The German Reunification failed in its attempt to bring the two Germanys together after being separated for nearly 45 years. The myriad of negative ramifications brought about by the Reunification only strengthened the divide between the East and West Germans. The devaluation of the East German mark and depopulation of East German cities, along with unemployment and poor living conditions, instigated discontent among the East Germans. West Germany’s “taking over” of East Germany in the act of Reunification induced a lopsided economy with its Eastern half still trying to catch up to its Western half, establishing the myth of German Reunification.
The rise of the Nazi regime in Germany in the early part of the 20th century was an impressive, and nearly unforeseen incident that had long-lasting implications on the rest of the Western world. While the Nazi party was extreme in their ideologies, the circumstances in which they came to power were dire; Germany had been crippled by a massive depression and was being forced to pay reparations through the “Young Plan” which required Germany to pay the Allied forces “a series of annual payments extending until 1988”(Bullock, 160). The German people were left without any leadership in a time of disparity, but naturally, a strong leader filled this vacuum. Even though the actions of the Nazi party were extreme and unjustifiable, they needed to dig their country out of the massive debt that they had incurred as a result of World War I, and the Nazi party was able to revitalize Germany’s economy, and arm the nation in the process.
During the1930’s the Western economy was still in terrible shape from the Great Depression and the Stock Market Crash of 1929. “Evident instability – with cycles of boom and bust, expansion and recession - generated profound anxiety and threatened the livelihood of both industrial workers and those who gained a modest toehold in the middle class. Unemployment soared everywhere, and in both Germany and the United States it reached 30 percent or more by 1932. Vacant factories, soup kitchens, bread lines, shantytowns and beggars came to symbolize the human reality of this economic disaster.” (Strayer, 990) Like Germany, the Western democracies were economically in trouble and looking for stability and recovery. The United States’ response to the Great Depression, under Roosevelt, came in the form of the New Deal “which was an experimental combination of reforms seeking to restart economic growth. In Britain, France and Scandinavia, the Depression energized a democratic socialism that sought greater regulation of the economy and a more equal distribution of wealth, through peaceful means and electoral policies.” (Strayer, 993) The lack and need for restoration was clearly global. Hitler’s promise of civil peace, unity and the restoration of national pride would seem very appealing and very similar to the wants and needs of the Western democracies; but through peaceful means. No one was interested in or could afford setting off a heavily funded war by taking a stand against Hitler. Through a policy of appeasement allowing Hitler to take back land that was ordered dematerialized by the Treaty of Versailles, the British and the French tried to avoid all-out war but to no avail. Hitler continued his conquests eventually having most of Europe under Nazi control. A second war in Europe had
The history that the Nazi’s left behind without a doubt is filled with horrors and tragedies, yet somehow they had consistent majority support and the faith of the German people in there hands. For myself and other historians it is hard to believe the horrors of the holocaust could have happened without the majority support of the German population. In the words of Professor James Glass “The holocaust took collective belief within Germany ”. When considering the legitimacy of the Nazi party, often all we consider is the holocaust- but for Germans there was much more. In just under twenty years the Nazi party was able to gain sole leadership by popular vote in Germany. This tells us that there had to be benefits in “Voting Nazi”.
The Weimar Republic was formed on unstable ground, born out of Germany’s defeat in the First World War. The Republic suffered its first major blow when Germany was forced to sign the Treaty of Versailles, which caused major economic problems for the relatively young country. From 1924 to 28, the Nazi party had little support from the German public. This lack of support was due to the success of Stresemann’s policies and the country was now stable and flourishing, after the events in the Ruhr and hyperinflation. Germany now had a low unemployment rate and had an improved international status. These conditions meant that the Nazi extremist ideologies had little appeal to Germany’s population. However this period of stability has short lived. On 24th October 1929, Black Thursday struck. The American Stock Exchanged crashed and the world rapidly plummeted into the Great Depression, with Germany experiencing the worst effects. In a bid to bring Germany out of the Depression, Bruning was appointed chancellor and introduced drastic policies in an effort to save the German economy. Despite the promise the policies potentially had they failed. Early in 1933, the Weimar Republic was preparing for what would be its last pre-war Reichstag election. When the Reichstag building was razed to the ground by a fire allegedly started by communists, the seeds were sown for Hitler to rise to power and the Weimar Republic had lived its last day.
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...
This investigation evaluates to what extent did the German Depression help the National Socialists rise to power. To assess the extent to which the German depression led to the Nazi party gaining control of Germany, the investigation focuses on the effects the depression had on Germany and the events leading to the Nationalist Socialist party gaining control. The details regarding the origins of the National Socialist party are not addressed in this investigation.
beginning, before the war and before Hitler took power, they felt as if Liberalism was not doing
The program begins by stating “The Agrarian League strives for the preservation and strengthening of our current political system on a Christian-monarchical foundation.” During the time of the German Empire, and even prior to the German Empire in Prussia, the monarchy was the symbol of Conservatism as well as the symbol for the state. In response to the Napoleonic Wars, Prussia and much of the German states greatly encouraged Conservatism in society and in government. Fearful of a Napoleonic-style Liberal uprising from the people, which would attempt to unify Germany with liberalism and democracy instead of conservatism and monarchy, Conservatives gradually merged their principles with the principles of Nationalism, making the monarchy, Protestant Christian values, and the political system of the state seem as though they were key components of what made Germany, Germany. By merging nationalism and Conservatism, Conservatives twisted the idea of unification from being a goal of the liberals to being a goal of the conservatives, who eventually used any means ...
German Cinema since Unification. Edited by David Clarke. Continuum, in association with University of Birmingham Press. 2006