Background research

What was the Weimar Republic?

• Declared in February 1919
• Attempt at a democratic state
• http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/history/mwh/germany/weimarstrengthweakrev1.shtml

What were conditions in Germany like during the Depression 1929-1932?

• Wall Street Crash October 1929
• Industrial production

1913 - 100
1927- 110
1929 - 114
1930 - 99
1932 - 66
1933 - 74

• By 1932 18,000 farmers had gone bankrupt
• 50,000 business going bankrupt 1930-1932
• By 1932 over 6 million unemployed
• Not just loss of income but feelings of rejection and uselessness leading to psychological effects
• From; Hite and Hinton, Weimar and Nazi Germany Hodder Murray , 2000 pg 102-3

How did the Nazis do in elections?

• Nazi voters in millions

1928 - 0.8
1930 - 6.4
1932 (July) - 13.7
1932 (November) - 11.7

• Members of the NSDAP (000s)

1920 (November) - 2
1923 (November)- 55
1925 (January) - 27
1929 (December) - 178
1930 (October) - 300
1932 (December) - 800


Why did they become the biggest party in the Reichstag by 1932? How did they appeal to different sections in society?