GDS1 - How Did Germany Emerge From Defeat At The End Of WW1? Flashcards
When and why did WW1 end?
11a.m. 11 November 1918
Germany surrendered, realised it couldn’t win against the Allies
What was the social impact of WW1 on Germany?
Acute food shortages - by 1918 Germany was producing half the milk, and 60% of butter and meat, than it had before the war
Average German adult was living on 1,000 calories a day
German people were surviving on turnips (usually used for cattle feed) and bread - even the flour for the bread was mixed with sawdust to make it go further
1.5 million soldiers returned to society - most were traumatised and disillusioned
Many Germans were angry about losing the war - there was a wave of unrest in cities like Berlin, law/order breaking down
Fuel was short - people were cold and around 300,000 people died from starvation/hypothermia
What was the economic impact of WW1 on Germany?
Huge gaps between living standards of rich and poor - war had deepened divisions
National income was only 1/3 of what it had been in 1913 (by 1918)
Industrial production (1918) was about 2/3 of what it had been in 1913
Germany had spent $37 billion on the war and was in serious debt
War had left many widows, and 2 million fatherless children -> by 1925 the state was spending 1/3 of its money on war pensions
What was the political impact of WW1 on Germany?
October 1918 - sailors in Northern Germany mutinied and took over Kiel (town)
In Bavaria, an independent Socialist Republic was declared, and Saxony soon followed its example
One of the peace conditions was that Germany would become more democratic, and Kaiser should abdicate:
- Kaiser refused, causing many revolts across the country
- 9 November 1918 Kaiser abdicated and left for Netherlands
- next day, Freidrich Ebert became the new (socialist) leader of Republic of Germany
- he signed the armistice with the Allies
Stress of war led to unrest and fighting between right and left wing groups - right wing supported Kaiser, left wanted a revolution and a socialist state
How did Germany become a republic?
Germany was ruled by a monarch (Kaiser) prior to 1918
By 1918 autumn, German generals were aware Germany couldn’t win the war - so began to enter peace negotiations with Allies
Wilson gave one of the conditions for peace - that Germany become more democratic (Kaiser give up some power, German parliament gets more)
Kaiser refused to make changes - caused political unrest in Germany, including naval strikes (e.g. Kiel) and left-wing protests (e.g. Bavaria, Saxony)
9 November 1918 - Kaiser abdicated, fled to Netherlands
Next day - socialist leader Ebert became Chancellor of Republic of Germany
He then signed the armistice with the Allies
Proportional Representation
An electoral system where the proportion of votes received by a political party is equal to the proportion of seats they’re allocated in parliament (Reichstag)
Constitution
Set of political principles by which a state is governed
When and how was the Weimar Republic set up? (4 key steps)
January 1919 - Ebert’s Social Democrat Party was the largest party in the election
The newly-elected assembly had to make a new constitution for the new republic
They met in the town of Weimar (hence the name the Weimar Republic) to discuss this
July 1919 - the new constitution was approved
What was the role of the President in the Weimar Republic?
Elected every seven years by all adults over 20 (including women yay)
Was the Supreme Commander of the army - included appointing/dismissing all senior officers
Appointed/dismissed the Chancellor
Article 48 - in times of national emergency the President could suspend the constitution and rule by decree
What was the role of the Chancellor in the Weimar Republic?
Appoints a team of ministers to form a government
Requires majority support of the Reichstag
What was the role of the Reichstag in the Weimar Republic?
Elected by all adults over 20 (including women yay)
Used a system of proportional representation
Maximum term of a parliament was 4 years
Makes laws and controls the budget
(Members can be ministers)
What was the role of the Reichstrat in the Weimar Republic?
Made up of representatives from the 18 provincial state parliaments
Could veto Reichstag laws BUT this veto could be overruled by a 2/3 Reichstag vote
Advised the Chancellor on laws
Strengths of the Weimar Republic
Proportional representation was considered to be the most fair system
Had many forward-looking features (slightly ahead of its time):
- equal voting rights for all Germans (male/female)
- human + civil rights granted -> e.g. right to freedom of speech and worship
In some respects it was the most democratic and progressive in the world (see above)
Weaknesses of the Weimar Republic
Proportional representation:
- by allowing a party that won a small % of votes some seats, small extremist parties were able to gain publicity/legitimacy
- encourages voting for a wide range of parties, making it extremely difficult for any part to get 50% or more of seats
- hence all governments were coalition governments, which were short lived and slow to act (bickering between parties) -> created political instability NOTE on average there was one general election every 18 months during WR
Article 48 -> gave President too much power, allowed him to discard the democratic system (very vague as to what constituted an emergency)
What was the threat to the Weimar Republic from the (political) left?
Spartacists
Led by Rosa Luxemburg + Karl Liebknecht
They wanted a Germany ruled by worker’s councils (soviets)
Supporters = mainly working class + rebel soldiers and sailors
Method = setting up soviets then revolting to try and take power
What were the main Spartacist uprisings and the consequences/outcomes?
1919 = first bid for power
- set up soviets in many towns, started an uprising
- Ebert made an agreement with army commanders + freikorps to stop the revolt
- heavily armed street fighting happened between spartacists/freikorps -> resulted in lots of casualties, but freikops won
- Luxembourg + Liebknecht were murdered
1919 = second attempt in Bavaria
- was still an independent socialist state led by an ally of Ebert
- said ally was murdered in 1919, communists declared a soviet republic in Bavaria
- same thing happened as first time, 600 communists were killed
1920 -> more communist rebellion in Ruhr, this time around 2,000 casualties
What were Freikorps?
Vigilante groups of anti-communist ex-soldiers
They made an agreement with Ebert to help with Spartacist’s rebellions
What was the threat to the Weimar Republic from the (political) right?
Nazis + Freikorps
Most of them grew up in the successful days of Kaiser’s rule, wanted Germany to expand territory and have an empire - also resented the ToV, loss of territory
Two main attempted rebellions = Kapp Putsch + Munich Putsch = both failed
Kapp Putsch
March 1920
Kapp led 5,000 Freikorps into Berlin, army refused to fire on them
Industrial workers of Berlin declared a general strike
This brought the city to a halt as it had no transport + power + water
After a few days, Kapp realised he couldn’t win and left the country -> he was hunted down and died awaiting trial
Most of the rebels went unpunished by the courts
Munich Putsch
November 1923
Hitler led a rebellion in Munich
The night before, he led the SA to a beer hall, forcing two nationalist politicians to agree to rebel
One of the politicians had called the police, so army reinforcements greeted the Nazis
Overall, 16 Nazis were killed
Hitler received a light sentence (5 years), spent his limited jail time in comfort <- suggested he had important connections
Was the Weimar Republic seriously endangered by politically extreme opponents? (2 points for + against)
Yes -> both left and right were almost constantly trying to stage uprisings against republic
-> extremist groups had more support due to desperation (economic crises)
No -> freikorps provided protection from left wing rebellions
-> german working class were able to stop right wing from taking power
What was the conflict in the Ruhr and what were the consequences of it?
Ruhr had coalfields that were vital to German industry
In 1922 Germany didn’t pay reparations, so French/Belgian troops entered Ruhr in 1923
German gov. ordered workers to go on strike
With no goods to trade (+ no money), gov. tried to print more money, leading to hyperinflation
Proof of hyperinflation in Germany
Cost of a loaf of bread (in Berlin)
1918 = 0.63 marks
End of 1923 = 200,000 million marks
What caused the Weimar Republic/Germany to recover in the 1920s?
Gustav Stresemann <- Chancellor in 1923 (for a few months)
He was then foreign minister from 1923 to 1929
His actions resulted in the economy (temporarily) recovering, and cultural life beginning to flourish again
He negotiated the both Young and Dawes Plans + was instrumental in the Locarno Pact + Kellog-Briand Pact
1926 - awarded a Nobel Peace Prize
