Weimar and Nazi Germany, 1918–39
What's covered
Key facts
The Depression turned the Nazis from fringe outsiders into the largest party — seats rose from 12 (1928) to 230 (July 1932) as unemployment hit 6 million.
Under the Treaty of Versailles Alsace-Lorraine was returned to France.
The Reichsautobahn (motorway) construction programme provided large-scale public-works employment and was used to showcase Nazi modernity.
The Enabling Act (March 1933) gave Hitler the power to pass laws without the Reichstag for four years.
Under the Treaty of Versailles the German army was limited to a maximum of 100,000 soldiers.
In May 1933 the Nazis burned books by Jewish, communist, pacifist and "un-German" authors in public bonfires across Germany.
German unemployment reached roughly 6 million by early 1932 — the worst in the industrialised world.
Article 231 of the Treaty of Versailles placed sole blame for WW1 on Germany — the "war guilt" clause.
In April 1933 the Nazis organised the first major nationwide boycott of Jewish businesses, with SA pickets and yellow Stars of David painted on shop fronts.
Hindenburg appointed Hitler Chancellor on 30 January 1933, on the advice of conservatives like Franz von Papen who believed they could control him.
Sample questions
A taste of the 101 questions in this topic — answers marked. Sign up to practise the full set with spaced repetition.
In what year did Hindenburg appoint Hitler as Chancellor?
- •1930
- •1932
- ✓1933
- •1934
Why was the Weimar Republic created in 1919 and what were its early problems?
- •Created after Germany won WW1 — the Kaiser abdicated voluntarily for democracy
- ✓Created after WW1 defeat — immediately associated with Versailles humiliation
- •It was imposed on Germany by the Allied Powers as a condition of the peace treaty
- •The Republic was created peacefully after all political parties agreed a new democracy
In what year was the Night of the Long Knives?
- •1932
- •1933
- ✓1934
- •1936
Which year was the Reichstag Fire?
- •1929
- •1932
- ✓1933
- •1934
What caused the hyperinflation crisis of 1923 in Germany?
- ✓French Ruhr occupation, worker strikes, and the government printing money to pay them
- •Germany's banks collapsed after American investors withdrew money following the Crash
- •Hyperinflation was caused by Allied reparations removing all of Germany's gold reserves
- •The Weimar government deliberately inflated the currency to wipe out war debts
What was Hitler's main reason for ordering the Night of the Long Knives?
- ✓The SA was a threat to his power and the army's loyalty
- •To punish those who opposed the Enabling Act
- •To remove communist politicians from Germany
- •To silence critics of Nazi economic policy
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