Controlling the People 1918-32

Question 1

what features of the constitution allowed the Weimar to control extremism

Answer 1

-president could use article 48 and order armed forces to get rid of rebellions
-Reichstag could pass laws prohibiting extremist organisations
-the police, courts and judiciary could prosecute and imprison enemies of democracy who had broken the law
-politicians could appeal directly to the german public for support

Question 2

how did ebert act in 1918 to stop left wing revolution

Answer 2

-Ebert-Groener pact agreed in nov 1918 which committed the army to defend the new regime
-to stop workers from supporting communism, ebert made negotiations with unions to guarantee worker rights: trade union recognition, max 8hr day, free collective bargaining
-after the deal union membership rose from 2.8 mill to 7.3 mill
-eberts first cabinet designed to appeal to the left as it included SPD and USPD

Question 3

how many deputies were SPD in the National Congress or Workers and Soldiers Councils

Answer 3

2/3 Showed that eberts left wing tactics payed off as SPD gaining more support

Question 4

how did ebert react to the spartacist uprising

Answer 4

used ebert-groener pact to crush them, the pact made cooperation between moderate and radical left difficult and radicals blamed ebert for the deaths of Liebknecht and Luxemberg

Question 5

how did ebert react to the Kapp Putsch

Answer 5

-army unwilling to prevent right wing uprising so ebert had to rely on workers to strike
-Ebert invoked article 48 and worked with trade unions to cut off gas electricity and water throughout berlin
-Kapp couldnt make new government without basic necesities so the uprising ended after 4 days

Question 6

how did ebert react to the ruhr uprising

Answer 6

-suppressed by army
-government postponed 1920 elections to allow support for extremism to dissipate
-SPD and DDP and ZP only gained 44.6%

Question 7

how many votes did pro weimar parties gain in 1921 elections

Answer 7

between SPD and DDP and Center party only 44.6%

Question 8

what did the reichstag do as a reaction to the assassination of Rathenau

Answer 8

-passed the law for the protection of the republic
-this increased the sentences for politically motivated violence and allowed some political groups to be banned

Question 9

what important politician was assassinated

Answer 9

Walter Rathenau

Question 10

what happened to the Nazis in 1922

Answer 10

-were banned in Prussia, Saxony, Baden, Thuringia and Hamburg

Question 11

what did ebert in response to uprisings in 1923

Answer 11

-invoked article 48
-ordered the army to crush the Kustrin Putsch
-KPD in Saxony wanted to carry out a revolution inspired by the 1917 revolution in Russia, ebert used article 48 to dismiss them
-used article 48 against hitlers munich pustch, worked with the police to crush them

Question 12

why were the police and judiciary a threat to the republic

Answer 12

-police were sympathetic to right wing
-judiciary were mostly conservative nationalists and used power to combat leftwing extremism but overlooked crimes of right wing

Question 13

how many murders did right wing commit in 1919-22

Answer 13

354

Question 14

how many right wing murderers went unpunished

Answer 14

326 unpunished

Question 15

how many right wing extremists given life sentence

Answer 15

1

Question 16

how many murders did left wing commit in 1919-22

Answer 16

22

Question 17

how many left wing extremists went unpunished

Answer 17

4

Question 18

how many left wing extremists given death sentences or life

Answer 18

10 death
3 life

Question 19

what did the judiciary do against left wing

Answer 19

-used full power of law of the protection of the republic against left wing

Question 20

whos an example of a right wing judge

Answer 20

Georg Neithardt

Question 21

Whos an example of a right winger who recieved a lenient sentence

Answer 21

Ernst Buckrucker went to low security prison for part in Kustrin Putsch

Question 22

What was Hitlers punishment for munich pustch

Answer 22

-5 years in Landsberg prison but only served 9 months
-Landsberg prison a very low security prison, hitler given alot of freedom

Question 23

what did stresemanns policy of fulfilment do

Answer 23

led to an end of french an belgian occupation of the ruhr

Question 24

what did stresmanns dawes plan do

Answer 24

ensured economic recovery

Question 25

what did stresemanns locarno treaties do

Answer 25

1925
helped to improve relations with germanys enemies and reduced international tension to allow for more trade and helped the economy, this underpinned extremism

Question 26

what did stresemanns young plan do

Answer 26

led to allies agreeing to complete withdrawal from the rhineland

Question 27

how many votes did extremists get in 1928 elections

Answer 27

nazis and KPD got less than 15% vote between them, showed that extremism support reducing

Question 28

how many votes did pro democracy parties gain in 1928 elections

Answer 28

49.9% vote between them

Question 29

how many germans opposed young plan

Answer 29

5.8 mill germans, showed that many not supporting stresemanns reforms, they wanted more decisive action against TOV

Question 30

what did hindenburg think of democracy

Answer 30

thought it wasnt strong enough to solve the problems that germany faced in early 1930s, was unwilling to defend democracy

Question 31

how many times did hindenburg issue emergency decrees

Answer 31

5 in 1930
48 in 1931
66 in 1932

used it to attack the democratic aspects of weimar

Question 32

how did hindenburg use the emergency powers, example

Answer 32

jul 1932
von papen and hindenburg used it to seize control of SPD led government in Prussia

Question 33

how did bruning attempt to control extremism

Answer 33

-used article 48 to ban political uniform, SA couldnt wear brown shirts but wore white shirts instead
-KPD RED army did the same
-bruning issued a decree to ban SA and SS in april 1932
-police sympathetic to SA so they continued with violence

Question 34

how did schleicher, von papen and senior generals agree to deal with right wing extremism

Answer 34

wanted to “tame the nazis”

Question 35

how did schleicher and von papen deal with the nazis

Answer 35

-schleicher believed that new government must have popular support to succeed, needed support of nazis
-von papen lifted ban of SA and SS in june 1932 and invited hitler as vice chancellor, hitler refused
-schleicher offered vice chancellorship to Strasser (a member of nazis who is hitlers rival) he thought this would split and neutralise them but this failed