History: Depth Studies Flashcards

1
Q

When was the Treaty of Versailles signed?

A

28th June 1919

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2
Q

Who led the Spartacist Uprising?

A

Rosa Luxemburg & Carl Liebknecht

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3
Q

What is the Spartacist Uprising?

A
  • Led by Rosa Luxemburg and Carl Liebknecht
  • In January 1919, the Spartacists launched their bid for power
  • Communist rising against Weimar Republic
  • There were barricades in the street and armed street fighting
  • Wanted Germany to be ruled by workers’ councils / soviets
  • Leaders were executed by Freikorps
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4
Q

Why did the Spartacist Uprising fail?

A
  • Ebert ordered Freikorps to crush the uprising
  • Former soldiers still had weapons from the war, which gave them a clear advantage
  • They quickly reconquered the blocked streets and buildings and took back the Spartacist headquarters
  • ~100 civilians died during the fighting, Liebknecht and Luxemburg captured by Freikorps and murdered
  • Spartacists couldn’t agree on which tactics to use, regiments in the army refused to join
  • Spartacists failed to keep the support of Independent Social Democratic Party. The Freikorps were ruthless in taking down the Uprising
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5
Q

Who were the Freikorps?

A

Unofficial armed gangs consisting of soldiers who had been asked to intervene by Weimar Republic

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6
Q

Who led the Freikorps?

A

General Luddwitz

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7
Q

Why did the Ruhr crisis start?

A

German did could not pay the second intallment of reparations

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8
Q

What happened during the Ruhr crisis?

A

Belgium and French troops invaded the Ruhr and took coal to the amount of reparations.

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9
Q

What was the government’s response to the invasion ot the Ruhr?

A

The government encouraged workers to do passive resistance / go on strike

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10
Q

What was the result of the Ruhr crisis?

A
  • Violence broke out and 100,000 people were driven out of the Ruhr
  • Industrial workers stopped working = no production in the wealthiest area of Germany
  • Government printed money to pay workers, which led to hyperinflation
  • Government collected less tax as unemployment rose
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11
Q

Reasons why Stresemann restored Germany’s strength from 1924 - 1929

A
  • called off the strike (in Ruhr) and workers went back to work
  • burned old currency and made new one (Rentenmark)
  • introduced the Dawes Plan in 1924 (by USA) which helped to pay reparations
  • reduced the reparations through Young Plan
  • signed the Locarno Treaty (respect the western border and improved relations
  • got Germany into LON, Germany seen as a responsible country
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12
Q

Reasons why Stresemann did not restore Germany’s strength from 1924 - 1929

A
  • calling off the strike was seen as defeat and led to the Munich Putsch
  • new currency meant pensions and savings were worthless
  • Dawes Plan = success was built on loans that Germany could not pay back (economic collapse during the Great Depression)
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13
Q

Successes of the Weimar Republic

A

[EVERYTHING THAT STRESEMANN DID]

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14
Q

Failures of the Weimar Republic

A

[EVERYTHING THAT STRESEMANN DID]
+
- rising unemployment
- huge sums spent on healthcare and welfare

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15
Q

Describe Germany’s state in the late 1920s

A

Germany managed many achievements in the arts: painters, playwrights, musicians and authors made Germany (Berlin in particular) a famous centre for the arts; Germany seemed to have recovered from the humiliation of Versailles and was viwed as an equal to other European countries.

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16
Q

What caused the Great Depression in October 1929?

A

The American stock exchange, Wall Street, crashed.

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17
Q

What was the name of the political party that Adolf Hitler took over? When did he take over?

A

German Workers’ Party; 1921

18
Q

What was the political party that Hitler took over renamed into? Why did he change the name?

A

National Socialist German Workers’ Party (Nazi);
“National” = attract traditionalists who wanted to rebuild Germany after WW1
“Socialist” = attract people who wanted to improve the lives of working people

19
Q

When was the SA (Storm Troopers / Brownshirts), the Nazis’ private army founded?

A

August 1921

20
Q

Who led the SA?

A

Ernst Rohm (violent ex-soldier)

21
Q

When did Hitler initiate the Munich / Beer Hall Putsch?

A

8th November 1923

22
Q

What were the consequences of the Munich Putsch?

A
  • 16 Nazis killed
  • other Nazis & Hitler ran away
  • Hitler arrested two days later for high treason
  • Found guilty but only sentenced to 5 years in Landsberg prison (then served 9 months only)
23
Q

What were the events of the Munich Putsch?

A
  • Hitler seized control of Bavaria with the SA
  • Hitler believed that the government was so unpopular that many people would support his bid for power
  • Secured support of German army General Ludendorff
  • Hitler wanted to march to Berlin after securing Munich
  • Hitler & Nazis marched from the beer hall and were stopped by armed police
24
Q

How did Hitler take advantage of his trial and imprisonment after the Munich Putsch?

A
  • used his trial / defence speech to gain exposure for Nazi ideology (newspapers published details of the defence speeches)
  • spent his time in Landsberg prison to write Mein Kampf (My Struggle) = his autobiography + political ideas
25
Q

What did Hitler learn from the Munich Putsch?

A
  • he couldn’t use force to gain support but legal means (political voting)
  • wanted to use democracy and the Nazi Party
26
Q

What did Mein Kampf talk about? (published in 1925)

A
  • Treaty of Versailles was unjust
  • leaders of Weimar Republic were traitors (for agreeing to Treaty)
  • Jews were the cause of Germany’s problems (they were sub-human)
  • Russian communism was wicked
  • Germany should take more space from Russians and non-Germans of Eastern Europe
27
Q

What was the Reichstag Fire?

A
  • 27th February 1933, the Reichstag building caught fire and was burned down.
  • Marius van der Lubbe, a Dutch communist, was arrested and blamed for starting the fire as a part of a communist revolt against the Weimar Republic
28
Q

How did Hitler take advantage of the Reichstag Fire?

A
  • Hitler blamed it on the communists, who were his political rivals, and whipped up public fear towards them
  • persuaded Hindenburg to issue an emergency decree
  • Hitler was granted emergency powers by Hindenburg under Aricle 48 of the constitution
  • arrested many members of the communist party (no more main political rival)
29
Q

What were the effects of the Reichstag Fire?

A
  • Eliminated main political rival (communists)
  • Brought Hitler more popularity
  • Allowed the Nazi Party to win a large number of seats in parliament
30
Q

What was the Enabling Act?

A
  • Hitler introduced Enabling Act to establish his dictatorship
  • Reichstag passed the act on 23rd March 1933
  • Allowed Hitler to introduce new laws without consulting the Reichstag
31
Q

What were the effects of the Enabling Act?

A
  • Hitler became the democratically-approved dictator of Germany (4 years) + had more authority
  • Banned all political parties except the Nazi Party
  • Allowed him to make excuses for future exploits such as the Night of the Long Knives
32
Q

What was the Night of the Long Knives?

A
  • Army didn’t like SA, Hindenburg controlled army, they could easily turn over Hitler
  • SA (3 million) trusted Ernst Rohm more than Hitler
  • Ernst Rohm wasn’t satisfied with Hitler’s outcomes and wanted a “second revolution”
  • SA could overthrow Hitler as well
  • On the 30th June 1934, Hitler had his personal army (SS) kill Rohm and many members of the SA (they were arrested but murdered without trial)
33
Q

What were the effects of the Night of the Long Knives?

A
  • Hitler gained the trust of the army (no more SA to be jealous of)
  • No more chances of being overthrown
34
Q

How many nationalists from other parties supported the Nazi Party after the elections on 5th March 1933?

A

52 nationalists

35
Q

How many seats did the Nazis win after the election on 5th March 1933?

A

288 seats

36
Q

When did Hindenburg pass away?

A

2nd August 1934

37
Q

What did Hitler’s role become after Hindenburg’s death?

A

Fuhrer / Supreme Leader (combining Chancellor and President)

38
Q

When were the SA and SS founded?

A

1921; 1925

39
Q

In the “Left and Right Uprisings”, who were the Left and Right?

A

Left = Communists = Spartacists
Right = Fascists = Freikorps

40
Q

When was the Locarno Treaty signed?

A

1925