3) Germany Under The New Weimar Republic (1918-1923)

Question 1

What was the Weimar Republic? How did it get this name?

Answer 1

• It was Germany’s first democratic government that governed as a democracy
• The new government met in Weimar because Berlin was too unstable and became known as the Weimar Republic.

Question 2

Give TWO examples of how Germany had become more DEMOCRATIC after WW1.

Answer 2

• The president and political parties were voted into power
• Voting age was lowered to 20
• Women could also vote

Question 3

What was proportional representation? What was the problem with this system?

Answer 3

Proportional Representation was when the proportion of seats won in the Reich-stag was roughly proportional to the amount of votes won.
The problem was that there would be 20 to 30 different parties all arguing over the same topic.

Question 4

Who was Friedrich Ebert?

Answer 4

Was the leader of the Social Democratic Party, the largest political party in the Reich-stag.
He later became the president of Germany.

Question 5

What was the Treaty of Versailles?

Answer 5

It was a peace treaty opposed on Germany, which restricted Germany in multiple ways.

Question 6

When was the Treaty of Versailles created?

Answer 6

June 1919

Question 7

Describe the key terms of the Treaty of Versailles:

War Guilt

Answer 7

Article 231 said that Germany had to take all responsibility for the war

Question 8

Describe the key terms of the Treaty of Versailles:

Reparations

Answer 8

Germany had to pay £6.6 billion in reparations to

France and Belgium in annual instalments for over 66 years.

Question 9

Describe the key terms of the Treaty of Versailles:

Military Restrictions

Answer 9

• The air force had to be disbanded
• The army was limited to 100,000 soldiers
• The navy was limited to 15,000 sailors, 6 battleships and no submarines.
• The Rhineland would be occupied by the Allies for
  fifteen years, and no German troops allowed in the area

Question 10

Describe the key terms of the Treaty of Versailles:

Loss of land and Population

Answer 10

Germany lost 13% of its land, which contained about 6 million of its people

• Alsace-Lorraine was returned to France
• They also lost land to Belgium, Denmark and Poland

Question 11

Describe the key terms of the Treaty of Versailles:

Overseas Colonies

Answer 11

Overseas Colonies that belonged to Germany were now called Mandates. And were put under the control of the winning side by the League of Nations.

Question 12

Describe the key terms of the Treaty of Versailles:

League of Nations

Answer 12

They decided who took control of the Mandates.
(like a middle man)
Germany couldn’t join

Question 13

Describe the key terms of the Treaty of Versailles:

Austria

Answer 13

Germany must NEVER unite with Austria again

Question 14

Why did so many people start to call the Weimar government the ‘November Criminals’?

Answer 14

The politicians who lost the war in 1918 and signed the Treaty of Versailles

Question 15

What was the ‘stab in the back theory’?

Answer 15

Many thought Germany could have continued to fight in the War and won but politicians asked for a ceasefire and cause many to think they had been stabbed in the back

Question 16

Who was responsible for the Sparticist Uprising? When did it happen? What was the outcome?

Question 17

Who was responsible for the Red Rising in the Ruhr? When did it happen? What was the outcome?

Answer 17

When:
March 1920

Who:
Left-wing workers in the Ruhr refused to go back to work
Took over several towns

Outcome:
Government sent some Freikorps and soldiers to deal with the rebellion, over 1000 workers were killed

Question 18

Who was responsible for the Kapp Putsch? When did it happen? What was the outcome?

Answer 18

When:
March 1920

Who:
Right-wing Wolfgang Kapp gathered 5000 men known as the Freikorps (made up mainly ex-soldier and police) and took over Berlin.
Wanted to rule the country and recover all land lost to the Treaty of Versailles

Outcome:
President Ebert and the government fled Berlin but Kapp didn’t have the support of the workers so they went on strike
After only 100 hours as a German ruler, Kapp fled abroad and Ebert and his government returned to Berlin.

Question 19

Who was responsible for the Munich Putsch? When did it happen? What was the outcome?

Answer 19

When:
November 1923

Who:
Hitler and the Nazis tries to seize control of the Bavarian government in southern Germany
Key Bavarian politicians refused to back him in his plan take Berlin

Outcome:
Hitler and about 2000 armed supporters marched through Munich they were met by armed police.
Three policemen and 16 Nazis died
Hitler and Ludendorff were arrested

Question 20

What is hyperinflation?

Answer 20

When the value of money decreases and becomes worthless

Question 21

Why did French and Belgian troops invade the Ruhr region of Germany in January 1923?

Answer 21

Germany couldn’t afford to pay reparations to France that month so both France and Belgium invaded the Ruhr as it was a rich industrial area

Question 22

What did the Weimar government tell the workers in the Ruhr to do? What did the Weimar government then do in order to continue paying these workers?

Answer 22

The Weimar government told the workers of the Ruhr to go on strike, this was known as passive resistance.
In order to continue paying these workers, the government printed more and more money.

Question 23

What effect(s) did hyperinflation have on the German economy?

Answer 23

• People with savings were the biggest losers of hyperinflation as their life savings became worthless
• The elderly who lived off of fixed pensions from the government did not increase
• Small businesses collapsed as trade became impossible
• People who owed money to the bank got off pretty well as they could pay back their loans with a single note