Impact of the War and the Political Crises of Oct to Nov 1918 and the establishment of the Weimar Constitution

Question 1

When did Kaiser Wilhelm 11 officially abdicate?

Answer 1

9th November 1918

Question 2

When was the Armistice?

Answer 2

11th November 1918

Question 3

What was President Wilson’s Fourteen point plan?

Answer 3

Means of dealing with the after mass of the war
Included points such as returning Alsace-Lorraine to France and establishing a League of Nations

Question 4

What were the October Reforms (revolution from above)?

Answer 4

Germany high commanders trying to impose a new political system (unsuccessful)
-Appointed Prince Max of Baden as Chancellor
-Germany became a Parliamentary democracy with kaiser as head of state (ceremonial only)

Question 5

What were the main motivations behind the Revolution from above?

Answer 5

-To prevent a “real” revolution
-To get the best terms out of the armistice
-To distance the elites from the German defeat by putting blame on the government

Question 6

What was the Peace Note?

Answer 6

-3rd October Prince Max wrote to President Wilson asking for an armistice, took weeks for a reply, Wilson laid terms including the evacuation of all occupied land.
=Ludendorff refused and tried but failed a last ditch military effort which failed and he fled to Sweden

Question 7

What happened on the 28th October 1918?

Answer 7

-Germany high command, in one last futile act of resistance to a humiliating peace ordered ships to attack the British from Wilhelmshaven however the crew refused to obey orders
=This Naval mutiny was the beginning of a much broader revolutionary movement

Question 8

What was the German People’s response to the Peace Note?

Answer 8

-Shattered morale
-undermined respect for Kaiser and military leaders

Question 9

What happened on the 3rd November 1918?

Answer 9

Sailors at Kiel mutinied against their officers and took control of the base. On the following day the revolt spread to the city and worker and solider councils were established, similar to what had occurred in Russia in 1917

Question 10

What happened on the 8 th November 1918?

Answer 10

Republic declared in Bavaria and the Bavarian monarchy decomposed
(Acted as the decisive moment in the German Revolution)

Question 11

What happened on the 9th November 1918?

Answer 11

SPD called for a general strike in Berlin

Question 12

When did Prince Max resign as chancellor and who took his place?

Answer 12

9th Nov 1918
Friedrich Ebert (leader of the SPD)

Question 13

What does Der Dolchstoss mean?

Answer 13

“stab in the back”

Question 14

What were Ebert his government called for signing the armistice?

Answer 14

November Criminals

Question 15

When were the Spartacist League founded?

Answer 15

1916

Question 16

Who were the leader of the Spartacists?

Answer 16

Rosa Luxemburg and karl Liebknecht

Question 17

When did the Spartacists become the KPD?

Answer 17

1919

Question 18

What did the Spartacists want?

Answer 18

-Wanted a Republican government controlled by Workers and Solider Councils
-Welfare Benefits
-Nationalisation

Question 19

Who supported the Spartacists?

Answer 19

Workers

Question 20

What was the membership of the Spartacists in 1918?

Answer 20

approx 5000

Question 21

When was the USPD founded?

Answer 21

1917

Question 22

Who was the leader of the USPD in 1918?

Answer 22

Hugo Hasse

Question 23

What did the USPD want?

Answer 23

-Wanted a republic with a national Reichstag working with council and soldier councils

Question 24

What was the USPD’s membership in 1918?

Answer 24

approx 300,000

Question 25

When was the SPD founded?

Answer 25

1875

Question 26

Who was the leader of the SPD ?

Answer 26

Friedrich Ebert

Question 27

What did the SPD want?

Answer 27

-Wanted a moderate Socialist Republic with democratic elections

Question 28

What party was the largest party in the Reichstag in 1912?

Answer 28

SPD

Question 29

How many members did the SPD have in 1918?

Answer 29

approx 1 million

Question 30

When was the Spartacist revolt?

Answer 30

Jan 1919

Question 31

What happened in the Spartacist revolt?

Answer 31

workers went on strike and the Spartacist’s seized communication and newspaper buildings
Freikorps used to put down revolt
Leaders Rosa Luxemburg and karl Liebknecht killed

Question 32

What agreement was amde between General Groener and Ebert?

Answer 32

Ebert-Groener Pact
(army would support the government if Ebert kept the Army’s structure)

Question 33

When were the elections for the Constitutional assembly held?

Answer 33

19th Jan 1919
(SPD secured largest number of votes and seats but did not have an overall majority)

Question 34

Who was elected as the first President of the Weimar Republic?

Answer 34

Friedrich Ebert

Question 35

When Philip Scheidemann formed in the new government in 1918 as leader of the SPD what other parties were he in coalition with?

Answer 35

centre and German Democratic Parties

Question 36

What was the Centre Party (Z)?

Answer 36

-Formed in 1870 to protect Catholic interests in the mainly protestant German Reich
-Had strong support by Catholics
-Supported a democratic constitution

Question 37

What was the German Democratic Party ?(DPP)

Answer 37

A left leaning Liberal party
Most support came for intellectuals and the middle class
-Supported a democratic constitution

Question 38

What was the German National People’s Party (DNVP)?

Answer 38

A Nationalist Party based on the old conservatives
-most support came from landowners and some small business owners
-Rejected the democratic constitution

Question 39

What was the German People’s Party (DVP)?

Answer 39

A right leaning liberal party
-most support from upper middle class
-opposed new republic but willing to participate in its government

Question 40

State some Strengthens of the 1919 Constitution

Answer 40

marked a clear break with Germany’s autocratic past
-Provided a wider right to vote e.g women the right to vote
-System of Proportional Representation enabled even the smaller parties to win seats and influence government decisions
-Full democracy in local government as well as central government
-The constitution clearly set out the Rights of the individual
e.g “all Germans are equal” “censorship is forbidden”
-Referendums could be called by the President, the Reichsrat or by the people’s request if a tenth of the electorate applies for one

Question 41

What were the weaknesses of the 1919 Constitution?

Answer 41

-Proportional representation
Smaller parties can gain representation in the Reichstag which allowed many parties to exploit the parliamentary system
Coalition governments are common due to the sheer number of parties in the government as none of the larger parties can get a full majority and most coalitions led to divisions

Question 42

What was article 48?

Answer 42

Rule by Presidential Decree
(allowed the President to rule by degree in exceptional circumstances)
HOWEVER…
Ebert used it 136 times!
Hindenburg used it 109 times during the depression years!