1919-1923: Early Weimar Germany

Question 1

Who became leader of the Republic of Germany?

Answer 1

Friedrich Ebert

Question 2

What did Ebert promise the German people from the new Republic?

Answer 2

Freedom of speech, freedom of worship, better working conditions

Question 3

Who did Ebert face opposition from on the right?

Answer 3

The Kaiser’s former advisers who held positions in the army, judiciary, civil service and industry

Question 4

Who did Ebert face opposition from on the left?

Answer 4

Communists who wanted a revolution like the one experienced in Russia in 1917

Question 5

What was the ‘stab in the back’ myth?

Answer 5

Many Germans believed that Ebert and those in his government had stabbed Germany in the back and caused them to lose the war

Question 6

What was the result of the free elections in January 1919?

Answer 6

Ebert’s coalition party won a majority, and Ebert became the President of the Weimar Republic

Question 7

Why Weimar?

Answer 7

Berlin was too unstable and violent, so the new government met in the small town of Weimar and became known as the Weimar Republic

Question 8

What was the Weimar Constitution?

Answer 8

A new democratic system set up to limit the amount of power a single person or group could have

Question 9

What was the role of the President?

Answer 9

The President was elected every 7 years. They appointed the Chancellor, judges in the courts and controlled the Armed Forces

Question 10

What rights did the people have?

Answer 10

Voting age was lowered to 20, and the German people were able to vote for the members of the Reichstag (Parliament) and the President

Question 11

What was proportional representation?

Answer 11

Parties would receive the amount of seats equal to the percentage of votes they achieved i.e. if a party received 20% of the vote, they would get 20% of the seats in the Reichstag

Question 12

What were the advantages of proportional representation?

Answer 12

It enabled smaller political parties to gain seats this allowed the country to be more equally represented in the Reichstag.

Question 13

What were the disadvantages of proportional representation?

Answer 13

There would likely never be a majority and therefore there would be a coalition parliament. It lead to lots of small parties having seats and so many different opinions on how to handle situations or what to do. This meant that in an emergency it would be hard to come to a decision quickly.

Question 14

What was Article 48?

Answer 14

It gave the President the power to rule the country directly without the involvement of the Reichstag. It was to be used in a time of crisis, but it could be easily exploited (see Hitler’s rise to power)

Question 15

When was the Treaty of Versailles signed?

Answer 15

June 1919

Question 16

How was Germany impacted by the Treaty of Versailles?

Answer 16

BRAT - Blame (article 231 - War Guilt Clause), Reparations (ordered to repay £6.6 billion), Armed Forces (army and navy significantly reduced - 100,000 soldiers, conscription banned, only 6 battleships), Territory (lost 10% of its territory including overseas colonies)

Question 17

What was the land that was demilitarised to provide protection to France?

Answer 17

The Rhineland

Question 18

What and when was the Spartacist uprising?

Answer 18

January 1919 - Communists in Germany led by Karl Liebknecht and Rosa Luxemburg seized control of Berlin. - The Weimar Government stopped the rebellion by using the Freikorps. - Liebknecht and Luxemburg murdered

Question 19

Who were the Freikorps?

Answer 19

Ex WW1 soldiers who were right wing and anti-communist

Question 20

What and when was the Kapp Putsch?

Answer 20

March 1920 - Dr Wolfgang Kapp led a Freikorps takeover in Berlin in response to the Treaty’s impact on the German army and the disbandment of the Friekorps.
The regular army refused to attack the Freikorps; Kapp was only defeated when the workers of Berlin went on strike and refused to cooperate with him.

Question 21

Which political party formed in 1920?

Answer 21

National Socialist German Workers’ Party (Nazi Party)

Question 22

What were the key points in the Nazi Party’s 25-Point Programme?

Answer 22

Abolition of the Treaty of Versailles, union of Germany and Austria, only ‘true’ Germans to live in Germany, nationalisation of large businesses and industries, formation of a strong central government

Question 23

What three key events happened in 1923?

Answer 23

Invasion of the Ruhr, Hyperinflation, Munich Putsch

Question 24

What benefitted from hyperinflation?

Answer 24

People who owed money i.e. borrowers and those with mortgages who could pay back loans easily with worthless money.

Question 25

Who suffered the most from hyperinflation?

Answer 25

People with savings as they became worthless, those who lent money out as the value hugely decreased, People on fixed incomes, like students, pensioners or the sick as their incomes did not keep up with prices.

Question 26

What and when was the Munich Putsch?

Answer 26

8-9th Nov 1923 - failed revolution in Munich led by Hitler and Ludendorff Kahr and Lossow. Hitler and 600 SA hijacked a meeting in a Beer Hall led by Kahr and Lossow. - He forced them to agree to rebel after calling off the rebellion the previous month. 9th Nov - Hitler and the SA arrived in Munich to lead a march, but were stopped by the police and army reinforcements called in by Kahr. - -16 Nazis were killed, Hitler and other leading Nazis were arrested

Question 27

What was the short-term impact of the Munich Putsch?

Answer 27

Hitler miscalculated the support from the German people
The Nazi party was banned, and Hitler was prevented from speaking in public until 1927.
Hitler was tried for high treason (betraying his country) and sentenced to five years in prison.
Hitler gained huge publicity and he impressed the judges who set sentences far more lenient than expected

Question 28

What was the long-term impact of the Munich Putsch?

Answer 28

Hitler only served a few months of his sentence (April-December 1924)
Used this time to write Mein Kampf which millions of Germans read, promoting Nazi ideology
Lenient sentence showed authority had sympathy for Hitler and what he was trying to achieve
Showed Hitler he would have to use democratic means to gain power, so he reorganised the party to enable it to take part in elections.