Germany Booklet 2: Opposition, control and consent 1918-33

Question 1

What was the stab in the back myth?

Answer 1

That WW1 was not lost by the military but by the betrayal of socialists, communists, Jews and politicians more generally

Question 2

Why did many German people believe the stab in the back myth?

Answer 2

Germany was never invaded and the army was still on French territory at the end of the war. German media was still confident of victory, even in the autumn of 1918. The German army was thought to be trustworthy, nationalist, strong, decisive and effective and was well loved by the German people.

Question 3

Who was the first to prompt the stab in the back myth?

Answer 3

Ludendorff

Question 4

Outline the political, economic and military effects of the treaty of Versailles

Answer 4

political - It was associated with the new Weimar republic and constitution
economic - the reparations were blamed for Germany’s economic problems (although this wasn’t really true)
Military - reluctance to accept demobilisation and restrictions on military

Question 5

What was the issue with the guilt clause of the treaty of Versailles?

Answer 5

Germany wasn’t actually totally for blame for WW1, yet they were forced to take full responsibility and no other country had any punishment whatsoever.

Question 6

What did the Treaty of Versailles do to Germany’s empire?

Answer 6

Germany had to give up almost all of its empire, all of the land in Europe, Africa and Asia which was seen as an international embarrassment to the German people

Question 7

How much money was Germany initially set to pay in reparations?

Answer 7

£6,600 million, paid in £100 million annual instalments

Question 8

What were the military reasons that the German people resented the treaty of Versailles?

Answer 8

They resented the fact that their once proud military nation had to disarm when no other country gave up their armaments thus jeopardising their security

Question 9

What were the political reasons that the German people resented the treaty of Versailles?

Answer 9

They were only given a few weeks to read the treaty for themselves before being told they had to sign it (known as the Diktat)
Germany did not consider itself a defeated state - they had signed an armistice which does not imply surrender
Germany had originally sued for peace based on President Wilson’s 14 points, they felt these had been ignored during the negotiations.

Question 10

What were the economic reasons that the German people resented the treaty of Versailles?

Answer 10

They felt the reparations were too high and could cause economic reason

Question 11

What percentage of Germany’s annual income would the reparations have taken if they were paid in full?

Answer 11

10-12%

Question 12

What was the political significance of the treaty of Versailles?

Answer 12

The forces who opposed the Weimar republic used them to slander the new republic, leading to difficulty creating a democratic majority. This slander beat down even the most reasonable politicians

Question 13

Outline the Spartakist uprising?

Answer 13

Spartakists (communists) took over the city of Berlin by barricading the centre in 1919, causing the government to flee and write up the new constitution in Weimar. However it was easily crushed by the Freikorps and the army and the leaders (Liebknecht and Luxemburg). More than 100 workers were killed

Question 14

What was the popularity of the communist party like 1919 (seats)?

Answer 14

they got no seats in 1919

Question 15

Outline the Bavarian republic?

Answer 15

In March 1919 a soviet republic was declared in Bavaria which established worker councils and the red guard. It was crushed in May 1919 by the Freikorps and the army and a right wing government was put in charge of Bavaria

Question 16

Outline the Ruhr Uprising

Answer 16

In March 1920 communists in the Ruhr formed an army of around 50,000 and took control of large areas of the Ruhr for several weeks. The Freikorps and the army crushed them within a fairly short space of time, however intense fighting led to the death of more than 1,000 workers

Question 17

What was the red fighting league?

Answer 17

A paramilitary organisation dominated by the KPD. It was founded in 1924 and clashed often with the SA on the streets. At its height it numbered 130,000 but only lasted 5 years and was politically divided.

Question 18

What were the four main left wing events/threats in the Weimar republic?

Answer 18

Spartakist Uprising
Bavarian Uprising
Ruhr Uprising
The Red Fighting League

Question 19

What were the four main right wing events/threats in the Weimar republic?

Answer 19

The Kapp Putsch
Organisation Consul
The Munich Putsch
The SA and NSDAP

Question 20

Outline the Kapp Putsch

Answer 20

5,000 men (including Freikorps members) marched on Berlin and took the Reichstag and other Buildings. The army and Freikorps refused to fight against other German soldiers. Ebert organised a nation wide general strike which ground the country to a halt, meaning the new government could do nothing. After less than three days, they fled and Ebert was back in power

Question 21

Outline the Organisation Consul

Answer 21

A paramilitary terrorist group, dominated by Freikorps members who were angry at the treaty of Versailles. At their peak they had 5,000 men. They murdered over 350 people but were forced to disband by government order in the mid 1920s

Question 22

Outline the Munich Putsch

Answer 22

Hitler amassed a force of 3000 men to march on the centre of Munich (SA). The plan was to get the backing of the Freikorps and the army, then march to Berlin, however the army and Freikorps did not support them and Hitler was sentenced to 5 years for treason (although he only served 8 months). It had the backing of war hero General Ludendorff who wasn’t convicted at all.

Question 23

Outline the SA

Answer 23

The paramilitary wing of the Nazi party (NSDAP) which was set up in the early 1920s, they were often involved in street fights with communists in all the major German cities. In their peak in January 1932 it had 4000000 men

Question 24

Who were the conservative elites?

Answer 24

Mostly upper class groups that had wealth and power in the Kaiserreich and were keen to maintain this in the new republic. They mostly held right wing views and traditional values. Many were monarchists

Question 25

Who were the Junkers?

Answer 25

A rich landowning class - mostly based in Prussia, often with strong influence in the army. Owned 1/6 of Germany’s arable land. They opposed communism

Question 26

Who were the industrialists? (Germany)

Answer 26

Mainly based in industrial areas, they controlled Germany’s biggest companies, they attacked the social policies of the Weimar republic, especially the agreement to accept the treaty of Versailles

Question 27

Who were the administrators and bureaucrats? (Germany)

Answer 27

The dominant groups in the institutions of Germany who outwardly cooperated with the government yet still succeeded in undermining it

Question 28

Outline the support of the middle class towards the Weimar republic

Answer 28

They were generally supportive, however this decreased over time - hyperinflation caused them to lose their assets and savings so began to turn to nationalism/
They were split between nationalism and liberalism

Question 29

Outline the support of women towards the Weimar republic

Answer 29

They were very supportive - they mainly voted for moderate parties which supported the republic (60% of the centre party’s vote came from women) - the female workers enjoyed similar benefits to males, however were neglected by the unions

Question 30

Outline the black horror

Answer 30

After WW1 there were French troops in parts of the Rhineland (including black soldiers) and the government created a propaganda campaign saying that the black soldiers were raping white German women and that France was sending ‘racially inferior’ soldiers to embarrass Germany, however it was unsuccessful in getting France to withdraw and encouraged a racist right wing attitude in Germany

Question 31

Outline the 1929 referendum

Answer 31

It proposed rejecting the young plan, ending reparations and revoking the war guilt clause - pushed by the nationalists. However, only 13.8% of voters supported this
nationalists were presented as delusional extremists

Question 32

When did Anti-Weimar parties start gaining more popularity than pro-Weimar parties?

Answer 32

1932

Question 33

How was support for Weimar weakening from 1928 onwards?

Answer 33

The middle classes resented the rising costs and increased taxes, Army leaders feared that the pacifism of the SPD would prevent them rearming despite a better diplomatic position. Industrialists were becoming increasingly unwilling to honour agreements which they had made with workers in 1918-1919

Question 34

What were the 5 main tactics used to control/win over the people?

Answer 34

emergency powers (Article 48)
Compromise/agreements
social reforms
Use of force
Passing laws (banning)

Question 35

What are 2 examples of using emergency powers as a method of controlling the German people?

Answer 35

In September 1923, Ebert used emergency powers to declare a state of emergency with the hyperinflationary crisis
In the crises of early 1920s, Ebert used the powers to good effect and to restore order (The Kapp Putsch)

Question 36

What are 2 examples of using Compromises/agreements as a method of controlling the German people?

Answer 36

In November 1918, Ebert entered the Ebert-Groener pact which ensured the support of the army in return for firmly dealing with left wing uprisings.
In the years 1932-33, the Weimar government compromised with the Nazis (Hitler was offered a place in the cabinet and to become vice chancellor)

Question 37

What are 2 examples of using force (army and Freikorps) as a method of controlling the German people?

Answer 37

The Munich Putsch was stopped within 24 hours by the Freikorps.
Left wing uprisings were savagely repressed by the army and the freikorps. The leaders of the spartakist uprising were killed without a trial