Germany Under Kaiser Wilhelm Flashcards
when was Germany made a country?
1871, after winning a war with Framce (1870-71)
when was Kaiser Wilhelm II made Kaiser
1888
what was the Kaiser’s power like in connection to the Reichstag (parliament)
he could overrule them
most powerful country
Prussia
what was Kaiser Wilhelm II’s plan?
to expand the German Empire abroad, to find his ‘place in the sun’
what was the Kaiser’s power in connection to the Chancellor
could appoint/dismiss them
what was the Kaiser the head of?
the German military
what did members of the army do?
- advised Kaiser on political decisions
- all officers swore oath of loyalty to Kaiser
politically, what were army officers?
right wing, from an elite background
how often did the Reichstag fund the army
every 5 years
what was the chancellor
the Kaiser’s chief minister
what did the Chancellor have the power to do?
- appoint ministers to help him make policies
- ignore the Reichstag
who did the Chancellor lead
the Bundesrat (federal council)
what was the Bundesrat
German federal council
who was the Bundesrat formed from
58 representatives of each German state
what did the Bundesrat do
proposed laws to the Reichstag and, in return, approved any law the parliament made
who was the Reichstag made up from
397 deputies elected by German voters
German voters
men over 25 y old
what did the Reichstag have the power to do
pass/alter/reject laws proposed by the Bundesrat/Chancellor
when did the Reichstag begin to grow
by the 1890s
what could the Reichstag do
shape public opinions, despire mot having huge power
how many deputies made up the Reichstag
397
how many states did Germany have
25
which was the most powerful state
Prussia
- 2/3 of population
- 1/2 of territory
what movement was growing
socialist (left wing)
what did governments introduce to try and meet worker’s demands
- pensions
- sickness insurance schemes
how many seats in the Reichstag did the Social Democratic Party have in 1912
30%
what did Navy Laws allow
the building of more battleships
militarism
having a strong army to protect the country
which army was the basis of the German army
Prussian army
Weltpolitik
world policy, used to grow the German Empire
what happened to the navy after 1898
it expanded as part of Weltpolitik
what did the Kaiser hope would happen as a result of navy expansion
- lead to industrial growth
- protect/expand German Empire
- increase German patriotism
- symbol of German strength
patriotism
love of one’s country
when did the Kaiser pass the first naval law, what did this allow?
- 1898
- increased navy by 7 battleships
when was the second naval law, what did this do?
- 1900
- doubled size of navy to 38 battleships
when was the third naval law, what did this do?
- 1906
- expanded by another 6 battleships in response to Britain launching the dreadnought
who was Alfred von Tirpitz
new Navy Secretary
international agreements Germany signed
- 1904: Great Britain and France signed Entente Cordiale
- 1907: Great Britain, France and Russia signed Triple Entente
success of Navy Laws
- encouraged patriotic/nationalist sentiment (feeling)
- more work for businesses and industries
- German people saw Germany more powerful over Britain
- people agreed to support Kaiser’s other policies
nationalist
wanting political independence
problems of navy laws
- gov raised taxes, affecting workers
- had to borrow money, raising State’s debt to 490 billion by 1913
- Social Democratic Party opposed them bc of expense
- Kaiser argued w army leaders bc they wanted money
when did industrialisation begin to accelerate a lot
1890-1913
what did Germany focus on in industrialisation
manufacturing, rather than agricultural production
what industries grew
- coal
- iron
- steel
what happened to coal, iron and steel production levels by ww1
- coal production levels matched Britain
- produced more iron/steel (2x as much steel) than Britain
what did the growth of industrialisation lead to
creation of - railways - trains - ships so Germany had better communication lines and trade routes
what happened to Berlin’s population between 1875 and 1910
it doubled, bc of industrialisation
demographic
structure of populations
urbanisation
increase in people living in urban areas
what did urbanisation mean for towns/cities
60% of Germans were living in towns/cities by 1910
what did urbanisation mean for living conditions
they were bad, many people died from disease
why did immigration increase
the success of industrialisation attracted them
where did many immigrants come from
Eastern Europe
who did Germans begin hating
‘foreigners’, especially the Jews
socialism
belief that everyone in society should share profits made from industry
who mainly supported socialism
workers
who didn’t support socialism
upper/middle classes
SPD
Social Democratic Party
what did the SPD represent in politics
socialism
what happened to SPD from 1890 onwards
won most votes in Reichstag
who had the most seats in the Reichstag in 1912
Social Democratic Party
what did the SPD vote against
the Kaiser’s policies/legislations
enacted
making laws
why did the government enact social reforms
- get more support
- stop support for the SPD
social law passed in 1891
made it illegal for
- U13s to work
- women to work 11+ hours
- anyone work on Sundays
reform laws passed in 1900
increased the time workers could claim off work if they’d been in an accident
what was introduced in 1901
industrial cpurts. they settled dispuutes between employees/employers.
they were compulsory in towns w/ populations of 20,000+
health insurance in 1903
it expanded
what were social reforms intended for
to keep German workers loyal to the state, the gov didn’t actually want to improve workers living conditions
