germany part one: germany & the growth of democracy Flashcards
chapter 1 not in exam
chapter 2: how did germans feel at the beginning of ww1 (in 1914)?
- war was popular, young patriotic germans thought it’d end quickly
- soon british navy stopped ships getting food into germany, leading to food, medicine & clothing shortages
chapter 2: how did germans feel in the middle of the war? (1915-1916)
- protesters demanded end to war: 1915, 500 women gathered in front of german parliament buildings, said they wanted men back from trenches
- yr later, 10k workers assembled in berlin - war weariness had increased
- on front line, soldiers worn down by bombs, gas & machine gun fire
chapter 2: how did germans feel near the end of the war (1918)?
- germany close to defeat
- flu epidemic killed thousands already weak from poor diet due to food shortages
- october: general Ludendorff stated Germany couldn’t win war, advised Kaiser to make country more democratic so winning Allies would treat germany more fairly
- Kaiser allowed main political parties to form new gov., transferred some of his power to Reichstag. but german people not satisfied, came too late, more demonstrations followed
chapter 2: what happened on 28th october 1918?
- german navy in Kiel mutinied as didn’t want to fight
- mutiny spread
- soldiers sent to deal w protests also joined sailors & workers
- in just 6 days, workers’ & soldiers’ councils were governing towns & cities all over germany
- Kaiser realised he’d lost control, army generals refused to support him
chapter 2: when did the germany navy in Kiel mutiny?
28th october 1918
chapter 2: what happened on 9th november 1918?
- Kaiser abdicated & secretly left germany, never to return
- Friedrich Ebert, leader of germany’s largest political party (the SPD), took over germany temporarily
- he promised to hold elections & ended the war
chapter 2: when did the kaiser abdicate?
9th november 1918
chapter 2: what was the impact of WW1 on germany by 1918? (3 short points)
- germany virtually bankrupt
- war had divided german society further
- germany become more politically unstable
chapter 2: why was germany virtually bankrupt after ww1?
- owed vast sums of money that it’d borrowed to pay for war (like from USA)
- lent some of own money to its allies - might not get it back
- factories exhausted: been producing guns, bullets & shells, not goods to sell abroad & make money
- war left 600k war widows & 2 million children w/o fathers: war pensions would cost gov. a fortune
chapter 2: why had the war divided german society further?
- some factory owners made fortune during war, while german workers had restrictions placed on their wages
- women worked in factories during war, some thought this damaged traditional family values
chapter 2: why had germany become more politically unstable after the war?
- before war, germany was stable, rich nation - now mutiny & revolution
- many ex-soldiers & civilians felt germany could’ve won war, felt betrayed by politicians (‘november criminals’) who’d ended it & refused to support them
chapter 2: what did the spartacists believe in?
- new political idea called communism: wanted germany 2 be run by small councils of soldiers & workers, not large parliament
- spartacus league named after spartacus, roman gladiator who led rebellion of slaves against slave-masters of ancient Rome
chapter 2: what did the spartacists do on 6th jan 1919?
- tried 2 take over berlin (germany’s capital)
- 1000s of them roamed streets, firing guns & trying to take over important buildings
chapter 2: how did Ebert respond to the spartacist revolt?
- violent solution: sent in group of 2000 tough ex-soldiers (Free Corps) to attack them
- after 3 days of brutal street fighting, Free Corps recaptured buildings & arrested leaders (Rosa Luxemburg & Karl Liebknecht)
- after beating them savagely, FC murdered them; revolt now over
