germany pre hitler Flashcards
what are the 3 reich of Germany?
1st reich = Holy Roman Empire
2nd reich = Prussian unification
3rd reich = nazis
who were the junkers
the ruling class who were rich aristocratic landowners
when was the franco-prussian war
1870
what is the bundesrat
local government body - each state sent representatives to consult with the Kaiser over laws
what is the reichstag
German parliament with powers over taxation and voted on the Kaiser’s laws
who was the first Kaiser of Germany
Wilhelm I
who was the son of Wilhelm I
fritz
who was Wilhelm I’s grandson
Wilhelm II
who became the chancellor of Prussia in 1862
Otto von Bismarck
what happened at Wilhelm’s birth
he was a breech birth and stuck, his left arm was left disabled
how long did fritz rule as kaiser and how did he die
he only ruled for 99 days and died of cancer
when did Wilhelm II become kaiser
1888 (age 29)
who did Wilhelm sack in 1890 and what were the consequence of it
he sacked von Bismarck which damaged alliances with russia
russia became allies with France meaning Germany had to turn to the brits
what is a trade union
group of workers join unions which protect workers rights and hold the government to account
what is the SPD
the Social Democratic Party - a party in the reichstag that called for democratic reform
what is weltpolitik
an aggressive German foreign policy meaning ‘world policy’
what is a ‘place in the sun’?
German policy of building overseas colonies
when was Germany unified and where did the ceremony happen
germany was unified in 1871 in the hall of mirrors in the palace of versailles
what was the naval race
a competition between Germany and England to build the most ships
what territory did France lose in the franco-prussian war
alsace lorraine
how did Wilhelm develop Germany’s economy
wilhelm pushed the rapid industrialisation of Germany and by 1913 it had one of the strongest economies in Europe
how did Wilhelm deal with socialism and trade unions
he introduced some social reforms and laws to improve worker’s rights only to undermine support for socialism
who was Wilhelm’s foreign minister
Von Bulow
what were German battleships called
dreadnoughts
when were the naval laws passed
1898 and 1912
who advised Wilhelm to pass the naval laws
Admiral Von Tirpitz
who’s assassination led to world war 1 breaking out
Archduke Franz-Ferdinand (heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne)
when did WW1 break out
28 July 1914
what is the Schieffen Plan
Germany attack France through neutral Belgium to avoid fighting on two fronts but this plan backfires
what is the battle of Jutland
naval battle between Germany and England which Germany loses
why did the USA get involved in the war
German u-boats were sinking US ships while trying to starve Britain
when was the Kiel mutiny
28 October 1918
what was the Kiel mutiny
sailors refusing to follow orders and fight
when did the kaiser abdicate
9 November 1918
who becomes the leader of Germany after the kaiser abdicates
Friedrich Ebert, the leader of the SPD
when does Germany surrender and sign an armistice
11 November 1918
what changes to the government were made after the kaiser abdicates
fair and free elections will be held in the reichstag which will form the new government (all men and women over the age of 20 could vote)
what were germanys problems after the war (name 5)
- rapid industrialisation
leads to a lack of agricultural and therefore a shortage of food - pre-war economy
money that was spent on the naval race and weltpolitik meaning Germany was in dept and bankrupt - post-war economy
the war cost a lot of money and reparations need to be paid - foreign affairs
poor relationship with the most powerful countries - political affairs
rise in socialism and trade unions led to opposition to the autocratic reign under the kaiser
what was the social state of Germany like after the war
- 600,000 widows
- 2 million children without fathers
- most people were living on less than 1000 calories
- killer strain of the flu killing nearly 500,000 German citizens
what was the political state of Germany like after the war
communism growing in popularity
many ex soldiers felt betrayed
true democracy was a new idea and people were struggling to adjust
stab in the back myth
what was the economic state of Germany like after the war
loans to pay back to America
industry was exhausted
national income was 1/3 of what is was in 1913
industrial production was about 2/3 of what it was in 1913
how often was a president elected in the Weimar Republic
every 7 years
what was the role of the chancellor
the chancellor was someone chosen by the president, normally the leader of the biggest party in the reichstag, who would run the country on a day to day basis
how often was the parliament elected and by who
the parliament would be elected by the people of Germany every 4 years
name 4 different features of the constitution
- equal rights to vote
- proportional representation
- strong presidential powers
- article 48
why was proportional representation a possible weakness
there were too many different parties and because 51% of votes was required to pass laws it took too long to make decisions leading to very regular elections
also panders to extremist parties
what is article 48
part of the constitution that stated that in the case of urgent action being necessary in an emergency, the president could bypass the chancellor and reichstag to make laws directly
what is proportional representation
where the number of MPs a political party has in the reichstag directly reflects the % of voters they get
why was article 48 a possible weakness
it is a backdoor to dictatorship as it gives the president too much power
what extremist parties were in the reichstag
the KPD (communist party) and the Nazis (the national socialist german worker’s party)
name some of the more central groups in the reichstag
SPD (social democratic party)
TCP (zentrum)
DVP (the peoples party)
DNVP (the national peoples party)
when was the spartacist uprising
6th January 1919
who led the spartacist uprising
communists Rosa Luxemburg and Karl Liebknecht
what were the causes of the spartacist uprising
the communists weren’t happy with the current government and wanted a revolution, they also wanted to replace the reichstag with a workers council
what happened during the spartacist uprising
- 100,000 protestors went on strike and demonstrated in the streets of Berlin
- newspaper and communication buildings were seized
- many protesters went back home frustrated at the lack of planning
- freikorps were employed to put an end to the uprising
- over a 100 workers were killed
what happened after the spartacist uprising
Rosa Luxembourg and Karl Leibknecht were both brutally murdered and communists begin to develop a hatred towards the social democrats
when was the kapp putsch
march 1920
who led the kapp putsch
Wolfgang Kapp
who are the freikorps
ex-soliders who couldn’t be in the army anymore because of the ToV
what caused the kapp putsch
right-wing soldiers and nationalists were furious over the terms of the ToV and were also unhappy with the new government
what happened during the kapp putsch
- 5000 freikorps sieze Berlin
- the regular army refuses to attack the kapp putsch
- is ended by a communist workers strike
what happened after the kapp putsch
- kapp flees to exile in Sweden
- the communists continue their strike known as the ‘red rising’ but it is then crushed by the freikorps
how else did other germans oppose the WR
- assassinations between 1919-1922, over 350 political murders like Matthias Erzberger and Walter Rathenau
- chemical attacks being throw on Philip Scheidemann (chancellor)
who were the big 3
USA, Britain and France
who were the leaders of the big 3 countries
David Lloyd George
Georges Clemenceau
Woodrow Wilson
when was the treaty of versailles signed
28th June 1919
where was the treaty of versailles signed
hall of mirrors in the palace of versailles
what were the terms of the treaty of versailles
T - territory lost
10% land lost like Alsace Lorraine which they won before WW1
6.7 million population lost
1.5 million Germans now live in majority jewish Poland
R - reparations
132 billion gold marks or £6.6 billion but this was later reduced
forced to pay for all the damages
A - army restrictions only 100,000 allowed in the army 6 battleships no submarines no airforce navy limited to 15,000 rhineland has foreign armies on it
W - war guilt clause
article 231 blames Germany for the war and the aftermath
L - League of Nations
Germany wasn’t allowed in the LoN
how did Germany react to the ToV
- everyone was angry over the harsh terms even the politicians that signed it
- was called a ‘diktat’ meaning dictated peace
- most germans believed that they didn’t really lose
why did the French and Belgium invade the Ruhr
Germany wasn’t able to pay their reparations that year (1923)
what happened during the invasion of the Ruhr
60,000 soldiers invade the region and because germanys army was restricted they didn’t have the means to fight back, they then took control of every factory, mine and railway
how did the germans fight against the invasion of the Ruhr
Ebert orders a strike and passive resistance which works but the French become violent and 132 are killed + 15000 evicted from their homes
how does the German government help the workers in the Ruhr
they print more money to pay the workers despite not producing anything
what are the consequences of the German government printing more money
the prices of things start to go up quickly and the value of the German mark decreases
in November 1923, what was the price of a loaf of bread
201 billion
who is Gustav Stresemann and how does he temporarily solve the hyperinflation problem
he was the newly appointed chancellor and foreign minister in 1923 and he decides to burn all the old money and introduce a new currency called the rentenmark
when was the munich putsch
November 9th 1923
what was the munich putsch
a violent attempt by the Nazis, led by Hitler, to overthrow the Weimar Republic
what were the causes of the munich putsch
- hyperinflation
- south Germany was more right wing
- humiliating terms of TofV
- invasion of the Ruhr
- November criminals
describe the events of the munich putsch
- Hitler invaded the beer hall that Kahr was giving a speech in
- threatened Kahr to support him
- Ludendorff arrived in support of Hitler
- Hitler and Ludendorff led 2000 Nazis to the city centre however Kahr had betrayed them and the German army was waiting for them
- 3 policemen and 16 Nazis died
what happened to hitler after the munich putsch
he was arrested and sent to 5 years in prison at Landsberg however only served 9 months
what did hitler do while at Landsberg
he wrote his best selling book ‘Mein Kampf’
what were the negative outcomes/consequences of the munich putsch
- doesn’t achieve its aims
- hitler was imprisoned
- leadership of the Nazi party was in chaos
- hitler was banned from public speaking until 1927
what were the positive outcomes of the munich putsch
- the trial gave hitler a national platform
- hitler write ‘Mein Kampf’
- media coverage
- nazis learn that they can’t seize power so they must win it
