Germany Warning: You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you log in or create an account, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.Anti-spam check. Do not fill this in! === Weimar Republic and Nazi Germany === {{Main|Weimar Republic|Nazi Germany}} [[File:Hitler portrait crop.jpg|thumb|[[Adolf Hitler]], dictator of [[Nazi Germany]] from 1933 to 1945|upright]] [[File:Europe under Nazi domination.png|thumb|A map of [[German-occupied Europe]] in 1942 during [[World War II]] with areas controlled by the German Reich shown in bold black]] On 11 August 1919, President [[Friedrich Ebert]] signed the democratic [[Weimar Constitution]].{{sfn|Fulbrook |1991|pp=156–160}} In the subsequent struggle for power, [[Bavarian Soviet Republic|communists seized power in Bavaria]], but conservative elements elsewhere attempted to overthrow the Republic in the {{lang|de|[[Kapp Putsch]]|italic=no}}. Street fighting in the major industrial centres, the [[occupation of the Ruhr]] by Belgian and French troops, and a period of [[Hyperinflation in the Weimar Republic|hyperinflation]] followed. A [[Dawes Plan|debt restructuring plan]] and the creation of a [[German Rentenmark|new currency]] in 1924 ushered in the [[Golden Twenties]], an era of artistic innovation and liberal cultural life.<ref>{{cite book|pages=56–70|chapter=1919–1922: Years of Crisis and Uncertainty|title=Weimar and the Rise of Hitler|publisher=Macmillan|last=Nicholls|first=AJ |year=2016|isbn=978-1-349-21337-5}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|jstor=3113137|title=The United States and the Reconstruction of Germany in the 1920s|first=Frank|last=Costigliola |journal=The Business History Review |volume=50 |number=4|year=1976|pages=477–502|doi=10.2307/3113137|s2cid=155602870 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book|page=86|title=The Weimar Republic|last=Kolb|first=Eberhard|edition=2nd|publisher=Psychology Press |year=2005|isbn=978-0-415-34441-8|translator1=P. S. Falla |translator2=R. J. Park}}</ref> The worldwide [[Great Depression]] hit Germany in 1929. Chancellor [[Heinrich Brüning]]'s government pursued a [[Causes of the Great Depression#Leave-it-alone liquidationism (1929–1933)|policy of fiscal austerity]] and [[Weimar Republic#Brüning's policy of deflation (1930–1932)|deflation]] which caused unemployment of nearly 30% by 1932.<ref name="chronicle">{{Cite web|title=PROLOGUE: Roots of the Holocaust |website=The Holocaust Chronicle |url=http://www.holocaustchronicle.org/StaticPages/50.html |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20150101004701/http://www.holocaustchronicle.org/StaticPages/50.html |archivedate=1 January 2015 |accessdate=28 September 2014 |url-status=live}}</ref> The [[Nazi Party]] led by [[Adolf Hitler]] became the largest party in the Reichstag after [[July 1932 German federal election|a special election in 1932]] and Hindenburg appointed Hitler as chancellor of Germany on 30 January 1933.{{sfn|Fulbrook |1991|pp=155–158, 172–177}} After the [[Reichstag fire]], a [[Reichstag Fire Decree|decree]] abrogated basic [[civil rights]] and the first [[Nazi concentration camps|Nazi concentration camp]] opened.<ref>{{cite book|first=Richard |last=Evans|title=The Coming of the Third Reich|publisher= Penguin|year= 2003|isbn=978-0-14-303469-8|page=344}}</ref><ref name="MNN">{{Cite journal |date=21 March 1933 |title=Ein Konzentrationslager für politische Gefangene in der Nähe von Dachau |url=http://www.holocaust-history.org/dachau-gas-chambers/photo.cgi?02 |journal=Münchner Neueste Nachrichten|language=German |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20000510093525/http://www.holocaust-history.org/dachau-gas-chambers/photo.cgi?02 |archivedate=10 May 2000}}</ref> On 23 March 1933, the [[Enabling Act of 1933|Enabling Act]] gave Hitler unrestricted legislative power, overriding the constitution,<ref>{{cite web |first1=Marc |last1=von Lüpke-Schwarz |title=The law that 'enabled' Hitler's dictatorship |url=https://www.dw.com/en/the-law-that-enabled-hitlers-dictatorship/a-16689839 |date=23 March 2013 |website=[[Deutsche Welle]] |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20200427005942/https://www.dw.com/en/the-law-that-enabled-hitlers-dictatorship/a-16689839 |archivedate=27 April 2020 |url-status=live }}</ref> and marked the beginning of Nazi Germany. His government established a centralised [[Totalitarianism|totalitarian state]], [[1933 German referendum|withdrew from the League of Nations]], and dramatically increased the country's [[German re-armament|rearmament]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.dhm.de/lemo/html/nazi/wirtschaft/index.html |title=Industrie und Wirtschaft |publisher=Deutsches Historisches Museum |language=German |url-status=live |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110430190641/http://www.dhm.de/lemo/html/nazi/wirtschaft/index.html |archivedate=30 April 2011 |accessdate=25 March 2011}}</ref> A government-sponsored programme for economic renewal focused on public works, the most famous of which was the {{lang|de|[[Reichsautobahn|Autobahn]]}}.<ref>{{cite book|last=Evans|first= Richard |year=2005|title=The Third Reich in Power|publisher=Penguin|isbn=978-0-14-303790-3|pages=[https://archive.org/details/thirdreichinpowe00evan/page/322 322]–326, 329 |url=https://archive.org/details/thirdreichinpowe00evan|url-access=registration}}</ref> In 1935, the regime withdrew from the Treaty of Versailles and introduced the [[Nuremberg Laws]] which targeted [[Jews]] and other minorities.<ref>{{cite web|magazine=Prologue|last=Bradsher|first=Greg|year=2010 |title=The Nuremberg Laws |url=https://www.archives.gov/publications/prologue/2010/winter/nuremberg.html |volume=42|accessdate=20 March 2020|url-status=live|archivedate=25 April 2020|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20200425130322/https://www.archives.gov/publications/prologue/2010/winter/nuremberg.html}}</ref> Germany also reacquired control of the [[Territory of the Saar Basin|Saarland]] in 1935,{{sfn|Fulbrook |1991|pp=188–189}} [[remilitarization of the Rhineland|remilitarised the Rhineland]] in 1936, [[Anschluss|annexed]] Austria in 1938, [[Sudetenland#Sudetenland as part of Nazi Germany|annexed]] the Sudetenland in 1938 with the [[Munich Agreement]], and in violation of the agreement [[German occupation of Czechoslovakia|occupied Czechoslovakia]] in March 1939.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/cabinetpapers/themes/descent-into-war.htm |publisher=National Archives|title=Descent into War|accessdate=19 March 2020|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20200320015948/https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/cabinetpapers/themes/descent-into-war.htm|archivedate=20 March 2020|url-status=live}}</ref> {{lang|de|[[Kristallnacht]]}} (Night of Broken Glass) saw the burning of synagogues, the destruction of Jewish businesses, and mass arrests of Jewish people.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.ushmm.org/outreach/en/article.php?ModuleId=10007697 |title=The "Night of Broken Glass" |publisher=United States Holocaust Memorial Museum |url-status=live |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20170211075203/https://www.ushmm.org/outreach/en/article.php?ModuleId=10007697 |archivedate=11 February 2017 |accessdate=8 February 2017}}</ref> In August 1939, [[Government of Nazi Germany|Hitler's government]] negotiated the [[Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact]] that divided Eastern Europe into German and [[Soviet Union|Soviet]] spheres of influence.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/german-soviet-pact|title=German-Soviet Pact|publisher=United States Holocaust Memorial Museum|accessdate=19 March 2020|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20200311115713/https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/german-soviet-pact|archivedate=11 March 2020|url-status=live}}</ref> On 1 September 1939, Germany [[invasion of Poland|invaded Poland]], beginning [[World War II]] in Europe;{{sfn|Fulbrook |1991|pp=190–195}} Britain and France declared war on Germany on 3 September.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Hiden|first1=John|last2=Lane|first2= Thomas|year=200|title=The Baltic and the Outbreak of the Second World War|publisher=Cambridge University Press |url=https://archive.org/details/balticoutbreakse00hide |url-access=limited|isbn=978-0-521-53120-7 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/balticoutbreakse00hide/page/n156 143]–144}}</ref> In the spring of 1940, Germany [[Operation Weserübung|conquered Denmark and Norway]], [[German invasion of the Netherlands|the Netherlands]], [[German invasion of Belgium (1940)|Belgium]], [[German invasion of Luxembourg|Luxembourg]], and [[Battle of France|France]], forcing the French government to sign an [[armistice]]. The British repelled German air attacks in the [[Battle of Britain]] in the same year. In 1941, German troops [[Invasion of Yugoslavia|invaded Yugoslavia]], [[Battle of Greece|Greece]] and the [[Operation Barbarossa|Soviet Union]]. By 1942, Germany and its allies controlled most of [[German-occupied Europe|continental Europe]] and [[North Africa]], but following the Soviet victory at the [[Battle of Stalingrad]], the Allied [[North African Campaign|reconquest of North Africa]] and [[Italian Campaign (World War II)|invasion of Italy]] in 1943, German forces suffered repeated military defeats. In 1944, the Soviets [[Eastern Front (World War II)#Summer 1944|pushed into Eastern Europe]]; the Western allies [[Operation Overlord|landed in France]] and entered Germany despite a [[Battle of the Bulge|final German counteroffensive]]. Following [[Death of Adolf Hitler|Hitler's suicide]] during the [[Battle of Berlin]], [[German Instrument of Surrender|Germany signed the surrender document]] on 8 May 1945, ending World War II in Europe{{sfn|Fulbrook |1991|pp=190–195}}<ref>{{cite web|url=https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/world-war-ii-key-dates|publisher=United States Holocaust Memorial Museum|title=World War II: Key Dates|accessdate=19 March 2020|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20200311150818/https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/world-war-ii-key-dates|archivedate=11 March 2020|url-status=live}}</ref> and Nazi Germany. Following the end of the war, surviving Nazi officials were tried for [[War crimes of the Wehrmacht|war crimes]] at the [[Nuremberg trials]].<ref name="books.google.com">{{cite book|first=Ian|last=Kershaw|title=Stalinism and Nazism: dictatorships in comparison|publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=1997|page=150|isbn=978-0-521-56521-9}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/history/worldwars/wwtwo/nuremberg_article_01.shtml |title=Nuremberg: Nazis on Trial |last=Overy |first=Richard |date=17 February 2011 |publisher=BBC |url-status=live |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110316053707/http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/worldwars/wwtwo/nuremberg_article_01.shtml |archivedate=16 March 2011 }}</ref> In what later became known as [[the Holocaust]], the German government persecuted [[Holocaust victims|minorities]], including interning them in concentration and [[Extermination camp|death camps]] across Europe. The regime systematically murdered 6 million Jews, at least 130,000 [[Porajmos|Romani]], 275,000 [[Aktion T4|disabled]], thousands of [[Jehovah's Witnesses]], thousands of [[Persecution of homosexuals in Nazi Germany|homosexuals]], and hundreds of thousands of [[Nacht und Nebel|political and religious opponents]].<ref>{{Cite book |title=The Columbia Guide to the Holocaust |url=https://archive.org/details/columbiaguidetot00niew |url-access=registration |last1=Niewyk |first1=Donald L. |last2=Nicosia, Francis R. |publisher=Columbia University Press |year=2000 |isbn=978-0-231-11200-0 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/columbiaguidetot00niew/page/n466 45]–52}}</ref> [[Generalplan Ost|Nazi policies]] in German-occupied countries resulted in the deaths of an estimated 2.7 million [[Polish people|Poles]],<ref>{{cite book |title= Polska 1939–1945: Straty osobowe i ofiary represji pod dwiema okupacjami |publisher=Institute of National Remembrance|page=9|year=2009}}</ref> 1.3 million [[Ukrainians]], 1 million [[Belarusians]] and 3.5 million [[German mistreatment of Soviet prisoners of war|Soviet prisoners of war]].<ref>{{cite journal|last=Maksudov|first=S|year=1994 |title=Soviet Deaths in the Great Patriotic War: A Note|journal=Europe-Asia Studies|volume=46|number=4 |pages=671–680 |doi=10.1080/09668139408412190|pmid=12288331}}</ref><ref name="books.google.com" /> German military [[German casualties in World War II|casualties]] have been estimated at 5.3 million,<ref>{{Cite book |title=Deutsche militärische Verluste im Zweiten Weltkrieg |last=Overmans, Rüdiger |year=2000 |publisher=Oldenbourg |isbn=978-3-486-56531-7}}</ref> and around 900,000 German civilians died.<ref>{{Cite book |title=The End; Germany 1944–45 |last=Kershaw |first=Ian |publisher=Allen Lane |year=2011 |page=279}}</ref> Around [[Flight and expulsion of Germans (1944–1950)|12 million ethnic Germans were expelled]] from across Eastern Europe, and Germany lost roughly [[Former eastern territories of Germany|one-quarter]] of its pre-war territory.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Demshuk|first=Andrew|year=2012|title=The Lost German East |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ySLyE6YJEn0C&pg=PA52 |isbn=978-1-107-02073-3|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20161201215323/https://books.google.com/books?id=ySLyE6YJEn0C&pg=PA52 |archivedate=1 December 2016|url-status=live|publisher=Cambridge University Press|page=52}}</ref> Summary: Please note that all contributions to Christianpedia may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. 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