The Weimar Republic Flashcards
What did the extreme left-wing party want?
(4)
They wanted Germany to be controlled by the people.
They opposed capitalism
wanted to abolish private ownership of land and business and put it in the hands of workers.
These people were internationalists who stressed coo-operation.
What happened when coalitions disagreed and decisions needed to be made?
Article 48 of the constitution was activated (in a crisis, the chancellor could ask the President to pass a law without support from the Reichstag)
- By 1930, the chancellor relied heavily on the president
- It encouraged people to think a single, all-powerful leader was better
How did the first world war officially end?
-Ebert’s representative, Matthias Erzberger, signed the armistice on the 11th of November
What was Dolchstoss?
One of the many reasons why the Treaty of Versailles was hated by the Germans. They believed the German Army had not been defeated. Critics of the treaty said the army was betrayed by politicians and that they were “stabbed in the back” (dolchstoss)
What did the SPD do after Scheidemann announced the new republic and to keep control of Germany?
- On the 9th November, Max von Baden (the Kaiser’s chancellor) handed his office to Friedrich Ebert (leader of SPD)
- On the 10th November, Ebert and Groener made an agreement so the army worked with the government to stop the communists
- Ebert also suspended the old Reichstag and named six moderate politicians to form the Council of People’s representatives until a constitution (rules to run a country) could be agreed
- This prevented an anarchy or takeover by communist extremists
describe how extremist parties posed a threat in the 6th June 1920 election and how they continued to be difficult throughout the 1920s
Although the SPD, DDP and ZP had 77% of seats after the National assembly, after the election of 6th June 1920 they only had 45% of the seats.
On the other hand, extremists had risen to take nearly 20% of the seats.
For most of the 1920s, the centre parties struggled through coalitions and attacks from the right and left wing.
What were the key roles in the Weimar Republic?
- President
- Chancellor
- Cabinet
- Reichstag
- Reichsrat
What did the extreme right-wing parties want?
(4-5)
They wanted a strong government
strong army all headed by a strong leader.
They supported Capitalism
tended to place the interests of the nation over the individual
When did Kaiser Wilhelm II abdicate?
The Kaiser abdicated on the 9th November and he went into exile in Holland in the early hours of the 10th November
What was the role of the President?
- He had the power to choose the chancellor (usually the leader of the largest party)
- He could dismiss the Reichstag, call new elections and assume control of the army
- The electorate could change the president every seven years
What does “diktat” mean?
terms of the Treaty of Versailles were imposed, not agreed.
the Germans were bitterly opposed to the treaty terms and asked for concessions- all were refused
most germans assumed that Germany would be able to negotiate the terms of the peace treaty , but the Allies refused to allow any German representatives to join in the treaty discussions
Why did Phillip Scheidemann rush to the window to declare a new German republic?
- Told that armed rioters were preparing to announce a communist government in Berlin
- he was keen to retain control events and keep a more moderate form of government
What happened in the German cities of Stuttgart and Hanover and to most cities after WW1?
- At the Daimler plant in Stuttgart, workers went on strike and demonstrated in the streets
- In Hanover, soldiers refused to stop controlling the people in riots.
- Generally, in most places, local people set up worker’s and soldier’s councils to take over their cities and to replace the Kaiser’s officials with their own
What was the role of the chancellor?
- The chancellor decided which laws should be passed
- Most only became law if the Reichstag and Reichsrat voted for them
What did the Reichstrat and the reichstag do?
Normally, all laws had to pass through both houses
- The Reichstag was the more powerful house in Parliament, it controlled things such as taxation and as directly elected by the people at least once every 4 years
- The Reichsrat had the ability to delay new laws by the Reichstag unless the Reichstag overruled them with a two-thirds majority. It was also elected every 4 years but it represented the regions of Germany. Each region sent a certain number of representatives depending on its size
Strengths of the Weimar republic
(6)
- Article 1 of the constitution confirmed that Germany was to be a democracy,
- women were able to vote as well as men and the voting age was reduced from 25 to 21,
- Reichstag was elected under a system of proportional representation which meant that smaller parties had a fair share of seats
- the constitution was carefully constructed so that no one person or one group could have too much power
- The central government had more power than it did under the Kaiser but some traditional powers were retained by the local government
- The Reichsrat could regulate the power of the Reichstag by delaying new laws
When was the National assembly decided and how?
- On the 19th January 1919 elections took place to select the National Assembly to decide on the constitution
- Moderate parties gained the most seats: the SPD won 40% while the Centre Party won 20%
What was the result of the British Naval Blockade?
-750,000 German civilians died due to food shortages as a result of the British Naval Blockade
Every party was allocated one representative for each … votes in its favour
60,000 votes
What happened to Local Governments after the new republic?
- Each of the 18 regions of Germany (including Prussia and Bavaria) kept its own local government called a “land”
- These controlled key services like police, courts and schools
How did the German navy rebel against the Kaiser
-October 1918, some crews in the German Navy mutinied (refused to follow orders) in the ports of Kiel and Hamburg
What were the main impacts of World War One on the people and soldiers? (4)
how many people fought in the war
died to wounded
what was the debt
naval blockade
- 11 million German soldiers fought in World War One (1914-1918)
- Nearly 2 million died with 4 million wounded
- Germany’s debt went from 50 billion marks to 150 billion marks
- 750,000 German civilians died due to food shortages as a result of the British Naval Blockade
Why was the Weimar republic especially unpopular (ie. stab in the back + TOV)?
-Most the politicians who surrendered at the end of the war and agreed to the terms of the treaty of Versailles, set up and ran the Weimar republic. Therefore, the Republic was always linked to the surrender and harsh peace treaty terms
What were the main right wing parties in the Weimar republic?
DNVP-National Party-Grudgingly accepted Republic-Backed by landowners, the wealthy and big businesses
NSDAP-Nazi Party-Opposed Weimar Republic- Founded in 1920
What were the main moderate parties in the Weimar Reuplic?
Social Democrats (SPD)-Supported Weimar Republic-Supported by workers and the middle classes
Democrats (DDP)-Supported Weimar Republic-Backed by intellectual middle classes
Centre Party (ZP)-Supported Weimar Republic-Conservatives,originally part of the Catholic church
People’s party (DVP) -Sometimes supported Weimar Republic
What were the events that led to the Kaiser’s abdication?
- The Kaiser was in the army headquarters of Spa on the 9th November
- His ministers told him the only way to restore order in Germany was to abdicate but he refused
- General Wilhelm Groener, the army’s second-in-command, told the Kaiser he had lost support from the German Army as the officers refused to support him
- He had no choice but to abdicate
What was the main far-left wing party in the Weimar republic?
KPD-Communist Party-Opposed Weimar Republic-Supported by workers and some middle classes
What was the role of the cabinet?
the most important ministers worked closely with the chancellor
the main decision-making body of the government
How did the treaty of Versailles weaken Germany?
- Economically
- Politically (the people who signed the peace treaty and were governing the country were seen as November Criminals)
- small support for government by people
How were riots kept under control?
-The Government had to use the army to subdue public riots
What was the result of the coalition governments and why did this happen?
*How many coalition governments between 1919 - 1923?
* How many parties with seats in total throughout the 20s
- As a result of proportional representation, many small parties won seats and often no single party had a majority so coalitions were formed
- This resulted in disagreements and lack of clear policies so many fell apart
- There were nine coalition governments between 1919 and 1923
- 29 parties with seats in total throughout the 20’s
What did all the Reichstrat and Reichstrag make up?
-They made the central government which was now more powerful than it was under the rule of the Kaiser
How did Ebert keep control of Germany from November 1918 to July 1919?
- He kept the civil servants under the Kaiser in office and they worked alongside the workers’ and soldiers’ councils to keep the state running
- He assured Groener the army would not be reformed and that officers would maintain their ranks
- Ebert won the support of trade unions by promising their leader Carl Legien to try and achieve an eight hour working day
- He promised private companies would not be nationalised to keep the economy going
- Riots remained common in cities but Ebert kept enough of a hold to form a new constitution
How did the German Communist Party gain support?
The German Communist Party (KPD) was set up in December 1918
backed and well funded by the USSR.
It gained 33 daily newspapers and 400,000 members.
The communists were also backed by the Spartacist League.
What happened in the German State of Bavaria right before the first world war officially ended?
-7th November, In Munich (Capital of the south German state of Bavaria) workers declared a general strike and protested in the streets. -The were led by Jewish communist Kurt Eisner. -Announced they were separate from the rest of Germany
The weimar republic weaknesses
- Proportional representation led to coalition governments that were unstable or found it difficult to have strong policies and often fell apart
- lack of strong government led to weakness in a crisis that ended up with the president passing laws without the prior consent of the Reichstag. article 48 of the constitution enabled the president to do this.
- it was not the choice of the people so it was no that popular.
How was the new constitution agreed and set up?
*National assembly
Set up by the National Assembly who took six months to agree on a new constitution
- On the 31st July 1919, a constitution was agreed by 262 votes to 75.
- The new republic, now governed by the constitution agreed in Weimar (250 km away from Berlin and riots), became known as the Weimar Republic
