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Germany 1918-1939 Flashcards

1
Q

What is meant by the word autocracy?

A

Where one person dictates the law and rules. They can be advised but do not have to follow rules

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2
Q

Who was Kaiser Wilhelm II?

A

The first autocratic leader of Germany before the Weimar Republic who was forced to step down by his own people in November 1918

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3
Q

What was the Weimar Republic?

A

The democratic government in control of Germany that replaced the Kaiser

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4
Q

What was the Treaty of Versailles?

A

A peace agreement that the German’s signed at the end of World War One. It weakened Germany in a massive way

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5
Q

What was the proportional representation?

A

The voting system used in the Weimar Republic. This voting system made a good and decisive government impossible

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6
Q

What were the “left-wing” extremists?

A

Left-wing extremists = Communism

Extreme communists wanted to see the Weimar Republic fail

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7
Q

What were the “right-wing” extremists?

A

Right-wing extremists = Nationalists (NAZI party)
Extreme nationalists were hyper proud of their nation. Extreme nationalists felt the Weimar Republic was failing Germany and needed to be replaced with autocracy

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8
Q

What was the DAP and the NAZIS?

A

DAP was a party formed of working people who were proud of their country. It was originally led by Anton Drexler and then Adolf Hitler who changed its name to the Nationalist Socialist Party

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9
Q

What were the years of recovery?

A

In the middle of the 1920’s, the threats of the extremists to the Weimar Republic declined. During the periods 1924-29 it looked like democracy might work in Germany

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10
Q

What was the depression?

A

A depression is when a country dramatically runs out of money. This happened to Germany between 1929-32, and support for extremists dramatically increased

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11
Q

What was meant by the word dictatorship?

A

The NAZI party took power through democracy in 1933. One Hitler was head of the Weimar Republic, he set about closing down democracy and creating autocracy

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12
Q

What is totalitarianism?

A

One Hitler had autocratic control, he created totalitarianism in Germany. This is autocracy taken to the point where the freedoms of people in a country are extremely limited

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13
Q

What did lots of people in Germany want by the end of 1918?

A

A revolution similar to the Russian Communist Revolution

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14
Q

What are two examples of revolutionary feeling in Germany?

A

a) Kiel Mutiny - soldiers refused to go and fight the British army
b) 40,000 dock workers took control of themselves. Government control was lost in Bavaria and Hamberg

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15
Q

When did the Kaiser leave Germany?

A

November 1918, he gets replaced by a democratic government led by Friedrich Ebert

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16
Q

What did the Weimar Republic do first?

A

End WW1 on 11th November 1918. This was called the Armistice

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17
Q

What were three impacts of the first World War?

A

a) People were unsure about the new government
b) Financial problems - $37 billion had been spent
c) Social unrest. Freikorps - unemployed soldiers who were nationalists

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18
Q

Name three problems with the new Weimar Republic

A

a) The voting system meant that every political party had a share in running the country. This lead to lots of uneasy teaming ups of parties that didn’t have a lot in common
b) There were 29 different parties
c) Article 48 meant that the president could take charge in an emergency, meaning the chance of a new dictatorship was built into the constitution of the country

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19
Q

Why did Germans find the Treaty of Versailles humiliating?

A

a) They were given no say in the Treaty, it was a dikat - dictated peace. They had to accept all the blame for WW!, when the reality of the causes was more complex
b) Germany felt weak and insecure because of their loss of land and army
c) The amount of money they had to pay back would lead to lots of poverty and difficulty. The war had already cost Germany billions of pounds

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20
Q

Why was the Treaty of Versailles a challenge to the Weimar government?

A

a) People thought Ebert/the government were weak for signing it, they believed a strong government would stand up to the Treaty
b) People began to view the Armistice differently. All of a sudden it seemed a bad idea. The amount of people missing the kaiser increased. The Weimar Republic then got a new name “The November Criminals”. People felt they had been stabbed in the back by the government signing the Treaty

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21
Q

What was the name given to the Weimar Republic when people started to believe that the Armistice was a bad idea?

A

The November Criminals

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22
Q

What were the big challenges faced by the government between 1919-23

A
  • A country ruined by war
  • Revolutionary mood in the country
  • Weak constitution
  • Treaty of Versailles
  • Left and right wing uprisings
  • Political murders
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23
Q

What happened in the 1919 Spartacist Uprising?

A

50,000 Communists rose up and attempted to capture the government newspaper. SDP had to use right-wing Freikorps to take them down

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24
Q

What happened in the Kapp Putsch?

A
  • Right-wing groups hated the SDP
  • Attempts to disband the Freikorps was hated
  • Wolfgang Kapp rose up but people supported the SDP and not him
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25
What political murders were there in the 1920's?
There were 376 murders between 1919 and 1922 | Matthias Erzberger was killed in 1921, he was a "November Criminal"
26
Why was the Ruhr invaded by France in 1923?
Germany could not keep up with the money it owed France through reparations
27
What were the consequences of the invasion of the Ruhr?
- Workers refused to cooperate with the French - There was a protest and the amount that Germany was producing fell dramatically. The government had to start printing money in order to pay wages
28
What did hyperinflation do to Germany?
- There was a rush to the shops as prices changed by the hour - Savings became worthless, every class of people were affected
29
In what year did the DAP publish the 25 Point Plan?
1920
30
Who was the leader of the DAP and who Adolf Hitler worked with at first?
Anton Drexler
31
What did the DAP party eventually become?
The NAZI party
32
What were the two things that the 25 Point Plan for Germany outlined should happen?
- Get rid of the Treaty of Versailles | - All Jewish people should be expelled from Germany
33
Why was there an increase in hatred for Jewish people in Germany after signing the Treaty of Versailles?
Step 1: The Treaty weakened Germany and damaged people's pride in their country Step 2: This made people think differently about the revolution that got rid of the Kaiser in 1918, maybe the protests should not have happened Step 3: Back in 1918, lots of the leaders of the protests against the Kaiser had been Jewish and so they became an easy target for blame
34
What did the Weimar Republic do first?
End WW1 on 11th November 1918. The Armistice
35
What were three impacts of the first World War?
- New government (people were unsure about it) - Financial problems ($37 billion had been spent) - Social unrest (freikorps, unemployed soldiers who were nationalists)
36
Name three problems with the new Weimar Republic?
- the voting system meant every political party got a share in running the country, this led to parties teaming up when they had nothing in common - there were 29 different political parties which made it almost impossible for one party to get majority votes - article 48 meant the president could take charge in an emergency, meaning the chance of a new dictatorship was built into the constitution of the country
37
Why did Germans find the Treaty of Versailles humiliating?
- germans were given no say, it was a dikat (dictated peace) germany had to accept full blame for ww1 - germany felt very weak and insecure because of the loss of armed forces and land - the amount of money to pay back was almost certainly going to increase poverty and difficulty, they had already spent billions on the war
38
Why was the Treaty of Versailles a challenge to the Weimar Government?
- people thought Ebert was weak for signing it, they believed a strong government would have stood up to the treaty - people began to view the armistice signed in november 1918 differently, all of a sudden it was a bad idea. The amount of people missing the Kaiser increased, the government were given a new nickname "the november criminals" - people felt they had been stabbed in the back by the government for signing the treaty
39
Who was the first leader of the Weimar Government at the time?
Ebert
40
What were the biggest challenges faced by the Weimar government between 1919-23?
- a country ruined by war - revolutionary mood in the country - weak constitution - treaty of versailles - left and right wing uprisings - political murders
41
what happened in the 1919 spartacist uprising?
- 50,000 communists rose up - they attempted to capture the government newspaper - SDP had to use right wing freikorps to put them down
42
what happened in the Kapp Putsch?
- right wing groups hated the SDP - attempts to disband the freikorps was hated - wolfgang kapp rose up but people supported the SDP and not him
43
who was the leader of the kapp putsch?
wolfgang kapp
44
what political murders were the in the 1920s?
- 376 murders between 1919-22 | - matthias erzberger was killed in 1921, he was a "november criminal"
45
Why was the ruhr invaded by France in 1923?
germany could not keep up with the money it owed france through reparations
46
what were the consequences of the invasion of the ruhr?
- workers refused to cooperate with the french - there was protest and the amount that germany was produced fell dramatically, the government had to start printing more money to pay wages
47
what did hyperinflation do to germany?
- there was a rush to the shops as prices went up by the hour - savings became worthless, every class of people were affected
48
what were the long-term causes of the munich putsch?
- hitler admired mussolini of italy. Mussolini had moved italy on from being a democratic country to an autocratic country. hitler admired what he had done by overthrowing the government and believed he could do the same in germany, beginning with a really nationalist part of the country, Bavaria - anger building with the treaty of versailles and the general feeling that the Weimar government was not fit for purpose
49
what were the short term causes of the munich putsch?
- all problems with hyperinflation created by the invasion of the ruhr increased the thought that the weimar government wasn't very effective - Gustav Stresemann became chancellor at the end of 1923 and ordered workers to stop striking against the french in the ruhr to bring the economy under control
50
When Stresemann ordered workers to stop striking the french in the ruhr, who did it anger and why?
nationalists such as hitler and general ludendorff. ludendorff joined the NAZI party in protest and then hitler felt he had enough support to go ahead with his plan for the munich putsch
51
what does "recover" mean in terms of the german recovery?
- germany made a number of changes under the leadership of stresemann that helped it move beyond the "dark days" of 1918-23 - the german economy got better, friendships got better with countries and new arts and films were created, with Berlin becoming one of the most interesting cities on earth
52
what was one of the first things stresemann did that helped the economy?
recognised the need for germany to be less confrontational. he ordered for workers in the ruhr to stop striking against the french. he wanted the french to see the germans as less of a threat this meant that rich raw materials were being produced in the ruhr once more
53
what was the rentenmark?
- new form of money stresemann introduced to replace the old money that had lost its value due to hyperinflation - it translates as "pension" mark to let it known to german people that their old age pensions were safe. this had the symbolic effect of making people feel more confident that the weimar republic could look after them - value of the money was tightly linked with the actual value of goods, to let people know it was definitely worth the paper it was printed on
54
what was the dawes plan?
- a plan to help germany rebuild their economy, set up by charles dawes an american economist - it made reparations germany were paying to france more "friendly" by making them manageable and limiting the amount germany would have to pay back, decreasing it to only 2.5 billion german marks per year to france - dawes proposed loaning money to germany to help them invest money in their economy to open factories. this would create jobs, products and ultimately more money to pay back america and reparations and help make germany richer
55
what was the young plan?
it was a plan created by owen young in 1929, which gave germany longer to pay back the reparations to france and britain (until 1987/88) and structured payments so they had to pay even less to france every year this meant germany had even more money to spend on its own factories and people, helping the good times get even better
56
what was the name of the 1929 agreement which reduced germany's reparation payments?
the young plan
57
which treaty agreed not to use violence to settle disputes?
kellogg-briand pact
58
what were the consequences of the dawes plan of 1924?
- germany was given american loans of 800 million marks which they could use to invest in factories and other parts of their economy - reparation repayments were rescheduled so that less had to be paid over a long period of time
59
why did some people dislike the new art and culture that developed in the weimar republic between 1924-29?
some people felt that abstract art was something that did not represent the traditions of germany
60
what did the kellogg-briand pact still not allow germany to do?
go against the treaty of versailles by building up its army
61
what happened to living standards among the middle class during the golden years?
went up
62
what did proud german nationalists think of "expressionists" art?
it was an insult to german tradition
63
how much did the wage increase by from 1925 to 1928?
25%
64
how much did the young plan reduce the payment of german reparations to?
473 million a year until 1987/88
65
according to the young plan how many years did the germans have to pay the reparations?
59 years
66
how did lives for women not improve during weimar germany?
- women had to face criticism for their fashion choices by german nationalists - although women could be lawmakers, only 5% of people in the reichstag were women by 1930 - there was an unsaid agreement that the only reason women had access to job opportunities was because the economy was stronger than it had been after ww1
67
who became chancellor of germany at the end of 1923?
gustav stresemann
68
what was the rentenmark?
a new form of money brought into replace the old german mark, which had become worthless due to hyperinflation
69
what have some people called the years in germany between 1924 and 1929?
the golden 20s
70
what year did germany join the league of nations?
1926
71
what helped the growth of the middle class in germany during the "golden years" of the 1920s?
- the fact that more people were spending money due to lower taxes - investment of money in business meant there were more jobs for people which led to more spending
72
what did stresemann order to happen in the ruhr?
for the workers to stop striking against the french
73
what did stresemann want between germany and france?
more cooperation
74
germany and how many other countries signed the kellogg-briand in 1928?
61
75
what year was germany accepted into the league of nations?
1926
76
what year was the locarno treaty signed?
1925
77
most germans saw the young plan as what for germany?
success
78
what was the nature of weimar architecture?
- the buildings were supposed to symbolise stability and modernity - the simple designs of buildings were built with the best new materials - it reflected the bauhaus tradition, simple designs
79
who became president of the weimar republic after ebert's death in 1925?
hindenburg
80
in september 1923, in which part of germany did stresemann end passive resistance?
the ruhr
81
what was introduced to help unemployed germans in 1927?
benefits
82
how did film become a big part of weimar culture during the golden 20s?
- the government wanted a strong economy so were willing to invest money in art and culture - one of the most popular films of the 1920s, Metropolis, was produced in berlin - german filmmakers were some of the earliest to experiment with sound of film, which made their films exciting
83
what was the consequence of hindenburg becoming president of the weimar republic in 1925?
the feeling that the country was recovering was made more by a national hero taking over the country as president
84
why did some people not like germany joining the league of nations?
some people did not like the league of nations because it was set-up as part of the treaty of versailles and the treaty of versailles was seen as been massively unfair towards germany
85
which set of treaties signed in 1925, led to the germans accepting the borders of europe as set out in the treaty of versailles?
the locarno treaties
86
what explains why there was a "burst" of creative energy in the weimar republic during the 1920s?
people were enjoying that the country was no longer an autocracy where freedom of expression had been made difficult by the strict rule of the kaiser
87
what happened to the amount produced in german factories between 1924-28?
- industrial output matched the level it had been at before world war one - the dawes plan supported more production in german factories
88
why were some people not happy with the pay the young plan "restructured" german payment of the reparations from the treaty of versailles?
there was an anger directed at stresemann that he had essentially agreed to reparations being part of the long-term future for germany
89
what did lots of people within the working class feel about the years of recovery?
- the german government were not doing enough to make sure american investment was benefitting the workers of germany - living standards were not improving
90
why were some german nationalists not happy with how germany was recovering in the middle of the 1920s?
german nationalists had their pride damaged by the belief that american loans were the main reason for why germany was recovering
91
what was stresemann's overall attitude to the treaty of versailles?
accept it and try to make it easier for germany to meet the demands of it
92
what was the name of the state-owned bank?
rentenbank
93
how did the wall street crash of 1929 affect germany?
german industry was dependant on loans from america. when american banks asked for these loans to be repaid, businesses in germany were forced to go bankrupt, no longer able to pay workers or sustain production. unemployment skyrocketed and millions of people were so dependant on US aid, that the US could not afford to provide for them
94
what year was the dawes plan announced?
1924
95
in the art world, what is "new objectivism" and "expressionism"?
forms of art that express the real emotion and feelings of the artist in a very new way
96
what did women NOT have to do in the weimar golden years (1924-29)?
give up their jobs
97
which country loaned money to germany in the form of the dawes plan?
USA
98
what are two examples of how living standards improved?
- hourly wages went up by 10% above the rate of inflation | - 37,000 new homes were built
99
how did the weimar constitution help artists and artist expressionism?
freedom of expression was named as something german people had a right to within the constitution
100
what year was the kellogg-briand pact signed?
1928

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