Germany: Aims and results of policies Notes

Factors Influencing Democratic Evolution in Germany

1. Extremism and the collapse of democracy in Weimar Germany
   1. During the Weimar Republic, political extremism on both the left (communists) and the right (Nazis) weakened democracy by rejecting compromise.
   2. Extremist groups used violence, intimidation, and uprisings, which undermined respect for democratic institutions.
   3. Moderate democratic parties struggled to govern due to polarisation and weak coalition governments.
   4. The failure of democracy during Weimar made many Germans initially skeptical of parliamentary systems.
   5. However, this experience later taught Germans that extremism led to dictatorship, not stability.

1. Economic collapse and the rise of Nazism
   1. The Great Depression after 1929 caused mass unemployment and poverty in Germany.
   2. Millions lost faith in democratic leaders who seemed unable to solve the crisis.
   3. The Nazi Party exploited economic fear, promising jobs, national pride, and strong leadership.
   4. As a result, many Germans supported authoritarian solutions over democracy.
   5. This showed how economic instability can destroy democratic support.

1. Nazi dictatorship and its horrors (1933–1945)
   1. After 1933, Germany became a one-party Nazi dictatorship, ending democracy entirely.
   2. Political opponents were arrested, imprisoned, or killed, and civil liberties were abolished.
   3. The regime carried out systematic persecution of Jews, leading to the Holocaust, in which six million Jews were murdered.
   4. Millions of others, including Roma, disabled people, political opponents, and LGBTQ individuals, were also persecuted and killed.
   5. Nazi policies led to total war, mass destruction, and moral collapse, culminating in defeat in 1945.

Case study

The Holocaust and the Collapse of Democracy in Germany

• After Hitler came to power in 1933, democratic rights such as freedom of speech, press, and opposition parties were removed.
• The Nazi regime used racist ideology and propaganda to target Jews as enemies of the state.
• The Nuremberg Laws (1935) stripped Jews of citizenship and legal rights, showing the total destruction of rule of law.
• During the Second World War, this persecution escalated into the Holocaust, in which six million Jews were systematically murdered.
• The Holocaust was only possible because democracy had collapsed and Germany became a totalitarian dictatorship where the state faced no legal or moral limits.

1. Defeat in WWII and Allied occupation (1945)
   1. Germany’s total defeat in 1945 destroyed faith in dictatorship and militarism.
   2. The country lay in ruins, with millions dead, cities destroyed, and society traumatised.
   3. The Allied occupation removed Nazi officials, banned the Nazi Party, and carried out denazification.
   4. Democratic political parties were encouraged in West Germany, while East Germany fell under Soviet control.
   5. Many Germans accepted democracy because Nazism had led to disaster, guilt, and international shame.

1. Cold War division and the choice of democracy in West Germany
   1. Germany was divided into democratic West Germany (FRG) and communist East Germany (GDR).
   2. The Cold War forced West Germany to align with Western democratic values.
   3. Fear of communism and Soviet control made democracy appear the safer option.
   4. West Germany adopted a strong democratic constitution, the Basic Law (1949).
   5. Economic recovery and political stability helped democracy gain long-term legitimacy.
2. Why Germany became inclined toward democracy after 1945
   1. Democracy was embraced not because it was perfect, but because Nazism had failed catastrophically.
   2. Germans associated dictatorship with genocide, war, destruction, and moral collapse.
   3. Democracy offered peace, economic recovery, and international acceptance.