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History (Germany) > Impact of the First World War > Flashcards

Impact of the First World War Flashcards

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1
Q

What was the Weimar Constitution?

A

The principles of how the Weimar Republic as going to be governed, making it into a parliamentary democracy

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2
Q

Who signed the Weimar Constitution and when?

A

Friedrich Ebert (President) on August 11th 1919

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3
Q

Why were the social and economic conditions in Germany bad following the war?

A 
Food shortages
Fuel shortages
Power cuts
Disease
Cinemas and theatres closed down
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4
Q

How did the Weimar government function?

A

Reichstag elected by men and women over 20
Proportional representation (%votes = %seats)
Republic lead by President
Government led by Chancellor

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5
Q

What were the strengths and weaknesses of proportional representation?

A 
Strengths:
Based on fairness
Allowed small parties to grow
Weaknesses:
Made it difficult for 1 party to win majority
Led to weak coalition
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6
Q

Why was the Weimar government weak/unpopular?

A

‘Stab in the back’ myth, leading Germans to believe they’d accepted defeat too easily by signing the armistice
Policies didn’t appeal to either extremist groups
Flawed election system - only way to pass laws was to form weak and unstable coalition governments
Worsened economic crisis by signing Treaty of Versailles

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7
Q

What was Article 48?

A

Gave President power to suspend the constitution in an emergency and make decisions without the Reichstag (was often misused)

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8
Q

Who were the ‘big four’ involved in drafting the Treaty of Versailles?

A 
David Lloyd George (Britain
Georges Clemenceau (France)
Woodrow Wilson (USA)
Vittorio Emanuele Orlando (Italy)
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9
Q

When was the Treaty of Versailles signed?

A

June 28th 1919

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10
Q

What were the terms of the Treaty of Versailles?

A
  1. War Guilt Clause - Germany had to accept full responsibility for the war
  2. Reparations - £6600 million to be paid to allied nations for wartime damages/expenses
  3. Military restrictions - Left Germany weak and vulnerable to attack
  4. Land taken away - Overseas colonies lost and territory taken away to strengthen surrounding countries
  5. League of Nations - Germany was forbidden to join
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11
Q

What were the military restrictions to Germany in the Treaty of Versailles?

A
  • Army restricted to 100,000 men
  • No air force or tanks
  • No submarines and only 6 battleships
  • Rhineland area bordering France demilitarised
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12
Q

What territory was taken away from Germany in the Treaty of Versailles?

A
  • Saar Coalfields given to France for 15 years
  • Eupen and Malmady given to Belgium
  • Alsace Lorraine given back to France
  • Danzig was to be run by League of Nations
  • Posen (rich farmland) given to Poland
  • Poland given corridor cutting east Austria off
  • Germany forbidden to unite with Austria
  • North Schleswig given to Denmark
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13
Q

What was the purpose of the League of Nations?

A

The concept of collective security was supposed to make everyone be able to come to reasonable conclusions through communication should one country begin to act aggressively. It also aimed to eliminate secret alliances.

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14
Q

What were the problems with the League of Nations?

A

Despite being one of the main creators, America wasn’t allowed to join the league.
The league didn’t have an army and could only use sanctions to enforce their decisions

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15
Q

What was the German reaction to the Treaty of Versailles?

A
  • They hated it and called it a “diktat” (dictated peace) because they were forced into signing it with threat of war restarting.
  • They weren’t able to defend themselves with such a small army, and no other countries had been disarmed
  • Resented fact that some Germans were stuck in other countries e.g. Poland
  • Impossible to pay reparations when their main industrial areas had been taken away from them
  • Believed they didn’t start the war as the Russians mobilised their troops first
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16
Q

When was the Spartakist Putsch and who were it’s leaders?

A

January 5th-12th 1919

Rosa Luxemburg and Karl Liebknecht

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17
Q

What were the goals of the Spartakist Putsch?

A

Spartakists had communist beliefs and believed socialism wasn’t enough. They thought Germany should do more for the working class. Their aims were:

  • Overthrow the central government
  • Establish workers councils
  • Abolish private property
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18
Q

In what ways was the Spartakist Putsch successful?

A

They managed to capture newspaper and communications buildings and posed enough of a threat to Ebert and his government for them to flee to Weimar.

19
Q

How did the Spartakist Putsch end?

A

The task of suppressing the putsch was given to the Freicorps. This was an easy task for them because they had military experience and organisation skills from being ex-soldiers. The revolt was poorly planned and didn’t gain support from other left-wing parties, so was easy to stop.

20
Q

What were the effects of the Spartakist Putsch?

A
  • Both leaders were arrested then murdered
  • 100 Spartakists and 13 Freicorps died
  • Communist party lost much political suport
  • Freicorps put in a position of power
21
Q

When was the Kapp Putsch and who were it’s leaders?

A

March 13th 1920

Led by Walther von Luttwitz (commander of regular army unit), Wolfgang Kapp, and General Ludendorff

22
Q

What was the motivation behind the Kapp Putsch?

A

Freicorps were threatened with disbandment after the Treaty of Verasailles ruled that Germany could only have an army of 100,000. When the government tried to demobilise Freicorps brigades they hatched a plan to overthrow the government and replace it with a new government headed by Kapp and Ludendorff

23
Q

What were the events of the Kapp Putsch? (Not end)

A
  1. 5000 armed men marched on Berlin
  2. Ebert told General Seekt (head of Reichswehr) to fight Freicorps but he refuses as they are ex-soldiers
  3. Government flee to Weimar then Stuttgart
  4. Freicorps gain control of Berlin and Wolfgang Kapp becomes Chancellor
24
Q

How did the Kapp Putsch end?

A

Ebert ordered everyone in important industries to go on strike. They agreed to this because most are socialist and don’t want to see the return of the Kaiser. Industry ground to a halt. Wolfgang Kapp tried to flee but is caught and put in jail for treason.

25
Q

What was the aftermath of the Kapp Putsch?

A

Judges in court were usually less harsh on the right wing so while Kapp was found guilty and put in jail where he later died, Ludendorff and Luttwitz were let off easily and got away with it.

26
Q

Why did the Occupation of the Ruhr happen?

A

In 1922 the Weimar government announced it would not be able to pay the next 3 installments of reparations but the French believed Germany was actually able to. They were desperate for this money to pay back wartime loans to the USA

27
Q

What happened in the invasion of the Ruhr?

A

In January 1923 the French invaded the Ruhr with 60,000 soldiers from the French and Belgian armies. This area contained ~80% of Germany’s coal, iron and steel resources. The goal was to extract reparations by force by taking control of key industries and natural resources (factories, mines etc.) and Germany could not fight back as it was too weak.

28
Q

How did Germany respond to the occupation of the Ruhr? + How did the French respond to this?

A

The Weimar Government instructed all Ruhr workers to go on strike, acting as a ‘passive resistance’ so that no money was made through the Ruhr for the French to take.
132 Germans were killed by the French army and 150,000 Ruhr inhabitants expelled from their homes

29
Q

What were the consequences of the ‘passive resistance’ to the Ruhr occupation?

A

Striking workers still demanded pay and Germany had lost all its income from its richest area.

30
Q

Why did hyperinflation start?

A

Germany was facing an economic crisis, with industry at an all time low (e.g. no Saar + Silesia coalfields) and striking workers demanding pay. The government resorted to printing more money and the value of the mark dropped to become almost worthless

31
Q

Give an example of price inflation during hyperinflation (Hint: it’s about bread)

A

Jan 1923: Bread = 250 marks

Nov 1923: Bread = 200,000 marks

32
Q

Who was affected positively by hyperinflation?

A

Farmers - As food prices increased they were able to charge more for their produce and their products were in higher demand
Businessmen - All their loans became easy to pay off as they were worthless and they could also continue raising the price of their goods

33
Q

Who was affected negatively by hyperinflation?

A

Pensioners - Were on a fixed income that did not rise with the inflation
Savers - Particularly the middle class. Their entire life’s savings became worthless
Workers - Had jobs an were getting pay rises, but their wages could not keep up with the inflation so everything they earned had decreased in value by the next day (had to spend it all at once immediately)

34
Q

What are some other notes on hyperinflation?

A
  • Prices rose so quickly workers had to be paid twice daily
  • By autumn 1923 it cost more to print a note than what the note itself was worth
  • Once people had received their wages they were forced to spend it all instantly before it dropped in value
  • Bartering (exchanging goods without transaction of money)
35
Q

What was the initial name of the Nazi party and who were its founders?

A

D.A.P - Deutsche Arbeits Partie

Anton Drexler & Karl Harrer

36
Q

How did Hitler become involved with the Nazi party?

A

He came across it in 1919 when it had only 40 members and was inspired by their ideas. He was invited to join the committee and became in charge of party propaganda.

37
Q

What was in the 25 point programme drawn up by Hitler and Drexler to summarise Nazi ideology?

A
  • The Fuhrer Principle - Germany must be ruled by a single strong leader with total power
  • Social Darwinism - Idea that some races are superior to others and should control inferior races
  • Anti-semitism - The Jews were threats to German purity and were to blame for all problems
  • Lebensraum - The German master race was entitles to living space which should be seized from inferior races
  • Treaty of Versailles - Unfair and should be destroyed
  • Communism - Dangerous and should be destroyed
  • Other political parties - Must be destroyed
38
Q

What was the date of the Munich Putsch?

A

November 8th 1923

39
Q

What was Hitler’s motivation behind the Munich Putsch?

A

He wanted to seize power and thought the best way to do so would be through Bavarian politicians as they already disliked the Weimar government. He had previously planned a rebellion with von Kahr and von Lossow however they had called it off.

Hitler’s main goal was to gain Bavaria’s support and have them back him up as he marched into Berlin to take control of the whole country. He had been inspired by Mussolini’s rise to power the previous year

40
Q

What were the events of the Munich Putsch?

A
  1. Hitler and 600 stormtroopers burst into a meeting at the Burgerbrau beer hall where von kahr was speaking
  2. General Ludendorff backed Hitler by walking in and stating his support for the cause
  3. Kahr and Lossow agreed but only because they had a gun to their heads
  4. As soon as Hitler left the hall the police were called
  5. The next morning the SA had taken over the army headquarters and local newspaper offices
  6. Nazis went on a march to celebrate their victory but were stopped by armed officials
41
Q

How did the Munich Putsch end?

A

When armed officials met the Nazis on their march, approximately 2000 Nazis were present and 130 soldiers. They fought in a gunfight. 4 policemen and 16 Nazis died. Hitler was injured from having a Nazi leader fall on his shoulder after being shot, dislocating it

42
Q

What was the aftermath of the Munich Putsch?

A

Hitler and Ludendorff fled but were captured again. While Hitler was found guilty of treason and sentenced to 5 years of prison, Ludendorff was found not guilty

43
Q

In what ways was the Munich Putsch successful for Hitler and the Nazi party?

A
  • Hitler only spent 9 months in prison and was allowed regular visitors (Landsberg Castle)
  • Judge had been lenient with his sentence
  • It generated a lot of media publicity and got his name known in the public eye
  • He had time to write his book Mein Kampf which set out Nazi beliefs and sold well after its release
  • He was able to reflect and determined that the only way to gain power was to obtain it democratically

History (Germany) (7 decks)

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