germany; 1890-1945 Flashcards
what years did kaiser wilhelm ii reign?
1888 to 1918
who did kaiser wilhelm ii dismiss?
otto von bismarck
what was kaiser wilhelm ii’s aim?
to make germany an important world power
what did kaiser wilhelm ii wish for?
to rule germany alone and unchecked
what relation did kaiser wilhelm ii have to great britain?
grandchild of queen victoria
what was the german empire composed of?
many smaller states
what was the most dominant state of germany?
prussia
what two counties did germany cover?
poland and denmark
what was germany technically?
a monarchy
what was the reality of germany?
democracy, where much of the power was concentrated in kaiser wilhelm ii
what is the reichstag?
the government elected by universal male suffrage
what is the bundesrat comprised of?
higher government, representatives from each state
what was the chancellor?
head of government
who appointed the chancellor?
the kaiser
what year prior to was germany an agricultural economy?
1880
from 1880 what happened to the german economy?
industrialisation
what did this greater industrialisation lead to?
greater urbanisation
what were some prominent german industries?
coal, steel, chemicals, elecronics
who had power in germany?
catholic church, junkers and the conservative elite
what did kaiser wilhelm ii focus on when faced with socialism?
opposing socialism and focused on the aristocracy and the military
what were the navy laws? and what years?
a succession of laws from 1889 to 1912 to build up german naval strength
who supported the navy laws?
kaiser wilhelm ii and grand admiral von tirpitz leader of the navy
what were advantages of the navy laws?
jobs, challenging british naval dominance, consolidating german military power
disadvantages of the navy laws?
expensive, risk of provoking britain, danger of other countries reinforcing naval strength
how did the navy laws prove kaiser wilhelm ii’s power?
he forced these laws without the explicit approval of the reichstag
what was the effect of the treaty of versailles on germany?
- significant transfer of territory to other countries (france and poland)
- removal of german colonies
- maximum limit of 100,000 men in the german army
- significant naval and air disarmament
- huge reperations to be paid by germany (132 billion gold marks)
german problems in 1918
military, economic, social and political
military: germany left with a shattered, disillusioned military not loyal to the weimar republic
economic: massive reperations need to be paid (132 billion gold marks)
social: population feel angry and betrayed. a significant proportion of generation killed
political: weimar republic is shaky, not accepted by everyone and been through revolution
what is the weimar constitution?
more democratic: with an elected president, chancellor and reichstag
what was proportional representation? what did it lead to?
lead to a large number of small parties. coalitions are inevitable and the government is now unstable