Germany Flashcards
When was the Treaty of Versailles signed?
June 1919
What was article 231?
A part of the ToV that blamed Germany for WW1
What were strengths of the Weimar Constitution?
Men and women had the vote at 20
Laws were democratic
All parties were represented (proportional representation)
Number of seats was determined by the number of votes a party had
President was elected every 7 years (they could choose the chancellor)
What were weaknesses of the Weimar Constitution?
President had too much power due to article 48 (could suspend the constitution and keep a chancellor in power without support of the Reichstag)
Proportional representation led to slow decisions
Weimar Government nicknamed the ‘November Criminals’
Army leaders wanted the Kaiser to return for their statuses to remain
What were some impacts of the ToV on Germany?
Germany lost 13% of their land
Army capped at 100,000 soldiers
Army were not allowed to occupy the Rhineland
Forced to pay £6.6 billion in reparations (£6,600 million)
48% of iron ore are given to other nations
Article 231 War guilt blamed Germany
Only allowed 6 battleships
No airforce
No submarines
No union with Austria
What is Dolchstoss?
Being ‘stabbed in the back’
–> The army felt stabbed in the back after German politicians signed the Treaty of Versailles
What is Dictat?
The Weimar Government not being present at the making of the ToV
Who were the Freikorps?
Paramilitary groups formed of former WW1 soldiers who refused to give up their weapons
What is a Putsch?
A riot in an attempt to seize power with force
Describe the Spartacist Uprising
Led by Karl Liebknecht and Rosa Luxemburg
Wanted to establish a communist state
1919 Spartacist demonstrations led to the death of 16
Attempted overthrow the Weimar Government (6th Jan 1919)
Liebknecht and Luxemburg were captured and killed
Inspired other communists uprisings
What was the Kapp Putsch?
Led by Wolfgang Kapp and Ehrhardt
Wanted to form a right wing government
Kapp gained support from Luttwitz (army general)
Kapp seized Berlin
1920 March 13th WG moved to Dreschen then Stuttgart
WG encouraged workers to go on strike
Trade unionists supported the government and Kapp had little support and collapsed
Army still had power and few officers were punished (they still had authority)
What was the Ruhr crisis? And what was its impact?
When Belgian and French troops occupied the Ruhr in 1923 due to Germany failing to pay reparations
This led to the value of marks decreasing
Workers began to go on strike
More money is printed
What did hyperinflation lead to?
People with savings and fixed incomes were broke
WG were blamed
Rise in food prices benefitted farmers
Foreigners could change their currency for a lot of marks and this allowed them to afford things normal Germans could not
How did Gustav Stresemann help the economy?
Introduced a new currency (Rentenmark)
Dawes Plan
The Young Plan
What was the Dawes Plan?
Agreement between France, Britain, USA and Germany to change the payment terms
Agreed in 1924 August (named after Charles Dawes for setting up the plan)
Points: Ruhr was to be evacuated by troops
USA would give loans to Germany
Reparations would begin at 1 billion marks and increase
Came into effect during September 1924
Why was the Rentenmark introduced?
Because hyperinflation completely destroyed the value of the mark
This was later converted into the Reichsmark
What was the Young Plan?
The regular level of payments was too much for Germany, this led to the decrease in reparations to £1.85 billion
The time Germany had to pay was increased to 59 years
What is the Locarno Pact?
Stresemann attempted to improve relationships with France and Britain to try and remove harsh features of the treaty
Germany signed in 1925 with Britain, France, Belgium and Italy
Began a cooperation between France, Britain and Germany
Led to no more French/Belgian armies in Germany
Can cause resentment from right wing nationalists
League of Nations (abroad success)
Germany was given a permanent seat on the League of Nations in 1926
German nationalists felt betrayed
What was the Kellogg-Briand Pact?
1928 Germany signed Kellogg-Briand Pact with 64 other nations
Agreed on armies for self defence
Disputes were settled peacefully
Improved relationships with UK, US and France
Who was Gustav Stressemann?
The foreign minister
Compare election results for Social Democrats and the Nazi Party in 1924 and 1929
Social Democrats (1924) 100 Nazi Party (1924) 32 Social Democrats (1929) 153 Nazi Party (1929) 12
What were some social and economic developments in 1924-29?
Unemployment Insurance Law (1927) provided assistance to vulnerable people (eg: war veterans)
By 1928, homelessness had reduced by 60%
Improvement in housing (between 1924 and 1931, 2 mil houses were built)
Unemployment Insurance Law failed to aid middle class workers
What was the position of women in 1924-29?
Women had more rights
Equal education, opportunity in government and equal pay
Women in employment rose from 31.2% to 35.6% from 1907-1925
By 1933, 100,000 women were teaching and 3000 were doctors
Women were able to go out unescorted, able to drink, smoke and wear what they wanted
What were some cultural changes in 1924-29?
Censorship removed Art showed everyday life Golden age of cinema, Metropolis, etc Science fiction films develop Encouraged poetry/literature from both the right and left
What were some of Hitler’s early ideas?
Aryan race Germany aren't to blame Nationalism Destroying communism Jews were out to spread communism
What was the 25 point programme?
Political manifesto holding all of Hitler’s ideas (made by Hitler and Anton Drexler)
What is Völkisch?
The idea of pure German people
How did Hitler become the leader of the Nazi Party?
He was able to grow the party largely in 1920 through his speeches
They were so influential that he became leader in 1921 July
What was the Sturmabteilung (SA)?
‘Storm-troopers’, a protection squad for Nazi speakers, led by Ernest Röhm
Also nicknamed the ‘Brown shirts’ due to their brown shirts lmao
Reasons for the Munich Putsch
To assimilate power
Hitler hated the WG
The increase in Nazi Party support
Hitler believed many would support him over the WG
What was the Munich Putsch?
Happened on 8-9th of November 1923
600 SA members burst into a meeting that Von Kahr and Lossow were holding at beer hall
They were forced to agree to rebel
SA took over newspaper offices
On the 9th of November, Hitler went to Munich
Von Kahr called the police and Hitler was arrested after the death of 16 SA members
What were consequences of the Munich Putsch?
Hitler was imprisoned for 5 years (only served 9 months)
Hitler’s trial was long (more publicity)
Nazi Party is turned into a ‘democratic’ party
Nazi Party support decreases
Nazi Party was banned
Hitler wrote Mein Kampf
What did Brüning do?
He raised taxes and decreased wages
Why did support for Nazis increase?
Propaganda, Nazis owned over 120 newspaper rallies (appeared everywhere)
Financial support from businessmen, newspaper tycoon permitted Nazis to slander Chancellor Bruning
Outcome of the July 1932 election
Nazis win with 230 seats
Von Papen doesn’t want to give up post to Hitler