political and economic crises 1919-23

Question 1

challenges dealt with - declaration of a German revolution

Answer 1

declared by spd leader scheide and manifesto announced by ebert on nov 9th established provisional gov comprised of a coalition of socialist parties and illed power vaccum in germany caused by abdication of the kaiser

Question 2

challenges dealt with- ebert groener pact 10th november

Answer 2

pact gained vital backing to deal with attacks against the republic by the left wing spartacists

Question 3

challenges dealt with- 11th november armistice

Answer 3

armistice used to end the war in an effort to establish peace and stability to deal with the potential threat from the public due to potential further mutinies within the army

Question 4

challenges dealt with- ZAG agreement november 15th

Answer 4

delivered unprecedented triumphs for german workers such as arbitration and the eight hour day and established a basis for more secure industrial relations in the future

Question 5

challenges dealt with- 19th germany elections

Answer 5

elections established germanys first fully democratic national assembely with the spd as leader of the coalition, committed to consolidating democracy within germany

Question 6

challenges dealt with- freikorps stressmann

Answer 6

use of freikorps directed by stressmann to crush the spartacist uprising led to the deaths of leaders such as rosa luxemburg. leaders were also instructed to prevent further left wing revolts in saxony and thuringia

Question 7

challenges dealt with- constitution

Answer 7

constitution ratified by reichstag which granted germany a highly democratic political system through the use of proportional representation. constitution emergency powers afforded ebert to successfully defend the republic using article 48 and stop repeated revolts from left wing and right wing.

Question 8

challenges dealt with- strikes in berlin kapp putsch

Answer 8

general strike across berlin in support of new republic and democratic reforms led to failure of kapp putsch

Question 9

challenges dealt with- stressmann becomes chancellor

Answer 9

august 1923 stressmann becomes chancellor and calls of passive resistance in the Ruhr to end the economic crisis

Question 10

challenges not dealt with- permanent left wing split

Answer 10

actions taken against the spartacists by ebert and spd (use of freikorps) had significant long term impacts as it forever divided the left and when the kpd were formed they made every move in attempt to undermine the new republic from within the reichstag.

Question 11

challenges not dealt with-

Answer 11

constitution was ill advised within its proportional representation clause as coalitions could often not work together and therefore could not make any further progression to the republic. and in its emergency clause which ultimately brought the republic down

Question 12

challenges not dealt with- elites

Answer 12

initial weimar government alienated the elites in attempt to gain the support from the wc eg introduction of 8 hour day and support for union rights did not gain the support from industrialists.

Question 13

challenges not dealt with- left wing

Answer 13

ironically, new democratic gov undermines the left wing through unworkable coalitions whereby no progression was made to reforms of industry and society

Question 14

challenges not dealt with- leaders reliance on violence

Answer 14

republics leaders reliance and use of severe military military actions against left wing revolts alienated many working class groups eg death of rosa luxemburg and actions against left wing groups in bavaria.

Question 15

challenges not dealt with- middle class trust

Answer 15

middle class began to loose faith and trust in the republic as whilst they used violent actions to stop left wing uprising, the still continued

Question 16

challenges not dealt with- attacks against gov

Answer 16

frequent attacks on the republic by political extremists eg kapp putsch and the fact that these attacks were very serious led to a feeling that democracy was weak and that a more authoritarian system would provide better protection for the citizens.

Question 17

challenges not dealt with- assassinations

Answer 17

276 assassinations eg walter rathenau. over 90% enacted by right wing. despite a large proportion of right wing, 10 left wing were sentenced to death and none from the right suggesting bias within judicial system. hitler only served 8 months after munich putsch shows reflection of views of judicary.

Question 18

challenges not dealt with- hyperinflation

Answer 18

weimar governments contributed to the transition of inflation to hyperinflation through reckless fiscal policy during entire period but especially through financing passive resistance in the ruhr.

Question 19

willam carr

Answer 19

leaders of the republic were successful in dealing with left and right however little was done to deal with paramilitary formations between both sides.

Question 20

peukert

Answer 20

republic only survived because its opponents were disorganised

Question 21

hyperinflation- mortgages

Answer 21

many people in debt such as mortgage holders, paid off their loans with the devalued currency

Question 22

hyperinflation- entrepreneurs

Answer 22

with access to cheap credit, they used loans to extend their holdings and then easily repaid their loans when their income had increased in money terms.

Question 23

hyperinflation- rented property

Answer 23

those who rented property with long term rents gained as the real value of their payments fell

Question 24

hyperinflation- foreign exchange

Answer 24

owners of foreign exchange and foreigners in germany who converted their money into millions of marks greatly benefited.

Question 25

hyperinflation- exporters

Answer 25

exporters gained from the marks falling exchange rate which allowed them to trade easily

Question 26

hyperinflation- hugo stinnes

Answer 26

as inflation increased stinnes used his ties with reichsbank to gain cheap credit to buy up struggling competitors. owned 20% of germanys industries.

Question 27

hyperinflation- pensioners

Answer 27

pensioners who had saved their pensions their entire life and had lived off fixed interest investments completely lost everything due to devalued currency

Question 28

hyperinflation- war bonds

Answer 28

those who had purchased war bonds with fixed rates of interest found their investments and the interest paid lost all value

Question 29

hyperinflation- benefits

Answer 29

those relying on welfare benefits and landlords receiving fixed rents found the value of their incomes fall. by 1923 the cost of a landlord of one window replacement may be greater than all of the rents received in the last ten years

Question 30

hyperinflation- workers

Answer 30

workers initially secured wage rises but these lagged behind rising prices. unskilled workers lost 30 percent of their spending power within 10 years.

Question 31

hyperinflation- stealing

Answer 31

due to money becoming so worthless, items became more valuable than money and people turned to stealing to get by in germany

Question 32

hyperinflation- food shortages

Answer 32

farmers refused to sell their produce as it was more valuable than money. rise of money led to hundreds of thousands of people becoming malnourished and dying of starvation

Question 33

hyperinflation- middle class

Answer 33

middle class who had saving their entire life lost out as their savings had become worthless.

Question 34

snyder

Answer 34

hyperinfaltion was the scar that never healed.