Living Standards, Education and Culture in the Weimar Republic Flashcards
How did the standard of living change for working-class Germans across the Weimar Era?
- It generally got better
List 3 ways the living standards of the working class improved, and give figures.
- Wages increased significantly between 1924 and 1929 (in 1932 they were still 30% higher than they had been in 1924)
- Legal changes such as an 8-hour working day were introduced
- Government spending on housing and welfare increased (20 times more was spent on housing in 1925 than 1913, and 60% more was spent on welfare in 1929 than 1913)
What were 2 reasons why the living standards of the working class improved during the Weimar period?
- Unions had more power
- The SPD had more influence in the Reichstag
When was the security of the working class threatened? Give 2 ways how.
- During the Great Depression due to:
- welfare cuts
- the erosion of union power
How successful were farmers in the Weimar Republic? Give 3 reasons why.
- Not very as:
- immediately after the war the government set restrictions on the price of food to ensure everyone could access it
- after 1924 the existence of cheap imports drove down the price of food
- prices were driven down again (25% between 1927 and 1930) due to unemployment as people had to cut back on food
What were 2 positive effects of events in the Weimar Republic for farmers?
- Inflation allowed them to pay off their debts
- The economic chaos from 1922 to 1924 made their produce more valuable
How did the middle-class do overall during the Weimar era? What were 2 reasons why?
- Poorly as they lost both money and status rapidly during the hyperinflation crisis
- They also felt threatened by the working class, who were well protected by powerful unions and the SPD
What distinction can be made within the middle class of the Weimar Republic, and why is this distinction relevant?
- There was the established middle class and the emerging middle class
- The established middle class: Germans who had been wealthy prior to the war
- The emerging middle class: Germans who became wealthy in the aftermath of the war through having professional or clerical jobs
- The emerging middle class generally did better during hyperinflation
How did the middle class do during the rest of the 1920s (before the Great Depression)? Give 4 details and figures.
- The established middle class did poorly as their savings were wiped out during hyperinflation
- They were also critical of the Americanisation of German culture (cinemas, dance halls, jazz clubs)
- The emerging middle class managed to pay off their debts during hyperinflation
- They were also much more accepting of American forms of entertainment
- In 1924, compared to 1913, the living standard of the lower middle class had decreased by 25% while the income of the upper-middle class had decreased by 60%
What was life like for the middle class during the Great Depression? Give 3 details.
- Many lost their savings due to bank collapse in 1931
- Some lost their jobs
- Many had their pay decreased
What was education like in Germany before WW1? Give 5 details.
- Education was compulsory from 6 to 14
- Children from the upper-class went to private schools
- Working-class children went to ‘Volksschule’, which had class sizes of over 50 pupils, and taught basic skills such as reading, writing and numeracy
- Most schools were confessional (religious) schools
- Education beyond the age of 14 was expensive
What effect did the education system that was in place before WW1 have on society?
- It made social mobility very difficult
What was the main issue the government encountered when deciding how to structure the education system and schools?
- The SPD wanted to get rid of confessional schools and religious education, but the ZP and other nationalist parties wanted the church to remain involved in education
How did the government deal with the issue of religion in schools? Give 4 details.
- They let the Länder decide, but the Länder were required to take into account the wishes of parents in the area
- In the meantime, common/ simultaneous schools were set up, which gave children of various faiths separate religious education
- Confessional schools could run as private schools
- Secular schools also existed
List the number of the different types of schools in Germany in 1931.
- Protestant: 29,000
- Catholic: 15,000
- Jewish: 97
- Common: 9000
- Secular: 295