The early years: the Weimar Republic

Question 1

What date was the armistice signed?

Answer 1

11th November 1918

Question 2

What did the signing of the armistice signify?

Answer 2

The end of WW1

Question 3

What happened to the Kaiser and the old German government?

Answer 3

They were forced out of Germany and replaced by the Weimar Republic

Question 4

Why was the new government called the Weimar Republic?

Answer 4

Weimar - the new government met in a town called Weimar

Republic - a republic is a country without a hereditary ruler

Question 5

How often was a new President elected and who by?

Answer 5

Every 7 years, by the German people

Question 6

What were three things that gave the President power?

Answer 6

1) Had the power to dismiss the Reichstag
2) Appointed the Chancellor
3) Supreme Commander of the armed forces

Question 7

What did Article 48 do?

Answer 7

Gave the President power to make laws without the Reichstag

Question 8

What was the Chancellor in power of?

Answer 8

He was the leader of the government, and was in charge of the day-to-day running of the country

Question 9

Who was the Chancellor elected by?

Answer 9

The President

Question 10

What was the Reichstag?

Answer 10

The main law-making body of Parliament

Question 11

Who was the Reichstag made up of? How often were they elected?

Answer 11

Deputies, elected every four years

Question 12

What did the electoral system of proportional representation in Weimar Germany mean?

Answer 12

Small parties had representatives in the Reichstag

Question 13

Who could vote in Weimar Germany?

Answer 13

All citizens above the age of 20 had the right to vote

Question 14

What did the Bill of Rights give the German people in Weimar Germany?

Answer 14

Freedom of speech, religious freedoms and equality within the law

Question 15

What were the four main problems the Weimar Republic faced from 1918-1923?

Answer 15

1) Blame for defeat in First World War
2) The Treaty of Versailles
3) Proportional representation
4) Political violence

Question 16

Who signed the armistice?

Answer 16

The leaders of the Weimar Republic

Question 17

Why was the Weimar Republic blamed for the defeat in WW1? (3 reasons)

Answer 17

• The Kaiser had not told the German people they were losing the war
• They felt betrayed when the armistice was signed and were looking for someone to blame
• They believed Germany would have won the war if the army was not ‘stabbed in the back’ by the weak politicians

Question 18

What four main problems did the Treaty of Versailles cause?

Answer 18

1) Land
2) Army
3) Money
4) Blame

Question 19

What date was the Treaty of Versailles signed?

Answer 19

28th June 1919

Question 20

How much land did Germany have to give up due to the Treaty of Versailles?

Answer 20

13%, including colonies and important areas with raw materials such as coal

Question 21

What was Germany’s army reduced to due to the Treaty of Versailles?

Answer 21

100,000 men (1.75 million before). No conscription or aircraft was allowed, with a very limited navy

Question 22

Due to the Treaty of Versailles, how much reparations did Germany have to pay, and to whom?

Answer 22

Germany had to pay £6.6 billion to countries devastated by trench warfare, e.g France and Belgium

Question 23

What did the ‘war guilt’ clause in the Treaty of Versailles entail?

Answer 23

Germany had to accept the blame for causing WW1

Question 24

How were the ministers chosen in the old German government?

Answer 24

The Kaiser had chosen the ministers to help him run the country

Question 25

How were votes counted in the Weimar Republic?

Answer 25

Using the system of proportional representation - the number of representatives from a given party is determined by the share or proportion of votes that a party gains nationally

Question 26

What were the two main problems with proportional representation in the Weimar Republic?

Answer 26

1) Parliament was made up of lots of minor parties with too much influence on policies, which meant major parties had to make deals with them because they needed support 2) Because there were so many parties, there were many varying opinions. It was difficult to reach a majority in a vote so very little was done

Question 27

Why was political violence a problem for the Weimar Republic? (3)

Answer 27

1) Some people thought the leaders of the Weimar Republic were not ruling Germany right 2) Many extreme parties wanted to destroy the Republic and its system of government 3) Many parties wanted to seize power and rule Germany their way

Question 28

What were the four main political uprisings against the Weimar Republic? What was their date and which side of the political spectrum did they fall?

Answer 28

- The Spartacist Rising, 1919, extreme left-wing - The Red Rising, 1920, extreme left-wing - The Kapp Putsch, 1920, extreme right-wing - The Munich Putsch, 1923, extreme right-wing

Question 29

What are communists?

Answer 29

People who follow a theory of society (communism) in which money and property is shared out equally among its citizens

Question 30

What were the Freikorps?

Answer 30

An organisation of ex-army members who were anti-communist

Question 31

What were the SA?

Answer 31

They were set up in 1921 by Hitler to disrupt and intimidate opponents of the Nazis, primarily made up of ex-soldiers and members of the Freikorps. Also known as stormtroopers or brownshirts

Question 32

Who were the leaders of the Spartacist Rising?

Answer 32

Karl Liebknecht and Rosa Luxemburg

Question 33

Who were the Spartacist League?

Answer 33

Communists who wanted to replicate the Russian Revolution of 1917 in Germany

Question 34

Describe the Spartacist Rising (7)

Answer 34

1) In January 1919, 50,000 workers went on strike and demonstrated in the centre of Berlin 2) The demonstration was taken over by Spartacist leadership 3) Newspaper and communication building were seized 4) Demonstrators armed themselves 5) The government ordered the army and the Freikorps to crush them 6) Over 100 workers were killed in what was known as 'Bloody Week' 7) Liebknecht and Luxemburg were arrested and executed

Question 35

Describe the Red Rising (3)

Answer 35

1) In March 1920, a communist army of around 50,000 workers occupied the Ruhr 2) The army and the Freikorps crushed them 3) Around 1000 communists were killed

Question 36

Who was the leader of the Kapp Putsch?

Answer 36

Wolfgang Kapp, the leader of the Freikorps

Question 37

Describe the Kapp Putsch (4)

Answer 37

1) In March 1920, Wolfgang Kapp attempted to seize power using the Freikorps 2) The army refused to attack him 3) The workers in Berlin went of general strike to protest 4) This managed to stop the uprising

Question 38

Who was involved in the Munich Putsch?

Answer 38

Adolf Hitler's Nazi Party of around 50,000 members, and their own private army (the SA)

Question 39

What was the plan of the Nazis in the Munich Putsch?

Answer 39

To take over the government and set up a new one in Munich

Question 40

Why did the Munich Putsch fail?

Answer 40

Poor planning

Question 41

What happened to Hitler and other Nazi leaders after the Munich Putsch?

Answer 41

They were arrested and sent to prison

Question 42

What did Hitler do during the First World War?

Answer 42

He was a soldier in the trenches

Question 43

When did Hitler find out the German government had surrendered the First World War?

Answer 43

He was in a hospital, following a gas attack

Question 44

How did Hitler feel when he found out the German government had surrendered WW1?

Answer 44

Like many Germans, he felt betrayed and angry

Question 45

What was Hitler asked to do in 1919?

Answer 45

He was asked by the army to spy on some extremist groups

Question 46

In what year did Hitler join the German Workers' Party?

Answer 46

1919

Question 47

What party did Hitler join in 1919, and why?

Answer 47

While attending a meeting of the German Workers' Party, he was so impressed he joined

Question 48

How many members did the German Workers' Party have in 1919?

Answer 48

55

Question 49

What was the Nazi Party formerly known as?

Answer 49

The German Workers' Party

Question 50

In what year was the German Workers' Party renamed?

Answer 50

1920

Question 51

What was the German Workers' Party renamed to?

Answer 51

The National Socialist German Workers' Party (Nazis)

Question 52

In what year did Hitler declare the Twenty-Five Point Programme?

Answer 52

1920

Question 53

Give five main points from the Twenty-Five Point Programme (1920)

Answer 53

1) UNITE - unite all German-speaking people 2) ABOLISH - abolish the Treaty of Versailles and end reparations 3) PROFIT - share all money made by profiteers during the war 4) STRONG - form a strong central government with unrestricted authority 5) LAND - take over land and colonies in Eastern Europe to feed Germany's population

Question 54

In what year did Hitler become leader of the Nazi Party?

Answer 54

1921

Question 55

In what year did Hitler begin to show his natural ability to speak well in public?

Answer 55

1921

Question 56

How many members did the Nazi Party have in 1923?

Answer 56

55,000 members

Question 57

How was the Nazi Party viewed in 1923?

Answer 57

They were seen as a marginal political party