Political instability and Extremism 1919-1924

Question 1

How many seats did the SPD have in Jan 1919?

Answer 1

163

Question 2

How many seats did the SPD have in June 1920?

Answer 2

103

Question 3

How many seats did the DNVP have in Jan 1919?

Answer 3

44

Question 4

How many seats did the DNVP have in June 1920?

Answer 4

71

Question 5

How many seats did the KPD have in Jan 1919?

Answer 5

0

Question 6

How many seats did the KPD have in June 1920?

Answer 6

4

Question 7

What were the problems of a colition government?

Answer 7

-Due to proportional Representation all governments were coalitions, which placed a greater burden on moderate centre parties to try and counteract the extreme parties as German society became more divided
However difficult ………
e.g Philip Scheidemann cabinet resigned due to not agreeing to sign the treaty of Versailles
e.g Fehrenbach cabinet reigned due to disagreement over harsh ultimatum on reperations in May 1921
-Polarisation of politics and society = harder to form coalitions

Question 8

Between Feb 1919 and Nov 1923 hoe many coalition governemnts were there?

Answer 8

10

Question 9

Between 1918-1920 who had taken the lead in the Reichstag and coalition governments?

Answer 9

The SPD

Question 10

From 1920- 1921 who took the lead in the Reichstag and coalition government?

Answer 10

The Centre Party

Question 11

What challenges from the left occurred during this period?

Answer 11

=Spartacist Revolt
=March 1919 Communist uprising in Berlin
=March 1921 KPD attempted uprising in Saxony

Question 12

When was the Spartacist uprising?

Answer 12

Jan 1919

Question 13

Who were the leaders of the Spartacist Uprising?

Answer 13

Rosa Luxemburg and Karl Liebknecht

Question 14

What happened in the Spartacist Uprsing?

Answer 14

Armed Uprising by the left wing in Berlin to overthrow Ebert’s Government
Ebert’s Government relied on the army to put down the revolt, which led to the Freikorps being used to crush the uprising
=Leaders dead
Evert’s reliance on the Freikorps led to a steady divison between the left and the government

Question 15

What happened in left wing uprising in March 1919?

Answer 15

Another Spartacist Uprising in Berlin. In Bavaria, a communist government based on worker’s councils was established. These were both supressed.

Question 16

What happened in March 1923 by the left wing?

Answer 16

The KPD tried to force an revolution, beginning in Saxony, the strike disruption spread to the Ruhr, but the risings were crushed by the police and 145 people were killed

Question 17

Overall, how much of a threat did the left wing pose to the new Weimar Republic?

Answer 17

-Government never truly threatened by the left-wing revolts, but continued working class rebellions did damage the Republic as fear of a “red revolution” frightened the middle class, who feared that an uprising like that of the Soviet Uprising in 1917 in Russia would occurr, leading them increasing support for right wing groups.
=Lack of money and resources to truly be a threat

Question 18

What challenges were there from the Right wing in this period?

Answer 18

=Major threat, however right wing divided, some wanted the restoration of the monarchy, others wanted a dictorship
In areas like Bavaria groups fought for the seperation from the rest of Germany, whilst others wanted a united Germany, these divisions weakened the Right wing’s ability to overthrow the Weiamr Republic
However threats did ocurr…………..
-1920 Kapp Putsch
-Beer Hall Putsch in Munich

Question 19

Who had the highest percentage share of the vote from 1919-Sep 1930?

Answer 19

SPD

Question 20

When was the Kapp Putsch?

Answer 20

1920

Question 21

What happened at the Kapp Putsch?

Answer 21

Government, keeping in line of the treat of Versailles had to reduce the size of the army and therefore ordered the disbandment of a Freikorp unit. Walther Von Luttwitz refused and decided to march his troops into Berlin in protest, Luttwitz was also supported by Wolfgang Kapp who intended a putsch. However, Generals Han Von Seecket and Ludendorff remained non-commital, they only sympathisesd. Ebert Government forced to retreat, and his chancellor, Bauer asked army to help. However, Seeckt famously said “troops do not fire on troops”. Ebert’s Government called for a general strike by the workers in Berlin to end the Putsch, Berlin was forced to a standstill and the putshc collapsed.

Question 22

Who were the two main people in the Kapp Pusch?

Answer 22

-Wolf Gang Kapp
-General Von Luttwitz

Question 23

What did General Seecket famously state during the Kapp Putsch?

Answer 23

“troops do not fire on troops”

Question 24

What did the failed Kapp Putsch teach Ebert?

Answer 24

-The army and the Civil servants could not be trusted
-The Weimar Government was weak and not truly in control

Question 25

What was the Organisation Consul?

Answer 25

An Ultra-nationalist paramilitary group formed by ex-Freikorps

Question 26

Name 2 victims of the terrorist League Organisation Consul

Answer 26

Matthias Erzberger (had signed the treaty of Versaille on behalf of the German Governemnt)
Walther Rathenau
(Recommended the fulfillment of the Treaty of Versailles and foreign minsiter in 1922, his crimes were being a Jew and a leading figure in the Republic)

Question 27

Between 1919-1923 how many political assinations occurred?

Answer 27

376

Question 28

How many of the 376 political assinations were carried out by the left?

Answer 28

22

Question 29

How many of the 376 political assinations were carried out by the right?

Answer 29

354

Question 30

In July 1922 what law did the government pass to try and prevent the killings?

Answer 30

“for the protection of the republic” which introduced serve penalties for those caught and banned extreme organisations

Question 31

How were the people involved in the assinations punished?

Answer 31

325 right wing murderes went unpunished, and only one convicted
Whereas 10 left wing were executed
=Highlighting the level of control the right wing had over the (indepedent) judiciary

Question 32

When did the German workers party become the Nationalsit Socialist German Worker’s Party ?

Answer 32

1920, issued a 25 point programme setting out its beliefs

Question 33

When did Hitler become the leader of the NSDAP?

Answer 33

1921

Question 34

When did the Beer Hall Putsch in Munich happen?

Answer 34

Nov 1923

Question 35

What happened in the Beer Hall Putsch?

Answer 35

Hitler made a bid to seize power with the support of Lundendorff, he set out to win the support of Ritto von Kahr and Otto Von Lossow, the local army commander.
8th Nov- burst into a Munich beer Hall and annouced that the revolution had begun with storm troopers surrounding the building, Von Kahr and Von Lossow were persauded to march on Berlin , however their support evapourated overnight as well as the storm troopers not gaining control of the army baracks. It was clear his idea had failed, nevertheless hilter went on with the march, march crushed by police abd Hitler imprisoned.

Question 36

How long was Hitler imprisoned for?

Answer 36

Setenced to 5 years and only served 9 months

Question 37

What did the failure of the Munich Putsch indicate?

Answer 37

The importance of the army to the politcal survial of the regime.

Question 38

Overall, what was the state of the Republic by 1924?

Answer 38

-Early years characterised by instability and conflict, partly due to the constitution, but the underlying problem was the lack of national consensus on how the country should be governed, leading to challenges from both the extreme left and right wing. The army and the judiciary could also not be relied upon to promote a democratic society, uphold the law and protect the state. Yet, somehow the republic surived all the threats partly due to the hatred between the two extreme sides. However, this events led to bitter distrust towards the Weiamr Republic, which was a continual issue during the “Golden Age” of the Republic and the difficult economic and political climate psot 1929.