Case Study - Weimar Republic - Knowledge Specific Flashcards
What is Germany called during WWI?
Second Reich
Who is monarch in WWI of Germany?
Kaiser Wilhelmina II
Who was in the triple entente?
Britain, France, Russia
Who was in the central powers?
Germany + Austria Hungary + Ottoman Empire
Did Italy stay on the same side in the war? Which side?
No - initially against Britain but then swapped
How many soldiers and civilians died as a result of flu in 1918
500 000 civilians and 200 000 soldiers
How did naval commanders lose control
when ordering an attack of the British blockade
When were demonstrations made against the war?
1918 November?
When did the kaiser order the rounding up of political opposition?
?
When did the SPD gain in popularity?
?
When did General Ludendorff tell the German government that Germany couldn’t win the war
October 1918
What was one impact of the war on German economy
Halved milk production (lack of nutrients)
How many workers demonstrated against the government demanding an end to the war in 1916?
10 000
How many Germans are estimated to have died from starvation during the war?
3 million
True or false: there were lots of power cuts as coal and electricity ran out during the war
True
When did food start to run out in the war and why?
1915 - as German ships carrying food were destroyed by the British
When was there a general strike in Berlin?
?
How many died as a result of food shortages from the naval blockade in WWI?
750 000
When was the treaty of Versailles?
August 1919
What was Dolchstos theory?
Belief that the German people had been stabbed in the back by the government (as the government had surrendered)
By what percentage did industrial production decrease during the war due to strikes?
40%
When did the kaiser abdicate?
9/11/1918 (2 days before end of war)
What town was the Weimar Republic named after?
Weimar - not the capital as Berlin was too dangerous due to public protest
Where did the kaiser flee to?
Holland
What was the first action of the new republic?
To sign the armistice
What was the name of the communist party in the reichstag?
KPD (communists)
What are two left of centre parties?
DDP + SDP (social democrats)
What was the name of the centre party in the Reichstag?
ZP
What was the right wing party called in the Reichstag?
DNVP (German nationalist people’s party)
What was the far right/fascist party in the Reichstag?
NSDAP (Nazis)
True or false: freidrich ebert along with the SPD was elected president
False - cause of resentment
With whom did ebert make and agreement with to keep the communists out of power?
General groener of the army
?? Ebert 6 liberal friends jobs?
?
True or false: government employees who worked for the Kaiser lost their jobs
False - they kept them to keep things working - source of resentment perhaps
When was the structure of the Weimar Republic finalised?
1919
Who is the chancellor chosen by ?
President
Who could vote - according to what article of the republic’s constitution
All men and women over 21
What system of representation did the republic have?
Proportional representation
Which organisation’s support did the chancellor have to have the support of?
Reichstag support
How many members of the Reichstag were there in 1919
421
How many members of the Reichstag were there by 1933
647
After how many years is the Reichstag re elected?
Every 4 years
Which is more important - the reichstrat or the Reichstag?
Reichstag
Could the Reichstag make laws?
Yes
After how many years was the president re elected?
Every 7 years
Did the president have a role in the day to day running of parliament?
No
What title did the president have in relation to the army?
Supreme commander
True or false: the president could dismiss and call new elections
True
Did the president have to have the support of the majority of the Reichstag?
Yes
What did the Reichstrat do?
Approved laws - did not make them
How many representatives were included in the Reichsrat?
55
What did article 48 state?
President could suspend the constitution in an emergency(if public satiety and order is disturbed or endangered)
What did article 54 state?
Reich chancellor and ministers must resign if the Reichstag withdraws its confidence
What is an issue with PR?
Allows extremists in + makes governing slow
When was armistice signed?
11th nov 1918
What word describes how the Weimar Republic surrendered
Unconditionally - allies could impose any demands
What is the name of the peace treaty which set the terms of peace after the war
Treaty of Versailles
When was the treaty of Versailles signed?
28th June 1919
Which people met to discuss terms of peace at the Paris peace conference?
Britain + France + USA + Italy
What did Diktat mean?
Dictated peace - the idea that the German government didn’t have a say in the peace treaties and was treated harshly
Give 3 areas which Germany lost as part of the land aspect of the treaty of Versailles? Who were they given to?
Alsace Lorraine (to France) + Danzig (freed) + Malmedy (Belgium)
What was the polish corridor?
A strip of land cutting off east Prussia from the rest of Germany as part of the treaty of Versailles
It was made in order to allow Poland access to the Baltic Sea (Germans could travel to the rest of Germany)
What area was demilitarised as part of the TV
Rhineland
What area of coalfields was given to France?
Saar coalfields to mine for 15 years
What % of German coal production was lost when losing Saar coalfields to France as part of TofV
48%
What % of German land was taken as part of the T of V?
13%
True or false: all German colonies were given to France/the UK
True
What number of men is the army limited under the T of V
100 000
Was conscription banned under the T of V?
Yes
What two pieces of military equipment were banned as part of T of V?
Tanks + artillery
Was Germany allowed an air force?
No
What number of battleships was the navy limited to?
6
Were submarines allowed in T of V?
No
How many sailors were allowed in the navy?
15 000
How much money in £ was reparations?as part of T of V
£6.6 billion
What article stated that Germany had to take the blame for starting the war
Article 231 + ‘war guilt clause’
Did the T of V allow Germany to join the League of Nations?
No
Which country was Germany forbidden to unite with?
Austria
How many political murders were there 1919-1922?
Over 376
Were any right wing assassins ever prosecuted?
No
What right wing revolutionary armed group supported the DNVP ?
Stanhelm (steel helmets)
Who are the Freikorps led by?
General Wolfgang Kapp
Who comprised the main part of the Freikorps?
Former soldiers (left unemployed after WWI) and right wing revolutionaries
