The Kaiserreich 1871-1914: Society Flashcards
What was the position of the elites in society?
- At the top of class hierarchy
- Made up of Prussian Junkers (many being military officers)
- Extremely powerful
- Lived in spacious homes or county estates run by servants
What types of people formed the upper middle class?
- Industrial managers
- Educated professionals
- Doctors
- Lawyers
What could the upper middle class do?
- Buy good quality houses
- Pay for their children education
- Had servants
What was the position of white collar workers in society?
- Consisted of clerks/shopkeepers
- Also known as lower middle class
- Proud of their position despite not being that wealthy
- Wanted education for their children
What was the position of women after 1914?
- Women in the lower middle class seized new office work opportunities
- Working women and peasant women were very likely to be manual labourers
What did women getting jobs in factories lead to?
- ‘Horror stories’ about the growing number of illegitimate children in industrial cities
- Believed spread of prostitution
What was the position of women in the 1890’s?
- Had no right to vote
- Legal status was severely restricted (their property became their husbands when married)
What is the evidence to support there being a culture of militarism within German society?
- Prussian officer corps and military assumed a central role in 2nd Reich
- Troops took a personal oath to Kaiser Wilhelm II rather than the state of loyalty
- Wilhelm II loved and encouraged tradition, military uniforms, ritualistic practices, male dominated military culture
- 1914- Had army of 4 million men
- 1914- Military expenditure reached £60 million
- By 1914 Germany had become a state of soldiers
- Military rank was more respected than civilian titles
How much did wages increase by between 1895-1913?
25%
What were some of Bismarck’s measures to increase the conditions of working people?
- 1883 Medical Insurance- Allowed for the payment of medical bills for workers and their families (covered 3 million workers)
- 1884 Accident Insurance- Provided benefits and funeral grants to people injured at work (extended in 1886 to cover 7 million agricultural workers)
- 1889 Old Age Pensions- Introduced for people over the age of 70
What were some of Caprivi and Bulow’s measures to increase the conditions of working people?
- Recognition of trade unions
- Changes to employment laws- reduced women’s maximum working hours to 11, guaranteed a minimum wage, prohibition of Sunday employment, restrictions on child employment
- Progression income tax- the more the person made the more they paid
- Extension to the period in which workers could claim accident insurance
- Extension of health insurance (1903)
How had Bismarck, Caprivi and Bulow’s reforms helped people by 1914?
- Over 15 million Germans covered by sickness insurance
- 28 million insured against accidents
- 1 million received annual pensions
What are some of the electronic developments within this time?
- Cinemas created
- Phones, typewriters and the electronic tram network helped to speed up communications
What were some of the new opportunities for German people?
- New spread of education and job opportunities (particular increase in white collar positions)
- Medical improvements (inoculations and hygiene developments which enabled people to live healthier and longer lives)
What were living conditions like for those at the bottom end of the working class scale?
- Very tough
- Many forced to live in cramped inner city streets
- Many people to 1 house and families had to share rooms
