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Nazism - Coggle Diagram

- - - - Nazi officials -> afraid of taking decisions without Hitler, as he had last word
      - Hitler's pronouncements -> oral -> more difficult to "guess" wish -> scholars believe that the final order to exterminate the Jews was given orally as there is no written document stating such order
    - - If a sentence, despite becoming final, was considered to be contrary to the Nazi ideology, the party officer, could write a claim and bring it to the Führer’s attention, allowing the process to be re-opened. Frequent technique for intervening in court's operation -> complaint of nullity
  - - - SS Schuzstaffeln was the protection squad (most important)
        
        1929, HEINRICH HIMMLER was one of the most powerful man in Germany → appointed head of the SS. He expanded and transformed the government (security and policy). SS focused on the racial emphasis of the Nazi ideology and provided the strongest impetus behind the most radical measures of Nazism
        
        30s is was responsible for the Jews persecution and execution in the concentration camps
        
        Emerged in 1925 as a small bodyguard unit to protect Hitler, and some other Nazi leaders
      - Gestapo, Geheime Staatspolizei (Secret State Police)
        
        1933 under HERMANN GÖRING → 1936 under the command of HEINRICH HIMMLER
        
        Investigations of cases of treason, espionage, sabotage and criminal attacks on the Nazi Party → Schutzhaft (power to imprison people without the need of judicial proceeding)
        
        Gestapo could even operate above the law whenever the security of the state was considered at risk (issue of interpretation) -> people could be taken away by the Gestapo also during trial, to be then sent to a concentration camp
  - - - Legally - Nuremberg laws of 1935 -> Marriages and extramarital sexual relations between Jews and subjects of German or related blood, marriages between Hews and Germans - IMPORTANT: Proclaimed Jews were subject of the state, not citizens. Difference: subjects only had duties and not rights. Jews were also subjected to public abuse, violence and constant discrimination*
      - 9th November 1938 → Kristallnacht (Night of Broken Glass) thousand of Jews owned stores, synagogue, and shops where smashed and burned throughout Germany by soldiers and party mobs. Jews dead and thousands arrested the following day.
  - - - The Germany swastika hooks were pointed anti clockwise to represent death
        The original swastika hooks were pointing clockwise to represent the rise of the sun
- - - - Council of workers and soldiers created and founded, after the Russian model, the German communist party whose leader was Karl Liebknecht
      - Discontent with the war and the regime were the main causes of the revolts ↓
      - 9 November 1918 - Abdication of Kaiser Wilhelm II and subsequent proclamation of the Republic by NICOLAS SCHEIDEMANN
      - 11 November 1918 - Signing of the armistice with the victorious powers
    - - Two main left-wing parties: Social democrats (moderate) and Independent Socialists and the Communists aka Spartacus -> more radical
        
        Problem: SD wanted new elections to create a social democracy, a social democratic regime. On the other hand, the communist wanted to create a council soviet republic similar to the one established by the Bolsheviks in Russia.
      - December 1918 - January 1919
        
        Communist rebellion suppressed by army (gov)
        
        More than 150 dead, including Karl Liebknecht and Rosa Luxemburg
        
        Jan 1919 elections of new republic, results looked traditional: 163 SD, 94 Liberals, 73 Catholics -> formed coalition government
        
        Jan - June -> National Constituent assembly created to draw the Weimar Constitution in Weimar (Berlin too dangerous due to revolts)
        
        Republic was constitutional and fully parliamentary, as the cabinet and every single minister depended on the confidence of the Reichstag, which could bring down governments without producing alternative cabinet
        
        President’s position was greatly strengthened by the fact that he was elected by the people and that he appointed both the HOG and other members of the cabinet. The power of the president, the chancellor and the Reichstag was so great all over the republic that one might be justified in speaking of a decentralised unitary state.
        
        Executive power was in the hands of the president, chancellor and cabinet
        
        Legislation belonged to the Reichstag, partly elected by general male suffrage
        
        Main issue: constitution wasn’t created to deal with emergencies and times of crisis + inexperience ↓
        The first article of the constitution is paradoxical as it states that the “German Reich was a republic”, the word Reich refers to an empire, not a republic
        
        Tried to find balance between model of presidential republic and parliamentary republic
        
        President elected for 7 years by universal suffrage
        
        HOG -> depended on the confidence of the parliament (elected every 4 years by universal suffrage holding legislative powers)
        
        IMPORTANT: fundamental relationship between the executive and legislative branches the last years of the Weimar regime witnessed a striking shift away from parliament and towards the president, without any formal change in the Constitution, technically, however, parliament should have been the cornerstone of power ↓
        
        Technically, however, parliament should have been the cornerstone of power → reality: last years of Parliament, the latter lost it’s impact as it decided to give more power to the president → PAUL VAN HINDENBURG
        
        Through ARTICLE 48, parliament gave power to the president - “If public security and order are seriously disturbed or endangered within the German Reich, the President of the Reich may take measures necessary for their restoration, intervening if need be with the assistance of the armed forces. For this purpose he may suspend for a while, in whole or in part, the fundamental rights provided in Articles 114, 115, 117, 118, 123, 124 and 153. If a federal state did not fulfil the duties imposed by the constitution, the president may make use of the armed force to compel the state to do so. (Power to send the national army to a specific federal state to compel it to do something)"
        
        Even before Hitler's rise, many emergency decrees were issued, as Article 48 was considered a necessary, but temporary tool to save the circumstances in times of serious crisis - Article 48 as a stabilising factor
        
        Prior 1933, the Reichstag sometimes gave government full legislative powers by passing enabling acts ENABLING ACTS
        
        Important to remember, second part of the constitution identified rights of German citizens
        
        Some duties -> unexpected for the time - example: duty of the parents to provide a good physical and spiritual education for the children + duty of every German citizens to dispose its property in view of the common good (can see the socialist influence)
        
        Discrimination based on birth or social position were forbidden
  - - - Two main issues
        
        Treaty of Versailles
        
        Signed under the threat of renew hostilities, although the conditions were very harsh
        
        Germany lost almost 1/8 of its territory (Alsace Lorraine)
        
        Damaged amounted to 226 billion
        
        Acknowledge exclusive guilt for the war - historically incorrect and unnecessary humiliating clause
        
        Stab in the back legend, VERY SIMILAR TO MUTILATED VICTORY in Italy - Socialist government, the one of Scheidemann and the Jews betrayed the German army signing the treaty - evidence of anti-semitism prior Hitler
        
        The economy
        
        Inflation -> aggravated by the reparations
        
        January 1923 Ruhr crisis - invasion of industrial part of Germany by Belgian and French soldiers -> point € collapsed -> mark had no value -> barter replaced coinage
    - - Aka Stresemann period
      - Stresemann brought vital economic developments → stabilisation of the currency and agreement on war reparations Dawes Plan 1924 - the German industry was able to recover pre war levels
      - Benefits in the international arena: foreign political relations treaty with Russia 1922, Locarno Pact with Britain (détente effect), France, Italy, and Belgium 1925 and League of Nations 1926
    - - German dependency on American support -> massive unemployment - 60 million beginning 1932
- - - - Decree issued was called the Protection of People and State: “Articles 114, 115, 117, 118, 123, 124 and 153 of the Constitution of the German Reich are suspended until further notice." t is therefore permissible to restrict the rights of personal freedom [habeas corpus], freedom of (opinion) expression, including the freedom of the press, the freedom to organise and assemble...
      - CRUCIAL: None of the suspended articles were never reestablished for the following 12 years
  - - - Within the Nazi party, there was a threat posed by the unruly SA and its leader, ERNST RÖHM, who wanted a new revolution and the Army’s incorporation into the SA
        Similarity with Fascism: some members of the Camicie Nere were more radical compared and wanted to further purse the revolution
      - Röhm and Hitler -> disagreed. Hitler couldn't unite the SA with the army, as he needed the latter's support in his forthcoming moves -> outcome: Röhm was liquidated and later killed in NoLK
      - On the NoLK, about 100 dead -> Röhm, all the other leaders of the SA, and many old rivals of Hitler, including the minister of Bavaria - Röhm's killing within the party was justified killing of Röhm within the party, by Hitler sharing some accusations about Röhm's homosexuality, something which wasn’t well considered in the party
      - Difference with fascism: Mussolini wasn’t so careful of anticipating the rivals and their moves, he didn’t eliminates the most radical black shirts or the leaders who wanted to oppose his power (sometimes he tried to move them away, Africa). There wasn’t and Italian long knives. Mussolini has a strong internal opposition which he didn’t take care of.
  - - - CRUCIal: act violated the Constitution and the Enabling Act which stated that the rights of the president were to be unaffected → considered as the final formalistic respect of the constitution -> MARKED THE END OF THE LEGAL REVOLUTION
        
        Crowning achievement of Hitler’s rise to power was the replacement of the army oath of loyalty to the constitution with a new oath of loyalty to Hitler - October 1934
        
        IMPORTANT: too simplistic to attribute Hitler's success merely to the improved €. For the first time in many years, public order was restored, situation people hardly remembered -> gave country impression of being ruled by an effective government
- - - - Difference with Fascism: Hitter’s rise to power was very long (1921-1933) compared to Mussolini’s
  - - - 600 SA tried to march on Berlin in November 1923 - Munich Putsch or Bear Hall Putsch