Introductory Background
The League of Nations was a brainchild of Woodrow Wilson, the American President

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It was formed after World War 1 at the Paris Peace Conference.
It was part of Woodrow Wilson’s 14 points of peace -14th point
Unanimously agreed by all the powers to form the League of Nations.
The main duty of the organization was to preserve World Peace.
Aims
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To preserve World Peace.
Eradicate aggression between countries.
To encourage nations to trade and build good business relationships.
To encourage nations to disarm
Structure and Organization: The league was made up of major organs and minor organs called
agencies, or commissions and committees.
The major organs are:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Assembly
Council
Secretariat
I.C.J
I.L.O
1. Assembly : In this organ, all member countries were represented. It was like the
parliament of the League.
Duties
 Admitting new members in the League
 Discussing the budget of the League.
 Appointing the temporary members of the Council.
 To discuss other issues raised by the Council
 The assembly would meet once a year to discuss issues to do with international
peace.
 Decision making in the assembly was supposed to be unanimous.
2. Council: This was the smallest of the organs but very powerful.
 It had four permanent members: Japan, Britain , France , Italy.
 Non-permanent members initially 6 but the number increased to 9. They would
serve for 3 years.
 The most powerful organ of the League with VETO powers.
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
VETO – This means that one country can stop a decision from being carried out
even if the others have agreed.
Duties
They met 5 times a year and also during emergencies.
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Moral condemnation.
Impose economic sanctions.
Collective security (military force)
Dealt with issues to do with peace and security.
3. The Secretariat
 This was the civil service of the L.O.N
 It was headed by the secretary general.
Duties
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They looked after all paperwork of theL.O.N
Preparing the agenda of the L.O.N
Implementing decisions made by the Council
Preparing minutes for Agencies and meetings of the L.O.N.
4.
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I.C.J
It was called the permanent court of International Justice.
It was based in The Hague.
It was made up of 15 judges selected from member countries.
Duties
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Dealt with legal issues e.g Border disputes
Gave legal advice to the Council and the Assembly
They interpreted treaties.
5. I.L.O
The duty of the I.L.O was to improve working AND living conditions throughout the
world.
49 | P a g e
THE WORK OF THE LEAGUE
The League’s work was divided into two:
1. Humanitarian work
2. Peace keeping /political work
HUMANITARIAN WORK
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ILO managed to improve working conditions in the world by reducing the number of
working hours to 8 and it also abolished child labour
The health committee helped to control the spread of typhoid, cholera etc.
The league also assisted Austria and Hungary to come out of economic ruin.
The refugee commission repatriated refugees and prisoners of war who had been
marooned in Russia back to their respective countries
The drug committee managed to abolish the illegal trade of opium from china and it
blacklisted some Swiss and Dutch companies involved in drug trafficking.
The refugee commission was also able to assist refugees during the Turkish civil war by
giving them blankets, tents.
PEACEKEEPING WORK
Successes
The L.O.N was mainly successful in the peacekeeping work in the 1920s but a failure in 1930s.
1920s Why?
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
The disputes in the 1920 involved smaller nations which were prepared to respect the
League’s voice.
Countries wanted to give the League a chance to operate since the horrors of WW1
were still fresh in their minds.
1930s Why?
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
The great depression affected member countries and were now concentrating on
developing their economies at the expense of the League.
Disputes in the 1930s involved bigger powers which were challenging the authority of
the League.
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Successes in the 1920s
1. Aaland Island 1921
 This was a dispute between Sweden and Finland over the control of Aaland Island in
1921.
 Both Sweden and Finland wanted to fight over the Islands.
 The issue was reported to the League of Nations which studied the case and ruled that
the Islands belonged to Finland.
 Both countries accepted the ruling and war was avoided.
2. Upper –Silesia 1921
 It was a dispute between Germany and Poland over upper-Silesia.
 Upper-Silesia was given to Poland by the Treaty of Versailles although 60% of the
people were Germans and 40% Poles / Polish.
 Germany wanted to attack Poland over Upper- Silesia the League quickly came in
and administered a plebiscite. In the plebiscite 60% of the people voted for Germany
and 40% voted for Poland so Upper-Silesia was split into two the other part was
given to Germany (the industrial region) while the other (the rural region ) was given
to Poland , the two countries accepted the ruling and war was avoided.
3. Greece –Bulgarian war of 1925
In 1925 the Greek army invaded Bulgarian and the League ordered a cease –fire and
both sides accepted.
War was stopped and Greece was made to pay a fine to Bulgaria.
4.
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The Mosul dispute of 1924
This was a dispute between Iraq and Turkey over the control of the Mosul Province.
The League intervened and ruled in favour of Iraq.
The ruling was accepted by both Turkey and Iraq and war was avoided.
Failures of the League
1. Ruhr Invasion 1923
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
In 1923 Germany failed to pay its reparations and as a result Belgium and France
invaded the Ruhr basin.
The League did nothing to stop the invasion.
2. Turkish civil war 1925
The League failed to stop a bloody civil war in Turkey which claimed thousands of Lives.
51 | P a g e
3. Vilna Settlement 1902
 Vilna was the capital of the new state of Lithuania but its population was mainly
Polish.
 In 1920 a private Polish army took Vilna by force.
 The League failed to convince Poland to give back Vilna to Lithuania.
4. The Corfu Incident 1923
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This was a dispute that arose when an Italian General was killed when he was
assisting in redrawing the border between Albania and Greece.
Mussolini of Italy accused Greece for the murder and responded by bombarding
and occupying the Islands of Corfu.
The league moved in and condemned Greece and made here to pay
compensation which was supposed to be kept by the League of ambassadors up
until the murders were found.
Mussolini disregarded this decision and he got the compensation before the
murders were found.
5. The POLAND – Czechoslovakia dispute of 1918-20
 This was a territorial dispute over the control of the industrial region of Teschen.
 Both Poland and Czech wanted to fight over it.
 The League came in and resolved to give a variable part of Teschen to Czech
although it was a Polish territory.
 This did not solve the dispute as it led to a diplomatic warfare between the two
countries,

6. War between Poland and Russia 1935

Poland invaded Russia and took control of Russia territories.
The League did nothing to stop the invasion because Russia was a communist state.
The League In the 1930s
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THE JAPANESE INVASION OF MANCHURIA 1933- Case Study 1
Why did Japan invade Manchuria?
1. It had been affected by the Great Depression and so it wanted to boost her economy by
acquiring colonies.
2. They also wanted farmland to grow food since most of Japan is mountainous.
3. Japan wanted the iron ore and coal from Manchuria for its motor –car assembly plants
Steps taken by the L.O.N against Japan
1. Moral Condemnation
2. Economic Sanctions.
3. The Lytton Commission was set up to assess the situation in Manchuria. The commission
however took almost a year to report back on the situation but when it finally gave its
report the report was balanced and it condemned Japan for it had acted unlawfully and
ruled that Japan should give back Manchuria to China.
 Japan refused and it withdrew its membership from the League.
Why did the League fail to stop the Japanese invasion of Manchuria?
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Japan was an important member of the L.O.N.
The economic sanctions imposed on Japan were not effective as it moved out of
the League and started to trade with non-members e.g. the U.S.A.
Britain and France were reluctant to act upon Japan because they had been
affected by the Great Depression.
Britain was also not prepared to support sanctions against Japan because it was
one of its major trading partners.
The League was also reluctant to we force on Japan because there were afraid of
starting another war.
The absence of U.S.A from the League also contributed because it was the only
country with the political and economic muscle to remove Japan from
Manchuria by force.
The League was not serious the Japanese invasion of Manchuria as they
considered Manchuria to be far away and was not a threat to the peace of
Europe.
The League was not concerned about Manchuria because China was a
communist state.
THE ITALIAN INVASION OF MANCHURIA 1935
Reasons
1. Mussolini wanted to revenge for the Italian defeat at the battle of Adowa in 1896.
2. Italy had been affected by the Great Depression so it was looking for resources.
3. Italy also wanted farmland and raw materials.
Action taken by the League
1. Moral condemnation of Italy for being the aggressor.
2. The Council of the League also imposed economic sanctions.
3. A commission of enquiry was set up which was led by the British Foreign Minster called
Samuel Hoare and Pierre Laval the French Foreign Minister.
4. Upon arrival in Abyssinia the two Samuel and Laval came up with a secret deal with
Mussolini. Under this deal the two decided to split Abyssinia into two.
They gave Mussolini the northern part which was rich in minerals, well developed with a
railway line and other resources.
They gave the Southern part to the Emperor of Ethiopia Haile Selassie.
The deal was later on leaked in the British and French media and this attracted severe
criticism of Hoare and Laval which made them to resign.
SQ: What was the Hoare –Laval Pact?
Why did the League fail the Italian invasion of Abyssinia?
1. Italy was an important member of the league.
2. Sanctions that the League imposed on Italy were not effective because they did not
include a ban on the Italian oil.
3. Britain and France, the leaders of the League, considered Mussolini as an ally against
Hitler and they did not want to antagonize him.
4. Britain and France saw nothing wrong for Italy to have a colony in Africa because they all
had colonies in Africa as well.
5. On the other hand, Britain and France had disagreements over the course of action to
take against Italy.
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WEAKNESSES OF THE LEAGUE
CONSTITUTIONAL/ STRUCTURAL WEAKNESSES
1. The Assembly met once a year and this time was not enough to tackle all issues and
problems that were affecting world peace.
2. The use of unanimous decision making by the Assembly made it difficult for countries to
agree on one thing thereby compromising important decisions from being made.
3. The veto power of the council was sometimes abused.
4. Economic sanctions were not effective because not all countries in the world were
members of the League.
5. Absence of a standing army made it difficult for the league to carry out effective military
intervention in the case of acts of aggressions.
6. The structure of the league lacked bigger countries such as USA and Russia leaving
weaker countries Britain and France to run it.
LEADERSHIP WEAKNESSES
1. The leaders of the league, Britain and France, were always having disagreements over
how to run the affairs of the league.
2. The league also did not have among its leadership powerful countries such as USA,
Russia and Germany thereby depriving it of powerful countries with the political and
economic muscles to fight the acts of aggression.
GENERAL WEAKNESSES
1. The league was affected by the great depression after 1929. It weakened the economies
of member countries at a time when acts of aggression were on the increase, leaders of
the league, started to concentrate at solving their economic problems thereby ignoring
the work of the league. Because of the great depression, we started to see the league
being undermined by its own members as in the case of the Japanese invasion of
Manchuria and the Italian invasion of Abyssinia.
2. The work of the league was also made difficult by the fact that not all countries in the
world were members as has been evidenced by the failure of sanctions. League
members upon which sanctions were imposed withdrew their membership and started
trading with non league members eg Japan.
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