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nazis; early years of weimar republic > impact of war and the weimar constitution > Flashcards

impact of war and the weimar constitution Flashcards

1
Q

When did Kaiser Wilhelm II receive news that his abdication had been announced in Berlin?

A

At 1:30pm on 9th November, 1918.

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2
Q

What did Wilhelm II’s companions advise him to do?

A

To travel northwards into Holland as his only hope of safety, as they’d remained neutral during the first world war.

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3
Q

What had been clear to General Ludendorff and the High Command by the end of September 1918?

A

That Germany was on the brink of defeat, as they had been forced to retreat along the Western Front.

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4
Q

How did Ludendorff try to avoid the humiliation of Germany’s surrender?

A

By asking the Allies for an armistice.

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5
Q

What did US President Wilson offer but what was the issue?

A

His plan of Fourteen Points which gave a basis for a negotiated peace settlement.
Ludendorff understood that Germany’s dictatorial political system would cause a problem.

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6
Q

How did Ludendorff try to gain better peace terms with the allies?

A

He advocated a partial democratisation for the German political system.

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7
Q

Why were Wilson’s Fourteen Points devised?

A

As a means of dealing fairly with the aftermath of the war.

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8
Q

What was the League of Nations established for?

A

To monitor future disputes and self-determination.

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9
Q

What did the Kaiser do in October 1918 on the recommendations of Ludendorff?

A

He began a series of reforms that effectively ended his autocratic rule.

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10
Q

What were Kaiser Wilhelm II’s reforms?

A
  • He appointed Prince Max of Baden as his new Chancellor
  • The Chancellor was to be responsible to the Reichstag and he established a new government based in the majority parties in the Reichstag, including the SPD
  • The armed forces were put under the control of the civil government
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11
Q

What did Prince Max do on October 3rd?

A

Wrote to President Wilson asking for an armistice.

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12
Q

Why did it take almost 3 weeks for Wilson to reply to Prince Max?

A

Largely because he was suspicious that the German High Command was using the request for an armistice as a means of buying time to regroup and prepare for a new offensive.

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13
Q

What did Wilson demand in his reply to Prince Max?

A

He demanded that Germany must evacuate all occupied territory, call an end to submarine warfare, and fully democratise its political system.

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14
Q

Why couldn’t Ludendorff accept Wilson’s peace note and what did he try to do instead?

A

These terms were basically demanding a German surrender and the Kaiser’s abdication.
This was too much for Ludendorff to accept.
He tried to gather support for a last ditch military effort to resist, where he failed and fled to Sweden.

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15
Q

What did the news that Prince Max’s government were seeking an armistice do to the public?

A

It shattered the German public’s morale, as well as the armed forces.
This was the first occasion on which the German people had learned the truth about their country’s hopeless military situation, and so it lessened their respect to the Kaiser and his political leaders.

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16
Q

What happened when, in one last act of resistance to humiliating peace, the German Navy’s high command ordered ships to attack British ships?

A

The crews of two cruisers refused to obey these orders, and it was this naval mutiny that was the beginning of a much broader revolutionary movement.

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17
Q

What happened on November 3rd, 1918?

A

German sailors were mutinied against their officers and took control of the base.

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18
Q

What happened on November 4th, 1918?

A

Revolt spread to the city, and workers’ and soldiers’ councils were established, similar to the Soviets in Russia during the Revolution of 1917.

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19
Q

What were most members of the councils like?

A

Patriotic Germans who wanted the Kaiser to abdicate and a democratic republic to be established.
This wasn’t a communist revolution like it would seem to outsiders.

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20
Q

What happened once the authority of military officers, government officials and police had been successfully challenged in November 1918?

A

The collapse of the regime happened with extraordinary speed.

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21
Q

What happened on November 8th, 1918 and why was this a key establishment of an all-German republic?

A

A republic was proclaimed in the state of Bavaria and the Bavarian monarchy was deposed.
It showed Prince Max that he had lost control of the situation.

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22
Q

What did the SPD call on workers in Berlin on November 9th, 1918?

A

To join a general strike to force the Kaiser to abdicate.

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23
Q

What did the SPD threaten to do on November 9th, 1918?

A

To withdraw support from Prince Max’s government unless the Kaiser abdicated in the next 24 hours.

24
Q

Why did Max have to take matters into his own hands when the Kaiser refused to abdicate and what did he do?

A

He knew he couldn’t continue to govern if the SPD pulled their support.
On November 9th, he released a press statement claiming the Kaiser had abdicated, despite his refusal to do so. Max then resigned himself.

25
Q

Who did Prince Max hand his position to?

A

Friedrich Ebert, the leader of the SPD.

26
Q

Who was Philipp Scheidemann and what did he do at the same time as Max’s resignation?

A

He was a leading figure in the SPD, and he stood on the Reichstag balcony declaring the German Republic was now in existence.

27
Q

What did General Goener tell Kaiser Wilhelm and what did it cause him to do?

A

That the army would no longer fight for him.
It highlighted how Wilhelm had lost all control, forcing him to abdicate after it had already been announced.

28
Q

What did Chancellor Ebert believe in and why was this hypocritical?

A

Evolutionary change through winning a majority in elections, and then introducing reforms.
The way in which he had come into power was through a revolutionary act, and was therefore conscious that government lacked legitimacy.

29
Q

What was Ebert quick to do once he came into power?

A

Establish a new constitution as quickly as possible, his priority being to organise elections for a Constituent Assembly.

30
Q

What did Ebert urge Germans to do prior to the creation of a new constitution and what problem did he have?

A

He urged them to keep essential services running in order to avoid street demonstrations and to maintain law and order.
His problem was that his authority did not extend much beyond Berlin where disorder and violence was becoming normal.

31
Q

What happened after the to soldiers after the armistice and the demobilisation of most of the army?

A

Bands of angry, disappointed and workless soldiers roamed the streets, where there were regular demonstrations, strikes and armed clashes occurred.

32
Q

Spartacist League (later KDP)

A

Founded: 1916, by a more revolutionary minority group from the SPD. The name was changed to the German Communist Party (KPD) in January 1919.

Leaders: Karl Liebnknecht and Rosa Luxemburg

Aims: Wanted republican government controlled by workers’ and soldiers’ councils, welfare benefits, nationalism, workers’ control of major industries, disbanding of the army and creation of local workers’ militias. Opposed to WWI.

Support: A throng of workers would often join them on their rallies and demonstrations in the streets.

Membership: c. 5,000

33
Q

USPD

A

Founded: 1917, by a breakaway minority group from the left of the SPD.

Leaders: Hugo Hasse

Aims: Wanted a republic with national Reichstag working with workers’ and soldiers’ councils, welfare improvements, nationalisation of industry, breaking up of large estates, reform of the army and creation of a national militia. Opposed to WWI.

Support: Grew in strength during 1918 as war-weariness grew.

Membership: c. 300,000

34
Q

The Social Democratic Party (SPD)

A

Founded: 1875, as a Marxist socialist party committed to revolution.

Leaders: Friedrich Ebert and Philipp Scheidemann

Aims: Wanted moderate socialist republic with democratic elections and basic personal freedoms, welfare improvements and gradual nationalisation of industry. Wanted continuity and order. Supported Germany’s entry into WWI.

Support: Appealed largely to working-class voters and, in 1912, became the largest party in the Reichstag.

Membership: c. 1 million

35
Q

What challenged Ebert’s efforts to contain revolution?

A

Pressure for more radical change from the left.

36
Q

What were the councils not allowing to happen?

A

They weren’t allowing Ebert’s government to take the key decisions without any reference to them.

37
Q

What agreement was reached between Berlin workers’ and soldiers’ councils, and the new government on November 22nd?

A

The government accepted that it only exercised power in the names of these councils, but this was a temporary compromise.

38
Q

What did many members of the USPD, whose leaders were apart of Ebert’s government, see the councils as and believe?

A

As the true expression of the revolutionary will of the people and the means by which the revolution could be extended.
They believed that the autocratic system of government would not be fully abolished unless the aristocratic estates were dissolved, the army, civil service and judiciary were democratised, and the key industries were nationalised under workers’ control.

39
Q

What did the survival of Ebert’s government depend on and why?

A

Support of the army.
Most army officers came from aristocratic backgrounds, had been loyal to the Kaiser and were opposed to democracy; they had no wish to see Germany become a republic.

40
Q

What did many officers believe by late 1918?

A

That Germany faced the danger of a revolution which would lead to civil war, and possible occupation by Allied forces.

41
Q

What happened on November 10th?

A

General Groener telephoned Ebert to assure him that the army leadership would support the government.
In return, Groener demanded that Ebert should resist the demands of the soldiers’ councils to democratise the army and to defend Germany against communist revolution.

42
Q

What did Ebert assure Groener on, and what did this become known as?

A

He assured that that the government was determined to resist further revolution and to uphold the existing command structure in the army.
It was known as the Ebert-Groener Pact.

43
Q

What did the Ebert-Groener Pact do to Ebert’s critics on the left?

A

Angered them, they saw it as an abject betrayal of the revolution.

44
Q

Why did the struggle for power continue whilst Ebert and his cabinet made preparations for elections to a Constituent Assembly?

A
  • On December 6th a Spartacist demonstration in Berlin was fired on by soldiers, killing 16.
  • On December 23rd-24th, a sailors’ revolt against the government in Berlin was put down by the army. In protest, 3 USPD ministers in the government resigned.
  • On January 6th, the Spartacists launched an armed revolt against the government in what became known as the January Revolution, or the Spartacist Uprising. After a week of heavy fighting in Berlin, the revolt was crushed.
45
Q

When were the elections for the Constituent Assembly held?

A

January 19th, 1919.

46
Q

What was significant about the Constituent Assembly elections?

A

Women were allowed to vote for the first time.

47
Q

What were the results of the Constituent Assembly elections?

A

The SPD secured the largest share of the vote and the largest number of seats, but they did not have an overall majority and would therefore have to compromise with other parties in order to establish a new constitution.

48
Q

Where did the Assembly meet and why?

A

In the small town of Weimar rather than Berlin, due to the unstable aftermath of the January Revolution.

49
Q

Who was elected by the Assembly as the first president of the Weimar Republic and who formed the new government?

A

Friedrich Ebert became President.
Philipp Scheidemann led a new government formed by the SPD in coalition with the Centre and German Democratic parties.

50
Q

Why could the Constituent Assembly concentrate on the business of drawing up a new constitution?

A

The workers’ and soldiers’ councils had handed over their powers.

51
Q

What general agreement was there between the representatives?

A

That there should be a clear break with the autocratic constitution drawn up by Otto von Bismarck for the German Empire in 1871.

52
Q

Centre Party

A
  • Formed in 1870 to protect Catholic interests in the mainly protestant German Reich
  • Had strong support in the main Catholic areas of Bavaria and the Rhineland
  • Supported a democratic constitution
53
Q

German Democratic Party (DDP)

A
  • A left-leaning liberal party, based on the old Progressive Party
  • Most support came from intellectuals and middle class
  • Supported a democratic constitution
54
Q

German National People’s Party (DNVP)

A
  • A nationalist party, based on the old Conservative Party
  • Most support came from landowners and some small business owners
  • Rejected the democratic constitution
55
Q

German People’s Party (DVP)

A
  • A right-leaning liberal party, based on the old National Liberal Party
  • Most support came from upper-middle class and business interests
  • Opposed to new republic but willing to participate in its governments

nazis; early years of weimar republic (4 decks)

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