Germany - Kaiser Wilhelm II and the difficulties of ruling Germany Flashcards
1
Q
What is militarism
A
The belief that a country should have strong armed forces and the German Kaiser was its supreme commander
2
Q
What was the role of the Kaiser
A
To rule over all the states in Germany
3
Q
What did each state send representatives to consult with the Kaiser over
A
These representatives, who were collectively known as the Bundesrat were sent to consult with the Kaiser over new laws
4
Q
Who was the Kaiser supported by
A
Advisers or ministers
5
Q
What was the chief minister called
A
Chancellor
6
Q
What was the parliament called
A
The Reichstag
7
Q
Who elected for the Reichstag
A
All men over 25
8
Q
What did the Reichstag do
A
They discussed and voted on the laws that the Kaiser and his ministers drew up
9
Q
What did the Bundesrat do
A
Discussed and voted on the laws drawn up by the Kaiser and his ministers
10
Q
What was one of the problems faced by the Kaiser’s government
A
The Kaiser could choose to ignore their advice and make all the decisions he wanted to on his own + he also made all the decisions that related to the army, navy and other foreign countries
11
Q
When did Wilhelm become Kaiser
A
In 1888
12
Q
How old was Wilhelm when he became Kaiser
A
29
13
Q
Who’s grandson and cousin was Kaiser Wilhelm
A
Queen Victoria and the cousin of George V
14
Q
What is industrialisation
A
The process by which a country transforms from a mainly agricultural society to one based on manufacturing and factories
15
Q
What was Germany producing more of
A
Iron, steel (more than Britain) and coal (same as Britain)
16
Q
In what year was Germany producing as much coal as Britain
A
1913
17
Q
In what industries were German countries dominating Europe
A
electrical goods and chemicals
18
Q
why were factory owners and business owners happy
A
they were getting rich
19
Q
Why were many workers in the new factories, mines and workshops unhappy
A
Their wages were low, working conditions were poor, and food was expensive
20
Q
What did the working class people join
A
Trade Unions
21
Q
Why did the working class people/ trade unions organise strikes
A
They did this in the hope that this might force the Kaiser, his advisers and the politicians in the Reichstag to try to improve their conditions
22
Q
What party did many ordinary workers vote for
A
The SPD
23
Q
What does SPD stand for
A
The Social Democratic Party
24
Q
What did the SPD believe in
A
Socialism
25
What is socialism
The idea that power and wealth should be shared equally among the people
26
What did the Social Democrats hope for
They hoped that the Kaiser might share some of his power, and allow the Reichstag to make more social reforms or laws to improve workers' roghts and conditions
27
How many Germans voted for the SPD at that time
one in three
28
What was the more extreme view of some of the socialists
They wanted to rebel against the Kaiser's rule, start a revolution, take over the country, and allow cities and towns to be governed by councils of workers
29
What are some examples of the larger European countries that had extensive overseas empires
France, Britain and Portugal
30
What was the idea known as Weltpoltlik
Transforming Germany into a global power with control over countries in different parts of the world
31
Why did the Kaiser want a large navy of powerful battleships
He thought it would help Germany take over more countries and protect the countries already in the German Empire. He was a very militaristic man who wanted the German navy to rival Britain's vast navy.
32
When were the series of Naval Laws introduced
Between 1898 and 1912
33
What did the Naval Laws
They saw the German Navy rapidly increase in size, and huge sums of money were spent to achieve thsi
34
What did the Kaiser do to the army
Expanded it in size
35
What did the Kaiser do with taxes
He raised taxes and money was borrowed to pay for this - and Germany would remain in debt for a very long time
36
what was potentially a major problem in 1913 for the government
the rise in popularity in socialism
37
what were the affects of the first world war on Germany
-11 million Germans had fought in the war -- 2 million German troops had died, over 4 million were wounded
-Germany's debts trebled between 1914 and 1918 from 50 billion marks to 150 billion marks
- 750,000 Germans died because of food shortages during the first world war
38
why did the Kaiser abdicate
kaiser wilhelm and his ministers had lost control of germany - eg starvation
39
when did the kaiser abdicate
November 1918
40
when did ebert set up a new german republic
10th november 1918
41
who set up a new German republic
Frederich Ebert
42
when was the armistice for the first world war signed
11th November 1918
43
who signed the armistice
Frederich Ebert
44
when was the weimar constitution drawn up
January 1919
45
what points did the weimar constitution outline
- a Bill of Rights guaranteed every German citizen freedom of speech and religion, and equality under law
- all men and women over the age of 20 were given the vote (which was better than Britain where only women over 30 could vote)
- there was an elected president and an elected Reichstag (parliament)
- the Reichstag made the laws and appointed the government, which had to do what the Reichstag wanted
46
when was the Weimar constitution completed
August 1919
47
what was the president
voted for every 7 years by the electorate
-- appoints the chancellor
48
what was article 48
a rule which said that in a national emergency the President could make any law he wanted without having to go through the Reichstag
49
who was the chancellor
chosen by the President. has to have the support of the majority (over 51%) of the politicians in the Reichstag
50
what was the Reichstag
the German parliament. it makes laws. the deputies (MPs) are voted for by the German electorate. proportional representation is used which means that parties get the same % of seats as their % of the national vote
51
who was the electorate
all german adults could vote - elections for the reichstag took place every four years
52
what were the strengths of the Weimar constitution
- established the most advanced democracy in Europe
- the president was elected every 7 years and had the power to appoint the chancellor
- the Reichstag (parliament) had the power to pass or reject changes in the law. members of the Reichstag were elected by proportional representation every four years (good correlation between votes cast and seats won)
- established the right of free speech and freedom of religious belief
- clear system of checks and balances - not one person or group could have too much power
53
what were the weaknesses of the Weimar Constitution
- Article 48 said that in an emergency the President could make laws without going to the Reichstag. This gave the President too much power. By 1930, the Chancellor regularly relied upon the president to pass laws
- proportional representation often led to many small parties gaining seats,including extremist groups like the Nazis. No one party was big enough to form a majority and therefore there were lots of coalition governments that were often weak and short lived
- the army generals and judges were the same men who had served the Kaiser,and many of them did not like the Weimar Republic
- the Weimar Republic was not really the choice of the people - the Republic was created out of violence without real public enthusiasm
54
what was the Weimar Republic always linked to and why
the surrender and harsh peace treaty terms
---- the politicians who set up and ran the Weimar Republic were the same ones who surrendered at the end of the First World War and accepted an unpopular peace treaty
55
when was the armistice signed
11th November 1918
56
when was the treaty of Versailles signed
28th June 1919
57
who signed the armistice
Matthias Erzberger
58
what did many germans see the treaty of versailles as
a diktat
59
what is a dkitat
enforced peace
60
why did the germans think the treaty of versailles was a diktat
the germans were not invited to the peace negotiations and therefore they felt they had been treated unfairly
61
what is dolchstoss
stab in the back
62
why did the germans see the treaty as a dolchstoss
they did not believe their army had been defeated in the war. the army felt they could have carried on fighting
63
what was the weimar republic linked to from the outset
defeat, humiliation and weakness
64
what did the treaty of versailles do to Germany's economy and political status
damaged their economy and imposed heavy reparations so it could not start another war
also politically weak because the treaty was so harsh that people resented the leaders of the new German republic - they became known as the November criminals because they surrendered in November 1918
65
what did extreme right-wing groups want
the return of a strong government with a strong army, headed by a powerful leader like the Kaiser
they supported capitalism - private ownership of land and business - and championed families, law and order and traditional values
66
what was the main right-wing party in 1919
the national party - DNVP
67
what did extreme left-wing groups want
wanted Germany to be controlled by the people
they opposed capitalism and wanted to abolish private ownership of land and businesses, and put them into the hands of the workers
68
what was the main left-wing party in 1919
the german communist party - KPD
69
what happened to the centre parties in the 1920's
the moderate centre parties struggled to form majority coalitions, whilst being constantly attacked in the Reichstag by extremist politicians from left and right wings
70
who took over power once the Kaiser had gone
the social democrats - lead by Ebert
71
describe the Social Democrats
they were the largest party in the Reichstag and so took over power once the Kaiser had gone
after the revolution they wanted to restore law and order and get on with the serious task of running the country
they wanted some social change to make Germany a better place, but wanted to keep the support of the rich - especially industrialists
they were scared of communists
72
describe the Spartacists
the revolution of 1918, which set up the WR was not enough. they wanted a serious revolution that would take place in Russia (1917). if they had their way, the factory workers would run the country
all private property and wealth would be confiscated by the government and shared out amongst the people
73
describe the Freikorps
not a political party but a group of ex-soldiers organised by Ebert to help keep control in Berlin. they looked back to German's 'glory days' before the war
they were proud of germnays achievements and angry that it lost the war
they wanted germnay to be strong and powerful and to have a strong leader
they hated democracy, communists and the allies (Britain, USA, France, Russia)
74
when was the spartacist rising
january 1919
75
describe the spartacist uprising
they believed in communism and wanted germany to be run by small councils not by a large parliament - they captured the government's newspaper and telegraph buildings
76
why was the spartacist uprising a threat to the WR
they had a different belief to the WR
77
how did the giv handle the spartacist rising
Ebert sent 2000 tough ex-soldiers (Freikorps) to attack the Spatacists
78
when was Kapp Putsch
March 1920
79
describe Kapp Putsch
Wolfgang Kapp gathered around 5000 men (Freikorps) made up of manily police and ex-soldiers and took over the capital Berlin. he aimed to take over the country, make the army strong again and then recover the land Germany had lost
80
how did the gov handle Kapp Putsch
president ebert and the rest of the government fled from berlin. kapp did not have the support of the workers who all went on strike meaning no gas, water, electricity or trains - after 100 hours as leader he fled abroad and ebert returned
81
what were some of the assassinations
Hugo Hasse - one of Ebert's Council of Peoples's Representatives - murdered in 1919
Matthias Erzberger - politician who signed the surrender to the allies - was shot and killed in August 1921
Walter Rathenau - was machine gunned to death in Berlin - June 1922
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