Impact of WW1 Flashcards
why was it difficult for Germany to recover after the war
it had crippled German economy
how many troops died at war? how many were wounded?
- 2 million died
- 4 million wounded
how many women were left as widows
600,000
how many children were left without fathers
2 million
how many civilians died? why
763,000 died from starvation and a further 150,000 died from the flu pandemic
pandemic
country-wide disease
what was industrial production like by 1918
it was 33% lower than what it had been in 1913
what had Germany’s debt increased to/from what
increased from 50 billion marks in 1914 to 150 billion in 1981
what did Germany do to pay off debt/fund war effort
Germany printed more money to pay off debts/fund the war effort
what was the impact of printing more money
- value of the German mark fell
- inflation
inflation
increases in prices
what was the average wage of a worker like in 1918
60% of what they would’ve earned in 1913
who made lots of money from war
big armament (military weapons) business owners
why did workers resent business owners?
they made a lot of money bc of war
main reason for Kaiser’s abdication
Germany’s defeat
who told Kaiser Wilhelm II that Germany wouldn’t win the war
- Field Marshal Hindenburg
- General Ludenorff
what did Hidenburg ad Ludenorff suggest for a favourable peace settlement w the Allied Powers
a democratic government
when was the Democratic Government created
3rd October 1918
who did the Kaiser appoint to be chancellor of the Democratic government
a liberal, Prince Max of Baden
when did the Kaiser lose the military’s support
around 28th October 1918
when was the Kiel Mutiny
3rd November 1918
what was the Kiel Mutiny
the sailors refused to follow the Kaiser’s orders, there were riots among sailors and workers
who was Kurt Eisner? what did he do?
- communist
- led mass strikes in Munich
- supported uprisings against the Kaiser
when did the Kaiser officially abdicate
9th November 1918 when he had lost the support of advisors
where did the Kaiser flee to when he was forced to abdicate
Holland, the Netherlands
when was the German Republic made, who declared it?
- 10th November 1918
- Philipp Scheidmann, a member of SPD declared it
who was the leader of the German Republic
Freidrich Ebert, originally leader of SPD
when was the armistice signed/Ebert accepted defeat
11th November 1918
armistice
agreement to stop fighting
when was the Treaty of Versailles signed
signed in 1919
what was the Treaty of Versailles
terms of peace
name of Article 231
‘War Guilt Clause’
what was in Article 231
Germany accepted blame for the war
how much did Germany have to pay in reparations
the Treaty of Versailles said they had to pay £6.6billion to the Allies in annual installments
what did Germany lose bc of Treaty of Versailles
- 10% of land
- 12.5% of population
what became the military limits
- 100,000 soldiers
- 15,000 sailors
- 6 ships
- 0 ships or sumbarines
what happened to the Rhineland bc Treaty of Versailles
it was demilitarised
who couldn’t Germany join with bc of Treaty of Versailles
join w Austria
which territory was removed
Alsace-Lorraine was removed back to France
when did the Weimar Republic stop paying reparations
1922
what did Frane and Belgium do in 1923? why?
they seized the Ruhr bc of the stopping of paying of reparations
importance of the Ruhr
main industrial region in Germany
what did France/Belgium do in the Ruhr
took control of all factories/mines/railways in area. this was legal bc of the Treaty of Versailles
what did Ebert do in response to the seizure of the Ruhr
told workers to go on strike as a ‘passive resistance’. however these workers were easily replaced by French/Belgian workers
how many Germans were killed and left homeless by the French/Belgians in the Ruhr
- 132 people killed
- 150,000 left homeless
what did Germany begin doing to try and help pay reparations
printing money, which led to hyperinflation. but Germany didn’t have enough gold for this
problems of printing more money
- value of German mark fell
- hyperinflation
- pensioners lost money (eg could barely afford coffee)
- small business owners went bankrupt
- mainly middle class, people w savings lost all money
- people w fixed incomes couldn’t renegotiate earnings
how did the price of bread change from 1918-1923
in 1918 it was 0.6 German marks, in 1923 it was 201 billion German marks
how did many people carry their money? why?
many carried it in wheelbarrows bc prices often changed hourly and they wanted to buy goods quickly
people who benefited from the printing of more money
- farmers got more money for food
- those who were in debt could quickly pay it off
