Germany- The Weimar Republic and the Treaty of Versailles

Question 1

Why was Germany suffering considerably after WW1?

Answer 1

• 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

Question 2

When did the Kaiser abdicate and who took over?

Answer 2

• 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

Question 3

What was the ‘stab in the back’ theory?

Answer 3

-that the politicians that signed the armistice were traitors because they thought Germany was close to victory

Question 4

What did the Weimar constitution guarantee?

Answer 4

• every German citizen freedom of speech and religion

- all men and women over 20 allowed to vote

Question 5

Who opposed the Weimar republic?

Answer 5

• 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

Question 6

Why did some Germans hope the Treaty of Versailles would not be too harsh?

Answer 6

• 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

Question 7

What were the terms of the Treaty of Versailles?

Answer 7

• 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

Question 8

What was the impact of the Treaty on the German people?

Answer 8

• 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

Question 9

Who were the ‘November criminals’?

Answer 9

-the politicians who signed the treaty

Question 10

What were the impacts of the treaty on Germany?

Answer 10

• 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

Question 11

Explain 2 effects on Germany of the treaty of Versailles?

Answer 11

• economic impact on Germany as a result of reparations and land losses
• psychological impact on Germany for accepting war guilt

Question 12

When and what was the Spartacist uprising?

Answer 12

• 5th January 1919

- organised a revolt in Berlin trying to set up communism

Question 13

Who led the Spartacist uprising?

Answer 13

• Rosa Luxemburg

- Karl Liebknecht

Question 14

Who were the Freikorps?

Answer 14

• 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

Question 15

What was the Kapp Putsch and what did it show?

Answer 15

• 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

Question 16

What were Germany’s economic problems like in 1918?

Answer 16

• 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

Question 17

When and what was the invasion of the Ruhr?

Answer 17

• 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

Question 18

What were the effects of the invasion of the Ruhr?

Answer 18

• 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

Question 19

What were the causes of hyperinflation?

Answer 19

• 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

Question 20

How much had the cost to buy a loaf of bread risen to from December 1918 to November 1923?

Answer 20

-0.54 marks to 201,000,000,000 billion marks

Question 21

Explain 2 effects of hyperinflation.

Answer 21

-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

Question 22

What was the result of small extremist parties winning seats in the Reichstag?

Answer 22

• 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

Question 23

What was the problem of coalitions breaking down?

Answer 23

• 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

Question 24

Why was there a weakness in proportional representation in Germany?

Answer 24

• requires co-operation and compromise

- Germany had no experience running a political system this way

Question 25

Why did the treaty of Versailles weaken the Weimar republic?

Answer 25

• 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

Question 26

2 effects of Treaty of Versailles.

Answer 26

• Psychological effect on German people

- economic impact

Question 27

How did the treaty of Versailles have a psychological impact on the German people?

Answer 27

• 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