Key Topic 1: The Weimar Republic, 1918-29 Flashcards
The origins of the Republic, Early challenges to the Weimar Republic (1919-23), The recovery of the Weimar Republic (1924-29), Changes to society (1924-9)
who was the leader of Germany during ww1
Kaiser Wilhelm II
Define Weimar Republic
the democratic system of German government 1918-33
what does republic mean
a country with no monarch
name the conditions of the Treaty of Versailles (6 pts)
German army limited to 100,000
6.6 bill reparation fee
war guilt
no air force/ restricted navy
Rhineland demiliterised
no teaming with austria-hungary
what was article 231
the fact that Germany had to accept all blame for the war
Reich meaning
Empire
what did the Kaiser control
the government, civil service, armed forces, king of Prussia
how did democracy work when there was a Kaiser
Reichstag voted on laws that the Kaiser drew up but that was it.
what did communists want
no democracy
gain power in revolution
equality
anti-capitalists
workers of the world unite
anti-religion
what did socialists want (4 pts)
mixed economy
share wealth
may tolerate some communist business
equality
liberal democracy wants (5 pts)
capitalists
level playing field
democracy
freedom
individuality
what do fascists want (8 pts)
nationalists
social darwinism
racist
military make the country great
strength and power
one leader
democracy
believe, obey and fight
Germany WWI stats
lost 1.8 mill soldiers
4 mill + injured
spent $39 bill
when did the Kaiser lose control of Germany
November 1918
where did the Kaiser abdicate to and when
Holland, Nov 9th 1918
when did Germany surrender
11 am, 11 Nov, 1918
temporary ceasefire agreed between the allies and Germany on 11th Nov 1918
armistice
name all the presidents involved in the Treaty
Woodrow Wilson- American
Georges Clemenceau- french
David Lloyd-George- english
what were the 14 points?
Woodrow Wilson’s plan to create peace that was rejected by the others
Constitution definition
rules on how a country should be governed
define coalition government
2 political parties working together
when did the German revolution start?
Nov 1918
what did the German revolution involve?
workers going on strike in the cities (Munich, Stuttgart)
soldiers refuse to control riots (Hanover)
what was the abbreviation for the centre party?
ZP
who became the president and chancellor after the 1919 Reichstag election?
President: Friedrich Ebert
Chancellor: Phillip Scheidemann
what was the abbreviation for the German Democratic Party
DDP
what were some negatives of the new Weimar system?
if the president was bad they had to stay for 7 years
president chose the chancellor and they had a lot of power (article 48)
what were the positives of the new Weimar system? (2 pts)
it was democratic and both men and women got a vote for the Reichstag and president at 20 years old
fair- parties got seated based of off vote percentage
all the parties
communists- KPD
independent socialists-USPD
social democratic party-SPD
German democratic party-DDP
centre party-ZPD
people’s party-DVP
national party-DNVP
national socialist German workers party-NSDAP
when was the Spartacist Uprising?
1919
when was the Kapp Putsch?
1920
Spartacist uprising key figures
Rosa Luxemburg, Karl Liebknecht
Spartacist uprising motivation and political leaning
Left wing/ Communist
wanted a revolution after Ebert sacked the chief of police (Emil Eichhorn)
Spartacist uprising action and Ebert’s response
strike on Berlin, took over newspapers and telegraph offices
Ebert organised soldiers into Freikorp groups (250,000 ppl) and turns them on the rioters- the leaders were murdered
how big of a threat was the Spsrtacist uprising?
not too big but not too small- made an impact but the freikorps immediately outnumbered them and won
motivation and political leaning of Kapp Putsch
Right wing/ nationalists
fear of unemployment because the treaty lost them their jobs
Kapp Putsch action and Ebert’s response
ex soldiers from the freikorps gained control/ marched on Berlin and declared they wanted a new government
Ebert orders General Seeckt to fight freikorps and Ebert flees to Stuttgart where he tells the people back in Berlin to strike and not cooperate so the rebellion collapses and he can return to Berlin. Kapp is imprisoned.
how big of a threat was the Kapp Putsch?
quite a big threat as it caused a huge revolt and Ebert was outnumbered but when they go on strike it makes it harder to revolt meaning it slowly failed
What was the Ruhr crisis?
when Germany couldn’t finish paying the reparation fees by the end of 1922 so 11 Jan 1923 French soldiers went to the Ruhr to force Germany to pay
what is dolschtoss?
the stab in the back theory that Germans believed that they lost the war because they were betrayed by Jews and socialists in 1918
who were the November criminals
the politicians who signed the armistice
how did the Ruhr crisis end?
Gustav Stresseman who was the German Foreign Minister introduces the new currency “Rentenmark” and persuades thre French to leave 25th August 1925
impacts of Ruhr crisis (7 pts)
passive resistance
Germans see this as a Weimar fail
Germany lose resources
80% Germany’s economy negatively impacted
Germans began to kill French soldiers
140 Germans killed in troop clashes
more money printed to revive economy but this lead to hyperinflation
impacts of hyperinflation (5 pts)
peoples life savings wiped out
mortgages paid off
a lot of worthless money
August 1923, Stressemann launches the Rentenmark
pensioners suffer
when did Gustav Stressemann become chancellor?
1923
How many Marks were 1 Rentenmark?
1000 Billion
what was the Rentenmark’s new name after a year?
Reichmarks
when was Weimar’s golden age
1924-1929
why did Stresemann call off the passive resistance in the Ruhr?
because it wasn’t working as well as he’d hoped and only caused them more economic problems as they weren’t producing any materials
why did some people not like that France had been persuaded to leave?
because people thought Germany showed weakness by giving in to France
name of the area of land Germany had to give to France as a condition of the TofV
Alsace-Lorraine
German army commander who believed strongly in the dolschtoss theory and said the army could have fought on for “Germany’s honour”
General Lundendorff
German word for the union between Germany and Austria
Anschluss
industrial area of Germany that France took control of
the Saar (specific part of the Ruhr)
evidence for a golden era (6 pts)
women had more freedom
small drop in unemployment
2 mill+ new homes built
homelessness reduced by 60%
help for ill and old
more employed women
evidence against a golden era (4 pts)
bankrupted from hyperinflation
high unemployment
1928- almost 84,000 workers seeking employment
no unemployment benefits
how did Stresemann begin to rebuild the economy
Dawes loans- began to receive big loans from the USA
what does Stresemann achieve in the “Stresemann era”? (6 pts)
politically, Germany calms down
less polarisation
popularity
hyper inflation ends
less strikes- happy workers
repairing relations with allies
negatives in the “Stresemann era” (4 pts)
huge dependence on USA
unemployment still high
wages still not much higher than the cost of living
farmers cant modernise equipment
when was the Dawes plan
1924
when was the Locarno Pact
1925
when did Germany join the League of Nations
1926
when was the Kellogg-Briand Pact?
1928
when was the Young Plan?
1929
what did the Dawes plan involve
USA loans money to Germany who pays its reparations to France who pays its debts to the USA in a cycle so Germany can ppay all its reparations
What was the Locarno Pact?
France, Belgium and Germany respect each other’s boarders and not invade and Britain would support whichever county got invaded
Stresemann won a noble peace prize for this
what was the League of Nations and why was Germany joining significant?
international organisation to find peaceful solutions to problems. Germany joining was symbolic because it meant that other countries were finally beginning to accept it as a possible ally
what was the Kellogg-Briand pact and why did some people not like it?
64 nations agreeing not to fight but some people thought this showed Germany’s weaknesses
what was the young plan and why did some Germans still not like it?
reparation fees were reduced from 6.6 to 1.8 billion (20%) and the time frame was extended to 59 years
still hated by some Germans who felt they shouldn’t have to pay
what is a pessimistic but accurate summary of what the American loans to Germany created?
an artificial cycle of finance
the bill of rights allowed all over the age of what to vote?
20
what was the name of the system whereby the number of seats you got was reflected by the number of votes you had/
proportional representation
what was the chancellor’s job?
to run the government on a day to day basis
ways women’s lives changed in the Golden age
more females in the government
freedom to go places without a male chaperone
wear makeup
had to give up jobs previously done by men
cultural changes during the golden age
architecture flourished
cinema had a golden age
cabarets and jazz music
literature encouraged from both left and right
abstract art
intellectuals from Germany winning prizes
