The Great Depression in Germany

The Great Depression was a worldwide collapse of economies throughout every society. It most commonly started in 1929, and lasted until the late 1930’s or early 1940’s. At the time of the Great Depression, Germany was struggling to stabilize its government, which was then known as the Weimar Republic. The effects that came with the Great Depression, such as decreased trade, cutbacks in production and consumption, increased unemployment, widespread deprivation and frustration and radical political agitation were strongly affecting Germany. Along with all of these aspects, Germany was trapped in the settlement to pay for war reparations of WWI, to which they were held responsible. Due to the economic suffering in Germany, the people suffered and society as a whole began to experience a continuance of the devastation induced via WWI. Germany was greatly affected by the Great Depression, more so than many other countries; this caused German people to present strikes and protests to the chaotic and unstable government, as they dealt with unemployment and deprivations as the government attempted to hold elections and fix problems to prevent an enormous downfall.

Germany was coping with an unstable government when it was hit by the Great Depression. This provided the opportunities for not only Hitler to come to power, but also for communism to steep into German society, and infiltrate the system. The communism aspect ties back to the issue of unemployment. According to Carter Horsfall, Germany had “a total of six million registered unemployed” people residing in Germany. “Large numbers of the working-class population [had] ‘gone over’ from Social Democracy to Communism”, to which Horsfall believes “it must continue…for as long as economic pressure increases”. Following Germany’s incident with hyperinflation after WWI, which affected the happiness of the German people, whilst providing them with a greater option of joining the Nazis or other rebellious groups. Communism might have appeared to be the ideal solution: equal pay, demolished class system; no military therefore no war costs, and a pro-community mindset would need to be installed. However, Communism was not the option that Germany wished to pursue, for the rise of Hitler introduced fascism as a redefined version of socialism.

Germany’s unemployment reached its peak in 1932 according to a chart, which displayed the rising and falling of employment rates in Germany and Britain. The economic crisis caused people to lose faith in their government because of such high unemployment rates. Germany was struggling the most out of countries dealing with the Great Depression due to the war payments that they needed to pay. This economic pressure made it impossible for trade, production, consumption, and employment to keep going at its original rate, for the government could not uphold the requirements needed to provide support for it. With six million people registered unemployed, protests began to break out due to the unhappiness of the people, the rising of rebellious groups, and the instability of the Weimar Republic. Increasing support for both the radical lefts and rights of Germany provided room for Hitler to take control, and for the two sides to organize protests challenging the legitimacy of the government at that time.

The German government responded to the economic crisis by cutting public services, and using emergency powers to maintain order amongst the people. However, this did not hold, for the people were angry and the government eventually collapsed. With the perfect opportunity presented, Adolf Hitler and his Nazi regime took advantage of the unstable German government and influenced the people with fascism and socialism, with an anti-communistic viewpoint. Before this occurred, however, the demonstrations, strikes, and protests organized by the German people due to economic instability can be held responsible for the fall of the Weimar Republic. “Members of the National Socialist Party have perpetrated acts of atrocious violence at various places throughout the Reich from East Prussia to Bavaria”. This form of protests showed the people leaning towards the ideas of Socialism and violent action to acquire a functioning economy and government. Prior to the initial collapse of the Weimar Republic, the Nazis were producing veritable reigns of terror, through murdering members of their own party on the eve of the elections to be held for a new government, along with the breaking of shop windows, burning of gas stations, diversions of the fire brigades, murdering prominent members of the Socialist and Communist parties, shooting of the German chancellor, and essentially inducing chaos and anarchy across Germany. This form of violent protesting is how the Nazis began to control the population: through terror and fear. The people could not rely on the government, because it was so unstable to the point where it could not exercise control over “the perpetrators of these acts of violence”, which offered no sense of security to the German people. These demonstrations made Hitler’s control inevitable, for not only was the government too weak to prevent it, but the people longed for change that would pull them out of their economic depression.

The government in Germany recognized their weakness, and understood the deep essential need for new governmental elections. In 1928, the Democrats were the dominant party in Germany. However, after the Great Depression, the German people began to turn towards the more extreme groups, such as the Nazis. This caused the Nazis to gain control, and by 1932 to1934, the Nazis were the leading party in Germany. The Democratic Party lost support due to the peoples association of the Democrats with blame for the Great Depression. Propaganda did not help prevent the spread of Hitler’s control, for posters printed in 1932 and around then promoted Hitler as the Chancellor of Germany, saying that Hitler is “Germany’s last hope” of redeeming the economic values, and saving Germany. The Weimar Republic in Germany had total control over the German military. However, when the Weimar Republic collapsed, the Nazi Party was able to interfere and take control of the military, adding another form of power to threaten and control the people of Germany, via terrorist tactics and fear. The situation in Germany with regards to the instability of the government made it possible for Hitler to come to power.

The Great Depression uprooted German society and influenced it amongst socialist and fascist regimes. The German people were angry due to the new restrictions that were necessary due to the economic collapse, such as slowed production and trade, and unemployment. The unemployment angered the German people further, pushing them towards extremist groups and into the arms of the Nazis. The protests and strikes performed by the enraged German people brought down the Weimar Republic, due to attacks from both extreme left and extreme right groups. The political instability initiated a total collapse, making Germany extremely vulnerable, and the people entirely dissatisfied. With the German people in this state, propaganda announcing that Hitler is Germany’s “last hope” manipulated the German people into agreeing to a fascist socialist regime under the control of Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party, who controlled Germany through terrorism and chaos. These reasons display that Germany was one of the countries most affected by the Great Depression, for it completely destroyed what little control and stabilization that was beginning to build, and replaced it with extremist powers which led to Germany’s commencement of WWII.

Treaties of the Paris Peace Conference

World War I was a brutal and damaging war that was fought between the Allied Forces and the Central Powers.  The war resulted with a victory for the Allied Forces, and harsh punishments against the countries of the Central Powers, most significantly, Germany. The Paris Peace Conference was held in 1919 following the war, and its purpose was to set peace terms for Germany and other defeated nations. The Paris Peace conference placed restrictions upon the losing countries, and conjured up different treaties for each defeated country, attempting to remove all capabilities Germany had of starting another war. Bulgaria, Ottoman Empire, Austria, Hungary, Germany and Russia are the countries whose treaties are in focus. The treaties created during the Paris Peace Conference had to appease individual countries of the Allied Forces, whilst creating and upholding stability within Europe.

WWI began by Austria-Hungary declaring war on Serbia following the assassination of Franz Ferdinand, the Austro-Hungarian archduke, by a Serbian nationalist in 1914. Countries were drawn into the chaos and fighting due to alliances and requested support, which quickly became a larger problem than it was at the start. Although Austria-Hungary was the main creator of the war, they held back when the fighting began, leaving Germany, their ally, to take responsibility and fight against the Allied Forces without any true supportive alliances. The Treaty of Versailles, which occurred in June 1919, directly after the war, announced that Germany was mostly responsible for the war and the damages that were inflicted amongst nations during the war period. The treaties that followed the ending of WWI induced responsibilities of defeated nations to restore damaged countries, reduce territory and military numbers, and end alliances with countries that could provoke a threat unto other nations, such as France. Amongst other demands in the treaties, the defeated nations were obligated and forced to comply with the terms and sign the treaties.

The Paris Peace Conference was lead by “The Big Four”, and these were the leaders of strong and powerful countries: Woodrow Wilson from the United States, David Lloyd George from Great Britain, Georges Clemenceau from France, and Vittorio Orlando from Italy, who did not stay part of the conference when the land promised to Italy was not delivered. The treaties created at the Paris Peace Conference were the Treaty of Versailles which dealt with the German Empire, the Treaty of Saint-Germain, which affected Austria, the Treaty of Neuilly that addressed Bulgaria, the Treaty of Trianon, which was based on Hungary, and finally, the Treaty of Sevres, subsequently revised by the Treaty of Lausanne, which concerned the Ottoman Empire. These treaties occurred mostly between 1919 and 1920, with the exception of the Treaty of Lausanne, which was signed in 1923. Each of these treaties set restrictions and rules that were enforced by the Allied Forces, and they violated aspects of self-determination whilst weakening economies, militaries, and cultures by separating peoples by announcing new territory ownerships.

The Treaty of Trianon addressed Hungary following the forced separation from Austria. The Austro-Hungarian Empire was strong and threatening to countries during the post-war time era, and in order for it to be weakened, Austria and Hungary were to be separated and decreased in size and other aspects. Hungary lost 72% of all territory, and 64% of its total population. These major changes affected Hungary’s access to the sea, trade, economic stability, cultural and nationalistic pride, along with loss of much citizenship due to the rule that any Hungarian living outside of the new Hungarian borders would lose their citizenship to Hungary. The Hungarian army was reduced to 35,000 men, and due to the Treaty of Trianon, Hungary was politically unstable as well as economically and militarily. The biggest concern expressed by Woodrow Wilson on the Treaty of Trianon was the effect it had on the people, for they were transferred from one state to another sans consultation, which was inhumane and wrong.

A treaty relatively similar to the Treaty of Trianon was the Treaty of Sevres, which address the Ottoman Empire. The Treaty of Sevres divided the Ottoman Empire among the Allies, removed the Ottoman Empire from Europe, created new independent states, limited the Ottoman army, and removed much territory, despite the fact that it did not stand due to the fact that the Ottoman Sultan was overthrown, and the treaty was only proposed due to the expectation that each of the Allied Powers wished to gain land from it. The Treaty of Sevres is similar to the Treaty of Trianon in the sense that it was assigned very similar restrictions, and had it been enforced, it would have developed similar effects. Both empires were obligated to transform into smaller, weaker, and less powerful independent states, while renouncing control over areas where they held territory, sacrificing economic and political stability. These empires proved threatening to frightened nations such as France, who had suffered the most during WWI and was very specific in ensuring protection of France by weakening threatening nations.

The Treaty of Neuilly was also similar. This treaty dealt with Bulgaria, and was signed on November 27^th, 1919. This treaty had many of the same restrictions that the Treaty of Trianon induced onto Hungary, such as the removal of access to the sea, the limitation of the army, economic obligations and reduced borders. Many Bulgarians were placed under Greek rule; this was similar to how many Hungarians were placed under Romanian or Croatian-Slovenian control.  The restrictions placed unto Bulgaria created a sense of resentment, which later caused Bulgaria to side with the Nazis during WWII. The Bulgarian military was limited to 20,000 men, and compulsory military service was abolished. Military groups that were pro-war were forbidden as the Allied Forces expressed control over the Bulgarian people. This aspect, similar to the other treaties, violated self-determination and freedom of human rights of the people of the countries affected by these treaties.

Although the Paris Peace Conference issued a feeling of protection to the Allied Forces, it created a strong feeling of resentment within the countries that were affected by the treaties. The amount of economic, political, military, and cultural strains these treaties placed upon the countries induced limits that caused suffering and losses of nationalism, all for the sake of acknowledging the power of the Allied Forces. Some treaties were far too harsh, such as the Treaty of Trianon and the Treaty of Neuilly, for it greatly affected nations who had not held all that much responsibility for the outcome of the war and the damage caused. Although the treaties were in many cases overly damaging, they were understandably necessary for the prevention of a new war. These treaties ensured the safety of the European people, although it dismissed regard for countries and the position they were placing them in. The Paris Peace Conference developed a regime to prevent war and sustain peace, a development that was definitely required by Europe at that time. 

Factors Leading to Germany's Downfall in World War 1

World War 1 became unbalanced from the start, when the Allies fought against the Central Powers, and dominated them. The Allies had many allies, strong attack strategies and organization, strong economies and they were prepared to fight the war. Germany was struggling, for as one of the Central Powers, they did not have many allies compared to the Allies, and they were unorganized and completely unprepared for war, without war tactics to stand for. Their plans failed and their strategies were weak, and Germany soon felt the wrath of the Allied Forces during their brutal fall from grace in the war that changed Europe. Germany lost the First World War because of their lack of organization and preparation needed to succeed; their poor plans for attack made it nearly impossible for them to achieve victory, and there was no strong structure in place.

Germany’s attack strategy was based on high-risk attacks, which were plans that were essentially one-shot attacks, meaning if their attack plan was successful they would be at an advantage point, yet if they lost then they had no back up plan. The Von Schlieffen Plan, for example, was a high-risk attack. Germany hoped it would be successful even though the prediction before it launched was that it would fail. The Von Schlieffen Plan was a high-risk attack because if it did fail, Germany would experience devastating losses and would definitely suffer and lose against the Allied forces. When The Schlieffen Plan did fail, Germany was almost beaten, and there was no shot at redemption. Plans like these are how Germany ran their military. Adding to Germany’s lack of good strategies was their poor propaganda, which compared to Britain was nothing. British propaganda had a psychological effect on many people, and turned many against Germany. It psyched out German soldiers and made them lose faith in the victory of the war, whereas German propaganda had no strong effect. Germany had no structure within their system during the war; they had a poor government and they did not plan their military attacks with positive tactics that would have benefitted them greatly during the war.

            The Von Schlieffen Plan was Germany’s plan of attack to demobilize France and knock them out of the war. They were to travel through Belgium to reach France, and they did not expect to struggle in Belgium due to Belgium’s stated neutrality in the war. Although the Belgium army was only a tenth of the size of the German army, they held them up for over a month before Germany was able to reach France. British propaganda exaggerated the fact that Belgium was a small and neutral country with campaigns such as “Poor Little Belgium” and “Brave Little Belgium”, which were designed to make Germany seem big and bad and Belgium to seem small and helpless. These campaigns turned many countries against Germany, which only added to the imbalance between the two sides to start with. The British Expeditionary Force was small, and was almost annihilated many times by Germany in their sweeping across Belgium. However, the BEF was able to hold up Germany long enough for French and British forces to arrive and prepare for attack. It was because of them that Germany broke off the plan, yet they were not finished fighting for many battles soon followed, mainly between Britain and France against Germany. Although the Germans lost less people, they were unorganized and their plans were chaotic. Another factor that prevented Germany from demobilizing France was the French Railway System, which made it possible for France to transport troops easily, and it made them prepared to meet Germany when they arrived. This also shows the organization and preparation accomplished by France, which Germany lacked.

            Germany was limited in many ways, two of which were its geographical location and the way it ran it’s economy during World War 1. Germany is located in the central of Europe, with France on its left and Russia on its right. During WW1, Germany was fighting against Russia and France, and she was trapped between them. Germany also does not have a large coastline, and further on in the war when Britain was reinforcing their navy, Germany struggled to use the small coast it had which lies to the north. There was a huge disadvantage to being in the center with a small coast, because Germany was surrounded by her enemies and unable to freely use the body of water that they had at hand. Belgium lay to the west next to France, and was in an ideal position for the Von Schlieffen Plan. The second limitation on Germany was their struggling economy. Germany did not have a national tax set in place on the people of Germany, and therefore was not receiving money that would prove to be a necessity in the war to supply them with weapons, submarines, and other war requirements. This was one of the ways Germany was unprepared; unlike Germany, countries like France, Great Britain, and others fighting in the war had an income from taxing the people, which helped maintain a stable economy, which Germany lacked.

            When WW1 began, Austria-Hungary issued an ultimatum to Serbia filled with ludicrous demands. Serbia allied with Russia, and through this power they were able to dismiss the ultimatum, which resulted in war. Austria-Hungary had an alliance with Germany and the Ottoman Empire. France became involved due to their alliance with Russia, and Britain’s alliance with France shifted them in as well. However as the war progressed, it seemed as though Germany was losing their own alliances while the Allies were gaining alliances. Austria-Hungary brought Germany into the war to defend them, yet did not honor their alliance and sort of disappeared as the war continued. The Allies had a much more organized system in the war, and also in relation to their alliances. They had strong alliances with powerful countries, and even smaller countries such as Italy, Greece, Romania, Brazil, Japan, and more. Germany was left to stand alone at the end of the war when its few allies surrendered. Germany was destined to fail from the start, for they lacked structure and organization on the battlefield and off of it.

            Had Germany been prepared for the war with strong alliances, powerful government and military, flourishing economy, and viciously sculpted attack tactics, they would have had a shot at winning the war. However, they lacked all of these things, and were teamed-up against from the start without a fallback plan. Germany was a powerful country, but pitted against Britain, France, the U.S.A., and more, it had no hope in being successful. They failed economically due to their non-existent national tax. They faltered strategically with terribly structured attack plans such as the Von Schlieffen Plan, and they did not have any support to help them win the war. Germany did not exactly lose the war, however, the Allies won and in essence defeated Germany to the point where they had no other option but to surrender. A positive aspect to be recognized in Germany was their improving of their naval warfare through submarine warfare which proved to be very effective during the war in taking down enemy ships. However, Germany was at a great disadvantage throughout the war via the factors stated previously, and they were forced to accept defeat due to their inability to succeed which was rooted to their disorganization and unpreparedness

Imperialism in World War 1

Imperialism was one of the four contributing factors to the cause of World War One, along with secret alliances, militarism, and nationalism.  It is the most important cause of WW1, because it created a build-up of tension in Europe and outside of Europe, and through imperialism, the three other causes were able to affect the beginnings of the war. Imperialism is defined as the governing of one people by another country, which was a recurring dilemma prior to WW1 due to the industrialist movement. Although not all events that fall into the imperialistic category were about controlling another country, they contributed to the war, and imperialistic events were the foundation of the cause of WW1.

Within Europe, imperialism occurred at the height of industrialization. As European countries were discovering more about the sciences and mass production benefits via industrialization, a demand and competition for more land and produce was developing, and this would create the tension needed to begin the First World War. Germany and Great Britain were two powerful European countries that had been trying to establish control in Africa and Asia, two countries that were not as strong as them, and relatively vulnerable.  Due to rebellions of the native people and interferences by each other and other countries, they were not entirely successful. This lack of cooperation between European countries in the attempt to govern and control weaker states so as to use their products for trade caused tension, and finally after it built up to a certain point, war was the only option left.

Imperialism led to the three other contributors to the war because without the tension induced by imperialism, secret alliances would not be necessary. Alliances such as the Triple Alliance, which consisted of Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy that lasted until the start of the war, and the Three Emperors League, which involved Russia, Austria-Hungary, and Germany and created tension prior to the war, were created in case of war, which would not be an issue had there not been minor conflicts occurring all over the world. Militarism was another factor, and the threatening behavior when powerful countries involved in powerful alliances begin forming unbeatable weapons would not have affected war had there not been a prior fear that war would be coming. England produced a ship made to kill in attempt to prove to the Germans that they still owned the sea, and this kind of behavior is what triggered an additional rise to the pressure building in Europe. Nationalism relates closer to imperialism because it was due to nationalism that imperialism was not always successful. When the European powers attempted to invade and take over China, they were unable to due to the unity of the Chinese people, and also the interferences by other countries. This nationalism prevented countries from extending control over many people, for rebellions occurred and changes had to be made.

       The Austro-Hungarian Ultimatum to Serbia was one of the examples of imperialism during WW1. On July 23 1914, Serbian nationalist Gavrilo Princip assassinated archduke Franz Ferdinand, who was to be the heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne. Austro-Hungary, realizing they were stronger than Serbia, issued an ultimatum with ridiculous demands, along with statements such as “The Royal Serbian Government [is]… to suppress any publication which incites to hatred and contempt of the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy and the general tendency of which is directed against its territorial integrity” and more. In essence, the ultimatum demanded that Serbia renounce all rights to their self-governing and to be placed under the rules decided by Austro-Hungary. However, Austro-Hungary was not aware of the alliance between Russia and Serbia, which brought Russia into the problem between Austria-Hungary and Serbia, which then created the need for Austria-Hungary to involve their ally, Germany, who encouraged a war-like solution to the problem. Through one action of a freedom fighter or terrorist, depending on which side you agree with, a whole upsurge of negative relations are formed, and already conflict is occurring.

            The ultimatum issued to Serbia was a direct example of imperialism. However, events such as the creation of the Dreadnought may also be considered imperialistic, even though it was not an attempt to overthrow Germany. In 1906, British Admiral Sir John “Jackie” Fisher established the Dreadnought into the British navy. Not only was the Dreadnought the fastest battleship around, but it also used a more effective form of weaponry that was more advanced than most battleships at the time. Created to frighten the Germans who were attempting to strengthen their navy under the control of Admiral Tirpitz in order to threaten the British navy. Known for their power over the sea, the British created the Dreadnought to make it clear to the Germans that they were still so called “King of the Seas” and that Germany would never be able to defeat them. This is imperialistic because there was a surge for naval expansion, which stemmed from tension and also industrialism.

            One final example of imperialism as a cause of WW1 was the Berlin-Baghdad railway that was built in 1903 until prior to 1914, connecting Berlin and Baghdad, where the Germans wished to establish a port so as to expand trade. This railway would have threatened the British trade exports and imports, giving Germany an economic dominance through trade. The railway was also seen as a threat to Russia, for it extended into a zone where Russia had a dominant share in the trade. However, due to interferences by other countries because of the tension it created, the railway was never finished. This is an example of imperialism because it was Germany trying to extend it’s control over areas surrounding the railway being put in place, while also angering the Russians and the British, who were constantly fighting with the Germans throughout the beginning and during WW1.

            Imperialism was a cause of WW1 because it developed the basis for tension to occur and after a continuous build-up of conflicts and frustrations; there was an outburst of war that was not only foreseeable, but also unstoppable. Different occurrences added to the pressure induced by the war, and led to the three other causes of war by means of threats, competition of power, and defense of nations. Imperialism made it possible for this conflict between countries to grow, and it stemmed from the industrialist movements attempting to expand and grow within countries, mainly in Europe. Although some may argue that the other three contributors were the main factors leading to WW1, none would have occurred without the introduction of imperialism to the world.