part 1: kaiser wilhelm & ruling difficulties Flashcards
1
Q
what was the role of the kaiser?
A
- inherits position and rules like a king for life
- personal control of army and foreign policy
- appoints and dismisses chancellor
- can dissolve Reichstag
- has the most power
2
Q
when did the kaiser rule?
A
1888-1918
3
Q
what did the kaiser want for germany?
A
- to show the world how mighty germany had become and how he didn’t want to share his power
- believed in militarism and wanted to increase germany’s military power
- wanted to have an empire like britain and france
- believed in traditional class system
- maintain powerful army
- dominate trade and industrialise germany
4
Q
what was weltpolitik?
A
world policy-kaiser wanted germany to be a world power
5
Q
what laws did kaiser wilhelm pass and when?
A
navy laws from 1898 to 1912
6
Q
what was the strongest german state?
A
prussia
7
Q
why did the states unify?
A
rid the threat of invasion from surrounding big countries, become more powerful
8
Q
how was the kaiser related to the british royal family?
A
queen victoria’s grandson
9
Q
what was industrialisation in the context of germany?
A
building up germany’s industry to make it as great as britain
10
Q
what happened in 1913 linked to industry?
A
germany was producing more iron and steel and as much coal as britain
11
Q
wilhelm’s personality
A
- energetic, strong, outgoing
- charming, kind
- impatient. rude
- sacked ministers if they didn’t do what he wanted
12
Q
why was militarism so important to the kaiser?
A
he spent most of his youth in the army
13
Q
role of bundesrat
A
- members are representatives from each 25 states in the German Empire
- its consent is needed for all legislation, but it can be overruled by the Kaiser
14
Q
role of old reichstag
A
- members elected by the public every 3 years
- members pass or reject legislation put forward by the Bundesrat, couldn’t suggest own laws
15
Q
role of chancellor
A
- runs government and proposes new legislation
- day to day running of the country
- doesn’t support of Reichstag or Bundesrat’s support to stay in power as could be dismissed by kaiser
16
Q
what was the kaiser’s foreign policy and why did he adopt it?
A
- ‘a place in the sun’
- distract attention from the socialist and increase support for monarchy and military
17
Q
why did he introduce naval laws?
A
to build up the size of his navy and to compete with britain
18
Q
who was the key figure in expanding the navy?
A
admiral von tirpitz
19
Q
what did each naval law do and when?
A
- first 1898: 19 battleships, 8 armoured cruisers, 12 large and 30 light cruisers
- second 1900: doubled size of fleet from 19 to 38 battleships
- third 1906: building of 6 large cruisers
- fourth 1908: reduced age at which battleships were to be replaced from 25 to 20 years
- fifth 1912: three more battleships
20
Q
why do countries need a strong navy?
A
- trade protection
- defence
- empire
- power
21
Q
effect of naval laws on britain
A
worried so continued to strengthen own navy, releasing the dreadnought in 1906 which germany later released
22
Q
how many seats did the SPD lose in the 1907 election due to the government’s propaganda?
A
36 seats
23
Q
what political problems did the kaiser face?
A
- a socialist party supporting workers (SPD) who were put into bad living situations due to the industrial revolution - they wanted all wealth to be shared
- german politics became more radical and the popularity of extreme nationalist parties was also growing as upper classes feared growth working class
- Kaiser was under pressure to introduce social reforms, but doing so would anger his followers
- popularity of SPD also made it hard for the Chancellor to gain enough support in the Reichstag to pass new legislation
24
Q
problems caused by weltpolitik
A
- debts grew as it spent more more money on the army, navy and colonies
- debt grew to 490 billion marks by 1913
- put pressure on ordinary people and government found it difficult to raise extra taxes
25
success of weltpolitik
- pleased kaiser, determined germany would become a world power
- increased support for kaiser and his government, appealed to sense of patriotism
- won government support from politicians
26
what economic and social problems did the kaiser face?
- workers in new mines were unhappy with low wages, poor conditions, and high costs of taxes
- more and more workers joined trade unions to try and change things
- SPD party became popular and more extreme
- lots of people thought the government shouldn't waste money on the navy
- initially, gov didn't pass reforms (afraid of encouraging socialism) so SPD gained lots of support
- by 1914, trade union membership was around 3.3 million
27
how did the kaiser deal with growing socialism?
- tried to reduce discontent by introducing some reforms, like the Worker's Protection Act in 1891
- in 1897, he adopted the new policy of of Weltpolitik to distract people from socialism, and increase support for the monarchy and navy
- gov used propaganda to promote navy laws and inspire patriotism
- the laws became popular and socialist opposition to them was seen as unpatriotic
28
why was socialism an issue?
- rapid industrialisation meant by 1910 there were 10.86 million industrial workers in germany
- faced poor living and working conditions
- all males could vote so they influenced politics through support SPD
- party became biggest in 1912
29
how many seats in the reichstag did the SPD have from 1887 to 1903?
11 to 81
30
how many germans voted for the SPD?
around one third
31
views and aims of the SPD
- improve conditions for working class
- disagreed with privileges held by monarchy and military
32
what did the SPD stand for?
social democratic party
33
what parts was the old government made up of?
- kaiser
- chancellor
- bundersrat
- bundestag
34
weakness of old government
- chancellor had to stay in kaiser's good books or would be dismissed
- individual states controlled own income tax so government struggled to raise enough tax
- prussian influence was dominant: only 14 votes were needed to veto laws passed as prussia had 17 out of 58 representatives
- poor working and living conditions weren't recognised by unelected chancellor and kaiser, leading to support of SPD
35
who controlled the prussian army?
the junkers-wealthy conservative landowners from prussia
36
when did germany unite and after what?
1871 after defeating france in franco-prussian war
37
what was the biggest & most powerful german state?
prussia
38
what did kaiser wilhelm admire about britain?
its navy
39
wilhelm's two aims
- rule as an autocrat: believed in divine right of kings
- weltpolitik: make germany a world power
40
what 4 main problems did the kaiser face?
- growth of parliamentary government
- growth of socialism
- impact of industrialisation on germany
- impact of prussion militarism
41
7 results of industrialisation
- people became wealthier so standards of living became higher
- population increase
- poor living conditions with outbreaks of diseases
- gap between rich and poor grew
- lack of food so price increase
- higher immigration to provide more workers but fuelled hatred of foreigners and anti-semitism
- germany in debt owing 489 billion marks by 1913
42
2 impacts of prussian militarism
- leaders in armed forces played a role in advising the kaiser who listened to them, causing problems as they were effectively running the country
- maintaining and growing size of army was expensive and kaiser needed reichstag approval for military spending creating tension between right wing supporting prussia and money spent on army and left wing supporting SPD and money spent on helping workers
43
kaiser quote weltpolitik
'we demand our own place in the sun'
44
3 consequences of navy laws
- increased germany's debt and lead to higher taxes: 24% annual spending on navy
- SPD said money could be spent on workers, gaining more support
- led to arms race and alliances being signed
