Germany Flashcards
Who and what were the ‘big three’?
Main leaders to decide the terms for the peace Treaty of Versailles:
Georges Clemenceau (France)
Woodrow Wilson (US)
David Lloyd George ( Britain)
Vittorio Orlando (Italy)
According to the Treaty of Versailles, how much did Germany have to pay for reparations?
Fixed amount of £ 6.6 billion in 1921
What areas of land did Germany lose after the treaty?
Alsace-Lorraine given to France The Saar (coalfields) Posen and West Prussia given to Poland to create the Polish corridor
Total 13% of land lost
Rhineland was demilitarised
Who were the SS?
Stands for Schutz-Staffel meaning protection squad
Initially Hitler’s private bodyguards
Himmler made them elite force of ‘Aryan’ supermen
Made an oath to follow Hitler
By 1939 had 240,000 members
Power to arrest people without trial
What is the Gestapo?
State secret police run by Hermann Goering
Network of informers in Germany
Spy on people, tap telephones, intercept mail
Could strike any time, any where
Probably who Germans feared the most
What does Untermenschen mean?
Sub humans - what the Nazis called other races such as Jews to make them feel inferior
What does Aryan mean?
Race thought to originate from Scandinavia
Tall, fit, blonde hair, blue eyes
Nazis believe they are the master race and are superior to others.
Define Einsatzgruppen.
Special SS unit of soldiers who rounded up Jews in foreign towns, made them dig trenches and shot them so they fell in
What are Ghettos?
Walled off sections in cities in Poland, Czechoslovakia and Lithuania where Jews were held.
Overcrowded, cramped, little food Hundreds of Jews died each day here.
How many German soldiers had died since 1914 in the war?
2 million
Where and when did Kaiser Wilhelm II abdicate?
9th November 1918
Fled to Holland
What party formed a new temporary government after the Kaiser fled?
Social Democratic Party (SPD)
Led by Friedrich Ebert as the new Chancellor
New German state created
Democratic System - Weimar Republic
When was the Weimar constitution signed into law and by who?
11th August 1919
President Ebert
How often were members of the Reichstag elected?
Every 4 years
Who could vote in Germany?
All women and men over 20 years
Define the role of a chancellor
Head of the government who chose ministers and ran the country
Needed majority of support in Reichstag to pass laws
Define the role of the president
Head of state
Directly elected every 7 years
No part in day-to-day government
Chose the chancellor
Could dismiss Reichstag, call new election and control the army
Under article 48 could suspend constitution + pass laws by decree
What problems did proportional representation cause?
Even small number of votes gained seats in the Reichstag, increasing instability of government
To get majority of support often formed coalitions.
Coalitions are unstable as they can’t agree
Growth in extremist parties
Who was the first president of the Weimar Republic?
Friedrich Ebert
What was the ‘War Guilt Clause’?
Article 231
Germany had to accept blame for starting the war
Who were the ‘November Criminals’?
The people who signed the Treaty of Versailles and accepted war blame for Germany
‘Stabbed in the back’
When was the Treaty of Versailles signed?
28th June 1919
