Lenin’s new government had many new decrees:
Decree on Land (540 Acres given to Peasants)
Decree on Peace (Intended to make peace)
Decree on Press (Banned newspapers)
Decree on Work (8 hour day, 48 hour week, holidays)
Decree on Unemployment Insurance (insurance to injured, ill + unemployed)
Decree on banking (all banks under Sovnarkom control)
Decree on Marriage (Allowed easier divorces + non-religious weddings)
Banned other parties and set up Political Police force (Cheka)
Elections were held and the Bolsheviks lost but Lenin was ruthless and wanted to keep power to he cheated and destroyed the socialists.
Treaty of Brest-Litovsk
The Bolsheviks wanted peace so they set up a treaty with Germany.
They called an armistice with Germany hoping that it too would undergo a communist reolution but it never happened. German were advancing so Russia agreed to harsh terms of Brest-Litovsk (place were treaty was signed) treaty.
Terms:
- Give up Poland, Estonia, Latvia, Kurland and Lithuania
- Lost 25% of the population and some very good land for farming and iron/coal.
Civil war 1918 – 1920
Reason for civil war:
- Royalists wanted return of Tsar
- Many anti-communist troops weren’t fighting Germany anymore so they could fight the red guards
- They had exiled many politicians which made them look like a danger
The Bolsheviks took over the Trans-Siberian railway.45000 Czechs prisoners of war were on train. They fought and they won. The took control of town and railway.
Royalists and anti-communists joined Czechs and said they should rule the country.
Red – communisms, colour of the Red guards
White – colour of the Tsar state, formed of Czechs, Royalists and Allies who were angry that Russia left the war and wanted an end to communism.
Reasons why Bolsheviks won:
- Whites weren’t united – they couldn’t co-ordinate attacks. Some had different political opinions so they didn’t want to work together. The Reds could fight each one off one by one.
- Patriotic Russians supported Reds, it was just nobles who were Whites.
- The allies retreated and there was no hope for the whites.
- Communists controlled main cities and communications (and railways)
- Strict Laws of War Communism helped obtain supplies
- Trotsky was a good leader.
Tsar and his family were killed – important symbol for whites.
War Communism
1] All factories with 10+ workers taken over by Gov.
2] all workers under gov. control. Death penalty for strikers, unemployed made to work
3] Private Trading banned, Peasants give extra food to Gov.
4] Government allowed Inflation – abolished rents, railway fares and postal charges
5] Food was rationed.
It worked in feeding army but many unhappy – Peasants stopped growing extra food → food shortage → terrible famine – 7 million Russians killed.
Lenin changed War Communism to New Economic Policy [NEP]:
1] Peasants could sell extra food, those who produced extra good paid less tax
2] Factories with less than 20 workers given back to owners
3] People could use money again – by 1925 it began to work – produce increased massively
Hitler and Nazi Party
He was born in Austria. He wanted to study art at Vienna but they never allowed him in. Went to Munich to flee being made to fight in Austrian army but then joined German Army.
There he got the highest award you could get in the army. He resented the fact that the war had ended.
He was then a spy for the German government and he was inspecting the German workers party and he liked it so he joined it. He changed the name to Nazi party and became the leader very quickly.
He was a good public speaker and leader. In the 1923 elections he got 6% of the vote and then tried to take over in the Munich Putsch but he failed and was sent to prison.
While he was there he wrote his book which contained his ideas for what was to happen to the German country:
- Aryan/Master race – said that Germans were inferior to all other races and that the race must be preserved.
- Anschullus – wanted to join back with Austrian to form a Greater Germany
- Living space – said that Germans needed more land to live in.
- Said that the TOV was unfair and that he would reverse it.
Nazis appealed to:
- Unemployed – they had no hope and they thought they could trust a strong leader to help them get jobs
- Middle class – who were struggling because of the depression
- Anti-Semites – who agreed with his ideas on Jewish people
- Business men – who feared communists
- Farmers – who didn’t like the low prices they were selling their food for.
- General – who thought they wrongly treated with the TOV
- Thugs – something exciting and agreed with use of violence
Herman Goering (ww1 veteran) supported them. Josef Gibble was in charge of propaganda. Ernst Rohm was in charge of the SA – an army who protected Nazis and harassed their opposition.
Elections and Nazi Power
In 1929 there was a depression and it hit Germany hard. Hitler used this to his advantage.
Both communists and Nazis had gained in the election. However there was no majority party. Nazis were second largest.
Hindenburg (the president) had to run again because his term had run. Hitler ran against him but lost.
Hindenburg didn’t want to give the Nazis power so he gave the chancellor post to an inexperienced man called “von Papen”. He failed to run the government so another election was called.
The Nazis won 230 seats which was the largest party however it wasn’t the majority so he couldn’t control the richestag. Hitler wanted to be the chancellor.
Hindenburg didn’t give into Hitler and offered the job to Von Papen again. Hitler could have been vice-chancellor but he declined and waited for the next elections.
Von Papen failed again and another election was held and the Nazis had lost 34 seats. People thought they were losing support. Hindenburg appointed von Schlinder to the post of chancellor and tried to make the Nazis weak by asking a leading Nazi to become vice but Hitler made him decline.
In January 1933, Hindenburg gave and offered the chancellor position to him. Hitler called another election in March. He did gain seats but he still didn’t have a majority.
They did well in 1933 because:
- They controlled media
- SA terrorised opponents
- Richstag fire
- Opposition meetings were banned
- Communists arrested so people couldn’t vote for them.
The fire – he quickly stated it that it was a communist and he got the party banned. Communists = illegal.
Enabling Law – passed by Richestag. Meant that Hitler could make his own laws.
All other parties were now illegal.
Night of the Long Knives:
Hitler had opposition from the SA – 400,000 men – leader = Ernst Rohm. Rohm thought that the SA should take over the army and the Nazi should be under their influence (socialist). Hitler didn’t want to lose support from the business men and army so he sent his SS (storm troopers) to arrest Rohm. There was a clash and 400 SA members died. Rohm was arrested and shot the next day.
Hitler was now the head of the army. A month later Hindenburg died and he combined the posts President, Chancellor and commander in chief of army to make “Fuhrer”.
Hitler was now a dictator. Sum up:
January 1932 – 6 million unemployed → Hitler uses Depression to advantage → 2nd Largest party → Stands again Hindenburg, loses → Nazi’s largest party in Reichstag (1932) → Lost 34 seats (Nov.) → Hitler offered Chancellor (Jan 1933) → Election: 288 seats → Richstag fire → Declared communists illegal → Passes Enabling Law → Declares all parties illegal → Night of Long Knives → Death of Hindenburg → Absolute Power.
Strong German Society
Divides country up in 42 gaus which are run by gautiers and blocks and areas are run by blockleiters. Hitler is at the top. Everything is controlled.
Spies everywhere, everyone could inform so people were scared to speak out.
Gestapo – secret police – could do anything they wanted.
All teachers were forced to teach Nazi ideas – Genetics / Race studies.
Appeal to Working groups:
- No trade unions but better pay was given
- Set up companies such as Volkswagen
- Autobahns and military increased which decreased unemployment.
- Rewards given to good workers (holidays, promotions)
But unemployment didn’t really go down as much as they said – Jews weren’t counted and nor were women.
Hitler Youth Movement
Boys:
The Pimpfen [Little Fellows] – Boys aged 6-10
The Jungvolk [Young Fold] – Boys aged 10-14
The Hitlerjugend [Hitler Youth] – Boys aged 14-18
Girls:
The Jungmadel [Young Girls] – Girls aged 10-14
The Bund Deutsche Madchen [The German Girls League] – Girls aged 14-18
At these groups they were told to support Hitler and his belifes were gold. They were told that they had to inform on their parents if they had to.
8million were in these groups. Everything was taken very seriously. They were trained to go 50 miles without food. People who were the cream of the crop were sent to Hitler schools where they learnt how to be leaders.
Nazi Popularity
- He reduced unemployment
- People were taught the nazi way from young age
- He made them feel proud – unlike former
- Industry expanded
- Army supported Hitler’s aims
- Anti-communist
- Fear of being arrested/snaked.
Women’s Place:
- Church, Cooking and Children
- Prizes given for women with most children
- No make-up trousers
- No diet – bad for child birth
- Forced to give careers up
Modal Answers 2004
Late Germany – Hitler
A) What source says on Education – The teachers were controlled by Nazis. By doing so they controlled what children learnt at school. 97% of teachers joined the National League. Teachers were also influenced by attending teaching camps. The Nazis wanted to control teachers but many joined because they supported the aim of the Nazi party to restore pride in Germany.
B) Usefulness of Source on attitudes to Jews – The source shows how Nazi tried to influence german children by showing that they weren’t like normal Germans. However this is just propaganda, so it’s usefulness on the actual attitude is limited. It is also limited because this is a comic and comic exaggerate to get their point across. I know that this sort of thing happened – refer to Nuremburg if need be
C) i) Comparison of content sources – both sources show the important of discipline in Hitler Youth however one source emphasises the role of sports and enjoyment while the other the other emphasises the military training.
ii) Why comparison is present – The two sources differ because both writers could have visited different camps and could have seen different things. We are unsure whether they even visited the same part of Germany. The difference may also be because they have different views of Hitler. Fun source could be showing that he thinks what Hitler’s doing is right for Germany whereas Army source could show the fear he has in the increase of German military.
D) Explain how Hitler became dictator – Hitler gained seats in the Richstag, he became the second largest party. He did so by promising a better Germany. He sorted out unemployment which got him more votes. He then used dirty tricks to get to the number one position. He blamed the richstag fire on the communists and declared their party illegal. He then got the richstag to pass the enabling law which let him rule without parliament and meant he could create laws as he wanted. He then declared all other parties illegal. Hitler then had to get rid of the SA because they were demanding that they should rule the army and they should influence Nazis. Hitler then sent his SS troopers and arrested and killed SA members. Ernst Rohm was killed. Hitler was now commander in chief of the army. A month later Hindenburg died and he combined the president’s, army commander and chancellor post to make Furher post. He was now a dictator.
Russia
A) Character of Lenin – He was ruthless, strong willed and inflexible. He thought it was okay to use to people to get to the communist goal.
B) Bolsheviks Control (Petrograd) – The Bolsheviks took over key train stations, bridges and telephone exchanges. They also took over the Winter Palace. They also arrested members of the provisional government. A signal was sent using AURORA to attack the winter palace. The red guards were set up by Trotsky and without them the take over wouldn’t have been possible.
C) Bolsheviks Support Between Seize and Treaty – The fact that they wanted to end the war was very popular. They had already lost millions of troops to the war and they didn’t want to lose anymore. They had called an armistice before the treaty was signed in the hope that communism/socialism would take it’s place in Germany. The first free elections were also held, this was thought to give Bolsheviks support as they were the people behind the democratic proves but we later learn that they only manage to get around 100 seats out of 700. USE SOURCE B AS WELL
E) Bolshviks won civil war reasons – The red forces were united but the whites were not. This meant the red guards could fight them off one by one. Some of the royalists didn’t want to work with other anti-red forces because they had different political opinions. The white forces were also far apart from each other so they couldn’t co-ordinate attacks properly. Trotsky was a really good leader and he knew how to knock off each of the white forces off one by one. Patriotic Russians supported the reds, it was only nobles and church leaders who wanted the Tsar back. The reds had access to communications and war communism helped them obtain supplies that the whites couldn’t get. They also controlled the main cities and after a while the forces of Britain, France and America abandoned their plan – the whites hadn’t a chance without the allies.
Modal Answers 2005
Germany
A) Northiem Voting – Both the communists and the Nazis gained votes in Northiem, although the Nazis gained a lot more. However by the end of 1933 they had 2/3 of the vote they also had ten times more than the communists.
B) i) Fire starter – One source says that the fire was started by Van Der Lubbe and the other says the fire was started by Nazis but Der Lubbe was used as a scapegoat. One source provides evidence such as his confession and the other just says what and why the Nazis did what they did. The fact that he was associated with arson is also mentioned as evidence in source G.
ii) Why the sources differ – Source F is from a German Nazi and so he would say anything that would credit the Nazis rather than discredit. The other source is written by a British who just wants to analyse the situation and show the ruthlessness of the Nazis, you can tell this by the title of the book he is writing. Source F uses the evidence of the night to produce a report where Source G uses the need of the termination of communists as evidence. They both use different bits of evidence
C) Usefullness of Source – Useful because we can see that crowds of people followed Hitler. It’s an official poster of the time so it is obviously biased propaganda. It shows how the Nazis wanted to show Hitler as a strong respected leader. I know that these posters were used to attract people. USE SOURCE
D) Hitler Position Kept – Hitler used the SS. He used to Gestapo. He set up Gaus (sections) and block areas which each had their “blockleiters” – these people would inform higher ups on any behavious that was anti-nazi. From a young age children were told to inform, Hitler kept his position because people were scared of being informed on. Another way he kept his position is by controlling the media, the Nazi controlled all media which meant he could get people to think what he wanted them to think. People also feared being sent to camps. People had seen what happened on night of long knives and saw that if they were against the Nazis that would happen to them as well.
Russia
B) Tsar Nicholas was all powerfull. The church taught that everything that the Tsar said should be obeyed. There wasn’t a government for a long time but when there was he could dismiss it if he wanted to. He owned 8 palaces all over Russia. He controlled the army and had a loyal legion called the Cossacks and he also had a secret police called Okrana which sorted out all the opposition.
C) WW1 Effect on Russia – There were high casualties, 1.7 million dead by end of 1917. The money and railway were being used to supply the army so there weren’t enough resources or money and this caused starvation in peasant towns. The Russians had lost land to the Germans; losing land is always bad for a country. Because there was a shortage of food and resources it caused inflation to rocket. There was anger about the war because the soldiers didn’t have enough munitions and they were badly led. Russia was left to be run by Alexandra the Tsarina.
D) Provisional Government Survival – The government failed to solve the problem of inflation in fact inflation grew to 10 times that in 1914. It also didn’t stop the war which is what the majority of people wanted. There were food shortages which led to riots. The opposition against them was growing stronger. The network of soviets was growing. There were many army and navy mutinies. The Petrograd soviet also ordered order number one which meant that all army personnel should reject anything that the PG told them.