Germany 1: 1890-1918

Question 1

Who ruled Germany between 1890 and 1918?

Answer 1

Kaiser Wilhelm II

Question 2

When did several independent states join together to form the united country of Germany?

Answer 2

1871 (after victory in the Franco-Prussian War)

Question 3

What was the political structure of the German Empire?

Answer 3

• Kaiser (emperor) appoints Chancellor
• Chancellor (prime minister) has power over policies and appointments
• Reichstag (parliament) limited power and could be ignored
• all men can vote for members of the Reichstag

Question 4

As chancellor in the 1870s and 1890s what did Bismark do to unify Germany?

Answer 4

• national coinage
• postal service
• laws
• railway
• army
• assimilated ethnic groups (Poles, Danes, French)

Question 5

Why was Wilhelm II’s character unsuitable in his position as an active and ambitious Kaiser?

Answer 5

• unstable mood
• violent rages
• aware as commander-in-chief of the armed forces that he had a withered left hand

Question 6

What does WELTPOLITIK mean?

Answer 6

world policy (focus on international policy and status)

Question 7

What was the ‘Scramble for Africa’?

Answer 7

European powers seized colonies in Africa to build overseas empires.

Question 8

How was Wilhelm II related to the royal families of Europe?

Answer 8

Queen Victoria’s grandson, nephew to Edward VII (1901 UK), cousin of George V (1910 UK), cousin of Tsar Nicholas II (1894 Russia), plus Norway, Spain and Greece.

Question 9

What is the difference between Right-wing and Left-wing political parties?

Answer 9

Right-wing: support traditional conservative values, landowners and property owners. Nationalistic and Imperialistic (support the expansion of the Empire)
Left-wing: support workers rights and growing strength of industry

Question 10

How did Germany’s industry grow under Wilhelm II?

Answer 10

• half to more than double steel production of Britain
• 1/3 of the world’s electrical goods
• most advanced telephone system
• world leaders in chemical industries
• Siemens and Bosch

Question 11

How did Germany’s population change between 1871 and 1914

Answer 11

40 million to 68 million (most work in industry so food imports needed)

Question 12

What reforms were brought in to support the growing number of socialist workers?

Answer 12

old age pensions 1889

Sickness and accident insurance

Question 13

Who were the SDP?

Answer 13

Social Democratic Party - growing support from industrial workers who liked socialism and communist ideas

Question 14

Why was Prussia so powerful in Germany?

Answer 14

The biggest and most populous German state with a proud military tradition

Question 15

What was the First Naval Law 1898?

Answer 15

7 new battleships (to add to current 12) so that Germany could help gain and protect a global empire.

Question 16

What was the Second Naval Law 1900?

Answer 16

Doubled size of fleet to 38 battleships to compete with Britain

Question 17

What economic problems did the First World War cause in Germany by 1918?

Answer 17

• National Income was 1/3 of what it had been in 1913
• industrial production was reduced by 1/3
• Germany was spending 1/3 of its budget on pensions for war 600,000 widows and 2 million children without fathers

Question 18

What social divisions did the First World War cause in Germany by 1918?

Answer 18

• bigger gaps between rich and poor
• factory owners made money whilst workers wages were cut
• women had been called up to work in factories damaging traditional values

Question 19

What happened during the German Revolution in Oct-Nov 1918?

Answer 19

• Allies had clearly won the war
• Germans were starved out by British Naval Blockade
• Sailors in Kiel refuse to fight and revolt
• Socialist uprisings and independence movements in German cities and states

Question 20

When did the Kaiser abdicate?

Answer 20

9th November 1918 (fled to the Netherlands)