1.1/2 - The origins of the Republic/ The early the chances to the Weimar Republic Flashcards
Who was the leader of Germany prior to 1918?
Kaiser Wilhelm
Why did Kaiser Wilhelm abdicate? and when?
Germany suffered huge losses during WW1 with two million soldiers dead and four million wounded, and the government in huge debt (150 billion marks).
More that 750, 000 Germans died due to food shortages back home.
in November of 1918, ministers tried to persuade the Kaiser to abdicate, but he refused, leading to his loss of support from the army officers. He had not choice but to abdicate.
When was the German Republic declared?
9 November 1918
Who became the first German president?
Friedrich Ebert - leader of the German Social Democratic Party
The armistice - the peace agreement between Germany and the Allies
- it was signed on 11th of November
- It was the first major decision of Ebert’s new republic
- The terms of peace, the Treaty of Versailles, became a very big burden for the country
The Treaty of Versailles - BRAT
BLAME - for starting the war meant that Germany now had a bad international reputation
REPARATIONS - 6.6 billion
ARMS - army reduced to 100, 000 and arsenal reduced to no submarines, and only 6 battle ships
Territory - lost land on all sides of its border
and LEAGUE OF NATIONS - Germany was excluded from this
Strengths of the Weimar Constitution:
PR - made sure small parties had a fair share of seats
Women were able to vote
Voting age reduced from 25 to 21
No one group or person could have too much power
Elections held every seven years, meant that the seats reflected what the public at the time wanted
Strengthened central government
Weaknesses of the Weimar constitution:
PR led to coalition governments that were unstable, or found it difficult to have strong policies
Article 48 of the constitution enabled the president to pass laws without the consent of the Reichstag in a crisis.
It was not the choice of the people so it was established undemocratically and was not popular.
The “stab in the back” theory
Many Germans believed that their army had never been defeated in the war. Those who criticised the treaty said that the army had been betrayed by politicians - that they were stabbed in the back, and forced to surrender when they could have won, resulting in the much hated Treaty of Versailles.
This is also referred to as “dolchstoss” - it is an antisemitic conspiracy that said that it was the politicians back home, which were primarily Jewish that betrayed the army. The Jews were socialist and encouraged strikes which in turn was though to have weakened the army. Hitler later used this theory as propaganda against the Jews.
Why was the reason for the immediate unpopularity of the republic?
The Treaty of Versailles damaged Germany’s economy from the start. People blamed the new German republic for signing it. They were labelled as the “November Criminals” because they surrendered in Nov 1918 and were seen as traitors to their country.
Challenges to the republic from the left:
THE SPARTACIST REVOLT
Challenges to the republic from the right:
THE KAPP PUTSCH ->
