How was Germany governed before the Nazis?

Question 1

What and when was the Munich putsch?

Answer 1

1923, Hitler and the Nazis first attempt to take power in Germany by capturing the government with their SA troops in Munich. Beaten by the police and the army following which Hitler was sent to prison.

Question 2

By 1912, what did the Kaiser realise was one way to unite his country and stop the complaints of the SDP?

Answer 2

Get Germany into a war (WW1).

Question 3

Who were the Friekorps?

Answer 3

Groups of ex-soldiers who continued serving despite not being paid in attempt to help Germany through its troubled times.

Question 4

What was Article 48?

Answer 4

Said that in an emergency the President could make laws without the Reichstag.

Question 5

Who was Stressemann, when was he around?

Answer 5

Chancellor of Germany in 1923.

Question 6

How was the Weimar constitution organised?

Answer 6

President – Chancellor – Reichstag (German parliament) – people.

Question 7

What was the year and details of the Kaiser’s second Naval law?

Answer 7

1900. Doubled the number of battleships to be built each year (to 38).

Question 8

What is the positive way some people remember Stresemann?

Answer 8

That he solved Germany’s economic problems, improved international relations and brought stability.

Question 9

What did Stressemann do to solve the crisis?

Answer 9

Convinced striking workers in the Ruhr to return to their jobs, new currency, the Locarno pact for improved international relations and got Germany financial aid from America.

Question 10

What was the year and details of the Kaiser’s first Naval law?

Answer 10

1898 - added an additional 7 battleships to the total built each year (to a total of 19).

Question 11

What is the negative way some people remember Stresemann?

Answer 11

That he didn’t properly fix any of Germany’s problems. He just used loans from America to make people think they were fixed.

Question 12

True or false, the period in Germany after Stressemann became Chancellor is referred to as ‘The Golden Twenties’?

Answer 12

True

Question 13

Who convinced striking workers in the Ruhr to return to their jobs, new currency, the Locarno pact for improved international relations and got Germany financial aid from America?

Answer 13

Stresseman

Question 14

Why was Democracy a problem for the Kaiser in the early 1900s?

Answer 14

The Kaiser’s right wing friends were declining in influence. Left wing parties (concerned with workers rights) were growing.

Question 15

How did the Kaiser solve the problem of industrialisation?

Answer 15

He gained the support of rich businessmen to improve Germany’s industrial strength. The growth in population (40 million in 1871 to 68 million in 1914) also helped.

Question 16

What were the three main problems facing the Kaiser in the early 1900s?

Answer 16

Industrialisation, socialism, democracy.

Question 17

What and when was the Kapp putsch?

Answer 17

1920, Friekorps leader Wolfgang Kapp unsuccessfully tried to seize control from the Weimar government in Berlin. Workers in Berlin refused to accept this and went on strike, causing Kapp to flee.

Question 18

Who set up the SDP (Social Democratic Party)?

Answer 18

German workers who were still unhappy with inequality in the Kaiser’s Germany.

Question 19

What and when was the ‘Red Rising’ in the Ruhr?

Answer 19

1920: A group of workers, led by Communists who were angry about pay and working conditions. They occupied the Ruhr region of Germany and took over its raw materials but were beaten by the German army and Friekorps/.

Question 20

What was proportional representation?

Answer 20

Political parties were allocated seats in line with the number of votes received.

Question 21

What was the military impact of the Kaiser’s naval laws?

Answer 21

Encouraged war.

Question 22

Give details of the three problems that affected Germany in 1923.

Answer 22

The French occupation of the Ruhr, hyperinflation and the Munich Putsch.

Question 23

Why was industrialisation a problem for the Kaiser in the early 1900s?

Answer 23

Germany’s Navy and steel production was half that of Britain’s. Wilhelm wanted Germany to be just as great as Britain.

Question 24

What was the political impact of the Kaiser’s naval laws?

Answer 24

They won him lots of support as played upon people’s sense of patriotism.

Question 25

Who were the Spartacists and what did they try to achieve?

Answer 25

A group of Communists led by Rosa Luxemburg and Karl Liebknecht who attempted to turn a worker’s protest in January 1919 into a revolution. They captured the government controlled newspaper and telegraph HQs but were eventually beaten and killed by the amry and Friekorp units.

Question 26

What was the ‘stab in the back’ myth?

Answer 26

A belief held by many Germans that at the end of WW1 they had not really lost but had been betrayed by their own leaders, namely the Weimar republic.

Question 27

Why was Socialism a problem for the Kaiser in the early 1900s?

Answer 27

The gap between the rich and poor had widened due to industrialisation. Poorly paid workers had joined trade unions to try to force the Kaiser to improve their conditions.

Question 28

What was the Dawes plan?

Answer 28

The Dawes plan was proposed by American banker Charles Dawed in 1924. It gave economic relief to Germany by giving them a huge loan from America.

Question 29

What was a consequence of the Kaiser’s work to industrialise Germany?

Answer 29

Increased the gap between rich and poor and made the workers unhappy about their poor wages.

Question 30

How did the Kasier try to solve the problem of socialism?

Answer 30

Social reforms were introduced eg 1889 old age pensions plus sickness and accident insurance schemes.

Question 31

What was the financial impact of the Kaiser’s naval laws?

Answer 31

They were very expensive and by 1914 Germany was 5 billion marks in debt.

Question 32

How did the Kasier try to solve the problem of Democracy?

Answer 32

The Kaiser used nationalism to get the support of the upper and middle classes.

Question 33

Who were George Grosz, Otto Dix and Fritz Lang?

Answer 33

Artists and film directors whose work typified the divided nature of Weimar society in the late 1920s: half decadent and indulgent, half poor and resentful.

Question 34

What year was the Treaty of Versailles and what were its key points?

Answer 34

1919. Germany had to accept full blame for WW1, could not re-arm and had to accept war reparations equivalent to £6,600 million.