Germany 1890-1945 Flashcards
Who could the kaiser appoint?
Chancellor and other officials
Who was the kaiser between 1890 and 1914?
Kaiser Wilhelm II
What did the kaiser want for Germany?
To expand its power and influence
How did the German government system work in the 1890s?
German voters elect the reichstag (who can be ignored)
German states send representatives to the bundersrat
The reichstag and bundersrat advise the kaiser
What is weltpolitik?
World politics
Was the kaiser seen as good or bad before the war?
Seen as a heroic leader
What were the naval laws?
They allows Germany to build battleships and expand their navy
List 2 strengths and 2 weaknesses of Germany before the war.
✅- leading industrial power
✅- large working population
❌- kaiser wanted an overseas empire
❌- no political party had majority so it was a coalition government
How did WW1 impact factory workers?
They made a fortune from gun production
How did WW1 effect women?
They were allowed to work in factories (damages traditional family values)
How did WW1 effect Germanys economy?
They lent money to allies but would they get it back?
Borrowed money from abroad to pay for the war which needed to be paid back
How did WW1 effect families?
600000 widows and 2 million children fatherless (government had to pay early pensions)
How did WW1 effect living standards?
Low in cities
Food and fuel shortages
Major flu epidemic
Huge difference between rich and poor
How did WW1 change the publics view of the Kaiser?
They revolted him (mass strikes) and called for a democracy and wanted war to end
When was the revolution?
November 1918
What happened as a result of the revolution?
Socialists led uprising
November 9 - kaiser abdicates and Germany is declared a republic (ruled without monarch)
What happened on the 11 November?
Armistice was signed and war ended
Which people weren’t happy with the signing of the armistice?
Some right-wing Germans who saw it as betrayal
Soldiers refused to support it, they felt betrayed
Who became the leader of the republic after kaiser abdicated?
Ebert (leader of largest party in reichstag)
Who were the temporary government?
Socialist parties (SPD and USPD)
When were the first elections held?
January 1919
What was article 48?
In a crisis, the president could rule the country directly using emergency powers
What was proportional representation in the reichstag?
Each party get the same proportion of seats as they got votes
Why was there political unrest in 1919?
Dissatisfied soldiers returning home
New political parties emerging who wanted control
What was the betrayal felt by right wing parties named?
Stab in the back theory
What factors led to Germany surrendering?
America joins war Debt Poverty Flu Food shortages
What did the new government from the January 1919 elections become known as?
Weimar Republic
What was the free corpse?
A group of ex soldiers who hated communism
Who were the Spartacus league?
Communist political party
What was the Weimar constitution?
President = elected every 7 years Chancellor = chosen by president from recichstag (must have reichstag support) Reichstag = elected by people by proportional representation People = could vote
What were the weaknesses of the Weimar constitution?
Article 48
Proportional representation (nothing happens)
Signed treaty of Versailles
Enemy groups grown
Who were the big three in 1919?
Clemenceau (France)
Lloyd-George (Britain)
Wilson (USA)
What was the treaty of Versailles?
A peace treaty between big 3 and Germany
How did the signing of the treaty weaken the Weimar Republic?
Opponents blamed them for causes of ToV
What were the main terms of the treaty of Versailles?
Accept all blame (diktat) Reduce army to 100,000 men Pay 6.6 billion dollars in reparations Germany excluded from League of Nations Loose a lot of their land (Alsace-Lorraine)
What happened in 1923 as a consequence of Germany not being able to pay reparations?
The French invaded the Ruhr to seize raw materials and goods as an alternative payment (payment in kind)
How did Germany respond to the invasion of the Ruhr?
The government told them to be passive resistant and strike (they continued to get paid by gov.)
What did the government decide to do when they ran out of money?
They printed more money so shopkeepers put their prices up, which caused the gov. to print more money and the shops to raise their prices again
What is hyperinflation?
Money decreasing in value at an extremely fast rate whilst, simultaneously the prices of goods increase at a rapid rate
Who lost our during hyperinflation?
Government general public Shopkeepers Poor Anyone who had savings
Who came out on top during hyperinflation?
Those who were in debt
Those with a mortgage
Land owners
Foreigners
What were the aims and outcomes of the Sparticist rebellion?
January 1919 - spartacists were communists who wanted what Russia had achieved in 1917. They wanted to seize control, helped by soldiers + factory workers. Leaders Karl Liebknecht and rosa Luxemburg were killed.
What were the aims and outcomes of the kapp putsch?
March 1920 - Wolfgang kapp led a march of 5000 ex-soldiers (freikorps) in Berlin to make Germany powerful again. It was defeated by workers who declared a general strike.
What caused the Munich putsch in November 1923?
They planned to overthrow the WR and take control
They hated the WR for signing the ToV
The army needed something to do
WR is about to collapse
What happened in the Munich putsch?
Hitler fled but was arrested two days later and trialled
At his trial he showed oratory skills and political talent
Police killed some nazis
They had no help
Stresseman calls the strike off she to hyperinflation
What were the consequences of the Munich putsch?
Nazis were banned
Everyone had heard of hitler
Hitter learnt to use persuasion not force
Millions of people read his book
By 1923 there were 55000 nazis who were stronger than ever
What policy did streseman follow?
A policy of fulfilment
What is a policy of fulfilment?
He was cooperating with France and Britain in order to remove or reduce some of the terms of the ToV
Why was Germany in a chaotic situation in 1923?
It faced political weakness, hyperinflation and the French occupation of the industrial area of the Ruhr
What was stabilising the mark and when was it introduced?
In 1923 the Rentenmark was introduced
It was a temporary currency based on Germany’s industrial and agricultural resources
In 1924 the rentenmark was replaced by the reichsmark which was based on gold
This reduced inflation
What was the Dawes plan and when was it implemented?
Created in 1924 between Germany and USA
It reorganised reparations reducing them making them easier to pay
The us loaned 800 million gold marks to Germany (and over 6 years they borrowed $3000 million)
What were the Locarno treaties and when were they signed?
Singed in 1925 to end passive resistance in the Ruhr and stopped the French threat over boarders
It followed a policy of fulfilment
What year did Germany joint the League of Nations?
1926
What was the Kellogg-Briand pact and when was it signed?
Signed in 1928 to keep armies for self defence and solve conflict through peaceful means
What was the young plan and when was it created?
In 1929 it reduced reparation payments to 2000 million marks per year until 1988
And the French promised to leave the Rhineland by June 1930
What was the opposition to Stresemanns measures?
The Dawes plan was described as a second Versailles
It meant that the allies had control over German banks
Payments were made over too many years
In the December referendum of 1929 only 14% rejected the young plan
What was happening to unemployment in 1920s?
It was rising (by 1928 it was at 6%)
Why did some people view stresemann as weak?
He has to sign the ToV
What was the cultural revival in the golden age?
Under kaiser there had been strict censorship
When this was removed:
Clubs and cinemas thrived
Female empowerment
Why were some people against the golden age?
Many thought this showed a moral decline
Many traditionalists were offended
When was the Wall Street crash?
24th October 1929
What was the Wall Street crash?
Share prices fell on the Wall Street stock exchange in the USA
So people’s investments lost money
People rushed to sell shares (from $20000 - $1000 overnight)
How did the Wall Street crash effect Germany?
US banks asked for the money back from the Dawes plan
This left Germany with no money
International trade stopped
Factories shut down, millions unemployed
How many people were unemployed by 1932?
6 million
Why did the WR struggle?
They failed to end crisis
The coalition failed in 1930
People lost confidence in WR
Who were attracted the the left wing parties?
Work turned to communist party with its promises of a workers revolution
Who supported right wing parties?
Rich and middle classes were attracted to right wing parties because of their promises of a strong rule and restoring Germany’s status
What were the 5 factors that led to the growth of the nazi party?
The Great Depression The WR + fragmented reichstag The appeal of hitler + other extremist parties Fear of communism Nazi party structure
How did the Great Depression add the the growth of the nazi party?
Businesses collapsed , banks closed, unemployment rose, jews were blamed
Germany was desperate and had belief in the nazis
How do the WR contribute to the growth of the Nazis?
Couldn’t come to agreements, Bruning (chancellor) passed laws under article 48, Hindenburg (president) favoured rich but Bruning favoured poor, couldn’t deal with depression, people lost faith
Because democracy wasn’t working Germans were drawn to more extreme solutions
How did Hitlers appeal help the growth of the nazis?
His personality made people trust him, powerful speaker
He signified hope for Germans through persuasion
How did the fear of communism aid the growth of the nazis party?
1917 - communist revolution took over businesses and farms, rich + religious most scared
Hitler fought communism so gained support from rich as he promised to deal with communist threat
How did the structure of the nazi party develop the growth of the nazi party?
Munich putsch 1923 failed, hitler changed tactics, used persuasion and intimidation
Bigger SA, propaganda, hitler youth encouraged younger followers, campaigned powerfully
How did the lack of leadership help the nazis to build their party?
Stresemann died
Ex-army leader (old)
Bruning asked for article 48 as no support from reichstag
What happened at the elections after the Great Depression?
Violent clashes between right and left wing groups
SA gave impression of law and order, often fought communist gangs in Street, often had support from police and army
Describe the presidential elections in MARCH 1932.
Hitler vs. Hindenburg
Hindenburg wins 19.4 mil votes to 13.4
Describe the fall of Bruning in MAY 1932.
Bruning lost popularity by 1932 - reduced unemployment benefits and increased taxes
He was dependant on Hindenburg decree -no support from reichstag
Hindenburg removed him
Describe the Papen government in MAY 1932.
Von papen appointed chancellor
Only had 68 supporters in reichstag so dependant on Hindenburg decree