How did the Depression Help the Nazis?

1a. Source 37:
This source could be used to support either view; it could support that the people supported the Nazis because they were against the issue of unemployment, or it could support that people thought the Nazis were best fit to solve that problem and as it grew, so did their support.

1b. Source 38:

This source clearly supports Goebbels' position, because it was about someone gaining support for the Nazis by seeing the storm troopers' parade. That wasn't about a mutual fear or hatred with the Nazis, but about a positive quality the Nazis had.

1c. Source 39:

This source supports Craig's point of view, because it shows the Nazis opposition to the Treaty of Versailles. This was a dislike that probably all of Germany shared with the Nazis.

1d. Source 40:

This supports Goebbels' position because it shows the size of the Nazi rallies and how much support the Nazis had. It showed a positive trait of the Nazis.

1e. Source 41:

This supports Craig's argument, because it shows the evils of the Communist Party, who were the Nazis' enemies. The Communist Party was a mutual fear and hatred between the Nazis and many people.

1f. Source 43:
This source can easily support both arguments, because it shows both positives about the Nazis and negatives about its opponents. It shows the good things that the Nazi party is promising, while it shows that the other parties are bad and corrupt.

2.
A large part reason for the Nazis' gaining support was opposing the things that the German people also opposed.

• They opposed the Treaty of Versailles, which was the main cause of Germany's crisis apart from the Great Depression
• They attacked the violent Communist Party and its evils, as in source 41
• Also attacked the Weimar system and the democratic leaders for not getting anything done in improving the country
• They feared that traditional German values were in danger

Scale of 1-5 with 5 being you agree fully.
3a. Score: 4 Very few people fully supported the Nazis.
Explain your score:

Although the Nazis had gained a lot of support, that was only after the country fell into the Great Depression, and when the people realized that the system they had hoped for before wasn't working. The people supported the Nazis because they promised to solve the country's problems and they opposed many of the right things.

3b. Score: 5 The key factor was the economic depression. Without it, the Nazis would have remained a minority fringe party.
Explain your score:
The Great Depression is how the Nazis got people to support them, because it's what got people thinking that the democratic Weimar system wasn't working, and they needed a stronger force to take control and bring the country back to prosperity. The Nazis promised to provide this strong leadership and save Germany from its depression.

3c. Score: 2 The politicians of the Weimar Republic were mainly responsible for the rise of the Nazis.
Explain your score:

The politicians of the Weimar Republic were largely responsible for the rise of the Nazis because they were unable to support the country by democratic means, which made the people turn to a more radical solution and support the Nazis, and they also appointed Hitler as chancellor, thinking that would make him adapt their ideals. They were horribly wrong, of course, and once Hitler was chancellor, he was set to take power of Germany. However, many other factors were equally, or even more important than the Weimar Republic politicians. The Great Depression was used to the Nazis advantage to gain support, and Hitler had good leadership qualities. Plus, the Nazis promised to save the country, which is what the people wanted. Naturally, the Nazis' support grew as the people turned to a more radical solution when the democratic alternative failed.

Churchill Criticizes the German Fleet

1. Explain in your own words what Churchill sees as the difference between the significance of the German and the British fleets.

To Churchill, Britain's navy is purely for defense. It is necessary for them to have a powerful navy in order to protect themselves and Britain's existence. Britain has no aims of aggression or offensiveness with their super-powerful navy. Germany's navy "is to them more in the nature of a luxury." Germany built up its navy so it could contend with Britain's. Its aims are indeed offensive and unnecessary. It is not for defense, but for the sake of being as powerful as Germany can be.

2. Look carefully at the language Churchill uses in describing the German fleet. What impression of the German fleet does his choice of language give?
Churchill's language in describing the German army gives the impression that Germany is aggressive and selfish. At one point, he states that Britain's navy is what makes it a Great Power, and is its only source of superiority. Germany, on the other hand, was respected as a Great Power before it had any ships. It didn't need a navy to be a superior Great Power, it just wanted more and more power so it built up its navy as well.

3. What does Churchill mean by "the ratio which our naval strength will have to bear to other great naval Powers"?
When Churchill says "the ratio which our naval strength will have to bear to other great naval powers," he is talking about its famous immense naval superiority. Germany, with superior power plus a formidable navy, will largely decrease the margin by which Britain has superiority due to its navy alone. The navy was Britain's power, and by coming close to equal power, Germany was reducing Britain's power and superiority, and threatening its safety.

4. How exactly is Churchill threatening Germany in this speech?
Churchill threatens Germany in this speech by saying that Britain will build up its navy even larger and more powerful, so that not only will it's margin of superiority still be there, but it will be an even greater superiority than before. It will be an even greater power, and Germany will face the consequence of being left in the dust in a naval arms race.

5. This speech was studied very carefully by the German government (as Churchill knew it would be). Which parts of it might give the German government grounds to complain to the British government? What do you think was the effect Churchill intended this speech to have in Germany?

The German government could complain about this speech for numerous reasons. First of all, Britain criticizes Germany for expanding his army, and accuses them of being selfish in a quest for excessive power. Britain also accuses them of upsetting the balance of the Great Powers, and forcing Britain to expand its nave further, as well, in order to remain at its position of naval superiority, and it says that it intends to do so, launching a naval arms race between the nations. Churchill's intentions were probably to frighten Germany, and make them stop the expansion of their navy for fear that Britain's navy will become even more powerful than it already is. Also, it was also probably intended to hurt Germany's reputation and get the other nations angry at Germany for excessively expanding its power. Churchill states that Britain's navy is entirely defensive, but the speech in which he states it is highly offensive against Germany.

Bismarck & Europe 1871- 1878

1. What were Otto von Bismarck's aims in foreign policy following Germany's victory over France in 1871?

In 1871, France was defeated in the Franco-Prussian War by Germany, which made Germany the greatest power in Europe, and satisfied Otto Von Bismark with a Prussian-dominated Germany. Although it was feared that Germany, in it's rising power, would continue to grow stronger and expand further, that was not Bismark's intention. He had achieved his goal, and his intention was to maintain peace in Europe to protect Germany's security. In order to maintain peace, something had to be done about the multiple conflicts between European countries. The largest issues were France, and its bitterness and thirst for revenge. Although France alone posed no serious threat to Germany, if it were to form an alliance with Russia or Austria-Hungary, then Germany could be facing a multi-front war. Also, the declining Ottoman Empire was losing control over its territory in the Balkan region, and there were disputes between nations on what to do with the land that the Ottoman Empire may lose. In order to maintain peace, Bismark's plan was to isolate France and reduce the conflict between Austria-Hungary and Russia over the Balkans, but not so much that they would not need to depend on Germany, and might possibly conspire against it. First, Bismark had to assure leaders of the other nations that he had truly become a man of peace.

In order to begin maintaining peace in Europe, Bismark consistently assured everyone that he had peaceful intentions, and his words were reinforced by the meetings between the German Kaiser, the Austria-Hungarian Emperor, and the Tsar of Russia, which became the Three Emperors' League. It expressed the three leaders' desires to maintain peace between each other, and avoid conflict over the Balkan region. However, Bismark ruined his plans for peace when he accused France of preparing for war against Germany, and threatened them, to which they responded with a threat saying they would have support from Great Britain and Russia in the event of German threats. Bismark made a foolish, clumsy mistake that went against all he had been trying so hard to convince the people of.

2. Why did events between the years 1875-78 in the Balkans lead to a crisis between the Great Powers?

In the year 1875, a rising in Bosnia and Herzegovnia against Turkish rule upset the balance and peace between Austria-Hungary, Germany, and Russia. In 1876 the revolt had spread to Bulgaria, Serbia, Montenegro, and part of the Ottoman Empire. This re-opened the Eastern Question, and Bismark had to mediate between Russia and Austria-Hungary without appearing to take the side of either, or else the other might seek France's support against Germany. Russia wanted to protect its fellow slavs in Serbia in order to protect the slavic influence in other nations, and Austria-Hungary was interested in land in the Balkans. Both Austria-Hungary and Russia sought to gain something out of the crisis, and neither seemed to be willing to settle or back down. By 1877, thousands of Russian volunteers were assisting Serbia, and Russia's patience was exhausted. Austria-Hungary only agreed to remain neutral in the war as long as its interests in the Balkans were met, and Britain refused to allow Russian gain at the expense of Turkey. The Turks finally defeated Serbia, and Russia felt obliged to get involved for the sake of their fellow slavs, so they declared war on Turkey in April. 1877

Russia met skillful resistance from the Turks, but ultimately won the war, and in their victory they extracted severe terms from Turkey, and made some big territory gains. This, of course, upset Great Britain, who sent troops to back Turkey and pin Russia down. Also, Austria-Hungary was upset with Russia's actions, because they had tried so hard to work out an agreement involving the Ottoman Empire and the Balkans, but Russia went and defeated Turkey in war, and used that as much to their advantage as possible. Austria-Hungarian anger, and British military forced Russia to agree to a revision of the peace terms in 1878.