HISTORY weimar & nazi Germany Flashcards
How were German people suffering hardship during the war?
- allies had set up naval blockades which prevented imports of goods and food
- Kaiser Wilhelm II had public opinion turned against him as he ran Germany like a dictator
- many people wanted democracy and an end to the war
What are some examples of widespread unrest towards the end of the war?
- early November 1918, members of German navy refused to board ships
- in Hanover, German troops refused to control riots
- Jewish communist called Kurt Eisner encourage a general uprising which led to mass strikes in Munich
What led to Kaiser Wilhelm’s resignation?
- huge protests in Berlin and Social Democratic Party called for his resignation
- abdicated on 9th November 1918, SPD and USPD declared a republic
What happened on Nov 10th 1918?
- all state leaders who were appointed by monarchy left their posts
- new revolutionary state governments took control
- Germany had abolished monarchy and had chance to become democracy
Why did the German government sign the armistice?
- people were starving and military morale was low
- it wasn’t supported by right-wing citizens who saw it as a betrayal
How was the German government ran after the abdication of Kaiser Wilhelm?
- Germany was disorganised with different political groups controlling different towns
- temporary national government ran by SPD and USPD known as Council of People’s representatives
- ran the government until Reichstag elections in January 1919
Who was the first president and first chancellor of the Weimar Republic?
- Friedrich Ebert was first president as leader of SPD
- Phillip Scheidemann was first chancellor
What happened on February 1919?
-members of the new Reichstag met in Weimar to create a new constitution for Germany
What was the role of the president?
- elected every 7 years
- appointed chancellor and was head of the army
- could dissolve Reichstag, call new elections and suspend the constitution
What was the main difference between the president and the chancellor?
the president was the most powerful in government but the chancellor was in charge of day to day affairs
What was the role of the Reichstag?
- new Germany parliament
- it’s members elected every 4 years using proportional representation
What was the role of the Reichsrat?
- second less powerful house of parliament
- consisted of local representatives
- could delay measures passed by Reichstag
How was the Weimar constitution designed to be fair?
- even very small parties could win seats as they only needed 0.4% of the vote to get one
- women could now vote and voting age lowered to 20 which gave German public more voting power
What was a weakness in allowing the president to pass laws?
- president could pass new laws and suspend constitution without Reichstag (article 48)
- only meant to be used in times of emergency but became useful way of getting around disagreements in Reichstag which undermined the new democracy
What happened after the allied leaders had drafted the ToV?
- signed on June 1919
- Ebert had initially refused to sign it but had no choice as allies threatened to start war and Germany was too weak
- Weimar Republic became associated with the pain and humiliation of ToV
What did article 231 of ToV say?
- Germany had to fully accept the blame for the war
- many Germans disagreed and felt humiliated having to take the blame
How was Germany’s military impacted by ToV?
- army reduced to 100,000 men
- weren’t allowed armoured vehicles, aircrafts or submarines
- only allowed 6 warships
- had to demilitarise the Rhineland, area along French border, made them susceptible to attack from west
- all of this made Germany feel vulnerable
How much in reparations did Germany have to pay for ToV?
- had to pay £6.6 billion
- amount decided in 1921 but was changed later
- seemed unfair and would cause lasting damage to Germany’s economy
How was Germany’s empire affected by ToV?
- overseas colonies were now called mandates
- these were run by the winning members of the League of Nations
- many people opposed the new rule, especially those living there who didn’t want to be run by foreign country
How did ToV create resentment towards Weimar Republic?
- called it a ‘Diktat’ a treaty that was forced on the German people against their will, blamed Ebert for accepting terms
- many felt the signing of the armistice was unnecessary and that Germany could carry on fighting and win the war, known as ‘stab in the back’ theory
- politicians who signed armistice became known as ‘November criminals’
How did ToV affect the Weimar Republic long term?
- played an important part in the failure of the republic?
- hindered republic’s popularity and created political and economic unrest that would hinder the government for years
Why was there widespread discontent during the start of the Weimar Republic?
- 1919, influenza epidemic broke out and killed thousands of Germans
- many felt they could still win the war and blamed ‘November criminals’ for accepting terms of treaty
- many blamed Jews and communists for Germany’s loss
- the government was seen as weak and ineffective
What happened during the Spartacist Revolt?
- January 1919, group of communists led by Rosa Luxemburg and Karl Liebknecht tried to take over Berlin
- took control of newspaper buildings and over 50,000 workers went on strike in support of the revolt
How was the Spartacist Revolt dealt with?
- Ebert asked help from Freikorps (private militia of ex-soldiers) to stop the protests
- they killed the two leaders and over 200 workers who were involved
- the use of violence caused a split in the left between the communists, further weakening the republic
What happened during the Kapp Putsch?
- March 1920, members of Freikorps led by Wolfgang Kapp marched into Berlin to overthrow government and install new right-wing system
- Ebert fled to Dresden and called for German workers to go on strike to retaliate the Putsch
- Berlin was paralysed and Kapp forced to give up
What did ex-members of the Freikorps do in 1922?
- murdered Walter Rathenau who was German foreign minister and Jewish
- as economy wavered, many people were blaming Jews
What led to the occupation of the Ruhr?
- 1923, Germany could not meet scheduled annual reparation payments
- French and Belgian troops then entered Ruhr, Germany’s most industrial area as they were legally entitled to under ToV
- they had access to most of Germany’s iron and coal reserves
What happened after the occupation of the Ruhr?
- led to fury in Germany so government ordered Ruhr workers to go on strike
- successful in combating French and Belgian but had major economic implications
- Germany government couldn’t afford to reimburse its workers so started printing money to help pay which led to hyperinflation
What were the consequences of hyperinflation?
- 1918, egg cost 1/4 mark; 1923, egg cost 80,000,000 marks
- Germany’s currency became worthless which meant that less countries wanted to trade which led to a shortage of food and resources
- basic necessities hard to get a hold of, Germany going through extreme hardship which people associated with Weimar Republic
How were different classes affected by hyperinflation?
middle-class: businesses failed and bank savings became worthless
working class: wages couldn’t keep up with rate of inflation
What did Streseman do during his time as chancellor from August to November 1923?
- September 1923, ended strike in Ruhr so that reparations could be paid and reduced tensions with France and Belgium
- November 1923, created the Rentenmark as a new currency for Germany, this would later become the permanent Reichsmark
- created ‘great coalition’ in Reichstag were several pro-democracy socialist parties agreed to work together, decisions made quicker
What was the Dawes plan?
- signed in 1924
- ensured France and Belgium’s withdrawal from Ruhr and set more realistic reparation dates
- America loaned £80 million to Germany to assist in reparations
- effective but relied heavily on American loans
What was the structure of the Dawes plan?
US could afford to lend money to Germany
- > Germany used this money to pay off reparations to allies
- > Allies could then pay off their debts to the US
- > repeat
What was the Locarno pact?
- signed in October 1925
- France, Belgium and Germany all agreed to respect Germany’s borders
What happened in 1926 with international relations?
- Germany allowed to join the League of Nations
- Germany once again recognised as international power
What was the Kellogg-Briand pact?
- signed in 1928
- along with 65 other countries
- agreed not to resort to violence to resolve international disputes
What was the Young plan?
- signed in 1929
- reparations Germany needed to pay reduced to a quarter of original amount
- given 59 year to pay
What happened in 1928 Reichstag election?
- strong support for pro-Weimar parties (over 50%)
- shows people started to restore faith in republic thanks to economic improvement
How did unemployment improve during the Golden Years?
- 1927, government created unemployment insurance
- workers could pay into it and you could withdraw from it if you found yourself unemployed
How did wages and housing improve during the Golden Years?
- working classes became more prosperous as wages for working classes rose in late 1920s
- launched mass housing projects, government built over 2 million new homes between 1924 and 1931 which provided extra employment
What were some problems that remained during the Golden Years?
- high quality of life was only achievable with a strong economy and Germany’s was very fragile
- middle class resentment as changes mostly benefitted the working classes
- led to middle classes supporting anti-weimar parties
How did women become more involved in politics in Weimar Republic?
- women could vote and run for office
- between 1919 and 1932, 112 women elected
How did women’s roles change in Weimar Republic?
- women had proved themselves as labourers during ww1 so number of working women rose
- traditional roles changed, new women’s societies and women’s sports clubs opened giving them more opportunity
- divorce became easier so divorce rates rose
What did increased freedom for women lead to?
- right-wing criticism
- some German nationalists believed giving women freedom and more power threatened traditional German ideas and values
What did freedom of expression lead to?
- generated new ideas
- artists began to question traditional ideas such as authority and military
What advances in art were there in the Weimar Republic?
- some developments bold and new like drama of Bertolt Brecht
- Bauhaus school of design was highly influential in the arts and architecture
What were some cultural achievements in Weimar Republic?
- important changes in music, literature and cinema, e.g. Metropolis directed by Fritz Lang was one of many successful German films
- encouraged new critical thinking at places like Frankfurt University and cabaret culture developed in Berlin
- not all Germans embraced changed, some saw as loss of German tradition
How did Hitler start at German Workers’ Party?
- joined in January 1919 when it was led by Anton Drexler
- became known as a passionate and skilled speaker and crowds gathered to hear him talk
How did Hitler climb the ranks of the DAP?
- relied on him to recruit new members and was made chief of propaganda in 1920
- party had 60 members in 1919 but over 2000 in 1920
- 1920, rebranded as Nazi Party
- July 1921, Hitler became leader although initially didn’t want to but chose to do so after he was worried about the direction the party was heading
How did Nazi Party develop its policies?
- February 1920, developed policies in ‘Twenty-Five Point Programme’
- wanted to raise pension and improve health and education, but only for Germans
- rejecting ToV and encouraging German greatness appealed to the public on nationwide scale
What were some points from Twenty-Five Point Programme
- ToV abolished
- all German speakers should be united
- only Germans with German blood could be citizens, not jews
- improved pensions and land reforms
What did Hitler found in 1921?
- founded party militia called ‘SA’ otherwise known as stormtroopers
- political thugs who carried out violent anti-semitic attacks and intimidated other parties
- many people scared but many Germans admired them
- gave the party a military feel as they seemed organised and disciplined, gave ex-soldiers a job and a purpose
Why did Hitler think it was an ideal time for the Munich Putsch?
- 1923, the population thought that the Weimar Republic was too weak
- hyperinflation peaked and there were food riots
- Germans angry at Ruhr occupation, further discontent when workers decided to stop striking
What happened during the Munich Putsch?
- Hitler’s soldiers marched into a beer hall where local government leaders were meeting
- next day, Hitler and SA marched through Munich, news of the Putsch leaked to the police (who Hitler expected to support him) and fired on the troops causing the revolt to collapse
What happened during Hitler’s trial from the Munich Putsch?
- used his trial to make nationalist patriotic speeches to appeal to conservative judges
- trial gave Nazis a national platform
- given a generous 5 years of which he only served 9 monts
- generous sentence showed that revolt was possible
How was Mein Kampf influential?
- wrote it in prison containing his beliefs and ambitions
- vital to spreading Nazi ideology and millions of Germans read
- introduced ideas such as a ‘superior Aryan race’ and that Germans had a right to Lebensraum
