Rise of Nzism in Germany
Germany's defeat in World War One created political, economic and social instability in the Weimar Republic and led to the rise of the National Socialist German Workers' Party (NSDAP) or Nazi party. The First World War placed increasingly heavy strains and sacrifices on the German people. The gap between the rich and poor widened and divisions between classes increased. It had direct effect on the workers' living standard as earnings fell and food shortages grew. Food was sold on the growing black market but the prices were high and the poor could not afford to buy. This led to a crisis in the cities and as many as 700 000 died of hypothermia and starvation in the winter of 1916-17. In order to force the German people to bear the hardship of the war, chancellor Bethmann Hollweg promised political reform in a speech in the Reichstag in February 1917. This promise led to political unrest and an organised strike of 400 000 ammunition workers in Berlin, which threatened to cripple arms production. However, as long as the military held their dominant position and the possibility of victory remained, the prospects of reform seemed remote. After the chancellor was forced to resign in July 1917 military repression increased. T
Triggs Oliver & Boyd, 1990 Encyclopedia Encarta, 1997 Encyclopedia Britannica, 1999. Linked to this was the demand for financial compensation for the cost of the war paid to France and Britain. Army reductions, demanded by the Versailles Treaty, triggered the Kapp Putsch. On November 1918 the SPD declared the abdication of the Kaiser and the birth of the new Weimar Republic. Article 48 stated, "If public order was endangered the president could suspend the fundamental rights guaranteed elsewhere in the constitution, and could intervene if necessary with armed force". There was also an economic instability in Germany during the 1920s. The far left-wing, called the Spartacist League or the Communist Party, created an uprising, which was crushed by the Free Corps - a group of former army officers who later became active Nazis. In September 1918 the military effort suddenly collapsed. The extremist right group known as the National Association attempted to seize the government using the help of the Free Corps units. Germany's army personnel was to be reduced to 100 000 and was forbidden to produce "offensive" weapons. The SPD failed to establish a coalition between USPD to oppose the Nazis and this helped the Nazi Party to rise and gain power. Finally, because of French fears of another attack, German territory of Rhineland was to be permanently demilitarised. The allied powers, in particular President Wilson of the United States, demanded that Germany be transformed into a democracy. Political conflict also arised within the Weimar government. Germany's land was reduced by 13 % and all of its colonies were confiscated.
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