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Germany 1918-1945 Flashcards

1
Q

How were Germany forced to admint defeat

A
  • 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
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2
Q

How were the German People affected by the War

A
  • Allied blockade led to expensive rationing of food/fuel

- Malnutrition and Spanish flu

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3
Q

What was the Kiel Mutinity

A
  • 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
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4
Q

What was Ebert first task as new leader

A

secure the armistice on the 11th of November to establish a new democracy

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5
Q

What was the Initial Political response to the Versailles Treaty

A

Body blow to the new democracy as many expected the 14 points

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6
Q

What were the terms of the Treaty of Versailles

A
  • 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
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7
Q

How did Germans feel about Treaty of Versailles

A
  • Didnt feel responsible for war
  • Military pride damages
  • Many felt they were betrayed by the ‘November Criminals’ (politicians) who signed it
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8
Q

What were the main democratic features of the Weimar Constitution

A
  • Very democratic as all women and men could vote
  • proportional representation made votes valuable
  • Reichstag decided on laws and every party had a say
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9
Q

What were the weaknesses of the Weimar Constitution

A
  • 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
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10
Q

What were the spartacist league

A

German Communists led by Karl Liebknecht and Rosa Luxemburg

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11
Q

When did the spartacist rebellion occur

A

January 1919 they tried to take control of Berlin in order to establish a Bolshevik-style dictatorship, Ebert’s government were forced to flee

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12
Q

How did Ebert defeat the spartacist rebellion

A

Ebert called upon right-wing Freikorps to crush the uprising, Rosa and Liebknecht were killed

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13
Q

How did Communists respond to the Freikorps

A

They never trusted Ebert again or the Weimar Republic

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14
Q

Where else did Freikorps action occur

A

Further Freikorps action occurred throughout German to crush further ‘Red Risings’

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15
Q

Who led the Kapp Putsch

A

Wolfgang Kapp sought to take over government using his Freikorps and again Ebert’s government was forced to fle

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16
Q

How was the Kapp Putsch dealt with

A

Workers of Berlin protested, paralysing the city and forcing Kapp to flee

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17
Q

What was the aftermath of the Kapp Putsch

A

Right-wing agitation occurred over the years with little to none punishment by the lenient nationalistic German judges

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18
Q

What led to the invasion of the Ruhr

A

After being unable to pay the 2nd instillation of reparations, French and Belgians took over the Ruhr to exact payment in another way

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19
Q

How did the German Government counter the Invasion of the Ruhr

A

They supported workers to go on strike and not work but they had to pay these workers to do this by printing money

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20
Q

What did supporting passive resistance in the Ruhr lead to

A

It led to hyperinflation which meant prices in Germany spiralled out of control; costing millions to buy a loaf of bread

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21
Q

What did hyperinflation lead to

A

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

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22
Q

How did Gustav Stresemann stop hyperinflation

A

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

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23
Q

What did Hitler do before the end of WW1

A

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’

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24
Q

When did DAP (Germans Worker’s Party) form

A

Established in 1919 by Anton Drexler, hitler joined and became dominant personality

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25
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
26
What was the motivation for the Munich Putsch
Took advantage of hyperinflation crisis of 1923 also had Ludendorff support
27
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
28
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
29
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
30
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
31
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
32
Who benefitted from Hyperinflation
Borrowers and landowners People on wages as they were updated Farmers coped well as products remained in demand
33
What other rebellions occured during the Hyperinflation
Communists took over saxony and rhineland
34
Why were Germany hit badly by the Wall Street Crash of 1929
Dawes Plan meant they had borrowed so much money from American Banks which then called back their loans all at once
35
What were the statistical effects of the Wall street crash
6 million Germans made unemployed with many becoming homeless as well
36
What did the depression lead to in the Reichstag
Bruning and Hindenburg forced to use article 48 as weak collation governments formed by proportional representation couldn't make any decision. This further undermined democracy
37
How did the Hyperinflation crisis indirectly contribute to the worsening of the Depression
Politicians were too scared to lend any loans or give out any money so they cut government expenditure, wages and unemployment benefit
38
How did the depression contribute to Extremist parties
made people turn to extremes as : by 1932 parties committed to the destruction of the Weimar Republic held 319 seats out of a total of 608 in the Reichstag
39
How did Von Papen accidentally help the Nazis
became Chancellor in 1932 and called an election in July 1932 to gain more support, instead support went to the Nazis gaining 230 seats. This made them the largest party in the Reichstag but Von Papen and President Hindenburg were unwilling to deal with them.
40
Who was made president in 1932
Hitler was a clear second but was beaten by Hindenburg
41
What did the November Reichstag 1932 elections show
Fall in Nazi support but still largest party, this combined with failure to become president many thought their opportunity has passed
42
What were the major events caused by Hindenburg's abuse of article 48
May - Brüning resigned as Chancellor. Hindenburg appointed Franz Von Papen, a conservative, as his replacement. December - Von Papen resigned. Hindenburg appointed Kurt Von Schleicher, an army general, as Chancellor. Von Schleicher tried to split the Nazis, resigned after 3 months
43
Why did Von Papen and Hindenburg turn to Hitler after so long
Lesser of 2 evils. Communism was growing and so was Nazis they preferred Nazis over communism. Thought they could control him
44
What were the main features of Nazi propoganda
- fear of communism and indecision of democracy - Nazis were strong w SS and SA to protect - Hitler's presence was everywhere w radios and aeroplanes - Great rallies gave impression of order
45
What were the main groups of people who supported the Nazis
- wealthy buisnessmen scared of communism - middle class who were alarmed by democratic failure - nationalists who blamed Versailes for depression - Rural areas due to nationalism and traditionalistic Hitler
46
What were the main themes of Nazi propoganda
- Hitler is Germany's saviour - Volksgemeinschaft (people's community) idea that Nazis would create one supreme Germany community - Jews were at blame for all problems
47
What was Von Papen's plan in January 1993
* In January 1933, von Papen schemed to remove von Schleicher by calling upon Hitler to lead a government. * On 30 January, Hitler was made Chancellor with von Papen as Vice Chancellor, only three Nazis would be in the Cabinet. It
48
What did the reichstag do pre-war
- Reichstag passed German Federal Law - approve budget - under control of chancellor (chosen by kaiser)
49
What was a source of potential problems in running Germany pre-war
Kaiser and Chancellor required support from Reichstag
50
What problems did the Kaiser face in the early 1890s
- rise of socialism | - rural --> urban migration meant traditional ruling class e.g. Prussian Junkers saw income decline
51
What did the growth of the SPD lead to
SPD had become the most popular party in Germany by 1912. Kaiser had to rule by decree
52
What was the Kaisers personality like
- tempermental; ambitious but failed to see through what he started - Early army experiences made him rarely seen out of uniform
53
What was the Kaiser's aim for Germany
- Weltpolitik; contrast to Bismarcks realpolitik | - Limit socialism
54
Describe military culture in Germany pre-war
- 2 to 3 years conscriptions, instilled Prussian attitudes and germans sought to be like Junkers - led to weltpolitik - clash of naval and army budgets by Caprivi to Bethmann-Hollweg. The country often forced to defer to military perspective
55
Describe the German Industrial revolution
- excellent education, increasing labour force and plentiful raw materials made economy boom - so much money it put Junkers in shame as Krupps and Thyssen took huge profits but that made workers poor
56
What was the response to poor working conditions and pay
- joined trade unions and SPD to do collective action; strikes and walkouts
57
What was the Kaisers response to the growth of trade unions and SPD
- supported cheaper bread and factory reforms but persecuted leading socialists and trade unionists - kaiser feared a socialist revolution
58
What was the navy league
Kaiser gave support for Admiral Tirpitz and the Navy League to promote the fleet and link it to german pride. Had over million members at peak
59
How did the naval race end
An expensive failure; | in 1914 Germany had 17 dreadnoughts while Britain had 29
60
What was the Turnip Winter
- by 1917 wages lagged behind inflationary costs of food, housing, and fuel. - significant cases of malnutrition and an increase in the impact of infectious diseases - butter, cheese, rice, cereals, eggs, and lard were only 20% of pre-war levels
61
How did the home situation worsen post Turnip Winter
1917; Reichstag passed a vote for peaceful resolution by 60% 1918; Meat ration was 12% pre-war level 430,000 civilian Germans had died
62
What happened to the government of Germany in the war
- Civilian Government was much less powerful as Hindenburg and Ludendorff were 'silent dictators'
63
How did Stresemann stabilise Germany in 1923
- Stresseman called off passive resistance in the Ruhr | - Introduced Rentenmark as it was tied to land it couldn't lose value, issued 3.2 billion
64
What was the Dawes plan of 1924
- Lowered prices of reparations and loans - Reichsmark, tied to the value of gold introduced - enabled Germany economy to pre-war 1914 levels
65
What was the Youngs plan of 1929
- further loans made and decrease in reparations
66
What political achievements were made in the Stresemann Era
- Lorcano Pact secured German borders in the West - Brought them into the League of Nations - authoritarian attitudes with Hindenburg
67
What was the Weimar culture like
- progressive cinema and art | - modernist movements with a move away from traditional values
68
How did the SA contribute to Nazi Growth
Nazis used SA to protect Nazis and disrupt other parties or disputes
69
What was the Reichstag Fire
- After Hitler called for new elections on 27th Feb the Reichstag was burnt with a Communist sympathiser, Marinus van der Lubbe - 4000 Communists were then arrested and the Law for Protection of People and State passed
70
What did the Law for Protection of People and state allow
Gave Hitler the power to arrest and detain suspects without trial and take over regional governments
71
What were the results of the March Election in 1993
Nazis gained the greatest share ever with 288 seats but still not majority as Communists had 81 seats
72
What was the Enabling Act
- Law that would give Hitler the power to make laws without having to pass them through the Reichstag
73
How did Hitler get the enabling act through
- with other nationalist parties he helped ban communists - He made deal with the Catholic centre party and he pressured SPD - act made him dictatir
74
After the Enabling Act, what did Hitler do
- purged civil service of non-nazis - workers are given a May Day holiday - other political parties were banned and a Law against the Formation of New Parties
75
How was the SA a threat to Hitler
- larger than the actual army - Rohm was getting too powerful; wanted to combine SA and Army. to control both himself - alarmed army leaders who Hitler needed to get back lost German land
76
What happened on the Knight of the Long Knives
- Hitler killed the leaders of the SA on 30 June 1934 | - also killed around 400 political opponents
77
what were the impacts of the long knives
- all rivals dead - SS became much more powerful - Hitler didn't hide what he did so established murder as a method of the government
78
``How did Hitler become fuhrer
2nd August 1934 Hindenburg died so he took Head of State
79
What did Hitler do when he became Fuhrer
made army swear an oath of loyalty
80
What was Hitlers aims as Fuhrer
- racially pure Germany - develop German Volk to override individual needs - control of business,media and police

History Gcse (4 decks)

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