germany

Question 1

when was germany unified and how many states were there

Answer 1

1871, 25 states

Question 2

what did the kaiser do

Answer 2

kaiser or emperor was the head of armed forces, controlled foreign policy and appointed the chancellor

Question 3

what did the chancellor do

Answer 3

in charge of government and had authority over the bundesrat

Question 4

what was the bundesrat

Answer 4

appointed officials from each state that introduced laws

Question 5

what was the reichstag

Answer 5

parliament which discussed and voted laws introduced by authority

Question 6

what were some weaknesses to the government system

Answer 6

• kaiser can use article 48
• proportional representation
• parties frequently argued

Question 7

what was the largest of german’s states

Answer 7

prussia

Question 8

what type of government meant the reichstag had less power then the kaiser

Answer 8

authoritarian

Question 9

why was there a growth in socialism

Answer 9

• rapid industrialising
• poor living and working conditions
• support for trade unions
• rapid emigration to towns and cities

Question 10

what was weltpolitik

Answer 10

world politics - an aim to transform germany into a global power through colonies, navy and international affairs

Question 11

what were the naval race

Answer 11

a race between germany and GB of who can quickly build the strongest and largest navy, as part of germanys weltpolitik ideas

Question 12

why was there a surge in patriotism during ww1

Answer 12

at the beginning, most germans supported the war as they thought it would be short and successful

Question 13

in 1915 what shortage struck germany and why did it happen

Answer 13

food shortages across germany due to the british naval blockage of german ports, stopping food imports and forcing them to be self sufficient

Question 14

how did germans feel about the war by 1917 and 1918

Answer 14

war weariness set in and turned to anger, there were strikes, riots and protests in the street

Question 15

what was the german revolution and how did the kaiser attempt to avoid blame

Answer 15

• the period of strikes and riots in 1917
• kaiser tried to avoid impending blame for the loss of ww1 by handing power to politicians but when defeat was certain, the kaiser fled

Question 16

what were the german opinions of the armistice

Answer 16

many germans were mislead by propaganda and believed they could have won the was if the politicians hadn’t surrendered known as the ‘stab in the back’ myth. the politicians who signed the armistice were known as the ‘november criminals’

Question 17

LAMB treaty of versailles

Answer 17

Land - lose all their colonies, the polish corridor, alcase lorraine and 13% of their land
Army - germanys army was reduced to 100,000 soldiers, 6 battleships, no air force, demilitarised the rhineland and banned from uniting with austria
Money - had to 6.6 billion in reparations to the allies
Blame - germany and their allies completely blamed for ww1 in article 231, the war guilt clause

Question 18

big 4 reasons germans hated the treaty of versailles

Answer 18

• they expected a fair treaty
• germany left defenceless and humiliated
• economy already ruined and couldnt afford reparations
• many germans believed they were winning so it was even harder to accept the treaty

Question 19

2 weaknesses to the weimar government constitution

Answer 19

• proportional representation
• president had too much power, article 48

Question 20

the spartacist uprising 1919

Answer 20

• led by luxembourg and liebnicht
• communist uprising
• stormed berlin and rioted
• friekorps killed over 3000 communists

Question 21

kapp putsch

Answer 21

• led by wolfgang kapp
• wanted to bring back the kaiser
• successfully took over berlin and the government fled to dresden
• army refused to attack their former members
• ebert called for a general strike so kapp coundnt control the country and fled

Question 22

munich putsch 1923

Answer 22

• hitler tried to take over germany
• took over a beer hall in munich and captured a local government leader
• arrested and sentenced to 5 years priosn but only served 9 months
• gave hitler publicity and a new tactic

Question 24

french invasion of the ruhr

Answer 24

• germany unable to pay their 2nd scheduled reparation
• the demilitarised rhineland gave france a straight path into the ruhr, an industrial town, to take what was owed
• passive resistance ordered to the workers of the ruhr so the french had no goods to take

Question 25

why did the weimar government print more money

Answer 25

to have money to pay the striking workers in the ruhr and to repay reparations

Question 26

economic consequences of hyperinflation

Answer 26

• middle class lost their savings
• people on fixed incomes like pensioners thrown into extreme poverty
• no money left to invest in businesses
• price of a loaf of bread in november 1923 rose to 201 billion marks
• those in debt can pay it off for virtually nothing
• people with goods to sell like farmers could make good money

Question 27

political consequences of hyperinflation

Answer 27

• many people especially in the middle class lost hope in the weimar government
• hate democracy
• long term cause of the collapse of the weimar government
• turn to extremist parties
• extreme divide of right vs left wing

Question 28

how was hyperinflation fixed

Answer 28

• the new chancellor, stresemann, scrapped the old currency- the mark- and brought in the rentenmark
• the dawes and young plans to aid germany in reparations