Ka1 Flashcards
Who were the central powers?
Germany
Austria Hungary
Turkey
Later Bulgaria
Who were the Allies?
France
Britain
Russia
Later the USA
What was the Ludendorff/Spring Offence?
A massive attack Germany launched on the Western Front in early 1919 to defeat the allies before USA troops arrived-initially successful but pushed back.
What was the German reaction to the loss of WW1?
Great shock-despite food shortages from the British naval blockade the German press told them they were close to success- so they expected victory.
Found it difficult to understand how they lost: German troops were victorious in the east against Russia, German soil had not been invaded and there were still German troops in Belgium and France.
What was the British naval blockade?
During the last 2 years of the war, the British navy blockaded German ports, led to food shortages.
Winter of 1916-17 supply of potatoes ran out, just left with turnips.
Food shortage meant civilians were vulnerable to disease. Some 750,000 Germans died from a combination of hunger and disease.
What were the political consequences of the WW1 loss?
Kaiser Wilhelm abdicated on 9th Nov 1918
Power passed to a council of Peoples’ Representatives- a temporary gov under Friedrich Ebert, they quickly signed the Armistice + known as ‘November Criminals’
Signs of chaos; German sailors mutinied + there was unrest among workers in cities. Gov feared full scale revolution due to chaos and civil war it created, avoided this with support of army.
January 1919 elections: SPG, Catholic centre party + German Democratic party formed coalition and drew up new democratic constitution.
Who was Friedrich Ebert?
Leader of the SPD (Social Democratic Party)
Became President of the Weimar Republic in 1920
What was the stab-in-the back myth?
The weakness and defeatism on the home front let the army down.
What were the social consequences of WW1 loss?
Divide between the rich and poor increased as gap in living standards increased. Restrictions placed on workers’ earnings during war made this worse as factory owners made vast profits while the income of their workers declined due to inflation.
Women called up to work in factories to maintain production levels; helped maintain income levels but others argued it damaged traditional family values + society.
What were other social consequences of WW1 loss?
Divisions between urban and rural areas emerged; those living in cities accused those in the countryside of hoarding food + other essentials.
Deaths of soldiers; at the end of the war there were some 600,000 widows, and 2 million fatherless children
British naval blockade was tightened to pressure Germany to fulfil armistice terms-shortages grew worse. Some 750,000 Germans died from a combination of hunger and disease.
What were the economic consequences of WW1 loss?
War pensions put a strain on gov; pension payments consumed 1/3 of the budget.
National income fell to about 1/3 of what it had been in 1913.
Industrial production fell, it was only 2/3 of pre-war levels.
Severe; Germany virtually bankrupt. Further weakened by TOV terms, reparations, lost large areas of rich industrial land.
The face value of war bonds had been eroded by inflation-meant many Germans lost most or all of their wealth.
What were the impacts of the Treaty of Versailles?
-Reparations
-Military losses
-Land lost
Some Germans now lived in occupied areas, destruction of armed forces and loss of empire damaged national pride. Blamed Weimar as they signed it-opposition.
Despite losses Germany was still the strongest power in central Europe due to the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and defeat of Russia.
What was the impact of land lost?
Lost land from virtually every border area:
North: Schleswig was returned to Denmark
East: Upper Silesia (contained coal and steelworks) given to Poland as well as Posen + West Prussia
South: Forbidden to unite with Austria.
West: Alsace Lorraine returned to France.
Saar (rich industrial land) placed under the control of the League of Nations.
What were the impacts of military losses in the TOV?
Army reduced to 100,000 men, navy reduced to 15,000
Tanks, aircraft, submarines + poison gas forbidden
Number of ships limited
Rhineland was demilitarised + occupied by Allied troops for 15 years.
Destroyed German pride + made it difficult for Germany to defend itself.
What were the impacts of reparations in the TOV?
Had to pay £6.6 billion.
Forced to accept Article 231 the War Guilt Clause-meant they had to take responsibility for starting the War. Resented this.
Germans disapproved of the Gov as they signed it, so they lost support.
Reasons why the TOV was fair?
- Can be argued that Germany would have treated the Allies more harshly if they had won, eg Germany made Russia sign a treaty after withdrawing form WW1 which took away 1/4 of their farmland and population.
- Most devasting war in the world-only right that the losing countries should pay for damages.
Reasons why the TOV was unfair?
Germany lost 13% of land
Treaty was too harsh, people thought it would lead to another war, Lloyd George predicted another war in the next 25 years
Treaty was a diktat-had to accept any terms + not allowed representatives
Reparations crippled Germany, estimated to take until 1980s to pay back
What were the aims of the left-wing?
Hoped that a Soviet Style government would be established
Wanted industry to be nationalised
Wanted a revolution in Germany similar to the one
When this didn’t happen they revolted.
What was the Spartacist Uprising 1918/19
Led by Rosa Luxemburg and Karl Liebknecht, members attempted to seize power in Berlin but were brutally oppressed by the military and the Freikorps.
Reasons why the Spartacist Uprising was a threat?
In Berlin the capital city-if successful it could have removed new politicians from power.
It is a physical demonstration that they oppose democracy-want communism. Germany need to appear democratic to allies, can’t afford another war + League of Nations.
Weimar gov only just set up, not prepared, can’t afford to face criticism + look weak, stab in the back myth.
Why was the Spartacist uprising not a threat?
Not organised well, had too few workers + their armed forces were inadequate, not a match against the Freikorps.
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Why was the Spartacist uprising not a threat?
Not organised well, had too few workers + their armed forces were inadequate, not a match against the Freikorps.
The revolt did not spread through out Germany-not enough support.
Not successful, didn’t achieve aims supressed easily by army and Freikorps, Luxemburg and Liebknecht executed.
What was the 1920 Ruhr Uprising?
In 1920, Communists and others on the left formed a ‘red army’ of nearly 80,000 men. Planned to seize control of Ruhr district but were brutally crushed by the Freikorps and the army.
Many on left viewed army as undemocratic.
What were the impacts of the left wing revolts?
Short term-supressed by Freikorps + army
Long term- increased polarisation and encouraged many on the right to believe a Soviet Style revolution was planned-could lead to revolts from them.
Why did Weimar view the left as a more significant threat?
Due to their fears of communism and a revolution as they didn’t want to experience the chaos and civil war it created in Russia.
Also they didn’t share views on anything so didn’t have anything to offer them to try to win them over.
Threat demonstrated through the ‘Ebert-Groener Pact’
What was the Ebert-Groener Pact?
An agreement between President Ebert and Wilhelm Groener that ensured the safety of the Weimar Republic in its early days.
The army along with the Freikorps were allowed to crack down on the left wing groups, in return they retained independence.
What were the aims of the right-wing?
Thought Weimar was too left and weak, wanted to return to return to a stronger, more traditional form of government.
Resented Germany’s weak position after the war, felt army had been ‘stabbed-in-the-back’ by new gov.
What was the Kapp Putsch 1920?
1920, the gov attempted to disband the Freikorps, resulted in Wolfgang Kapp attempting to seize power, he and his supporters marched into Berlin and declared themselves in power. Army had sympathies with Kapp + refused to crush rising, gov forced to flee. Appeared as a threat but trade unions called for a general strike-this paralysed public services + defeated the rising.
Why was the Kapp Putsch a threat?
Highlighted the government’s lack of authority when the army refused to fire on Freikorps under Kapp, shows the gov had little power + lacked control, only able to solve revolts with military support.
Only able to stop it because the republic was popular among the WC, still reliant on others.
What were the impacts of the Kapp Putsch?
Established a right wing gov in Bavaria-here extremist organisations were allowed to flourish.
June 1920 elections resulted in further loss of support for democratic parties and gains for the right wing
Extreme right grew as disputes with Allies over peace terms + reparations created further resentment.
Encouraged further hostility from many workers.
What were the impacts of the Ruhr Uprising?
It was the biggest left-wing uprising
Over 1000 workers, 250 police and soldiers were killed
Key buildings eg railway stations and post offices were seized.
What was the Munich Putsch 1923?
Putsch led by Hitler and the Nazis.
During the extreme economic crisis of 1923, Hitler attempted to seize power first in Munich then Berlin.
Initially successful as Hitler was able to seize the state governor, however the police acted + put it down.
What were the impacts of the Munich Putsch?
16 Nazis were killed
Hitler was arrested but given minimum sentence + released early on probation , this was clear indication of the judiciary’s sympathy for such movements + their lukewarm support for the republic.
Hitler’s trial generated publicity for his party-support for Nazis, gave him platform to come to power.
How many political assassinations were there from right wing?
Between 1919-22 there were 376 political murders mostly by right wing eg Walther Rathenau.
Why were the right wing a bigger threat?
Had military support
The left was divided
They had power, demonstrated in Kapp Putsch
They had insiders that wanted to bring down democracy
Bigger threat in long term, left bigger threat in short term
Right wing assassinations show how radical they were.
What was the Ruhr?
The industrial heartland of Germany-it contained key materials crucial for paying off reparations in the TOV
What is hyperinflation?
Germany experienced this in 1923, price rises went completely out of control.
Value of money went up and prices went down
What caused hyperinflation?
Cost of war and reparations
Striking workers in the Ruhr- needed to print more money to pay them, mark lost value.
Why did the Ruhr end up being invaded in Jan 1923?
Germany fell behind in reparation payments. Ebert tried to negotiate more time but French needed the money to pay off war debts to USA. French decided to occupy the Ruhr and take what they felt was rightfully theirs.
How did the Gov respond to the occupation of the Ruhr?
With a policy of passive resistance-general strike. Gov had to print more money to pay workers, led to hyperinflation, money became worthless.
What were the impacts of hyperinflation?
By October 1923, 4.2 trillion marks were needed to buy 1 US dollar
Price of a loaf of bread went from 250 marks in Jan 1923 to 200 trillion in Nov
Loss of support for Weimar, many people blamed the Republic as they had agreed to the reparations by signing the TOV.
Who benefited from hyperinflation?
Those who needed to pay off loans, inflation had made them almost worthless.
Black markets and gambling flourished, people turned to bartering
Who didn’t benefit from hyperinflation?
Those on fixed incomes or reliant on savings e.g. pensioners, civil servants and members of MC
Weimar lost support
How was the issue solved?
Stresemann took decisive action, he:
ended passive resistance
co-operated with the allies
brought in a new currency and destroyed the old, worthless mark
Why were the left wing not a threat?
They weren’t a united front making it difficult for a truly left-wing society to form as they disagreed on how it would function.
What did the Weimar constitution do?
Stated how the new Germany would function, it was a democratic republic.
In what ways were the Weimar constitution democratic?
People voted for the president and the Reichstag
President appointed the Chancellor but if the Reichstag lost faith in him then a new one was chosen
What measures were democratic?
The people voted for the President and the Reichstag
President in power for 7 years before re-election=stability.
What was proportional representation?
The percentage of a party’s vote will give them the same percentage of seats in the Reichstag (Lower House)
Why did the system the Weimar Constitution used make it weak?
Used system of proportional representation to elect members to Reichstag, allowed small parties to gain representation + meant governments were made up of a coalition of parties. These were unstable and led to frequent changes in gov, undermining confidence in the new democracy, left many longing for more authoritarian alternative.
What were the weaknesses of the Weimar Constitution?
Proportional representation meant it was difficult to establish a strong government, evident as there were 20 different cabinets between Feb 1919 and Jan 1933
System allowed small parties such as NSDAP to gain a foothold
Presidential power undermined the system-through Article 48 President could rule by emergency decree
Not really democratic-forced upon them
Opposition-blamed for TOV, wanted dictatorship
What were the strengths of the Weimar Constitution?
Although there were numerous new cabinets formed, the people in them were often the same even if their role changed, while others served in the same rule eg Gustav Stresemann 1923-29 foreign minister
From 1918-23 the Republic faced almost constant attacks from both the extreme left and right but still survived
