Germany Democracy and Dictatorship 1890-1945 Flashcards

1
Q

What was the role of chancellor?

A

-appointed his own ministers for gov policies
-led bundesrat
-could ignore reichstag decisions

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2
Q

What was the role of the Bundesrat?

A

-made up of 25 representatives of Germany
-consulted w kaiser and chancellor over gov policies
-proposed laws sent to reichstag

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3
Q

What was the role of the Reichstag?

A

-all men over 25
-passed or rejected laws proposed by Bundesrat or Chancellor
-could pass or reject grant to fund military every 5 years

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4
Q

As a result of wanting to be more powerful than anyone in Germany what did the Kaiser do when he came to power?

A

He dismissed Bismarck and disagreed with his policy of realism rather the idealism, he then only appointed people with the same beliefs as him

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5
Q

Industrialisation in Germany:

A

-coal production rivalled Britains by 1914
-rapid urbanisation led to disease outbreak
-big gap between rich and poor
-high rates of immigration led to hatred of “foreigners”

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6
Q

What is socialism?

A

the idea that profits from industry should be shared equally

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7
Q

What was the Social Democratic Party?

A

-they wanted more rights for German workers
-won most votes from every election after 1890, held most seats in 1912

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8
Q

Who feared Socialism and why?

A

Kaiser, the upper and middle class because they believed workers would overthrow political systems

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9
Q

What were some economic problems Germany faced in 1918?

A

-food shortages and industrial shortages as British blockade happened
-trade disrupted by war so national income was 2/3 less
-debts had to be repaid from other countries they borrowed money to and from

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10
Q

What was the stab in the back legend?

A

Germans believed that they had been stabbed in the back by politicians as army leaders forced politicians to seek peace

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11
Q

What was the stab in the back legend?

A

Germans believed that they had been stabbed in the back by politicians as army leaders forced politicians to seek peace

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12
Q

What were the terms of the Treaty of Versailles?

A

-accepting war guilt
-paying reparations
-loss of land in Europe and all overseas colonies
-placing severe limits on military
-not allowed to ally with Austria

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13
Q

What was the problem with reparations?

A

-Agreed to pay to countries who had won the war because of treat of V
-owed 6.6 billion marks
-inability to pay led to hyperinflation and the invasion of the Ruhr in 1923

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14
Q

The invasion of the Ruhr:

A
  1. Germany could not pay back second instalment of debt by dec 1922
  2. Jan 1923 French and Belgian troops invaded the Ruhr for raw materials, machinery and manufactured goods in replacement of debt
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15
Q

What were the results of the invasion of the Ruhr?

A

-German gov urged passive resistance of workers so they went on strike
-French and Belgian soldiers arrested and their workers were forced to replace strikers
-economy very badly hit as they could not sell produce from Ruhr
-Gov decides to print more money so by 1923 the mark is worthless

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16
Q

What were the negative effects of hyperinflation?

A

-businesses went bankrupt
-pensioners suffered
-savings became worthless
-people blamed the Weimar government
-middle class worse affected

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17
Q

What were the positives to hyperinflation?

A

-farmers were paid more for food
-some people and businesses could pay off loans and mortgages
-fixed rents became cheaper

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18
Q

Who was made leader of Germany after 1918?

A

Freidrich Ebert the leader of the Social Democrats

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19
Q

When did the Weimar Republic officially begin?

A

31 July 1919

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20
Q

Who was the President in the Weimar Constitution?

A
  • head of state
    -elected every 7 years
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21
Q

How often was the Reichstag elected?

A

every 4 years

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22
Q

What were the strengths of the Weimar Constitution?

A

1.proportional representation meant small parties had a fair share of seats
2.equality in voting

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23
Q

What were the weaknesses of the Weimar Constitution?

A
  1. proportion representation led to unstable coalition governments
  2. weakness in crisis meant president used Article 48
  3. not the peoples choice so was not popular
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24
Q

Who were the Spartacists?

A
  • left wing party
  • led by Rosa Luxemburg and Karl Liebknecht
  • based in Berlin
25
Q

Who were the Freikorps?

A
  • right wing party
  • made up of ex soldiers who kept their weapons
  • 250,000 men in March 1919
26
Q

Who were the Nazis?

A
  • right wing party
  • hated democracy and communism
  • wanted strong gov and military
  • had parliamentary force (SA)
27
Q

What happened at the Sparticists Revolt?

A
  1. January 1919
  2. they took over the gov newspapers and telegraph bureau and tried to organise a general strike in Berlin
  3. Weimar gov sent Freikorps to put down revolt
  4. street fighting for several days and Sparticist leaders were shot
28
Q

What happened at the Kapp Putsch?

A
  1. March 1920
  2. Freikorps feared unemployment and so marched on Berlin
  3. Ebert asked head of army to resist but he refused
  4. Weimar gov fled Berlin as Dr Wolfgang kapp was put in charge of rebels
  5. Gov ordered national strike of trade unions which caused chaos
29
Q

What happened at the Munich Putsch?

A
  1. 8-9 Nov 1923
  2. Hitler, 1000 SA and 2000 volunteer supporters marched on Munich town to declare hitler president but were met by state police
  3. someone opened fire and Ludernoff, rohm and Stretcher were arrested
  4. Hitler held Bavarian gov at gunpoint and forced them to support him
  5. 11th Nov Hitler found hiding at friends house and was arrested
30
Q

What were the consequences of the Munich Putsch?

A

-failed because lack of support, Hitler was improsoned and Nazi party was banned

31
Q

What were the positive benefits for the nazis as a result of the Munich Putsch?

A
  1. Hitler used trial to publicise his views and was released after 9 months
  2. wrote Mien Kampf which outlined his political and racial beliefs
  3. hitler realised he would have to win through elections
32
Q

What was known as the Stresemann era?

A

Period between 1924 and 1929 when Germany was recovering from the 1923 crisis

33
Q

What did Gustav Stresemann do in November 1923?

A

Set up the Rentenbank and issue the new currency- Rentenmark which had real value as it was tied to price of gold

34
Q

What happened in August of 1924?

A

The rentenmark was renamed the Reichsmark and hyperinflation was over

35
Q

What was the Dawes plan of 1924?

A

-Charles Dawes an American banker designed a plan for Germany to pay back reparations
- instalments were temporarily reduced to 50 million a year
- Us banks agreed to make loans to German industry and the Allies were confident in receiving their reparations

36
Q

What was the Young plan of 1929?

A
  • committee set up by the Allies and led by Owen Young proposed a plan
  • reduced the debt from 6.6 billion to 2 billion
  • payments could be made up until 1988 (58 years more)
  • lower reparations = lower taxes for Germans
  • lots of opposition from extreme parties as they believed it would extend the burden to future generations
37
Q

Why did the Weimar Republic economy improve?

A
  • employment and trade increased
  • industrial output doubled by 1928 and passed pre- First World War levels
38
Q

What problems were there still after the Young Plan?

A
  • extreme parties were against Germany paying back reparations
  • economic recovery depended on American loans so it remained fragile
39
Q

What were the impacts of the international agreements made by Stresemann between 1925 and 1929?

A
  • strengthened confidence of German people about the Weimar gov
  • improved relations w other countries
  • reduced hardships of people
  • reduced support of extremist parties which improved political stability and increased support of moderate poltical parties
40
Q

What was the Locarno pact of 1925?

A
  • Agreement between Germany, France, Britain, Italy and Belgium
  • Germany agreed to new border w France which improved relations
  • Allies and Germany agreed to permanent demilitarisation of Rhineland to increase the security of France from future German aggression
  • German membership for League of Nations was up for discussion
41
Q

Why was the Locarno pact successful for Germany?

A
  • improved relations w France on border agreement
  • not imposed on Germany like treaty of V
  • increased status and popularity of Weimar Republic
  • helped boost confidence in moderate parties
42
Q

What was the League of Nations?

A

international body that discussed world problems to avoid starting war. set up in 1920 excluding Germany. 1926 Germany became a member of the council

43
Q

Why was the League of Nations successful for Germany?

A

showed that Germany’s views counted and improved confidence in the Weimar Republic

44
Q

What was the Kellogg-Briand pact of 1928?

A

agreement between 62 nations committing countries to avoiding the use of war to achieve foreign policies

45
Q

Why was the Kellogg-Briand pact successful for Germany?

A
  • showed that Germany was again a major power
  • showed that moderate political parties could build Germany’s international strength
  • increased public confidence in how Germany was being led
46
Q

What was the flourish in culture seen between 1924 and 1929 called?

A

Expressionism

47
Q

Expressionism in art:

A

Art was painted on everyday life and commented on the problems in German society, it confronted the disaster of WW1 and used raw emotion to express this

48
Q

Expressionism in cinema:

A

Fewer restrictions meant that traditional aspects of cinema and German life were challenged

49
Q

What was expressionism?

A

abstract style of art where feelings and emotions are more important than showing physical reality

50
Q

Who was Marlene Dietrich?

A

a very popular German- American actress who starred in films such as Blue angel which includes a seductive woman seducing a professor

51
Q

Expressionism in architecture:

A
  • Bauhaus School set up in 1919 by Walter Gropius who wanted to bring together design, sculpture, art etc
  • school attracted talented artists and designers
  • ideas challenged traditional styles that were popular before the war
52
Q

What led to the Great Depression in 1929?

A

Wall Street crash in October 1929

53
Q

What was the Wall Street Crash?

A

Massive stock market crash. US companies lost billions of dollars in value overnight. Banks and businesses were ruined and a worldwide depression began

54
Q

How did Germany suffer due to the Great Depression?

A

-The US stopped lending money to Germany and demanded loans be repaid
-German businesses received no more investment from the US and they had to pay increased taxes to the gov
- Millons of workers and farm labourers lost their jobs and young people faced job losses, families suffered poverty
- The German government refused to print more money, taxes increased, made cuts in unemployment benefit
- Gov workers had wages cut and some lost their jobs

55
Q

Why did the depression increase support for extremist parties?

A

democracy seemed to be failing as the moderate parties in the reichstag failed to work together to solve the problems, the gov was weak

56
Q

How did working class people react to the depression?

A

many turned to extreme left wing parties (communists) who offered solutions to unemployment and falling wages

57
Q

How did middle and upper class people react to the depression?

A

many turned to extreme right wing parties (nazis) because they were afraid that the communists would take over their businesses and gain power

58
Q

How did Germans from all sectors of society react to the depression?

A

they turned to the nazis because they wanted a strong government who promised the restoration of law, order and workable economic policies

59
Q

Why was the Locarno pact successful for Germany?

A
  • improved relations w France on border agreement
  • not imposed on Germany like treaty of V
  • increased status and popularity of Weimar Republic
  • helped boost confidence in moderate parties