Impact of the Treaty of Versailles on Germany Flashcards
German reaction to the Treaty ?
- Greeted with horror and disbelief by the majority of Germans
- Almost universal resentment at the harsh terms
Why were German shocked with the signing of the armistice ?
- Until 1914, Germany had been one of the greatest military powers
- Much of the war and especially early months of 1918, war effort portrayed as close to victory in official propaganda
- Neither ordinary soldiers were told how desperate German’s military effort was on the Western Front.
What did Wilson’s 14 points say about national self determination ?
- stressed the importance of the basis of national self determination as a basis for just peace
Did Germany get national self determination ?
- this right was denied to the German themselves
How did Germany not receive national self determination ?
- Millions of German people who spoke German and considered themselves German were now living in non German states like Czechoslovakia and Poland
- Separation from East Prussia from the rest of Germany was a major source of resentment
Why did the germans object the War Guilt Clause ?
- seen as a national humiliation
- Germans believed that they had been forced into total war against the Allies, who attempted to encircle Germany.
Why did Germany object the reparation fee ?
- major case for anger
- Germans felt that the level was too high and would cripple the German economy
Why did Germany object the territorial losses ?
- Allied occupation of parts of Western Germany and French control of Saarland coasted mines led to continuing friction
- German nationalists were outraged by the outlawing of nationalist groups and banning of German patriotic songs and factions in areas under French control.
Why did Germany object disarming and exclusion from the League of Nations ?
- seen as an unjust discrimination against a proud and once powerful nation
What did almost all minsters believed about accepting the Treaty of Versailles settlement ?
- accepting the settlement would be incompatible with German honour
When did the Germans have to accept the treaty ?
- Demand for acceptance of the treaty was seven days
Why was there a political crisis in June 1919 ?
- disagreements over the Treaty of Versailles settlement
Who wanted to reject the treaty ?
- Schiedemann and some of his ministers wanted to reject the treaty
Who wanted to accept the treaty ?
- Majority of the cabinet and of the SPD members of the Reichstag believed that Germany had no other choice than to sign the treaty
What happened as a result of the political crisis of June 1919 ?
- Schiedsmann resigned and a new coalition cabinet, led by Gustav Bauer, was formed
What was occurring, meanwhile the political crisis of June 1919 ?
- high ranking officers in the German army were discussing the possibility of resisting the treaty through military action
Detailing between Ebert and Groener about resisting the treaty ?
- Ebert told Groener that he would support a rejection if there was any chance of military success
- Groener informed Ebert that military resistance would fail and there was no other option than to sign the treaty ?
Why did Groener believed that military resistance would fail ?
- Groener was a realist
What continued to dominate optical life throughout the years of the Weimar Republic ?
- divisons over the signing of the Treaty of Versailles
What did the SPD would believed would happen to them after the signing of the treaty ?
- SPD and its allies in government were aware that the signing the treaty would rebound on them
What did the SPD and its allies do as they felt threatened ?
- asked their major opponents in the DNVP, DVP and DDP to state that those voted in the treaty were not unpatriotic
What was the reaction of the pro - republican parties ?
- Signing of there treaty turned some ( even supporters ) against the Weimar Republic.
Impact of the Versailles Settlement on the pro republican parties ?
- it alienated those who had been happy to accept a new constitution and its promises of a ‘ better ‘ Germany, but who could not stomach politicians who appeared to have betrayed an unbeaten country.
Impact of the Versailles Settlement on the Weimar Republic ?
- Treaty causes political demoralisation of the Weimar Republic a the very centre of government, associating the Republic with weakness and failure
How did German nationalists feel ?
- could not accept the fact of Germany’s military defeat, nor the establishment of the Weimar Republic.
How did the nationalists view the politicians ?
- viewed the politicians who now governed Germany as lacking any legitimacy because they betrayed the ‘ Fatherland ‘ several times
How did the politicians betray the ‘ Fatherland ‘ several times ?
- in the dethroning of the Kaiser
- signing of the armistice
- acceptance of the Treaty of Versailles
What were the politicians and their actions called ?
- These politicians became labelled the ‘ November Criminals ‘ and their actions of betrayal as the ‘ stab in the back ‘ theory
How did the Treaty of Versailles affect right wing resentment ?
- Right wing resentment of the Republic was intensified by the signing of the Versailles Treaty
What was the ‘ stab in the back ‘ theory ?
- Poltiifans betrayed / stab in the back to the German soldiers and people in the war
Who advocated the ‘ stab in the back ‘ theory ?
- ’ stab in the back ‘ theory was actively promoted by General Ludendorff and his superior von Hindenburg
Impact of the ‘ stab in the back ‘ theory ?
- was the justification of continued nationalist attacks on the Republic, its political supporters and on the treaty
Who was the ‘ stab In the back theory ‘ especially appealing to ?
- particularly appealing to ex - soldiers who had suffered in fighting for what they regarded as a noble cause
Did all ‘ soldiers’ against the Republic ?
- Not all soldiers were hostile to the Republic
- Many working class soldiers, previously members of trade unions and supported SPD, supported new democratic system
- Others gravitated to the communists
Why and where were many soldiers attracted to ?
- Many could not adjust to civilian life and yearned for a sense of purpose that the war years gave them
- Many soldiers gravitated to the Freikorps and other nationalist groups
Impact of many soldiers joining nationalist groups ?
- democratic politics was under constant threat from violent nationalist groups
Who did the ‘ stab in the back ‘ theory blame for stabbing Germany in the back ?
- unpatriotic and weak politicians
How did the ‘ stab in the back ‘ theory impact the Weimar Republic ?
- The belief that Germany was stabbed in the back by unpatriotic socialists was quickly used to criticise the democratic Weimar Republic.
- Weimar Republic became associated with German’s undeserved defeat and the humiliation of the peace treaty
impact of many elite figures preaching the ‘ stab in the back ‘ theory ?
- reinforced the hostility of many Germans to the new Weimar Republic.
