Early Weimar government Flashcards
What was a revolt from the left ?
Spartacist uprising
Problems with coalition governments?
No real major changes between each cabinet - just a reshuffle
No continuity ever able to be achieved because of constant turnover
Main beneficiaries of all this turmoil was the extreme right and light wing parties
Democracy not shown to be a success and they could exploit it
When was the Spartacist uprising?
5th January, 1919
What was the goal of the Spartacist uprising?
Staged and armed uprising in Berlin to overthrow Ebert’s government and set up a revolutionary communist regime
What did the Spartacist revolt do and why was it not successful?
they occupied buildings and Newspaper offices
they were Poorly supported and poorly prepared-they had not secured the majority of the working class in Berlin.
Groener used Freikorps units to put them down
What was the result of the Spartacist revolt?
All over by 13th January after brutal street fighting
Resulted in the execution of the ringleaders (Liebknecht & Luxemburg)
The brutality to which the revolt had been suppressed, and Ebert’s reliance on the army and the Freikorps, deepened the divisions on the Left for many years to come.
What kind of reaction would there have been from those on the left wing?
why?
Spartacist revolt
Workers disillusioned with the ‘revolution’ to establish the republic (which they believed was too right-wing)
what was one of the main issues for eberts goverment?
Economic conditions bred disorder also demobilised soldiers found it hard to adjust to civilian life.
How much of a threat is the left wing (AKA SpARTACISTS) to the Government?
THREAT = KPD has strong support in industrial centres: the Ruhr, Saxony
NOT = Lacked the proper support or determination
Influenced by 1917 Russian Revolution and communists
What were some controversies regarding Bavaria?
Bavaria- groups that fought for separation from the rest of Germany, whilst others wanted a united Germany so that it could become a great power again
Reichscwher
German army
in January 1920 what was the the government forced to do regarding the treaty of versaiiles?
and reduce the size of its army and to disband some Freikorps units.
In Feb 1920, defence minister Gustav Noske, ordered 2 freikorps units, comprising 12,000 men to disband.
General Von Luttwitz, the commanding general refused to disband one of them, when the government ordered his arrest.
What was the name of the civil servant that supported the kapp putsch
wolfgang kapp
Why was it the kapp putsch successful
Supported by right-wing civil servant Wolfgang Kapp,
“Troops do not fire on troops;
Army right wong pustch right wing so revolt could not be put down
What are the lessons that can be learned from the kapp putsch ?
Army not to be trusted
Civil servants could be disloyal
Workers as a group could be a great force of power
Weimar was weak without the army
Governmental control shown as weak due to judges being lenient towards right-wingers
