Germany and the Growth of Democracy Flashcards
Who was the Kaiser of Germany?
Kaiser Wilhelm II
Define bundesrat
A group of German state representatives who support the Kaiser
Define reichstag
The main elected German parliament
Define chancellor
Chief minister, or Prime minister in the government
What were some of the problems faced by the Kaiser and his government?
- growing demands for social reformation and socialism
- rapid industrialisation: drop in agriculture = not enough food
- desire for empire, caused the naval laws –> lead to disagreements with the army
Why and how was the Kaiser forced to abdicate?
Why: lost military support
How: - sailors within the German navy refused to follow orders
- the soldiers were sent to ease the protests but they ended up joining the protests instead
- they took over towns and set up special councils to run them, country in chaos + Kaiser lost control
What was the impact of war on Germany?
What was the name of the government that came after the Kaiser’s abdication?
Weimar government
Who were the November Criminals?
The politicians who signed the treaty of Versailles
How did the Germans feel about the Treaty of Versailles?
Angered; called it a ‘diktat’: forced peace
What were some of the terms of the ToV?
- war guilt: Germany taking full responsibility
- reparations: Germany had to pay £6600 million to allies; 10% of industry and 15% agricultural land taken away
- military restrictions: German army limited to 100,000 soldiers, 6 battleships, no submarines, Rhineland demiliterised + under French occupation
- territorial loss: Alsace-Lorraine returned to France, lost overseas colonies and Austria separated
What were the weaknesses of the Weimar government?
- article 48
- proportional representation: many small parties + no one winning majority votes, causing formation of coalition governments
- decision making slow
- democracy seen as the result of the ToV
- would always be associated with the ToV + anger
What was article 48?
Allowed President of Weimar gov. dictatorial power in emergencies
What problems did the Weimar government face from the left?
Include:
- dates they occured
- key people
- how they began
- how they ended
- their names (names of the revolution)
- Jan 1919: Spartacist Revolution
- led by Karl Liebknecht and Rosa Luxemborg
- took over government newspaper and telegraph offices in Berlin and tries to start a general strike
- gov. couldn’t stop this and sent the Freikorps to stop it
- stopped after several days + executed
What problems did the Weimar government face from the right? Include:
- dates they occured
- key people
- how they began
- how they ended
- their names (of the revolution)
- March 1920: The Kapp Putsch
- rebel Freikorps troops marched to Berlin led by nationalist politician Wolfgang Kapp
- gov. had to flee Berline + ask left wing workers to strike which caused enough chaos to end the revolut
Why did French and Belgian troops invade the Ruhr?
Germany failed to pay reparations
What did the German government order the workers to do?
Ordered them to go on passive resistance
How did this lead to Hyperinflation?
Gov. continued to pay workers, despite them not working. This lead to them spending more money -> shopkeepers increased prices –> cycle continued causing money to lose its value
How was Hyperinflation controlled and by who?
Stressman: called off passive resistance and negotiated Dawes and Young plan. Also introduced new currency called Rentenmark
What was the Dawes plan?
Reparations reduced to 2.5 billion per year + USA gave Germany a loan of 800 million marks
What was the Young plan?
Reparation figure reduced from £6.6 billion to £1.8 billion
Who benefitted from hyperinflation?
- aristocracy - had money ties up in property
- political extremists: got more votes
- Jews: didn’t save money in German banks
- people who were in debt
Who lost out due to hyperinflation?
- people with savings
- old people who relied on pensions
- workers - had to live in poverty
What triggered the Munich Putsch?
Stressman called off passive resistance in the Ruhr
