Key Individuals

Question 1

Kaiser Wilhelm II

Answer 1

German emperor (kaiser) and king of Prussia from 1888 to the end of WW1 when he was forced to abdicate due to a revolution and losing the support of the military.

Question 2

Prince Max von Baden

Answer 2

Chancellor for the final weeks of WW1 and assisted in bringing the war to an end.

Question 3

Friedrich Ebert

Answer 3

A leading figure in bringing about the Weimar Republic and Constitution and became the first president from 1919-1925.

Question 4

Wolfgang Kapp

Answer 4

Leader of the Kapp Putsch which attempted to overthrow the Weimar Republic and establish a right-wing dictatorship.

Question 5

Erich Ludendorff

Answer 5

A German General renowned for efforts on the eastern front in WW1. After WW1 he adopted a right-radical beliefs and for a period of time joined the Nazi party.

Question 6

Gustav Stresemann

Answer 6

Chancellor of Germany in 1923 known for restoring Germany’s international status, and the establishment of the Great Coalition and the Dawes Plan to counter hyperinflation.

Question 7

Charles Dawes

Answer 7

Vice president of the United States from 1925 to 1929 and known for establishing the Dawes Plan to assist Germany in war reparations.

Question 8

Paul von Hindenburg

Answer 8

German field marshal during WW1 and the second president of the Weimar republic from 1925 to 1934. During his term, Germany suffered severe political and economic instability and also saw the rise to power of Adolf Hitler.

Question 9

Heinrich Bruning

Answer 9

Bruning was chancellor shortly before Hitler came to power from 1930 to 1932 and hastened the movement towards right-wing dictatorship as he was unable to solve Germany’s economic problems.

Question 10

Franz von Papen

Answer 10

Chancellor of Germany in 1932 and had a leading role in dissolving the Weimar Republic and appointing Hitler chancellor.

Question 11

Kurt von Schleicher

Answer 11

The last chancellor of the Weimar Republic and an opponent to Hitler during 1932 to 1933.

Question 12

Anton Drexler

Answer 12

Founder of the German Worker’s Party and mentor to his successor, Hitler.

Question 13

Ernst Rohm

Answer 13

German army officer and head of Hitler’s SA. He was murdered in the Night of the Long Knives as Hitler believed he was becoming a rival.

Question 14

Hermann Goering

Answer 14

One of the primary leaders of the Nazi party, and a leading architect of the Nazi police state in Germany. He was an Airforce commander and became a morphine addict. He was sentenced to death at the Nurenburg Trials in 1946.

Question 15

Rudolf Hess

Answer 15

German national socialist who was Hitler’s deputy. He helped Hitler write Mein Kampf whilst Hitler was imprisoned following the Munich Putsch.

Question 16

Heinrich Himmler

Answer 16

Leader of the SS and the Gestapo, Himmler was one of the most powerful primary Nazi leaders. He was the chief architect of the concentration camps and devoted to Hitler until the final weeks of the war when he eventually committed suicide.

Question 17

Joseph Goebbels

Answer 17

One of the primary leaders of the Nazi party, Goebbels was head of propaganda for the party. Following Hitler’s suicide, he took his own life.