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history > germany- chapter 2 > Flashcards

germany- chapter 2 Flashcards

1
Q

what were German people’s thoughts on the war in 1914 compared to in 1915-16?

A

1914:
- the war was popular and patriotic Germans thought it would end quickly
- British Naval Blockade- over 700,000 Germans died from starvation

1915-16:
- protestors demanded an end to the war- demonstrations increased from 500 to 10,000
- war weariness increased
- on the front line Germans were close to defeat too

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2
Q

what was the result of British ships stopping supply ships getting to Germany?

A

shortages of food, medicine and clothing

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3
Q

what was the result of the deadly flu epidemic that swept Germany in 1918?

A

killed thousands who were already weak from a poor diet

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4
Q

what did General Ludendorff tell the German politicians in October 1918?

A
  • they could never win the war
  • advised the Kaiser that the Allies may be more far to Germany if the country was democratic- so the Kaiser transferred some of his powers to the Reichstag and allowed the main political parties to form a new government
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5
Q

what were the German navy ordered to do on the 28th October 1918, and what really happened?

A

ordered to attack the British ships that were stopping supplies from entering Germany

they mutinied (refused) as they no longer wanted to fight

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6
Q

what was the result of the German Navy’s mutiny in October 1918?

A
  • soldiers sent to deal with the protests also joined the sailors and workers
  • in just 6 days, workers’ and soldiers’ councils were governing towns and cities all over Germany- as a result the Kaiser realised he had lost control, and his army generals refused to support him- country was in chaos, so he abdicated on 9th November 1918
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7
Q

when did the German Kaiser abdicate?

A

9th November 1918

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8
Q

who took over the country temporarily after the Kaiser abdicated?

A

Friedrich Ebert (leader of the SPD)

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9
Q

what did Friedrich Ebert promise to do after temporarily taking over control of Germany?

A

hold an election

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10
Q

when did Germany surrender from WW1?

A

11th November 1918

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11
Q

what were the impacts of war on Germany by 1918

A
  • Germany was virtually bankrupt
  • The war had divided German society further
  • Germany had become more politically unstable
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12
Q

why was Germany virtually bankrupt after the war?

A
  • Germany had lent some of its own money to the allies- didn’t know when (or if) they would get it back
  • Germany had borrowed money from abroad (e.g. USA) to pay for the war- needed to pay this back
  • the war left 600,000 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 goods to sell abroad and make money
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13
Q

why had the war divided German society further?

A
  • some factory owners made a fortune during the war, while German workers had restrictions placed on their wages
  • women worked in factories during the war- some thought this damaged traditional family values
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14
Q

why had Germany become more politically unstable from the war?

A
  • before the war, Germany had been a stable, rich nation- now 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 ended it, and refused to support them
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15
Q

when did the Kaiser leave Germany?

A

9th November 1918

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16
Q

what were the first actions that Ebert took as president of the Weimar Republic?

A
  • signed an armistice to end WW1
  • ordered improvements to working conditions, help for the unemployed, improved housing, and more food supplies
  • guaranteed freedom of speech & religion and arranged elections for new German parliament
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17
Q

what did the Spartacists believe in?

A

communism (which was a new political idea)

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18
Q

how did the Spartacists want Germany to be run?

A

by small councils of soldiers and workers- not one large parliament

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19
Q

when was the Spartacists uprising?

A

6th January 1919

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20
Q

describe the Spartacists uprising:

A
  • tried to take over Berlin
  • thousands of them roamed the streets, firing guns, trying to take over important buildings
  • Ebert sent 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
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21
Q

who were the leaders of the Spartacists?

A

Rosa Luxemburg
Karl Liebknecht

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22
Q

is communism left or right wing

A

left wing

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23
Q

what party won the first election of the Weimar Republic, and who was the first president?

A

SPD
Friedrich Ebert

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24
Q

what did communists believe?

A
  • everyone is equal
  • no private property and the government runs farms and businesses for the benefit of all people
  • little need for money or laws as everyone lives a simple life- sharing all they have
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25
Q

what was the Weimar Constitution?

A

a formal set of rules for how Germany should be governed

26
Q

why was the Weimar Constitution considered very fair?

A
  • all Germans had equal rights
  • all those over 20 could vote (including women)
27
Q

what is proportional representation

A

a political system in which the number of politicians for a particular party is in proportion with the number of votes they win

28
Q

why was proportional representation a weakness of the Weimar Republic?

A
  • it meant that lots of different political parties were able to win seats in the 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
29
Q

why were coalition governments very weak?

A

as it was made of at least two different political parties, so they would have different views- making it impossible to make decisions and pass laws

30
Q

what were the politicians who lost the war in 1918 called?

A

The November Criminals

31
Q

which groups didn’t like democratic system of the Weimar Republic, and why?

A

Some older army generals, judges, upper-class families, rich factory owners and university professors- longed for the ‘good old days’ when the Kaiser ruled

32
Q

what was Article 48?

A

part of the Weimar Constitution

gave the President the right to rule in a time of crisis without support of the Reichstag

33
Q

Constitution of the Weimar Republic:
President

A
  • elected every 7years
  • controlled army, navy and air force
  • stayed out of day-to-day running of the country, but could pass Article 48 in a state of emergency and rule without decree
34
Q

Constitution of the Weimar Republic:
Chancellor

A
  • chosen by president
  • responsible for the day-to-day running of the country- like law and order, taxation, schooling, healthcare
  • must have support of at least have the politicians in the Reichstag to pass new laws
35
Q

Constitution of the Weimar Republic:
Reichstag

A
  • discussed and introduced laws
  • members were elected every 4years
  • voting system was proportional representation
36
Q

Constitution of the Weimar Republic:
German people (electorate)

A
  • all men and women over 20 could vote
  • elected the president and politicians in the Reichstag
  • the constitution guaranteed them basic freedoms- like free speech
37
Q

who were the main supporters of the Communist Party (KPD)
(left wing)

A

working class

38
Q

Communist Party attitude to W.R?

A

anti-republic

39
Q

policies of the Communist Party:

A

thought Germany should be a communist country and run by workers councils, not by Parliament

40
Q

who were the main supporters of the Social Democratic Party (SPD)

A

mostly working class

41
Q

Social Democratic Party attitude to W.R?

A

pro-republic
Ebert was a social democrat

42
Q

policies of the Social Democratic Party:

A

believed everyone was equal, wanted democracy and reforms to help ordinary people

43
Q

who were the main supporters of the National Socialist German Workers’ Party (NSDAP or Nazis)
(right wing)

A

unemployed, mainly ex soldiers, some support from middle and upper classes who feared communists

44
Q

Nazis attitude to W.R?

A

anti-republic

45
Q

policies of the Nazis:

A

wanted Germany to be a powerful nation and a strong military power again; hated democracy and wanted a strong government ruled by one man
hated communism because it states that all people are equal; Nazis believed that some races and nations were better than others

46
Q

what did the Treaty of Versailles state?

A
  • Article 231- Germany had to take full responsibility for starting the war (War Guilt Clause)
  • armed forces were reduced to 100,000, no armoured vehicles, aircraft or submarines, and could only have 6 warships
  • forced to pay £6.6billion in reparations- to pay for damage caused by Germany in the war
  • lost its empire- areas around the world that used to belong to them were called mandates and were put under control of the winning nations by the LoN
  • Demilitarisation of the Rhineland
47
Q

when was Germany forced to sign the Treaty of Versailles?

A

28th June 1919

48
Q

why did the Germans hate the ToV?

A
  • they felt it was too harsh
    treaty took away large areas of land, which meant losing people, factories, farms and mines
    -had to pay reparations to winners
    -felt humiliated and angry with the way Germany was treated
  • hated that it was forced on them
    -ordered to sign treaty with no discussion
    -called it a ‘diktat’ (a dictated peace)
  • many Germans felt they hadn’t lost the war at all
    thought Germany’s new politicians had betrayed the country
    -thought Germany could have carried on fighting
49
Q

how much did Germany had to pay for reparations?

A

£6.6 billion / 132 billion gold marks in yearly instalments

50
Q

how many years did Germany have to pay reparations in yearly instalments?

A

66 years

51
Q

what year did Germany fail to pay reparations?

A

1922

52
Q

what did France and Belgium do when Germany couldn’t pay reparations?

A
  • Jan 1923, 60,000 soldiers marched into the Ruhr (a rich industrial area of Germany)
  • took control of every factory, mine and railway in region
  • also took food and goods from shops and arrested anyone who tried to stop them
53
Q

what happened after the Occupation of the Ruhr, 1922/3

A
  • French and Belgium soldiers began to take what was owed to them from Germany back to France
  • the German government ordered its workers to go on strike (but still get paid) and not help the soldiers- known as passive resistance
  • Germany was running short on money as Ruhr wasn’t producing coal, iron and steel to sell to other countries
  • to pay the striking workers and the money they owed France and Belgium, the German gov. printed large amounts of money
  • this led to hyperinflation
54
Q

how did hyperinflation happen?

A
  • after the Occupation of the Ruhr-> German gov. printed a lot of money
  • the striking workers were being paid to not work, so began to spend their money quickly - in response shop keepers began to up their prices
  • as shopkeepers raised their prices, the gov printed more money to help people buy things - the more the gov printed, the faster prices went up
  • the faster prices went up, the faster workers spent their wages. soon workers were being paid twice a day. the price of goods rose between joining the back of the queue and reaching the front
    -> their savings had become worthless
55
Q

what did Germans start to do with their money after hyperinflation?

A

it was worthless so some started to using it to light fires, make paper planes or kites to fly

56
Q

how did hyperinflation affect people with savings?

A

their savings became worthless

57
Q

how did hyperinflation affect elderly people?

A

those who lived on fixed pensions found that their incomes wouldn’t buy them what they needed

58
Q

how did hyperinflation affect small businesses?

A

many collapsed as normal trade became impossible because of the daily price changes

59
Q

how did hyperinflation affect those with debts?

A

found it very easy to pay it back (only winners in hyperinflation)

60
Q

who did the Germans blame for hyperinflation?

A

the government- as it was their decision to call a strike in the Ruhr and then print so much money

for most, 1923 was the worst year since the end of WW1

history (10 decks)

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