Germany 1918-1945 Flashcards
How were Germany forced to admint defeat
- unsuccessful gamble of Ludendorff offensive
- American, British and French were able to push the German Army back beyond the Hindenburg Line
- kiel mutinity and blockade
How were the German People affected by the War
- Allied blockade led to expensive rationing of food/fuel
- Malnutrition and Spanish flu
What was the Kiel Mutinity
- mutinitu at German Navy at kiel set off protest across Germany and army said they wouldnt support the Kaiser so Kaiser fled
- Ebert, leader of SPD became leader
What was Ebert first task as new leader
secure the armistice on the 11th of November to establish a new democracy
What was the Initial Political response to the Versailles Treaty
Body blow to the new democracy as many expected the 14 points
What were the terms of the Treaty of Versailles
- Germany not allowed to join League of Nations
- Rhineland demilitarised and Alsace-Lorraine given to France
- Eastern German lands given away (polish corridor)
- German colonies given to UN as mandates
- Army reduced to 100,000 men, 6 battleships and no submarines, no air force
- War Guilt cause 6.6 billion pounds a year
How did Germans feel about Treaty of Versailles
- Didnt feel responsible for war
- Military pride damages
- Many felt they were betrayed by the ‘November Criminals’ (politicians) who signed it
What were the main democratic features of the Weimar Constitution
- Very democratic as all women and men could vote
- proportional representation made votes valuable
- Reichstag decided on laws and every party had a say
What were the weaknesses of the Weimar Constitution
- Proportional representation led to very weak governments so no major government, only weak coalitions
- history of no democratic governments meant right-wing imperialists and nationalists sought to undermine the system
- President had article 48- ability to rule by decree and ignore the Reichstag
What were the spartacist league
German Communists led by Karl Liebknecht and Rosa Luxemburg
When did the spartacist rebellion occur
January 1919 they tried to take control of Berlin in order to establish a Bolshevik-style dictatorship, Ebert’s government were forced to flee
How did Ebert defeat the spartacist rebellion
Ebert called upon right-wing Freikorps to crush the uprising, Rosa and Liebknecht were killed
How did Communists respond to the Freikorps
They never trusted Ebert again or the Weimar Republic
Where else did Freikorps action occur
Further Freikorps action occurred throughout German to crush further ‘Red Risings’
Who led the Kapp Putsch
Wolfgang Kapp sought to take over government using his Freikorps and again Ebert’s government was forced to fle
How was the Kapp Putsch dealt with
Workers of Berlin protested, paralysing the city and forcing Kapp to flee
What was the aftermath of the Kapp Putsch
Right-wing agitation occurred over the years with little to none punishment by the lenient nationalistic German judges
What led to the invasion of the Ruhr
After being unable to pay the 2nd instillation of reparations, French and Belgians took over the Ruhr to exact payment in another way
How did the German Government counter the Invasion of the Ruhr
They supported workers to go on strike and not work but they had to pay these workers to do this by printing money
What did supporting passive resistance in the Ruhr lead to
It led to hyperinflation which meant prices in Germany spiralled out of control; costing millions to buy a loaf of bread
What did hyperinflation lead to
workers were forced to spend their money as soon as they had it for fear of losing value, people with savings like pensioners found their investments to be worthless
How did Gustav Stresemann stop hyperinflation
became chancellor at the end of 1923 and decided to call off passive resistance and resume payments of reparations
Created rentenmark and layed off 700,00 government jobs to cover deficit
What did Hitler do before the end of WW1
became a Corporal and distinguished himself winning Iron Cross twice for his conduct
At end of war he was in a military hospital and he was convinced that German Army had been betrayed by Socialists, Jews, Politicians and ‘November Criminals’
When did DAP (Germans Worker’s Party) form
Established in 1919 by Anton Drexler, hitler joined and became dominant personality
What were the main features of the DAP
- Established 25 point of mainly right-wing policies
- Had its own military wing (SA) which appealed to many former soldiers
What was the motivation for the Munich Putsch
Took advantage of hyperinflation crisis of 1923 also had Ludendorff support
What was the plan for the Munich Putsch
Hitler would take over a political meeting in a Beer Hall and declared he would take over the government
Then take over the Government in Munich
What happened in reality for the Munich Putsch
Support for Hitler failed to materialise, fighting broke out in the streets of Munich which left many Nazis and police killed, Hitler to be put on trial
What happened in Hitlers trial
He was given a v. lenient sentence of 5 years of which he served 9 months. He wrote Mein Kampf in prison which pushed his ideas of Anti Semitism, Lebensraum and the Aryan Race
How did the failure of the Munich Putsch aid hitler
- trial and book gave his ideas great publicity (Mein Kampf was best selling book)
- made him realise he had win democratically
What happened to Nazi support under the Stresemann Years
- Nazi support was less than 3%
- Nazi had become irrelevant as people favoured democracy and its good rewards
- HOWEVER membership for party and the SA continued to rise as Nazi support grew in the country side
- Hitler youth developed and Goebbels was appointed as chief of propaganda
Who benefitted from Hyperinflation
Borrowers and landowners
People on wages as they were updated
Farmers coped well as products remained in demand