(S1) 1918-24 Early Years of the Weimar Republic Flashcards
Ebert-groener pact
- influence in Judicary and civil service
- Ebert supplied army for return of protection against extremism and putting down revolutions
Problem with the Ebert-Groener Pact
- militarism and right wing continued
What were the freikorps?
- ex army veterans which put down revolutions
How was the Weimar Republic structured?
- president
- chancellor who is appointed by the president
- reichstrat who gives advice to the chancellor
- reichstag who voted on laws drafted by the chancellor
- individual voters who voted every 4 years for assembly and 7 years for a president
- Supreme Court independent and federal system for 17 lander states
Strengths of the Weimar Constitution
- wide range of voting
- woman treated equally
- proportional representation allowed small parties seats
- full democracy in local governments
- rights for all individuals
- checks and balances, nobody with too much power
Weaknesses of the Weimar Consitution
- proportional representation allowed anti Weimar parties and undermined constitution
- many unsustainable coalition governments which couldn’t make decisions
Origins of the Treaty of Versaille
- nicknames the ‘November Criminals’ who were the scapegoats for the loss
- blame on socialists, democrats and Jews who ‘stabbed’ Germany in the back
Terms (Territory) of the Treaty of Versaille in 1919
- territory loss in Poland, some was German speaking
- territory loss, Alsace Lorraine which was an economic loss
- Rhineland demilitarised, buffer zone in between France
- Saar under LofN control, economic loss due to coal reserves
- all German colonies to allies
Terms (Disarmament) of T of V
- no military capabilities
- 100,000 men max
- 6 battleships
- no aircrafts
Terms (War guilt + Reperations) T of V
- took responsibility for the war
- fixed sum of $6.6 billion
- Wilson said they had to pay for damage in a Belgium and for civilian suffering
Political impact of T of V for Germany
- undermined popular support for Weimar due to conspiracy theories (‘stab in the back’)
- fuelled the anti-republican right wing
German Reaction to the T of V
- anger at the split of places which were German speaking
- war guilt was humiliating and unjust
- reparation fee unfair
- damage to nationalism and militarism
- Diktat, no negotiations
Spartacist Uprising 1919
- power struggle between KPD and SPD
- meet demands of workers was through uprising
- Freikorps put it down
Red Rising
- extremist group from the left
- based in Barvarian
- not enough support to defeat army
- Ebert-groener pact opposed the left
Munich Putsch 1923
- NDSAP and Hitler wanted to overthrow gov
- police defeated it
- Hitler imprisoned for 5 years and NDSAP fell
Political Assassinations
- carries out by right wing groups towards Weimar and the left wing
What is Hyperinflation?
- prices spiral out of control
- money becomes worthless
Causes (WW1) of hyperI
- currency lost value as printed money for war
- spending on supporting widows, injuries soldiers and demoralised soldiers high
- 10% Germans receiving welfare money
Causes (T of V) of HyperI
- reparations bill which was in gold (fixed price)
Causes (gov response to T of V) of hyperI
- reparations payed by printing and borrowing money
- 1922 wanted pause payment but denied
- 1923 gov hadn’t paid reparations
Causes (French invasion of the Ruhr) of hyperI
- due to not paying reparations
- took away key industrial area
- army seized raw materials and goods
Causes (German response to Ruhr invasion) of hyperI
- workers passive resistance through strikes opposing France
- goverment paid for workers during resistance
- printed more money
Winners of hyperI
- black market
- people with debts, mortgages and loans
- helped enterprising businesses who took out loans
- leasing property with fixed rent price
- farmers as food demand high
Losers of hyperI
- people with savings
- pensioners + war widows
- landlords
- unskilled workers
- Mittlestand (eg. small business owners)
- death rates increased due to hunger
Kapp Putsch 1920
- reverse and go back to old system
- right wing
- union support, army didn’t rebel
