Germany's Rise From Bankruptcy to a Superpower Between 1929-1939
1929 was a hard time for Germany. Hyper inflation had taken control,
the Reich mark was worth nothing, and they were literally bankrupt.
The reason for their bankruptcy was due to the economic collapse of
America. After world war one Germany had been made to pay large
reparations to France for the damage they had caused. Germany had
problems paying these large reparations and called in America for
help. They decided to loan Germany the money because they saw
essential for a strong Europe and they wanted the foreign trade whilst
their economy was booming. This all changed November 1929 when the
Wall Street crash happened and the American economy was collapsing.
They had to stop loaning money to Germany and even called up the money
they had given to them. The German government thought by printing more
money the problem would be solved. The opposite happened, hyper
inflation took place and money became worthless in Germany and
unemployment was rising. By 1931 unemployment rose to 6 million which
was a quarter of the working population in Germany, it was official
that the country was in need of improvement and quickly. There was an
outcry for a new government that could take over from the old Weimar
republic and once again boost Germany back to a superpower. The Nazis
were one of many radical parties, but why was it the Nazis that
succeeded in taking power and getting Germany back to a superpower?
The German people started to lose faith in their democratic republic
and it was the middle and working class that was looking to the
extreme parties for help, the Nazis and the c...
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...o clear decision on the
management of the German economy was made. Large weapons contracts
with industrial firms soon had the economy running at top speed, and
full employment was reached by 1937. Wages did not increase much for
ordinary workers, but job security and food given to the people after
years of economic depression was enough to make the general population
happy. This helped with Hitler’s idea of German self-sufficiency and
trying to get them ready for war and the country was now gaining a
large army with a good infrastructure and morale of the country was
increasing as people was getting work. By 1939 unemployment had
dropped to 30 000. Now industrial production was larger than that
before the Wall Street crash of 1929 and Germany were ready for like
they said they would be within the four year plan.
Article 232 of the treaty states “the (Allies)...require, and Germany undertakes, that she will make compensation for all the damage done to civilian population of the Allied and Associated Power and to their property during the period of the belligerency...”(Document C). The payments were to begin May 1, 1921 and they should be finished by May 1, 1951. The reduced amount Germany was required to pay was 112 billion gold marks which is equivalent to 341 billion U.S. dollars. The original reparation was 132 billion gold marks. In the 1920’s, the Germans were angry and didn’t pay any. in 1929, they paid only 2 billion marks, Then finally in 1933 the payments stopped when Hitler took power (Document
After World War I, there was a spiritual void left within the people of Germany. The outcome of the war had ripped the German society along the class lines causing great stress and tension among the people. The people of Germany had believed all along that they were winning the war, and therefore the news of surrender came as a great shock to them. To make things worse, the peace treaty established placed the entire fault of the war on Germany and left them responsible for paying for the costs of the war for all who were involved. This sparked a conflict between the middle and working classes in society. Then, the depression followed, creating even more unhappiness among the people. With all of this unhappiness because of the class divisions and the depression, the Nazi...
Germany experienced a lot of economic changes after Germany was split into East Germany and West Germany. Initially, West Germany was established as a federal republic but was established as it’s own independent nation in 1955. Many events happened in West Germany from the 1950s to the 1980s before Germany became one nation again. There were events such as “oils price shocks, generous social programs, rising deficits and loss of control.” East Germany’s economy was strong due to the Soviet Union’s reliance on Eastern Germany’s production of machine tools, chemicals and electronics. It became appealing to reunite with West Germany when the value of East Germany’s currency became “worthless” outside of it’s country because Eastern Germany was relying on the Soviet Union’s demand (Marketline).
At the end of World War One, Germany was required to pay a large sum of money to the Allies consequently resulting in the German Depression. The sum Germany had to pay was set after the Treaty of Versailles was enacted at approximately six billion, six hundred million – twenty-two billion pounds, (World War Two – Causes, Alan Hall, 2010). The large amount of reparations that Germany had to pay resulted in a depression and angered the Germans because they thought it was an excessive amount of money to pay, (World War Two – Causes) The Germans hatred of the Treaty of Versailles was of significant importance in propelling the Nazis to power. Germany could not pay their reparations and was forced into a depression, (World War II – Causes). The Treaty of Versailles deprived Germany of its economic production and its available employments, (World War II – Causes). The German Depr...
Hitler’s rise to power can be attributed to a series of events occurring both in Germany and the rest of the world in the mid 20th century. In the year 1929, due to the collapse of the American Stock Exchange the economic situation in Germany terribly worsened. “’I see myself as Chancellor and I will be Chancellor,’ Hitler told Hans Frank, who by then had become his lawyer.” (P.64) Hitler believed in himself and eventually received the power he aimed for. Unemployment was at around 6 million and people were desperate for a quick ...
The Nazi party affected many people around the world through both the Holocaust and World War II. Hitler had a plan to exterminate all the Jews, and propelled this idea through the Holocaust putting Jews in concentration camps and killing them. Hitler's evil plan caused one of the world's biggest tragedies, World War II.
The Effect of the Great Depression on Hitler's Power There is no simple answer as to why Hitler became chancellor in January 1933. There are a number of causal factors which all contributed to his rise into power. Any of the factors, on its own, however, would not have resulted in his appointment. They are all linked in a web of causation and if any of the factors were missing, Hitler would not have been appointed chancellor. Of the factors I would say that the Great Depression was the most important.
...overy, and return to the prewar economic atmosphere they had been used to. All of these factors together were far too much to expect a very strong, well-organized party with popular support to deal with. Unfortunately, the fact that there was no strong, organized and well-liked party to take control made matters even worse. After years of stagnant policy making, and very little change, it is no wonder the people turned to something new, and something that promised to make things change. It is truly unfortunate for human kind, that this party happened to be the Nazi Party.
Throughout the history of the world, there have been many great nations to rise and make an impact on the entire globe. One of the most well known of these nations is the country of Germany. In its history, Germany has been one of the most influential countries in all of Europe. This great nation holds many geographical locations of historical significance as well as beautiful scenery. History, for centuries, has held the German people in high regard for their militaristic capabilities and ingenuity. They have also been responsible for many technological developments and changes throughout the entire world. For these reasons, the country of Germany is unforgettable.
In the 1920's, Germany encountered a great mired in an economic depression. Millions of citizens suffered hunger and many remained out of work. The national spirit of the once-proud people became low. The Germans became enraged by their loss of World War I and stood humiliated by the terms they had to accept in 1919 the treaty of Versailles. The War had a destruction of millions of deaths. Germany had to give up territory, slash its military, and pay billions of dollars in reparations for the damaged it caused during the war. Hitler used his nation's despair and humiliation as fuel for a new political monument, which took shape as the Nazi party (Schoenbaum 8).
...After we consider all these points mentioned we begin to see how everything worked and connected to form one huge disaster for Germany. We start to see how all these things played a part, the reparations led to unemployment that led to no money that led to overprinting of money. How the huge consequence of the reparations led to the unsuccessful paying of it leading to the French invasion of the Ruhr which led to strikes and therefore no products to trade with. How the unstable Weimar government led to extremist parties that damaged the economy further and brought inflation to its highest. The effects were probably the worst, the starvation coupled with the disease epidemic that killed people off and the worthless tonnes of paper notes roaming around the nation. It all in all was a very bad time in Germany one that they always found it hard to recover from.
that as soon as a radical group such as the Nazi’s who were wiling to
The Extent to Which the Weimar Republic Recovered after 1923 In the period after 1923, under Gustav Stresemann, Germany was able to stand back on its feet and overcome many of its difficulties. Weimar Republic was created in 1919 to govern a defeated Germany after World War One. Germany was facing many social, political and economical problems while the new constitution laid open for the seizure of power. There were many rebellions and attempted revolutions making the country very unstable. Situations were made worse by the harsh terms of Treaty of Versailles, causing hyperinflation and a huge amount of national debt.
Germany's defeat in World War One created political, economic and social instability in the Weimar Republic and led to the rise of the National Socialist German Workers' Party (NSDAP) or Nazi party.
In the 1932 election, the National Socialist German Workers (Nazi) Party had successfully won the most votes, and President Paul Von Hindenburg appointed the Nazi party leader Adolf Hitler as Chancellor. The Nazi party had become the most powerful political party in Germany. The Nazi’s changed Germany’s political, economic, and social structure once Hitler became chancellor. Despite the Treaty of Versailles, Hitler changed the economy by rearming Germany and creating an air force. Though the Allied Powers condemned Hitler’s decision to break the treaty they did nothing. (Lindsay, James