Chapter 1 Flashcards

1
Q

When was the Kaiser informed of his abdication?

A

At 1:30pm on 9 November 1918, in a house adjacent to the German army headquarters in Spa, Belgium, Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany was brought the news that his abdication had been announced in Berlin.

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2
Q

Military situation Sep 1918

A

By the end of September 1918 it had been clear to General Ludendorff and the German High Command that Germany was on the brink of defeat.
Although the Allied armies had not yet entered German territory, German forces were in retreat along the Western Front. Elsewhere in Europe, Germany’s Allies were trying to negotiate peace terms.

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3
Q

Ludendorff plan for armistice

A

Ludendorff concluded that Germany’s only hope of avoiding a humiliating surrender was to ask the Allies for an armistice. US President Wilson’s Fourteen Points offered a possible basis for a negotiated peace settlement but Ludendorff understood that Germany’s autocratic political system was an obstacle to this. He, therefore, advocated a partial democratisation of the political system in Germany as a way of getting better peace terms from the Allies.

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4
Q

President Wilson’s Fourteen Points

A

Woodrow Wilson was an idealist and his Fourteen Points were devised as a means of dealing fairly with the aftermath of war. Some points, such as the return of Alsace-Lorraine to France, were quite specific and punitive towards Germany. However, there were also some general principles, such as the establishment of a League of Nations to monitor future disputes and self-determination, whereby different nations should rule themselves, together with general disarmament and Wilson’s determination to create a peace that would last and prevent another war.

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5
Q

What were the October Reforms?

A

In October, following the recommendations of Ludendorf, the Kaiser begana
series of reforms that effectively ended his autocratic rule:
•He appointed Prince Max of Baden as his new Chancellor
•The Chancellor was to be responsible to the Reichstag and he established new government based on the majority parties in the Reichstag, including the German Social Democratic Party (SPD)
•The armed forces were put under the control of the civil government.
These reforms were a major constitutional transformation in Germany but they did not come about as a result of popular pressure, nor because of pressure from the main democratic parties in the Reichstag. They amounted to a revolution from above which was not only designed to save Germany from humiliation, but also to save the Kaiser’s rule.

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6
Q

What was the peace note asking for?

A

On 3 October, Prince Max wrote to President Wilson asking for an armistice. It took nearly three weeks for Wilson to reply, largely because he was suspicious that the German High Command was using the request for an armistice as a means of buying time to regroup and prepare for a new offensive.

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7
Q

How did Wilson reply to the peace note? Ludendorff’s reaction?

A

When Wilson replied, he demanded that Germany must evacuate all occupied territory, call an end to submarine warfare and fully democratise its political system. These terms, which effectively demanded a German surrender and the Kaiser’s abdication, were too much for Ludendorff to accept. He tried but failed to gather support for a last ditch military effort to resist, whereupon he resigned and fled to Sweden. The reforms had failed to achieve his objectives.

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8
Q

German reaction to Armistice

A

The news that Prince Max’s government was asking for an armistice was a shattering blow to the morale of the German people and to their armed forces. The Peace Note was an admission that Germany had lost the war. This was the first occasion on which the German people had learned the truth about their countrys hopeless military situation. It undermined their respect for the Kaiser and his military and political leaders. Civilians who had borne the hardships of food shortages with fortitude were no longer prepared to show restraint. Many soldiers and sailors lost respect for their officers. The Kaiser was increasingly seen as an obstacle to peace but he resolutely refused to abdicate. During a strike in Friedrichshafen on 22 October, workers shouted
“The Kaiser is a scoundrel and ‘Up with the German Republic’.

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9
Q

What happened with the sailors’ mutiny?

A

On 28 October when the German navy’s high command, in one last futile act of resistance to a humiliating peace, ordered ships from Wilhelmshaven to attack British ships in the English Channel, the crews of two cruisers refused to obey orders. This naval mutiny was the beginning of a much broader revolutionary movement.

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10
Q

How did the unrest spread from the initial mutiny?

A

Unrest in the navy spread to the main German naval base at Kiel. On 3
November 1918, sailors there mutinied against their officers and took control of the base. On the following day the revolt spread to the city, and workers’ and soldiers’ councils were established, similar to the Soviets in Russia during the Revolution of 1917. Despite attempts by the government to meet the mutineers’ demands, the revolt spread to many other German ports and cities. By 6 November there were workers and soldiers councils springing up spontaneously all over Germany. Radical socialists did not lead these revolts, although it might seem to outsiders as though Germany was on the verge of a communist revolution like Russia’s. In fact, most members of the councils were patriotic Germans who wanted the Kaiser to abdicate and a democratic republic to be established.

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11
Q

Uprising in Bavaria

A

Once the authority of military officers, government officials and police had been successfully challenged, the collapse of the regime happened with extraordinary speed. On 8 November a republic was proclaimed in Bavaria and the Bavarian monarchy was deposed. This, according to the historian William Carr, was the ‘decisive moment in the German Revolution’ It was certainly a key stage in the establishment of an all-German republic, as it brought home to Prince Max that he had lost control of the situation, but the most important developments were happening in Berlin.

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12
Q

Strike in Berlin and abdication of the Kaiser

A

On 9 November 1918, the SPD called on workers in Berlin to join a general strike to force the Kaiser to abdicate. They also threatened to withdraw support from Prince Max’s government unless the Kaiser abdicated within 24 hours. Max knew he could not continue to govern without the SPD, so when the Kaiser still refused, Max took matters into his own hands and, on 9 November, he released a press statement claiming the Emperor had abdicated! This was a desperate move by Prince Max to keep some control over the situation, even though he had no constitutional authority to act in this way. On the same day, Prince Max resigned as Chancellor and handed the position to Friedrich Ebert, the leader of the SPD. At about the same time, Phillip Scheidemann, another leading figure in the SPD, stood on the Reichstag balcony and declared that the German Republic was now in in existence.
All of these events happened before the Kaiser had, in fact, abdicated. Later in the day,
General Groener told the Kaiser that the army would no longer fight for him. At this point the Kaiser had lost control of the situation and had no choice but to abdicate, although he did not actually sign his abdication until after it had been announced.

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13
Q

Key chronology

A

.

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14
Q

Outlook of Ebert and objectives

A

Ebert was not a revolutionary. He believed in evolutionary change through winning a majority in parliamentary elections and then introducing reforms.
But, even though he had been chosen by Prince Max as the new Chancellor because he was the leader of the majority party in the Reichstag, he had come to power through a revolutionary act. He was conscious of the fact that his government lacked legitimacy. He was, therefore, determined to establish a new constitution as quickly as possible. His priority, after agreeing the armistice with the Allies on 11 November, was to organise elections for a Constituent Assembly.

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15
Q

How did Ebert lack authority?

A

Prior to the creation of a new constitution, Ebert urged Germans to keep essential services running, to avoid street demonstrations and to maintain law and order. His problem was that his authority did not extend much beyond Berlin where disorder and violence were becoming the norm.
After the armistice and the demobilisation of much of the army, bands of angry, disillusioned and workless ex-soldiers roamed the streets. Street demonstrations, strikes and armed clashes became regular occurrences.

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16
Q

Spartacist League (later KPD) key info

A

Founded: 1916, by a more revolutionary minority group from the SPD. The name was changed to German Communist Party (KPD] in January 1919.
Leaders: Karl Liebknecht and Rosa
Luxemburg.
Aims: Wanted republican government controlled by workers’ and soldiers’ councils, welfare benefits, nationalisation, workers’ control of major industries, disbanding of the army and creation of local workers’ militias.
Opposed to First World War.
Support: a throng of workers would often join ther on their rallies and demonstrations in the streets.
Membership: c 5,000

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17
Q

USPD key info

A

Founded: 1917, by a breakaway minority group from the left of the SPD
ber
me
Leaders: Hugo Hasse.
Aims: Wanted a republic with national
Reichstag working with workers’ and soldiers’ councils, welfare improvements, nationalisation of industry, breaking up of large estates, reform of the army and creation of a national militia. Opposed to First World War.
Support: grew in strength during 1918 as war-weariness grew,
Membership: c. 300.000

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18
Q

The Social Democratic Party [SPD] key info

A

Founded: 1875, as a Marxist socialist party committed to revolution.
Leaders: Friedrich Ebert and Philipp Scheidemann.
Aims: Wanted moderate socialist republic with democratic elections and basic personal freedoms, welfare improvements and gradual nationalisation of industry. Wanted continuity and order. Supported Germany’s entry into
First World War.
Support: Appealed largely to working-class voters and, in 1912, became the largest party in the Reichstag.
Membership: c. 1 million

19
Q

Constituent assembly meaning

A

an elected body with the specific task of drawing up a new constitution, usually in the aftermath of a revolution

20
Q

Pressure from the Left on Ebert

A

Ebert’s efforts to contain the revolution were further threatened by pressure for more radical change from the left. He could not ignore the fact that the workers’ and soldiers’ councils, in which the USPD and the Spartacists had established a foothold, had made the running in the early stages of the revolution. They were not about to allow Ebert’s government to take the key decisions without any reference to them.

21
Q

How did Ebert deal with pressure from the left?

A

On 22 November an agreement was reached between the new government and the Berlin workers’ and soldiers’ councils whereby the government accepted that it only exercised power in the name of these councils. This was merely a temporary compromise. Many in the USPD, whose leaders were part of Ebert’s government, saw the councils as the true expression of the revolutionary will of the people and the means by which the revolution could be extended. They believed that the autocratic system of government would not finally be abolished unless the aristocratic estates were broken up, the army, civil service and judiciary were democratised, and the key industries were nationalised under workers’ control.

22
Q

Pressure from the army and Ebert-Groener Pact

A

In this situation, the survival of Ebert’s government depended on the support of the army. Most army officers came from aristocratic backgrounds, had been loyal to the Kaiser and were vigorously opposed to democracy. They had no wish to see Germany become a republic. In late 1918, however, the political situation in Germany was highly unstable and many officers believed that Germany faced the danger of a Bolshevik revolution (like Russia’s in October
1917), which would lead to civil war and possible occupation by Allied forces.
Their first concern, therefore, was to prevent the revolution going any further.
On 10 November, General Groener telephoned Ebert to assure him that the army leadership would support the government. In return, Groener demanded that Ebert should resist the demands of the soldiers’ councils to democratise the army and defend Germany against communist revolution. Ebert assured Groener that the government was determined to resist further revolution and to uphold the existing command structure in the army. This agreement became known as the Ebert-Groener Pact.

23
Q

Left reaction to EG Pact and further unrest

A

For Ebert the Pact was a necessary and unavoidable device to ensure an orderly transition to the New Republic. For his critics on the left, however, it was an abject betrayal of the revolution. Whilst Ebert and his cabinet made preparations for elections to a Constituent Assembly, to be held in January 1919, the struggle for power continued:

• On 6 December a Spartacist demonstration in Berlin was fired on by soldiers, killing sixteen
. On 23-24 December, a sailors’ revolt against the government in Berlin was put down by the army. In protest, the three USPD ministers in the government resigned
. On 6 January, the Spartacists launched an armed revolt against the government in what became known as the January Revolution, or the Spartacist Uprising. After a week of heavy fighting in Berlin, the revolt was crushed.

24
Q

Result of elections to constituent assembly

A

Amidst the political and social tensions, the elections for the Constituent Assembly were held on 19 January 1919. Women were allowed to vote for the first time. The SPD secured the largest share of the vote and the largest number of seats in the Assembly but they did not have an overall majority and would, therefore, have to compromise with other parties in order to establish a new constitution and govern the country. The Assembly met in the small town of Weimar rather than Berlin, as the political situation in the capital was still unstable in the aftermath of the January Revolution. This was how the new political order came to receive its name - the Weimar Republic. Ebert was elected by the Assembly as the first President of the Republic and a new government, led by Philipp Scheidemann, was formed by the SPD in coalition with the Centre and German Democratic parties. The workers’ and soldiers’ councils handed over their powers to the Constituent Assembly, which could then concentrate on the business of drawing up a new constitution.

25
Q

Fundamental agreements about new constitution

A

Although the representatives did not agree on all issues concerning the new constitution, there was general agreement that it should represent a clear break with the autocratic constitution drawn up by Otto von Bismarck for the German Empire in 1871. It, therefore, began with the clear declaration that ‘Political authority derives from the people, and the constitution was designed to enshrine and guarantee the rights and powers of the people.

26
Q

German National People’s Party (DNVP) info

A

• A nationalist party, based on the old
Conservative Party
• Most support came from landowners and some small business owners
Rejected the democratic constitution

27
Q

Centre Party info

A

• Formed in 1870 to protect
Catholic interests in the mainly protestant German Reich
• Had strong support in the main
Catholic areas of Bavaria and the
Rhineland
• Supported a democratic constitution

28
Q

German Democratic Party (DDP) info

A

• A left-leaning liberal party, based on the old Progressive Party
• Most support came from intellectuals and middle class
• Supported a democratic constitution

29
Q

German People’s Party (DVP) info

A

• A right-leaning liberal party, based on the old National Liberal Party
• Most support came from upper-middle class and business interests
• Opposed to new republic but willing to participate in its governments

30
Q

The election results of January 1919
(Number of seats gained by party)

A

SPD:163
USPD:22
Centre:91
DDP:75
DNVP:44
DVP:19

31
Q

Strength of The Weimar Constitution 1919 (5)

A

The Constitution of the Weimar Republic was, in many ways, more democratic than the systems of government in force at the time in other democratic countries. It also marked a clear break with Germany’s autocratic past.

•The new German constitution provided a wider right to vote than in countries such as Great Britain and France. Women were able to vote on the same terms as men and they were allowed to become deputies in the Reichstag and state parliaments.
• The system of proportional representation enabled even the smaller
Proportional representation: a
parties to win seats in the Reichstag and influence government decisions.
The country was divided into 35 electoral districts, each with about one
system of elections in which
million voters.
parties are allocated seats in parliament according to the
•There was full democracy in local government as well as central government. Unlike in the Second Empire, the largest state, Prussia, was
proportion of votes they receive
not in a position to dominate the rest of Germany.
•The constitution also set out clearly the rights of the individual. The Fundamental Rights and Duties of German citizens were guaranteed in the second part of the constitution. Statements included: ‘all Germans are equal before the law; ‘personal liberty is inviolable; ‘censorship is forbidden; the right of property is guaranteed; and ‘all inhabitants enjoy full religious freedom. It gave illegitimate children the same rights as legitimate ones and promised economic freedom for the individual.
•Referendums could be called for by the president, the Reichsrat, or by people’s request if a tenth of the electorate applied for one.

32
Q

Weaknesses of the constitution (3)

A

Proportional representation
Article 48
Survival of Undemocratic Institutions

33
Q

How was PR a weakness of the constitution?

A

Proportional representation was designed to ensure that all shades of political opinion were represented in the Reichstag, since parties were allocated seats in proportion to the percentage of votes that they received in an election. This was a very fair system but it had two clear consequences:
•The proliferation of small parties: Smaller parties could gain representation in the Reichstag - something that does not usually happen in a system of elections based on the first-past-the-post principle (Britain uses this election process). This enabled smaller parties - many of which were anti-republican - to exploit the parliamentary system to gain publicity.
Proportional representation did not, in itself, create the fragmented party system. This was due to the deep divisions in German society and the lack of a national consensus.
• Coalition governments: Because of the proliferation of small parties, none of the larger parties could gain an overall majority in the Reichstag.

Since governments had to command majority support in the Reichstag, all governments in the Weimar Republic were coalitions, many of which were very short-lived. ADD STAT

34
Q

How was Article 48 a weakness of the constitution?

A

Artide 48 of the constitution gave the President the power to rule by decree in exceptional circumstances. The granting of such powers was not remarkable in itself - indeed, all democratic constitutions allow for an executive authority to use exceptional powers in a time of national emergency. It was not anticipated by those who wrote the constitution, however, that these powers might be used on a regular basis. Ebert, the first President, used Article 48 powers on 136 occasions Some of these occasions could be deemed to be genuine emergencies but Ebert also used his power in non-emergency situations when he simply wanted to override opposition in the Reichstag. There were no effective safeguards since a president could threaten to dissolve the Reichstag and call new elections if it refused to agree to a presidential decree. It is ironic that Ebert, who had been a leading voice for the cause of parliamentary democracy in the 1918-19 revolutionary upheavals, should, as President, undermine democracy through his overuse of Article 48.

ADD STAT FOR HINDENBURG PERHAPS

35
Q

How was the survival of undemocratic institutions a weakness of the constitution?

A

In the Second Empire, the army, the civil service and the judiciary were key pillars of the regime. Army officers, senior civil servants and judges were recruited from the aristocracy, supported the autocracy and looked with disdain on democratic politicians. They would not, therefore, fit easily into the new democratic republic. An opportunity existed for the architects of the new constitution to reform these institutions but, because they placed the need for stability above the desire for a thoroughly democratic system of government, they did not do so.
The army: It had been largely free from political control in the Second Empire and its leaders were determined to preserve as much independence as they could in the Weimar Republic. The officer corps of the army in the Second Empire was allowed to continue intact into the new republic with the result that the army was far from being politically neutral. The full force of military power would be used against left-wing revolts whilst conspirators from the Right were often supported by elements within the army. General Hans von Seeckt, who was appointed Commander-in-Chief of the army in 1920, believed that the army owed lovalty not to the Republic, which he regarded as merely temporary, but to a timeless Reich that was the true expression of German nationhood. Although he would not allow his officers to meddle in politics on their own initiative, he nevertheless believed that the army as a whole, and under his command, could intervene in politics whenever he saw fit.
•The civil service: Under the Weimar Constitution, civil servants were given a guarantee of their well-earned rights and of their freedom of political opinion and expression as long as this did not conflict with their duty of lovalty to the state. This meant that government administration in the new republic was left in the hands of those who were anti-democratic in their outlook. Senior civil servants, especially in the German Foreign Office, were still recruited overwhelmingly from the aristocracy. Top civil servants could wield enormous power, especially when ministers in coalition governments were frequently changing.
•The judiciary: Article 102 of the constitution guaranteed the independence of the judges. This would be a basic requirement in any démocratic constitution but in Weimar Germany the judges who had served the Second Empire remained in their posts. These men were staunchly monarchist and anti-democratic and showed their bias in their legal judgements. The penal code of the Republic stipulated that anyone attempting to overthrow the constitution by force should be sentenced to life imprisonment, Members of left-wing groups who were brought before the courts were punished with great severity. Right-wing conspirators, on the other hand, were treated very leniently.

ADD STAT

36
Q

Info about Lander: the 17 local states of
Germany

A

Before unification in 1871, Germany consisted of separate states of varying sines. After unification, these were incorporated into the German Reich but local traditions and loyalties remained strong. Each state (Land) retained control over some functions of goverament. In the Weimar Constitution, the states retained their powers over the police, education, religion and social welfare.

37
Q

Summary

A

The defeat of Germany in the First World War brought about the abdication of the Kaiser and the emergence, after a period of conflict and instability, of a new democratic republic. Henceforth, Germany was to be governed by a President and Reichstag, both of which were elected under one of the mest democratic electoral systems in Europe at the time. But the circumstances under which the new republic was created left a legacy of bitterness and distrust that was to cause problems for Germany’s new rulers for years to come. On the one hand, those on the left who had fought for a more radical change to Germany’s political, social and economic structures were disappointed and felt betrayed. Key centres of power in Germany - the landowners, the officer corps, the civil service and judiciary, and the owners of big businesses - were largely untouched and unreformed. On the other hand, these supporters of the Kaiser blamed the leaders of the November revolution for the humiliation of military defeat and for the illegal overthrow of the monarchy. In the eyes of the right, the German army had not been defeated on the battlefield in 1918 but had been ‘stabbed in the back’ by the revolution in Berlin. For them the Republic, which owed its existence to that revolution, was illegitimate and deserved to be overthrown. As the historian William Carr has written, The Republic was accepted by many Germans not as a superior form of government but as a convenient means of filling the void left by the collapse of the monarchy.

38
Q

Role of President under new constitution

A
  • Head of State
    • Elected every seven years by men and women over the age of 20
    • Appointed and dismissed ministers and could dissolve the Reichstag and call new elections
    •Appoints chancellor
    • Supreme commander of the armed forces
    • Had reserve powers (Article 48) to rule by decree in an emergency without the Reichstag’s consent (see page 10)
39
Q

Role of chancellor in new constitution

A

• Had to have the support of at least half the Reichstag
• Proposed new laws to the Reichstag for debate

40
Q

The Reichsrat under the new constitution

A

• The second chamber of the German parliament, made up of 67 representatives from the separate 17 states (Länder)
• Each state represented in proportion to its population, but no state to have more than 40 per cent of the seats (to prevent domination by the Jargest state, Prussia)
• Could provide advice on laws but could be overridden by the
Reichstag

41
Q

Individual voter’s rights under the new constitution

A

• Vote for local state assembly every four years and for the President every seven years
• Vote occasionally on important issues
• ‘All Germans are equal before the law
• Guaranteed the freedoms of speech, of conscience and of travel
• Guaranteed the right to belong to trade unions, political parties and other forms of organisation
• Guaranteed the right to work and employees were given equal rights with employers to determine working conditions and wages
• Had the responsibility to use their intellectual and physical powers in the interests of the community

42
Q

The Reichstag under the new constitution

A

•Debates proposed laws
• Elected every four years by all Germans over 20 using proportional representation
• The Chancellor and ministers were responsible to the
Reichstag
• Voted on the budget; new laws had to originate in the Reichstag and required the approval of a majority of Reichstag deputies

43
Q

Other features of the new constitution

A

• There was a supreme court, independent of the Reichstag and the President
• The Republic had a federal system whereby there were separate state governments in the
17 Lander which kept control over their own internal affairs