Germany- The Weimar Republic and the Treaty of Versailles Flashcards
Why was Germany suffering considerably after WW1?
- food shortages and low domestic production because of the allies naval blockade
- the Kaiser would not agree to stand down, In late October 1918, he ordered naval commanders at Kiel to fight and they mutinied
- there were strikes and protests across Germany and people called for the Kaiser to abdicate
When did the Kaiser abdicate and who took over?
- 9th November 1918, went to live in exile in Holland
- Friedrich Ebert took over on the 10th of November
- armistice signed on the 11th of November
What was the ‘stab in the back’ theory?
-that the politicians that signed the armistice were traitors because they thought Germany was close to victory
What did the Weimar constitution guarantee?
- every German citizen freedom of speech and religion
- all men and women over 20 allowed to vote
Who opposed the Weimar republic?
- senior figures such as army leaders and judges
- many Germans wanted the Kaiser to return
- some people were influenced by the Russian revolution and wanted communism to get rid of the industrialists
Why did some Germans hope the Treaty of Versailles would not be too harsh?
- most Germans believed they had been forced into war and that all countries should take responsibility
- thought the allies would want to give the new government a chance to regain stability
- President of the USA, Woodrow Wilson, thought that harsh terms would lead to desire for revenge
What were the terms of the Treaty of Versailles?
- Alsace and Lorraine were lost to France
- Germany had to accept the blame for war=war guilt
- Germany had to pay reparations of £136,000 million to the Allies
- restricted military force, army limited to 100,000, no air force, submarines or tanks
What was the impact of the Treaty on the German people?
- at first, the government refused to sign the treaty
- the German public strongly resented war guilt as they felt that the responsibility for war should be shared between all the powers involved in conflict angry at the government’s decision to sign the treaty
Who were the ‘November criminals’?
-the politicians who signed the treaty
What were the impacts of the treaty on Germany?
- lost 13% of it’s European territory
- lost 50% of it’s iron reserves
- lost 15% of it’s coal reserves
- lost 11 of it’s colonies
Explain 2 effects on Germany of the treaty of Versailles?
- economic impact on Germany as a result of reparations and land losses
- psychological impact on Germany for accepting war guilt
When and what was the Spartacist uprising?
- 5th January 1919
- organised a revolt in Berlin trying to set up communism
Who led the Spartacist uprising?
- Rosa Luxemburg
- Karl Liebknecht
Who were the Freikorps?
- men who had been demobilised after the war
- they hate communism and were sent to deal with the Spartacist uprising due to a limit of Germany’s army
What was the Kapp Putsch and what did it show?
- the Freikorps marched to Berlin and declared Dr Wolfgang Kapp as their leader
- Kapp was an extreme nationalist
- it showed the government had little military support as they could not do anything about it
What were Germany’s economic problems like in 1918?
- close to bankruptcy due to the cost of WW1
- struggled to meet the reparations payments and asked for them to be reduced
- By late 1922, Germany had failed to pay instalments which led to French retaliation
When and what was the invasion of the Ruhr?
- January 1923
- French and Belgian troops marched into the Ruhr, the centre of Germany’s production of iron, steal and coal
- they decided to take industrial products instead of cash payments
- resulted in the German workers going on strike which led to the French bringing in their own workers
What were the effects of the invasion of the Ruhr?
- government’s reaction brought a temporary popularity as it had resisted France and provided strike pay for the workers
- made the economy even worse, Germany lost income and was forced to print more money for the striking workers
- this led to hyperinflation
What were the causes of hyperinflation?
- from 1919-23, the income of the government was a quarter of what it needed = resulted in printing more bank notes
- by 1923, the government had 300 paper mills and 200 printing shops
- they printed more money to cover the cost of the war and to pay the reparations of the treaty of Versailles
How much had the cost to buy a loaf of bread risen to from December 1918 to November 1923?
-0.54 marks to 201,000,000,000 billion marks
Explain 2 effects of hyperinflation.
-forced many Germans into poverty, many people who had fixed incomes were affected badly as their income became worthless. The value of people’s insurance policies were wiped out and financially secure people found themselves struggling
-some people benefited e.g people with loans and mortgage’s could pay them off quicker. Some businesses could pay off their business loans quickly
People who owned land or buildings were protected as the value rose in line with the inflation
Farmers benefited as their food rose up in price
What was the result of small extremist parties winning seats in the Reichstag?
- wanted the government to be run like the Kaiser
- led to an unstable government as no individual party had a majority and parties had to form a coalition
What was the problem of coalitions breaking down?
- government no longer had the majority in the Reichstag
- as a result, there were a series of short-term governments that failed to address Germany’s problems
Why was there a weakness in proportional representation in Germany?
- requires co-operation and compromise
- Germany had no experience running a political system this way
Why did the treaty of Versailles weaken the Weimar republic?
- government did not have enough money to allow Germany to recover therefore seen as a weak government
- Germany lost colonies and income-generating areas and could get them pay due to limited army and lack of money, shows they were economically weak
- reparations did not allow money to be spend on other things such as roads, schools etc
2 effects of Treaty of Versailles.
- Psychological effect on German people
- economic impact
How did the treaty of Versailles have a psychological impact on the German people?
- angered many Germans as they thought they had a chance to win the war
- political + national demoralisation
- people felt Germany was a strong and proud nation and that the allies were trying to weaken them
- Germany forced to accept the blame
