The origins of the Weimar Republic 1918-19

Question 1

What was the revolution?

Answer 1

The German people rebelled and created a new Weimar Republic with no Kaiser

Question 2

Who was Wilhelm II

Answer 2

The former Kaiser of Germany

Question 3

When did Wilhelm II abdicate?

Answer 3

He abdicated on the 9th November 1918

Question 4

What is abdication?

Answer 4

When a ruler decides to step down from power

Question 5

Who was Friedrich Ebert?

Answer 5

Leader of the SDP and first president of the Weimar Republic

Question 6

What is an Armistice?

Answer 6

A stop in fighting to sign a peace treaty

Question 7

What was the SDP?

Answer 7

Social Democratic Party - wanted fair democracy

Question 8

What was the constitution?

Answer 8

The weimar constitution was made in Weimar and made rules for how the country was to be run

Question 9

What was the Ebert Groener Pact?

Answer 9

The deal between Ebert and army general Groener for the army to back the new government up in return for old civil servants to keep their jobs

Question 10

What is communism?

Answer 10

Political ideas about an equal way to run a country with no rich/poor. Russia was an example of communism

Question 11

What was Germany’s WW1 legacy?

Answer 11

All of the problems left behind in Germany by WW1, Germany’s defeat and the Treaty of Versailles

Question 12

What was the stabbed in the back myth?

Answer 12

Germans who were ashamed of their defeat in WW1 blamed the new Weimar politicians. The politicians were called ‘November criminals’ as a result of them signing the armistice on November 11th

Question 13

What is democracy?

Answer 13

A fair way of running a country, where people have to choose the people in power, who make decisions that represent most people’s wishes

Question 14

Why was the German revolution a limited revolution?

Answer 14

Germany never became a true democracy. Old civil servants kept their jobs in power - especially the army and judges. Some bits of the constitution was not democratic

Question 15

What part of the constitution was not democratic

Answer 15

President, Article 48

Question 16

What were 3 strengths of the Weimar Republic?

Answer 16

1. All men/women over the age of 21 could vote for the Reichstag and vote for the president every 7 years

2.Proportional representation voting gave fair shares of power to lots of different parties

3. Lots of rules to balance power so different parts of the government could check each other

Question 17

What were 3 weaknesses of the Weimar Republic?

Answer 17

1. President had the power to choose the chancellor or close the Reichstag and control the army
2. Proportional representation meant that small parties shared power in coalitions. Making decisions hard and slow. There were many elections in 1919-23 which worried and frustrated German people. Some parties hated the new republic
3. Article 48 meant that the president could make all decisions in a crisis. This was used a lot and it made people think that democracy didn’t work and strong leaders were better

Question 18

How many small parties were there in the 1920s?

Answer 18

29

Question 19

How many elections were there between 1919-23?

Answer 19

Nine elections

Question 20

How many German soldiers died in WW1?

Answer 20

2 million soldiers - 55% of the army

Question 21

How much did debt increase for Germany?

Answer 21

Debt was up x3 to 150 billion marks

Question 22

How many Germans died as a result of the British Naval Blockade?

Answer 22

750,000 Germans died of food shortages