German History: From Kaiserreich to Nazi Collapse

Posted on Jan 14, 2026 in History

🦅 Kaiserreich and Pre-WWI Context (1890–1918)

  • Wilhelmine Militarism: Kaiser Wilhelm II’s obsession with military prestige alienated socialist and democratic factions. He expanded the navy via the 2nd Naval Law (1900), provoking a costly arms race with Britain.
  • Authoritarian Constitutional Monarchy: The Chancellor was unelected, answerable only to the Kaiser, not the Reichstag — creating a democratic façade masking autocracy.
  • Rapid Industrialisation: By 1914, Germany overtook Britain in steel production, but economic disparity deepened; SPD support surged, holding 110 Reichstag seats by 1912.
  • Social Tension: The elite feared the SPD’s push for welfare and democracy, reinforcing authoritarian resistance to reform.

💣 Effects of WWI on Germany

  • The Allied blockade (1914–1919) led to caloric intake dropping to 1,000/day; the Turnip Winter (1916–17) symbolized economic collapse and civilian suffering.
  • Spanish Flu killed approximately 400,000 Germans, exposing Germany’s weakened infrastructure.
  • The abdication of the Kaiser in November 1918 led to a power vacuum, filled by Ebert’s interim SPD government — which lacked legitimacy among extremists on both sides.
  • Soldiers returning from war formed Freikorps, later used to crush leftist uprisings but eventually became a destabilizing paramilitary threat.

⚖️ Weimar Constitution and Political Weakness

  • Proportional Representation caused fragmentation: 29 parties in the 1920s led to chronic instability. No chancellor served more than two years between 1919–33.
  • Article 48 legally enabled authoritarian rule; used over 100 times by Hindenburg between 1930–32, paving the way for dictatorship.
  • Treaty of Versailles (1919) viewed as Diktat: Article 231 (War Guilt) caused national humiliation and justified 6.6 billion marks in reparations.
  • Kapp Putsch (1920) proved Weimar couldn’t rely on the army — they “don’t shoot at other soldiers.”

🔄 Stresemann’s Era (1924–1929)

  • Stresemann stabilized currency with the Rentenmark (1923) and renegotiated reparations with the Dawes Plan (1924) — foreign loans led to infrastructure modernization.
  • Locarno Pact (1925) and League of Nations (1926) ended Germany’s diplomatic isolation, earning global legitimacy.
  • However, this stability was surface-deep — reliant on short-term US credit, vulnerable to any economic shock.

📉 Great Depression Impact

  • Wall Street Crash (1929) caused the US to withdraw loans, resulting in 6 million unemployed by 1932.
  • Brüning’s austerity (cutting welfare, raising taxes) worsened poverty — he was labelled the “Hunger Chancellor.”
  • Collapse in public trust in democracy led to a surge in support for extremists: Nazis and Communists won over 50% of votes in 1932.

☠️ Rise of the Nazis (1928–1933)

  • Nazi vote: 2.6% (1928) $\rightarrow$ 37.4% (July 1932). Hitler claimed to be “Germany’s saviour from Marxism.”
  • Hitler’s appeal rested on charismatic oratory, a cult of personality, and promises of national rebirth.
  • Middle classes feared communism, so the Nazi SA fought Red Front fighters, creating a perception of strength and order.
  • Big business support: Thyssen and Krupp donated to stop socialist revolution.

👑 Hitler’s Rise to Power

  • Backroom Deals: Von Papen persuaded Hindenburg that Hitler could be “boxed in” — a fatal misjudgement. Hitler became Chancellor on 30 January 1933.
  • Reichstag Fire (27 Feb 1933): Used to arrest 4,000 communists; the Decree for the Protection of the People and the State suspended civil liberties.
  • Enabling Act (March 1933): Passed with Centre Party support, establishing a constitutional dictatorship.
  • July 1933: All parties except NSDAP were banned; trade unions dissolved.

🗡 Night of the Long Knives (30 June 1934)

  • Hitler eliminated Röhm (SA leader) and over 200 others — securing the loyalty of the Reichswehr (army).
  • He used the excuse of “protecting Germany,” gaining public approval and legalizing murder via retroactive legislation.
  • Turning Point: The Nazis now relied on the army and SS, rather than SA street violence.

🔒 Nazi Control: Propaganda & Terror

  • Goebbels’ Ministry of Propaganda: Controlled all media. By 1939, 70% of homes had radios, used for direct Nazi messaging.
  • Censorship: Included book burnings (1933) and regulation of the film industry to glorify Hitler.
  • Terror: The Gestapo (secret police) and SS enforced compliance — 160,000 Germans were in “protective custody” by 1939.
  • DAF (German Labour Front) replaced unions — strikes were banned, and workers were spied upon.
  • Propaganda: Films like “The Eternal Jew” spread anti-Semitic ideas to justify persecution.

📚 Nazi Youth and Education

  • Hitler Youth: Compulsory by 1936; taught obedience, militarism, and loyalty.
  • Education Nazi-fied: 97% of teachers joined the Nazi Teachers’ League. Biology focused on racial purity and eugenics; History focused on the Versailles betrayal; Physical Education time quadrupled.
  • Girls joined the League of German Maidens, focusing on domestic skills, racial education, and motherhood training.

👩 Women Under Nazis

  • The ideal woman was Aryan, fertile, and obedient.
  • Law for the Encouragement of Marriage (1933) gave loans for women quitting jobs; loans were reduced with more children.
  • The Motherhood Cross was awarded for 4+ children (bronze), 6+ (silver), and 8+ (gold).
  • Contradiction: By 1937, women were increasingly needed in the workforce due to conscription.

🕊️ Opposition to Hitler

  • Edelweiss Pirates & Swing Youth resisted cultural conformity; they wore banned clothes and listened to jazz. Some were hanged in 1944.
  • White Rose Group (1942–43): University students distributed anti-Nazi leaflets.
  • July Bomb Plot (1944): Stauffenberg tried to assassinate Hitler — 5,000 were executed in retaliation. The Kreisau Circle was involved.
  • Catholic Resistance: Cardinal Galen denounced euthanasia; the Pope issued Mit brennender Sorge (1937), condemning Nazi ideology.

🔥 Persecution of Jews

  • Nuremberg Laws (1935): Stripped Jews of citizenship and forbade Aryan-Jewish marriage.
  • Kristallnacht (9–10 Nov 1938): 91 Jews killed, 1,000 synagogues destroyed, 30,000 sent to camps.
  • Wannsee Conference (Jan 1942): Planned the Final Solution — the genocide of 6 million Jews.
  • Victims of persecution also included Roma, disabled people (T4 programme), homosexuals, and political prisoners.

⚔️ WWII and Its Impact

  • Operation Barbarossa (1941): Invasion of the USSR to defeat communism and gain Lebensraum — directly aligned with Hitler’s foreign policy.
  • Total War: Involved rationing, conscription of women (by 1943), and Allied bombing (e.g., Dresden — 25,000 dead).
  • 12 million ethnic Germans were displaced at war’s end; cities like Berlin faced starvation.
  • Collapse of Nazi Regime: Hitler’s suicide on 30 April 1945; unconditional surrender on 8 May 1945.

Weimar Culture (1919–1933)

  • Cinema: Metropolis (1927), directed by Fritz Lang, was one of the first major science fiction films, symbolizing both technological modernity and fear of dehumanization.
  • Art: Otto Dix and George Grosz used expressionism to criticize militarism and corruption in post-war Germany. Their work often exposed the brutalities of war and inequality.
  • Architecture: The Bauhaus movement (founded by Walter Gropius) promoted modernist, functional design and reflected the forward-thinking optimism of the republic.

Nazi Economic Recovery (1933–1939)

  • RAD (Reich Labour Service): Mandatory from 1935 for all men aged 18–25. Provided jobs in public works — seen as militarized labour. Uniforms, drills, and low wages built discipline.
  • Rearmament: The army expanded from 100,000 in 1933 to 1.4 million by 1939. Conscription (1935) alone created 1 million jobs. Arms spending reached 26 billion Reichsmarks by 1939.
  • Volkswagen Scheme (1938): The “People’s Car” was a propaganda success. Workers paid into a savings scheme (but never received cars) — demonstrating the illusion of prosperity.