2.1 Germany And The First World War Flashcards
When did WW1 begin?
August 1914
Patriotic definition
Supporting your country, especially against its enemies
Mutiny definition
rebellion by soldiers or sailors who refuse to take orders
Abdicate definition
give up the throne of a country
Who fought against who in WW1
Germany, Austria
Vs
France, UK, Russia, Belgium, Serbia
What were the German attitudes towards the war in the beginning and end?
Beginning: young, patriotic Germans thought the war would end quickly
End: Soldiers were worn down by bombs, poisonous gas and machine gun fire. German citizens at home suffered too.
Home front definition
the civilian population and activities of a nation whose armed forces are engaged in war abroad
How did Germans suffer during WW1?
- Britain used large navy to stop supply ships getting to Germany
- As a result, there were terrible shortages of food, medicine and clothing
- People grew weary and tired of the war , this is known as war fatigue
How did people express their feelings about the war and what did the people in power do?
- 1915 — 500 women gathered in front of the German parliament buildings, saying they wanted their men back from the trenches
- 1916 — 10,000 workers assembled in Berlin to shout ‘Down with war, down with the government!’
- Police made arrests and calmed the situation
Why was Germany close to collapse by 1918?
- German people were surviving on turnips and bread
- Spanish flu was killing thousands already weak from poor diet
- On the battlefields, Germany was close to defeat
Who was General Ludendorff and what did he do?
- he was a leading German general and war hero
- he advised the Kaiser to share more of his power with the Reichstag
Did the Kaiser make the changes Ludendorff suggested and did they work
- He did: he allowed the main political parties to form a new government
- German people thought it was too little, too late
- There were talks that the Kaiser should abdicate and plans of overthrowing him in a revolution
When did the Kaiser abdicate?
9 November 1918
What happened during the mutiny on 28 October 1918?
- Germany navy was ordered out to sea form Kiel, northern Germany to attack British ships
- Sailors refused to follow orders, they no longer wanted to fight
- News spread, other sailors refused to follow orders, supported by workers in the towns
- Soldiers sent to deal with the protests joined the sailors and workers
- in 6 days, workers’ and soldiers’ councils were governing cities
- Kaiser no longer supported by army generals
- On 9 November 1918, Kaiser abidcated
Who became leader after Kaiser Wilhelm II abdicated?
Friedrich Ebert the leader of the SPD (Social Democratic Party)
What did Ebert do?
- promised to hold elections soon
- he surrendered to World War 1
When did Germany surrender/WW1 end?
11th November 1918
What are the three main sub points about the impact of the war on Germany by 1918?
- Germany was virtually bankrupt
- The war had divided German society further
- Germany had become more politically unstable
Germany was virtually bankrupt
- Germany had borrowed money from abroad to pay for the war. This would need paying back.
- Germany had lent some of its own money to its allies. Would they get it back?
- The war had left 600,000 widows and two million children without fathers. War pensions would cost the government a fortune in the future
- German factories were exhausted by the war. They had been producing guns, bullets and shells, not goods abroad to sell abroad and make money
The war had divided Germany further
- some factory owners made a fortune during the war, while German workers had restrictions placed on their wages
- Women worked in the factories during the war. Some thought this damaged traditional family values
Germany had become more politically unstable
- before the war, Germany had been a stable, rich nation. Now, there was mutiny and revolution
- many ex-soldiers and civilians felt Germany could have won the war. They felt they had been betrayed by the politicians who had ended it, and refused to support them
