Germany part 1 Flashcards
only chap 2 and chap 3 so far - add chapter 1 later
what caused the german people to suffer during world war one?
- the British used navy ships to stop supply ships reaching German ports
- this caused shortages of food, medicine, and clothing
what were two examples of opposition to the first world war in germany?
- in 1915, 500 women gathered outside of the german parliament building and said they wanted their men back from the trenches
- a year later, 10,000 workers assembled in Berlin to shout ‘down with war, down with the government’ - police assembled quickly and made arrests to calm the situation
how were living condition in germany by 1918?
very poor, germany was close to collapse, people were surviving off of turnips and bread, and there was a deadly flu epidemic that was spreading across the country
what was the opinion of General Ludendorff on their position in the war?
he told the german politicians there was no way they could win the war - he believed the other countries would treat germany more fairly if it became more democratic (so the kaiser would have to share his power with the gov)
who was general ludendorff?
a german army general and war here
did the kaiser share his power?
yes (reluctantly),he allowed the main political parties to form a new gov and transferred some of his power to the reichstag
were the german people happy with how the kaiser shared his power?
not really, the changes came too late to satisfy the german people and more demonstrations happened, and some said he should give up his throne, others wanted to overthrow him in a revolution
what happened on 28th October, 1918?
a german navy ship was ordered out to sea from Keil in Northern Germay to attack british ships, but the sailors refused to do it (mutiny)
what did the mutiny from 28th oct 1918 do?
the news of the mutiny spread and in ports nearby other sailors began to refuse to follow orders, and workers in the town supported them. the soldiers who were sent to stop the protests joined their mutiny, and in just six days, workers’ and soldiers’ councils were governing cities all over the country. the kaiser’s army generals refused to support him
when did the Kaiser abdicate?
9th November 1918
what happened on the 9th of November 1918?
the kaiser abdicated and secretly left the country
who was the leader of the SPD? (in 1918)
Freidrich Ebert
who took the place of the Kaiser?
Freidrich Ebert (temporarily - he promised to hold elections soon)
what were the three main impacts of the war on germany?
- germany was virtually bankrupt
- the war had divided german society further
- Germany had become politically unstable
why was germany virtually bankrupt by the end of the war?
- german factories were exhausted by the war, they had been producing guns, bullets, and shells, not goods to sell abroad to make money
- germany had lent money to some of it’s allies
- germany had borrowed money, and would have to pay it bak eventually
- the war left 600,000 war widows and 2,000,000 children without fathers, war pensions would cost the gov a lot of money
how did the war divide german society further?
- some factory owners made a fortune during the war, while other german workers had restrictions placed on their wages
- women worked in the factories during the war, and some germans believed this damaged trad family values
how did the war make Germany more politically unstable?
- before the war, Germany had been a stable, rich nation but now there was mutiny and revolution
- many ex-soldiers and civilians felt Germany could have won the war, they felt betrayed that their politicians (the nov criminals) who ended it and refused to support them
