Nazi Germany Flashcards
why did the people become angry at Kaiser Willhem?
he had total power so he was the only 1 to blame
What was Kaiser Wilhems goal?
to become as great as Britain and with help from rich, powerful buisnessmen wilhem’s dreams became true
Why were people in mines and workshops unhappy?
the conditions were poor, wages low and food expensive.
What happened after people had joined trade unions and were voting for new political parties?
They voted for the social democratic party, wealth should be shared among all
How did Germany start to suffer during the war?
there were food, clothing and medical shortages.
What protests happened during the war?
women stood outside German parliament saying they wanted their men back from the trenches
year later 10,000 workers shouted in Berlin down with the war, down with the government
What did Gerneral Ludendorff say to the Kaiser in October 1918?
Germany couldn’t win the war
told Kaiser to share more power with the German parliment to be let off easier by the allies
What happened on October 28 1918 when a German Navy was ordered out to sea?
refused to follow orders as didnt want to fight, mutiny news began to spread
other sailors refused to follow orders
workers in towns supported them
soilders sent to deal with protests but joined them
What did the Kaiser do on November 9 1918?
he abdicated and left Germany never to return
Who took over from Kaiser Wilhem?
Friedrich Ebert took over temporarily. 11 November 1918 Germany surrendered
What was the end of WW1 like in Germany?
lack of food, people starving, riots, navy mutinied
What did Ebert and his government do on November 1918?
signed an armistice withdrawing Germany from the war
What did the new constitution (set of rules) for Germany include?
everyone over 20 could vote for who would sit in the Reichstag
chancellor head of reichstag for 4 years
president who would pick chancellor and be voted every 7 years
Germany would use proportional representation (political party would get fair share of seats)
what were the strengths of the Weimar Constitution?
very fair,
allowed people to have their say
wouldn’t allow 1 person to take over
poor chancellor or president would only be around for limited time
What were the weaknesses of the Weimar constiution?
loads of different parties in Reichstag, difficult to reach agreement
article 48 could be abused
president stopped listening to Reichstag
governments could pass laws that went against what reichstag wanted
What happened during the spartacist revolution in January 1919?
German communist party wanted to take over Germany
Freikorps (ex- ww1 soilders paid to help keep government in order)helped Ebert to shut it down
leaders were murdered
Why did Ebert having to rely on the Freikorps make him look weak?
they could turn on him, looked useless and unpowerful
What was the Kapp Putsch’s goal? why did it fail?
to undo the German revolution and overthrow Weimar republic
workers in Berlin going on strike and refusing to help Freikorps caused it to fail
Who important was assassinated connected to the Weimar government
Walther Rathenau, politician involved in armistice and Treaty of Versailles
What was the Treaty of Versailles?
treaty Germany had to sign after WW1, if they didn’t the war would continue and they would lose.
What were the main features of the Treaty of versailles? (BRAT)
B- blame- germany had to accept all blame (war guilt clause)
R- reparations- had to pay £6.6 billion
A- Armed forces- reduced to 100,000 men, no tanks submarines or planes, Rhineland demilitarised
T- territory- lost 13% of land and 12.5% of their population, lost all colonies so no empire
What did the Germans say after the Treaty of Versailles had been signed?
they’d been stabbed in the back by the government
Who were the nazis private army?
The SA/ brownshirts
Where did the Nazi party used to meet? Why did they attract attention?
beer houses, Hitlers powerful speeches and rants against Treaty of Versailles, SA would beat up opponents (mostly communists)
Why did France and Belgium invade the Ruhr?
because Germany missed a reparation payment, so they invaded to take good like coal
What did the Germans do in response to occupation of the Ruhr?
workers went on strikes and refused to make goods, flooded mines and sabotaged factories
What did the Weimar government do to support strikes?
They printed more money to pay them but then they had hyper inflation due to this
How did Hitler do the Munich Putsch in November 1923?
Hitler and 600 Nazis seized a beer hall where a meeting between Bavarian leaders was taking place, they arrested 3 leaders , made them swear their support for Hitlers takeover before locking them in a room
3 men escaped and called police and arrested Hitler