Till today Holocaust and Nazism in Germany in the early 20th century serve as horrific reminders and examples of dangers of extremism, discrimination, and totalitarianism. Nazism was a political ideology that emerged in Germany during the early 20th century. Led by Adolf Hitler, Nazi Party gained power in 1930s and played a pivotal role in World War II. Hitler’s determination to make Germany into a mighty power and his ambition of conquering all of Europe blinded him towards crimes against humanity that he ordered. Nazism and killings of Jews in Germany are a structure of ideas about the world and politics. 

Birth of the Weimar Republic 

Demise of German Empire: Germany was a powerful empire in the early years of the 20th century. It fought the First World War (1914-1918) alongside the Austrian empire and against the Allies (England, France and Russia). Germany made initial gains by occupying France and Belgium. However, the Allies won by defeating the Central Powers and Germany in November 1918. 

• Rise of Parliamentary Politics: German participation in the First World War drains all of its resources. This defeat gave parliamentary parties in Germany to recast politics in their favour especially when the emperor was abdicated. 
  • A democratic constitution with a federal structure was established at Weimar, where the national assembly met. 
  • Deputies were now elected to German Parliament or Reichstag, on the basis of equal and universal votes cast by all adults including women. 
• Treaty at Versailles and Republic: This republic was not favoured by people largely because the republic had signed a peace treaty at Versailles which was extremely harsh and mostly seen as humiliating for Germans. 
  • Germany lost its overseas colonies, a tenth of its population, 13% of its territories, 75% of its iron and 26% of its coal to France, Poland, Denmark and Lithuania.
  • Allied armies also occupied the resource-rich Rhineland for much of 1920s. The Allied Powers demilitarised Germany to weaken its power. 
• War Guilt Clause: Germany was held responsible for war and damages Allied countries suffered. 
  • It was forced to pay compensation amounting to £6 billion. 
  • Many Germans held the Weimar Republic responsible for not only defeat in war but also disgrace at Versailles.

First World War and its effect on Germany

Financial Impact: From a continent of creditors, Europe turned into one of debtors.

• • Imposition of War Toll: Unfortunately, infant Weimar Republic was being made to pay for the sins of old empire.
    • Germany was financially crippled as it was forced to pay compensation. 
  • Political Backlash: Those who supported Weimar Republic, mainly Socialists, Catholics and Democrats, became easy targets of attack in conservative nationalist circles. 
    • They were mockingly called ‘November criminals’. This mindset had a major impact on the political developments of early 1930s. 
• Socio-Political Impact: As the republic carried the burden of war guilt and national humiliation, First World War left a deep imprint on European society and polity. 
• • Cult of Masculinity and Militarism: Soldiers came to be placed above civilians. Politicians and publicists placed great stress on the need for men to be aggressive, strong and masculine. The media glorified trench life.
  • Propaganda and Nationalism: Aggressive war propaganda and national honour occupied centre stage in the public sphere, while popular support grew for conservative dictatorships that had recently come into being. 
  • Fragility of Democracy: Democracy was a young and fragile idea, which could not survive the instabilities of interwar Europe. 
• Political Radicalism: Bolshevik Revolution in Russia influenced revolutionary uprising of Spartacist League, demanding a similar Soviet-style governance. 
• • Hence political atmosphere in Berlin was witnessing the birth of Weimar Republic but also the birth of these politically radicalised uprisings.
  • Post-war Goverance:  Socialists, democrats and Catholics were opposed to republic style of governance. Hence they gave shape to Weimar democratic republic. 
    • The Weimar Republic crushed the uprising with help of a war veterans organisation called Free Corps. 
  • Birth of Communist Party: The anguished Spartacists later founded the Communist Party of Germany. Communists and Socialists henceforth became irreconcilable enemies.
    • Both revolutionaries and militant nationalists craved for radical solutions. This political radicalisation was only heightened by the economic crisis of 1923. 

Economic Crisis

Resource Depletion: Germany had fought war largely on loans and had to pay war reparations in gold. 

• • This depleted gold reserves at a time when resources were scarce. 
• Economic Sabotage: In 1923 Germany refused to pay, and the French occupied its leading industrial area, Ruhr, to claim their coal. 
  • Germany retaliated with passive resistance and printed paper currency recklessly.
• Weimar Republic’s Hyperinflation: With too much-printed money in circulation, the value of the German mark fell and it led to hyperinflation. 
  • In April US dollar was equal to 24,000 marks, in July 353,000 marks, in August 4,621,000 marks, 98,860,000 marks by December, the figure had run into trillions. 
  • Prices of goods soared. 
  • The image of Germans carrying cartloads of currency notes to buy a loaf of bread was widely publicised during this time. 
• Economic Recovery: Eventually, America intervened and bailed Germany out of the crisis by introducing the Dawes Plan, which reworked the terms of reparation to ease financial burden on Germans. 

The Years of Depression

Fragile German Economy: The stability between 1924 -1928 was short-lived. The industrial recovery and investments in Germany were dependent on short-term loans, mostly from USA. 

• The Great Depression: In 1929, Wall Street crisis hit the USA. Fearing a fall in prices, people made frantic efforts to sell their shares. On one single day, 24 October, 13 million shares were sold. This was start of the Great Economic Depression. 
  • Over the next three years, between 1929 and 1932, the national income of USA fell by half. 
  • Factories shut down, exports fell, farmers were badly hit and speculators withdrew their money from the market. 
• Impact of Great Depression on Germany: The effects of this recession on US economy were felt worldwide. The US withdrew its support when Wall Street Exchange crashed in 1929. 
  • German economy was worst hit by the economic crisis. By 1932, industrial production was reduced to 40% of 1929 level. 
  • Workers lost their jobs or were paid reduced wages. The number of unemployed touched an unprecedented 6 million.
  • There was a deep sense of despair in everyone. Jobs disappeared, youth took to criminal activities, people grew anxious and fearful as their savings diminished. 
  • The middle classes, especially salaried employees and pensioners, saw their savings diminish when currency lost its value. 
• Economic Hardship: Small businessmen, self-employed and retailers suffered as their businesses got ruined. Big business was in crisis. 
  • These sections of society were filled with the fear of proletarianisation, an anxiety of being reduced to the ranks of the working class, or worse still, the unemployed. 
  • The large mass of peasantry was affected by a sharp fall in agricultural prices. 
• Democratic Failure: Weimar Republic was fragile. The Weimar constitution had some inherent defects, which made it unstable and vulnerable to dictatorship. 
  • Proportional Representation: It made achieving a majority by any one party a nearly impossible task, leading to a rule by coalitions leading to instability. Within its short life, the Weimar Republic saw twenty different cabinets lasting an average of 239 days. 
  • Another defect was Article 48, which empowers the President to impose emergency, suspend civil rights and rule by decree. 
    • This article was used liberally, yet the crisis could not be managed. As a result, people lost confidence in the democratic parliamentary system, which seemed to offer no solutions.

Conclusion

Economic crisis, political instability, and widespread despair provided fertile ground for the rise of Nazism and Hitler. The dire conditions in Germany following World War I created a desperate population susceptible to extremist ideologies. Hitler and the Nazi Party capitalized on this vulnerability by offering simplistic solutions and a scapegoat for the nation’s problems.

DOWNLOAD PDF