Economic and social problems in Germany 1919-24

Question 1

In 1919 how much debt was the Weimar Republic in ?

Answer 1

1.44 billion marks

Question 2

What was the economic state of Germany by 1921 ?

Answer 2

although debt was high unemployment had virtually disappeared and there was a rapid recovery in economic activity

Question 3

How many times higher were prices in 1920 to 1913?

Answer 3

14 times higher

Question 4

What were the political reasons the government allowed inflation to rise ?

Answer 4

• the 1920 coalition led by Fehrenbach was dominated by centre part which was supported by powerful German industrialists
• industrialists benefited from inflation as they took out short-term loans from Germany’s central bank and by the time repayment was due the real value had been decreased due to inflation
• it also lessened the governments debt

Question 5

What % of German population was unemployed by 1921 compared to the UK?

Answer 5

1.8 % in Germany and nearly 17% in UK

Question 6

What determined the amount of reparations that had to be payed?

Answer 6

a reparations commission

Question 7

What happened when the reparation report was presented ?

Answer 7

Chancellor Fehrenbach resigned

Question 8

Who replaced Chancellor Fehrenbach?

Answer 8

Chancellor Wirth

Question 9

What did the republic try to do to delay reparation payment?

Answer 9

In November 1922 they asked for a loan of 500 million gold marks and to be released from reparation obligations for 3 to 4 years in order to stablise the currency
France refused

Question 10

How many men did the French and Belgian send to occupy the Ruhr ? and when ?

Answer 10

60,000 in January 1923

Question 11

By the end of 1923 what did the number of men occupying the Ruhr grow to ?

Answer 11

100,000

Question 12

When occupying the Ruhr what did the troops do ?

Answer 12

• took control of mines, factories, steelworks and railways
• demanded food from shops
• set up machine-gun posts in the streets

Question 13

Who was the Chancellor during the Ruhr occupation ?

Answer 13

Cuno

Question 14

How did Chancellor Cuno respond to the occupation of the Ruhr ?

Answer 14

using passive resistance

Question 15

What did German people do while doing passive resistance ?

Answer 15

they crossed custom barriers secretly at night to blow up railways, sink barges and destroy bridges to disrupt the French effort

Question 16

How many Germans were expelled from the area during the occupation ?

Answer 16

around 150,000

Question 17

How long did the occupation of the Ruhr last ?

Answer 17

8 months

Question 18

How many Germans were shot during the occupation ?

Answer 18

132

Question 19

What had output of the Ruhr fallen to by 1922 ?

Answer 19

around a fifth of its pre-occupation output

Question 20

economic effects of the occupation ?

Answer 20

• paying striking workers wages a further strain
  -tax revenue lost from closed businesses and unemployed workers
• Germany had to pay for and import coal
• shortage of goods pushed up prices further

Question 21

What was the only option of the economic peril ?

Answer 21

print more money

Question 22

How much did a kilo loaf of bread cost in Jan 1923 ?

Answer 22

163 marks

Question 23

How much did a kilo loaf of bread cost on the 19th November 1923 ?

Answer 23

233 billion marks

Question 24

Why was there a series of reforms to the welfare system and employment rights ?

Answer 24

it was set out in the 1919 Weimar Constitution

Question 25

Social welfare laws in 1919 :

Answer 25

- limiting the working day to a max of 8 hours - state health insurance system was extended to include wives, daughters and the disabled - aid for war veterans unable to work due to injury became the responsibility of the national gov - aid for war widows and orphans increased

Question 26

Winners of hyperinflation :

Answer 26

- black marketeers who bought up food stock and sold them at vastly inflated prices - helped enterprising businesses who took out loans and repaid them once the currency had devalued further - those leasing property on a long-term fixed rate gained because the real value of the rents they were paying decreased - most farmers coped well as food was in high demand and money was less important in rural communities

Question 27

Losers of hyperinflation :

Answer 27

- pensioners badly hit - landlords reliant on fixed rents - the mittlestand ( aritsans and small business owners ) as costs rose the prices they charged couldn't keep up with rate of inflation - sick hit badly cost of medicare increased. death and suicide rates went up - workers as although they were given wage increases this didn't keep up with rising prices