nazi germany - impact of the first world war

Question 1

what was germany suffering from after the first world war?

Answer 1

famine, shortages, inflation, electricity cuts and post-war protests

Question 2

what was the attitude toward the kaiser?

Answer 2

negative - people urged him to give up the throne.

Question 3

what occurred on the 28th of october 1918?

Answer 3

a navy mutiny - sailors refused to fight britain in kiel

Question 4

when did the kaiser give up his throne?

Answer 4

9th november 1918

Question 5

what was the weimar republic?

Answer 5

it was the german government from 1919 to 1933 formed by a national assembly after the abdication of the kaiser.

Question 6

when were elections held in 1919 and who won?

Answer 6

friedrich ebert won the 19th january 1919 election.

Question 7

what did the government form for germany?

Answer 7

a constitution

Question 8

what is the kaiser?

Answer 8

the german leader

Question 9

what is revolution?

Answer 9

a bug change that occurs quickly.

Question 10

what are socialists?

Answer 10

people that support the idea of socialism, eg. shared ownership of money, land etc.

Question 11

what is a republic?

Answer 11

a system of ruling where all members of the government are elected by the people.

Question 12

who could vote in germany?

Answer 12

men and women over 20.

Question 13

who is the head of the government?

Answer 13

the chancellor

Question 14

after 1918 germany was rules by what kind of government?

Answer 14

a democratic one

Question 15

what is proportional representation?

Answer 15

parties who won seats according to the number of people who voted for the party.

Question 16

what are the strengths of proportional representation?

Answer 16

enabled smaller parties to have a say.

Question 17

what are the negatives of proportional representation?

Answer 17

it made it difficult for any party to gain a majority.

Question 18

what type of government, not democratic, ruled germany from 1918 to 1933?

Answer 18

a coalition government

Question 19

what were the negatives of this type of government?

Answer 19

there were disagreements. there was no solid leadership and the government was unstable.

Question 20

what is a president?

Answer 20

the head of the republic. elected for a term of seven years.

Question 21

who is the chancellor appointed by?

Answer 21

the president and is head of government.

Question 22

what is article 48?

Answer 22

the allowance for the president to take over the government if it was deemed an emergency.

Question 23

why was this potentially dangerous?

Answer 23

a dictatorship could be implemented.

Question 24

what groups particularly preferred the old system of ruling?

Answer 24

• army. generals like ludendorff and hindenburg hated democracy and wanted return of their status under the kaiser.
• the civil service. they apposed the liberal views and reforms of the new government, meaning introducing laws was difficult.
• courts. they did not favour the changes and punished more extreme political parties more than anyone else.
• germans. angered by the treaty if versailles terms, there were mass protests with violence.

Question 25

what is a coalition government?

Answer 25

a government formed by more than one party because no party can obtain a majority vote.

Question 26

what did the ‘big three’ want to do?

Answer 26

• david lloyd george (british) wanted punishment to an extent. he did not want to be so harsh that another war occurred.
• woodrow wilson (america) wanted to deal with germany fairly and democratically.
• george clemenceau (france) wanted to punish germany harshly so they would be too weak to ever attack again.

Question 27

state the main SOCIAL conditions of the treaty of versailles.

Answer 27

• confess she was responsible for starting the war.

- pay heavy fines for compensation.

Question 28

state the main PHYSICAL conditions of the treaty.

Answer 28

• lose 13% of her land :
  1) western prussia was given to poland to create a polish corridor so poland could access the sea.
  2) all colonies were lost.
  3) germany and austria were banned from joining together (anschluss)
  4) alsace-lorraine returned to france.
  5) league of nations to administer the saar.

Question 29

state the main MILITARY conditions of the treaty.

Answer 29

• germany was punished militarily :
  1) no airforce
  2) small navy
  3) army of no more than 100,000
  4) demilitarisation of the rhineland

Question 30

what is the term for a forces treaty?

Answer 30

a diktat

Question 31

why did germany hate the treaty of versailles?

Answer 31

they thought it was unjust. it treaty germany without mercy and ordered germany to pay repatriations despite their economy being destroyed. they did not like losing land as it had large german populations. they also did not accept they had lost the war, blaming the politicians who signed the treaty.

Question 32

who were the november criminals?

Answer 32

the politicians who signed the treaty of versailles.

Question 33

what were the first five years of the weimar republic like?

Answer 33

violent

Question 34

what was the spartacists uprising?

Answer 34

communists in january 1919 began an armed putsch trying to replicate the russian revolution of 1917 by overthrowing friederich ebert.

Question 35

what were the spartacists goals?

Answer 35

• overthrow central government
• establish workers’ and soldiers’ councils in place if central government in german towns and cities
• use violent methods

Question 36

what was the result on the spartacists uprisings?