11.1 early years: Weimar Republic

Question 1

Date ww1 ended?

Answer 1

11 Nov 1918

Question 2

Which gov. replaced the Kaiser?

Answer 2

The Weimar Republic

Question 3

Who was the Kaiser?

Answer 3

The German Emperor- Wilhelm

Question 4

Definition of the Weimar Republic

Answer 4

Leftwing, democratic gov. that formed in the wake of ww1. No hereditary ruler such as monarch (queen/king) or emperor.

Question 5

What were the problems faced by the Wiemar Republic?

Answer 5

T reaty of Versailles
H yperinflation
U prisings
R uhr
D efeat

Question 6

What was the ‘stab in the back’ myth? (3 points)

Answer 6

1.The German people felt betrayed when the armistice was signed because the Kaiser had not told them they were losing the war; they thought winning was possible.

2.Wanted someone to blame:
Blamed the politicians for being weak/ lacking will to fight.

3.Bitterness grew as the armistice lead to Treaty of Versailles.

Question 7

What were the key points in the Treaty of Versailles?

Answer 7

L and
A rmy
M oney
B lame

Question 8

How much land did Germany lose through the Treaty of Versailles, and including what?

Answer 8

13%, including colonies and imp. areas containing raw materials e.g. coal

Question 9

What did the Treaty of Versailles reduce the German army to, and from what?

Answer 9

Reduced to 100,000 men from 1.75 million

Question 10

What did the Treaty of Versailles not allow the German army?

Answer 10

Conscription and aircraft, plus a reduction on its navy.

Question 11

How many pounds in reparations did Germany have to pay because of the Treaty of Versailles?

Answer 11

£6.6 billion

Question 12

Which countries benefited from the reparations Germany was obliged to pay them under the Treaty of Versailles?

Answer 12

France, Belgium, and others.

Question 13

Why was Germany made to pay reparations under the Treaty of Versailles?

Answer 13

To pay for the damage inflicted on the opposing countries, which Germany was (arguably unfairly) given all of the blame for.

AKA compensation

Question 14

What did the ‘war guilt’ clause in the Treaty of Versailles mean?

Answer 14

That Germany accepted all of the blame for causing the war.

Question 15

Why did signing the Treaty of Versailles make the Wiemar Republic unpopular with the German people?

Answer 15

Because the terms were hard and opponents of the Weimar Republic saw it as a weakness to have agreed to them.

Question 16

How did the way the Weimar Republic choose its gov. differ to that of the Kaiser?

Answer 16

The Weimar Republic let the German people democratically elect their gov.

The Kaiser elected his ministers himself.

Question 17

What method of voting was used in Weimar Germany?

Answer 17

Proportional representation (arguably the fairest, most left-wing kind) aka PR

Question 18

What was a disadvantage of using proportional representation?

Answer 18

The Reichstag (parliament) was made up of lots of different parties so found it difficult to agree and pass policies.

Seen as a sign of weakness by German public.

Question 19

What was the German parliament called?

Answer 19

The Reichstag

Question 20

Who were the 4 uprisings to destroy the Weimar Republic?

Answer 20

1. The Spartacist Uprising (communist)
2. The Red Rising in the Ruhr (communist)
3. The Kapp Putsch (right-wing Freikorps)
4. The Munich Putsch (Nazis)

Question 21

When was the Spartacist Uprising?

Answer 21

1919

Question 22

When was the Red Rising in the Ruhr?

Answer 22

1920

Question 23

When was the Kapp Putsch?

Answer 23

1920

Question 24

When was the Munich Putsch?

Answer 24

1923

Question 25

How did the gov. sort out the Spartacist Uprising? (2 ways)

Answer 25

1. Ordered the army and Freikorps to crush them

2. Had leaders executed.

Question 26

What was the result of the Red Rising in the Ruhr? ( 2 things)

Answer 26

1. army and Freikorps crushed them

2. loss of around 1000 communists

Question 27

What was the Kapp Putsch trying to do?

Answer 27

Get the leader of the Freikorps (Wolfgang Kapp) in power.

Question 28

How was the Kapp Putsch stopped?

Answer 28

Workers went on general strike in protest of the Putsch, managing to stop the uprising.

Question 29

How many members did the Nazi party have at the time of the Munich Putsch (1923)?

Answer 29

Around 50,000, plu their own private army (the SA)

Question 30

What set up the Munich Putsch to failure?

Answer 30

Poor planning.

Question 31

How did the Munich Putsch end?

Answer 31

With Hitler and the other Nazi leaders were arrested and sent to prison- it did not succeed.

Question 32

Who were the Freikorps?

Answer 32

Ex-army members who were anti-communist

Question 33

What is a Putsch?

Answer 33

A sudden armed uprising, a political revolt

Question 34

What were the SA, and when were they set up?

Answer 34

Set up by Hitler to disrupt and intimidate opponents to the Nazis. Primarily made up of ex-soldiers and members of the Freikorps. Set up in 1921.