establishment of weimar republic 1919-1933 Flashcards
Consequences of WW1?
Poor living conditions:
-naval blockage caused fuel and food shortages
-2 million dead
-6 million injured
-50% decrease in infant mortality
-thousands of civilian deaths due to starvation and hypothermia
-high inflation rate
-quickened spread of Spanish flu- up to 40 million dead
Treaty of Versailles Terms?
Guilt- had to take responsibility for war
Land- lost approx 10% of land including Rhineland, parts of Poland and African Colonies
Army- limited to 100,000 men, 6 battleships and no tanks air-force or subs allowed
Money- £6.6 billion in reparations
How was Germany run until October?
-by the Kaiser
What were the 1918 October Reforms?
-The formation of a ‘constitutional monarchy’
-Kaiser still King but gave up a lot of power
-Prince Max von Baden appointed Chancellor
Who were behind the October Reforms?
Generals Ludendorff and Hindenburg
Why were the October Reforms introduced?
-Hindenburg and Ludendorff realised war wouldn’t be won- wanted new gov to be blamed
-Threat of revolution similar to Russia- changed Government to avoid it.
Who were the SPD? What were their aims?
- German Social Democratic Party
-moderate socialists - led by Friederich Ebert and Phillip Scheidemann
- a popular party before the war
- wanted a socialist republic but committed to democracy
Who were the Spartacists?
-An extreme left wing group
- Led by Karl Leibknecht and Rosa Luxemburg
- Believed Germany should be like communist Russia
What was the attitude of people of Germany by the end of the war?
- people wanted radical reform
- growing socio-economic problems were creating anger and resentment amongst population
- due to censorship and propaganda, no one really knew what was going on with the war
What was the German Revolution?
- strikes in 1917-1918
-sailors mutiny across German ports, refused to obey orders, a rumor had spread that officers were planning a suicide attack on a British Fleet - Workers and soldiers councils began to appear in major German cities, similar to those set up in Russia during the Bolshevik Revolution
What was clear about the reforms by November?
By November it was clear that the October Reforms had failed to appease anyone- people calling for immediate peace and immediate abdication of the Kaiser
What happened on November 9th 1918?
-Prince Max announced the abdication of the Kaiser and would be replaced by a provisional coalition government, designed to be a combination of parties
What is a coalition government?
When a party combines with other parties to get an overall majority in parliament. Government positions then shared.
Who formed the provisional coalition government?
Friedrich Ebert- eventually made first President of Germany
Reasons for the collapse of Imperial Germany?
- Failure of the Schlieffen Plan
- Economic decline
-October Reforms
-Spanish Flu
-Lots of death
-Low morale and desperation
-Fear of Revolution
What is wrong with coalitions?
- hard to lead
-not united in aims - difficult for leaders to make united decisions
What were Ebert’s main problems?
-Socio-economic
-Left Wing Opposition
- Right-wing opposition
- Military
What were Military problems faced by Ebert?
-demobilization- about 1.5 million soldiers had to be returned home to Germany
- allied blockade- Allies maintained naval blockade even after the armistice
- Peace Terms- Great public concern about the terms and actual effects of the peace treaty
What were Right-wing opposition problems faced by Ebert?
-Friekorps - Growing number of right-wing nationalist soldiers forming paramilitary units
-German Army- Generally conservative but very bitter about defeat
- Nationalists- Conservatives deeply against abdication of the Kaiser, did no support creation of new republic
What were left wing opposition problems faced by Ebert?
-Strikes- From late 1918 number of strikes increased
-German Communists- inspired by events of 1917-1918 in Russia, communists aimed to bring about a German Revolution
- Workers and soldiers councils- Hundreds of councils created, wanting changes to army and industry
What were socio-economic problems faced by Ebert?
-inflation- wages falling behind prices
- Shortages- from 1916-1917 fuel and food shortages were causing real hardship
- Flu Epidemic- Spanish Flue killed thousands. Most serious epidemic in the 20th century.
What was the Spartacist Revolution?
- Left Wing Revolution
- motives were to recreate the Russian revolution
-Led by Rosa Luxemburg and Karl Liebknecht - Across Berlin and other large cities
- On the 4th Jan 1919, Berlin was overtaken
-Revolt ended on 15th Jan 1919, after Friekorps sent in
Why was the army not sent in to deal with the Spartacists?
-Fear that there was many communists in the army that woukd join in
-Fear that there were people that were extreme right and would be too harsh
What was the impact of the Spartacist Revolt?
- Revealed how little control there was and how little power the Gov had- had to send in the Friekorps
- Legitimasied the Friekorps
What was Article 48? What was the problem with it?
President could declare a sate of emergency, meaning laws could be passed without going to Reichstag first
What is proportional representation? What was the problem with it?
Any voting system where the share of seats a party wins matches the share of votes it receives.
Allowed many small parties to get representation but caused creation of coalitions to get a majority.
Why could it be argued that the structure of the Weimar wasn’t that bad?
-All constitutions have similar powers to Article 48
-Some argue that it was no worse than other 1920s constitutions
How many political murders between 1919-1922
376
Only 22 by left wing.
What was the ideology of the far right?
Anti-democracy
Anti-Marxist
Belief in more traditional values such ads property ownership and individual wealth
Wanted an authoritarian leadership
Fiercely nationalist- armistice a betrayal
Racist Nationalism in 1920s?
-existed in Germany prior to WW1 but minimal
-By 1920s it was growing and there were multiple parties in the Reichstag with a similar ideology
-Bavaria became a haven for right wing groups
-One notable group was German Workers Party
What was the German Workers Party?
- founded by Anton Drexler
- Joined by Hitler in 1919
Was the right wing a united group?
No. Not until Hitler took over and led the group
When was the Kapp Putsch?
1920
What was the Kapp Putsch?
- Friekorps due to be disbanded but decided to turn on the Government.
-5000 men marched in Berlin
-The army refused to help
-Berlin taken, Wolfgang Kapp in charge and the Kaiser invited back. Government fleed.
How was the Kapp Putsch fixed?
Ebert convinced workers to go on strike, stopping gas, electricity and other resources.
What happened after the Kapp Putsch?
- Kapp attempts to flee but is imprisoned
- Weimar politicians return to power but many are assassinated
- 376 political murders, most left wing. right wing assassins not arrested
What was the impact of the Kapp Putsch?
- shows weakness
- an example to the right- they go overall unpunished
- ongoing violence
When was the Munich Putsch?
1923
What happened in the Munich Putsch?
-Hitler, leader of NSDAP, tried to overthrow the gov- inspired by Mussolini
- wanted to march on Munich, led by Kahr
- Storm-troopers marched on a hall where Kahr was giving a speech
-Kahr led out at gunpoint, Hitler swayed the gov/ audience
-one member of the gov not swayed, and gathered police to stop Hitler
What happened after the Munich Putsch?
Hitler arrested for 5 years, but only served 5 months.
Hitler wrote Mein Kampf
What group did the Weimar fear more?
The left due to the inspiration from recent events of Bolshevik Revolution, however the bigger threat was the Right Wing.
Long Term Causes of Inflation?
-no provision made for a long-drawn out war
-War bonds sold by Gov to the public (basically borrowed money from public)
-National debt allowed to increase from 1916
-By 1918 84% of war expenditure came from borrowing
-country only focused on war effort- manufacturing sector couldnt function well during peace time
Medium Term Causes of Inflation?
-Weimar Gov could only either increase tax or cut gov spending- neither feasible in post war Germany
-from 1919 tax increases in an attempt to generate increased revenue
-Deficit financing (Gov spent more money than they had and have people more money to try stimulate economy) allowed inflation to continue while increasing burden on economy
-Had to print more money for war reparations
Short Term Causes of Inflation?
-In 1922 Germany not permitted to postpone reparation payments
-Invasion of the Ruhr
Explain Invasion of the Ruhr?
-Ruhr the main industrial area in Germany and generated a lot of income
-Germany had defaulted on payments making France unhappy
-Jan 1923 French and Belgian troops invaded the Ruhr
-Government told workers to go on strike using passive resistance but continued to pay workers
-Couldnt collect tax or receive goods from the area
-French didnt leave until 1925
What was the value of the Mark by Autumn 1923?
Worthless- cost more to print a note than it was worth
Who were positively impacted by Hyper-Inflation?
-mortgage holders paid back borrowed money easily
-exporters could still make money
Who were negatively impacted by hyper-inflation?
-people that had saved money
-those with fixed incomes
-recipients of welfare
-landlords/ long term renters
-German state
Who was Stresemann?
-Chancellor in 1923
-Foreign Secretary from 1924-1929
-Right Wing
When were the Golden Years?
1923-1929
What were the problems faced by Stresemann?
-Hyperinflation
-French troops in the Ruhr
-Poor Industry
How did Stresemann fix the problem of hyperinflation? Was it successful?
-stopped printing money and replaced the mark with the ‘Rentenmark’ which had a fixed value
-Yes- people adapted quickly and it made things easier BUT people lost all their savings
How did Stresemann fix the problem of French troops in the Ruhr? Was it successful?
-Got workers back to work, negotiated reparations, Dawes Plan and Young Plan
-Yes- French left the Ruhr BUT it was seen as giving in to the French
How did Stresemann fix the problem of Poor Industry? Was it successful?
-Got industry moving, built schools, hospitaks and roads, US companies built factories in Germany
-Yes- Germany slowly begins to prosper BUT Germany relied heavily on the US and Stresemann was fearful that US could recall loans
What was the Dawes Plan?
-USA loaned Germany 800 million marks
-each country became reliant on the other to maintain economic security
-USA gave loans to Germany, who paid reparations to Britain and France, who repaid war loans to the US (like a big circle)
When was the Dawes Plan?
1924
What was the Young Plan?
-A plan that reduced what Germany owed from 32.3 billion to 713 million
When was the Young Plan?
1929
What was the Locarno Pact?
-A treaty between Italy, Belgium, France, Britain and Germany where Germany accepted new borders
When did Germany join the League of Nations?
1926
What was the Kellogg Briand Pact?
Germany and 61 other countries agreed that war wont be used to enforce foreign policy
When was the Locarno Pact?
1925
When was the Kellogg Briand pact?
1928
Summarise the Golden Years (dates and the event)
-1924: Dawes Plan
-1925: Locarno Pact
-1926: Joined League of Nations
-1926: Treaty of Berlin
-1928: Kellogg Briand Pact
-1929:Young Plan
What was the treaty of Berlin?
-Agreement between Germany and USSR to ensure good relationship between the two countries
What was the Wall Street Crash?
1929
What was the impact of the Wall Street Crash for USA?
-Economic Recession
-US recalled loans to Germany
What was the socio-economic impact of the Wall Street Crash on Germany?
-In 3 years, Germany production halved
-Unemployment rose to 6.5 million
-1/3 of the pop relied on Welfare State
-Middle Class frightened thatt they would lose everything
What was the political impact of the Wall Street Crash on Germany?
-people lost faith in the Weimar
-constant changes in power and coalitions couldn’t agree
-Communists gained 6 million members
