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history: germany > part 1: impact of WW1 > Flashcards

part 1: impact of WW1 Flashcards

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1
Q

Describe hardships faced by people in Germany during and shortly after the war

A
  • many German people faced starvation due to naval blockades set up by allies which blocked the transport of German goods, leaving many Germans living on turnips and bread
  • shortages of medicine and clothing, and thousands were dying from the flu epidemic
  • 60,000 war widows and 2,000,000 children without fathers
    -wages falling despite extra work workers were doing to support the war: by 1918 miners were earning 60% of their pre-war salary
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2
Q

what caused the german revolution?

A

-hardships in germany like starvation and influenza
-the russian revolution
-embarassment due to war loss

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3
Q

describe two rebellion events in germany during the war

A

-1915 500 women stood outside parliament and demanded men come back from the war
-in 1916, 10,000 workers shouted “down with the government

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4
Q

describe 5 events of the revolution post-war to abdication

A

-29th oct 1918 german sailors at wilhelmshaven refused to follow orders and mutiny (overthrow)
-3rd nov kiel mutiny, sailors mutinied instead of following orders to attack british nacy
-4th nov 1918 40,000 sailors set up a council and take over a dock
-government breaks down soon after in many towns
-7th nov 1918 german workers in bavaria overthrow the local king ludwig iii and declare it a people’s state
-9th nov 1918 kaiser wilhelm ii abdicates and ebert takes over

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5
Q

describe the events of the revolution post-abdication

A

-Situation was almost a civil war, public protest in Berlin, members of SPD called for Kaiser to resign
- Nov 10th: state leaders appointed by the Kaiser resigned, new revolutionary state governments took over, monarchy was demolished
- Nov 11th: the leader (Friedrich Ebert) signed armistice and ended war. Some people didn’t support; believed Germany could still win
- After abdication of Kaiser, Germany was disorganised, workers, soldiers, and different governments were running towns. A temporary government was established, called the Council of People’s Representatives

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6
Q

describe the impact of the naval blockade

A

-led to severe food shortages
-293,000 germans died from starvation and hypothermia in 1918
-restricted germany’s ability to trade, especially as they were fighting a war on two fronts, resulted in economic problems as trading was the basis of germany’s economics

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7
Q

significance of the kiel mutiny

A

-sparked rebellions all over germany
-led to the collapse of the german government (final straw), forcing the kaiser to abdicate

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8
Q

when did the war end and why?

A

11th november 1918 when germany surrendered and an armistice was agreed

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9
Q

when did the kaiser abdicate?

A

9th november 1918

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10
Q

which party was ebert the leader of?

A

SPD

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11
Q

when was the weimar republic officially formed?

A

july 1919

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12
Q

what was ebert’s first actions as temporary president?

A

sign the armistice

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13
Q

who were the november criminals?

A

the people who signed and supported the armistice

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14
Q

why did ebert sign the armistice?

A

-money and troops were running out
-protests and unrest in major towns
-USA now fighting against them
-germans pushed back by allies at war
-kaiser had abdicated
-ultimately no choice

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15
Q

what was the role of the president in the weimar?

A

-elected every 7 years
-chooses chancellor and is head of the army
-can dissolve reichstag and call new elections

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16
Q

what was the role of the reichstag in the weimar?

A

-new german parliament
-members elected every 4 years
-proportional representation

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17
Q

What was the role of the Reichsrat in the Weimar?

A

-second, less powerful government
-members from each local region sent, not elected
-can delay measures passed by the Reichstag

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18
Q

What were the benefits of the Weimar Republic?

A

women could vote, voting age lowered to 20, even very small parties were given a voice as long as they got 0.4% of the vote

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19
Q

What was the problem with Proportional Representation?

A

-even parties with very few votes could get seats
-so it was hard to make any decisions in the Reichstag
-there were sometimes as many as 20 parties meaning there was no strong/clear party to make quick decisions
-mixed governments: coalition governments

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20
Q

What were the problems with the Weimar Republic?

A
  • proportional representation made decision making hard
  • when decisions couldn’t be made, the president would suspend the constitution and pass laws without the Reichstag’s consent (Article 48)
  • this power was supposed to be used in an emergency, but was a useful way of getting around disagreements and problems in the Reichstag, so was actually undermining the democracy
    -never full support of public/army
    -extremist parties didn’t like it
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21
Q

role of the chancellor

A

-elected by president
-led the day to day running of germany
-needed support of reichstag

22
Q

strengths of weimar

A

-germany was a democracy
-women had a vote
-chancellor and president couldn’t get to much power as they needed to be voted for, unlike kaiser
-smaller parties given a say due to proportional representation
-laws could only be passed if voted for by reichstag
-local governments had a say in how their regions were run

23
Q

when was the treaty signed?

A

june 28th 1919

24
Q

4 main treaty terms

A

blame
reparations
armed forces
territory

25
Q

land

A

-germany split in two by polish corridor, given to poland to allow sea access
-saar put under control of league for 15 years
-danzig taken and given to league as a free city
-colonies in africa given as mandates to league
-lost 10% of its land
-rhineland demilitarised
-alsace lorraine given to france

26
Q

military

A

-navy limited to 15000 men, 1500 officers, 6 battleships
-not allowed submarines or an air force
-no defence against france-rhineland
-army limited to 100000, no conscription

27
Q

blame

A

-article 231
-war guilt clause
-germany had to take full responsibility for starting war

28
Q

money

A

-reparations
-£6.6 billion

29
Q

4 main reasons germany hated the treaty

A

-felt it was too harsh as the treaty took away large areas of land, loss of factories and mines etc. leading to economic damage, as well as reparations
-felt humiliated and angry, bitter and weak and disagreed with article 231
-hated fact that treaty was forced upon them, diktat
-felt new politicians had betrayed them, november criminals, stab in the back, blamed them

30
Q

what did ebert do for the civil servants and why?

A

-told them still to work but for new councils
-make sure country kept running properly, stop further unrest

31
Q

what did ebert do for the army generals and why?

A

-promised they could stay in power if they supported ebert and the weimar republic
-to avoid arguments with the army and threat of revolution

32
Q

what did ebert do for industry and why?

A

-promised industrial leaders that the government would not take over their businesses
-to help the economy

33
Q

what did ebert do for trade unions and why?

A

-supported them who wanted more worker rights by promising a reduced 8 hour day
-to take support away from communist parties

34
Q

when did the first weimar election take place?

A

19th january 1919

35
Q

how many germans voted and what was the result of the first election?

A

82% voted and the SPD won with 40% of votes

36
Q

who invaded the ruhr?

A

france and belgium

37
Q

when did france and belgium invade the ruhr?

A

january 1923

38
Q

why was the ruhr invaded?

A
  • France and Belgium could use the coal and steel produced there
  • Easy to invade as it was in a demilitarised area
  • Germany had been late paying reparations
39
Q

why was germany’s economy near enough bankrupt?

A

-spent money on ww1
-no more gold reserves
-paying reparations for the treaty
-lost industrial areas from treaty

40
Q

when did germany miss the payment and why?

A

in november 1922 as they claimed that couldn’t afford to pay, however france didn’t believe them and thought they were choosing not to pay

41
Q

when was the ruhr invaded?

A

11th january 1923

42
Q

what was france’s aim by invading?

A

to confiscate any industrial goods as reparation payments

43
Q

how did the government respond to the invasion?

A

they ordered workers to follow passive resistance

44
Q

how did the invasion affect germany?

A

-french occupation crippled germany
-ruhr contained 80% of all german iron, coal and steel reserves
-led to more debt
-led to unemployment
-massive shortage of goods

45
Q

Describe how the invasion of the Ruhr caused hyperinflation

A
  • The government promised to pay all the striking workers in the Ruhr
    -printed more money to pay them
    -along with previous economic problems
    -Money was being printed without any matching productive economic activity
    -led to people losing trust in the German paper currency; the Deutsche mark, which meant its value decreased even more and prices for goods began to increase
46
Q

bread cost example

A

in january 1923 it cost 250 marks, by nov 1923 it cost 200,000 billion marks

47
Q

give 2 examples of prices spiralling out of control

A

-cost of coffee could double whilst waiting in a queue for it
-workers often paid twice a day as prices rose so fast so their wages were virtually worthless by lunchtime

48
Q

list the economic problems

A

-reparation debt
-own war debt
-fewer factories
-higher unemployment
-less money from taxes
-fewer goods produced from ruhr so pay more for what you wanted

49
Q

effects of hyperinflation

A

-normal living became impossible: carried money in wheelbarrows, paid twice a day, theft increased, some shops refused to take money and swapped goods instead
-shortages of food and goods: foreign countries didn’t want to trade
-rich and middle lost savings so hated weimar
-foreigners took advantages of this and visited germany for very cheap, frustrated germans

50
Q

steps to hyperinflation

A
  1. government become short of money
  2. government prints more money to pay workers and debts
  3. the more money printed, the less it is worth
  4. people lose confidence in the german mark
  5. prices rise and an incredible rate
51
Q

who benefited from hyperinflation?

A

-borrowers such as businessmen, landowners and those with mortgages as they could pay back loans easily with worthless money
-people on wages were relatively safe as they renegotiated their wages every day: eventually wages failed to keep up with prices
-farmers since their product remained in demand and they received more money for them
-aristocracy as had money tied up in property
-jews as tended to keep their money outside of germany so their savings didn’t lose value
-political extremists as they got more support in times of crisis

52
Q

hyperinflation losers

A

-people on fixed incomes like students, pensioners or the sick found incomes didn’t keep up with prices
-middles classes as their savings were now worthless
-workers although not awfully as they had to continue to live in poverty and rush to the shops before pay become worthless

history: germany (9 decks)

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