Economic problems

The Weimar Republic had some of the most serious economic problems ever experienced by any Western democracy in history. Rampant hyperinflation, massive unemployment and a large drop in living standards were primary factors. In 1923-29 there was a short period of economic recovery, but the Great Depression of the 1930s led to a worldwide recession. Germany was particularly affected because it depended heavily on American loans. In 1932, about 5 million Germans were unemployed. Many blamed the Weimar Republic. This was made apparent when political parties wanting to disband the Republic altogether on both right and left made any democratic majority in Parliament impossible.

The Weimar Republic was severely affected by the Great Depression triggered by the Wall Street crash in 1929. The crash and subsequent economic stagnation led increased demands on Germany to repay the debts owed to the U.S. As the Weimar Republic was very fragile in all of its existence, the depression proved to be devastating, and played a major role in the NSDAP's takeover.

The Versailles treaty was considered by most Germans to be a punishing and degrading document because it forced them to surrender resource-rich areas and pay massive amounts of compensation. These punitive reparations caused consternation and resentment, although the actual economic damage resulting from the Treaty of Versailles is difficult to determine. While the official reparations were considerable, Germany ended up paying only a fraction of them. However, the reparations did damage Germany's economy by discouraging market loans, which forced the Weimar government to finance its deficit by printing more money, causing rampant hyperinflation.

Most historians agree that many industrial leaders identified the Weimar Republic with labour unions and with the Social Democrats, who had established the Versailles concessions of 1918/1919. Although some did see Hitler as a means to abolish the latter, the Republic was already unstable before any industry leaders were supporting Hitler. Even those who supported Hitler's appointment often did not want Nazism in its entirety and considered Hitler a temporary solution in their efforts to abolish the Republic. Industry support alone cannot explain Hitler's enthusiastic support by large segments of the population, including many workers who had turned away from the left.

Institutional problems

It is widely agreed that the 1919 constitution had several weaknesses, making the eventual establishment of a dictatorship likely but it is unknown whether a different constitution could have prevented the Third Reich. However, the 1949 West German constitution (the Grundgesetz) is generally viewed as a strong response to these flaws.

    * The institution of the Reichsprasident was frequently considered as an Ersatzkaiser ("substitute emperor"), an attempt to replace the Kaiser (who resigned and fled in 1918) with a similarly strong institution meant to diminish party politics. Article 48 of the constitution gave the President power to "take all necessary steps" if "public order and security are seriously disturbed or endangered". Although this was intended as an emergency clause, it was often used before 1933 to issue decrees without the support of Parliament (see above) and also made Gleichschaltung easier. For example, the Reichstag Fire Decree was issued on the basis of Article 48.

    * The use of almost pure proportional representation meant any party with a small amount of support could gain entry into the Reichstag. This led to many small parties, some extremist, building political bases within the system (after the war only parties with 5% or more of the total vote would be allowed to enter the Bundestag). Yet, it has to be noted that the Reichstag of the monarchy was fractioned to a similar degree although being elected by majority vote under a first-past-the-post system.

    * The Reichstag could remove the Reichskanzler from office even if it was unable to agree on a successor. This "Motion of No Confidence" led to many chancellors in quick succession, adding to the Republic's instability (see Chancellor of Germany for a list). As a result, the 1949 Grundgesetz stipulates that a chancellor may only be voted down by Parliament if a successor is elected at the same time (see Constructive Vote of No Confidence).

    * The constitution provided that in the event of the president's death or resignation, the Reichskanzler would assume that office (and crucially possess its powers) pending election of a new president. This allowed Hitler to easily unite the offices of Reichskanzler and Reichsprasident after Hindenburg's death in 1934. However, by this time the dictatorship was already firmly installed and this clause alone cannot be blamed for Nazism.

Individual roles

Some historians prefer to consider individuals and the decisions they made. This brings up the problematic question of what alternatives were available at the time and leads to speculation and hypothesis.

Bruning's economic policy from 1930-1933 has been the subject of much debate. It caused many Germans to identify the Republic with cuts in social spending and extremely liberal economics. Whether there were alternatives to this policy during Great Depression is an open question.

Paul von Hindenburg became Reichsprasident in 1925. He represented the older authoritarian 1871 Empire, and it is hard to label him as a democrat in support of the 1919 Republic. During his later years (at well over 80 years old), he was senile, but no Nazi. A president with solid democratic beliefs may not have allowed Parliament to be circumvented with the use of Article 48 decrees and might have avoided signing the Reichstag Fire Decree. Hindenburg waited one and a half days before he appointed Hitler as Reichskanzler on January 30, 1933, which indicates some hesitance. Some claim Nazism would have lost much public support if Hitler had not been named chancellor.

Other roles

Writers John Cornwell and Ian Kershaw are amongst the modern commentators who have studied the role of Ludwig Kaas and his alliance to Pope Pius XII.

As regards the Rhenish-Westphalian Industrial Magnates and Franz von Papen, the Nuremburg Trials studied the era from January 30, 1933, and came to the conclusion that it would not be an indictable offence to have assisted Adolf Hitler and the NSDAP to power.

Nazi Germany

Nazi Germany, or the Third Reich, refers to Germany in the years 1933–1945, when it was under the control of the National Socialist German Workers Party (Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei (NSDAP), or Nazi Party, with the Fuhrer Adolf Hitler as chancellor and head of state.

History and terminology

Prior to and during World War II, Nazi Germany worked in close proximity with Imperial Japan and Fascist Italy. Collectively referred to as the Axis Powers, all three nations participated in World War II, fighting against the Allies of World War II, led by the United States, United Kingdom, and the Soviet Union.

Third Reich is often used as a near-synonym for Nazi Germany. Despite the interchangeable status of the two terms, the "Third Reich" is never referred to as the "Third Empire", its rough English equivalent. In German, the regime is and was sometimes referred to as the "Drittes Reich". The Nazi Party used the terms "Drittes Reich" and "Tausendjahriges Reich" ("Thousand-Year Reich") to connect the new German Empire to the ones of old - the Holy Roman Empire and German Empire - while alluding to envisioned future prosperity and the nation's supposed destiny. In speeches, books and articles about the Third Reich after 8 May 1945, the 1000 years is often juxtaposed against the twelve years of the Third Reich's existence. The terms were used only briefly and dropped from propaganda in 1939, officially to avoid persiflage, possibly also to avoid religious connotations.

Ideology

Ideologically, the Nazis endorsed the concept of "Grossdeutschland", Greater Germany, and saw the incorporation of the Germanic peoples into one large nation as vital to their plans for the future. The "German problem", as it is often referred to in English scholarship, focuses on the issue of administration in Northern and Central Europe, which has been an important theme throughout German history. This nationalist, Wagnerian love affair with the Volk concept culminated in the disaster of the Third Reich. Likewise, the issue over administration of the Polish corridor and Danzig ultimately led to World War II.

The Nazis were also staunchly anti-Communist and regarded the leftist movement and international capitalism as the work of conspirational Jewry. This platform manifested itself in the displacement, internment - and later, the systematic extermination of - an estimated six million European Jews in the midst of World War II. Other victims of Nazi atrocities included the Slavs, Gypsies, political opponents, social outcasts, religious dissidents Jehova witness's for example, and unyielding Church-affiliated leadership. One could argue that a war with the Soviet Union was inevitable based on the Third Reich's precepts, although World War II officially began when the United Kingdom and France declared war on Nazi Germany two days after Poland was invaded. The global conflict that followed left Europe in ruins and led to the deaths of roughly sixty-two million persons.

Pre-War Politics 1933-1939

In the wake of the frustrations imposed through the Versailles Treaty, the worldwide economic depression of the 1930's, the counter-traditionalism of the Weimar period and the threat of Soviet-sponsored communism in Germany, many voters began turning their support towards Adolf Hitler's radical Nazi Party, which made great promises of an economic, cultural, and military renewal. The Dolchstosslegende figured prominently. On January 30, 1933, Hitler was appointed chancellor of Germany by President Paul von Hindenburg after attempts by General Kurt von Schleicher to form a viable government failed. Hindenberg was put under pressure by Hitler through his son Oskar, as well as intrigue from former Chancellor Franz von Papen following his collection of participating financial interests. Even though the Nazi Party had gained the largest share of the popular vote in the two Reichstag general elections of 1932, they had slim majority in parliament within the Papen-proposed Nationalist DNVP- NSDAP coalition. This coalition ruled through accepted continuance of un-Constitutional Presidential decree issuance under Article 48, prevalent in all Chancellorships since October 1931.

Consolidation of power

The new government installed a dictatorship in a series of measures in quick succession (see Gleichschaltung for details). On February 27, 1933 the Reichstag was set on fire, and this was followed immediately by the Reichstag Fire Decree, which rescinded habeas corpus and civil liberties.

A further step that turned Germany into a dictatorship virtually overnight was the Enabling Act passed in March 1933 under pressure. The act gave the government (and thus effectively Adolf Hitler) legislative powers and also authorized it to deviate from the provisions of the constitution. With these powers, Hitler removed the remaining opposition and turned the Weimar Republic into the "Third Reich".

Further consolidation of power was achieved on January 30, 1934, with the Gesetz uber den Neuaufbau des Reichs (Act to rebuild the Reich). The act changed the highly decentralized federal Germany of the Weimar era into a centralized state. It disbanded state parliaments, transferring sovereign rights of the states to the Reich central government and put the state administrations under the control of the Reich administration.

Only the army remained independent from Nazi control, and the Nazi quasi-military SA expected top positions in the new power structure. Wanting to preserve good relations with the army, on the night of June 30, 1934 Hitler initiated the Night of the Long Knives, a purge of the leadership ranks of the SA as well as other political enemies, carried out by another, more elitist, Nazi organisation, the SS. Shortly thereafter the army leaders swore their obedience to Hitler.

At the death of president Hindenburg on August 2, 1934, the Nazi-controlled Reichstag merged the offices of Reichsprasident and Reichskanzler and reinstalled Hitler with the new title Fuhrer und Reichskanzler.

The inception of the Gestapo, police acting outside of any civil authority, highlighted the Nazis' intention to use powerful, coercive means to directly control German society. Soon, an army estimated to be of about 100,000 spies and infiltrators operated throughout Germany, reporting to Nazi officials the activities of any critics or dissenters. Most ordinary Germans, happy with the improving economy and better standard of living, remained obedient and quiet, but many political opponents, especially communists and some types of socialists, were reported by omnipresent eavesdropping spies, and put in prison camps where they were severely mistreated, and many tortured and killed. It is estimated that tens of thousands of political victims died or disappeared in the first few years of Nazi rule.