kaiser wilhelm II and the difficulties of ruling germany C1 Flashcards
1
Q
give a recap of what happened after Germany was unified in 1871
A
- the king of the most powerful state, Prussia, became its new kaiser
2
Q
describe the role of each member of the parliamentary government
A
- chancellor- (chief minister) and ministers advised the kaiser
- Bundesrat- made up of representatives from each state
- Reichstag- parliament elected by men over 25, both debated and voted on laws drawn up by the kaiser and ministers
- Kaiser- could ignore government advice and make his own decisions, he made all military and foreign policy decisions
3
Q
who was Kaiser Wilhelm II
A
- spent most of his youth in the army
- keen to maintain a powerful army and build up a large navy
- took great pride in leading the army and was very interested in military tactics
- wanted Germany to be a global power and have an empire to rival Britain’s; this was the plan called Weltpolitik- ‘word policy’
- was from Prussia; militarism- the belief that a country should have strong armed forces - was important to Prussia; Prussian generals, army officers and tactics formed the basis of the new united German army
4
Q
what was industrialisation
A
- in the late 1800s Germany began to industrialise
- supported by powerful German businessmen, production of iron and coal doubled
- by 1913 Germany was producing as much coal as Britain and more iron and steel
- by 1914 Germany produced 2/3rds of Europe’s steel
- German companies dominated Europe in industries such as electrical and chemical goods
5
Q
describe the growth of socialism
A
- many workers were unhappy with low wages and poor working conditions
- workers joined trade unions and organised strikes hoping to force the government to improve pay and working conditions, by 1914 over 3 million workers had joined trade unions
- a new political party- the social democratic party (SPD) became popular amongst the workers
- some socialists took a more extreme view: they wanted to rebel against the Kaisers rule, start a revolution and allow cities and towns to be governed by councils of workers
6
Q
what was the social democratic party (SPD)
A
- believed in socialism- power and wealth should be shared equally among the people
- hoped that the Kaiser might allow the Reichstag to make more social reforms or laws to improve workers rights and conditions
- disagreed with the power and privileged positions held by land and factory owners
- around 1 in 3 Germans voted for this political party at this time
7
Q
what were the navy laws
A
- between 1898 and 1912 a series of navy laws were introduced
- as a result, a huge amount of money was spent quickly to increase the size of the navy
- the army expanded in size too
8
Q
why were the navy laws introduced
A
- the kaiser wanted a large navy to help him take over more countries and protect those already in the German empire
9
Q
how were the navy laws introduced
A
- taxes were increased and money was borrowed to pay for this
- Germany would remain in debt for a very long time
