Nazi Germany - source related study.
Assignment Two: Objectives 2 and 3
.Study Source B. What can you learn from this source about how the Nazis set about dealing with unemployment in Germany?
In Source B Hitler is beginning work on the first autobahn. One of the ways the Nazis set about dealing with unemployment was to employ men to build roads, houses, schools, hospitals and barracks. The most important of these being the roads, they were needed to transport weapons and to get troops from place to place for the war Hitler was preparing (second world war).
Hitler was rearming Germany; this helped to reduce unemployment because men enrolled for the army, navy or air force. Another way the Nazis dealt with unemployment was re-introducing conscription; this increased the army to 1.4 million. This exceeded the amount of soldiers allowed in the army; they were only allowed 100,000 soldiers because of the treaty of Versailles.
2.Study source C. Use this source and your own knowledge to explain how German re-armament helped to solve the country's unemployment problem.
Hitler wanted to rearm Germany for the war he was preparing. Re-armament meant jobs; men could join the army, navy or air force. These men needed to be trained, they needed weapons and uniforms. People were employed to supply these. For the transportation of these weapons and other supplies Germany needed roads. Men were employed to build roads; they also built barracks, schools, houses and hospitals. So re-armament created a long string of jobs. With all these jobs available unemployment rapidly decreased.
In 1933 Germany was spending 3% of its Gross National Product on weapons. By 1939 they were spending 23% of their money on weapons. It had gradually been increasing between 1933 and 1939. As Germany was spending so much on weapons this meant that there were many jobs available as the weapons were being made within the country.
Hitler wanted Germany to be self-sufficient so everything had to be made within the country. He didn't want to rely on trade from other countries because when the war began it could get cut off.
3.Read source D. Use this source and your own knowledge to describe Nazi attitudes towards women in society.
Hitler believed that a woman's place was at home, cooking, cleaning and looking after the children. Women weren't allowed to work, that was the man's job.
Hitler didn't want women to work but he did want them to have children. He wanted a racial Germany. There were many campaigns set up by the Nazis, which aimed to encourage women to have more children. These campaigns were especially aimed at Aryan women because Hitler wanted lots of Aryan children-blonde ...
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3.Read source D. Use this source and your own knowledge to describe Nazi attitudes towards women in society.
Hitler believed that a woman's place was at home, cooking, cleaning and looking after the children. Women weren't allowed to work, that was the man's job.
Hitler didn't want women to work but he did want them to have children. He wanted a racial Germany. There were many campaigns set up by the Nazis, which aimed to encourage women to have more children. These campaigns were especially aimed at Aryan women because Hitler wanted lots of Aryan children-blonde hair and blue eyes. The amount of births went from over 2 million in 1900 to under 1 million in 1933. The population was decreasing but Hitler wanted it to increase. Prizes were awarded to women to encourage them to have children. It was called 'The Honour Cross of the German mother.'
All of the rights, which the women received under the Weimar government, were taken away. All women were taken out of their jobs and replaced by men. Women were no longer needed in the outside world.
Mother craft and home craft classes were set up for newly married women. The government encouraged women to get more exercise, stop sliming and to give up smoking. To control German women even further, special signs were put up in restaurants telling women not to smoke. All these measures were taken were to improve women's fertility.
An ideal woman in the Nazis eyes was a woman who stayed at home cooking and cleaning and one who brought their children up to hail Hitler.
4. Read sources E and F. How useful are sources E and F for finding out about what life in Germany in the 1930s was really like?
Sources E and F are useful because they haven't been adapted in the Nazis favour. Source E proves that Germany was under a strong dictatorship and opposition was certainly not allowed. That's why the opposition new sheet was illegal. If the workingman had openly complained the Nazis would have probably taken him to a concentration camp.
Source F is useful because an American writes it. A German wouldn't get away with writing something like that under the Nazis. As Norman Thomas is in America he can write what he wants and he can write the truth. This is why source F is useful. Life in Germany in the 1930s wasn't very good because it was a one party state and opposition wasn't allowed. If someone disagreed with the Nazis they'd be taken away to a concentration camp and probably be killed.
Source F proves that the Nazis unemployment statistics were manipulated. Jews and women had been taken out of jobs to be replaced by non-Jew, German men and then they weren't counted as unemployed. The Nazis weren't being honest with the German people.
In source E a man speaks his mind. The Nazis took men out of their own trades and made them work long hours with low pay. The men couldn't openly complain about this, they had to be grateful for what the Nazis had done for them.
5. Study source A and read sources D, E and F. In what ways do sources D, E and F help to explain the information in the graph, source A?
I know from source F that the Nazis manipulated figures so that it would make them look good. Source A shows how unemployment decreased between 1932 and 1938, which was when the Nazis were very strong. Source A shows how well the Nazis got rid of unemployment but there were certain groups of people who weren't included in these statistics. E.g. Women were taken out of their jobs and forced to stay at home, women weren't included in the statistics as unemployed. Jews were also taken out of jobs and replaced by ordinary German men. Jews weren't included the statistics either. This is how source F helps to explain the graph in source A, because the Nazis were so prejudice. Women's and Jew's jobs were given to unemployed men so the unemployment figures were bound to drop as neither of them were included in the statistics.
In source E a man is complaining about the hard work and low pay. He is part of the Reich Labour Service (RAD). Every man between the age of 18 and 25 had to do 6 months of work service, this was the RAD. It wasn't very popular because the wages were low and it was very hard work. Although the RAD was compulsory the men were still counted as employed. So, with Jews, women and unmarried men under 25 discluded from the unemployment figures and young unemployed men forced into the RAD the statistics were bound to look good.
Hitler was preparing a war (the second world war) and he needed to increase the size of the German army so that it was large and powerful. To do this he re-introduced conscription. Conscription increased the army to 1.4 million, which also helped towards the reduction of unemployment.
The graph in source A shows unemployment decreasing but a lot of the men who were supposedly employed had been forced into work (the RAD) and also conscription was reintroduced which meant men had to join the army. Women, Jews and unmarried men under 25 were left out of the statistics so this is why the graph looks so good. That is how sources D, E and F help to explain the graph.
6. Study all the sources and use your own knowledge.
'Economic success was the main reason for the popularity of the Nazis in Germany before the second world war.'
Use the sources and your own knowledge to explain whether you agree with this view.
In 1919 Germany was in a big mess. They had lost the First World War, signed the Treaty of Versailles and owed many reparation fees. The Treaty of Versailles brought many restrictions. E.g. The German army had a maximum of 100,000 soldiers. To make matters worse Germany had a weak government, the Weimar government, which couldn't control the riots in Germany at the time.
Eventually Germany settled down. In 1923 Stresemann became chancellor, he helped to end inflation by introducing a new currency. In April 1924 America agreed to lend money to Germany, this was known as the Dawes plan. Just as Germany was getting back on its feet crisis struck in 1929 when America's stock markets collapsed making them unable to lend Germany any more money, this was known as the wall street crash. So Germany had no money, their pride had gone and unemployment was increasing.
This was an ideal time for Hitler to strike. He promised everybody work, food and freedom. He promised to bring the pride back into Germany. He wrote powerful speeches, which he began quietly and gradually became louder. He usually arrived late; this had more of an impact.
So Yes, I think that economic success was the main reason for the popularity of the Nazis in Germany. Most Germans supported Hitler because he was the first person to take an interest in them and they believed that he'd restore Germany's pride.
The Nazis brought down unemployment. Many people had jobs and they had their pride back. That's why they liked the Nazis. The Nazis used propaganda to spread ideas about Hitler. There were posters of Hitler all over the country, showing how powerful he was and undermining the Weimar government. One of the posters (Germany 1918-1945,page 52,source 1) is a picture of sorrowful looking German men with 'Our Last Hope: Hitler' written in German.
The Nazis were popular because the Germans needed someone to get them back on their feet and that's what the Nazis did. They fulfilled their promise and did give them work, freedom and bread. Germany needed someone to restore their hope and pride and Hitler was the first one to come and offer this.
This is why I think that economic success was the main reason for the Nazis popularity. They were only popular for what they did for the country. I don't think Hitler would have been very popular if he hadn't given the people work, freedom and bread.
