SOCIAL DEVELOPMENTS 1924-29 Flashcards
WHEN was the Public Assistance system modernised?
1924
WHAT did the Public Assistance system do?
Provided help for the poor
WHAT welfare improvements were there in 1924?
- Public Assistance scheme was modernised
- Public spending on housing increased
- Taxes were increased (not liked by the rich)
By HOW MUCH did public spending on housing increase by 1929?
By 1929, it had increased to over three times the amount spent in 1913
WHEN was the state accident insurance system extended?
1925
WHAT did the state accident insurance system extend to?
To cover those suffering from occupational diseases
HOW MANY people affected by the war were the state supporting in 1926?
800,000 disabled war veterans
360,000 war widows
900,000 war orphans
WHEN was the National Unemployment Insurance Scheme introduced?
1927
HOW MANY Germans did the National Unemployment Insurance Scheme cover?
17 million, but would only be viable when the total number claiming the benefit at any one time was below 800,000
WHAT were means tests?
Checks on the financial circumstances of someone claiming benefits support (common during Weimar Republic as the government could not afford to financially help everyone)
HOW did women’s lives improve during the Weimar period?
- The ‘new woman’ was free, independent and sexually liberated
- Women had equal voting rights to men
- The sacking of both married and unmarried pregnant women was banned
By 1925, WHAT percentage of the workforce was female?
36%
WHY might women not have had equality in employment rights 1924-29?
- Many had to quit work after marriage
- Women were often paid much less than men
- Married women were called ‘double earners’ in protests by conservatives
WHY might women have been more sexually free during the period 1924-28 in Weimar Germany?
- Birth control became more widely available
- Divorce rates increased
HOW MANY women were estimated to have died by backstreet abortions in 1930 (as they were illegal)?
10,000 - 12,000
WHICH parties had gender equality as a key element of their programme?
Only the KPD which was the least appealing party to the female electorate
WHAT was the issue with the German education system?
It was divided along religious and class lines which were only broken down by the Weimar government with limited success (particularly with church schools)
WHAT did the Weimar Constitution Primary Schools Act say?
Free, compulsory ELEMENTARY school education (ages 6 - 10) but was unable to affect SECONDARY and CHURCH schools
HOW MANY experimental schools were there in the Weimar Republic and WHAT did they ban?
200 schools banned corporal punishment and grades
WHAT percentage of the unemployed in 1925-6 were 14-21 years old?
17%
WHAT did the growing youth unemployment lead to?
More young people turned to crime/gangs
WHAT were the consequences of the initial educational reform of Weimar?
- Religious educational pressure groups developed (e.g. Catholic School Association)
- Many education reforms were dropped due to the Centre party’s importance in coalitions
WHAT percentage of higher education attendees were female by 1932?
17%
WHAT was the Wandervogel?
The ‘wandering birds’. A nationalistic youth group consisting mainly of middle class boys who sought freedom in wild spaces through hikes, etc.
NAME some political youth groups.
- Social Democratic Youth Movement (most members)
- Young Communist League (children of KPD members)
- Bismarck Youth (DNVP)
- Hitler Youth (growth was slow in the 1920s)
WHAT percentage of federal government spending went on war related pensions?
Nearly 40%
WHAT percentage of the whole of Weimar Germany’s population was Jewish?
About 1%
WHO were some prominent Jewish people in the KPD and SPD?
- Rosa Luxemburg (KPD leader, Spartacist’s Uprising)
- Hugo Haase (helped the SPD create the new government)
- Kurt Eisner (leader of the short-lived Bavarian Socialist Republic
WHAT was the extent of anti-semitism in Weimar Germany?
Many Jewish Germans wanted to assimilate, but they did not feel the security of being completely accepted as many non-Jewish Germans were reluctant to stop identifying Jewish people as somehow alien.
WHAT was expressionism? NAME an example of a German expressionist artist.
Valued meaning and emotion over realism (e.g. Ernst Kirchner)
WHAT was new objectivity? NAME some examples of German new objectivity artists.
Valued brutal and honest depictions of society in order to comment on its flaws (e.g. George Grosz and Otto Dix)
WHAT was Dadaism? Name an example of a German Dadaist.
Sought to provoke, send or cause outrage (e.g. Hannah Höch)
NAME an example of a German author who wrote for a social and political purpose?
Erich Maria Remarque who wrote ‘All Quiet on the Western Front’ which challenged the ‘stab-in-the-back’ myth
WHEN did radio broadcasts begin in Weimar Germany?
1923
WHAT was zeitopera and zeittheater?
Zeitopera: (opera of the time) reflected modern issues from a radical, socialist perspective
Zeittheater: (theatre of the time) depicted realistic, everyday situations to critices Bourgeoisie society. Theatre was the most radical of the arts
HOW many Nobel prizes were awarded to people working in Germany at the time?
38
WHAT did the conservatives see the cultural changes as?
‘Cultural communism’. They particularly hated foreign influences like American jazz and Hollywood films
WHEN was the Bauhaus School of Architecture founded and what was its slogan?
1919: ‘Art and Technology - a new way’
WHEN was the Law to Protect Youth from Pulp Fiction and Pornography passed?
1926
WHAT was the Law to Protect Youth from Pulp Fiction and Pornography and why did it cause controversy?
- It allowed state governments to make lists of books not to be sold to under-18s
- Went against Article 118 of the constitution which said there must be no censorship
HOW MANY new homes were built between 1924 and 1931?
2 million
