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March 7th 1936

Hitler instructed the German military to remilitarize the Rhineland region which was a direct violation of the Treaty of Versailles.

The Rhineland region was a significant region for Germany as it was rich in resources such as coal, iron and steel.

→ It was also significant for defense purposes

If Hitler was able to remilitarize the Rhineland

◉ He would be able to unify Germany and have control over the entire German territory

◉ He would be able to strengthen the German army as they would be able to build up their army, weapons and military forces

◉ They would also be prepared for any potential conflicts that could occur

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On 27 February 1933, the parliament building was set on fire. The suspected arsonist was a Dutch communist named Marinus van der Lubbe. He was captured and executed.

The next morning, President Von Hindenburg promulgated the Reichstag Fire Decree. It formed the basis for the dictatorship. The civil rights of the German people were curtailed. Freedom of expression was no longer a matter of course and the police could arbitrarily search houses and arrest people. The political opponents of the Nazis were essentially outlawed.

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The Treaty of Versailles prohibited Germany to station armed forces in Rhineland

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A US banker named Charles Dawes proposed the Dawes plan in 1924. Under the plan, U.S. banks issued long-term loans to the German government; France and Britain then used the German reparations to pay back the billions of dollars they themselves had borrowed from the United States during the War.

◉ Now that Germany could repay France, it prompted the removal of French troops in the Ruhr.

◉ Put the german railroads and industry under international control (this guaranteed payments).

◉ American bankers reaped huge profits from the plan as they would receive interest on the loan.

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Gleichschaltung of society 1933- onwards

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Gleichschaltung of society 1933- onwards

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Gleichschaltung was the process in which Nazi Germany aimed to bring society in line with Nazi ideals.

Many politically-suspect and Jewish civil servants were dismissed.

Trade unions were forcibly replaced by the Deutsche Arbeitsfront.

All existing political parties were banned.

Books written by Jewish, left-wing, or pacifist writers were burned.

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◉ Due to Germany's undelivered payment, France invaded the Ruhr because it had valuable factories and they wanted to control their transportation in order to get reparations. This was a totally illegal occupation not covered by the treaty.

◉ The Ruhr was invaded by 600,000 French and Belgian troops. However the German government had called for "passive resistance" (resisting an enemy while remaining non-violent), so German workers went on strike. Therefore, France could not get the resources that it wanted from Germany. As a result France increased arrests, deportations and brought in workers from France.

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Germany lost 13% of its territory in Europe.

◉ Alsace-Lorraine was returned back to France

◉ Eupen and Malmedy became Belgian territory

◉ West Prussia and Province of Posen became Polish territory (Poland was now able to access the sea)

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◉ 1921, Germany made its first reparations payment of 1 billion marks.

◉ 1922, Germany only paid 13% of the amount they'd promised to pay.

The Allies were convinced that Germany was deliberately defaulting on the payments as although Germany had problems with inflation, it was experiencing better economic growth than the Allies during this period.

◉ January 1923, some of the reparations were agreed to be made using tangible items, however Germany failed to deliver the coal they'd agreed to send to France.

The Allied Reparations Committee agreed to occupy the Ruhr by military force in order to acquire the resources that Germany was supposed to be delivering. This occupation was intended to demonstrate that the Allies and France was serious about enforcing the terms of the Versailles treaty.

◉ 11 January 1923, 60,000 French troops marched into the Rhineland supported by the Belgians and Italians; they would remain until 1925.

Britain opposed the action. By confiscating coal and other resources, they managed to acquire about 0.9 billion marks over the course of the occupation; less than Germany had originally promised to pay but more than it actually was paying by the start of 1923.

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In order to help striking workers and the economical situation in the Ruhr, the German government started printing large amounts of money. The German currency at the time was the Mark or Papiermark.

◉ The people who lost the most in hyperinflation were the middle class as their life savings were now worth nothing.

◉ Farmers benefited as they could now sell food in exchange for other items. Debtors benefited as they could now pay their debts with ease.

◉ Other countries would not accept Marks as it was now worthless. This stopped imports, which increased food shortages.

◉ Normal trade also ended as the currency was worthless and was losing its value faster. This damaged the economy further.

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The Beer Hall Putsch was a failed coup d'état by Adolf Hitler, Erich Ludendorff and the Nazi Party on 8–9 November 1923, during the Weimar Republic. The insurrection failed miserably and Adolf Hitler among many Nazi party members were arrested.

Hitler was inspired by Mussolini's 'March on Rome' and wanted to do his own 'March on Berlin'.

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After the Fire in the Reichstag, Hitler used this as an excuse to issue an emergency decree → "The Reichstag Fire Decree"

→ Suspended basic rights

→ Arrested communists and other political opponents

March 23rd 1933 (Enabling Act)

The Reichstag passed the "Enabling Act"

→ This allowed Hitler's cabinet to approve and pass laws without the consent of the Reichstag

→ This allowed Hitler to create his own laws which ultimately led to the dismantling of the German Democracy

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The Weimar Republic was established on 9th November 1918 directly after the German Revolution where they overthrew the monarchy.

The Weimar Republic was a democracy → When the Weimar Republic was established, the Reichstag (Parliament) was also established.

◉ Since the Weimar Republic was a democracy the citizens of Germany elected who the representatives of the Reichstag were

Due to the Treaty of Versailles, the bad economic situation after WW1, and extremist not being happy with the democracy led to the Weimar Republic to face numerous challenges.

→ This led to political violence and economic instability/crises

One example of this is the Beer Hall Putsch where Hitler tried to seize power but failed.

The Weimar Republic ended up failing due to economic instability, political polarization and the rise of extremist forces such as the Nazis who ended up taking advantage of the weakness of the Weimar Republic in order for them to gain more power.