chapter six

Question 1

social welfare reform
1924

Answer 1

public assistance system to help poor and destitute = modernised

Question 2

social welfare reform
1925

Answer 2

state accident system introduced by bismark to help those injured at work
extended to those with occupational diseases

Question 3

social welfare reforms
1927

Answer 3

national unemployment insurance system introduced to provide benefits for unemployed , financed by contributions from workers and employers

Question 4

by 1926 how many people was the state supporting

Answer 4

800,000 disabled war veterans
360,000 war widows
900,000 war orphans

Question 5

what happened to taxes after 1924

Answer 5

increased , the rich were only willing to shoulder so much of the welfare benefits system cost , so means tests were tightened and snoopers were introduced to make sure claimants weren’t cheating the system

Question 6

how did this make those who needed welfare support feel

Answer 6

humiliated
ultimately alienating their support for Weimar

Question 7

how did workers maintain their living standards
how were those on benefits

Answer 7

represented by powerful trade unions that would negotiate wage increases
benefits = less well off , not in poverty for majority tho

Question 8

how did big business owners and salaried employees benefit

Answer 8

germans trading postion improved

Question 9

farmers

Answer 9

poor trading conditions
low prices
income falling

Question 10

where was confidence in Germany secluded to

Answer 10

Berlin

Question 11

what were the key features of new woman proposed by Elsa Hermann in 1929

Answer 11

free
independence
sexually liberated
visible in public life

Question 12

what did the Weimar Republic give to women

Answer 12

equal voting rights and access to education as men
equal oppurtunities in ciivl service appointments and right to pay

Question 13

why did the new woman come about

Answer 13

ww1
new gender balance
nearly 2 million mainly German males killed
women = not following traditional path
war = women in roles of paid employment

Question 14

what does the civil code 1896 say

Answer 14

in marriage the husband had the right to control all decsions about the family including if the wife took part in paid employment

Question 15

what was the most popular group in the 1920s

Answer 15

league of German women BDF
had 900,000 members
opposed the new woman and liked traditional family values and maternal characteristics

Question 16

what groups were traditional values echoed by

Answer 16

bdf
conservative political parties
churches , alarmed by threat to the family

Question 17

employment
MYTH about new woman

Answer 17

1925 , 36% of germans workforce was woman
1933 , 100,00 teachers woman and 3000 doctors

Question 18

employment
REALITY about new woman

Answer 18

demobilisation laws after war making women leave for ex soldiers
women made to leave work when married , and if worked was blamed for male unemployment rate
women paid less then men

Question 19

sexual freedom
MYTH about the new woman

Answer 19

birth control was more widely available
birth rate = declined
divorce rate = increased
abortion rate = increased
1930 estimated 1 million abortions a year

Question 20

sexual freedom
REALITY about the new woman

Answer 20

abortion = a criminal offence and often performed by unproffesionals
in 1930 estimated 12,000 deaths from abortions
catholic and Protestant churches vigoursly opposed birth control and divorce

Question 21

politics and public life
MYTH about new woman

Answer 21

woman gained equal voting rights and opportunity to be elected to the reichstag deputies as men
1919 41 women elected to the reichstag
women played a very active role in local , state and city gov

Question 22

politics and public life
REALITY about new woman

Answer 22

no female representatives elected to the reichstrat
no women cabinet members in weimar years
only the kpd made gender equality a key element in its programme
CCP gained most from women suffrage , a catholic group

Question 23

Weimar Republic divide

Answer 23

new woman or traditional values

Question 24

weimar was breaking free of school religion and family and increasingly turning too

Answer 24

crime and anti social behaviour predominelty in the youth of the working class

Question 25

children from quaking class families did not attend gymnasium schools and instead at 14

Answer 25

left school and looked for employment or an apprenticeship
however during weimar years unemployment was increased and there was fewer apprenticeships

Question 26

1925-26 how many were unemployed in the age group 14-21

Answer 26

17%

Question 27

why was so many of the youth unemployed

Answer 27

due to the baby boom in 1900 and 1910
more people were seeking employment at the same time as employers were reducing their workforce

Question 28

benefits system tried to help with unemployment in the youth by doing what

Answer 28

introducing day centres to they give the youth the skills they need for employment however it did not compensate for the lack of unemployment

Question 29

due to the unemployment what did many youths turn to

Answer 29

gangs to find comradeship and metal support
mainly working class

Question 30

youth cliques in Hamburg

Answer 30

youth cliques = gangs
prevalent in woking class districts in big cities
names of gangs reflected toughness eg tartars blood
each district = diff name
tavern meeting place as alcohol was a large part of their sub culture
potential recruits take initiation tests that often involved stealing , vandalisation to demonstrate their willingness to break the law

Question 31

germanys education system

Answer 31

prided itself on one of the best in Europe
gymnasium = uni later on
MIDDLE CLASS AND UPPER
realschule (6 years ) = apprenticeship or employment later on

few elite private schools in Germany however it was still divided along class lines

Question 32

religious divides in schools

Answer 32

weimar wanted to break down catholic / protestant divide
- wanted to provide non sectarian comprehensive educatation free to all pupils
- reform never attempted on this idea

Question 33

education reform by weimar

Answer 33

elementary schools
all children attend for four years
if they don’t pass gymnasium test
another four years
was not able to reform religion a both protestant and catholics advocated their importance of teaching practices

Question 34

youth group ; wandervogel
set up 1896

Answer 34

set up by Berlin school teacher
mainly middle class boys
non political / nationalist
romanticised germanys past and were against nationalisation and big cities
group did hiking and swimming , rebelling from middle class social norms
some undertook an unconventional lifestyle of nudism and vegetarianism

Question 35

church youth groups

Answer 35

catholics
many groups aimed at different sections of youth

protestants
not high priority
few members

BOTH
promote religious observance and respect for family church and school

Question 36

political youth groups

Answer 36

SPD had most members
Young communist league for kpd children
Bimark youth , linked to DVP middle and upper class in protestant and woking class areas
Hitler youth , nazi part had 13,000 members by 1919

Question 37

Jewish population in Germany

Answer 37

1/2 a million jews in weimar
80% lived in cities and well educated
many felt German and patriotic
many believed in assimilation , keeping cultral and ethnic identity but becoming fully integrated
1% total pop

Question 38

Jews
politics and the press

Answer 38

Theodor Wolff
editor of the Berliner tageblatt an influential news paper , and was a driving force for moderate liberal ddp
Kuer Eisner
leader of the revolution in Bavaria in nov 1918 had a jewish background , including others scubas rosa luexemburg and Hugo Hasse

Question 39

jews
industry commerce and proffesions

Answer 39

achieved massive influence and wealth
extent of his exaggerated by anti jewish propaganda
- rathenau family control huge engineering firm AEG until 1927
- Rothschilds , Mendelsjohns and others owned 50% of private banks
- jewish directors also managed several public banks
1920 18% BANKING SECTOR JEWS DECLINING FROM 1914
- own around 50% cloth trade firms

Question 40

jews
industry commerce and proffesions
stats

Answer 40

16% lawyers
11% doctors
50% doctors in Berlin
1835/3400 lawyers in Berlin
24% noble prize winners
- Notably Albert Einstein for revolutionising physics

Question 41

jews
the extent of assimilation

Answer 41

assimilation in language lifestyle and dress
many married non jewish and converted to christianity
1920s assimilation advanced
SOME germans reluctant to see jews as normal and not aliens , many jews didn’t feel completely accepted

Question 42

jews
the extent of anti semitism

Answer 42

backlash against jews Bolsheviks as seen in Spartacus uprising
anti semitism part of violent nationalism of right wing movements such as freikorps or NSDAP
hostility against jewish finances after hyperinflation 1923

Question 43

jews
the extent of anti semitism during golden age

Answer 43

anti semitism pushed to the fringes of public and political life
fierce opposition to jewish influence and frequent accusations of corruption and exploitation by jewish bankers and businessmen