Research by Jasveena (:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hl5OqQVaD9Y

One of the problems Germany faced after WWI was having to pay back all the damages done by them. Many European countries demanded huge sums of money from Germany, and as they were unable to fill those demands, the country’s economy suffered. Germany also lost a lot of land to surrounding countries (such as the Polish Corridor, etc.)

Germany faced the Treaty of Versailles, which was an agreement signed with France, Britain and America. It stated that Germany had to pay reparations for causing the war. They had to cut their army, armaments and they also lost land, including Alsace-Lorraine to France. It had a huge impact on their economy as well as their morale, which is why the German people were so keen to believe Hitler and the Nazis when they said they would better Germany and make it like it was before the Treaty.

 

http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_problems_did_Germany_face_after_World_War_1#ixzz1SSjgMlOC

Research by Shareen

• Reparations

Germany was forced to make payments and transfer of property and equipment as they were declared responsible for all ‘loss and damage’ suffered by the Allies during the war. The total sum was t at 269 billion gold marks. This was deemed to be excessive to many economists. The yearly amount paid was reduced in 1924 and in 1929 the total sum to be paid was reduced by over 50%.

BUT payments ceased when Adolf Hitler’s National Socialist German Workers’ (Nazi) Party took power in 1933, with about one-eighth of the initial reparations paid. The final payments were made on 4 October 2010, the twentieth anniversary of German reunification.

Source

Research by Nabilah

The Wall Street Crash

The German economy was in decline prior to the Wall Street Crash. There was no growth in German industrial production in 1928-9 and unemployment rose to two and a half million.

On the 24th October, “Black Thursday”, there was panic selling on the New York Stock Exchange reacting to a business crisis in America. Early the following week, “Black Tuesday”, 29th of October, panic selling set in again. 16.4 million shares were sold, a record not surpassed for forty years. Share prices went into freefall. Ten billion dollars was wiped off the value of share prices in one day.

Effects on Germany

As a result American demand for imports collapsed. American banks saw their losses mount and they started calling in their short term loans with which so much of German economy had been financing itself for the past five years.

Firms began to cut back drastically. Industrial production fell quickly and by 1932 it was 40% of its 1929 level. To make matters worse in 1931 a number of Austrian and German banks went out of business. . Unemployment rose from 1.6 million in October 1929 to 6.12 million in February 1932. 33% percent of the workforce were now unemployed.

By 1932 roughly one worker in three was registered as unemployed with rates even higher in industrial areas of Germany. Matters were made worse by the fact that the drastic fall in people’s income caused a collapse in tax revenues. Many soon were not in receipt of unemployment benefits as state governments could not afford to pay it.

It was in this economic chaos that the Nazis and Communists thrived.

Crime and suicide rates rose sharply and many lost hope. People deserted the democratic parties in droves and turned to either the Communists or the Nazis. In the election of 1930, the Nazis made their electoral breakthrough winning 107 deputies while the Communists won 77. Both parties were opposed to the democratic system and used violence against their political opponents. Hitler’s Brownshirts clashed frequently on the streets with their Communist enemies.

 

http://www.historyhome.co.uk/europe/weimar.htm

Research by Syahirah

Economy aid Nazi party

Nazi

Economic problem led to trouble in the government. They were unable to come to an agreement slowing down the country. Parts of  Germany were alarmed while  antis of Weimar used it as an advantage to destabilise the country further. there were many strikes in 1923 and fear of communism rose amongst the middle class. They wanted support. This had been planed by the Nazis. This was also an attack to the National Groups in Bavaria. Having power, the Nazis changed many of  the  economic policy leading to economic recovery from 1924 onwards.

Examples:

The Economic Policy of the Nazis

• Hitler seemed to have brought by the late 1930s an economic miracle, his methods were:
• A high degree of central planning
• The use of production targets for key areas
• The use of strict controls on the distribution of raw materials
• A drive towards autarky / cutting down of imports
• Labor Unions were abolished as early as 1934
• Measures to reduce U. included:
• Increases in public works
• Rapid expansion of the armed forces
• Banning certain social groups from certain jobs *
• The growth of the Nazi party *

People benefit from the Nazi’s rule

• Germany’s economy recovered and living standards increase
• Unemployment rate decreased
• Increase of wages

Sources : .http://www.schoolshistory.org.uk/ASLevel_History/week6_economicrecovery.htm

http://www.scribd.com/doc/26569075/The-Nazi-Economy-and-Hitler-Basic-Notes-and-Articles

Pictures : http://www.summarynewspaper.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/nazi.jpg

http://www.theholocaustexplained.org/public/cms/70/92/112/203/A5B4RH_web.jpg

http://www.schoolshistory.org.uk/ASLevel_History/d61.gif

 

Done by : Nur Syahirah (3A) (15)

 

Research by Salinah

“Germany’s Weimar Republic was hit hard by the depression, as American loans to help rebuild the German economy now stopped. Unemployment soared, especially in larger cities, and the political system veered toward extremism. The unemployment rate reached nearly 30% in 1932. Repayment of the war reparations due by Germany were suspended in 1932 following the Lausanne Conference of 1932. By that time, Germany had repaid ⅛ of the reparations. Hitler’s Nazi Party came to power in January 1933.”

Despite these strengths, the Nazi Party might never have come to power, had it not been for the Great Depression and its effects on Germany. By 1930 the German economy was beset with mass unemployment and widespread business failures. The SPD and the KPD parties were bitterly divided and unable to formulate an effective solution: This gave the Nazis their opportunity, and Hitler’s message, blaming the crisis on the Jewish financiers and the Bolsheviks, resonated with wide sections of the electorate. At the September 1930 Reichstag elections the Nazis won 18.3% of the vote, and became the second-largest party in the Reichstag after the SPD. Hitler proved to be a highly effective campaigner, pioneering the use of radio and aircraft for this purpose. His dismissal of Strasser and appointment of Goebbels as the party’s propaganda chief was a major factor. While Strasser had used his position to promote his own leftish version of national socialism, Goebbels was totally loyal to Hitler, and worked only to burnish Hitler’s image.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nazi_Party