Paper 2 Notes

Authoritarian States: Emergence

Germany

Context for why German people sought change:

• Defeat in WWI left many disillusioned
• Nationalists believed in “stab in the back”
• Treaty of Versailles with overly punitive terms
• War debts and reparations led to crisis in the Ruhr (1923)
• Passive resistance led to hyperinflation
• Contributes to Beer Hall Putsch later that year
• Dawes plan solves this but Great Depression ruins it again
• High unemployment of 30% by 1932
• Weimar constitution had faults
• Article 48 gave emergency decree power to president
• Proportional representation didn’t allow decisive rule and instead relied on unstable coalition governments
• Large polarization among population
• Spartacists were inspired by Bolshevik revolution
• Freikorps were violent torturing and executing Rosa Luxemburg and Karl Liebknecht after Spartacist uprising
• Many revolutions e.g. Spartacist revolution (1919) Kapp Putsch (1920) Munich Putsch (1923)

Factors for how authoritarianism rose in Germany:

Political

• November criminals and stab in the back turned people against democracy which they had never fought for which begs the question- did they want democracy? (side note: relate to AJP Taylor’s Sonderweg theory)
• Treaty of Versailles humiliated Germany and took away their self-determination
• Continuation of elites in power yet not successfully as with the Kaisers
• People hated the elites and inequality was huge
• Political instability and Weimar constitution
• 15 different chancellors in 14 years + political intrigue
• Proportional representation and coalition governments
• Article 48 was overused following the Great Depression
• polarization of political spectrum
• Spartacists Freikorps Nazis
• Agrarian league was composed of conservative nationalists
• Sonderweg vs. Great Man Theory
• Every other alternative was exhausted (Von Papen Schleicher)

Economic

• 6.6-billion-pound reparation free led to 1923 hyperinflation
• Loss of land and resources due to Treaty of Versailles
• French to mine coal in Saarland for 15 years
• Port of Danzig given to Poland
• Crisis in the Ruhr + Belgian humiliation
• Dawes and Young plan essentially accepted treaty of Versailles but were only temporary solutions
• Great Depression shortly after Stressmann’s death leaving no one to lead them through it
• Hindenburg begins using article 48 more frequently after the Great Depression
• 6 million people were unemployed
• Karl Bracher is a structuralist claiming events are what shape history in this case the Great Depression catapulted the Nazis into power

War

• Wars of unification in 1860s-1870s
• Express national pride and identity
• Franco-Prussian war of 1871 proclaimed Germany as a nation in Versailles
• Building an empire with rapidly ascending economy and military
• Three emperors league dominated eastern Europe (Germany Russia Austria-Hungary)
• People looked at this with nostalgia
• World War One
• Led to stab in the back in Versailles
• Vengeance proposed by authoritarianism
• 750000 civilians and millions of soldiers killed turned to martyrs by authoritarianism

Nazi Methods

• Fuhrerprinzip
• Hitlerism linking to Sonderweg theory
• Bullock and Kershaw emphasize Hitler’s “dark charisma”
• Advocated for national unity
• Help people forget about class as it is a social construct
• Said they were going to solve people’s problems exploiting their fears of poverty the treaty of Versailles communism etc.
• Propaganda
• Making promises of work and bread
• Rallies newspapers posters
• Elites funded propaganda over fear of communism
• Trial following Munich Putsch served for national exposure
• Coercion and force
• Nazis changes strategy after failed putsch to obtain power democratically
• SA intimidated political opponents and voters becoming 2 million large
• Every class feared communism

China

Factors for how authoritarianism rose in China

Political

• China was struggling to establish itself internationally
• Qing dynasty had seen losses in the Opium Wars and Sino-Japanese war
• European powers were taking advantage of this, and many Chinese territories were falling under their influence e.g. Hong Kong (Britain), Outer Mongolia (Russia)
• Led to discontent and formation of Yihetuan secret society and Boxer rebellion (1899-1901) against foreign influence
• Xinhai revolution occurred and put an end to the Qing dynasty (1911)
• Warlords rose throughout China
• This period of warlordism occurred amid political instability, as the Qing dynasty ended, and the Republic of China was formed
• This led to many military leaders attempting to seize power and creating increased amounts of violence and conflict
• From 1923-27 the warlords took control of their regions in China, making for different forms of government in different areas
• CCP and KMT formed a coalition to end imperialism and warlordism
• After the invasion of Manchuria (1935), the KMT used its alliance to the USA to take over the whole of China
• Their policies and crackdown treatment were the as the warlords
• This pushed people into the arms of the CCP

Economic

• Underdeveloped and agrarian economy
• 90% of peasants living in villages
• Majority of these farmers were at the mercy of rich landlords
• Increased levels of unemployment
• Increased population put a strain on arable land available which led to peasants losing their farmland and thus increasing unemployment
• Warlordism interrupted economy
• Poor living conditions
• Peasants experienced exploitation, famine and unemployment
• Warlords wanted territory, power and wealth at any cost
• Nanjing decade (1927-1937)
• Development in industry and finance sector as central bank and new currency was created
• Jiang Jieshi still did little to help the peasant community as they still formed 85% of the population
• Mao Zedong exploited the value of the peasantry for a future takeover
• Conflict
• Scorched earth policy and bombing of industrial sites during Sino-Japanese war (1937) hurt economy
• Nationalists flooded yellow river to keep the Japanese from advancing which led to millions losing their homes, 11 cities flooded and hundreds of thousand killed
• Because of the war, the nationalists' main source of revenue (Shanghai and Guangzhou) was destroyed, especially during the 1937 Battle of Shanghai, causing them to print more money and leading to hyperinflation
• Government’s inability to deal with inflation
• Increased taxes, nationalised banks, borrowed money from the USA, kept increasing paper currency by 150%.

War

• World War One
• Saw this as an opportunity to enter world stage
• Attacked German colonies in Asia
• Europe did not recognise China’s contribution in WWI despite them sending labour to Europe, upset by this, the warlords split China into different sections
• To fight for unity, the KMT and CCP joined forces
• Chinese civil war (1920-1934)
• First United Front (KMT and CCP) began a massive war to get rid of warlords, which they did by 1930
• Jiang Jieshi begins extermination campaigns after the warlordism period to get rid of the CCP
• This distracts China as Japan is taking over Manchuria
• So, the CCP and KMT create the Second United Front to get rid of Japan
• World War Two
• During the Second United Front, the CCP began growing
• The USA then begins to support the KMT during their intervention in China
• Chinese civil war (1945-1949)
• The KMT now had the support of the USA during the civil war while the CCP didn’t have any
• Mao was gaining support as he gave land to the peasants, building enemies against Jiang Jieshi who oppressed them

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Consolidation of power

Use of law

• Following the Reichstag fire of February 1933, Hitler was able to pass the Decree of the protection of people and the State and Enabling Act
• The decree for the protection of people and the state allowed Hitler to suspend constitutional rights under the pretence of national safety
• The Enabling Act allowed Hitler to bypass the Reichstag and pass laws directly
• Both propelled Hitler into a position of authoritarianism.
• These were past lawfully, and therefore also legitimised his power over the country and therefore neutralised any public resistance as to Hitler having such power
• They also came after the Reichstag fire portrayed Hitler as a saviour of Germany's democracy and adding to his respectability
• 5 months later, the Law Against the Formation of Parties was passed and helped consolidate Hitler's power
• Inhibited freedom of assembly and there were essentially no other alternatives, thus, the Nazis won 92% of the votes in the Reichstag in November 1933.
• In August 1934, Hitler fully consolidated his position with the Law Concerning the Head of State of the German Reich, which merged the offices of President and Chancellor
• This was then legitimised by a plebiscite

Centralisation of government

• Gleischaltung
• In May 1933, the German Labour Front (DAF) was formed, as a state-controlled organisation to replace trade unions which were banned
• Helped Nazis put into line all workers who might rebel
• Promote Volksgemeinschaft and Strength Through Joy and bring about sense of unity
• In January 1934, the Law for the Reconstruction of the State dissolved elected state assemblies and created the position of Nazi gauleiter (Reich governors) created to run states
• This law allowed the Nazis to spread their control over the entirety of Germany and obtain nation-wide consolidation of power
• For example, with Goebbels reporting back to Hitler any troubles caused in Berlin
• Following the Night of the Long Knives, Hitler had the army swear an oath of allegiance to him which meant no one would go after him. The oath was to Adolf Hitler, not the position of Fuhrer.

Force

• Following the Reichstag Fire of February 1933, Hitler persecuted 300,000 communists as the fire had allegedly been caused by Dutch communist Marinus Van der Lubbe thus excusing his actions
• This not only portrayed him as a protector of Germany but a growing fear from communists towards the Nazis ensued
• The Night of the Long Knives (June 1934) eliminated rivals and political opponents of Hitler's, inside and outside the party, such as Ernst Röhm, Kurt Von Schleicher, and Gregor Strasser
• SS, SA and particularly the Gestapo created a fear among the population that they wouldn't even mention to their closest friends any criticism of the Nazis which further consolidated their position as no revolutions could gain momentum.
• In February 1933, The Decree for the Protection of the Nation and the State gave secret police the power to hold people indefinitely

Propaganda and wide appeal

• In March 1933, the New ministry for Public Enlightenment and Propaganda was established.
• With Joseph Goebbels as its head, he ensured strict control over all forms of media, while promoting Nazi ideals through newspapers, films, literature etc.
• Projects such as Autobahn that promoted employment and pleased the 6 million people unemployed at the time
• Hitler's conciliatory approach was also very helpful, for example with the Concordat with the Pope in July 1933
• Church would not interfere with government's activity
• Gained support of all Catholics with this
• Historians such as Ian Kershaw are known for describing Hitler as having a "dark charisma", his work focused on how Hitler's image and persona contributed to his consolidation of power

Resistance to the regime

• General Ludwig Beck:
• Opposed to Hitler’s proposed attack on Czechoslovakia
• Conceived a plan for a march in Berlin but called it off
• Remained in contact with various opposition circles
• General Hans Oster
• Advised Britain to stand firm against Hitler and sent the British government details of Germany’s military plans as he was part of the Abwehr
• Contacted trade unionists and socialists
• Carl Friedrich Goerdeler
• Joined the government in 1934 to influence Hitler
• Travelled abroad with anti-Hitler message
• Dietrich Bonhoffer
• Criticised Nazism as incompatible with Christianity
• Had contact with Generals Oster and Beck
• Sophie Scholl
• Joined the White Rose anti-Nazi group
• Distributed anti-government pamphlets
• Joachim Gottschalk
• Married to a Jewish woman
• Refused to separate from her or perform for Strength Though Joy
• Adolf Reichwein
• Became the main link between the Kresiau Circle (paramilitary fighters and informers wanting to overthrow the Nazi party) and other groups.
• Organised meetings for them too
• Julius Leber
• Was the leader of the Lubeck SPD (socialist party)
• Tried to bring together communists with the Kresiau Circle
• Carl von Osietzky
• Defended democracy in Germany to avoid another war
• During the Weimar republic, criticised Nazism, militarism and Communism