The Weimar Republic Flashcards
How many troops died in WW1?
2 million
How many troops were injured in WW1?
4 mllion
What was Germany’s debt at the end of the war?
150 billion marks
Where were the mutinies at the end of the war?
Kiel and Hamburg
When did the Kaiser lose control of the army?
28th october 1918
When did Kurt Eisner lead the revolution in Bavaria?
7th November 1918
Where did workers go on strike at the end of ww1?
The Daimler Plant in Stuttgart
How many Germans had died from food shortages during WW1?
750,000
When was the kaiser forcedd o abdicate after lsing support of the army?
9th November 1918
Who did Max von Baden give chancellorship to and when?
Friedrich Ebert on the 9th November 1918
What agreement was made on the 10th November between Ebert and Groener?
That the army would work with the government to keep the communists out of power
When was the Reichstag suspended?
10th November 1918
Who ran the country whilst the Reichstag was suspended?
The Council of People’s representatives
When was the armistice signed?
11th November 1918
What did Ebert do with the civil servants who had ran Germnay under the Kaiser?
Kept them in office and instructed them to work alongside soldier’s and worker’s councils
What did Ebert reassure Groener about?
The army would not be reformed
How did Ebert reassure leaders of industry?
By promising them that the New Republic would not nationalise industries or confiscate land
How did Ebert win support of the trade unions?
By promising them that the new republic would endeaour to create an 8 hour working day
When was the national assembly voted for?
19th January 1919
How many seats did the SPD gain in the national assembly?
40%
When was the Weimar Constitution agreed?
31st July 1919
Who were allowed to vote as decreed by the Weimar Constitution?
all men and women over 21
What did article 1 of the constitution decree?
Germany was a democracy
Under what system was the Reichstag elected?
Proportional representation
How often was the president voted for?
Every 7 years
How often was the parliament voted for?
Every 4 years
Who did the president elect?
chancellor
What did Article 48 state?
In a crisis, the chancellor could ask the president to pass a necessary law by decree, without the support of the Reichstag
How many coalition governments were there between 1919 and 1923?
9
When was the treaty of Versailles signed?
28th June 1919
What was the Treaty of Versailles called by the Germans?
Diktat
What did article 231 of the Treaty of Versailles State?
Germany accept full cause and responsibility for the war
How much reparations did Germany have to pay the allies?
£6.6 billion (136,000 million marks)
How many african and far eastern colonies did Germany lose?
11
How many men in the army were Germnay allowed?
100,000
Whhat happened to the air force due to the Treaty of Versailles?
It was destroyed
What area of land was demilitarised until 1930?
Rhineland
What was the navy limited to?
6 battleships, 6 cruisers, 12 destroyers and 12 torpedo boats, 0 submarines
How much of its population did Germany lose?
10%
What did France gain from Germany?
the output of the Saar coalfields for 15 years and Alsace-Lorraine
How much European territory did Germany lose?
13%
How much of its iron and coal reserces did Germany lose?
50% of iron and 15% of coal
What was dolchstoss?
The theory that the Germans had been stabbed in the back by their politicians because they didn’t actually lose the war
What were the moderate politicians who created the Weimar Republic known as?
November criminals
How many seats did the moderate parties win in January 1919? June 1920?
January 1919 - 77%
June 1920 - %45
Who were the Spartacists led by?
Rosa Luxemburg and Karl Liebknecht
Where did the Spartacist League come from?
THe USPD party
Which popular police chief did Ebert sack? When?
Emil Eichhorn - 4th January 1919
When did the Spartacist revolt take place?
6th January
Who did the Government use to put down the spartacist revolt?
Freikorps
What were the Freikorps?
Thousands of demobilised soldiers organised into units
How many people were in the Freikorps by march 1920?
250,000
When was the Spartacist revolt stoppped?
13th January 1919
When were Rosa Luxemburg and Karl Liebknecht killed?
`16th January 1919
Into what two houses was the parliament split into?
Reichstag and Reichsrat
What triggered the Kapp Putsch?
The fear amongst the Friekorps of being disbanded
How many armed men took part in the Kapp Putsch?
5000
How did the Weimar Politicians put down the putsch?
By ordering a general strike
How many political assassinations were there between 1919 and 1922?
376
What was the name of the KPD’s private army?
The Red Front Fighters
What was the name of the DNVP’s private army?
Steel Helmets
What was the name of the SPD’s private army?
Black Red Gold Flag
When did Germany fail a reparations payment of coal to France?
December 1922
When did the French invade the Ruhr?
January 1923
How much of Germany’s coal, iron and steel reserves were in the Ruhr?
80%
What did the government command the workers in the Ruhr to do?
Go on passive resistance but still get paid
How did the Weimar Government try to cope with all their debt?
By printing more money
What did printing more money cause for the German people?
Hyperinflation
Compare the price of a loaf of bread in 1919 to 1923
1919- 1 marks
1923 - 200,000 billion marks
What were the three main negative impacts of hyperinflation?
- Normal living became impossible
- Everyone suffered shortages
- People lost the worth of their savings
What were the positive impacts of hyperinflation?
- Debt value and owed money value went down
- Items could be sold for large profits as prices went up
- Foreign visitors benefitted
When did Gustav Stresemann become chancellor?
August 1923
When did Stresemann just become foreign secretary?
November 1923
What did Stresemann introduce to solve hyperinflation?
The new state owed Rentenbank and currency Rentenmark backed by German industrial plants and agricultural land
When did Stresemann introduce the Rentenmark?
November 1923
When was the Reichsbank given control of the currency?
August 1924
What was the Reichsmark backed by?
Germany’s gold reserves
When was the Dawes Plan?
April 1924
What was the Dawes Plan?
- reparations are temporarily reduced to £50 million per year
- US banks agree to loan $25 billion to German industry between 1924 and 1930
When did the French leave the Ruhr?
1924
What happened to industrial output between 1923 and 1928?
It doubled
What happened to employment, trade and income after the Dawes plan?
Increased
When was the Young Plan made?
1929
What was the Young Plan?
- reparations reduced to £2 billion
- 59 more years to pay
What did the Young plan allow the Government to do?
Lower taxes on ordinary german people
When did the French agree to leave the Rhineland?
1930
WHat percentage of voters, voted in favour of the Young plan?
85%
When was the locarno pact signed?
1925
What was agreed with the Locarno pact?
- Germany accepted new border with France
- Rhineland would be permanently demilitarised
- Open talks about Germany’s membership at the League of Nations
When prize did Stresemann win in 1926?
Nobel peace prize
When were Germany allowed a seat on the League of Nation’s council?
1926
When was the Kellog-Briand Pact signed?
1928
What did the Kellog-Briand pact state?
Countries would use diplomacy and discussion to achieve their foreign policy aims instead of war
How much did votes for extremist parties decrease between 1924 and 1928?
12%
How much did votes for moderate parties increase by between 1924 and 1938?
8%
When did President Ebert die?
1925
Who replaced Ebert as president in 1925?
Paul Von Hindenburg
What were the unemployment figures in 1926 and 1928?
1926 - 2 million
1928 - 1.3 million
What act was passed in 1927?
The Unemployment Insurance Act
What did the Unemployment Insurance Act did?
Charged workers 3% of their wages and in return provided an average of 60 marks a week in unemployment and sickness benefits if they fell out of work
How much did real wages rise by between 1935 and 1928?
25%
How much did the average working week decrease to in 1927?
46 hours
How many more houses were needed in Germany in 1923?
1 million
How many new houses were built from 1925 to 1929?
over 100,000
What did the Reich Pension law grant?
pensions for 750,000 war veterans, 400,000 war widows and 200,000 parents of dead servicemen
How many women had been elected to the reichstag by 1932?
112
What percentage women were in work in 1925?
36%
How much less were women paid compared to men?
33%
How many female judges were there in Germany in 1933?
36
How many more female doctors were there in 1932 in comparison to 1925?
2,5000
What was the ‘New Woman’?
A more independent woman who went out more and bought more clothes
What was the birthrate in 1925?
80/100,000
What was the divorce rate in the 1920s?
60/100,000
What were the three new art styles developed under the Weimar Regime?
- Modernism
- Expressionism
- New Objectivism
Who did the Government give grants to?
Art galleries. theatres, orchestras, museums, libraries
Which exoressonist painter was often very critical of German society in his work?
Otto Dix
What famous work did Erich Mendelsohn do, inspired by the Bauhaus?
Designed the futuristic, rocket like Einstein Tower
How many cinemas with sound were there by 1932?
3,800
Who was the famous German film director?
Fritz Lang
How many copies did All Quiet on the Western Front sell in 1929?
500,000
What was the Bauhaus movement?
A design college in Berlin which stressed the beauty in technology, simple lines and careful craftmanship
Who was the world famous German actress?
Marlene Dietrich
What was the famous risque night club scene called?
Cabaret
What group of people became more accepted in Berlin?
Homosexuals
How much did farm workers earn by 1929? Why
Half the national average due to the fall in food prices
How much did the Nazi party grow to in 1929?
over 100,000
How was the new golden age life described as by traditionalists?
decadent
