Germany Flashcards

1
Q

Strength of Weimar Constitution

A
  • President: President could protect country in times of crisis
  • Chancellor: Needed majority in the Reichstag so their appointment was democratic
  • Article 48: In times of unrest it could be used to make laws so the government can continue
  • State governments: States could have different laws
  • PR: Parties which recieved votes had representation in the Reichstag
  • Voting: Everyone got a vote
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2
Q

Weakness of the constitution

A
  • President: 7 years is too long
  • Chancellor: Won’t last long in office if a coalition failed
  • Article 48: Emergency unclear
  • State governments: Individual states could oppose the national government and try to remove it
  • PR: Result in small parties winning seats leading to an unstable government as there is no individual majority. Several parties had to form coalitions which ften broke down.
  • Voting: Opposition from those who did not want democracy. Voted for parties that wanted to destroy the democratic system
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3
Q

Treaty of Versailles

Guilt

A

Article 231 (War Guilt Clause) - Germany had to accept the blame for starting the war

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4
Q

Treaty of Versailles

Arms

A

100,000 soldiers, 6 battleships, no airforce, no submarines, no tanks

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5
Q

Treaty of Versailles

German Territory

A

Lost 13% of European territory - 50% iron reserves, 15 percent coal reserves, all colonies lost

  • Alsace and Lorraine lost to France
  • Eupen and Malmedy lost to Belgium
  • Posen and West Prussia lost to Poland
  • Upper silesia become part of Poland
  • Northern Schleswig voted to become a part of Denmark
  • German port of Danzig made an international city
  • Rhineland DMZ
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6
Q

Treaty of Versailles

League of nations

A

Germany not included

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7
Q

Treaty of Versailles

Extra

A
  • Baltic states given independence
  • No Anschluss with Austria
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8
Q

Reactions to treaty

A
  • ‘Diktat’
  • Humiliated by article 231
  • Angry at high reparations + loss of land
  • Angry at government ‘November criminals’
  • Myth of being stabbed in the back
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9
Q

Spartacist Uprising 1919

A
  • Occupied newspaper and telephone offices
  • Tried to bring a general strike
  • Rosa Luxembourg and Karl Liebknecht
  • Difficult to put down revolt because: Controlled media, inepierenced with revolts, Weimar not popular, Army reduced
  • Governement turned to ‘Frieikorps’
  • Executed Rosa and Karl
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10
Q

Consequences of the Spartacist Uprising

A

Left:
* Showed their name to the public
* Bad reputation - failed revolution, lost leaders
Government:
* Stopped the revolt
* Decreased popularity - more people hate them, power given to Frieikorps

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11
Q

The Kapp Putsch 1920

A
  • Ebert tries to disband Frieikorps
  • Frieikorps marched on Berlin and declared Kapp the leader of Germany
  • Army refused to stop Frieikorps
  • Ebert and the government fled
  • Residents went on a general strike - most are working class - moderate people like the government
  • Kapp leaves
  • Frieikorps disbanded
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12
Q

Consequences of Kapp Putsch

A

Right:
* Germany towards democratic
* Failed revolution
Government:
* Frieikorps disbanded
* Army does not support Weimar
* Both left and right failed revolution

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13
Q

Numerous economic events

A
  • TOV - 6.6 billion pounds in reparations
  • WW1 - Lost money used on military
  • Allied loans - Allies have to use Germans to pay back loans
  • Missed payments
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14
Q

Occupation of the Ruhr - 1923

A
  • Germany missed another reparations payment
  • Belgian troops occupy the Ruhr
  • Takes industrial products
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15
Q

German reaction to Ruhr Occpuation

A
  • Passive resistance
  • Workers on strike but paid
  • Money printed to pay workers
  • 100 Germans killed by French
  • 100,000 protestors expelled from Ruhr
  • French brought own workers
  • Remained until 1925 July
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16
Q

Consequences of passive resistance

A
  • Temporary popularity for Weimar
  • Germans united
  • Lost income as they had no industrial products
  • Hyperinflation
17
Q

Causes of hyperinflation

A
  • Printing more money
  • 300 paper mills and 200 printing shops
  • Worthless against gold reserves
18
Q

Extent of hyperinflation

A
  • Orginially 4 marks for one dollar - 4.2 billion marks for one dollar by Nov 1923
  • 0.53 marks for bread in Dec 1918 - 201 billion marks for bread by Nov 1923
19
Q

Effects of hyperinflation

A

+:
* People could pay off loans and mortgages
* Businesses easily repaid banks
* People who owned land, saw the value go up in line with inflation
* Farmers benefitted from being able to sell at a higher cost
-:
* Millions forced into poverty
* People on fixed incomes saw their incomes become worthless
* People’s savings were wiped
* Many financially secure people found themselves suffering

20
Q

Consequences of hyperinflation

A

Benefitted:
- People in debt
- Businesses
- Land lords
- Farmers

Lost out:
- Pensioners
- Middle classes
- Workers

21
Q

Stresemann

A
  • Chancellor from August 1923 to November 1923
  • Foriegn secreetary from November 1923 until October 1929
22
Q

Rentenmark

A
  • Temporary currency
  • Tightly controlled amount printed
  • Value based on industrial and agricultural worth
  • Promised to exchange for shares if failed
  • Reichsbank established 1924
  • Reichsmark replaced Rentenmark
23
Q

US loans and Economic Recovery

A
  • Reparations merry go round
  • USA (Loans made under Dawes plan and Young plan) -> Germany (Reparations paid) -> UK and France (War loans repaid to USA)
24
Q

Dawes Plan 1924

A
  • Charles Dawes sent by the USA to negotiate with Germany
  • Dawes advised establishment of Reichsbank
  • Proved to France and UK that Germany was willing to make payments
  • USA loaned 800 million gold marks to Germany
  • Reparations lowered to 1 billion marks for 5 years (2.5 billion after)
  • Allies agreed to review payment overtime
  • French agreed to withdraw from Ruhr
  • Future missed payments dealth with Allies together
  • Allies given some control over Reichsbank
  • Some criticised the plan as being an acceptance of the blame
  • Germany recieved further loans
25
Q

Extent of economic recovery

A
  • Investment came from multiple countries
  • Industrial output doubled from 1923 to 1929
  • Wages, standard of living rose
  • Infrastructure built
  • Unemployment benefit allowed in 1927
  • However German economy built on foreign loans
  • 1927, economy was slowing
  • 1929, Wall Street Crash rocked the economy
26
Q

Young Plan

A
  • Reparations lowered to 8 billion dollars
  • Payments made over 59 years at 473 million dollars a year
  • Germany only obliged to pay 1/3 of the sum
  • French agree to leave Rhineland in 1930 not 1935
  • Germans opposed - long reparation
  • Petition with 4m signatures
  • Only 14% voted against
  • Came to nothing because of Wall Street Crash
27
Q

Locarno pact 1925

A
  • Collection of seven treaties involving Germany, France, Belgium, Italy, Britain, and Czechoslovakia
  • Germany agreed to western borders
  • All countries agreed to avoid military force
  • Alsace and Lorraine would be French
  • French wouldn’t occupy Ruhr
  • Eastern borders to be settled by ‘peaceful means’ via the league of nations
  • Nationalists unhappy especially with borders
  • Germany treated as an equal to the other European powers
  • Improved relations with other countries
28
Q

League of Nations

A
  • Sep 1926 - Stresemann persuaded others to allow Germany to join
  • Germany given place on the League’s council
  • Positive step for moderate political parties and increased confidence in Weimar
  • Improved relations
  • Nationalists saw the league as a symbol of the treaty
29
Q

Kellogg Briand Pact 1928

A
  • 62 coutnries signed
  • Promised to not use military force to settle disagreements
  • US secretary of state and French foriegn secretary