DS1- Why Was The Weimar Republic Doomed From The Start? Flashcards
What was the impact of the naval blockade of Germany?
-Daily rations dropped to 1000 cal
-many civilians died from malnutrition
-blockade cut off imports of fodder for animals
-blockade cut off supplies of nitrates
-lack of nitrates affected the production of fertilisers
-lack of nitrates affected production of explosives
-shortage of iron and steel
-government had to slaughter one third of all pigs in 1915 as there was no fodder for them
-German people less keen to support war effort
What was the situation in Germany between September 1918 and the signing of the armistice in November 1918 (the German Revolution)?
-By September British blockade of German ports had produced serious food shortages. People were surviving on turnips and bread a flu epidemic swept across the country killing thousands.
- In October 1918 von Hipper and Von Scheer planned a final attack on the Royal Navy. sailors at Wilhelmshaven mutinied
- 4th November sailors in Kiel mutinied leading to the set up of a soldiers council. by the evening kiel was under control of 40,000 rebellious soldiers sailors and workers
- 6th November Wilhelmshaven fell to the mutinous soldiers
-7th November Kurt Eisner declared Bavaria to be a socialist republic, Hanover, Brunswick, Frankfurt and Munich had fallen to the revolution
-Munich Workers and soldiers council forced the King of Bavaria to abdicate
On 9th of November Kaiser Wilham abdicated and went into exile in the Netherlands, Friedrich Ebert a leader of the SPD announced that Germany was a republic with himself as president and his colleague Scheidemann as chancellor the new government signed an armistice on 11th of November
A council of peoples representatives was formed to establish the way forward headed by Ebert. The Sparta decided to find the communist party of Germany to achieve their aims.
