Chapter 11: Social developments Flashcards
What proportion of the workforce was female by 1918?
a third
How many women were elected into the Reichstag in 1920?
111
How much did the overall number of women in employment rise between 1907 and 1925?
1907 - 31.2%
1925 - 35.6%
What types of jobs were women starting to do in the Weimar republic?
- white colar jobs
- more women in higher education = more female doctors and teachers
How did families change during the weimar republic?
- generally smaller due to contraception being more accessible
- young people had more educational opportunity
- more leisure time - youth clubs, cinemas, radios
How did right-wing nationalism continue to impact the Jewish population?
Give an example of one major incident which occured between the two groups
- Groups such as the Pan German league blame the jews for German defeat in WW1
- 1923 - 30,000 German workers join an attack on the Jewish quarter of Berlin
What was the Sklarek scandal - how was it used by the right-wing to attack jewish people and Weimar democracy?
- 3 Jewish brothers arrested for fraud - they bribed weimar officials to cover it up
- brothers had associations with the SPD and DDP
- scandal fueled anti-semitism and was used to critisise the SPD government
What was the biggest change during this period for the aristocracy?
all titles and legal privileges were removed
What were the main developments for the military during the weimar period?
- restrictions places on the military at versailles but these have little influence - Elbert-Groener pact (military superiority was hard to remove)
- Groener became defense minister (1927) - would not let the Reichstag restrict the activity of the army
- military budget was increased by 75%
- officer corps continued to be made of nationalistic elites
How many calories were some Germans living on by 1918
just 1000
- due to disruption of agriculture and the british blockades
How were workers impacted by the 1923 crisis?
most were able to recover once real wages and living standards were restored
How were the middle classes impacted by the 1923 crisis?
mixed impact
* those with **savings, pensions or fixed incomes lost everything - government compensation of 10% was inadequate
* people with debts or mortages **were able to pay these off with the worthless currency
* businesspeople could take out foreign loans and repay these with the devalued currency - some made a fortune (Hugo Stinnes - hyperinflation king)
How many houses were built by the government in 1925?
178,930
- houses were functional, compact and well-equiped
What social welfare reforms for workers occured in 1918?
- 8 hour work day
- restrictions on trade unions abolished
- new system of arbitration between employers and employees
- war victims pensions for invalids, widows and orphans
What social reforms for war victims occured in 1920?
war victims benefits
- pensions for invalids, widows and orphans (this covered more than 2.5 million people - 40% of national expenditure
What were some of the negative impacts of government welfare reforms?
- elites saw high taxation as an attack on their wealth
- some employers formed cartels to keep prices high
- many of the improvements were funded by foreign loans
How many cinemas were in Germany by 1929?
500
What new forms of entertainment became more widely available?
- dance halls
- swimming pools
- cinemas
- radios and telephonea
What were the main developments for those in the countryside during the weimar period?
minimak change
* traditional entertainment
* women remained in the home
* lack of land reform - 1929 - income per head was 44% below the national average - high rural bankrupcies
Which city was known as the avant guarde capital?
Berlin
-nightlife - carabet
-tolerence of same sex relationships
How did art change?
How did the government aid this?
- art became more expressionistic - often violent and distorted
- gov subsidised art exhibitions
How did architecture change?
What was the name of significant architecture movement?
- became more functional - utalitarian
- Bauhaus movement
-functionality and geometric designs
(later supressed by the Nazis)
How did literature change?
Give names of two significant pieces of Weimar literature
- more political and social purpose
- “All is quiet on the western front” - explores the horrors of trench life
- “Decline of the West” - reinforced conservative views -blamed democracy for failing civilisation
How did film/cinema change?
Give the names of a significant sci-fi film and an LGBTQ+ film of the period?
- new genres - lots of silent films
- “Metropolis” - hinted at industrial exploitation of workers - critique of modern society
- “Different from the others” - explored same sex relationships
How did right wing groups react to the cultural changes happening in society?
- 1926 - Reichstag passed a law against literature deemed too explicit
- censorship rules imposed by individual lander
- pressure groups protested - disrupted performances and exhibitions
- Hitler created a “museum of degenerate art” - didn’t work as the museum was actually very popular
