WEIMAR REPUBLIC NAZI GERMANY – HISTORICAL FORCE ESSAY
“Describe the background and outcomes of an event that affected the lives of ordinary
people. How did an historical force or movement related to this event have an
influence on ordinary people’s lives at this time?”
There are two parts to this question. You must write about both:
1.) Causes of your chosen event.
2.) How that event affected ordinary people (particularly with reference to your
chosen historical force).
This model essay will be talking about:
1.) The event of the fall of the Weimar Republic.
2.) How the assassination and the force of Nationalism affected ordinary people.
The first job is to plan your essay. It is vital that you do this in the exam. People who
fail are always the ones who didn’t do the plan. It looks like this:
Selected historical force or
movement
Selected topic
Selected event
Nationalism
Weimar Republic Nazi
Germany
The Fall Of The Weimar
Republic
Background to the event
Failure of the Social Democrats
Death of Stresemann
Weaknesses of the Weimar Constitution
Wall St Crash
Outcomes of the event
Reichstag Fire
Night Of The Long Knives
Holocaust
Influence of the force/movement on people’s lives
Rejection of the Treaty of Versailles, Reparations and the War Guilt Clause
Propaganda
Fear
The bits in italics are the bits that you would have filled in during the exam. Your job
now is to go back through your notes and textbook to re-familiarise yourself with some
of the things I have filled in for you. This plan is not exhaustive, so there might be other
things you would like to add.
The next job is to write the actual essay. Below I have written the points which could be
included based on the essay plan. However, I have not included any critical analysis. It
is therefore your job to write the essay making sure you include the words
“because”
“therefore”
“as a result of”
These words ensure that your sentence is analysis rather than story telling. When
discussing causes (background) and consequences (influence on people) you could also
include critical analysis by arguing which ones are more important than others and
why e.g.
“However, perhaps of more importance is…”
“Although … was important, it was vital that …”
You will need to link the points below together, as simply stating simple sentences is
story telling and NOT GOOD! You should also add relevant information from your notes
and textbook. You should see that at roughly the end of each paragraph I have written
[ANSWER THE QUESTION!] That means that you need to refer back to the essay
question at that point. You should also add relevant information from your notes and
textbook. When you have completed this essay you should hand it in for marking.
When it is correct, you should learn it for the exam.
Introduction
An event that had an impact on the lives of ordinary people was the demise of the Weimar
Republic, which ended the democratic republic period in Germany 1919 - 1933.
The force of Nationalism, an ideology focusing on the supremacy of the nation, had an influence on
ordinary people’s lives because it was one of the causes of this event.
The causes of this event were the inability of the Social Democrats to maintain control, as a result of
the Nationalistic fervour surrounding the “Dolschtoss Myth” and the Reparations of the Treaty of
Versailles.
Despite the period of relative stability afforded by Stresemann’s policy of accepting the Treaty of
Versailles, the Weimar Republic could not overcome its fundamental economic and constitutional
weaknesses.
The main consequence of this event was Hitler’s rise to power, which he achieved through the
judicious use of blame, for example the Reichstag Fire, legislation, seen in the Enabling Act, violence,
particularly in the Night of the Long Knives, and fear, sown through propaganda.
This had an impact on ordinary people’s lives because the force of Nationalism persuaded people
that Germany should be a mighty race of Aryans, that the Treaty of Versailles should be renounced
and that it was acceptable to use violence against those who dared to stand in Germany’s way.
Main Body – Background To The Event
The Social Democrats had risen to power as a result of the Junker’s desire to distance themselves
from the defeat of World War I.
They were unable to maintain effective control.
The Weimar Republic was born amid military defeat and social revolution, and Freidrich Ebert’s
Presidency was in many ways a reflection of this.
The 1919 Spartakist Rising of Communists and the 1920 Kapp Putsch of the Right Wing were both
suppressed, but they were evidence that the Weimar Government under Friedrich Ebert and the
German Social Democrat Party, could not effectively enforce its authority.
The early years of the Republic were characterised by tensions created by the Left and Right Wing.
The Left Wing created problems because they accused the Social Democrats of betraying the ideals
of the worker’s movement through not staging a Communist revolution.
The Right Wing created tension because it was opposed to a democratic system which ventured
away from the authoritarian model of Germany which had been so successful, for example in the
1870 – 1871 Franco-Prussian War.
Nationalism had a significant influence on ordinary people’s lives because the harsh terms of the
Treaty of Versailles, the reparations and “War Guilt Clause”, as well as the “Dolschtoss” myth of the
stab in the back by the Social Democrats, led to the fervent desire to renounce the Treaty of
Versailles and make Germany a great nation once again, which opened the door for Hitler.
[ANSWER THE QUESTION!]
Another example of the instability which contributed to the fall of the Weimar Republic was the
passive resistance in response to the French occupation of the Ruhr industrial region.
This was only resolved through Stresemann’s bold move to “give in” to France.
Although Stresemann, as Reichskanzler and Foreign Minister, managed to create some relative
stability through his introduction of the Rentenmark to halt hyper-inflation and the negotiation of
American loans under the Dawes Plan, this was only a veneer of stability.
The middle class lost their savings, despised the French and associated these problems with the newfangled idea of democracy.
When Stresemann died in 1929 and the “Golden Era” came to an end, he had created the perception
of a stable democracy, however, he had not addressed the underlying constitutional and economic
weaknesses of the Weimar Republic. Nationalism remained a problem because the issues which
divided and weakened Germany still had not been resolved.
Nationalism lay just beneath the surface of the Weimar Republic, for example, in the Munich Putsch
which, although crushed, was a crucial step in Hitler’s path to power, after his time in prison and
publication of “Mein Kampf”. [ANSWER THE QUESTION!]
The Weimar Constitution was inherently weak.
Proportional representation made it necessary to form coalition governments which, due to
Nationalistic sentiments of the time, were viewed as weak.
Many ordinary people, harking back to Germany’s glorious past, felt that Germany needed one
strong authoritarian leader in order to prosper.
While the Reichstag was left divided and weak, the President enjoyed absolute power in “times of
emergency” under Article 48 of the Constitution. This would later become a means for Hitler to gain
absolute power. [ANSWER THE QUESTION!]
After the Wall St Crash in 1929, America recalled the loans from Germany which Stresemann had
negotiated and the ensuing Depression created nearly 9 million unemployed people by 1932.
Taking into account dependants, approximately 23 million people were affected by this incredible
level of unemployment.
The divided Reichstag was powerless to help because it was handicapped by its coalition status.
When Hindenburg dismissed the Reichstag, the Nazi Party enjoyed great success at the 1930
elections, increasing their seats from 12 to 107.
The Nazis used Nationalist propaganda to persuade ordinary people that a weak government
could never make Germany strong, and in 1933, after the failures of Bruning and Von Papen to ease
the people’s hardships, the Nazi Party became the biggest party in the Reichstag.
Democracy died and the Weimar Republic fell when Hitler became Chancellor as the only
alternative to civil war, and the Reichstag gave him the power to make laws without its consent; a
power which Hitler quickly used to outlaw all other political parties. [ANSWER THE QUESTION!]
Main Body – Outcomes Of The Event
Propaganda, particularly focusing on the injustice of the Treaty of Versailles, had been an important
tool for the Nazis.
Weimar’s acceptance of the terms of the Treaty and the resulting hardships for ordinary people had
opened the door for Hitler.
The British economist Keynes had the opinion that the size of the reparations payments exceeded by
three times Germany’s ability to pay.
Hitler’s status as Chancellor did not yet give him the power of a dictator.
The Reichstag Fire enabled Hitler to end the Communist campaign in the Reichstag.
Although the Communists still had seats in the Reichstag following the fire, Hitler used the Enabling
Act, passed amid Nazi threats of violence, to outlaw the Communist and Social Democrat Parties, as
well as to bring the Trade Unions to heel.
[ANSWER THE QUESTION!]
Another important consequence of the fall of the Weimar Republic, the end of democracy and the
rise of Hitler was the Night of the Long Knives, when Hitler wiped out the only remaining threat to
his power.
Rohm’s desired a more significant role for his SA and a more powerful role for himself.
Hitler ordered the SS to “blood purge” the dangerous military wing.
When Hindenburg died only a few weeks later and Hitler declared himself “Fuhrer”, he instigated an
oath of loyalty in the army and enjoyed the allegiance of the only remaining people who would
have had the power to remove him.
[ANSWER THE QUESTION!]
Main Body – Influence On People
The level of Nationalistic fervour at the time of the Reichstag Fire is well illustrated by the sight of SS,
SA and youths with swastikas on their chests outside the Kroll Opera House before the passing of the
Enabling Act.
The Nationalistic cult of the Fuhrer after the Night Of The Long Knives impacted significantly on
ordinary people’s lives because it was omnipresent in society.
A consequence of the fall of the Weimar Republic, the death of democracy and the rise of Hitler to
dictator status was the impact on the ordinary people of the Nationalistic Fascist tenets of Nazism.
Omnipresent propaganda was used with rabid efficiency to instil in people’s minds the notion of
Germany as a great nation, built on the strong foundations of Aryan men who worked in the fields
and fought in the army, and women who toiled in the home and brought up perfect Aryan children
who attended Nazi Youth Movements.
Fear was used as a tool to maintain control and also to point the finger at the Jews as the scapegoat
for all of Germany’s former problems.
After the 1938 Krystallnacht many non-Jewish Germans were too afraid to frequent German shops or
even speak to Jews.
By 1939, mass arrests of Jews had begun and the process of Ghettos and Concentration Camps
followed, culminating in the horrifying “Final Solution” and Death Camps.
The Nationalistic, Imperialistic tenets of Nazism, based on the need for “Lebensraum” also led to the
“Anschluss” union with Austria and the occupation of the Rhineland.
When Hitler invaded Poland, the Allies’ policy of “Appeasement” was proved to have been a
mistake and World War II erupted. [ANSWER THE QUESTION!]
Conclusion
The fall of the Weimar Republic was created by a number of constitutional and economic
circumstances, such as the weaknesses of depending on American loans and the nature of
proportional representation, as well as the Nationalistic hatred of the Treaty of Versailles and the
belief that democracy could never solve Germany’s problems.
The most significant consequences of the fall of the Weimar Republic were the rise of the Nazi Party
and the removal of legislation which might have prevented any one person from holding absolute
power.
The Nationalistic aspects of the creed of Nazism had a huge impact on ordinary people’s lives as a
result of the notions of Aryan superiority and rabid anti-Semitism which caused dramatic loss of life
in the Camps of Germany and Poland, as well as the Imperialist aspirations for “Lebensraum” which
caused dramatic loss of life in the trenches.