The Origins of the Weimar republic Flashcards
when was the German revolution?
1918
how long had fighting lasted for?
4 years
how many germans had fought in ww1?
11 million
how many germans had died in ww1?
2 million
how much did german governments debt increase due to ww1?
trebled from 50 billion marks to 150 billion marks
how did failure in ww1 lead to a revolution?
people were angry and the economy was failing
what did the british navy do to german ports?
blockaded them preventing ships from bringing food into the country
how many germans died due to food shortages during ww1?
over 750,000
how did the hardships of war lead to a revolution?
people were starving and shops were losing money as they had nothing to sell
when did the german sailors mutiny?
october 1918
how did the german sailors mutiny?
they refused to follow orders in the ports of Kiel and Hamburg
how did the sailors mutiny lead to a revolution?
sailors were refusing to follow orders leading to chaos
when did kaiser Wilhelm abdicate?
9th November 1918
when did Ebert sign the armistice?
11th November 1918
when did Ebert become the chancellor?
9th November 1918
what did Ebert do on the 10th November 1918?
suspended the old reichstag and named 6 politicians who would form the council of peoples’ representatives
who was Ebert trying to keep out of power?
the communists
what did Ebert promise big companies?
that the government would not take over their businesses
when was the new constitution established?
31st July 1919
at what age did the new constitution give men and women the vote?
aged 20
how often was a president elected?
every 7 years
what did the chancellor have to do before passing legislation?
seek a majority in the reichstag
what is proportional representation?
parties got the same proportion of seats as they did votes
how was proportional representation a strength?
the most popular parties received the seats
how was proportional representation a weakness?
small coalitions could be formed with little power or influence
what did article 48 state?
in an emergency the chancellor could make laws without consulting the reichstag
why was article 48 a weakness?
when Hitler was in power it meant that he could pass all of his laws without approval
