Kaiser's Germany Flashcards
what did the growth of industrialisation under KWII mean for Germany?
- better transport infrastructure (railways, trains, ships) leading to better communication lines and trade routes
- by 1914, germany was a world leader in new industries (electrical products, chemical products [Bayer], automobiles [Daimler and Volkswagen])
what 2 processes started under KWII?
industrialisation and urbanisation
what did the growth of urbanisation under KWII mean for Germany?
- between 1875 and 1910 berlin’s population doubled
- by 1910 60% of germans lived in cities
by 1910, what % or germans lived in cities?
60%
when did the SPD become the largest party?
1912, where they had 1/3 of the seats
what were the effects of industrialisation & urbanisation under KWII?
- larger working class
- more rich land/factory owners & businessmen
- low wages
- poor working conditions
- expensive food
- disease and poverty
what proportion of the seats in the Reichstag did the SPD have, in 1912?
1/3
what were the aims of the SPD?
wanted more democracy & to improve working conditions
how many seats did the SPD have in the reichstag in 1887?
11
how many seats did the SPD have in the reichstag in 1903?
81
what were the effects of poverty & divided society under KWII?
growth of extremist views; extreme nationalists and those who wanted revolution
who backed industrialisation?
wealthy businessmen
in 1914, how many workers belonged to a trade union?
3 million
why were the aristocracy worried under KWII?
thought the SPD want revolution to overthrow monarchy, and destroy the class system
when was the Worker’s Protection Act?
1891
why did KWII pass the Worker’s Protection Act in 1891?
tried to stop people voting SPD
What did the Worker’s Protection Act do, 1891?
- stricter regulations - greater workplace safety
- banned work on Sundays
- maximum working day of 11 hours for women & 10 hours for workers <16
- prohibited night work by <16
- banned <13 from working in industry
- encouraged establishment of worker’s committees in factories to address disputes
when were the industrial courts est.?
1901
why were industrial courts set up?
- to settle disputes between employer and employee
- compulsory in towns where population exceeded 20,000
how was society under KWII divided?
- some factory owners had become very rich in the war
- junkers
- poverty (restricted worker’s wages)
- women in factories (trad. family values)
- larger working class
who were the Junkers?
- wealthy conservative landowners from Prussia
- controlled Prussian Army (enormous influence over German foreign & domestic affairs)
- strong supporters of German ruling family (Prussian Hohenzollern dynasty)
in what year did Germany produce more iron & steel & the same amount of coal as great britain?
1913
what were KWII’s priorities?
- global power; weltpolitik
- pride & interest in military
how did KWII attempt to gain global power?
late 1800s took over other nations (ie Africa)
why did KWII follow a policy of Weltpolitik?
- to distract from socialism
- wanted germany to be most powerful country in world
- wanted to increase germany’s status
why did KWII have an interest and pride in the military?
- wanted to rival great britain; take more land & protect current empire
- people saw german power over britain and agreed to support kaiser’s other policies
- created more work for businesses and industries
when were the Naval Laws?
1898-1912
when was the First Naval Law?
1898
when was the Second Naval Law?
1900
when was the Third Naval Law?
1906
when was the Final Naval Law?
1912
what did the First Naval Law do?
1898 - increased navy by 7 battleships
what did the Second Naval Law do?
1900 - doubled size of navy to 38 battleships
what did the Third Naval Law do?
1906 - 6 more battleships; in response to britain launching the dreadnought, some german battleships became dreadnoughts too
what did the Final Naval Law do?
1912 - Navy grew again
how did KWII take a pride & interest in the military?
- Naval Laws
- spent lots of money - raised taxes (affected workers most), borrowed (State’s Debt increased to 490 billion marks by 1913)
- expanded army too
- encouraged patriotic and nationalist sentiment
by 1913, what was the State’s Debt?
490 billion marks
why did the SPD oppose the Naval Laws?
they were so expensive
who influenced the Kaiser?
noble army officers, advisors and ministers; he sacked disagreeing ministers
what was Germany like pre-1870?
collection of small states with a similar culture
when and how was Germany formed?
- in 1871
- Prussian king wanted a union to gain more power - a series of wars were fought (France, Austria, Denmark feel threatened)
- prussian king became kaiser as he held most power
what was the role of the kaiser?
controlled foreign policy, army, navy - could ignore advice from advisors
who was the chancellor? what was his role?
- kaiser’s chief minister & appointed by him
- runs gvt day to day - led the bundesrat by proposing new subjects, issues and laws to be discussed
- proposed new legislation
- didn’t need support of reichstag or bundesrat
who were the Bundesrat? what did they do?
- german federal council
- state representatives who were consulted over govt policies and proposed laws to reichstag - in return, tehy approved any law the reichstag made
- consent was necessary for all legislation, but they could be overruled
- 17 out of 58 representatives were prussian
- 14 votes were needed to veto any law passed by bundestag
how many Bundesrat representatives were Prussian under KWII?
17 out of 58
how many votes were needed to veto a law in the Bundesrat?
14 out of 58
what was the Reichstag? what did it do?
- national parliament
- could give money to or refuse to fund the army every 5 years
- 397 deputies
- elected by men over 25 every 3 yrs after 1888
- power to pass, alter and reject laws proposed by bundesrat or chancellor
- but couldn’t put forward their own legislation
- by the 1890s it had begun to grow and political parties had begun to form giving the deputies their own political agenda - they didn’t have huge power, but they could pressure the govt and influence public opinion
how many deputies were in the Reichstag?
397
who elected the Reichstag, under KWII?
men over 25 every 3 yrs after 1888
what was the Landtag? what did it do?
- mini-reichstag for each state
- prussian landtag so influential it dwarfed all others
when did Kaiser Wilhelm II become emperor?
1888
how did the government raise revenue, under KWII?
- germany was a federal state so individual states had the power to control income tac
- difficult for central govt to raise enough tax for their budget
When did WWI begin?
July 1914
what were the initial feelings towards WWI by the German people?
hope - patriotic young people thought it would end quickly
why did Germany suffer from shortages of food, clothes, medicine?
Britain’s navy stopped german supply ships
in what year did 500 women gather in front of parliament to demand their men back?
1915
when did the rationing of Potatoes, butter, sugar, meat, eggs, milk begin?
1916
when was the turnip winter?
1916-17
in what year did 10,000 workers in Berlin gather to shout ‘down with the government’?
1916
what was the state of Germany by the end of WWI?
- close to collapse
- deadly flu spreading
- surviving on turnips & bread
- war demonstrations and talk of revolution
when was the Kiel Mutiny?
28th October 1918
what was the Kiel Mutiny?
sailors refused to follow orders and, instead, worked with workers to take over towns and set up workers’ councils
what caused the Kiel Mutiny?
- war weariness
- allies said they would only end the war if the kaiser abdicated (he refused)
- sailors told to fight british navy one last time (knew they could not win so refused)
what were the effects of the Kiel Mutiny?
revolts, civil unrest, SPD falsely announced the kaiser abdicated
when was General Ludendorff’s statement?
October 1918
what were the main points of General Ludendorff’s statement?
- Germany will never win the war
- france, britain, and usa, will be fairer is germany is more democratic
what was the effect of General Ludendorff’s statement?
main german political parties form new government and some power transferred to reichstag
what was the economy like by the end of the Kaiser’s Germany?
- virtually bankrupt - had lent money to allies, borrowed money from abroad, exhausted factories had produced guns etc not goods to sell, war pensions, war guilt, reparations
- by 1918, industrial production was ~33% lower than it had been in 1913
- debt had increased from 50 billion marks in 1914 to 150 billion in 1918
- wealth gap - average 1918 worker wage was 60% of 1913 earnings but military factory owners became very rich
by 1918, industrial production was what % lower than it had been in 1913?
33%
what was the German State’s debt in 1914?
50 billion marks
What was the German State’s debt in 1918?
150 billion marks
how many war widows were in Germany by the end of WWI?
600,000
describe the state of germany at end of wwi.
- virually bankrupt
- politically unstable
- divided society
how many fatherless children were there in Germany by the end of WWI?
2 million
how many troops had died from fighting by the end of WWI?
2 million
how many troops had been wounded from fighting by the end of WWI?
4 million
how many german civilians had died from starvation by the end of WWI?
763,000
how many german civilians had died from the flu pandemic by the end of WWI?
150,000
when did the KWII abdicate and secretly leave germany?
November 1918
who filled the power gap in Germany after the Kaiser’s abdication?
- Council of People’s Representatives
- SPD & USPD (independent social democratic party)
- Ebert (SPD leader) became a temporary leader
- controlled germany until jan 1919 elections for new reichstag
- November Criminals
