Challenges from left and right outside the Reichstag and challenges of 1923 Flashcards

1
Q

what caused the Spartacist revolt?

A

4 Jan 1919 - Ebert sacked Emil Eickhorn, the police chief in Berlin, who was popular with the workers.

5 Jan 1919- thousands of workers took to the streets to protest

the Spartcits saw this as a chance to undermine the Government

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2
Q

what happened in the Spartacist revolt?

A

the Spartacists called for an uprising and general strike in Berlin

  • 6 Jan: over 100,000 workers took to the streets.

the Spartacists took over Government newspaper and telegraph bureau.

the government was losing control over the capital.

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3
Q

when did the spartacist revolt happen?

A

January 1919

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4
Q

Consequences of the Spartacist revolt

A

Ebert turned the Freikorps on the rioters - the mainly unarmed workers were no match for them.

13 Jan - rebels driven off the strees

16 Jan - Karl Leibknect and Rosa Luxemburg were shot and dead.

For the time being, the left-wing communist rebellion had been suppressed.

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5
Q

when did the kapp putch happen

A

March 1920

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6
Q

what caused the kapp putch?

A

1920 - Ebert’s government were struggling to control the Freikorps - units being disbanded near Berlin in March 1920

  • Fearing unemployment, Freikorps turned their arms against the republic
  • 5000 men march on Berlin Ebert asked the head of the army, General Seecht, to resist the Freikorps - he refused
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7
Q

What happened in the Kapp putch

A

the rebels controlled the city they put in charge a nationalist politician, Wolfgang Kapp and declared a new government of Germany and invited the Kaiser to return from exile

the members of the weimar government fled Berlin to Weimar then Stuttgart for safety

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8
Q

how did the Kapp Putsch fail

A

unable to put Kapp Putch down, they urged the people not to co-operte and go on strike

many workers obliged, as they had socialist-leaning and no desire to see the Kaiser return

Essential services like gas, electricity, water, transport - stopped, which put the capital ground to a halt

The national strike caused chaos - Kapp couldn’t rule Germany and was forced to flee the rebellion collapsed and the Weimar ministers returned

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9
Q

How many political murders were there between 1919 - 1922?

How were right-wing murders treated compared to left-wing?

A

There were 376 political murders between 1919-1922 and most were of left-wing or moderate politicians.

Not a single right-wing murderer was convicted and executed while ten left-wing assassins were.

Some judges were sympathetic to the right-wing and even undermined the Weimar Republic in courts.

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10
Q

What key political figures were assassinated between 1919 and 1922?

A
  • Hugo Haasse (one of Ebert’s Council of People’s representatives) murdered in 1919
  • Matthias Erzberger (a politician who surrendered to the Allies in 1918) was shot and killed in August 1921
  • Walther Rathenau (Weimar Foreign minister) was machine-gunned to death in Berlin in June 1922
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11
Q

What did all the violence (ie. spartacists and kapp putsch) trigger the formation of within parties?

A

It caused parties to set up and hire their own political armies which were mainly ex-soldiers who were unemployed.

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12
Q

What armies did the KPD, DNVP and SPD have?

A

The KPD set up a private army called the Red Front Fighters

The DNVP were supported by the Steel Helmets

The SPD had the Black Red Gold Flag

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13
Q

What were the partys’ armies used for?

A

The main idea for the armies was for protection but their presence often caused political meetings and marches to become violent.

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14
Q

why was the German government bankrupt

A

because its resources of gold had all been spent in the war

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15
Q

What was the economic situation in Germany 1923?

A

The Government was bankrupt, the gold reserves had been spent on the war but yet they still had to pay reparations without the help of their production land that had been stripped away in the Treaty of Versailles.

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16
Q

What were the events that led to the occupation of Ruhr

A

December 1922- Germany failed to send coal to France from the Ruhr coalfields as they were supposed to under reparations agreements

Jan 1923- France in retaliation sent troops into the German industrial area of Ruhr

17
Q

what happened when French troops invaded Ruhr?

A
  • raw materials, manufactured goods and industrial machinery were confiscated
  • the german government urged passive resistance
  • workers went on strike and there was even some sabotages
  • the french then arrested those who obstructed them and brought in their own workers
18
Q

consequences of the occupation of Ruhr

A

Ruhr contained many factories and 80% of German coal, iron and steel resources. The disruption lead to :

  • increase in Germany’s debt
  • increased unemployment
  • worsening the shortage of goods
19
Q

What did the government do to combat the shortages created by the invasion of the Ruhr ?

A

They printed more money as they were not receiving enough tax. In 1923, the government had 300 paper mills and 2,000 printing shops dedicated to printing more bank notes

20
Q

What happened when the Government printed more money in 1923?

A

It raised prices so more money had to be printed. This ended up in a vicious circle. By 1923, prices had reached spectacular heights and the extreme inflation is called hyperinflation.

21
Q

What was the price of a loaf of bread in 1919, 1922 and 1923?

A

1919 = 1 mark

1922 = 100 marks

1923 = 200,000 billion marks

22
Q

What were the three main effects of hyperinflation in Germany?

A
  • Normal living became impossible
  • Everyone suffered from shortages
  • People with savings were hit hardest
23
Q

How did normal living become impossible due to Hyperinflation?

(6)

A
  • Printing presses could not produce enough money
  • Stamps were useless (money had to be pinned to letters)
  • Money had to be carried in bundles in baskets or wheelbarrows
  • Many workers were paid twice a day so they could rush out and buy goods before prices rose even further
  • Some shops refused to take the money and asked for payment in kind (swapping goods)
  • Shops were raided by those who could not afford food
24
Q

Why did the Germans suffer shortages as a result of Hyperinflation?

A

Foreign suppliers refused to accept German marks for goods so imports dried up and shortages or food and other goods dried up. £1 worth of foreign goods cost 20 billion marks

25
Q

What happened to those with savings during Hyperinflation?

A

People with money in banks, insurance policies or policies were hit hard. Their saved money became worthless

26
Q

What social class was affected the worse during Hyperinflation?

A

The middle class

27
Q

What people benefitted from hyperinflation?

A
  • People with loans
  • Hoarders
  • Foreign visitors
28
Q

Why did hoarders benefit from hyperinflation?

A

Their goods could be sold for a large profit

29
Q

Why did foreign visitors benefit from hyperinflation?

A

Foreign visitors benefitted because the value of their own currency rose against the German mark.

Germans hated people who made money out of their suffering.