1. The establishment of the Weimar republic and its early problems Flashcards
Why was there a revolution in Germany in 1918
- Allies naval blockade caused terrible suffering for German people
- German forces were retreating which could lead to Germany being occupied
- Allies insisted Kaiser stepped down before agreeing peace
- Kaiser was blamed for hardship and calls for him to abdicate grew
When did the Kaiser abdicate
9th November 1918 Kaiser abdicates and flees to Holland
What were the events straight after the Kaisers abdication
10th November 1918: New republic set up with Friedrich Ebert (social democrat) as president
11 Nov 1918: Ebert and his representatives sign an armistice with the allies
Aug 1921: Matthias Erzberger who signed the armstice was murdered
What was the stab in the back theory
- Some German officers claimed Germany could have won WW1 and should have never surrendered
- Many Germans believed the government betrayed them and the Weimar republic was extremely unpopular from the start
What was the Weimar Constitution
- Guaranteed freedom of speech
- Everyone over 20 was given the vote
- Head of State known as president was elected every 7 years and they appoint chancellor
- Parties appointed seats by proportional representation
What were the strengths of the Weimar republic
- Reassured business the government would not take control of them
- Promised trade unions 8 hour working days
- Proportional representation allowed a wide range of views
- Article 48: in emergency president help powers to pass laws without the Reichstag
What were the weaknesses of the Weimar republic
- Germany was politically divided
- Proportional representation required compromise and cooperation and Germany struggled with this
- Proportional representation allowed extremist parties a voice
- Germany was economically weak
- Riots and protests were often common
Why did Germany believe they should get a lenient Treaty
- They were forced into was and all countries should take responsibility
- The new government could not be blamed for the Kaisers actions
- Allies might was to give the new Germany a chance to restore stability
What were the different world leader views on the Treaty
- Woodrow Wilson (USA) was willing to make compromises
- George Clemenceau (France) wanted to make Germany pay for all the destruction
- David Lloyd George (England) was keen to avoid a peace settlement that might lead to future was but also didn’t want to let off Germany lightly
What were the territorial changes imposed on Germany
- Alsace and Lorraine was lost to France
- Eupen and Malmedy were lost to Belgium
- Posen and West Prussia were lost to Poland
- Upper Silesia voted to become part of Poland
- Northern Schelswig voted to become part of Denmark
- Thee German part of Danzig was made an international city
What were the military restriction placed of Germany
Navy limited to 6 battleships, 6 cruisers, 12 destroyers and 12 torpedo boats
Army limited to 100,000 men to be used internally only
No air force
No submarines
No tanks
How much did Germany have to pay in reparations
136,000 million marks
What was the War Guilt clause and what were the effects of it
Germany had to accept blame for the war and this was extremely humiliating as they believed all powers should share responsibility.
Many Germans became angry at the
Government who signed the Treaty. Those was signed the Treaty were called the November criminals and were hated for their actions
The myth began that Germany was stabbed in the back by its own country
What were the events of the Spartacist Uprising
- The Spartacus League (Germany’s communist party) organised a revolt in Berlin on 5th January 1919
- They occupied the headquarters of the government newspaper and telephone offices and attempted to bring down a general strike
How did the Weimar Republic respond to the Spartacist uprising
- They found i very difficult to stop the revolt as the Treaty limited their number of soldiers
- The Government then decided to use the Freikorps who were a group of volunteer soldiers and they HATED communism
- They soon stopped the revolt and the communist leaders Rosa Luxemburg and Karl Liebknecht were shot
What were two effects of the Spartacist uprising
- It showed how divided Germany was politically, which contributed to the constant political instability the Weimar republic faced
- The uprising highlighted the growing support for extremist groups in Germany, both on the left and the right, contributing to the rise of the Nazi party later on.
What were the causes of Kapp Putsch
Due to the Treaty the government had to reduce the number of people in the army
Many ex soldier were unable to adjust to civilian life and joined the Freikorps
What were the events of the Kapp Putsch
In 1920 Ebert tried to disband 2 Freikorps units
The Freikorps revolted and marched through Berlin and declared Dr Wolfgang Kapp as Germanys new leader
The German Army refused to stop the Freikorps as they felt sympathy for the aims of Kapp Putsch
What did Ebert do as a result of Kapp Putsch
- He was forced to appeal to the people
- He moved the government out of the city and told people to go on general strike to stop the revolt
- The city was soon unable to function due to the strikes and Kapp realised he did not have he support he needed
Who was Dr Wolfgang Kapp
An extreme nationalist who had the support of a number of army officers, he eventually fled to Sweden when the Putsch failed
What were the effects of Kapp Putsch
Showed the government had little military power and could not control its own capital
Showed the government did seem to have the support of the majority of people in Berlin
What were the events of the Ruhr Crisis
- In January 1923 the French invaded the Ruhr to take coal as the Germans had fallen behind in their reparations payments
- The Germans could not used military forced to encouraged the workers to go on strike so there weren’t goods for the French to seize (passive resistance)
- The French did not remove their forces until July 1925
What were the effects of the Ruhr Crisis
- The occupation united Germany against French and Belgium, and there was much popularity for the governments response
- But Germany lost income from the Ruhr as France took industrial products and the government had to pay the striking workers so they had to print even more money
What were the causes of hyperinflation
- The invasion of the Ruhr
- They Germans yearly income between 1919-23 was a quarter w=of what it needed
- Reparations
- Printing more money
