Impact of the First World War Flashcards
What was the first time Germany had experience Democracy
Through the Weimar Constitution
What age could men and women vote at in 1919
20 years old
What is Proportional Representation
That the
number of seats each party had in the
Reichstag was based on the number of votes
they got.
Advantages of Proportional Representation
Encouraged Democracy and Fair Representation
Disadvantages of Proportional Representation
No party could get a majority, weak governments, extremist parties can still gain a seat increasing instability
What was Article 48
Gave the President powers to suspend the constitution and pass laws in an emergency
How much land, iron and citizens did Germany lose,
Germany lost 13% of it’s land, 48% of it’s iron and 6 million citizens were absorbed into other countries
What was Article 231
War Guilt Cause, stated Germany had to take blame for the start of WW1
What were the military terms of the ToV
Army was restricted to 100,000 men, no air force was allowed, only 6 battleships allowed and Rhineland was demilitaries
How much reparations did Germany have to pay?
£6.6 billion
What was some land lost due to the ToV
Alsace-Lorraine returned to France
Northern Schleswig given to Denmark
Saarland was controlled by the League of Nations for 15 years
Oversea colonies were confiscated and given away
What is Diktat?
Dictated Peace, referring to the fact the Versailles felt like dictated peace
What is Dolchstoss?
Stab-in-the-back, term used to describe the politicians who signed the ToV
What nickname was given to the politicians who signed the ToV
November Criminals
What did the Weimar depend on to support against revolution
The Army
Leaders of the Spartacist Uprising?
Karl Liebknecht and Rosa Luxemburg
Outcome of the Spartacist Uprising?
Brutally crushed by the Freikorps, Karl and Rosa were captured and executed, 5000 vs 30,000 , Over 100 Spartacists were killed
What was the Kapp Putsch
A right wing revolution by the Freikorps, they were successful in seizing control forcing the Weimar Government and Ebert to flee. General von Seeckt said ‘Reichswehr does not fire on Reichswehr’, military refuse to fire on the Freikorps
What was the Government Response to the Kapp Putsch?
Weimar Government called for a general strike encouraging worker’s to halt. This led to the severe disruption of the economical and militaristic operations in Berlin forcing Kapp to flee
What happened to the Ruhr in 1923
The French and Belgium invaded the Ruhr , the industrial heartland of Germany due to Germany failing to pay reparations
Why was the Ruhr invasion so bad for Germany
The Ruhr was vital for economic growth, and furthermore it was situated in the demilitarised Rhineland so Germany could not fight back,
What was the German response to the Ruhr invasion
They responded with passive resistance and industrial sabotage, the government urged workers to go on strike , a number of worker’s were shot
What was so economically bad due to the Strike in the Ruhr
The government backed the strikers and printed more money to pay them a wage, but no work was being done, so money was floating around society leading to inflation and hyperinflation
Who benefitted from Hyperinflation
Businessmen who had debt’s and foreigner’s who could afford thing’s the people could not
By 1923, how much was £1 in marks
£1 = 1,680,800,000,000,000
marks.
What did the Weimar fear would happen in Germany that occurred in Russia
The government feared a repeat of the
Bolshevik Revolution that took place in
Russia in 1917.
