Social Welfare Provisions Flashcards
Social Welfare Provisions
Background Fact 1 - Otto von Bismarck
Since Otto von Bismarck was Chancellor, Germany had provided a great amount of social welfare support for its population.
Social Welfare Provisions
Background Fact 2 - Garuntee
When the Weimar Republic was established, the re-writing of the constitution included a guarantee of support where it was needed.
Social Welfare Provisions
Social Welfare - Improvements
- Weimar improved through Social Welfare by introducing 8 hour working days
✓ Made Weimar popular within workers and the general population
x War pensions accounted for 40% of government costs, limiting the amount they could use for social welfare
Social Welfare Provisions
Social Welfare - Unemployment Benefit
- In 1927, the unemployment benefit was extended to cover up to 17 million workers.
✓ The unemployment benefit made Weimar popular as it prevented the unemployed from falling into poverty and helped to reduce ill health.
x However, taxes were also increased to pay for this social welfare.
Social Welfare Provisions
Elites - Unemployment Benefit
- Due to high welfare costs, the government’s budget deficit worsened which led them to raise taxes.
✓ raising taxes gave the government more financial support to fund social welfare.
x However, this caused resentment from elites who believed they were responsible to pay off the unemployment benefit.
Social Welfare Provisions
Elites - Arbitration System
- Employers were also angry at the political nature of the arbitration system, suggesting that politicians may have given higher wages to secure working class votes.
✓ Higher wages made Weimar popular within the public.
x However, this hurt businesses who could not afford to pay the wages, causing resentment.
Social Welfare Provisions
Government - Government Employees
- Due to the great budget deficit, 700,000 government employees lost their jobs.
✓
x Showed the governments instability and the threat of the budget deficit, causing distrust in the Weimar from the public.
Social Welfare Provisions
Government - Reduce Benefits
- Some governments reduced the amount of money given to people on welfare benefits, including war pensions, which accounted for 40% of government spending.
✓ Gave the government more financial support and pleased richer Germans who did not want to pay for the benefits.
x However, this made Weimar very unpopular within the population since the cut down war pensions which many needed.
Social Welfare Provisions
Historians - Social Welfare
Richard Bessel: Believes that Germany made economic progress but the costs of a growing social welfare system was like a “time bomb” for Weimar democracy.
Social Welfare Provisions
Historians - Elites
Ian Kershaw argues that high wages led to increased costs for employers, and so resentment from this group.
