GCSE History - Germany

7a. 'Women were not valued by the Nazi party.' How far do you agree with this interpretation? Use the source and your knowledge to explain your answer. (7)

Personally, I only agree with the interpretation of the statement to an extent. In the years of the Weimar Republic, women had a sense of freedom. They were able to wear clothing and be more independent before. However, women faced changing times when the Nazi party rose to power. Source A implies that the Nazi party had a strong hatred towards women and had a sense of pride in showing this publicly. The poster seems to reduce women, as she is working for the male character which suggests that the Nazis believed the female gender were of lesser importance than men. Published by the Social Democrat party, the poster would have been produced to belittle the Nazi party and try to steer women away from voting for the Nazi party.

On the other hand, the Nazi party did value women a little. They were always considered to be the mother figure and were vital to society as they were capable of producing the next generation. Many women stayed at home and did housework as this was expected of them. Women were rewarded for reproducing and received medals depending on how many children they made. Although women were valued by the Nazi party in some ways, these ways were mainly domestic and did not allow for progress as they were still robbed of their freedom.

In conclusion, I think that women had a reduced value compared to men, but were considered important in terms of creating a generation which could live up to Nazi ideals. I agree with the statement in the question but only to an extent because of this.

7b. How far did the Nazi regime win the support of young Germans? Use the source and your own knowledge to explain your answer. (7)

The source does suggest that the Nazis had won the support of young Germans to an extent. It talks about how schools were used as a system to brainwash the young into believing Nazi values and beliefs. This was because the Nazi party wanted to gain support in every way possible, and believed that in the future, the generations to come would continue to vote Nazi. In addition to this, these young people would become members of the Hitler Youth which would further this. It was a group made up of only the strongest and brightest, and people who had an appearance which was considered desirable by Hitler.

Alternatively, this source does not show the other side as many young people publicly opposed the Nazi regime. An example of this is the Swing Youth group. They differed from Nazi beliefs and expressed acceptance towards Jews in hard times. Many were considered vandals and used art to openly show society their views. The Hitler Youth was not the only youth organisation which was not banned, but this did not stop some young people from making an individual stand against the Nazi party.

To conclude, I believe that the source alone does not show full support from the youth towards the Nazi party. The source is biased as it does not show the opposition the Nazis faced, and this is because it was taken from a newspaper published in the mid-1930s, meaning it was run by the Nazis. Groups like the Swing Youth show that the Nazi party were not completely successful in winning over the population of young people.

7c. Why would the Nazi government want to publish this photograph? Use the source and your knowledge to explain your answer. (6)

The Nazi Party would have a reason to publish this photograph because it shows what they expected every German family to be like. It demonstrates the traditional views on family life, with the mother figure at the piano surrounded by her children, playing music. It implies a peacefulness and harmony to the scene depicted. Having a large family like shown in the picture was important to Nazi society as it was believed that the future generations would be able to make the country the best it could be. The benefits of having a large family were widely advertised, for example, children would join the Hitler Youth and then go on to join the army to increase numbers in the forces. Girls would be taught how to cook and clean which would continue the tradionalist nature of the Nazi regime.

I think that this type of photo would be published for women as it is a subtle reminder of where they stand in society. They were not as important as men, and this shows women in a negative way as it does not show them as strong or determined. Their work was based at home and was family-orientated whereas men joined the army and went out to work which shows the difference between how each gender was valued.

8a. What were the main features of the Weimar Constitution? (4)

The Weimar Constitution was an official law that created a democratic parliament in Germany. It allowed for the German population to elect people into parliament, which gave many people a say in how the country was run. Those who were elected would go into the Reichstag, which was the national parliament for the country at the time. Adults were allowed to vote in this time, as an attempt to make a perfect democratic system which the country could follow. This introduced the Weimar Republic. It was considered to be a "perfect" system because it was put in place to prevent a political party from gaining too much power, as this could cause problems and disorder within German society. Unlike some systems, the Weimar Constituation used proportional representation to put the elected into parliament, which meant that a party who got 50% of the votes made up 50% of parliament. This was not a good idea as many small parties got into parliament, meaning that there was not an official government to pass laws.

8b. Explain the reasons why the period from 1924 to 1929 was successful for the Weimar Republic. (6)

The period from 1924 to 1929 was successful for the Weimar Republic because it introduced a new bill which allowed for everyone in Germany to have freedom. Freedom of speech, freedom of religion and equality was given to everyone who was considered to be a German citizen. In addition to this, people were given the vote. People were now allowed to elected the parliament and the president. The Reichstag were the people who passed laws which is why is was important. This suggests that that Weimar Republic was successful.

In addition to this, a new currency was introduced in this period which solved the growing problem of hyperinflation. Hyperinflation caused people to lose their savings and affected the elderly and business people as it turned money with value into nothing. This new currency called the rentenmark stopped the problem of inflation which gave the population more confidence considering the financial issues were being ironed out. This was one of the Weimar Republic's greatest successes, and it was down to Gustav Stresemann that is was so much so.

Stresemann was a German politician during the Weimar period. He is one of the biggest successes of the Weimar Republic, as he was able to manouvre around substantial problems which faced society. One of these was the Ruhr crisis, and when this was solved, chaos and disorder was replaced with a new found calm. The Ruhr crisis came about when Germany was not able to pay reparations, which meant that the allied forces had to take objects to meet the amount. Stresemann found an effective solution to this, which was the new rentenmark -- the currency which solved the hyperinflation.

8c. 'The main reason for the fall of the Weimar Republic was the economic deprssion which started in 1929.' How far do you agree with this statement? Explain your answer.

Perhaps the main reason for the failure of the Weimar Republic was the Great Depression of 1929. There were other reasons which contributed to the rapid decline in the significance of the Republic, but this, in my eyes, is the biggest factor.

The depression caused many new problems to face Germany. It caused mass unemployment; millions of people were forced out of work which did not help the German economy of the time. This was only made worse when it was realised that the German government had been depending on loans from overseas to stabilise the economy. The government did try to solve the issue, however each attempt was unsuccessful. The Nazi party saw the disorder caused by the unemployment and took advantage of it. They saw it as a way to get votes, and so tailored their campaign to the unemployed which got them a great deal of votes. Hitler was then elected.

Despite the significant depression, another factor which contributed to the fall of the Weimar Republic was the Treaty of Versailles. Germany was forced to take the blame for the war (war guilt) which made it seem weak compared to the other countries. The German citizens wanted power and to make the country strong once more. Again, Hitler took advantage of this and emphasised the point that the Nazi party would remove the Treaty of Versailles. It was linked with unemployment and all the other problems facing German society which is what made people vote for the party in the election.

In conclusion, I think that the depression that started in 1929 was a reason for the fall of the Weimar Republic, however there were other reasons which made the fall seem worse. The Weimar Republic was led strongly when Stresemann was in power, but things changed in the later years when the depression came about. The situation became sour and many people lived in chaos. The Nazi party thrived at this time, and played the German public to their advantage which saw them gain power. The Treaty of Versailles too played a big factor in the fall, as it made Germany as a whole a weaker country, making it susceptible and vulnerable to issues.