The weimar republic 1918-29 Flashcards
impact of the first world war on germany
-two million german troops died
-gov debts increased from 50 billion marks to 150 billion marks
- 750,000 germans died due to food shortage
when was the abdication of kaiser wilhelm ll
9-10 nov 1918
when was the armistice signed
11 nov 1918
terms of the treaty of versailles became a big issue for Germany
the weimar constitution:
head of state
-head of the weimar republic
- elected by the people every 7 years
-could pass laws by decree
the weimar constitution:
the government
chancellor- head of the gov
- chooses all gov ministers
cabinet- main decision making body
the weimer constitution
the parliament
reichstag- more powerful
- controlled taxes
-elected by people ever 4 years
reichsrat- elected every 4 years
- represented germans regions
the weimar constitution
electorate
-men and women 21+
strengths of the constitution
-women were able to vote aswell
-voting age reduced from 25-21
-no group/person could have too much power
-both aspects of the gov controlled each other eg denying new laws
weaknesses of the constitution
-not the choice of the people so was not that popular
-lack of a strong gov which led to weakness in a crisis. this allowed laws to be passed without govs say
The treaty: reparation
-£6600 million had to be paid in yearly instalments
the treaty: military forces
-army was limited to 100,000
-all planers were destroyed/ no air force
- limited to six battleships,cruisers etc.
the treaty: land losses
-alsace and lorraine were lost to france
-overall germany lost 13% of its european territory
challenges from the left: spartacists
- jan 1919, took over gov neswpapers
-tried to organise strike but was stopped by freikorps
challenges from right:
the kapp putsch
-march 1920, freikorps fear unemployment so decide to marh
-army refuse to get involved and stop them
-wolfgang kapp was given control but couldnt handle it so fled seeking safety
political assassination
- 1919 to 1923 politicians were worried about assassinations
- 376 took place in early years
challenges of 1923: hyperinflation
1919= bread was 1 mark
1923= bread was 200,000 billion marks
reasons for hyperinflation
-gov lacks money forced to print more after ww1
-french troops invade ruhr and take what they are owed in goods and raw materials
- forced to print more money
- nov 1923 mark is now worthless
effects of hyperinflation: positive
-farmers benefited as they were paid more
- people could pay off loans and mortgages
-fixed rent became cheaper
- foreign visitors gained more for their money
effects of hyperinflation:
negative
-cant afford essentials
-wages rose but not as fast as prices of produce
-people with fixed/ monthly incomes suffered the most
-savings became worthless
reasons for recovery: rentenmark
nov 1923-stresseman set up the rentenmark= new currency
august 1924- reichsbank was given control of the currency
reasons for recovery: the dawes plan 1924
-charles dawes, designed a plan for germany to pay its reparations
- instalments were temporarily reduces to £50 million a year
- us banks agreed to make loans to german industries.
reasons for recovery: the young plan 1929
-committee set up by allies and owen younger proposed a plan:
- total reparations reduced from £6.6 billion to £2 billion
- payments can be made over a longer period
- lower reparations meant lower taxes for german people
stressemans success: locarno pact 1925
-agreement between germany, britain ,france, italy and belgium
-germany agreed to new borders
-germany membership of league of nations was in a discussion
- improved relations between france
-helped boost confience in political parties
stressemans success: league of nations
1920= germany excluded from it
1926= germany was invited to become a member
- showed germany’s view counted
-boosted confidence held by germans regarding weimar gov.
