Early Weimar Flashcards
Impact of WW1
2 million men lost
750,000 died from a combination of flu and starvation
Ports blockaded, no access to foods/ raw materials
Mutiny
Streets littered with weapons
Ran out of potatoes, 1916-1917 was a Turnip Winter
Only producing 50% of milk, 60% of butter
Kaiser forced to abdicate- Wilhelm III - due to rising opposition
Social Democrats
Took over after abdication of Kaiser as they ere the most popular political party
Agreed to 1918 Nov armistice, many felt they had been stabbed in the back as they were on the verge of winning the war, ‘November Criminals’ or Dolchstoss
Treaty of Versailles
Decided by Big 3 (Georges Clemenceau- France, Lloyd George- Britain, Woodrow Wilson- USA)
Had to accept blame under article 231
Had to pay a reparations sum of £6,600 million to affected nations
Remilitarisation of Rhineland
Army cut to 100,000 men, only volunteers
Polish Corridor given back to Russia
Could not unite with Austria Hungary (Anschluss)
Lost 13% of land
The Saar given to France for 15 years
No submarines or airforce allowed, 6 battleships
Spartacist Revolution
Jan 1919
Led by Karl Liebknecht and Rosa Luxemburg
Wanted a communist revolution as inspired by the 1917 Communist Revolution in Russia
Seized National Headquarters and telegraph bureau
Why did Spartacist revolution fail?
Government had 2000 Freikorps who supressed rebellion fighters with ease
Leaders killed, lacked leadership
Little support from other left-wing supporters
Badly organised, only managed to seize a small number of buildings
Opposition to TOV
Not fully to blame
Called it a ‘shameful diktat at Versailles’, felt it had been forced upon them as they could not attend the Paris Peace Conference
Demilitarisation of Rhineland meant they were more exposed to an attack
Reparations sum too high to pay back
Already resented the SDP, agreeing to TOV after the Armistice created more anger
Loss of land meant farmland was lost, reducing income
Characteristics of constitution
President, elected every 7 years (good as a strong government was necessary, bad as if the president was unstable nothing could be done)
Chancellor elected by president, in charge of taxing, schooling and healthcare
Article 48 meant chancellor could make emergency decisions in a time of crisis
PR- number of seats based upon number of votes (fair, often formed weak coalitions)
Everyone over 20 had freedom of speech and equal rights (equality, however each state had their own traditions)
Kapp Putsch
Mar 1920
Led by Wolfgang Kapp
Hated TOV, blamed government for signing it, army disbanded, suppressing Spartacists had given them unexpected power
Kapp and 12,000 other Freikorps marched into Berlin and set up government
Why did Kapp Putch fail?
People tired of revolution, did not any more change
General strike called, workers responded very well to it, shows workers did not want Kapp in power
Government fled to Dresden and still continued to function
Uprising centred around Berlin ,did not have an impact upon the rest of Germany
Invasion of Ruhr events
1922 Germany announced they could no longer afford to pay reparations fee
Jan 1923 60,000 Belgium and French troops marched into Ruhr and took what they were owed to the form of raw goods and materials
Beat up workers, 100 killed, 150000 thrown out of their homes
Government called passive resistance, however had to continue to pay workers, more money printed
Impacts of hyperinflation
Pensions and savings lost as money became worthless- index linked
Those with debt and mortgages able to pay off this quickly, benefitted
Farmers could sell foods at higher prices
Everyday items reached extortionate prices eg in 1918 an egg cost 1/4 marks but by Nov 1923, cost 80 million marks
Lost faith in governments ability to handle crisis appropriately
Many small businesses collapsed as trade was impossible
Events of Munich Putsch
Hitler hated TOV terms, wanted to overthrow
Angry with Stresemann for stopping passive resistance, felt like they wee giving in
Nov 1923- Hitler and 600 SA burst into Beer Hall where Von Kahr was speaking, ordered them to support them
Badly organised, stopped immediately by army
Consequences of Munich Putsch
Change of tactics- discovered if they wanted to achieve power they would have to do it via the legal system
Hitler became leader of Nazi Party in 1921, used the event to cement his position
Mein Kampf written
SS created, Hitler’s own body guards who owed allegiance to him only
Used his trial to receive massive publicity for the Nazis
First Nazi martyrs (16), then used as propaganda in 1930’s
Prison meant Hitler had more time to prepare
Work of Stresemann
Oct 1923, old mark scrapped, replaced in Jan 1924 with new Rentenmark, ends hyperinflation
1924 Dawes Plan, gave Germany a loan from America of 800 million marks to help with reparations
1929 Young Plan, reduced reparations fee by 60% from 132 million to 37 million
1923, passive resistance ended, factories began working again
1926 joined League of Nations again
1925 Locarno Treaty, France would not try to invade if Germany continued to pay their reparations fee
1928 Kellog-Briand Pact, signed alongside 65 other nations that army would be used only for self defence
Reduced support for extremist political groups (in 1928 Nazi Party received only 12 seats and 2% of the vote)
Effects of Wall Street Crash
6 million unemployed
Half those ages between 16-30 could not locate work
Could not afford to pay mortgages, made homeless, over 1 million living in shacks
Had to rely on charity for food
Chancellor Bruning raised taxes and reduced unemployment benefits, became known as the ‘Hunger Chancellor’
Rise of extremist groups as people began to look for extreme solutions eg Nazis in a time of crisis, by 1930 received 107 votes, or 30% in the elections
