Germany 1918-1939 Flashcards
What is meant by the word autocracy?
Where one person dictates the law and rules. They can be advised but do not have to follow rules
Who was Kaiser Wilhelm II?
The first autocratic leader of Germany before the Weimar Republic who was forced to step down by his own people in November 1918
What was the Weimar Republic?
The democratic government in control of Germany that replaced the Kaiser
What was the Treaty of Versailles?
A peace agreement that the German’s signed at the end of World War One. It weakened Germany in a massive way
What was the proportional representation?
The voting system used in the Weimar Republic. This voting system made a good and decisive government impossible
What were the “left-wing” extremists?
Left-wing extremists = Communism
Extreme communists wanted to see the Weimar Republic fail
What were the “right-wing” extremists?
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
What was the DAP and the NAZIS?
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
What were the years of recovery?
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
What was the depression?
A depression is when a country dramatically runs out of money. This happened to Germany between 1929-32, and support for extremists dramatically increased
What was meant by the word dictatorship?
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
What is totalitarianism?
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
What did lots of people in Germany want by the end of 1918?
A revolution similar to the Russian Communist Revolution
What are two examples of revolutionary feeling in Germany?
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
When did the Kaiser leave Germany?
November 1918, he gets replaced by a democratic government led by Friedrich Ebert
What did the Weimar Republic do first?
End WW1 on 11th November 1918. This was called the Armistice
What were three impacts of the first World War?
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
Name three problems with the new Weimar Republic
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
Why did Germans find the Treaty of Versailles humiliating?
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
Why was the Treaty of Versailles a challenge to the Weimar government?
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
What was the name given to the Weimar Republic when people started to believe that the Armistice was a bad idea?
The November Criminals
What were the big challenges faced by the 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
What happened in the 1919 Spartacist Uprising?
50,000 Communists rose up and attempted to capture the government newspaper. SDP had to use right-wing Freikorps to take them down
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
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”
Why was the Ruhr invaded by France in 1923?
Germany could not keep up with the money it owed France through reparations
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
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
In what year did the DAP publish the 25 Point Plan?
1920
Who was the leader of the DAP and who Adolf Hitler worked with at first?
Anton Drexler
What did the DAP party eventually become?
The NAZI party
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
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
What did the Weimar Republic do first?
End WW1 on 11th November 1918. The Armistice
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)
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
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
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
Who was the first leader of the Weimar Government at the time?
Ebert
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