germany- Germany and the growth of democracy Flashcards
1
Q
who ruled Germany in 1888
A
29 year old Wilhelm
2
Q
who was kaiser wilhelm
A
the grandson of the British queen victoria
3
Q
what did kaiser Wilhelm II want?
A
to make germanys empire as powerful as britains
4
Q
what of kaiser wilhelms ii desires came true by 1913
A
Germany were producing more iron and steel and as much coal as britain
5
Q
who were the most powerful in Germany during kaiser wilhelms reign
A
the landowners, business and factory owners who became very rich due to the new German industry as well as noble army officers. these people had as much influence as the kaiser
6
Q
why were workers upset in in 1913
A
because the workers in the new factories, mines and workshops were not being payed much, working conditions were poor as well as food was becoming very expensive
7
Q
why did more and more working class join the trade unions
A
because they organised strikes in hope that this might force the kaiser, his advisors, politicians and the reichstag to try and improve their working conditions
8
Q
spd
A
social democratic party
9
Q
who began voting for the spd
A
workers
10
Q
what did the Spd believe in
A
socialism- the idea that power and wealth should be shared equally among the people
11
Q
what did the Spd hope
A
that the kaiser might share some of his power and allow the reichstag to make more social reforms or laws to improve workers rights and conditions.
12
Q
how many germans were voting for the Spd in 1913
A
1 in 3
13
Q
weltpolitik
A
world policy
14
Q
what did the kaiser decide for Germany in terms of weltpolitik
A
that Germany should have a big empire like Britain and France did. he wanted to transform Germany into a global power with control over countries in different parts of the world
15
Q
what did Germany big to do in the late 1800s
A
take over nations- most notably africa
16
Q
when were the navel laws introduced
A
between 1898 and 1912
17
Q
what did the naval laws achieve
A
they saw the German navy rapidly increase in size
18
Q
why were Germany in debt around 1898 to 1912
A
because taxes were raised and money was borrowed to increase the size of the German navy and army
19
Q
when did ww1 begin
A
august 1914
20
Q
why did people soon start to suffer in Germany during ww1
A
because the British used large navy ships to stop supply ships getting to Germany. as a result there was terrible shortages of food, medicines and clothing
21
Q
why was Germany close to attack in 1918
A
because the German public were surviving on bread and turnips as well as a deadly flu epidemic was killing thousands
22
Q
what did general Ludendorff advise
A
that the kaiser should make Germany more democratic as the allies may treat them more fairly if he shared out some of his power
23
Q
what happened on the 28th October 1918
A
the German navy was ordered to attack the British ships. the sailors refused and went on strike
24
Q
when was the sailors strike
A
28th October 1918
25
what did the sailors strike do
news of the sailors mutiny began to spread and in more ports other sailors began to go on strike
26
what happened to the sailors who went on strike
soldiers were sent to deal with the protests ended up joining the sailors and the workers
27
what did the kaiser do after the chaos the country was in after the sailors strike
on the 9th of November 1918 he abdicated and secretly left germany
28
what happened on the 9th of November 1918
the kaiser abdicated and left germany
29
who took over Germany for a temporary basis at the end of the war
Friedrich Ebert, the leader of the SPD which was germanys biggest political party at the time
30
what happened on the 11th November 1918
germany surrendered and the war was over
31
impact of war on Germany by 1918- Germany was virtually bankrupt
- germany had borrowed money from people and needed to pay it back
- germany had leant money to the allies: would they ever get this back?
- the war left over 600,000 war widows and 2 million children with no father, war pensions would cost a fortune
- German factories were exhausted and had been providing military equipment not goods to sell abroad to make money
32
impact of war on Germany- the war divided German society even further
- factories made a fortune whilst workers were on a wage restriction and were very very poor
- women had been working in factories and some people thought that this damaged family values
33
impact of war- Germany was even more politically unstable
- pre war germany was a rich stable nation but now there was mutiny and revolution
- many ex soldiers felt that Germany could of won the war and felt betrayed that the government had ended it (November criminals)
34
what did Ebert do in Germany in 1918
first he signed the armistice, then he ordered improvements to the working conditions, help for the unemployed, improved housing and more food supplies. he then guaranteed freedom of speech, freedom of religion and arranged elections for the new German parliament. he then declared that Germany would be a democratic republic from now on- no more kaisers
35
when was the spartacist revolt
6th January 1919
36
what happened on the 6th of January 1919
the spartacists tried to take over Berlin. thousands of them roamed round Berlin, firing guns and trying too take over important buildings
37
how did Ebert respond to the spartacist revolt
he sent a group of 2000 ex soldiers known as the free corps to attack the sparticists
38
what happened between the spartacists and freecorps
after three days of brutal fights the free corps recaptured the buildings and arrested rosa Luxembourg and Karl and liebkneckt, the spartacist leaders. after beating them savagely, the free corps murdered them and the spartacist revolt was over
39
when did Ebert hold the election
late January 1919
40
who won the election in January 1919
the SPD and energy became the new German president. because of all the recent violence on the 11th February 1919 in another German town called Weimar Ebert met all the newly elected politcians and they decided how to run Germany. this was the start of the weimar republic
41
who were the Spartacus league
they were a left wing, communist party who believed- everyone is equal, no private property and the government runs farms and businesses for the benefit of all people, there is little need for money or laws because everyone lives a simple life and shares all they have
42
who were the free corps
ex soldiers who had recently come home from war
43
what did the free corps think of the spartacists
they hated them (and communists i general) because they blamed them for stirring up trouble in Germany near the end of the war and they believed this trouble was a big reason for germanys defeat in the war
44
the constitution of the weimar republic
the president>the chancellor>the reichstag>the German people
45
was the new weimar constitution fair?
yes it was very fair. all germans had equal right to vote even all women over the age of 20 could. this was very forward thinking was even only women over 28 could vote in Britain
46
weaknesses of the weimar constitution
- proportional representation meant that lots of different political parties were able to win seats in the reichstag so sometimes there were over 20 different political parties all arguing over one single issue. this made it very difficult to make decisions and between 1919 and 1933 no political party ever won more than half the votes in any election so there was no party with 50% of seats. with no majority it meant that the leading parties had to deal with smaller groups to get anything done which made law making very very slow.
- many groups didn't like the new way of government and older people and higher class people longed for the old ways of doing stuff where the kaiser ruled. the new government was also linked to the end of ww1 and the 'November criminals' and people didnt like how the country was changing.
47
the president
elected every 7 years, controlled army navy and Air Force, stayed out of day to day running of the country however in crisis could enforce article 48
48
article 48 in the weimar government
the president could rule on his own without getting the support of the reichstag by issuing several special emergency laws
49
the chancellor
chosen by president (usually from the political party with the most votes), responsible for day to day work such as law and order taxes school and health, must have the support of at least half of the maps in the reichstag to introduce new laws
50
the reichstag
discussed and introduced laws, members of the reichstag were elected every four years, voting system used was called proportional representation
51
the German people (the electorate)
all men and women over the age of 20 could vote, they elected the president and the politicians in the reichstag, the constitution guaranteed them basic freedoms, such as free speech
52
German reaction to the treaty of versailles
germans hated the treaty for many reasons. they felt it was too harsh, the treaty took away large areas of land which took away people, farmland, farms and mines. they had to pay huge amounts of money to the winners too and they felt humiliated and angry at the way they were being treated but there was nothing they could do and their country was in no place to start another war. the germans also felt the treaty was forced on them as it had been a diktat. many germans also felt they had not truly lost the war but actually the politicians had betrayed the country and especially the army.
53
first reparation payment-
the German government scraped together the first yearly payment and gave it to France and Belgium who had been most affected by the war. some of the payment was in gold but most was in coal, iron and wood.
54
reparations
in 1921 the price was set at 132 billion marks or £6.6 billion which was to be payed in yearly instalments over the next 66 years
55
what happened in the Ruhr in 1923
the germans failed to pay the reparations at the end of 1922 as they couldn't afford it but France and Belgium didn't believe them and decided to get what they were owed by force. in January 1923 60,000 French and Belgium soldiers marched into the Ruhr, a rich industrial area of Germany. they took control of every factory, mine and railway in the region and also took food and goods from the shops and arrested any germans who objected
56
how did hyperinflation happen?
1) French and Belgium soldiers began two take what was owed from Germany to france
2) the German government ordered the workers to go on strike and not help any soldiers take anything (this was called passive resistance)
3) the soldiers were tough on the strikers and 100 of them were killed and 15,000 people were thrown from their homes
4) the German government met to discus the crisis and said they would keep paying the workers which just made things worse because nothing was being produced in the Ruhr to sell to other nations so Germany was running short on money
5) to pay the workers Germany began printing large amounts of money
6) the striking workers began spending g their money quickly so shop keepers started putting up their prices
7) as the prices went up the more money was printed but the more money there was the more the prices went up
8) the faster prices went up the quicker wages went up so soon workers were being payed twice a day and had to carry round their money in wheelbarrows and this wasn't even enough to get a meal
9) peoples life savings became worthless and the German government was heavily blamed
57
what was the consequence of the French invasion of the ruhr
the hyperinflation of 1923
58
money 1923
by 1923 German money was worthless. the government had printed so much it was worthless and so people started using it to light fires, or make paper airplanes and kites to fly
59
consequences of hyperinflation
- people with savings were the biggest losers as some people had saved their whole lives and now it was worthless
- elderly people found that their pensions wouldn't buy them anything they needed anymore
- many small businesses collapsed as normal trade became impossible due to the daily costs
- people who had borrowed money found it very easy to pay of their debts so they were the real winners.
60
kapp Putsch
when a man called Wolfgang kapp gathered around 5000 free corps in march 1920 and tried too take over Berlin. president Ebert and the rest of the government t fled from the country. Kapp didn't have the support of the workers so they all went on strike and after only 100 hours as Germanys newest leader Kapp gave in and fled abroad. Ebert and his government returned to the government
61
assassinations
between 1919 and 1922 there were over 350 political murders in Germany mostly carried out by right wing extremists
62
who were the stormtroopers (SA)
a private army of thugs to beat up anyone who disagreed with hitler
63
what did the SA wear
brown uniform with a swastica armband
64
what did the sa do
they were a group of mostly ex soldiers who would guard hitlers meetings and also disrupt the meetings of other political parties
65
Munich putsch
on November 8th hitler interuppted a meeting in a beer hall in Munich where Gustav von Kahr (head of Bavarian government which is an area of Germany) and shot a bullet into the ceiling and announced that he was taking over Bavaria and then Berlin and then the whole country. he locked Kahr and his companions in a small room and then general Ludendorff a great German war hero walked in and said he supported hitler. around Munich hitlers sa took over government buildings and arrested individuals around munich
66
what happened the morning after the Munich putsch
things did not go to plan. Kahn promised to help him but then went back on his word and contacted the police. when hitler and about 2000 supporters began their march through the Munich streets they were mt by police. after a short gun battle 3 police and 16 nazis lay dead.
67
hitlers trial
hitlers trial for treason lasted 24 days and was a media sensation. hitler used every opportunity to criticise the government and put across his political views. he impressed the judges and Ludendorff was set free and hitler was only given 5 years
68
hitler in prison
hitler wrote a book called Mein Kampf which became a top seller and ended up being released from prison after serving just 9 months
69
hyperinflation- stressemans solution
he stopped the printing of money and replaced it with a temporary new currency called the Rentenmark. this could be exchanged for the old currency and then in 1924 the Rentenmark was replaced with the Reichsmark a stable currency that remained for the next 25 years
70
hyperinflation stressemens solutiuon- success?
yes germans quickly accepted the new currency and hyperinflation ended however people never got their money back and blamed stresseman and his government for this
71
issues at the Ruhr- stressemans solution
he met with the American Vice President and arranged for the usa to lend Germany money (800 million gold marks) and Germany could now begin to pay what they owed and a repayment schedule was agreed which saw Germany re start their reparations payments. this deal was known as the Dawes plan
72
issues in the Ruhr stressemans solution- success?
yes the soldiers left the Ruhr and in 1929 a new agreement called the young plan was agreed which streseman negotiated the reparations down to £1.8 billion and Germany were given longer to pay
73
oversea relationships- stressemans solution
he worked hard to improve germanys relationships with other nations and in 1925 he signed the Locarno pact Wirth Britain France italy and Belgium and they promised to never go to war with each other. in 1926 Germany also joined the league of nations. in 1928 Germany signed the Kellogg-briand pact which all paerticipating countries agreed not to go too war unless to defend themselves
74
oversea relationships stressemans solution- success?
Germany regained its international status and became an important part of the League of Nations, however some right wing supporters said they should of tried to get some of the land they lost in the treaty of versailles back
75
German industries- stresseman solutions
as well as using some of the money from the Dawes plan to pay reparations stresseman used it to buy factories, houses, schools and roads. this meant more jobs and more money
76
German industries stresseman solution- success?
slowly Germany became more prosperous and many germans were better off however many germans worried that they relied on the American loans too much
77
cinema- germanys golden age
Cinema became very popular in Weimar Germany.
Metropolis, directed by Fritz Lang, was the most
technically advanced film of the decade, while German-
born actress Marlene Dietrich became a worldwide star
playing glamorous, strong-willed women.
78
nightlife- germanys golden age
Germany became a centre for new plays, operas
and theatre shows during this time. Kurt Weill's The
Threepenny Opera, adapted by Bertolt Brecht, was a box
office smash; musicians performed vulgar songs, about
politicians, that would have been banned in the Kaiser's
day. Berlin, in particular, was famous for its nightclubs
with live bands that played American jazz music. Some
clubs provided dancers who appeared naked, or put on
transvestite evenings' where men dressed as women
and women dressed as men.
79
literature- germanys golden age
Writing became big business - people had 120
newspapers and magazines to choose from. A German
anti-war novel, All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich
Remarque, sold half a million copies in just three months.
80
art- germanys golden age
Art also flourished. Avant-garde artists such as Otto Dix
and George Grosz believed art should show the reality
of everyday life, in particular the differences in social
classes and society, and should make people think. They
tried to show what Germany was actually like at this time
and often painted in a way that criticised current events.
81
design- germanys golden age
A new group of designers and architects began work at
this time. They were known as the Bauhaus and designed
anything from chairs to coffee pots to office buildings.
They believed in modern, simple and practical designs,
rather than the more elaborate designs of long ago.
82
reactions to the cultural changes during germanys golden age
While some Germans embraced the changes, others
hated them. They wanted art, music, theatre, film
and literature to celebrate the older, traditional values
of Germany. They thought the new nightclubs, shows and paintings were leading Germany into a moral decline.
Berlin was viewed by some as corrupt and sex-obsessed.
The Nazis, for example, openly criticised the nightclubs
and art of this period, and when Hitler finally came to
power in 1933, many Weimar artists and performers
(like Fritz Lang and George Grosz) had to flee Germany.
