2. Evaluate the significance of legislative change during the civil rights movement.

12
marks
3. To what extent were the aims, beliefs and methods of Martin Luther King and
Malcolm X? 12 marks
4. Evaluate the view that: ‘the civil rights movement had a greater impact beyond the
USA’ 15 marks

MLK
Racial integration and racial equality
Non-violence and direct action
Variety only if no compromise with non-violence

MX
Originally ‘black nationalism’
More aggressive approach until 1964
Selective (e.g no support to March on Washington)
Both agreed on
Dignity of African-Americans a central concern
Deep conviction that structural change was needed
Religious world-view central

Power and Authority in the modern world 1919-1946

Survey
*An overview of the peace treaties that ended WW1 and their consequences*

^Interests of nations^
• Nations had advocated that the peace settlement should not be a peace of vengeance,
as this would lead to further wars
• However each country had particular aims and geopolitical interests
• Some recipients received nothing, while others had their aims fulfilled
• The treaties signed were significant because of their global impact and their influence on
developments over the 1920s and 1930s

^The Big Four^

• The big four were the primary decision makers during talks of peace:
• President Woodrow Wilson:
o United States
o Offered a vision for the future that included the League of Nations (LON) and his
fourteen point plan
• David Lloyd George:
o British PM
o He was under pressure from the hard right factions of his party not to show
leniency towards the Germans
o “We cannot both cripple her and expect her to pay”
• Georges Clemenceau (“tiger”):
o French PM A tough no nonsense reputation
o His main aim was to ensure France’s future security
 o Involved imposing restrictions on Germany including population size, industrial
production and geopolitical position
• Vittorio Orlando:
o Italy PM
o Wanted territorial compensation for Italies losses in the war

^Treaty of Versailles, 28 June 1919^

• Peace conference held in 1919, Germany were given an ultimatum but refused to
accept it
• The blockade of Germany by the British and the US continued, preventing the
importation of vital materials and food
• Deadline to sign for the Germans or there would be an allied invasion from the west if
they continued to refuse
• The treaty was signed, with the terms being:
o Loss of 13% of German Territory
o Rhineland demilitarised
o Loss of all overseas colonies
o Limitation of the Germany army to 100,000 volunteers
o Payment of reparations to be determined on a later date

^Treaty of St Germain, 10 Sep 1919^

• Signed with Austria
• Austria and Hungary were now separated
• Austria was also forced to give up territory e.g. Czechoslovakia
• Austrian armed forces were reduced in number, and forced to pay reparations

^Treaty of Sevres, 10 August 1920^

• Peace treaty with Turkey
• Ottoman Empire broken up and most of its European held land was confiscated

^Treaty of Trianon, 14 June 1920^

• Treaty with Hungary
• Confiscated territory and given to neighbouring countries

^Treaty of Neuilly, 27 Nov 1920^

• Signed with Bulgaria
• Confiscated parts of territory
• Bulgarian army limited to 20,000 and they were forced to pay reparations

^Consequences of the Treaties^

Physical • Peace treaties brought an end to four empires

Geography and • Germany’s empire was reduced (13% = 7 million people)
Empires • Kaiser was renounced from the throne on the 9th of November
and it was announced a republic in Berlin on the 10th
• Romania doubled in size
• Japan had emerged from the war as the major world power
• Japan took Germany’s concessions in China
• British and French empires grew
 Issue of National • As the map was redrawn many people found themselves living in
Minorities a new country as a minority group
o E.g. Millions of Hungarians in Romania
• Jewish minorities in many countries, problem as anti-semitism
was common
o Hungarian law of 1920 marked Jews as a separate race
• Countries unsure whether to assimilate or give them special
status
• Self determination underpinned discussions, it was expected that
the new world order would be based on the idea of liberal
democracy
o Self determination: The process by which a country
determines its own statehood and forms its own
government

The Post treaty • European balance of power had not been restored
balance of power • If Germany could manage to restore its pre-war position, it would
be even stronger
o No Russian counterweight due to civil war
• Britain and France were left to balance the power but they were
both second rate power
• Economic provisions of the treaty disrupted the European
economy
• Russia was no longer a French ally

German Reaction • Germany had signed the armistice as they believed that a future
peace would be based on Wilson's idealistic 14 pt plan
• They believed that they were not allowed to argue their case and
were forced to accept the conditions of the treaty
• They believed the conditions were unfair
• Defeat came as a complete shock for almost all Germans as
propaganda had been portraying them successful in war
• This led to the ‘stab in the back myth’, The army said they were
performing well and the reason they lost was due to the
politicians on the homefront.

The rise of dictatorship after WWI

*The conditions that enabled dictators to rise to power in the interwar period*
• Worldwide lack of support for democracy
• WWI had an intellectual and cultural impact on Europe, creating the conditions allowed
dictators to rise to power
• WWI demoralised and divided European societies
o End of empires, monarchies and loss of prestige
• The end of the war damaged liberal ideals and provided the economic, social and
political conditions allowing them to rise to power
• Germany:
o Kiel Mutiny in November 1918 led to the abdication of the Kaiser, showed the
tension in German society
o 1920 Kapp Putsch, an attempt to overthrow the government
• Russia:
 o Russian civil war between the Bolsheviks (reds) and anti bolsheviks (whites)

Russia
• Lenin and Trotsky created the economic, political and social grounds that allowed Stalin
to rise to power
• Economically the introduction of War Communism
o Massive takeover of industry, transport and food supplies
• This led to widespread starvation and economic collapse
• War Communism allowed for little political discussion and opposition parties were not
considered.
• If Stalin was to rise to power he would have limited political opposition due to the party
already controlling the state
• Lenin had already introduced a state run police, control of the people through fear and
terror
• Whoever controlled the party effectively controlled the country and the state police

Germany
• 1918-1923 was a tumultuous period
• Nationalism: Identification with one’s own nation and support for its own interests,
especially to the exclusion or detriment to the interests of other nations
• German nationalism based on restoring pride
• Eberts new democratic government replaced Kaiser Wilhelm, they were destined to fail
from the outset, as they were associated with:
o The failure of the war, ‘stab in the back’ myth
o Signing of the Treaty of Versailles
o The contempt against democracy, lacked legitimacy in Germany
o Associated with humility and defeat, labelled as the ‘November Criminals’
• Freikorp groups were a paramilitary organisation who fought against left wing groups
• Germany encouraged the stab in the back myth

Italy
• Italy were victorious in war however believed they haven't received adequate outcomes
in the Treaty of Versailles
o Cheated of territorial gains that the western allies had originally promised
• Right wing agitation as a reaction came in the form of Fascism
• Fascism: Extreme militaristic nationalism and the breakdown of democratic principles
• Economic problems in italy:
o Unemployment, inflation and high budget deficits
• Mussolini was the leader of this fascist movement

An overview of the features of the dictatorships that emerged in Russia, Italy, Japan
Russia
• Came to power in 1924
• ‘Cult of personality’ proved to be remarkably effective in portraying Stalin as lenin’s heir
apparent
• Loyalty from the new party members was guaranteed as Stalin provided them with more
opportunities
• Stalin was rarely blamed for the poor conditions of Russia as people just assumed if he
understood the situation he would help
• Stalin’s governing system in referred to as totalitarian because of its seeming ambitions
for total control
• Series of campaigns launched to transform the Soviet Union:
o Mobilisation of masses of people
o Construction of new machinery
 o Finely calibrated police terror as an apparatus of control
• Economy transformed from agrarian to collectivism
o Consolidating the central authority of the food supply
o He demanded forced collectivisation
o Food was declared as state property
• By the 1930s the government dominated all major institutions e.g. police and industry
• Only one political party in Russia, all political opponents were executed
• Farmers in ukraine refused to give up their hard earned produce
• 5-7 million people died in Ukraine during the famine
• Russia denied the happenings of the famine through the use of propaganda addressing
it as the ‘big lie’
• The NKVD (Soviet Secret Police) controlled prisons, police, frontier guards and all
aspects of the state security
• Stalin imposed 5 year plans to transform industry, plan’s emphasis on ‘power of will’
o ‘Power of will’ worked because people feared what would happen to them if they
did not obey
o In order to turn Russia into an industrial powerhouse
o Industry expanded at a phenomenal rate
• These transformations were made possible because of the Great Terror
• Stalin oversaw the elimination of suspected or even potential resistance in what became
his own massive campaign if terror against the Soviet people
o Total death count of 20 million, often cited
• During the Great Purge of 1936-38, some 600,000 people were killed
• Secret police were very effective at imposing terror
• He affected massive social change
• Use of ‘gulags’ for opponents, forced labour that accounted for 12-15% of the economy

Italy
• Fascism emerged in Italy
o Characterised by dictatorial power, forcible suppression of opposition and strong
regimentation of society and the economy
• Fascists were opposed to socialism and communism
• Mussolini sought to use the post war turmoil in Italy as a staging ground
• Fascist movement presented itself as a safeguard against communist revolution, and
could win adherents from more conservative idle classes
• The Fascist movement was synonymous with the Blackshirt squads
o Brutalised and murder their political opponents and broke up strikes
• March on Rome: October 1922. The fascists announced that if they weren’t given
power, they would take power by force
• Mussolini promised order, discipline and above all dynamism
• Blackshirts became a government body once Mussolini was PM
• OVRA secret police were formed
• Mussolini signed the Lateran treaties with the Vatican, this guarantees that the catholic
church had made its peace with his regime
• The aim was for the ‘revival of the ancient Roman glories’
• Censored the press, Gov controlled Judiciary and the secret police kept order, example
of fear and intimidation
• It was a corporate state meaning that it was a state governed by vocational corporations
of the employers and employees
• Established programs to teach Italian youth about the fascist way meaning no

Japan
• Japan believed the structure of international peace through the LON favoured western
nations
• Believed that the west wanted to control the world’s resources by placing barriers on
Japanese trade and establishing anti-asian immigration legislation
• During the Great Depression, many unemployed believed that the military could solve
the economic problems by winning new colonies and controlling industry
• Dissatisfaction with the Treaty of Versailles in failing to endorse the racial equality
clause
• Massive emphasis belief in the military to fix problems which can be said to be shaped
from the bushido culture
• In 1931, following an explosion on the Japanese owned railroads from Manchuria,
Japanese troops moved quickly to take control of the region blaming China for
sabotage, therefore conquering Manchuria
o Japan later found to have staged the explosion
o Led to Japan’s diplomatic isolation and expulsion from LON

The Nazi Regime to 1939

Rise of the Nazi Party and the Collapse of the Weimar Republic
Political, economic and social issues in the Weimar Republic
Political:
• Weimar Republic established in 1919, as a democratic government
• Opposition from the right and left wing
• Ebert-Groener Pact 10 November 1918:
o Groener head of German army
o Ebert agrees to bringing the army home providing there is no radical left wing
disturbance
o The army support him during left wing attacks but don't during right wing
• Spartacist Uprising January 1919:
o Communist attempt to take over government
o Army and Freikorps crush the uprising without mercy
o Power struggle between SDP and KPD
o Military now had the perception of power and control through violence
• Kapp Putsch:
o Attempted right wing uprising
o Army doesn’t support the government despite the pact
o “When Reichswehr fire on Reichswehr, than all comradeship within the officer
corps will have vanished”
o Significant as the Putsch exposed the weakness of the government and its
inability to deal with threats
• Article 48 allowed the President to rule by decree in a state of emergency

Social:
• Democracy was viewed as a foreign system that had been imposed on Germany
therefore it lacked legitimacy
• ‘Stab in the back’ myth blaming the Jews, politicians, socialists and Bolsheviks for the
defeat in WW1
• The republic was forever associated with the terms of the treaty, known as the
‘November criminals’
o Partly attributed to the mistake of Philipp Scheidemann declaring Germany had
become a republic two days before signing the armistice

Economic:
• Occupation of the Ruhr:
o French and Belgian troops occupied the Ruhr in January 1923 as Germany failed
to meet reparation guidelines
o The government responded with a call of passive resistance
 o They didn’t work
• Hyperinflation:
o To meet growing wages, war pensions and reparations the government printed
more money
o Hyperinflation so bad that 90% of family’s income would be absorbed by food
o Banks began to charge 35% interest per day for loans
o People did benefit such as those with mortgages
o However those who lived on fixed incomes and savings were negatively impacted

The rise of the Nazi Party

• The Germans workers party (Nazi Party) started due to social and political instability
• Anton Drexler made the party in order to complain about the Weimar Republic,
essentially a protest party, they could identify the problems of the Weimar Republic but
had no answer to these problems
• Hitler attended a meeting of the Germans workers party
• Nazism referred to the doctrine of the Nationalist Socialist German Workers’ Party
(NSDAP)
• Beer Hall Putsch:
o Hitler and his followers attempted to seize power on 8 November 1923
o Kampfbund: An organisation of right wing military groups in Bavaria st up in 1923
o The beer hall putsch failed spectacularly
o Hitler uses the trial of the putsch to display his oratory skills
o Hitler also realised that he had to gain his power in a legitimate and legal fashion
• The years from 1924 to 1929 were the good years for Weimar Germany
• Economic and political stability:
o Dawes Plan: The plan prepared in 1924 by a committee led by American banker
Charles Dawes to adjust Germany’s capacity to pay, through loans
o Foreign loans and a new prosperity
• German Foreign Policy
o Germany joins the league of nations
o The young plan was introduced to further assist in Germany paying reparations
• There were however still potential concerns:
o Short term US loans that could be withdrawn at any time leaving Germany to
independently pay reparations
o Agricultural depression
o The middle class would never forgive the Republic for the economic chaos of
1923
• The nazi party gained no traction during the ‘Golden Years’, which meant that the party
was only successful when Germany were experiencing social, economic and political
problems

The impact of the Great Depression

• The great depression allows the political, economic and social conditions for the Nazi
Party to rise to power
• The Great Depression caused political backstabbing and intrigue which resulted in
Hitler’s rise to power

• Had an enormous psychological impact on German society

• An Immediate and dramatic economic collapse in Germany with:
o Around 1.5 million unemployed in 1929
o By 1933, 6 million (26%) Germans were without a job
• With the Great Depression people are starting to look for political alternatives, Hitler
claims that he was not part of the political decisions that caused this instability, this
allows Hitler to gain great political mileage
• J Hiden: “More than any other party the NSDAP depended on the crisis for its
successful growth … Party membership increased from 129,000 in 1930 to 849,0000 by
the end of January 1933”

• March 1930 AJP Taylor “the end of democracy in Germany”

• The government are put in a position where they require presidential rule hence the use
of Article 48
• Von Hindenburg accepted by the people, he did everything in his power to keep the
republic alive
• Heinrich Bruning was an ineffective chancellor as he relied completely on Article 48 and
was a believer of deflationary policy, which drove Germany deeper into depression
• The Great Depression is the catalyst that allows the conditions to gain electoral success
for the Nazi Party

• Great depression led to political instability

• Nazi’s launced a campaign in projecting themselves as the party of action who wanted
reform
• Nazi party effecting in using the mood of resentment and frustration in Germany during
this time to their advantage
• They promised a new beginning
• Use of perpetual campaigning from 1930-32 and were constantly in the minds of
German people, Hitler was able to become a strong national figure
• Nazi Party Increasing electoral success:
o 1928 they had 12 seats
o Sept 1930 had 107 seats
o Jul 1932 had 230 seats (37%)
o Nov 1932 had 196 seats
• Hitler decided to run against Von Hindenburg, he used the platform of Brunings
unsuccessful deflationary policy as his basis

The Collapse of the Weimar Republic

• Hitler and his first cabinet consisted of Goering (leader of Army) and Franz Von Papen
o Von Papen makes the promise to Von Hindenburg that he will tame and control
the actions of Hitler
• Drop in votes during the later stages of 1932, seemed to have extreme consequences
for the Nazi Party, Goebbels believed that the had “died a death of elections”
• Hitler is offered position of Vice-Chancellor, he declines as he wants to become
Chancellor
• Bruning was replaced by Franz Von Papen as Chancellor, who had the support of
Hindenburg.
• Hitler makes a pact with the German industrialists
• Schleicher convinced Hindenburg that Von Papen is not a suitable chancellor, therefore
Schleicher becomes the new Chancellor
• Von Papen determined to get back at Schleicher so he forms an alliance with Hitler and
German Industrialists
• Von Papen than convinces Hindenburg in 1933 that Hitler should be replace Schleicher
as Chancellor, as Von Papen promises that he can tame and control Hitler (Von Papen
underestimated Hitler)
• Hindenburg has very little time for Hitler but later in 1933 he approves Hitler to become
the new chancellor
• Therefore it was political intrigue and petty jealousies that brought Hitler to power (can
be largely attributed to Von Papen), important to acknowledge that Hitler never won an
election
• AJP Taylor: “The answer to the question how Hitler came to power is therefore to be
found more in the actions of those German politicians who were not Nationalist
socialists than in those of Hitler himself. He waited, they decided”

• The SA ultimately proved problematic for Hitler maintaining his power and respectability
within politics

• The Nazi Party did not draw its support from one class of people
• The factors that led to the collapse of the Weimar Republic:
o Lack of democratic tradition, People were used to autocratic government led by
the Kaiser
o Flaws in the constitution such as Article 48
o Powerful opposition and division between the SPD and KPD, social democrats
and communist party never got on, They were unable to form a coalition to provide
opposition to the Nazi Party
o Psychological and economic disasters: Loss of the war, hyperinflation and the
Great Depression of 1929
o The appeal of Hitler and the Nazi Party: Communicated a very strong message of
protest and effectiveness of perpetual campaigning

The initial consolidation of Nazi power 1933–1934

• On 30 January the Nazi party had come to Power
• Initially they focused on imposing their policy of Gleichschaltung: Nazification and
coordination of Germany to a point of totalitarianism
• Hitler was compliant at the beginning but wanted two political decisions:
o Reichstag to be dissolved
o New elections: Opportunity for the NSDAP to gain a majority in the Reichstag and
govern in their own right
• Communist Party (KPD) called for general strike = Hitler used emergency decree to ban
political meeting and the newspapers of his political rivals, it dissolved all political bodies
(effectively banned political activity)
• Nazi Party in charge of all Judiciary as well as Police
• 27-28 February Reichstag Fire: Convinced Communist attack
o Catalyst for ‘Reichstag Fire Decree’ = Ended all civil rights guaranteed by the
Weimar republic, including the freedom of the press, expression, freedom of
association and the secrecy of mail and telephone
• Police to move against the communists
• Hitler’s respect for Hindenburg publicly demonstrated his want for the restoration of
German traditional values
• When accepting the position of chancellor, he introduced the enabling act, this allowed
the new government to enact legislation for a five-year period. It was passed on 21
March = Gave Hitler control of all the legal authority in Germany
• Purging of the civil service, outlawed other political parties, shut down labour unions and
relentlessly terrorised their political opponents
• Introduction of Auxiliary police force in order to provide more protection = Gestapo
• Signed concordat with the Catholic church = Church dropped its ban on the NSDAP
opening up a large demographic
• For Hitler to consolidate his power he needed the support of both big business and the
army, who both despised the SA. The need to get rid of the SA was further
compounded when Hindenburg threatened to put Germany under military rule, removing
Hitler from power
• This led to the ‘night of the long knives’:
o Hundreds of SA men murdered without trial including Rohm, the head of the SA
o June 1934
• Hindenburg death = Hitler assumed officers of President + Chancellor = Der Fuhrer
• G Greenwood: “Many Germans turned to the Nazis … because it seemed to provide the
answer to personal and national frustration”

The nature of Nazi Ideology

• Hitler’s world view emerged from Mein Kampf, he envisioned an intense German
nationalism
• Social Darwinism = Argument that some races are inherently superior to others and
there was a constant struggle between races for Lebensraum or ‘living space’.
Therefore the Nazi’s aimed to win a triumph for the German people or Aryan race.
• Anti Semitism = The Aryan race and the pure German was juxtaposed with the Jew,
who was often portrayed as parasites, who were incapable of creating their own culture
and contaminating other cultures
• Volksgemeinschaft = Means the ‘peoples' community’. Strived to create this by ridding
Germany of parasites and creating a racial utopia
• They were also opposed to Communists, Capitalists, Intellectuals, Individualists,
Marxism and Democracy
• Note = Many of Hitler’s ideas were influenced by Wagner, Chamberlain and Nietzsche:
Three men who believed in racial purity, being heavily anti-semetic
• M Geyer = “the Nazi state and the emerging Nazi society were not centred around
production and maintaining its conditions, but around the ability to prey on other people
and whole societies, much as industry preys on Nature”

The role of prominent individuals in the Nazi State

Name Biography Prominence

Adolf Hitler Born in 1989,He was the undisputed Was the leader of the
leader of the Party from 1925 Nazi Party and the Fuhrer
onwards. After the failure of the Beer of Germany. He created
Hall Putsch in 1923 he knew he a dictatorship within
would have to emerge through the Germany and enforced
democratic system. After the success the Nazi ideology which
in elections following the Great provided the motives for
Depression, he emerged as the Holocaust and the
Germany’s chancellor, then Fuhrer conditions within
from 1933 to 1945. Using the law, Germany.
propaganda, and terror to suppress
any opposition, he created
nationalist, militaristic, expansionist,
anti-communist and an anti-Semitic
policies as he turned Germany into a
dictatorship. He led Germany into
WW2 with initial success.
Unsuccessfully invaded the Soviet
Union and took his own life in 1945
as the Third Reich collapsed and
surrendered.

Herman Goering Born in 1893, he joined the Nazi Effectively Hitler’s second
Party in 1921. He was a very high in command and the
ranking officer in the NP. He was establishment of the
entrusted with the command of the Gestapo and
SA and in 1932 was named concentration camps can
 president of the Reichstag. This be partly attributed to
position allowed Goring to form the him. He also played a
Gestapo and to begin establishing significant role in creating
concentration camps. He played a fear in Germany through
critical role in orchestration of the violence and persecution.
night of the long knives. In 1935 he
became the Commander in Chief of
the Luftwaffe (German air force). In
1939 Hitler declared Goring as his
successor and a year later he was
named Marshal of the Empire.
During the Nuremberg trials in 1945,
Goring remained defiant and refused
to acknowledge his wrongdoings and
would later poisoned himself before
execution.

Joseph Goebbels Born in 1897 in Rheydt. Joined the Cultivating the ‘fuhrer
Nazi Party in 1924. He was a very myth’ through
close friend to Hitler and was propaganda. He raised
appointed as Minister for Public Hitler up to a point of
Enlightenment and Propaganda on almost divine power. He
March 13 , 1933 where he continued
th
presented Hitler as a man
to cultivate the ‘fuhrer myth’ through with no flaws and the one
different forms of propaganda which that would restore
included speeches, pamphlets, Germany
posters and rallies. He became the
first president of the
Reichskulturkammer (Reich culture
chamber). He was responsible for
German media, literature, fine arts,
films, theatre, music and
broadcasting. In May 1945 he and
his wife, committed suicide after
killing their six children.

The Various Methods used by the Nazi Regime to exercise control, including laws,
censorship, repression, terror, propaganda, cult of personality
• By the end of 1934, the Nazi’s were free to enforce their ideology as the communists
were off the streets, they had no politcal opposition and the two major threats to their
power had now perished, the army and the presence of Hindenburg
• They would try to create a racially pure state in which had to be supported by extreme
laws, censorship, propaganda and terror.

Laws and Citizenship

• April 1933, ‘Aryan Clause’ became law = Dismissal of Jewish civil servants, academics
and teachers
• Children faced a faster deterioration in their treatment at school and by non Jewish
friends. The ‘Law against the overcrowding of German Schools’ of April 1943,
capped the amount of Jews for schools at 1.5%
• In 1935, The Nuremberg Laws were introduced in two parts:
o ‘Law for the Protection of German Blood and German Honour’ Banned
marriages and extramarital intercourse between ‘Jews’ and ‘Germans’
 o ‘The Reich Citizenship Law’ Those who were not considered as Pure German
were stripped of their citizenship
• The SS became the major agency that started to deal with the ‘Jewish problem’, their
policy was called Entjudung = ‘De Jewification’
• These laws were primarily focused on differentiating pure Germans with those
considered Parasites. The Germans then aimed to make life so unbearable that these
minority groups would seek haven elsewhere.

Terror and repression

• The Nazi state emphasised the strict adherence to the state and their policies, if
someone did not adhear or were an opponent of the state = Quickly silenced by the
state through the Gestapo, SS and concentration camps
• Gestapo = Secret police in Germany who were instrumental in spreading terror in
Germany. Carried out mass surveillance and relied heavily upon informants and public
denunciations (This behaviour became normalised). Had full power to arrest individuals
and arrest them indefinitely
• SS = Known as the ‘blackshirts’, by 1935 the membership was 200,000. These
members had to meet strict intellectual, physical and racial requirements to become
members. They operated as a police force included execution and forced labour. Chiefly
responsible for the genocide of millions of Jews through ‘Einsatzgruppen’
• Normalisation of violence and repression led to the protection of the Nazi ideology and
secure the future of the Nazi state
• Concentration camps = Primarily set up for political opponents and communists, more
groups were added to undesirable list and the camps processed these people. They
incite fear in the general public as stories of brutality leaked into society this ensured
people pledged their loyalty. Hitler described them as the ‘most effective instrument’ in
maintaining loyalty.

Propaganda and censorship

• Under the leadership of Joseph Goebbels, propaganda was seen as a form of
indoctrination, and a toll to silence opposition
• Editorial Law of October 1933: Newspaper editors were required to follow government
policy and had to be approved by Goebbels organisation (Newspaper)
• Cheap people’s radio were produced, by 1939, 70% of the German households had a
radio in which Hitler’s speeches were broadcast in full (Radio)
• Cinema was also used and monitored by the Reich Film chamber (1933)
• Propaganda was used to promote the Ideology of ‘Volksgemeinschaft’ in which an
envisioned community would live harmoniously
• Further compounded by the portrayal of the ‘Fuhrer myth’, projecting Hitler as the
saviour of the German people. Unyielding belief in the Fuhrer, and by extension the
state, was the primary goal of Goebbels industry
• “One Nation, one people, one leader”
• Ian Kershaw believes the construction of the Fuhrer Myth and accompanying
propaganda was significant in maintaining power as it sought to remove opponents
through indoctrination

Cult of Personality
• Essentially the Fuhrer Myth
• Hitler wished to be referred to as the Fuhrer and the all embracing leader of Germany
• Goebbels played an instrumental role as portraying him as the all powerful leader
• Hitler’s image was a contrast to the leadership people had experienced under the
Weimar years, he represented an extremely authoritarian regime
• Hitler was able to create an ethnically prue and socially pure Volksgemeinschaft based
on achievement and merit
• His exceptional oratory skills allowed Hitler to present himself to the German people as
a strong leader
• Ian Kershaw: “his own person gradually became inseparable from the myth”

The impact of the Nazi regime on life in Germany, including cultural expression,
religion, workers, youth, women, minorities including Jews
• Hitler had a clear aim in terms of indoctrinating the youth of Germany, in order to ensure
the continuity of the “thousand year reich”, if he had their support no opposition would
be able to gain traction or overthrow the Fuhrer

Cultural Expression
• Began to dismantle the progressive cultural lifestyle was they had achieved power
• Anything considered ‘unGerman’ was purged from society
• The Nazis established the Reich Chamber of Culture in September 1933
• Literature and Theatre was censored in order to support Nazi Ideology = books that
were unGerman were banned, by the end of 1933 1000 books had been banned
• Public book burnings by students demonstrating for a unified country by burning
“unGerman” books. = Showed the support of the Youth
• Art and Sculptures were used as a propaganda tool, emphasising the superiority of the
aryan race contrasting it with the inferior Jew. E.g. In 1937 Hitler opened the Museum of
German art displaying racially sound humans, the exhibition of ‘degenerate art’ was held
at the same time
• Richard Evans: “The Third Reich, was well on the way to eliminating even the possibility
of thinking about dissent and resistance, let alone acting it out in reality”

Religion
• It was believed that National Socialism was a religion, therefore other churches provided
a rivalry of beliefs
• The Protestant church was consolidated into the one Reich church in 1935
• A concordat signed with the Roman Catholic Church was influential, as the church no
longer included themselves in political discussion
• Attendance in religious schools dropped from 65% in 1933 to 5% by 1939
• The Nazi Party and Hitler were the new religious substitute. Goebbels was able to paint
Hitler as a holy divine figure, Mein Kampf acted as the sacred text and they had
associated symbols such as the swastika

Women
• There was a clear role in the nazi state under Volksgemeinschaft
• Diminished role of women in German social life who lived by the slogan ‘Children,
Church, Kitchen’
• Financial incentives were offered to women to stay home and have children
• The Nazi state imposed discrimatory laws such as banning women from the civil service
and forcing all married women to stay home and have children
• The League of German Maidens aimed to teach young girls domestic skills, as
opposed to the militaristic focus of the boys
• Rise in childbirth rate from 15% to 20% between 1933 and 1936

Youth
• They had been a youth wing of the NP since Hitler had come to power, however was
considerably small before 1933
• By early 1939, 8.7 million young people had become members of Hitler’s youth, this
amounted to 98% of those aged between 10 and 18
• The NP youth groups had set syllabus of indoctrination into Nazi Ideas, accompanied by
fitness training and eventually military training
• The process of indoctrination was designed to replace all family and religious
loyalty withcomplete devotion to the Fuhrer

Minority groups and racial policies

• Clear commitment to removing Jews from Germany and populate Germany with ‘racially
pure’ Germans
• Firstly Jews were isolated to some extent, in schools and public places
• Jewish businesses were then Boycotted by the German public
• Legislation prevented Jews from a range of activities such as jobs in the civil service,
education and marriage
• Laws were enforced to further isolate Jews from society, these included the Nuremberg
laws which constituted the Reich Citizenship Act and the Blood Protection Act
• On the night of 9-10 November 1938 Kristallnacht happened, in which 7500 Jewish
businesses were ransacked and set alight along with over 1,000 synagogues. 30,000
Jews were arrested and 100 killed
• Kristallnacht marked the complete exclusion of Jews from the German economy, when
the Nazis came to power 100,000 businesses were owned by Jews. This had now all
been either closed or ‘Aryanised’
• The other groups that were also targeted by the NP included
o Physically and mentally handicapped
o Gypsies
o Jehovah Witnesses

Opposition to the Nazi regime

• Even though most supported the NP due to the economic success following the GD and
the decisive leadership there is evidence of Nazi Criticism, resistance and dissent

Political parties
• The largest source of resistance came from the Social Democratic Party (SPD), they
were declared illegal in 1933 and robbed of its funds, however continued to operate in
exile
• The SPD set up an underground resistance group called the ‘Red Strike Troops’, 3000
members, they highlighted the abuses of the NP and called for a workers’ uprising
• In mid 1934 they Gestapo located and arrested the leaders
• The German Communist Party (KPD) were also opposed to the Nazi Regime
• The KPD had 350,000 members before the NP rose to power however the Reichstag
fire allowed the NP to blame the KPD and were quick to confiscate their funds
• Despite the raid from the NP the KPD still had 30,000 members and managed to
distribute millions of pamphlets and newspapers between 1933-35 in their
underground operations

German Workers
• Resistance campaigns in the form of strikes and go-slows as they were not affiliated to
political parties
• Motivated by rising food prices and deteriorating working conditions
• Gestapo responded by arresting organisers and sending them to concentration camps
• They also protested by not turning up to work or destroying factory machinery
• In 1939, Georg Elser (Factory worker), protesting the erosion of workers rights planted a
bomb in Munich where the Fuhrer was scheduled to speak, the attempt was
unsuccessful
Youth Groups
• Edelweisspiraten (‘Edelweiss Pirates’): Males and Females aged 12-18 who opposed
the formality of the Nazi Movement. Took part in petty resistance including antagonising
Hitler youth, sometimes beating up members as well as engage in vandalism of
Propaganda and buildings
• White rose group: Led by Hans and Sophie Scholl, they printed anti-Nazi newsletters,
they were tried before a people’s court and hung

The Army
• To fulfil his foreign policy aims Hitler needed the support of the military
• The Army had been angry at the rise of the SA and were against Rohm’s desire to
absorb the army into his organisation
• There was a sizeable group within the army who resisted Hitler and the NP, they
believed the rearmarments were placing Germany in a dangerous position
• August 1934: The army swore an oath of allegiance to Hitler personally
• Ludwig Beck tried to convince fellow generals to ignore the orders to invade Austria in
1938

The Church
• Both Catholic and Protestant churches failed to resist the Nazis
• They were a few Heroic figures who stood up to the policies of the NP
• Cardinal Van Galen was arrested in Nov 1937 after having openly spoke against the
Nazi euthanasia policy in 1939
• Religious figures were persecuted for publicly stating their dissapproval for Nazi and
Jewish policies
• These figures were often eliminated in concentration camps

The search for Peace and Security in the modern world

The ambitions of Germany in Europe and Japan in the Asia pacific
^The failure of the Peace treaties after WW1^
• The preoccupation at the 1919 peace conferences on national self determination left
little room for discussion of more important issues
• There was little discussion about the conflict itself

The Threat that Germany and Japan posed to world peace and security to 1946

Aims and actual impact of the LON and the UN

Sample Questions:
What were the ambitions of Japan and Germany following the First World War?
• To establish a new German/Aryan empire
• Ambitions of Japan in Asia Pacific to establish Greater East Asian Co-prosperity sphere
• Both countries's intentions were to go to war to achieve their aims/goals
• Remove all Western influence in Asia and establish Japanese supremacy
• Germany aimed to create a new ‘Third Riech’
• Expansion in terms of foreign policy
• New hegemony: leadership or dominance in political, economic and military control over
one state.

What were the intentions/authority of LON?

 League of Nations United Nations

Aims/Intenisons Peace and Security Many of the same ideals

Conflict resolution (expanded idea of how peace/security
Enforcement could be achieved)

Outcomes/Authority Some examples of Improved authority as a result of wider

success participation
Weakened by absence BUT: difficult to discuss ‘authority’ by
of US 1946
Failed to overcome
nationalism

• LON and UN were experiments in responding to world issues and looking to

generate international cooperation
• Don't have the authority to put down an aggressor, the humanitarian outcome was a
helping factor
• Only way to make a stand was to make sanctions and embargoes
• Both born out of turmoil to make the world a safer place
• Both organisations used the term “collective security”- the idea that individual nations
would look first to the international body, rather than to their own efforts or armies for
security.
• Collective security is undermined ‘selfish interests’ over international interests
• Historians today regard the UN as a successful body in achieving international
collaboration and has survived a longtime now.
• The LON failed but the UN came out of the LON and has some successes and is
really the only world body holding together.
1. LON and UN created a central place where all nations, large and small, could meet
2. They created secretariats and agencies to coordinate efforts to improve the health and
welfare of people all over the world
3. They established a framework for international human rights
4. They created an enduring idea of international- rather than just national- civil society
5. The UN has helped lead important technological, economic and social changes since
1945
• The victors at the PAris Peace Conference maintained that their authority for
exercising the power to impose the terms of the peace after WW1 came from their
victory.
• The League failed primarily because the democracies were distracted by domestic
political issues and many nations were reluctant to surrender their national
sovereignty to an international body
• The dictatorships recognised and repeatedly exploited this lack of resolve among the
democracies
• The league and the UN created a place where all nations could meet and negotiate
• Created the agencies to improve global health and welfare
• Helped establish a framework for international human rights
• Created, for the first time- an internationalists idea of civil society
• The UN has been a critical forum of opposition to terroism and potentially addressing
climate change.

Evaluate the attempts to maintain peace and security in the period 1919-1946