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History textbook cards > Germany - Kaiser Wilhelm II and the difficulties of ruling Germany > Flashcards

Germany - Kaiser Wilhelm II and the difficulties of ruling Germany Flashcards

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1
Q

What is militarism

A

The belief that a country should have strong armed forces and the German Kaiser was its supreme commander

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2
Q

What was the role of the Kaiser

A

To rule over all the states in Germany

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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

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4
Q

Who was the Kaiser supported by

A

Advisers or ministers

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5
Q

What was the chief minister called

A

Chancellor

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6
Q

What was the parliament called

A

The Reichstag

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7
Q

Who elected for the Reichstag

A

All men over 25

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8
Q

What did the Reichstag do

A

They discussed and voted on the laws that the Kaiser and his ministers drew up

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9
Q

What did the Bundesrat do

A

Discussed and voted on the laws drawn up by the Kaiser and his ministers

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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

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11
Q

When did Wilhelm become Kaiser

A

In 1888

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12
Q

How old was Wilhelm when he became Kaiser

A

29

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13
Q

Who’s grandson and cousin was Kaiser Wilhelm

A

Queen Victoria and the cousin of George V

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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

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15
Q

What was Germany producing more of

A

Iron, steel (more than Britain) and coal (same as Britain)

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16
Q

In what year was Germany producing as much coal as Britain

A

1913

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17
Q

In what industries were German countries dominating Europe

A

electrical goods and chemicals

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18
Q

why were factory owners and business owners happy

A

they were getting rich

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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

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20
Q

What did the working class people join

A

Trade Unions

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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

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22
Q

What party did many ordinary workers vote for

A

The SPD

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23
Q

What does SPD stand for

A

The Social Democratic Party

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24
Q

What did the SPD believe in

A

Socialism

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25
Q

What is socialism

A

The idea that power and wealth should be shared equally among the people

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26
Q

What did the Social Democrats hope for

A

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

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27
Q

How many Germans voted for the SPD at that time

A

one in three

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28
Q

What was the more extreme view of some of the socialists

A

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

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29
Q

What are some examples of the larger European countries that had extensive overseas empires

A

France, Britain and Portugal

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30
Q

What was the idea known as Weltpoltlik

A

Transforming Germany into a global power with control over countries in different parts of the world

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31
Q

Why did the Kaiser want a large navy of powerful battleships

A

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.

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32
Q

When were the series of Naval Laws introduced

A

Between 1898 and 1912

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33
Q

What did the Naval Laws

A

They saw the German Navy rapidly increase in size, and huge sums of money were spent to achieve thsi

34
Q

What did the Kaiser do to the army

A

Expanded it in size

35
Q

What did the Kaiser do with taxes

A

He raised taxes and money was borrowed to pay for this - and Germany would remain in debt for a very long time

36
Q

what was potentially a major problem in 1913 for the government

A

the rise in popularity in socialism

37
Q

what were the affects of the first world war on Germany

A

-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
Q

why did the Kaiser abdicate

A

kaiser wilhelm and his ministers had lost control of germany - eg starvation

39
Q

when did the kaiser abdicate

A

November 1918

40
Q

when did ebert set up a new german republic

A

10th november 1918

41
Q

who set up a new German republic

A

Frederich Ebert

42
Q

when was the armistice for the first world war signed

A

11th November 1918

43
Q

who signed the armistice

A

Frederich Ebert

44
Q

when was the weimar constitution drawn up

A

January 1919

45
Q

what points did the weimar constitution outline

A
  • 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
Q

when was the Weimar constitution completed

A

August 1919

47
Q

what was the president

A

voted for every 7 years by the electorate
– appoints the chancellor

48
Q

what was article 48

A

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
Q

who was the chancellor

A

chosen by the President. has to have the support of the majority (over 51%) of the politicians in the Reichstag

50
Q

what was the Reichstag

A

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
Q

who was the electorate

A

all german adults could vote - elections for the reichstag took place every four years

52
Q

what were the strengths of the Weimar constitution

A
  • 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
Q

what were the weaknesses of the Weimar Constitution

A
  • 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
Q

what was the Weimar Republic always linked to and why

A

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
Q

when was the armistice signed

A

11th November 1918

56
Q

when was the treaty of Versailles signed

A

28th June 1919

57
Q

who signed the armistice

A

Matthias Erzberger

58
Q

what did many germans see the treaty of versailles as

A

a diktat

59
Q

what is a dkitat

A

enforced peace

60
Q

why did the germans think the treaty of versailles was a diktat

A

the germans were not invited to the peace negotiations and therefore they felt they had been treated unfairly

61
Q

what is dolchstoss

A

stab in the back

62
Q

why did the germans see the treaty as a dolchstoss

A

they did not believe their army had been defeated in the war. the army felt they could have carried on fighting

63
Q

what was the weimar republic linked to from the outset

A

defeat, humiliation and weakness

64
Q

what did the treaty of versailles do to Germany’s economy and political status

A

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
Q

what did extreme right-wing groups want

A

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
Q

what was the main right-wing party in 1919

A

the national party - DNVP

67
Q

what did extreme left-wing groups want

A

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
Q

what was the main left-wing party in 1919

A

the german communist party - KPD

69
Q

what happened to the centre parties in the 1920’s

A

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
Q

who took over power once the Kaiser had gone

A

the social democrats - lead by Ebert

71
Q

describe the Social Democrats

A

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
Q

describe the Spartacists

A

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
Q

describe the Freikorps

A

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
Q

when was the spartacist rising

A

january 1919

75
Q

describe the spartacist uprising

A

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
Q

why was the spartacist uprising a threat to the WR

A

they had a different belief to the WR

77
Q

how did the giv handle the spartacist rising

A

Ebert sent 2000 tough ex-soldiers (Freikorps) to attack the Spatacists

78
Q

when was Kapp Putsch

A

March 1920

79
Q

describe Kapp Putsch

A

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
Q

how did the gov handle Kapp Putsch

A

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
Q

what were some of the assassinations

A

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

82
Q
A

History textbook cards (2 decks)

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