1919-1923 Flashcards

1
Q

Give a quick background to Hyperinflation

A
  • during world war one; government paid bills by printing more bank notes
  • reperations to be paid in gold
  • not enough goods or food to buy
  • prices rose while value fell
  • this was inflation
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2
Q

What did rising prices mean?

A
  • demand for higher wages
  • goods cost more to produce
  • prices go up to be able to pay for wage increases
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3
Q

what was the Ruhr Invasion?

A
  • £6.6 billion set for Germany in 1921
  • 1922 couldn’t pay
  • france didnt believe Germany - them + Belgian troops marched in Jan 1923
  • they claimed payments in gold + steel
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4
Q

How did Germany react to the Ruhr Invasion?

A
  • Passive resistance
  • Workers couldnt work - so France couldnt take anything
  • caused violence between germany + france
  • workers on strike to be given wages; government printed more money
  • Germany now producing less so price of goods went up
  • result : HYPERINFLATION
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5
Q

How was the war financed in Germany? (financial problems ww1)

A
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6
Q

what was the impact + why did Germany use this to finance their war?

A
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7
Q

financial problems after WW1 -> Why didnt the government increase taxes to pay debt caused by war?

A
  • would’ve created more hatred for Weimar Government
  • nobody liked taxes - especially right wing
  • weimar government already in bad situation
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8
Q

What did the government do instead of raising taxes after WW1?

A
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9
Q

In what ways were inflation beneficial?

A
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10
Q

What happened to the government when they saw they had to pay £6.6B ?

A
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11
Q

What was the policy of fufilment?

A
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12
Q

what did germany ask the Allies to do when they couldnt pay reperations?

A
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13
Q

What impact did reperations have on the government and what was their response?

A
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14
Q

How did passive resistance in the Ruhr make Germany’s financial situation worse?

A
  • because they had to now pay workers wages even though there were less goods being made, so less money is made and goods are increasing prices
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15
Q

Why did Passive resistance have a limited impact?

A
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16
Q

Give a law passed in 1919 to do with welfare + advant / disadvant

A

Law passed to limit working day to max 8 hours
advantages - Good for workers
disadvantages - Less work / goods is created

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17
Q

Give another law in 1919 made to improve lives?

A
  • State health insurance (introduced by Bismarck)
  • it was originially limited to workers in employment
  • extended to include wives, daughters and disabled
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18
Q

Give another law passed in 1919 aiming at war veterans?

A
  • Aid for those incapable of working because of injury
  • aid for widows and orphans increased
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19
Q

Give a law passed in 1922 at younger people?

A

National Youth Welfare Act
- all local authorities to set up youth offices with responsibility for child protection
- all children had right to education

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20
Q

Give examples of when Hyperinflation got bad - impact

A
  • People carried laundry baskets filled with banknotes
  • Baskets worth more money than notes
  • Food shortages
  • Beer cost 150 million marks
  • Eggs cost 80 million marks
  • Prices rise between 20%-100% each day
  • Money carried in sacks or prams
  • People paid using sausages or coal
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21
Q

What were some benefits of Hyperinflation?

A
  • People who invested
  • People with mortgages - could pay quickly
  • Man could afford to use inflated marks to pay for whole herd of cattle
  • Value of property stayed steady
    -Workers - trade unions kept wages up
  • ## industrialists + land owners could pay debts off
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22
Q

Who were the losers of hyperinflation?

A
  • Pensioners
  • People who bought war bonds
  • Landlords
  • Unskilled and trade workers
  • Artisans ans small business owners
  • Mittlestand
  • sick, children
23
Q

Who was Hugo Stinnes?

A
  • Ownes businesses in coal, iron, electrical industries
  • Became member of DVP + represented them in Reichstag
  • during inflation he used connections with Reichsbank to but competitors businesses
  • Converted foreign currency from foreign business deals + paid loans and bought businesses
  • 1535 conpanies + 20% of Germanies industries
24
Q

What did Stresemen do to stop hyperinflation?

A
  • Appointed Hjalmar Schacht (economic expert) for advice
  • Cut expenditure by cutting excess jobs in Civil service
  • Helped to negotiate Dawes Plan
  • Called off passive resistance
  • Production resumed
  • Limited new currency - Rentenmark
25
Q

Social consequences of hyperinflation

A
  • Basic values changed - people less likely to save
  • Demagogues created events to blame people e.g. Jews, November criminals, socialists
  • Gap between poor and rich increased - resentment
  • Health among elderly suffered
26
Q

Political consequences of hyperinflation

A
  • stopping passive resistance seen by right wing as giving into French
  • Anger led to political uprisings like Munich Putsch
  • Civil servants lost jobs - right wing resented Republic further
  • Distrust in democracy
27
Q

Economic consequences of hyperinflation

A
  • 1924 economy started recovering
  • Dawes plan meant Germany dependent on US loans
28
Q

What was the Young plan?

A
  • Reduce reperations to £1.8 billion and pay until 1998
29
Q

Who replaced Cuno as Chancellor in August 1923?

A
  • gustav stresemann
30
Q

What three main steps did Stresemann do to control hyperinflation?

A

-End passive resistance
- Issue new currency
- Balance budget

31
Q

Who became the Reich currency commissioner in 1923?

A
  • Hjalmar Schacht
32
Q

What happened to the number of companies going bankrupt between 1923-4

A
  • Rose from 233 to over 6000
33
Q

What impact did the Dawes plan have on industry?

A
  • Industrial output grew
  • More prosperous
34
Q

What was a cartel?

A
  • Group of companies in the same industries - to fix prices and protect profits
  • Reduced competitopn and allowed more profits to be invested
35
Q

What was compulsory arbitration and what result did it have on the number of strikes?

A
  • Industrial disputes - Sided with the workers which led to resentment of employers to the government
36
Q

How many people were unemployed by March 1926?

A
  • Over 3 million
37
Q

Who didnt gain much from the economic improvements?

A
  • Farmers
  • Mittlestand
38
Q

What were some examples of improvement from hyperinflation

A
  • Working days lost went from 12.35 in 1923 to 3 in 1925
  • Less strikes
  • 1919 budget deficit remained above 9% and went down to under 1% in 1924
  • Reperations down as a % of GNP
  • By 1929 - Imports = exports
39
Q

What were the weaknesses that were superficially promising after hyperinflation?

A
  • Agricultural prices declined after 1927 which was bad for farmers
  • loans went up ro 18,000 mollion marks from foreign loans - more money needing to be paid in future
  • Producing less than other countries
  • Tax rose to match real hour earnings in 1925
40
Q

Did stresemann improve German economy? If yes:

A
  • Appointed correct people
  • Cut spending
  • Helped negotiate Dawes Plan which included 800 million mark loan
  • Ended passive resistance
41
Q

Did stresemann improve german economy? If no:

A
  • Schacht was responsible for new currency + limiting amount in circulation
  • Wouldve listened to advice from economists and Schacht before doing this
  • Didnt support the plan at first calling it an economic armistice
42
Q

When did the Spartacist uprising happen?

A

5th jan 1919

43
Q

What happened before spartacist uprising that led to chaos and confusion

A
  • Kaiser abdication
  • German soldiers returning
  • Republic set up
  • Conflicting political ideologies
44
Q

Who led Spartacist uprising?

A

Rosa Luxemburg and Karl Liebknecht

45
Q

What was the aim of the spartacist uprising and what did they do?

A
  • Communist revolution + land and industry redistribution
  • Took control of key buildings in Berlin eg post office
46
Q

Why did the Spartacist uprising fail?

A
  • Lack of organisation from left
  • Lack of support
  • Friekorps
47
Q

What were the consequences of Spartacist uprising?

A
  • Led to increase in fear of communism
  • Further devision in left wing
48
Q

What were the weaknesses of left wing?

A
  • Divided between SPD, USPD, new KPD
  • Couldnt organise spartacist revolt or gain enough weapons
  • Ebert Groener pact led to greater divisions - left wing feeling betrayed
  • Spartacist revolt poorly planned
49
Q

What was the strength of right wing and opposition during spartacist revolt?

A
  • Freikorps brutally stopped it + efficient
  • Effectibe at neutralising the threat
50
Q

What was the left wing revolt - Red Bavaria 1919?

A
  • 21st Feb 1919
  • Right wing student shot Bavarian president Kurt Eisner
  • Had been member of USPD
  • Eisner about to resign, (lack of support)
  • Assassination triggered shootings and USPD called for general strike
51
Q

What happened 7th april and so on - Red Bavaria 1919?

A
  • 7th april - independents seized power in Munich + proclaimed soviet republic
  • Regular government fled
  • Houses, food, cars taken from rich given to workers
  • Factories to be run by joint workers councils + plans to abolish money
  • Friekorps called + killed 1000 in May 1919 (White terror) - people turned to right wing
  • right wing government established
52
Q

What was the Ruhr uprising 1920?

A
  • Communists + members of USPD planned Red Army - Seized key buildings
  • Kapp putsch broke out - Communists formed army of 50,000 men
  • General strike followed
  • Across Ruhr - Executive Councils took over political power
  • Dominated by USPD + KPD
53
Q

What happened by 20th march - Ruhr Uprising? 1920

A
  • Communists Controlled most of Ruhr
  • Largest working class revolt 1919-1923
  • Early april, Friekorps + army launched full scale offensibe against Red Army
  • Over 1000 workers + 250 soldiers killed
  • Convinced right wing that communism was real threat
  • Ebert offered workers better working conditions
54
Q

What was German October 1923?

A
  • KPD and SPD formed coalitions in regional governments of Saxony and Thuringia
  • Communists went further + made military preparations for communist uprisings
  • Ebert sent in army to crush communists
  • Regional governemts recreated without communist members
  • Rushed, badly organised, lack of public support