The Weimar Republic Flashcards
How was the ToV a problem for the Weimar Republic
- first action as weimar government -> tarnished their name with legacy
- agreed to unfair reparations ( £ 6.6 billion)
LAMB!
-‘november criminals’ -> signed ceasefire -> GERMANS THOUGHT THEY WERE WINNING! - GERMAN PEOPLE DISLIKED WEIMAR GOVERNMENT
How did the TOV affect Germany’s land and blame?
LamB
LAND
- lost 15% agricultural land
-13% overall land + 6 million people
including : Alsace Lorraine to FRANCE, West Prussia to POLAND and the SAAR to be voted on in 15 years
BLAME
- Germany had to accept full blame
- this they RESENTED most of all
How did Tov affect germanys Army and money?
lAMb
ARMY
- army limited to 100,00, 6 battleships, 15,000 naval soldiers
MONEY
- £6600 mil fixed sum to be paid annually
- lost 10% of industry
- lost overseas colonies
THE KAPP PUTSCH who? why? what? success?
1920 Freikorps unit -> WOLFGANG KAPP freikorps had been ordered to disband due to ToV \+ now left wing uprisings had been crushed 12,000 Freikorps marched BERLIN Government FLEE Fail to win much support Workers go on strike Berlin is held for 4 DAYS Kapp flees Berlin
THE MUNICH PUTSCH who? why? what? success?
1923
Nazi party -> Adolf Hitler + Ludendorf (first world war hero involved in Kapp Putsch
55,000 members + SA
believed democracy lead to WEAK GOVERNMENT
ONE political party + ONE leader
planned for Ludendorf to be leader, Hitler + 600 SA march beerhall and capture KAHR
force Kahr to support plan
release Kahr -> he withdraws support
Army ordered to crush revolt -> (UNEXPECTED AS THIS DIDNT HAPPEN IN KAPP PUTSCH)
Hitler sent to prison for 5 years, nazis fall apart
RED RISING IN THE RUHR who? why? what? success?
1920 Workers lead by communist party angry about bad pay + working conditions 50,000 workers occupy Germanys main industrial areas -> the RUHR German army + Friekorps crush uprising kill over 1000 Weak leadership/ no clear plan no widepread support unrest never threatened weimar republic
THE SPARTACIST RISING who? why? what? success?
1919
spartacist league set up by ROSA LUXEMBOURG and KARL LIEBKNECHT
wanted full scale communist revolution like russia 1917
for the workers!
worker protests hoped would turn to uprising
take over newspaper hq
hoped protestors would join -> did not happen
Army stop uprising over 100 workers killed
Badly planned + no support
Main leaders both shot -> spartacists defeated
When was the Treaty of Versailles signed?
28th June 1919
What happened to the Kaiser?
Wilhem II was forced to abdicate and went into exile in 1918 in the Netherlands
What was the war guilt clause?
Opening article of reparations ToV
Meant that Germany had to accept responsibility for the war basically
What was proportional representation?
- electoral system meant parties gained seats in parliament proportional to how many voters
- Germany used this in the introduction of Weimar Republic
What were the two main flaws of the Weimar republic and why?
Article 48 ->
Proportional representation ->
What were the protests to the Weimar republic?
Spartacists
Red Ruhr Rising
Kapp Putsch
Munich Putsch
What was the stab in the back myth?
1919, Germans had believed they were winning the war and thought they had been stabbed in the back by the politicians who signed the armistice.
Bitter, blamed the Weimar government
What was hyperinflation?
Peaked in 1923, money (the mark) lost all worth due to so much of it being printed.
By NOVEMBER 1923, $1 was equal to 200 billion marks
Benefitted people with loans
Bad for people with fixed pensions, savings, wages sometimes did not increase with inflation rate
What caused hyperinflation?
The French did not believe Germany couldn’t repay the reparations and so occupied Ruhr -> main source of industry
Workers strike, Government has to pay although getting no money from Ruhr -> prints money -> more money printed, less worth
Who was Gustav Streseman and what did he do for Germany?
Elected Chancellor Aug 1923 (only serves for 100 days), then is FOREIGN MINISTER Dawes plan - 1924 Locarno pact -1925 Kellog Briand Joins league of nations - 1926 Young plan - 1929 WINS NOBEL PEACE PRIZE
What was the Dawes plan?
1924
Extended time to pay back reparations
Loans from US
people did not like bc did not get rid of reparations + Germany became wholly reliant on US
Money was used to improve housing, roads, hospitals, schools etc
Why was there political stability from 1923 -1929
There was no cause for upset, all of Germany’s problems were solved
What was the Locarno Pact?
1925
Agreed borders and promise not to invade between Belgium, England, Germany, France and Italy
guaranteed peace in west europe
What was the impact of Germany rejoining league of nations in 1926?
- Germany became trusted again, the country name REDEEMED
- citizens became happier with their country
- Germany granted ‘great power’ status -> viewed as powerful country
- patriotic pride
What did the Nazis want post 1923, why did they disagree with the Weimar republic and how Germany was being ruled?
- SMASH COMMUNISM
-Unite the country
-Rebuild army ( ignore treaty) - Promote ARYAN race
- Restore Germany
ONE LEADER, ONE PARTY
STRENGTH
What was the Young Plan?
1929
the reparations were reduced from 132, 000 million marks to 37 million marks
did not get rid of them completely and meant Germany would still be in debt until 1988
Many Germans thought no reparations should be paid at all
Why was there an economic crisis in Germany in 1923?
- The treaty of versailles ordered Germany to pay 6.6 million in reparations, they defaulted in 1923
- The french were annoyed and so took control of the Ruhr and Germany’s coal sales
- The german govt. ordered workers to go on strike but couldn’t afford to pay them
- They printed more money -> HYPERINFLATION
Why did so many people support Hitler by 1932?
- People were poor and desperate following the Wall street crash and Hitler promised them ‘freedom and bread’
- People wanted a strong government and leader to save them
- People wanted someone to blame for their problems and the Nazis offered the Jews
- People couldn’t trust other political parties to solve their problems
