the collapse of the Weimar Republic Flashcards
who was Chancellor of Germany in 1929?
Hermann Muller
what did the Young plan outline?
- reparations were extended to 1988
- the total amount of reparations were dropped to £1.85 billion
who disagreed with the Young Plan?
the right-wing
what issue did the right-wing have with the Young Plan?
reparations still existed
therefore Germany’s war guilt was still being affirmed
who was the leader of the DNVP?
Alfred Hugenberg
what had Hugenberg created?
a national committe which opposed the Young Plan
what was the national committee set up by Hugenberg called?
the National Opposition
who did Hugenberg look to for support?
- the Pan-German league
- Hitler and the Nazi party
what did the National Opposition draft?
the ‘Law against the Enslavement of the German People’
what did the ‘Law against the Enslavement of the German People’ do?
denounce all reparations and demanded the punishment of ministers who agreed with them
what did the National Opposition push for?
a referendum regarding the Young Plan
what was the outcome of the referendum on the Young Plan?
the National Opposition only won 5.8 million votes
21 million were needed
what was significant about the National Opposition?
it had brought together many right-wing opponents to the Weimar Republic
why had the National Opposition been significant for the Nazi Party?
- their membership rose
- Nazism was propelled into German society
- gave the Nazi Party access to Hugenberg’s media empire
- wide use of propaganda to a great effect in gathering German support
when was Muller’s Grand Coalition brought down?
March 1930
what brought down Muller’s Grand Coalition?
issues of finance
what were the financial issues faced by Muller’s govt?
whether to support the SPD or DVP
the SPD wanted to increase welfare support
the DVP wanted to reduce benefits in favour of supporting big business
who followed Muller as Chancellor?
Heinrich Bruning
who started to exploit President Hindenburg and his powers?
Oskar von Hindenburg
Major General Kurt von Schleicher
why was Bruning chosen as the right Chancellor?
he was a conservative figure who could be controlled by men like von Schleicher
what did von Schleicher and co look to do with Hindenburg’s powers?
they wanted to use Article 48 to create a more authoritarian government
how did Bruning look to deal with the growing economic crisis?
he proposed cuts in govt expenditure in order to achieve a more balanced budget
what happened to Bruning’s economic proposals?
they were rejected by the Reichstag in July 1930
in response to it’s rejection by the Reichstag, how did Bruning look to pass his economic reform?
through the use of Article 48
what did the Reichstag think of Bruning’s use of Article 48 to bypass the Reichstag?
they voted for the withdrawal of the reform
deadlock formed
what did Bruning ask Hindenburg to do to deal with the deadlock in the Reichstag?
he asked Hindenburg to dissolve the Reichstag
and then call for a general election in September 1930
what was significant about the election in September 1930?
the extreme parties gained major ground
the pro-democratic parties had lost a lot of support
more extreme party members were given a seat in the Reichstag, meaning a democratic govt was harder to achieve
why did the SPD accept Bruning’s use of Article 48?
they believed that it was the only way the govt could deal with the threat from the left and right wings
what had Bruning’s rule effectively become?
a presidential government
he was effectively a semi-dictator through the use of Article 48 to force through reform
how many laws were passed through using Article 48 in 1931-32?
110
how many laws were passed through democratically with Reichstag backing?
39
what main measures did Bruning enforce through presidential decree?
- to cut spending drastically
- raise taxes