Chapter 1 Flashcards
When was the revolution from above?
October 1918
What reforms did the Kaiser make at the recommendation of Ludendorff?
- Appointed Prince Max of Baden as Chancellor.
- Put the army in control of the government.
Why was the revolution from above enacted?
It was meant to save Germany from humiliation and preserve the Kaiser’s rule.
What was the Peace Note?
A letter from Prince Max of Baden to President Woodrow Wilson asking for an armistice.
When was the Peace Note sent?
3 October 1918
How long did it take for President Wilson to reply to the Peace Note and why?
Nearly three weeks because he thought it was a ploy to allow the Germans to regroup.
What demands did President Wilson make in order for an armistice to be called?
- Germany must evacuate all occupied territory.
- Germany must end all submarine warfare.
- Germany must fully democratise its political system.
What was Ludendorff’s reaction to the demands of the Peace Note?
He could not accept them. They would result in the Kaiser abdicating and he had tried to save the Kaiser after all. He tried and failed to launch a final military effort and then fled to Sweden.
What was the effect of the Peace Note on the people and the armed forces?
It was a shattering blow to their morale as it was an admission of their defeat.
What happened on 3 November 1918?
Sailors at the naval base at Kiel mutinied against their officers and took control of the base.
What was happening by 6 November 1918?
Workers’ and soldiers’ councils were springing up all over Germany.
What happened in Bavaria on 8 November 1918?
The Bavarian monarchy was deposed and a socialist republic was declared.
When did Prince Max declare the Kaiser had abdicated?
9 November 1918; he had not actually done so.
What did Philipp Scheidemann do on 9 November 1918?
He stood on the Reichstag balcony and declared the beginning of the German Republic.
Who was the Spartacist League?
Precursor to the KPD, a revolutionary minority group formed from the SPD.
Who led the Spartacist League?
Karl Liebknecht and Rosa Luxemburg
Who was the USPD?
A breakaway group from the SPD whose ideological position was between the Spartacists and the SPD.
Who was the SPD?
The largest party in the Reichstag by 1918. Originally set up as a Marxist revolutionary party in 1875, they wanted a socialist republic.
had the SPD supported Germany’s entry into the First World War?
Yes
Who led the SPD?
Friedrich Ebert and Philipp Scheidemann
What agreement was reached on 22 November 1918?
Ebert’s government agreed that he only exercised power in the name of the Berlin workers’ and soldiers’ councils. These councils had played a major role in bringing about the republic and they were not about to step aside.
What was the Ebert-Groener Pact?
An agreement between the new government and the army that the army would support the government.
Why did General Groener want to support Ebert’s new government when Groener, being an aristocrat and supported the rule of the Kaiser, did not favour the creation of a republic?
Because Groener knew the situation was highly unstable and if the revolution was allowed to continue then there was a risk of a Bolshevik revolution like that in Russia in 1917.
What were the terms of the Ebert-Groener Pact?
Groener and the army would support the government in return for Ebert resisting demands to democratise the army and defend Germany against a communist revolution.
When was the Ebert-Groener Pact?
10 November 1918
Why did Ebert need help from the aristocratic army that had supported the rule of the Kaiser and opposed the creation of a republic?
The Spartacists and the USPD, that had a strong base in the workers’ and soldiers’ councils, wanted to carry on the revolution which was a threat to Ebert and the republic; the Pact was necessary for an orderly transition to a New Republic.
What happened on 6 December 1918?
A Spartacist demonstration in Berlin was fired upon, killing sixteen.
When was the Spartacist Uprising?
5 - 13 January
When were the elections to the Constituent Assembly?
19 January 1919
When did the Kaiser resign?
9 November 1918
Who did the Constituent Assembly elect as its first president?
Friedrich Ebert
Who was the first Chancellor of the Weimar Republic?
Philipp Scheidemann
Who was allowed to vote under the terms of the Weimar Constitution?
All men and women over the age of 20.
What electoral system did the Weimar Constitution decide on?
Proportional representation.
What was Article 48 of the Weimar Constitution?
Allowed the president to rule by decree in an emergency without consulting the Reichstag.
How often was the president elected?
Every 7 years
Give civil liberties that were protected by the Weimar Constitution.
- All Germans are equal before the law.
- Censorship is forbidden.
What type of government did Germany use?
Federal government; there were 17 states, the largest being Bavaria.
How many times did Ebert use Article 48?
136
Why could the Reichstag not protect against Article 48?
As president Ebert could threaten to dissolve the Reichstag if they did not accept a presidential decree.
Why did the framers of the new constitution not reform the army, civil service, or the judiciary?
They put stability over a fully democratic system.
What was the result of the failure to reform the army, civil service, and judiciary?
All three were opposed to the new republic for whom they were supposed to work.
