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The Great Depression - Coggle Diagram
The Great Depression
Effects
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soaring unemployment (40% manual industrial workers with long term unemployment, 60% under the age of 30)
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Germany
Chancellors
Hermann Müller 
SPD Leader party who once served as Foreign Minster signing the Treaty of Versailles, and during his second time as Chancellor tries to form a Coalition government against the effects of the Great Depression.
Failed due to lack of support from Hindenburg and resigns.
By March 1930 increasing unemployment had created a deficit in the new national insurance scheme and the four major parties couldn’t agree on how to handle it.
The SPD, with its connections to trade unions, wanted to increase contributions; while the DVP with its strong ties to industrialists, wanted to reduce benefits
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The beacon of political stability that the Grand Coalition had proven to be since it was formed in 1928 had collapsed.
- How did effective government come to an end by 1932? (i.e collapse of Grand Coalition and the beginning of presidential rule)
A friend of Hindenburg. He had limited political experience but was asked to be Chancellor in1932. After his prompt dismissal, he intrigued with Hitler to replace Schleicher, being appointed Vice-Chancellor in January 1933 before resigning in July 1934
After pushing for Bruning’s resignation, Schleicher sought to influence Hindenburg with the recommendation of Franz Von Papen for chancellor.
Papen was ambitious but lacking in understanding and experience. His new cabinet was nicknamed the ‘Cabinet of Barons.’
It was a presidential government dominated by aristocratic landowners and industrialists, many were not even Reichstag members. This was a further sign that democracy was a façade.
Papen’s lack of ability appealed to Schleicher, who wanted to influence events directly through him.
To strengthen the govt, Papen and Schleicher sought to secure political support from the Nazis. Hitler agreed not to oppose the new govt in return for:
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His hope was that this agreement would create a right-wing authoritarian govt with some popular support from the Nazis. Papen and Schleicher agreed.
The Reichstag was dissolved and an election called for 31 July 1932. The Nazis won 230 seats and 37.3% of the vote becoming the largest political party in the Reichstag (although still no majority).
Hitler demanded to be made Chancellor, but Hindenburg refused. Hindenburg held little respect for Hitler, he had only gained his German citizenship in 1932 and was a low ranked corporal in WW1.
Hindenburg referred to him as the ‘little Bohemian corporal’– he has been misinformed by someone that Hitler was from the Czech region of Bohemia rather than Vienna.
- Why did Hitler not become Chancellor in 1932?
Considered the army to be the true embodiment of the German nation, more so than the Weimar Republic. Holds various posts through 1919 and 1932, linking both the army and the governments.
Responsible for getting Hindenburg to appoint Bruning, Papen and then reluctantly himself. By 1932, he was worried by the Nazi's growing influence and tried to curb them by integrating the party into the government but was unsuccessful soon being murdered in the Night of the Long Knives in 1934.
Papen believed that the Nazis had reached the zenith (peak) of their electoral support and so called another election in November.
The Nazi vote fell to 11.7 million (33.1%) which gave them 196 seats. It seemed as if the policy of legality had led nowhere.
The Nazis were short of money, their morale was low and the electorate was growing tired of elections.
The Communist Party (KPD) gained their most seats in this election (100), which struck fear into members of the conservative elite.
Papen again was unable to form a workable coalition from the election and Hitler again refused to join the government except as Chancellor.
In his frustration at not being able to gain the support of the Reichstag, Papen considered a drastic alternative: dissolving the Reichstag, declaring martial law and establishing a presidential dictatorship.
Schleicher disapproved of this plan, fearing that it would lead to civil unrest to ignore the popular support for the Nazi Party.
Schleicher informed Hindenburg that the army lacked confidence in Papen. He persuaded Hindenburg to dismiss Papen and appoint him as Chancellor.
On taking over the Chancellorship, Schleicher tried to win over support from the more left-wing element of the Nazi Party by making influential Nazi, Gregor Strasser, his Vice- Chancellor and introducing land resettlement schemes.
However, Hitler pounced on the news and dismissed Strasser. Schleicher’s economic proposals also alienated the elite who warned Hindenburg of ‘agrarian Bolshevism’ (Communism).
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Leader of the Center Party being appointed Chancellor 1930. Call an election in order to win Reichstag support, which instead led to major gains for extremists. Engage in austerity program
Heinrich Bruning succeeded Muller as Chancellor, making a crucial step towards the end of Parliamentary democracy.
Bruning attempted to balance the budget, prevent inflation and get rid of reparations, via austerity measures like spending cuts and raising taxes.
However, this lowered demand and led to a worsening of the slump. Unemployment rose and welfare provision seriously declined. He gained the nickname the ‘Hunger Chancellor’.
- Why was Chancellor Bruning so unpopular?
His response to the economic crisis led to political constitutional crisis. He proposed cuts to govt expenditure to balance the budget, however the Reichstag rejected this.
Bruning, despite this, put the proposals into effect by means of Article 48, which then was challenged by the Reichstag. At this deadlock he called for an election September 1930.
Bruning hoped that the crisis would encourage people to support the parties of the Centre-right and then they would form a coalition. However, he was proved wrong and the real winners were the Nazis – they won 107 seats.
The election of September 1930 had led to Bruning’s position being a difficult one as he was forced to lead a minority govt, but he still had the support of President Hindenburg.
Parliamentary government became ‘presidential government’ with some Reichstag backing. From 1930-2 Bruning ran Germany by the use of Article 48 – this gave the President the power to rule by emergency decree, therefore bypassing the Reichstag.
It was Bruning’s land reform proposal that ultimately signalled his end. His aim to redistribute land from the Prussian aristocracy to unemployed workers was dubbed ‘agrarian Bolshevism’.
It was Kurt Von Schleicher that encouraged Hindenburg to dismiss Bruning, thus starting several months of intrigue (plotting) that would eventually lead to Hitler’s appointment as Chancellor.
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In an act that would exemplify the intrigue (plotting) that had become such a strong feature of Weimar politics in 1932, in January 1933, likely in revenge for his own dismissal.
Papen, after conspiring with Hitler. persuaded Hindenburg to dismiss Schleicher so that he could form a government which had majority support in the Reichstag.
The idea was for a Nazi-Nationalist coalition government. Hitler would be Chancellor and Papen Vice-Chancellor.
Hindenburg agreed to this because he felt, on Papen’s encouragement, that the traditional conservatives and Nationalists would contain the Nazis.
- How was he finally maneuvered/helped into power?
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The President and his advisers decided to appoint Chancellors of their own choosing. They then let them rule through Article 48 of the Constitution. None of their policies did much to end the Depression.
Unpopular Policies
The government tried to come up with a policy to solve the depression. They wanted to reduce prices so they cut wages and government jobs and reduced unemployment benefit. Sadly this made things worse, at least to begin with.
Causes
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Germany
Germany’s economy had relied on Dawes Plan loans but as American economy.
German businesses had foolishly failed to invest the loans properly so their industries had little chance of survival on their own.
Much of the money had gone to the great big corporations which employed large numbers of men.
Middle sized enterprises might have been able to keep going but the large industries ground to a halt.
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