Germany Flashcards
When was industrialisation and who benefited from it
1913- this had been successful as Germany was producing more iron and steel and as much coal as Britain.
Land owners and factory owners became very rich.
By 1910 60% of Germans lived in towns and cities
When was Germany unified
1871
Who were the bundersrat
Bundesrat (Federal Council)
* Made up of representatives from the 25 state governments of Germany but
dominated by Prussia.
* Consulted with the Kaiser and Chancellor over government policies.
* Proposed laws that were then sent to the Reichstag. it then had to approve
the laws passed by the Reichstag.
How many industrial workers were there and by what date
1910- there were 10.9 million industrial workers
By 1914, how many workers had joined trade unions
Over 3 million workers had joined trade union and organised strikes in the hope that the government would improve their conditions
Who were the SDP
Social Democratic Party (SPD)
A new political party that appealed to the workers.
They supported the idea of socialism- that power and wealth should be shared equally among the people.
What were the aims of the SDP
To encourage the Kaiser to share power in the Reichstag, which could allow social reforms to improve workers’ rights and conditions.
What fraction of the population voted for the Reichstag and by what year
1912-a third of the population voted for the SPD . As the SDP became the largest party in the Reichstag, the Chancellor found it more difficult to gain support from the Reichstag
What was weltpolitik and when did it take place?
German policy to expand the navy from 1897 onwards
Who created the navy league and when and what did it campaign for
Admiral von Tirpitz in 1898
Campaigned for naval laws to be passed
Why was Weltpolitik a success and failure
Success-pleases kaiser,increased support of kaiser,won government support in the reichstag
Faiilure- Germany in debt of 490 billion marks by 1913
What was Prussia
The largest and most powerful German state and was militaristic and miitary chiefs influence the Kaiser to expand his empire-weltpolitik
What did 500 women do in 1915? A year later, how many workers assembled and what did they shout?
Protest to demand the return of their men from war
1 year later-10000 workers in berlin shouted “down with war,down with the government
Which general told the kaiser they would never win the war and when? What did they suggest
october1918- . General Ludendorff. He advised the
Kaiser that the British, French and Americans might treat Germany more fairly if the country became more democratic –
What were the politicians who signed the armistice known as
Novembers criminals
What and when was the kiel mutiny
28th October 1918-The sailors’ mutiny sparked rebellions all over Germany. They refused to attack the British navy.Soldiers, sent to deal with the protests,joined the sailors and workers
What was the impact of the Kiel mutiny
They took over
towns there and set up special councils to run them. In just six days, workers’ and soldiers’ councils were governing cities all over Germany
What did the Kaiser do in 1918 and who replaced him. what did ebert promise
Abdicate
Ebert, the leader of the SDP, took over.He promised to hold elections soon
What was the impact of the war on german people
The German people were surviving on turnips and bread,
Deadly flu epidemic was sweeping the country
War wariness
In 1918 763,000Germans died from starvation and hypothermia.
German workers’ wages were falling despite the extra work they were doing to support the war. By 1918 German miners were earning only 60 per cent of their pre-war salaries.
What were the economic impacts of the war on german people
Germany was virtually bankrupt
German factories were exhausted by the war. They had not been producing goods to sell abroad and make money.
The war left 600,000 war widows and two million children without fathers
Germany had borrowed money from USA that they needed to pay back
Debt increased from 50 billion to 150 billion
What was the social impact of the war on german people
Some factory owners made a fortune, while German workers had restrictions placed on their
wages.
Women worked in the factories during the war. Some Germans thought this damaged traditional family values.
What was the political impact of the war
Before the war, Germany had been a stable, rich nation.
Now there was mutiny and revolution.
Many ex-soldiers and civilians felt betrayed by the politicians (the ‘November Criminals’)
who had ended it, and refused to support them.
When did Ebert hold his election and what was the outcome
January 1919, Ebert held the election SPD won the most votes and Ebert became the new
German President.
Because of all the recent
violence in Berlin, the newly elected politicians met up in German town called Weimar to discuss how to run Germany.
This was the start of the Weimar Republic.
How old did you have to be to vote in weimar republic
20
What were the strengths of the weimar republic
A genuine democracy - Elections for parliament and the president took place every four years and all Germans over 20 could vote.
A Bill of Rights - This guaranteed every German citizen freedom of speech and religion, and equality under the law.
What were the weakness of the weimar republic
Proportional representation: 60000 votes=1 seat meant that
lots of different political parties were able to win seats in the Reichstag. Law making was very slow
Article 48- gave the president the power to act without parliament’s approval in an emergency.Power was overused, which weakened Germans’ confidence in democracy.
What were the 4 aspects of the treaty of versailles
Blame
Reparations
Armed forces
Terriry
What was the blame aspect of the treaty of versailles and what was it known as
Article 231 of the Treaty required that Germany take the blame for starting the First World War known as the war guilt cause
What was the reparations aspect of the treaty of versailled
£6.6 billion reparations lasting until 1988
What was the armed forces aspect of the treaty of versailles
100,000 soldiers
6battleships)
no submarines, tanks or
airforce.
What were the territory aspects of the treaty of Versailles
Germany lost 13% of territory and 10% of population
Germany must never unite with Austria again.
Rhineland was demilitarized
Germany lost land on all sides of its borders as well( had to return Alsace Loraine to France) as its overseas colonies
Germany must hand over its colonies abroad to the winning
countries
What was the reaction in Germany
Called it a diktat (dictated peace) because it was forced on them.
Dolchstoss-Those who agreed to the Treaty terms were accused of having “stabbed Germany in the back” .
Politicians who signed the armistice were known as november criminals
When was the invasion of the Ruhr and what caused it
1922- Germany failed to pay 2nd reparation
January 1923-60,000
French and Belgian soldiers marched into the Ruhr,a rich, industrial area of Germany, and took control of every factory, mine and railway in the region.
What was the reaction of the invasion of the Ruhr
Passive resistance-German governmentordered its workers to go on strike and not help
the soldiers remove
goods from the country.
What was the consequence of the invasion of the ruhr
Over 100 of strikers were killed
and 15,000 people were
thrown out of their homes as
a punishment.
How did the invasion of the ruhr lead to hyperinflation
1)The German government promised to continue paying the
workers on strike
2)government printed large amounts of money
3)The striking workers began to
spend their money quickly.
shopkeepers began to put up their prices
4)They carried their wages around in wheelbarrows, which
wasn’t even enoughto buy a decent meal.The price of goods even rose between joining
the back of a queue and
reaching the front.
Impacts of hyperinflation
Loaf of bread had risen from 250 marks in jan 1923 to 201billion by December 1923
Egg had risen from 0.9 marks in 1914 to 320 billion marks by 1923
People use bank notes to light fires
Autumn 1923 it cost more to print a note than the note itself was actually worth.
Which groups of people were positively impacted by hyper inflation
Borrowers, such as businessmen, landowners and those with mortgages, found they were able to pay back their loans easily with worthless money.
People on wages were relatively safe, because they renegotiated their wages every day. However, even their wages eventually failed to keep up with prices.
Farmers coped well, since their products remained in demand and they received more money for them as prices spiralled.
Which groups of people were negatively impacted by hyper inflation
People on fixed incomes, like students, pensioners or the sick, found their incomes did not keep up with prices.
People with savings and those who had lent money, for example to the government, were the most badly hit as their money became worthless
What and when was the sparticists uprising
Threat from left
1919-100,000 workers took to the streets in berlin and seized governments newspaper offices
Ebert sent 2000 freikorps to deal with the uprising
100 workers were killed including Karl liebknecht and Rosa Luxemburg
Seen as bloody week
When and what was the Kapp Putsch
Threat from right
March 1920- 5000 Freikorps led by Wolfgang Kapp marched on Berlin after Ebert tried to disband them
Army refused to attack the freikorps
Kapp took over berlin and invited Kaiser to return
Weimar encouraged workers to go on strike who then refused to cooperate with Kapp.
Kapp was defeated after 4 days(100hours)
When and what was the red rising of the ruhr
Threat from left wing
Industrial workers stayed on strike and they took over several towns
Freikorps were sent to deal with rebellion and 1000 workers were killed
How many politicians were assassinated by terrorist (2 specific examples)?
How did judges react
Nationalist terrorists assassinated 356 government politicians, including Walter Rathenau(1922) and Matthias Erzberger(1921)
The judges, many of whom preferred the Kaiser’s government, consistently gave these terrorists light sentences, or let them go free.
What caused the munich Putsch
1923,-Nazi party had 55,000 members
Hyperinflation-The Weimar Republic was in crisis
September 1923-Weimar government had called off the general strike, every German nationalist was furious with the government.
Hitler thought he would be helped by important nationalist politicians in Bavaria.
Hitler had a huge army of SA, but he knew he would lose control of them if he did not give them something to do.
Hitler was inspired by Mussolini who had come to power in Italy in 1922 by marching on Rome.
What and when was the munich Putsch
1923
9th November, Hitler and his supporters marched on the town centre of Munich.
Sixteen members of the Nazi Party were killed and Hitler fled, although he was arrested on 11th November, 1923.
What were the negative consequences of the Munich Putsch
Hitler was tried for treason and sent to prison for 5 years
The Nazi Party was banned and Hitler was forbidden to speak in public until 1927.
What were the postive consequences of the Munich Putsch
Hitler only served 9 months out of the 5 years
Hitler used what had happened, to gain publicity across Germany, not just in Bavaria.
Hitler used his time in prison to write his book, ‘Mein Kampf’, which means ‘My Struggle’- Million of germans read it
In the long-term, Hitler realised the Nazi Party would have to come to power through elections, not by force.
Judge had been so lenient with the sentence-some people in authority had sympathy with Hitler and what he had tried to do
Which two new currencies were introduces by stresemann and how long did the second one last
Rentenmark
Reichmark-25 years
Who never got their money back despite Stresemann’s new currency
Middle classes
How were farmers affected by Stresemann’s new currency
Farmers did not gain during the economic recovery between 1924 and 1929 as prices for crops remained low and those who lost savings had not compensation
Sales of radios rose from 1 million to what and in which years?
1 million in 1926 to 4 million in 1932
What and when was the Dawes Plan
1924- USA lend germany 800 million gold marks
Germany used this money to build roads,railways,factories
France and Belgian troops left Ruhr in 1925
What and when was the young plan
1929- Reparations reduced from £6.6 to £1.8 billion
Germany given another 59 years for reparation payments
What did Stresemann use the Dawes plan money to build?what did this also create?
Factories, roads, railways.This created job which would raise money to pay repartions
Which US companies set up factories in Germany
Ford and Gillette
What did Germany sign in 1925 and what did this mean
Locarno Pact with Britain, France, Belgium and Italy. They
promised never to invade each other
Germany agreed never again to challenge its borders with France and Belgium
Allies withdrew their occupation forces from the Rhineland
When was Germany allowed to join the league of nations and what did this mean
1926, Germany joined the League of Nations, an international peacekeeping organisation that Germany had been banned from when it was set up in 1919.
When did Germany sign the Kellogg-Briand Pact and what did this mean
1928-The Kellogg-Briand Pact was an international agreement between 62 countries.
The participating countries agreed never to go to war, unless in defence.
What were the signs of recovery in the Stresemann era
1928- industrial production levels were higher than 1913
Between 1925 and 1929 exports rose by 40 per cent
Hourly wages rose every year from 1924 to 1929 and by 10 per cent in 1928 alone
IG Farben, a German chemical manufacturing company, became the largest industrial company in Europe
Generous pension, health and unemployment insurance schemes were introduced from 1927
What were the signs of weakness in the Stresemann era
agricultural production did not recover to its pre-war levels
it spent more on imports than it earned from exports, so Germany was losing money every year
unemployment did not fall below 1.3 million and in 1929 increased to 1.9 million
German industry became dependent upon loans from the USA
The government ended up spending more than it received in taxes and so continued to run deficits from 1925 onwards
Why did many right groups criticize Stresemann
for not really gaining back land taken under the Treaty of Versailles.
What happened in October 1929 and what was the effect
Wall Street Crash hit the USA
American companies and banks went out of business, and millions lost their jobs
How did the Wall Street Crash affect Germany
USA called in all of their foreign loans at very short notice
Without these loans, German industry collapsed and a depression began
What was the economic impact of the depression
German factories shut
because the US weren’t
buying goods.
US demanded back the
money they lent
Germany. German banks
tried to reclaim this from
German businesses. They
could not pay and went
bankrupt.
