Germany And The Growth Of Democracy Flashcards
Who was Kaiser Wilhelm
Last king of German empire
What was Kaiser Wilhelm described as
Cruel and unpredictable + arrogant + rude and indiscreet + obsessed with own power and self importance + fiercely competitive with Britain + Obsessed with army and war + lacking an eye for detail in matters of state + often changed his mind without thinking of consequences + intelligent and well mannered + made hurried and reckless decisions + didn’t care what public thought
What were the Naval laws
-Introduced in 1898,1900,1906,1908,1912
-to build up size of navy
-it built more Navy ships
-Kaiser wanted large Navy to take over countries and protect those in German Empire
-Taxes were increased + money was borrowed - Germany remained in debt
What did the Navy laws result in
-Britain being worried by Germanys Naval advancement and continue to strengthen their own navy
- Germany also built up navy in preparation for war
What was Weltpolitik
Kaiser wanted to Germany to be a global power and have an empire to rival Britains
Why was there a growth in socialism
-Many workers working in mines and workshops/factories were unhappy with poor wages and poor conditions
-more people joined trade unions and organised strikes to hopefully force Kaiser and government to improve conditions
-many joined the social democrat party which believed that power and wealth shared between the people
-some extremists wanted to rebel agains kaiser and takeover country
What were the people like post WW1
- Had prospering businesses
-army one of the finest in the world
-Germans were proud people
-well educated and well fed workforce
What were the impacts during WW1
-Flu epidemic killed loads of soldiers +people
-1914 Britain stopped food getting to Germany
-protests for war to end popular (500-10,000)
-army generals refused to support Kaiser
- Army general Ludendorf advised Kaiser to get Germany to become more democratic so enemies treat Germany more fairly
-Kaiser allowed political parties to create a new government and gave some of his powers to Reichstag
-1918- the Navy mutinied and soldiers sent to stop protests and mutiny joined the workers and sailors - in 6 days workers governed towns
-war weariness increased
What was impact after WW1
-poor diets + epidemic wiped out many
-big gaps between rich and poor
-owed lots of money to other countries due to borrowing to pay for the war
-lent money to allies
-war pensions would cost government fortunes
-Kaiser abdicated
-left 600,000 widows + 2 million with no father
- Germans didn’t like new democratic leaders
-factory owners became rich while workers has restrictions on their wages
-women had to work in factories due to men at war and this damaged traditional family views
-some ex soldiers and civilians felt betrayed by politicians that Germany ended the war
Who were the main political parties in early Weimar Germany
-Communists
-SDP
-German Democrat party
-Centre Party
-Peoples party
-National people’s party
-National Socialist German Workers
What was the Treaty if Versailles
-List of punishments,instructions,orders that Germany had to follow
-powered by Britain,France,USA
-main peace treaty
What did the treaty of Versailles order Germany to do
-Germany had to pay reparations=£6.6billion
-Germany only have 100,000 for army , Navy only allowed 15,000 and no tanks and no submarines and no airforce, 6 battleships
-Rhineland was demilitarised
-territorial losses= 13% of land taken,
African colonies taken and given to Britain and France, some land given to Poland and Saarland given to France
- war guilt clause-Germany blamed for war
How did Germans react to Treaty Of Versailles
-They felt it was to harsh and hated it.
-Saarland was very industrial and as economically weak it made them more poor and people suffered
-taking away army put them in vulnerable position and many countries wanted revenge
-reparations were making their economy worse and flu is already making them suffer
-Germany taking the blame was not what the people wanted as it was not them who wanted war
-Germanys colonies taken meant they had less power and resources suffered
-with losing 6 million of German people to land they said german people should not be punished and kicked out of land and so they lost workers and suffered
What was the French Invasion on the Ruhr
1922 Germany couldnt pay anymore reparations due to their weak economy but French didn’t believe so and took what they were owed the invasion of French and Belgian soldiers took place on Jan 9th 1923 . 60,000 men took over mines and factories and rail stations .
How and what is hyperinflation
Due to French invasion the German government told its people to stand a passive resistance as army could not stop them. But meant workers could not be payed but still had to be payed and to also pay off French and Belgian the government decided to pay workers and print more money. This was then money lost it’s value and prices of goods went up. Even if government printed more money again shops still raised prices.
