1.2 Early Challenges to the Republic, 1919-23 Flashcards
When did the Weimar Republic formally start?
July 1919
Why was Weimar always linked to surrender and harsh peace treaty terms?
The politicians who set it up also surrendered at the end of WW1 and accepted ToV
When and where was the Treaty of Versailles signed?
28th June, 1919 in Versailles, France
What does ‘diktat’ mean?
Dictated terms, not agreed
The Allies didn’t allow German representatives to join discussions and refused all the concessions the Germans asked for
What did Article 231 of the ToV say?
That Germany had caused the war and therefore had to pay reparations, as well as reductions in territory and armed forces
How much were the reparations?
136,000 million marks £6.6 billion)
How many colonies did Germany have? What happened to them?
11 in Africa and the Far East. Given to victorious countries to look after
What was the army limited to?
100,000 men, no heavy artillery to be used only in Germany
What was the navy limited to?
6 battleships and cruisers
12 destroyers and torpedo boats
No submarines
The rest destroyed
What happened to the air force?
Banned. Existing air force destroyed
What happened to the Rhineland?
Demilitarised - German army not allowed in. Allied troops stationed there until 1930s
What land did Germany lose to France and Belgium?
Alsace and Lorraine (France)
Eupen and Malmedy (Belgium)
Which provinces were given to Poland? What was the effect of this?
Posen and West Prussia
Put a million Germans under Polish rule and cut off East Prussia from the rest of Germany
What areas voted (plebiscites) to leave Germany
Upper Silesia (became part of Poland) Northern Schleswig (became part of Denmark)
What happened to the Saar coalfields?
Given to France to govern for 15 years
What did Germany lose altogether?
10% population, 13% European territory
All overseas property and investment
Almost 50% iron, 15% coal reserves
What does ‘dolchstoss’ mean?
‘a stab in the back’
The German people believed the army had been betrayed by the politicians for agreeing to an Armistice when they could still have won the war
Why were the leaders of the Weimar government known as the ‘November Criminals’?
They surrendered to a treaty that ruined the economy, in November
Which was the main right-wing party in 1919? What did they stand for?
The DNVP (The National Party) Strong army headed by powerful Kaiser Capitalism Families, law and order, traditional values Nations needs > individual Grudgingly accepted Weimar
What was the main left-wing party in 1919? What did they stand for?
The KDP (German Communist Party) The people in control Communism :) Opposed private ownership Co-operation with other nations Opposed Weimar
What main parties were in the Weimar Republic, from left to right?
KDP SDP (Social Democrats DDP (Democrats) ZP (Centre) DVP (People's Party) DNVP (National Party) NSDAP (Workers'/Nazi Party) (From 1920)
Who backed the KDP?
The Soviet Union
How many members and daily newspapers did the KDP have?
400,000 members, 33 newspapers
Who were the Spartacist League?
Extreme socialists
Named after a slaves’ revolt in Ancient Rome
Supported Communists
Who led the Spartacist League?
Rosa Luxemburg and Karl Liebknecht
What happened on 4th January 1919?
Ebert sacked Emil Eichhorn, police chief in Berlin - popular with workers
What was the result of Ebert sacking Eichhorn?
Thousands of workers protested on the streets
Spartacists saw this as an opportunity and called for uprising and general strike in Berlin
What happened on 6th January 1919
100,000+ workers took to the streets, siezed government’s newspaper and telegraph offices
Who were the Freikorps?
Thousands of soldiers released from the army (due to ToV) who had kept weapons
Strongly opposed to Communists
Ebert ordered them to be organised into Freikorps units
~250, 000 men by March 1919
How did The Spartacist Revolt end?
Ebert turned Freikorps on rioters
By 13th January, rebels driven off streets
16th January - Luxemburg and Liebknecht arrested and killed
What caused the Kapp Putsch?
By 1920s Freikorps too difficult to control -> due to be disbanded
Feared unemployment -> turned against Weimar
What were the events of the Kapp Putsch?
5,000 armed men marched on Berlin
Ebert ordered General Seeckt (head of Reichswehr) to put it down
He said “Reichswehr does not fire upon Reichswehr”
Rebels controlled Berlin and put forward Wolfgang Kapp as leader
Welcomed Kaiser to return
When did the Kapp Putsch begin?
March 1920
How did Ebert stop the Kapp Putsch?
Urged people not to co-operate and to go on strike
Many workers were socialist so they agreed
Services e.g. gas, electricity, water, transport stopped
Kapp realised it wouldn’t work after 4 days and fled but was caught and imprisoned
Which politicians were assassinated from 1919-22?
1919 -Hugo Haase, member of the Council of People’s Representatives, murdered
August 1921 - Matthias Erzberger, signed Armistice, shot
June 1922 - Walther Rathenau, Weimar foreign minister, machine-gunned to death in Berlin
Why were right-wing murderers not convicted and executed while 10 left-wing ones were?
Judges sympathetic to right wing, even undermined Weimar in courts
What parties hired armed protection and how did their purpose change?
KDP, DNVP, SPD
Originally for protection but became used to disturb opposing party meetings/marches, causing violence
What event, in December 1922, caused the Frech to occupy the Ruhr?
Germany failed to send coal from Ruhr coalfields to France (agreed as part of reparations)
When did the French occupy the Ruhr?
January 1923
What did the French do in the Ruhr and how did the German government respond?
Confiscated raw matierals, goods and machinery
Government urged passive resistance - strikes and sabotage
French arrested saboteurs and brought in their own workers
What was the effect of the occupation of the Ruhr?
Contained 80% coal, iron, steel reserves
Increased German debts and unemployment
What did the German government do to combat inflation?
Couldn’t raise tax so printed more money which worsened inflation
Led to hyperinflation
How much did the price of a loaf of bread increase by from 1919 to 1923?
1919 = 1 mark 1923 = 200,000 billon marks
What effects did hyperinflation have?
Normal living stopped - people had to carry money in wheelbarrows, some shops began asking for payment with services
Everyone suffered shortages - foreign suppliers wouldn’t accept marks so trade reduced = more shortages
Savings became worthless, middle classes worst affected
Who benefitted from hyperinflation?
People who had/took on loans found that they value they owed decreased
People could hoard goods and sell them when prices increased
Foreign visitors benefitted - the value of their currency was high so they could buy more
How did the challenges of 1919-23 affect the Weimar Republic?
Weimar were shown to be weak - had to be rescued by Freikorps/strikes
All Germans suffered and most blamed Weimar
Extremist parties with hostile armies gained strength
