Early years of Weimar Rep. + rise of The Nazi Party

Question 1

What did lots of people in Germany want by the end of 1918?

Answer 1

A revolution similar to the Russian Communist Revolution.

Question 2

Give two examples of revolutionary feeling in Germany.

Answer 2

i. Kiel Mutiny - Soldiers refused to fight the British Navy.

ii. 40,000 dock workers take control of themselves. Government control is lost in Bavaria and Hamberg.

Question 3

When did the Kaiser leave Germany?

Answer 3

9th November 1918. He gets replaced by a democratic government led by Friedrich Ebert.

Question 4

What did the Weimar Republic do first?

Answer 4

End WW1 on the 11th November 1918.

Question 5

What were three impacts of the First World War?

Answer 5

i. New government. People were unsure about it.
ii. Financial problems. $37billion had been spent.
iii. Social unrest. Friekorps - unemployed soldiers who were nationalists.

Question 6

7.Name three problems with the new Weimar Republic.

Answer 6

i. The voting system meant that every Political Party got a share in running the country, this led to lots of uneasy teaming up of Parties that had not much in common.
ii. There were 29 different Political Parties.
iii. Article 48 meant the President could take charge in an emergency, meaning the chance of a new Dictatorship was built into the constitution of the country.

Question 7

8.Why did Germans find the Treaty of Versailles humiliating?

Answer 7

i. The Germans were given no say in the Treaty. It was a Diktat - dictated peace. Germany had to accept all blame for WW1, when the reality of the causes was more complex.
ii. Germany felt weak and insecure because of the loss of armed forces and land.
iii. The amount they had to pay back was going to increase poverty and difficulty. The war had already cost Germany billions of pounds.

Question 8

9.Why was the Treaty of Versailles a challenge to the Weimar government?

Answer 8

i. People thought Ebert/the government were weak for signing it. They believed a strong government would have stood up to the Treaty.
ii. People began to view the armistice, signed in November 1918, differently. All of a sudden it seemed like a bad idea. The amount of people missing the Kaiser increased. The Weimar Government got a new nickname - “The November Criminals”. People felt they had been stabbed in the back by the government signing the Treaty.

Question 9

10. What were the big challenges faced by the Weimar Government between 1919 and 1923?

Answer 9

• A country ruined by war.
• Revolutionary mood in the country.
• Weak Constitution.
• Treaty of Versailles.
• Left and Right Wing Uprisings.
• Political murders.

Question 10

11. What happened in the 1919 Spartacist Uprising?

Answer 10

1. 50,000 Communists rose up.
2. They attempted to capture the government newspaper.
3. SDP had to use right-wing Friekorps to put them down.

Question 11

12. What happened in the Kapp Putsch?

Answer 11

• Right-wing groups hated the SDP.
• Attempts to disband the freikorps was hated.
• Wolfgang Kapp rose up but people supported the SDP not him.

Question 12

13. What political murders were there in the 1920s?

Answer 12

376 murders between 1919 and 1922.

Matthias Erzberger was killed in 1921. He was a “November Criminal”.

Question 13

14. Why was the Ruhr invaded by France in 1923?

Answer 13

Germany could not keep up with the money it owed France through reparations.

Question 14

15. What were consequences of the invasion of the Ruhr?

Answer 14

Workers refused to cooperate with the French.

There was protest and the amount that Germany was producing fell dramatically. The government had to start printing money to pay wages.

Question 15

16. What did hyperinflation do to Germany?

Answer 15

There was a rush to the shops, as prices changed by the hour.

Savings became worthless. Every class of people was affected.

Question 16

In what year did the DAP publish the 25 Point Plan?

Answer 16

1920

Question 17

Who was the leader of the DAP who Adolf Hitler worked with at first?

Answer 17

Anton Drexler

Question 18

What did the DAP Party eventually become?

Answer 18

The Nazi Party

Question 19

What were two things that the 25 Point for Plan for Germany outlined should happen?

Answer 19

1. Get rid of the Treaty of Versailles.
2. All Jewish people should be expelled from Germany.

(+ more)

Question 20

Why was there an increase in hatred for Jewish people in Germany after the signing of the Treaty of Versailles?

Answer 20

Step 1: The Treaty of Versailles weakened Germany and damaged peoples pride in their country.
Step 2: This made people think differently about the revolution that had got rid of the Kaiser in 1918, maybe the protests should not have happened.
Step 3: Back in 1918, lots of the leaders of the protests against the Kaiser had been Jewish so they became an easy target for blame.

Question 21

How was the Nazi Party formed?

Answer 21

The DAP was one of 29 Political Parties set up in the Weimar Republic.
Adolf Hitler spied on it and ended up speaking at a meeting.
Anton Drexler was impressed with him as a speaker. Hitler ended up working with Drexler and writing the 25 Point Plan, eventually he changed the name of the Party to the Nazi Party and became leader in 1921.
He persuaded everyone to give up their right to choose the leader of the Party in 1922.

Question 22

Who were the SA?

Answer 22

The SA were a private army for the Nazi Party, recognisable by their Brown Shirts. Their job was to patrol meetings and beat up opponents of the Nazi Party, opponents like Communists.

Question 23

Why did the Nazis set up two newspapers?

Answer 23

To spread the Nazi message of hatred of the Treaty of Versailles and of Jewish people. The two papers were Der Sturmer and the Peoples Observer.

Question 24

Who was Herman Goerring and General Ludendorff?

Answer 24

Herman Goerring was a World War One hero and deputy leader of the Nazi Party. Ludendorff was a well respected nationalist who was friends with Hitler but not a fully signed up Nazi. In the early 1920s, Hitler thought he would need the support of Ludendorff in order to take control of Germany.

Question 25

What happened in the Munich Putsch 1923?

Answer 25

• Hitler and 600 SA held Bavarian politicians at gunpoint in Munich (while they were in a meeting)
• Hitler forced them support him & allow the Nazi Party to take control
• Failed as Hitler left Ludendorff with Bavarian politicians but he let them go (+ refused to support Hitler)
• Nazis were arrested and Hitler was eventually found + put in jail