Research: Germany in the 1920s and 30s

Between the 1920s and 1940s, Germany was on the road from one war to another.  World War 1 ended on 11th November 1918 with Germany, France, Great Britain, Italy and the USA signing the Treaty of Versailles which was an agreement to cease fire and bring the war to an end.  From then on, Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party began to rise.  It was arranged that Germany would pay back France and Great Britain for the damage of World War 1.  The USA agreed to lend Germany some money to help them with the reparations, with the promise that Germany would pay them back.  However in October 1929, the stock market in Wallstreet crashed and the USA wanted money from Germany.  This then lead to the Great Depression in both Germany and the USA, and prices in Germany kept on rising, leading to hyperinflation.

Having slowly made their way up by gaining votes and supporters, the Nazi Party became the largest party in the Reichstag (German government), and so on 13th August 1932, Hitler met with President Hindenberg and Chancellor von Papen.  He declares that he will not accept any role in the Reichstag other than chancellor, however Hitler is not made Germany's chancellor until January 1933.  Once he became Chancellor, he passed the Enabling Act, which allowed him and the Nazi Party to pass laws without having to get permission from the Reichstag.  The Enabling Act was what eventually enabled the Nazi Party to gain full power.

Whilst this was happening, Germany's population was full of contrast.  On the one hand there were people still struggling with unemployment and the deprivations off of the back of World War 1, whereas on the other hand there were the upper and middle class people turning cities, such as Berlin, around and embracing the things that they still had, such as entertainment and the arts.  Before this, Germany was primarily famous for it's leading roles in science, film, education and the government and it's military.  But with cities, such as Berlin, being turned into cosmopolitan cities, and the popularity of literature, the arts and fashion developed, it gave people a lease to have fun and enjoy themselves.  Places similar to the 'Kit Kat Klub' in Goodbye to Berlin and Cabaret became more popular at the time, entertaining people nationwide.

German Cabaret Showgirl, 1928
Available: http://musingsusingsandloosethings.blogspot.co.uk/2009/04/women-and-weimar-germany-1920s.html

References:

- Anon. (n.d.). Weimar Germany Timeline. Available: http://alphahistory.com/weimargermany/weimar-germany-timeline/. Last accessed 1st Oct 2014.

- Anon. (2010). Who signed the armistice in 1918?. Available: https://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20100720013350AAnRH3I. Last accessed 1st Oct 2014.

- BBC. (2014). The Wall Street Crash and Depression. Available: http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/history/mwh/usa/walldepressionrev1.shtml. Last accessed 1st Oct 2014.

- Anon. (2014). 1920s Berlin. Available: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1920s_Berlin#Life. Last accessed 1st Oct 2014.