The Golden Age Of The Weimar Republic 1924-28 - Social And Cultural Devlopments

Question 1

What did the phrase ‘kinder, kinche, kuche’ mean and what was it for?

Answer 1

It meant ‘children, church and kitchen’ and was used in the 2nd reich to describe the role of women in Germany

Question 2

How did the role of women in politics and the law change from the 2nd reich?

Answer 2

• On the 12th November 1918, women were granted the vote by the council of peoples representatives, in an election that gained a 90% turnout
• from 1919 - 1932, 112 women were elected into the Reichstag
• in article 109, the Weimar stated that women had equal rights

Question 3

For what reasons didn’t the role of women in politics and public life change from the 2nd reich?

Answer 3

-There were no female representatives in the reichstrat
-No woman became a cabinet member nor a party leader during the Republic
-Only the communists made gender equality a key element in it programme
-Parties such as the DVP and DNVP were popular among women but didn’t support feminist issues

Question 4

In what ways did the opportunity for work and employment change for women from the 2nd Reich?

Answer 4

• there was a rise in ‘white blouse’ jobs
• the concept of single women working became popular and they could also go further into education and enter professions

Question 5

By 1933, what jobs were women seen in more consistently?

Answer 5

There were 36 female lawyers; the lower levels of legal profession rose from 54-251 and from 1925-33 the amount of female doctors doubled

Question 6

Why did the roles for women in the workplace not change compared to the 2nd Reich?

Answer 6

• government policy said women should give up their jobs to soliders
• in 1925, the % of female workforce (36%) was reaching near pre war levels of 34%
• women were paid33% less than men for the same roles
• married women who continued to have jobs were attacked as ‘double earners’ and blamed for male unemployment and there were conservative campaigns in the press for the dismissal of female workers
• they faced hostility and discrimination from men and TU’s were dominated by males
• in 1925, 50% of women were poorly paid and had blue collar jobs

Question 7

How did women appear in society differently from the 2nd Reich?

Answer 7

• they abandoned traditional female behaviours in response to the racy city culture that developed in the 1920s. They tended to wear more revealing clothes, have shorter hair, smoked and drank and they behaved with male freedoms

Question 8

How did the film industry display women differently and what was the reaction to this?

Answer 8

They glorified the image of the ‘new’ and ‘emancipated’ women however this was opposed by the older, conservative generation

Question 9

How were women in the republic displayed in the same way in society as before?

Answer 9

• politicians and the media critiqued the ‘morality’ of the ‘new women’
• abortion was a criminal offence and would often be performed by unqualified people. In 1930 there were an estimated 10-12000 deaths each year from abortion
• Catholic & Protestant Churches were vigorously opposed to birth control, divorce and abortion
• the decline in birth rates was attacked by the conservative press & politicians as a ‘birth strike’ that threatened the health of the nation and continued existence of the race
• they were criticised for: not planning for the future or saving, being selfish, going against nature by taking on a boyish manner and causing the downfall of society

Question 10

What were the different types of youth groups in the Weimar Republic?

Answer 10

Political youth groups, wandervogel, church youth groups

Question 11

What was the civil code of 1896?

Answer 11

It concerned all aspects of personal and civil rights and responsibilities, which was needed after the unification of Germany in 1871 that saw the need to bring the separate laws to each state into a national framework

Question 12

What were children in Germany expected to do after the age of 14 who didn’t attend gymnasium schools?

Answer 12

Leave school and begin an apprenticeship or employment

Question 13

What were the unemployment rates for 14-21 year olds after 1924?

Answer 13

In 1925 it was 17%

Question 14

Why were the unemployment rates so high amongst young people?

Answer 14

There has been a baby boom between 1900 and 1910, meaning that so many more young people were seeking employment at a time when workforces were already being reduced

Question 15

How was the education system in Germany divided?

Answer 15

Other than a few elite, selective schools, the state education system was divided along class lines and religious lines because catholic and Protestant churches had powerful influence over religious education

Question 16

What successes did educational reformers have?

Answer 16

They introduced elementary schools, which all children would attend for the first 4 years of education and then those who didn’t pass the exams for gymnasium schools would be able to stay for another 4 years

Question 17

Why was it difficult to reform religion education in schools?

Answer 17

Both catholic and Protestant churches defended their right to promote their religion in school and were supported by their respective parties

Question 18

What were the different political youth groups?

Answer 18

• sdp youth movement, 1925 who had the most members of any political youth group in the Weimar era
• young communist league, 1925 for the children of kdp members
• the bismarak youth, linked to the DVNP in 1922 and their strongest appeal was among middle/upper class youths in Protestant areas, however they still had a strong working class following in Berlin
• the Hitler youth, linked to the Nazi party in the 1920s

Question 19

How many members did the bismarak and Hitler youth groups have by 1928 and 1929

Answer 19

42,000 & 13,000 respectively

Question 20

When was the first wondervogel group set up?

Answer 20

1896

Question 21

What were the beliefs of wandervogel groups?

Answer 21

They were highly nationalistic and had a romanticised view of the past. They hated industrialisation and big cities and spent lots of their time hiking in forests, swimming in lakes, sleeping under canvas. They also sought the freedom of wild spaces and some practiced nudism or vegetarianism

Question 22

Church Youth Groups:

Answer 22

Both catholics and Protestants had youth groups, however whilst catholics had many groups aimed at different sections of young people, such as ‘new Germany’ in 1919 that was aimed at the middle class, promoting religious observance and respect for church, family and school, Protestants didn’t give youth work as a high priority and their groups had fewer members

Question 23

What were the fundamental rights of the German people?

Answer 23

Article 109: all Germans are equal before the law
Article 114: personal liberty is invoilable
Article 115: the home of every German is inviolable and sanctuary

Question 24

What % of the population of Germany were Jews in 1918?

Answer 24

1%

Question 25

What % of the population were Jews by 1933 and where were most of them based?

Answer 25

Only 0.76% were Jewish and 66.8% of them were based in Germany cities (1/3 in Berlin)

Question 26

By 1928, what success did Jews have in professional jobs?

Answer 26

- 16% of lawyers were Jewish - 11% of doctors were Jewish - Jewish banking families such as the rothschilds, mendelessohns and Bleichroder etc owned 50% of private banks and Jewish directors also managed several major public banks - the Rathenau family owned the largest electrical engineering firm, AEG until 1927 - Jewish firms dominated coal mines, steelworks and the chemical industry in Silesia

Question 27

What % of 38 Nobel peace prizes were won by 1938 were awarded to Jews?

Answer 27

24%

Question 28

What was a turning point for German society that saw a resurgence in anti semitism?

Answer 28

The Great Depression which saw Jews mainly being blamed, resulting in a significant increase in support for extreme right wing parties

Question 29

Increase in support for the Nazi party,% of votes from May 1928-July 1932

Answer 29

In May 1928 they received 2.6% of the vote but in July 1932 they received 37.4%

Question 30

Why did the banks owned by Jews decline to 18% which was less than pre WW1?

Answer 30

They were blamed for collapsing the economy

Question 31

What were the different social reform acts between 1924-27?

Answer 31

In 1924, the public assistance system was modernised which provided help to the poor and destitute, in 1925 the state accident insurance system introduced by bismarak to help those injured at work was extended to cover those suffering from diseases and in 1927 a national unemployment insurance system was introduced to provide benefits for the unemployed

Question 32

What were the limitations of the social reforms?

Answer 32

They promised more than they delivered and proved very expensive to maintain, with the state supporting 800000 disabled war veterans, 900000 war orphans and 360000 war widows. There were increased delays in the benefits due to checks that claimants weren’t cheating the system

Question 33

What were ‘youth cliques’

Question 34

How did the film industry develop in Weimar Germany?

Answer 34

It became the most advanced in Europe and was encouraged by the Weimar government, which drove success as Alfred hugenburg ran the biggest film studio. From the 1920s, American movies such as Charlie Chaplin was commended which shows how Weimar culture was international

Question 35

Notable German films:

Answer 35

Metropolis 1925, by Fritz Lang (who was of Jewish descent), which was a silent, science fiction film about the future and gold rush 1930 which was a silent American comedy starring Charlie Chaplin

Question 36

What was the significance of cabaret in Weimar Germany?

Answer 36

Cabaret clubs opened in the 1920s and mocked the old conventions of Germany, using satirical comedy, jazz music and female dancers with varying degrees of nudity. As censorship after ww1 was lifted more social themes were showcased

Question 37

How did architecture and design expand in Weimar Germany?

Answer 37

After the Bauhaus design (led by William Gropius) was established in 1919, the ‘bauhaus’ movement became a new style of architecture and its approach was functional and simple

Question 38

How did art expand in Weimar Germany?

Answer 38

The ‘new objectivity’ movement came into light and some artists wanted to understand ordinary people in everyday life - hence commenting on the state of society

Question 39

Key examples of artwork in Weimar Germany:

Answer 39

Pillars of society by georg grosz in 1926 which mocks the image of the solider, priest and banker and the dancer ‘Anita berber’ by Otto Dix in 1925 which saw the ‘new women’ of Weimar Germany as a sign of German degradation

Question 40

How did literature develop in Weimar Germany?

Answer 40

A rich range of writing styles emerged, with some authors writing traditional, nostalgic literature - such as hans Grimm, however some authors explored a range of social issues which showed a push away from the distress and misery of working people - two famous books were: ‘all quiet on the western front’ 1928 by Erich Maria Von remarque and ‘Berlin alexandraplatz’ 1929 by doblin which explored the life of a working person in Weimar

Question 41

How did theatre develop in Weimar Germany?

Question 42

What was set up to try and help young people who were unemployed?

Answer 42

The benefits system was set up to provide help and day centres were established to help youths acquire the skills needed to find work, but neither could compensate for the lack of employment opportunity and as a result of unemployment young people often joined gangs

Question 43

Juvenile crime in Hamburg:

Answer 43

At its highest in 1917, at almost 1600 youths, however from 1925-28 the amount of youths each year that committed crime was less than 500. However, this rose in 1929 to over 600

Question 44

Jewish influence in politics and the press:

Answer 44

- they were already well established before 1914 as Jewish publishing firms had a powerful influence in the media - Theodor Wolff (editor of Berliner tageblatt) was the driving force behind the DDP and Walther Rathenau - Jews were prominent among the SPD and KPD, shown through Rosa luxemburg, Hugo Hasse and Kurt Eisner who were all from Jewish backgrounds

Question 45

What is ‘Jewish Bolshevism’?

Answer 45

A term used by anti-semities in the Weimar period to imply that Jews and communities were closely associated and represented a danger to German values

Question 46

What was the 1925 Barmat scandal?

Answer 46

The barmat brothers (Julius, Salomon and Henri) were Jewish businessmen who emigrated from Galicia to Poland after the war and they were convicted in a high profile court case of bribing public officials to obtain loans from the Prussian state bank and the national post office. The reporting of this fuelled anti-semitism