The Weimar Republic Flashcards
Who temporarily became the leader of Germany after the Kaiser abdicated?
Friedrich Ebert, the leader of the SPD.
What was one of the first actions Friedrich Ebert took as leader?
He signed an armistice to end the First World War.
What is an armistice?
An agreement, or truce, to stop fighting.
Give 5 orders Ebert gave after signing the armistice:
-Improvements to working conditions
-Help for the unemployed
-Improved housing
-More food supplies
-Freedom of speech and religion
What type of Republic did Ebert declare Germany would be?
A democratic republic.
What was the Spartacus League?
One of the political groups in Germany.
What political idea did the Spartacists believe in?
Communism.
Other than communism, what else did the Spartacists want?
They wanted Germany to be run by small councils of soldiers and workers, not by a large parliament.
When did the Spartacists try and take over Berlin?
6th January 1919.
How did Ebert respond to the Spartacist’s revolt in Berlin?
He sent in a group of 2000 ex-soldiers, known as the Free Corps, to attack the Spartacists.
How many days of brutal street fighting was there during the fight between the Spartacists and Free Corps?
3 days.
Who did the Free Corps arrest?
They arrested Rosa Luxemburg and Karl Liebknecht, the Spartacist leaders.
What did the Free Corps do to the arrested leaders?
They beat them then murdered them.
What ended the Spartacist revolt?
When the 2 leaders, Rosa Luxemburg and Karl Liebknecht, were murdered.
When did Ebert become the new German President?
In late January 1919
Give 3 beliefs in Communism:
-Everyone is equal
-No private property and the government (or council) runs farms and businesses
-Little need for money and laws because everyone lives a simple life, sharing all they have with others
Who were the Free Corps?
A group of ex-soldiers who had recently come home from the First World War.
Who did the Free Corps hate?
They hated the Spartacists (and all communists) as they blamed them for stirring up trouble near the end of the war.
When did Germany’s politicians draw up the Weimar Constitution?
1919.
What was the Weimar Constitution?
A formal set of rules for how Germany should be governed
What was proportional representation?
Lots of different political parties were able to win seats in the Reichstag.
Why did proportional representation not work?
It made it difficult to make decisions and introduce laws as sometimes there were over 20 different political parties all arguing over a single issue. With no majority, the leading party had to do deals with smaller groups in order to get anything done, again, this made law-making a very slow process.
Give an example, with dates, of proportional representation being a negative thing:
Between 1919 and 1933, no political party ever won more than half the votes in any election
What was another weakness of the new system of government?
Many groups didn’t like this.
What kind of groups didn’t like this new democratic system of governing?
Some of the older army generals, judges, upper-class families, rich factory owners and university professors
What was the nickname given to the politicians who surrendered during the First World War?
The November Criminals.
Giver 5 terms of the Treaty of Versailles:
-Reparations of £6.6 billion
-Germany’s army was limited to 100,000 men, 6 battleships in their navy, no submarines, tanks or an airforce
-Germany must hand over its colonies to the winning countries
-Anshluss banned
-The Rhineland was to be demilitarised
What were the main 3 reasons why Germany hated the Treaty of Versailles?
-They felt it was too harsh
-They hated that it had been forced on them
-Many felt they had not really lost the war at all.
Why did Germans feel the Treaty was too harsh?
It took away large areas of land which meant losing people, factories, farms and mines. Also because they had to pay a large amount of money to the winners.
What did the Germans call the Treaty as they were ordered to sign it with no discussion?
A ‘diktat’.
Which year did Germany say they could not afford to pay reparations?
1922.
What was the Ruhr?
A rich, industrial area of Germany.
What did French and Belgian soldiers do as a result of Germany not paying reparations?
They marched into the Ruhr, taking control of every factory, mine and railway in the region.
How many French and Belgian soldiers marched into the Ruhr?
60,000.
When did French and Belgian soldiers marched into the Ruhr?
January 1923.
What was the main consequence of the French and Belgian soldiers marching into the Ruhr?
The hyperinflation crisis of 1923.
When was the hyperinflation crisis?
1923.
What did the German government order its workers to do against the French and Belgian soldiers?
To not fight back, but instead go on strike, and not help the soldiers remove goods from the country. This was known as passive resistance.
How many strikers were killed by the French and Belgian soldiers?
Over 100.
How many people were thrown out of their homes as punishment by the French and Belgian soldiers?
15,000.
What did the German government promise the strikers?
They promised to continue paying the workers on strike, because they were only doing what the government had told them to do.
What was a reason, regarding the Ruhr, why Germany was running short of money?
The Ruhr wasn’t producing coal, iron and steel to sell to other nations.
What did the government do to pay striking workers?
They printed large amounts of money.
What did shopkeepers do in response to the striking workers spending their money quickly?
They began to put up their prices.
How did the government respond to shops rising their prices all over Germany?
They printed even more money to help people buy things.
What was the relationship between the government printing money and prices in shops?
The more money the government printed, the faster prices went up.
What was the relationship between prices in shops and people’s wages?
The faster prices went up, the faster people spent their wages.
Give an example of how quickly prices could rise:
The price of goods even rose between joining the back of a queue and reaching the front.
Why did the German government and Weimar politicians lose a lot of support in 1923?
People looked for someone to blame for the hyperinflation crisis.
What happened to people’s saving by the end of 1923?
They became worthless.
Define passive resistance:
Protesting against government or laws by using non-violent acts.
What was the impact of hyperinflation on money?
Money became worthless
How did the price of a loaf of bread change from 1918 to November 1923?
In 1918 it cost 0.6 marks, by November 1923 it cost 201,000,000,000 marks.
How did the price of one egg change from 1914 to November 1923?
In 1914 it cost 0.9 marks, by November 1923 it cost 320,000,000,000 marks.
What are 3 negative impacts of hyperinflation on German people?
-People’s savings became worthless
-Elderly people on fixed pensions found their income couldn’t buy them what they need
-Small businesses collapsed
What caused small businesses to collapse as a result of hyperinflation?
Normal trade became impossible because of the daily price changes.
What is 1 positive impact of hyperinflation on German people?
People who borrowed money found it very easy to pay off their debts.
