Learning Objectives:

• To understand how Germany was affected by the Wall Street Crash of 1929

• Examine how did the Wall Street Crash benefit the Nazi Party

The Great Depression

The Great DepressionLO: To understand how Germany was affected by the Wall Street Crash of 1929

Why do you think the Golden

Years officially came to an end

in 1929?

Shortly before Gustav Stresemann died in

1929 he stated:

“The economic position is only flourishing

on the surface. Germany is in fact

dancing on a volcano. If the short-term

credits are called in, a large section of our economy would collapse.”

What can you learn from the source

about the German economy in 1929?

Write as many words/phrases as you can to describe the event

these pictures are illustrating

The Great DepressionLO: To understand how Germany was affected by the Wall Street Crash of 1929

The Great DepressionLO: To understand how Germany was affected by the Wall Street Crash of 1929

Using your text books and the

internet read pages 46-49.

In pairs develop a role play

conversation that you might have

with one of the people you have read about in the sources.

Your conversation may focus on:

• What life is like?

• How they have been effected?

• Who do they hold responsible for their woes and why?

You will role play your conversation at the beginning of next lesson.

The Great DepressionLO: To understand how Germany was affected by the Wall Street Crash of 1929

• In October 1929, share prices

began to fall on the Wall Street

Stock exchange

• Falling shares meant people’s

investments fell in value

• Worried about losing money, people rushed to sell their shares

before their value fell any further

• On ‘Black Tuesday’, 24 October

1929, 13 million shares were sold• This panic selling made things

worse, and sent prices even lower

• Shares worth $20,000 in the morning were worth $1000 by the

end of the day’s trading

• Within a week, investors had lost over $4000million

• Bankers and Financiers in the USA recalled the

loans made to Germany under the Dawes Plan

in 1924 which left Germany with no money.

• International trade decreased rapidly, which

meant Germany could not get any funds from

exports.

• As a result, Germany did not need to produce

so much, so factories closed and employers

sacked workers.

• This also affected German farmers, who were

not in a good position to start with.

The Great Depression: Its affects on Germany

LO: To understand how Germany was affected by the Wall Street Crash of 1929

In pairs, label yourselves A and BStudent A

• You have one minute to explain to your partner…

• What was the Wall Street Crash?

• How did it happen?

• How did it affect America?

Student B

• You have one minute to explain to your partner…

• How did the American depression affect Germany?

• Explain carefully how it spread to Germany.

The Great DepressionLO: To understand how Germany was affected by the Wall Street Crash of 1929

SocialEconomic

Political

For each category,

give evidence of how

Germany was

affected by the Wall

Street Crash

The Great DepressionLO: To understand how Germany was affected by the Wall Street Crash of 1929

The Great DepressionLO: To understand how Germany was affected by the Wall Street Crash of 1929

Source CFour private armies, with knives, revolvers and knuckle-dusters rampaged through the

towns- the SA of the Nazis, the Red Front of the KPD, the Sozi of the SPD and the

Stalhelmer. The Reichswehr (the army) were nowhere.

Kurt Ludecke, an eyewitness, reporting in 1930

Using the sources below and what you have learnt so far explain the impact

of the great depression on Germany?

Source ASeptember 1928 650,000 unemployed

September 1929 1,320,000 unemployed

September 1930 3,000,000 unemployed

September 1931 4,350,000 unemployed

September 1932 5,102,000 unemployed

January 1933 6,100,000 unemployed

Source B

Many people within Germany were said to be ‘doubly bitter’ with the Weimar Government. This was the second time that the

government had thrown Germany into large scale economic

depression, the first time being during the period of hyperinflation in

1923

How far do you think that the German

Government can be blamed for the

economic depression that hit Germany

after the Wall Street Crash?

The Great DepressionLO: To understand how Germany was affected by the Wall Street Crash of 1929

Group How were they

affected?

Why were they

affected?

Who will they

blame?

Businessmen

Factory workers

Farm workers

Young people

Middle class

The Great Depression: Effects on different people

LO: To understand how Germany was affected by the Wall Street Crash of 1929

Businessmen saw their businesses close. People had less money to

spend on goods so demand fell, leading to profits also falling. Businesses had to either sack people or shut down.

Young People could not find work. In 1933 over half of all Germans

between the ages of 16 and 30 were unemployed. Sixty per cent of

new university graduates could not get a job.

Farmers had not done well in the 1920s. Agriculture in Germany had

been suffering for a number of years. Prices had been falling since 1925. In the 1930s farmers slipped further into debt. Farmers sold their

land or struggled in poverty.

As businesses closed, unemployment rose. 40% of all Factory Workers

were unemployed by 1932. At the same time the government cut unemployment benefit to save money. For the unemployed this was

a time of extreme poverty.

Middle classes lost their businesses, savings and investments. Many

lost money as the banks collapsed whilst others had to shut down their businesses as their loans were recalled. They also suffered when

Bruning put up taxes.

Social

Economic

Political

Think about how the

depression affected

Germany. Can you link

together the problems?

Link…

The Great DepressionLO: Examine how did the Wall Street Crash benefit the Nazi Party

Homework:

Review pages 50-51 in your text books.

Create a poster on ‘What factors enabled

the Nazi Party to come to Power’

Your poster can only include 10 words, the

rest must be visuals, graphics, cartoons,

drawings, etc

The Great DepressionLO: Examine how did the Wall Street Crash benefit the Nazi Party