The impact of the Great Depression upon Germany

During the period after WWI, when a series of peace treaties were being agreed and negotiated on between the nations that took part in the largest and most powerful war in history to that day, the stock market had crashed in the United States which began the worldwide 'Great Depression'. Not only one, but many factors contributed to this cosmic depression like bank failures throughout the 1930s where over 9,000 banks failed and people lost all their savings, reduction in purchasing across the board where individuals stopped purchasing items after the stock market crashed which led to a reduction in the number of items produced and thus a reduction in the workforce. Moreover, the American economic policy with Europe charged a high tax for imports which led to less trade with foreign countries but the major and leading cause of the Great Depression was on the day of Black Tuesday, October 29, 1929 when the stock market crashed and stockholders had lost more than 40 billion dollars. The effects of the Great Depression was felt strongly across the world but the European country that was most greatly impacted was Germany; from extremely large numbers in unemployment, countless demonstrations and protests, but most significantly, the rise of extremism in Germany leading to World War II was yet another tragedy that the Nation had to face and fight through together.

Throughout the course between the end of WWI and the start of the Great Depression, Germany was desperately struggling to solve all the problems that were being thrown in her way by the League of Nations and all the allied countries. Its main worry was the war guilt clause as Germany was forced to accept the blame that they were the sole cause of WWI so they had to pay reparations. Furthermore, hyperinflation began in Germany as more and more money was being printed after the French invaded Ruhr in demand of the reparations and workers went on strikes in order to prevent payments to the allied countries. This created many other problems like the increase in wages, high unemployment, and the distrust of the Weimar Government by the people. After the Dawes plan was introduced in 1924 though, the French left Ruhr, the reparation payments were cut down, and arrangements were made for the German republic to borrow from the US. In addition, in 1929, the Social Democrats were the dominant party in Germany but after the Great Depression, the public had changed their attitudes completely towards the Government.

As the US had loaned money to Germany during the hyperinflation in 1924 and the Young Plan in 1929, they were now in desperate need of it back as to assist their falling economy. This was the main reason that Germany was the European country impacted most by the Great Depression. Given 90 days to begin re-paying the US, Germany had no help from any other world powers as they were still recovering from the First World War. This lead to the companies throughout Germany becoming bankrupt and millions of workers were being left without jobs. The public began to lose faith in their government and question the effectiveness and sustainability of democratic institutions. In 1932, Germany reached its highest rate of unemployment and did not improve until 1938. The concerns, doubts,and fear translated into political action via newly formed national governments, transformed political structures and a cut down on economic strains. Protests and strikes were started by the people as they were unhappy with the Government's solutions but also lead to the joining of extremist political parties.

The German public desperately wished for change since now, even their daily necessities were being threatened like food. This lack of food led to hunger marches on the streets of Germany unlike the French at that time. With no unemployment issue at the start of the Depression, the French managed to easily pull through and withstand the impact of the Depression and could even afford to strike for higher wages. This was because they did not take on the idea of mass production but had combined the old techniques of labor with new technology to keep all of the people employed. Eventually though, France was pulled into the crisis and textile industries were greatly affected so many did not have clothes, and there was a great decrease in trade, cutbacks in consumption, production and wages. Deprivation and starvation was a common feeling shared among many countries throughout the crisis and now, many angry Germans began to turn to extremist political parties and amongst them were the communist and Nazi parties which were especially powerful at the time.

Due to the fact that Germany was going through such an enormous economic disaster and millions of unemployed people were starving on the streets, they began looking for a solution and someone to blame. It was Adolf Hitler's opportunity to rise and his aim was to build a Nazi government that would one day replace the democracy. The Nazi Party wasn't very popular before the Great Depression hit and only reached around 100,000 members. The fact that it was a high disciplined organization though served to its advantage. Once the democratic government began to collapse, the Nazis began to spread, giving countless speeches, attending meetings, shaking hands, and feeding the public what they wanted to hear. As the people were exhausted from all the misery and suffering they had experienced, they were willing to listen to anyone so Hitler was easily able to convince them using encouragement and promises. On September 14, 1930, the day of election, the Nazi party stunningly went from the smallest to the second largest political party in Germany after the Social Democrats and from then on, they remained the leading party. The Social Democrats lost support as the public blamed them for the Great Depression and in 1933, Hitler became Chancellor of Germany because Hindenburg aimed to bring him under his control and tried to form a coalition with the Nazis. Soon after though, Hitler exterminated any politicians who were a threat to him as he had large ambitions ahead which later lead to the Second World War.

The people of Germany had their mind set on blaming their Government for the crisis but in a bigger picture, the Great Depression began in the United States and was popularly blamed on President Herbert Hoover as he was strongly disliked by the American people as he refused to give any assistance to the people that were suffering during the crash. In 1929, the catastrophic collapse began in many parts of the world and lasted for ten years, leaving millions of people devastated, without money, jobs or food. The feeling of suffering was felt simultaneously everywhere, but some areas worst than others. Germany was the worst impacted European country due to the number of loans it had borrowed from the United States in previous years in order to pay reparations to the League of Nations. The catastrophe changed lives and political theories forever as the Depression lead people to the loss of trust in their Governments and so turning onto extremism. The economic downfall had given way for Hitler and his party to rise, allowing him to give numerous speeches, shake hands, and sign autographs whilst at the same time, spreading his party which grew from 1932 onwards into the most dominant party that later began the Second World War.