Chapter 1 (W3)

Question 1

What was the political situation of Germany in and around 1900?

Answer 1

Kaiser Wilhelm II had a strong (but not entire) rule. The chancellors must answer to the Keiser, but parliament (Reichstag) controlled the taxes

Question 2

What was the economic situation of Germany in and around 1900?

Answer 2

• Prosperous
• Educated
• Involved citizens
• Increased population
• Immigration

Question 3

Was Germany democratic around the 1900’s?

Answer 3

yes

Question 4

What was the most popular Reichstag party at the turn of the 20th century?

Answer 4

The Social Democratic Party (SPD)

Question 5

What was the Reichstag

Answer 5

The parliament

Question 6

What’s a general summary of Germany’s Jewish minority at the turn of the 20th century?

Answer 6

Jews were emancipated for the third time in 1891. They were able to assimilate, own property, and become educated. Many were retailers and bankers who sent their kids to university to become doctors, lawyers, journalists, and scholars. Although varying degrees of antisemitism and struggle existed, there was a general sense of optimism amongst the Jews in Germany at that time.

In general, optimistic

Question 7

When were the Jews emancipated for the third time?

Answer 7

1891

Question 8

Who were the “ostjuden” (Jews from the east)

Answer 8

Jews who fled the Russian empire and came to Germany.

They were visibly immigrants and were looked down upon even by other Jews.

Question 9

When Jews were banned from owning property, what professions did they take up?

Answer 9

Traders and moneylenders

Question 10

In a general historical context, what were the 3 strains of antisemitism?

Answer 10

1. Religious
2. Socio-cultural
3. Economic

Question 11

Socio-cultural antisemitism was more common among…

Answer 11

Elites

Question 12

What did socio-cultural antisemitism look like?

Answer 12

• Businessmen and elites were cool with engaging with jewish people on a professional level, but refused to see them as anything more than a lesser person

Question 13

What did economic antisemitism look like?

Answer 13

Businesses and the public would blame the Jews for any presence of economic downturn

Question 14

What new variant of antisemitism emerged in the 1900s?

Answer 14

The biological variant

Question 15

What was the biological variant of antisemitism?

Answer 15

Jews were a dangerous “alien” race and could weaken German racial health.

Generally, Jews were a ‘parasitic race’

Question 16

What were Zionists?

Answer 16

Those who believed that founding a Jewish state was necessary for freedom

Question 17

What was the primary goal for the Germans when WWI broke out?

Answer 17

A quick defeat on the Western Front, which allows for a rapid defeat of the weaker Russian Empire

Question 18

What went wrong for Germany in WWI

Answer 18

Resistance in Belgium led to a gridlock of war efforts on the Western Front. Germany had to fight both on the western and eastern front and when America joined the war, it was over for them

Question 19

What led the SPD to split in April 1917?

Answer 19

A famine caused by cut-off supplies

Question 20

What caused the Kaiser of Germany to abdicate at the end of WWI?

Answer 20

A resulting revolutionary spirit that originated from sailors deciding to refuse a suicide mission. This revolutionary spirit spread throughout Germany.

Question 21

When did the Kaiser of Germany adbicate?

Answer 21

November 9, 1918

Question 22

As the Kaiser abdicated, Max Von Baden took the leadership role before stepping aside for ________ to take the place

Answer 22

Social democrat Fredric Ebert, named hand of the provisional government named council of the people’s deputies

Question 23

The Council of the people’s Deputies was composed of ____________

Answer 23

3 MSPD and 3 USPD representatives

Question 24

When, and by who was the armistice signed for WWI

Answer 24

By Ebert on November 11, 1918

Question 25

Explain the belief that the German army was “stabbed in the back” at the end of the First World War…

Answer 25

Basically, the belief was that Jewish people, civilians, and socialists surrendered Germany even though they were still “eagerly” fighting on the front lines

Question 26

What was article 231 in the treaty of Versailles?

Answer 26

Blamed the whole war on Germany

Question 27

When was the Weimar Constitution enacted?

Answer 27

August 11, 1919

Question 28

What did the Weimar Constitution entail?

Answer 28

Confirmed the rights of men and women

Allowed the right for women to vote

Question 29

What caused many Germans to turn a blind eye to rising radicalism on the right after the First World War?

Answer 29

There was a fear that the KPD (German communist party) would lead to more violence.

Question 30

What caused the Free Corps to revolt?

Answer 30

Ebert sought to have them dismantled

Question 31

What happened after the Free Corps stormed the capital?

Answer 31

Eberts government fled and encouraged most of Germany to strike. The strike forced the end of the revolt.

Question 32

What was the Weimar Republic?

Answer 32

Basically, the government that was in place when Ebert ruled

Question 33

Where did Hitler begin his hatred for Jews and other groups of people?

Answer 33

In Vienna when had to go there after attempting to escape the Austrio Hungarian draft, and failing to get into art school

Question 34

How did Hitler end up getting introduced to the National Socialist German Workers Party?

Answer 34

After the war, he was a military/political worker employed to keep an eye on right-wing activity. It was through this work, that he became introduced to the party, and decided to quit his job to pursue his activity within the party.

Question 35

What does the NSDAP stand for?

Answer 35

National Socialist German Workers Party

Question 36

When was Hitler elected chairman of the NSDAP?

Answer 36

July 29, 1921

Question 37

What was the ‘Beer Hall Putsch?’

Answer 37

It was Hitler and the NSDAP’s first attempt at a revolt against the government.

Although being a failure, it helps bring more attention and support to the party

Question 38

What was Hitler’s sentence after the NSDAP’s Beer Hall Putsch?

Answer 38

5 years, but he only served 1