germany Flashcards
who forces the kaiser to abdicate?
Prince Max of Baden is appointed Chancellor and forces the Kaiser to abdicate. Agrees on an armistice with Wilson under the condition the Kaiser abdicates.
when was the kaiser abdicated?
9th november 1918
what was the ebert-groener pact?
agreed that the army would support the Weimar Republic as long as the military was not reformed and could remain right-wing aristocracy.
what did general groener tell the kaiser?
that the army would no longer support him.
wilhelmshaven mutiny
on 28th October where two ships refused to attack British ships.
kiel mutiny
on 3rd November 1920 was when thousands of sailors took over a naval base against officers. By the 6th this had spread to many other ports, cities and naval stations and began a fully-fledged political revolution.
what did worker’s councils demand?
political reforms such as the abdication of the Kaiser, end of aristocratic privilege and the implementation of socialist policies.
SPD called on workers in Berlin to join a general strike to force the Kaiser to abdicate.
what happened to the Bavarian monarchy?
The Bavarian monarchy ended with the declaration of a Bavarian Republic on 12th November 1918.
how often did ebert use article 48?
Ebert uses Article 48 (rule by decree) on 136 different occasions. Often he did this just to override opposition in the Reichstag- undermined the principles of democracy.
what happened to many undemocratic institutions?
they still survive. The civil service at senior levels was made up of the aristocracy and many judges were monarchist and anti-democratic.
Right wing conspirators (Munich and Kapp) were treated very leniently. The army crushed left wing revolts and supports trouble from the right. Article 102 guaranteed independence of monarchist and antidemocratic judges.
what did proportional representation lead to?
Due to proportional representation smaller parties could gain representation in the Reichstag. This allows smaller, often extreme parties to gain publicity and support the system- proliferation of small parties that lacked national consensus. Lack of majority led to many short lived coalitions.
what did the new German constitution provide?
a wider right to vote than other countries such as Britian and France. Women can vote on the same terms as men and are able to become deputies in Reichstag and state parliaments.
how could referendums be called?
Referendums could be called by the president, the Reichsrat or by the people, if a tenth of the electorate applied for one- although they could be overridden by the Reichstag.
what did the Weimar constitution set out?
clear rights of the individual. ‘All Germans equal before the law,’ ‘full religious freedom’ and censorship was forbidden. Guaranteed civil liberties.
how many coalitions were there between 1919-1923?
10 coalitions in 1919-1923 undermined confidence in the democratic system (Scheidemann and Luther), especially with SPD leaving the Grand Coalition in 1923.
growth of political extremism
Support for moderate parties ebbed away during social, economic, and political crisis.
Growth of political extremism and right-wing nationalists assassinating prominent politicians. Rathenau 1922 had 700,000 protesting on the streets of Berlin. 376 political assassinations (354 from right-wing and 22 left-wing) however 326 right-wing murderers went unpunished.
kapp putsch
1920 took over Berlin for five days after 13,000 Freikorps refused to be dismissed but army refused to fire the old soldiers. Ebert called a general strike which showed political leniency and the weakness of Weimar government.
what happened to the communist led revolution in saxony, march 1921?
Rising crushed by police and 145 killed.
spartacist uprising
1919 was easily supressed. Started 5th January and was crushed by the 13th after brutal street fighting and the execution of Liebknecht and Luxemberg. Failed to gain working class support.
But Ebert used Freikorps to exploit the situation and showed a heavy reliance on militias rather than the army.
munich putsch
1923 had Hitler and Ludendorff arrested for five years. Extreme failure of their original plan as Nazis were banned and 14 were killed. Only served 9 months.
what was stresemann’s foreign policy aim?
policy of fulfilment which meant complying with the Treaty of Versailles whilst negotiating for better terms. Took a much more pragmatic approach, rather than combative or belligerent as right-wing nationalists would be angry either way.
when were forces removed from the zones?
Forces were removed from Zone 1 in 1926, Zone 2 in 1929 and Zone 3 in 1930. Foreign policy success led to Dawes 1924 and Young 1929.
who opposed the locarno pact?
Hugenberg opposed the Locarno Pact and cooperation between Germany and Western allies The ‘Freedom Law,’ launched by right-wing parties and organisations, attempted to annul the agreement in the Young Plan.
when was the policy of fulfilment met?
in 1930 when all foreign forces were removed from German soil. The Dawes and Locarno Pact had shown evidence of German willingness.
when were germany admitted into the league of nations?
1926 Germany are admitted into the League of Nations as a permanent member of the council which aimed to resolve disputes without war. Stresemann is awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
locarno pact
1925 had Germany accept the Western border (Rhineland Pact) and the loss of Alsace-Lorraine to France and Eupen-Malmédy to Belgium.
France would not be able to invade German territory should there be any dispute between them and Poland or Czechoslovakia. This left the issue of the Eastern border open for later revision.
It guaranteed that the occupation of the Ruhr 1923 would never be repeated- but angered German nationalists. Led to the League of Nations and fulfilment.
(Arbitration treaties) meant that disputes would be settled by a ‘conciliation committee’ and there would be a ‘mutual guarantee’ to avoid war.
dawes plan
1924 made France leave the Ruhr and made it clear that Germany was willing to pay reparations. They received a loan of 800 million marks from USA.
treaty of berlin
1926 renewed the earlier treaty between Germany and Russia. They agreed to continue trading and cooperating, and Germany would remain neutral in war as long as USSR was not the aggressor. Helped Germany get closer to their aim of revising the Eastern frontiers.
treaty of rapallo
1922 was an important symbolic step away from post-war isolation as it allowed Germany to develop new weapons and train pilots away from allied powers- but angered the allies.
young plan
1929 obliged the Germans to pay reparations until 1988. Significantly reduced reparations bill- £6.5 billion to £1.8 billion, Germany took sole responsibility and France and Britian agreed to withdraw their troops.
kellog-briand pact
1928 was an ineffective but thoughtful pact that renounced the use of offensive wars to settle disputes between France, Germany, and USA. It had symbolic importance as an international agreement to avoid war but was ineffective due to lack of proper enforcement.
Gleichschaltung
the process of Nazification by which Hitler established a system of totalitarian control and complete subservience to the state.
when and where was the first concentration camp?
in dachau, march 1933.
70 camps by the end of the year.
what percent voted for non-Nazi parties in the 1933 elections?
64%
what happened to judges and lawyers in 1933?
they were merged with the League of Nationalist Socialist Lawyers. Set up ‘Special Courts’ with 3 Nazi and 2 non-Nazi judges which showed how the justice system could not interfere with state terror.
Between 1934-39, 3400 people were tried at ‘People’s Court,’ with the majority being communists and socialists given the death penalty.
SS
controlled the Third Reich police system and concentration camps. Chief was Himmler. They had to be disciplined, obedient and racially pure. Used a systematic operation of ruthless violence and murder. 500,000 in 1933 to 3 million in 1934.
SD
was established in 1931 and were the internal security service that monitored public opinion such as plebiscites. 50,000 members in 1939, led by Heydrich. Staffed by amateurs but committed Nazis.
Gestapo
was relatively small- only 20,000 members in 1939. Generally not Nazis, but professional police dedicated to serve the state. An overwhelming number of informers meant they resorted to arbitrary arrest and preventive custody.
Instilled fear and suspicion everywhere through double agents. Used torture to extract information and kept German society under surveillance.
effective political resistance
SPD voted against the Enabling Act. KPD set up underground network and revolutionary unions in Berlin and Hamburg.
ineffective political resistance
Attacked each other. SOPADE not equipped to attack. 10% of KPD killed in 1933 and were the first party to be banned. Thalmann killed early on.
effective workers resistance
37 strikes in 1935 and 250 in 1937. High levels of absenteeism, slow working, and breaking machines. Gestapo found 1.5 million anti-Nazi leaflets.
ineffective workers resistance
Hesitant. Ringleaders of 1936 Opel Car Factory strike were imprisoned. 4000 people that went on strikes in 1935 were imprisoned. Sabotage was made a criminal offence. Would not remove Hitler from power.
effective protesant church resistance
Resisted Aryan Paragraph and developed Confessional Church in 1934 led by non-Nazis. Refused to display swastika flag.
ineffective protesant church resistance
Pastors had salary dropped, banned from teaching, and arrested. 700 imprisoned by 1937. Many were loyal to Hitler with the exception of Martin Neimoller.
effective roman catholic church resistance
‘Within Burning Grief’ 1937 condemned Nazi hatred of the church. Noisy public demonstrations at the trial of an arrested priest.
ineffective roman catholic church resistance
Concordat of 1933 agreed not to interfere with each other. Their resistance was partial, spasmodic, and ineffective.
effective youth resistance
HJ membership declined as less attended weekly parades. They hummed banned tunes, sang songs about sex and food. Political links to KPD and beat up HJ.
