germany - chapter 2 Flashcards
what was the result of British ships stopping supply ships getting to Germany
shortages of food, medicines and clothing
how did the people show they were tired of the war in 1915, and then again a year later, in 1916
in 1915, 500 women gathered outside German parliament buildings saying they wanted their men back from the trenches
in 1916, 10,000 workers gathered in Berlin shouting ‘Down with the war, down with the government’
by 1918 what were the German people surviving on
turnips and bread
what was the result of the deadly flu epidemic sweeping the country
killed thousands who were already weak from a poor diet
what did General Ludendorff tell the German politicians in October 1918
they could never win the war
he advised the kaiser that the British and French may be more fair to Germany if the country was democratic - he advised the Kaiser to transfer some of his powers to the German parliament
reluctantly, the Kaiser allowed the main political parties to form a new government and transferred some of his powers to the Reichstag
what were the German navy ordered to do on 28th on October 1918, and what really happened
the navy was ordered to attack the British ships that were stopping supplies entering Germany
sailors on the ship refused because they no longer want to fight
what was the result of sailors on ship refusing to follow orders in October 1918
workers in the towns supported them
soldiers were sent to deal with the protests, but ended up joining them
took over towns and set up special councils to run them
in just 6 days, worker and soldier councils were governing towns all over the country
country was in chaos and kaiser lost all support
the kaiser abdicated on 9th November 1918
who took over the country temporarily after the Kaiser abdicated
Freidrich Ebert
what did Freidrich Ebert promise to do after temporarily taking over control of Germany
hold an election
when did Germany surrender from WW1
11th November 1918
what were the impacts of the war on germany by 1918
Germany was virtually bankrupt
the war had divided German society even further
Germany had become more politically unstable
why was germany virtually bankrupt after the war
Germany had lent some money to their allies - would they ever get it back?
Germany had borrowed money from abroad (eg. the United States) to pay for the war - they need to pay this back
the war left 60,000 war widows and two million children without fathers - war pensions would cost the government a fortune in the future
german factories were exhausted by the war as they had been producing guns, bullets and shells - not producing goods to sell abroad and make money
why had the war divided German society further
some factory owners made a fortune during the war, while German workers had restrictions placed on their wages
women worked in the factories during the war - some thought this damaged traditional family values
why had Germany become more politically unstable from the war
before the war, germany had been a stable, rich nation - after the war there was mutiny and revolution
many ex-soldiers and civilians felt Germany could have won the war - felt betrayed by the politicians (the ‘ November Criminals ‘) who had ended it and refused to support them
when did the kaiser leave Germany
9th November 1918
what were the first actions Ebert took as president of Weimar republic
- signed an armistice to end WW1
- ordered improvements to working conditions, help for the unemployed, improved housing, and more food supplies
- he guaranteed freedom of speech, freedom of religion, and arranged elections for new german parliament
what did the Spartacists believe in
a new idea, called communism
how did the Spartacists want Germany to be run
wanted germany to be run by small councils of soldiers, not one large government
when was the Spartacists uprising
6th January 1919
Spartacists uprising:
- spartacists tried to take over Berlin
- thousands of them roamed the streets, firing guns, trying to take over important buildings
- Ebert sent the Free Corps (a group of 2000 ex-soldiers) to attack the spartacists
- after 3 days of street fighting, the Free Corps recaptured buildings and arrested Rosa Luxemburg and Karl Liebknecht
- after beating them, the free corps murdered them
who were the leaders of the Spartacists
Rosa Luxemburg
Karl Liebknecht
what party won the first election of the Weimar republic and who was the first president
SPD
Freidrich Ebert became first president
is communism left or right wing
left wing
what did communists believe
- everyone is equal
- no private property and the gov run farms and businesses for the benefit of all people
- little need for money or laws because everyone lives a simple life
what was the Weimar constitution
a formal set of rules for how germany would be governed
how was the new weimar constitution very fair
- all germans had equal rights
- all over 20 could vote (including women)
why was proportional representation a weakness of the weimar republic
- meant lots of different political parties were able to win seats in Reichstag
- sometimes there were over 20 different parties arguing over a single issue
- meant it was difficult to make a decision
- between 1919 and 1933 no political party ever won more than half the votes, meaning there was no majority
- no majority lead to smaller party’s forming coalition governments
