Germany: Development of Dictatorship (Chapters 1 and 2)

Question 1

What were the events and outcomes of the German Revolution of 1918?

Answer 1

• Despite being promised a quick victory, the war dragged out and the Axis powers started to lose
• Mutinies and unrest began to occur and people began to blame the Kaiser for the defeat
• In November 1918, the Kaiser abdicated and fled and a new democratic republic known as the Weimar Republic was set up with Friedrich Ebert as its leader
• Ebert and his Government signed an armistice, officially surrending
• Many people, including army officials, hated this decision as they felt the Germans were close to winning and called them the ‘November Criminals’ which gave the Weimar Government disdain from the start

Question 2

Under what system did the Weimar Government run Germany and what were its strengths and weaknesses?

Answer 2

• Proportional representation, meaning the percentage of votes translated directly to the number of seats that party held
• This gave smaller parties a voice and did not allow one party to take all power
• However since no party had the majority it was very difficult for any decisions to be made due to the political instability caused - especially since small extremist parties like the Communists and Nazis got seats
• This meant that many coalitions did not last long, meaning many Chancellors did not last long either (as their party had to have a majority)

Question 3

What were the causes of the Spartacist Uprising (1919)?

Answer 3

• Proportional representation let extremist parties rise in popularity, and the overtime the moderate parties lost power
• The communist party (the Spartacus League) therefore felt that they could try to take power in Berlin and organised a revolt
• They were inspired by the left-wing revolution in Russia in 1917 and wanted a similar result in Germany

Question 4

What were the events and effects of the Spartacist Uprising (1919)?

Answer 4

• They took control of key areas of Berlin, but the Government found it hard to use the military to take control due to the Treaty of Versailles
• Therefore they had to rely on demobilised soldiers, known as the Freikorps, who quickly put down the uprising due to their resentment for communism and shot Rosa Luxembourg (the organiser)
• It showed that the communists were still strong and were a threat to the Weimar Government - one which people were afraid of
• It also showcased the weakness of the Weimar military following the treaty

Question 5

What were the terms of the Treaty of Versailles (1919)?

Answer 5

• Germany had to accept blame for the war
• Germany had to pay £6.6 billion pounds (equivalent) in reparations to the Allies
• Germany was not allowed to have tanks, submarines or an airforce
• Its ground troops were to be limited to 100000, and its navy was to be very limited too
• 13% of Germany’s European territory was to be given up, as well as all of its overseas colonies
• Land given up included Alsace and Lorraine to France, Eupen and Malmedy to Belgium and Upper Silesia to Poland

Question 6

What were the social/political effects of the Treaty of Versailles on Germany?

Answer 6

• Most German people hated the humiliating and brutal Treaty of Versailles, especially the War Guilt clause
• They called the politicians who signed the treaty criminals
• This led to resentment for the Weimar Government within Germany and weakened their position, especially from those in the right wing

Question 7

What were the economic effects of the Treaty of Versailles on Germany?

Without talking about the Invasion of the Ruhr and hyperinflation

Answer 7

• Many of Germany’s high income producing areas, such as their mines and coalfields of Upper Silesia were lost to the treaty
• This made the harsh reparations even harder to pay for the war-torn country
• Therefore, the war-torn Germany was close to bankrupty and could not pay their reparations

Question 8

What were the causes and events of the Kapp Putch (1920)?

Answer 8

• The Treaty of Versailles, having limited the army to 100,000 men, left a number of ex-soldiers who felt unable to adjust to civilian life
• These men formed the Freikorps unit, who Ebert tried to disband, but they revolted, marching into Berlin, with a man called Wolfgang Kapp as their leader
• The army felt sympathy so did not stop them, but Ebert called a general strike and Kapp realised he did not have the support he needed to function and fled, with the government returning to Berlin and disbanding the Freikorps

Question 9

What were the effects of the Kapp Putsch (1920)?

Answer 9

• It showed that the Government had very little military power, and that there were many people who did not want to see them in power
• However it did also show that they currently had the majority support of the people compared to extremist parties

Question 10

What were the causes of the Invasion of the Ruhr (1923)?

Answer 10

• Germany had been struggling to pay its reparations from the Treaty of Versailles due to its economic woes
• However, since the Allies needed the money to pay off war loans, this led to French retaliation

Question 11

What were the events of the Invasion of the Ruhr (1923)?

Answer 11

• Belgian and French troops marched into the Ruhr to size industrial products rather than waiting on cash payments
• Realising they could not take military action, the Weimar Government encouraged the people to carry out passive resistance and not work, stopping production
• In response, the French sent in their own troops to run the factories, and after there was conflict between the two sides, the French only withdrew their forces 2 years later in 1925

Question 12

What were the effects of the Invasion of the Ruhr (1923) and the causes of hyperinflation?

Answer 12

• It united the nation and temporarily increased the support of the Weimar Government
• However it dramatically worsened their economic problems as industrial production had stopped and products had been siezed and the Government still had to pay striking workers
• Therefore they resorted to printing money, something which they had been doing to pay off debt since World war 1, bringing down the value of the mark even more and bringing Germany into a period of hyperinflation

Question 13

What were the effects of hyperinflation?

Answer 13

• People on fixed income, or people who had savings found their money practically worthless, bringing many people into poverty, which was exacerbated by how prices for basic necessities were very high
• While people on normal wages saw their wages rising with prices, prices usually rose faster than wages
• However, some people benefitted such as those in debt, or those who owned properties as their holdings were fairly safe
• That being said, it was a disaster for Germany and many people, including the middle-class who were now in poverty blamed the Weimar Government for their problems and it was clear that they needed to do something to prevent being overthrown

Question 14

Under what Government did Gustav Stresemann (chancellor) see the recovery of Germany from 1924-1929?

Answer 14

The Great Coalition government, which was a coalition of the Weimar Government which four parties agreed to form when Germany was in crisis (hyperinflation etc.)

Question 15

Which currency(s) were introduced by Gustav Stresemann to replace the German mark, why and what were the effects?

Answer 15

• Since the mark was worthless, the temporary Rentenmark was introduced in 1923 and controlled tightly, with Stresemann promising to exchange the notes for land or industry if the currency failed
• Then in 1924, the permanent Reichsmark was created, controlled by the Reichsbank, which could be relied on, giving people hope and allowing the economy to grow stronger
• It also gave other countries faith that investing in the country would be worthwhile

Question 16

Why did the USA, Britain and France agree to the Dawes Plan?

Answer 16

• If the German economy improved, they would be able to pay off their reparations
• This would provide Britain and France with the money needed to repay the USA for their war loans
• Germany would also be a valuable trading partner
• The USA was in an economically srong position so could afford to pay the loans

Question 17

What were the terms negotiated of the Dawes Plan (1924)?

Answer 17

• The USA gave huge loans to Germany
• Reparation payments were lowered for the first 5 years to allow Germany to recover, after which they would be increased
• The French agreed to withdraw all troops from the Ruhr

Question 18

What were the terms negotiated of The Young plan (1929)?

Despite the Dawes plan and ongoing US loans, the German economy was still struggling so this was signed by Stresemann to continue its recovery

Answer 18

• The total reparations payments were reduced even more
• They were to be paid annually over the course of 59 years, with Germany only having to pay a third of its annual sum each year
• France agreed to leave the Rhineland which they were occupying

Question 19

What were the social and political effects/responses in Germany to the Dawes and Young plans?

Answer 19

• Although most supported the economic recovery, there was a sentiment that signing these plans was a form of accepting the war guilt and also becoming reliant on the USA
• People also resented the Weimar Government for even continuing to pay reparations of the hated Treaty of Versailles at all

Question 20

What were the economic effects of the Dawes and Young plans in Germany?

Answer 20

• Investment from the US and other countries allowed German industry to recover rapidly, helped by the lowered reparations
• Wages rose, standard of living improved and unemployment was reduced
• The Government was able to build new infrastructure such as roads, schools etc. and grant people unemployment benefits
• However, since it was reliant on US loans, it was vulnerable to a downturn in the world economy and was never strong
• Therefore the Young Plan came to very little as soon after the US economy crashed in 1929 and they had to recall loans, so did the German economy and reparations were suspended - when Hitler came into power, he had no intention of paying reparations

Question 21

What were the terms signed in the Lorcano Pact (1925)?

• The Lorcano Pact was a collection of treaties signed by multiple countries to help avoid conflict
• Stresemann signed it as he wanted to improve foreign relations

Answer 21

• Germany would accept all of its new western borders, including Alsace-Lorraine and it was agreed that no military force would be used in disputes
• All of its Eastern borders would be settled through peaceful means via the League of Nations

Question 22

What were the social and political effects/responses in Germany to the Lorcano Pact?

Answer 22

• It did improve relations and established Germany as more of an equal amongst European powers
• However some people, especially nationalist parties, hated that Germany was accepting the terms of the Treaty of Versailles and felt like Stresemann was submitting to other countries

Question 23

What were the effects of Germany joining the League of Nations (1926)?

• The League of Nations was formed after WW1 to encourage diplomacy and prevent conflict - the idea came from Woodrow Wilson but the USA never ended up joining
• Germany was made a permanent council member, not just a member

Answer 23

• Relations were improved with foreign powers and it truly established Germany as a legitimate country again who could have a say in decisions made within the League of Nations, which is something many in Germany, especially moderate parties, approved of
• However, as per usual, many nationalist parties saw the League of Nations as a symbol of the Treaty of Versailles (as it was formed around the Treaty of Versailles in 1920) and resented their joining

Question 24

What was the Kellogg-Briand Pact (1928)?

Answer 24

• A treaty signed by 62 countries which was aimed at preventing a future war
• It promised that countries would not use military force to settle disagreements

Question 25

What were the social and political effects/responses in Germany of the Kellog-Briand Pact?

Answer 25

• It was clear that Germany was now an established, stable nation as it was included in negotiations,
• Since the Great Coalition was formed of moderate parties, it gave more hope that moderate parties could make Germany strong again
• However, as was expected, many people did not approve of Germany submitting to other countries pacts, as well as how it did nothing to end the Treaty of Versailles