Germany Chapter 1- Kaiser Wilhelm II and the difficulties of ruling

Question 1

What year was Germany unified as a nation?

Answer 1

1871

Question 2

Who became the ruler of Germany after it was unified as a nation?

Answer 2

The king of the most powerful state, Prussia, became its new ruler, or Kaiser.

Question 3

Chancellor

Answer 3

-(chief minister) and ministers advised Kaiser.

Question 4

Bundesrat

Answer 4

-made up of representatives of each state.

Question 5

Reichstag

Answer 5

-parliament elected by men over 25
-both debated and voted on laws drawn up by the Kaiser and ministers

Question 6

Kaiser

Answer 6

-could ignore government advice & make his own decisions
-made military and foreign policy decisions

Question 7

What was the Kaiser keen on?

Answer 7

-he was keen to maintain a powerful army & build up a large navy
-he spent most of his youth in the army

Question 8

What did the Kaiser take great pride in and interest in?

Answer 8

-took great pride in leading the army
-interested in military tactics

Question 9

Where was the Kaiser from?

Answer 9

Prussia

Question 10

Militarism

Answer 10

-the belief that a country should have strong armed forces

Question 11

How was Prussian militarism used in the new German army?

Answer 11

-militarism was important to Prussia
-Prussian generals, army officers, and tactics formed the basis of the new united Germany army

Question 12

What did the Kaiser want Germany to be?

Answer 12

-wanted Germany to be a global power
-have an empire to rival Britain’s
-WELKPOLITIK-> “world policy”

Question 13

When did Germany begin to industrialise?

Answer 13

In the late 1800s

Question 14

Who supported Germany’s industrialisation?

Answer 14

powerful German businessmen

Question 15

Industrialisation by 1913

Answer 15

-By 1913, GER were producing as much coal as Britain & more iron & steel

Question 16

Industrialisation by 1914

Answer 16

-GER produced 2/3 of Europe’s steel
-In industries such as electrical goods and chemicals-> GER companies dominated Europe
-Some leading factory & business owners became rich & influential

Question 17

Why did workers join trade unions?

Answer 17

-they were unhappy with the low wages and poor working conditions
-joined hoping to force government to improve pay & working conditions

Question 18

By 1914, how many workers joined trade unions?

Answer 18

-Over 3 million workers had joined trade unions

Question 19

What new political party became popular among workers?

Answer 19

Social Democratic Party (SPD)

Question 20

Socialism

Answer 20

power & wealth should be shared equally among the people

Question 21

What did the SPD believe in?
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Answer 21

-Socialism
-Hoped Kaiser might allow Reichstag to make laws to improve worker’s right & conditions
-Disagreed with the power & privileged positions held by land & factory owners
-Around 1 in 3 GER voted for SPD at this time

Question 22

What did some more extreme socialists believe?

Answer 22

-some took a more extreme view
-> wanted to rebel against Kaiser’s rule, start a revolution & allow towns to be governed by councils of workers

Question 23

What were the navy laws?

Answer 23

1898-1912-> series of navy laws introduced
-huge amount of money was spent rapidly to increase size of navy
-army expanded too

Question 24

Why were the navy laws introduced?

Answer 24

-Kaiser wanted a large navy to help take over more countries & protect those already in GER empire

Question 25

How were the navy laws introduced?

Answer 25

-Taxes increased & money borrowed to pay
-GER would remain in debt for a long time