Through school
we were taught about World War I and World War II and how it was the Germans
that were at fault but we hardly hear anything about the in between parts. Like
how Hitler climbed the ranks, or was there peace or was there only war? With
the Treaty of Versailles came a lot of compromise and change for Germany. One thing I found interesting in
reading about the Great War and its aftermath was the statement on women and
politics. That elections were held on January 19, 1919 and “for the first time,
both men and women went to the polls; while the men fought on the fronts during
the war, women had kept the industrial production, transportation, and the
civil administration going, and denying them equal political rights were out of
the question. Of the 423 assembly delegates elected, 41 were women, a total of
9.6 percent; none of the later Reichstag or post-World War II Bundestag
assemblies has ever reached that high a percentage of women members.” (Page
202) It’s sad this is such a big deal. That women were given a right to vote
because they were pretty much running everything while the men were off
fighting a war that to me should never have been fought in the first place.
But, I guess it’s not my place to judge because women in the US weren’t given
the chance to vote until the 19th amendment went to Congress in 1918 and then was ratified by the states
on August 18, 1920. Finally earning women in the United States the right to
vote. It’s still hard for me to grasp the mindset behind why it’s taken women
so long to come close to the same rights as men. We still have sexism in the
work place, at school and in your day-to-day life.
But
women were not the only sufferers. “Not since 1871 had the country been so
close to total dissolution.” (Page 210) Germany suffered some hard ships and
political dismay during this time. “The catastrophe had lasted from 1914 to
1923, but new Germany and Europe as a whole were emerging from the darkness and
entering a long period of peace and returning prosperity, or so it appeared to
contemporaries.” (Page 213) This prosperity included the “Golden Twenties, the
principle cause was neither political stability nor the deceptive appearance of
an economic upturn but a cultural flowering that has become legendary.” (Page
219) It was a short decade of new beginnings filled with colors and awe. The
sad thing though is this was probably the peek of happiness felt in the times
to come. Politics and governments began to go out of whack to the point of
Herman Muller no longer being able to hold things together ending in his
resignation on March 27, 1930. With this came “the breakdown of the coalition
the last parliamentary government of the Weimar Republic came to an end.” (Page
230)
Through the ashes of the Weimar Republic came the rise of Hitler. His
ascend to becoming the leader was slow at times but began with Hitler being
appointed chancellor by president Hindenburg. Even though Hindenburg held off
as long as he could Hitler was appointed on January 30, 1933. And from there as
we learned in our World history classes he climbed the ranks till he was in
charge of all of Germany. If I can say anything about Hitler is that he was a
very determined man with a gift of manipulation. I mean he had his people
backing him through World War II and mass genocide. His talent of speaking is
what led him to become the leader of the Third Reich and I believe that’s the
thing German citizens today identify with and might even inspire to have. He
will be remembered as one of the greatest public speakers throughout history.
