Germany and WW1

Question 1

Who ran the German government in WW1, and how did this come to be? How did this change, and why?

Answer 1

• The political parties in the Reichstag made a political truce to support the Kaiser and his military high command
• However, the Kaiser was not a capable war strategist, and the military high command took control of the country
• They were led by Paul von Hindenburg and Eric Ludendorff

Question 2

How was Germany ran under the military high command?

Answer 2

• As a military dictatorship
• The Reichstag still met, but was ignored by the generals

Question 3

How successful were the military at governing Germany? What impact did this have?

Answer 3

• They took Germany to the point of collapse militarily, economically and socially
• As a result, there was huge political unrest

Question 4

List 3 reasons why it was decided that there should be a change in Germany’s government.

Answer 4

• In September 1918, it became clear that Germany was going to lose the war
• As a result, the army leaders wanted to appeal to the USA to gain more favourable peace terms by becoming a democratic country
• It was thought that this would also put an end to social unrest
• They did not want to take the blame for losing the war

Question 5

What was the change in government called, and when did it take place? List 4 changes that it entailed.

Answer 5

• The ‘Revolution from Above’
• It was officially inaugurated on 28th October 1918
• It created a constitutional monarchy
• The army leadership stepped down
• Prince Max von Baden was the new chancellor
• The government was mainly based on the support of the democratically appointed parties in the Reichstag

Question 6

What were 2 political views on the shift to democracy, why did these exist, and what was the main problem with them?

Answer 6

• Conservatives and nationalists supported the move to democracy as they thought it would prevent a communist revolution
• Communists preferred democracy to the nationalist authoritarian government that they had had before
• However, none of the groups saw democracy as the ideal end point

Question 7

When did Germany first ask for an armistice, and how did the Allies respond?

Answer 7

• 3rd October 1918
• Britain and France were willing to accept this
• The USA wanted to march on Berlin and force Germany to surrender

Question 8

Give 3 details of what social conditions were like in 1918, including figures.

Answer 8

• People were dying from starvation and hypothermia; 293,000 in 1918 alone
• Malnourishment was so common that in one district of Berlin 90% of all children from 2 to 6 were undernourished
• Infant mortality and stillbirths were high due to the poor health of the mothers

Question 9

List 3 reasons why starvation was such a big problem during the war.

Answer 9

• It was hard to farm effectively when all of the horses had been taken to the Front
• Most food produced also went to the Front
• The Allies blockaded ports to prevent supplies from getting to Germany

Question 10

List 4 specific issues with the economy during the war.

Answer 10

• The government had spent all of its gold reserves on the war, so it had resorted to printing more money, which resulted in severe inflation (there had been 6,300 million marks in circulation at the start of the war, but there was 33,000 million by the end)
• Wages and savings lost their value, while prices shot up (they increased by 3 times on average)
• Trade was disrupted by war, so businesses suffered and there were fewer jobs
• Due to inflation and the lack of goods, a black market had developed

Question 11

What 2 constitutional reforms did Prince Max’s government introduce?

Answer 11

• The vote was extended to all men over 25
• Ministers and the army now had to answer to the government instead of the Kaiser

Question 12

Did Prince Max’s reforms end unrest? Give 4 details.

Answer 12

No, as there were:
- Mutinies
- Strikes and rebellions in major industrial towns such as Berlin, Hamburg and Cologne
- Soviets were set up in cities and towns in November
- Bavaria declared itself a republic on 8th November

Question 13

Which mutiny caused a lot of unrest, when was it, and what were 2 reasons why?

Answer 13

• The Kiel Mutiny in early November
• The sailors took control of their base and refused to fight the British
• They demanded an end to the monarchy

Question 14

What were 3 factors that caused the Kiel Mutiny?

Answer 14

• The sailors at Kiel believed the Kaiser and army leaders were using the navy to undermine peace negotiations
• They knew they were about to lose
• The economic crisis the country was in

Question 15

What significant shift of power was there in November 1918, and what were 3 reasons why it happened?

Answer 15

• The Kaiser’s abdication was announced on 9th November, and he fled to Holland the following day
• There had been calls in the Reichstag for the Kaiser to resign
• The SPD (the main partners in Prince Max’s coalition government) threatened to withdraw their support if the Kaiser did not resign
• Prince Max insisted the Kaiser’s abdication was the only way to prevent a civil war

Question 16

What political shift was the Kaiser’s abdication followed by?

Answer 16

• The SPD withdrew their support from Prince Max’s government, which caused it to collapse
• They then set up their own, called the Council of People’s Representatives

Question 17

When did the Council of People’s Representatives take power?

Answer 17

• 10th November 1918

Question 18

Give 2 details about the Council of People’s representatives.

Answer 18

• It was a provisional coalition government with Friedrich Ebert (leader of the SPD) as chancellor
• It was meant to govern until elections could be held for a National Constituent Assembly

Question 19

Who were the main parties in the Council of People’s Representatives? What impact did this have on the government?

Answer 19

• The SPD (Socialist Democratic Party) and the USPD (Independent Social Democrats)
• It was therefore a left-wing government

Question 20

How did revolutionary councils feel about Ebert’s government, and what were 2 reasons why?

Answer 20

• They did not support it as Ebert wanted to turn Germany into a democratic republic such as the USA, which they felt would just favour capitalists
• They wanted a government made up of soviets, such as Lenin had promised Russia

Question 21

What did Ebert do in order to protect the government against the increasing unrest? Give 2 details.

Answer 21

• He made a pact with the army chief Wilhelm Groener, known as the Ebert-Groener Pact
• It ensured that the army would support the government, as long as the government was against the more left-wing ideas in the Reichstag
• The army’s independence would be respected as a result

Question 22

What was the first thing that the new government decided to do, when did they do it, and what issue arose from this?

Answer 22

• End the war
• The armistice was signed on 11th November 1918
• The Allies told Germany that they would not have a say in the peace negotiations

Question 23

List 4 things the government did to deal with the social unrest following the war.

Answer 23

• It introduced social reforms:
• 8-hour working day
• independent trade unions
• help was made available for ex-soldiers to find work
• health and employment benefits were widened

Question 24

How well did the government work together? Give 5 details.

Answer 24

• The SPD and USPD often disagreed over major issues
• This was worsened by the fact that they also needed the help of smaller parties
• Ebert wanted to leave any major changes to the new government, but the USPD wanted to introduce social and economic reforms straight away
• They also wanted to reform the army
• The divide between the 2 groups grew to the point where council members resigned and USPD members joined the KPD

Question 25

What was the KPD, when was it set up?

Answer 25

• The German Communist Party
• It was formed in December 1918

Question 26

What were reactions to the KPD like? Give an example.

Answer 26

• Many Germans were afraid of the ‘Red Plague’ of communism spreading due to Russia
• KPD political meetings came under the attack of the private armies of other political groups

Question 27

What was the Spartacist Union? Who were they led by, and what was their aim?

Answer 27

• They were a group that broke away from the USPD in December 1918
• Their leaders were Karl Liebknecht and Rosa Luxemburg
• They wanted a revolution, like the one that had happened in Russia, to take place in Germany

Question 28

What did the Spartacists do in 1919? How did they do this, and why was it relevant?

Answer 28

• On 5th January, they led an uprising in Berlin
• Armed workers took over key buildings such as newspaper offices, which is how the Russian Revolution started

Question 29

How was the Spartacist Revolt stopped? Give 4 details.

Answer 29

• Ebert ordered the army to put down the revolt
• They were also helped by the Freikorps (‘Free Corps’)
• Liebknecht and Luxemburg were captured, beaten and murdered
• More than 100 workers were killed

Question 30

Who were the Freikorps? List 3 groups that made it up, and who they were led by.

Answer 30

• The Freikorps were an anti-communist group
• It was made up of demobilised soldiers, unemployed youth and other dissatisfied groups led by former army officers after WW1

Question 31

How did the situation in Bavaria unfold? Give 3 details.

Answer 31

• In March 1919 it declared itself a Soviet Republic
• In May 1919, the Freikorps got rid of the revolutionary government
• It was replaced with a right-wing one