The Early Challenges To The Weimar Republic 1919-23 Flashcards
What was the main reason for early unpopularity of the Weimar Republic ?
The signing of the treaty of Versailles
What was the treaty of Versailles ?
- it was a treaty determining the punishment and reparations Germany had to pay/ do
- lead by the French who wanted revenge and wanted to ensure Germany could never threaten them again.
What where some key points of the treaty of Versailles ?
- Germany lost 13 percent of its land
- 48 percent of its iron production and 6 million citizens absorbed into other countries because of that
- article 231 war guilt clause: Germany excepted full blame for the war of 1914
- article 231 also denied them entry to the League of Nations
What where 3 territorial terms form the treaty of Versailles ?
- all colonies given to the allied powers
- Alsace-Lorraine returned to France
- no union (Anschluss) with Austria
What where three military terms from the treaty of Versailles ?
- army not to exceed 10,000 men
- no military aircraft permitted
- no submarines permitted
What was one financial term of the treaty of Versailles ?
- reparations fixed at 6.6 billion
What was the ‘stab in the back’ theory ? (Starts 1919 lasts up until 1945)
- for most Germans the treaty made them feel shame and humiliated
- a scapegoat was needed and this was Erbert(president of the time), the Weimar government and its politicians
- they where called the November criminals
- idea that politicians had stabbed the German army in the back
What was the German name for the ‘Stab in the back’
Dolchstoss theory
Why was the criticism so ironic ?
-The German government had initially rejected the terms of peace
-the public was unaware that refusal to sign it would be seen as a sign of hostility and immediate invasion of Germany
- they forced Erbert and the Germans to sign it
