Theme 1: Flashcards
Who was Germany ruled by before 1918
Until 1918 Germany was a monarchy under the king/ emperor who was known as the Kaiser
When was Germany united?
Germany had only been united in 1871.
What was the post-unification German state refered as
The new German state was known as the Second Reich and is sometimes referred to as imperial Germany.
What role did the Generals have in making Germany become a democracy at the end of WW1
During the war the government was run by the Kaiser’s generals. To strengthen Germany’s negotiating position and get a more favourable peace settlement, the Kaiser and the leading generals agreed to the creation of a government run by civilians headed by Prince Max of Baden. It was his government who would now negotiate Germany’s surrender.
This was a clever move by the generals because it meant that generals such as Ludendorff and Hindenburg wanted to avoid taking blame for defeat and they would later blame democratic politicians for the shameful surrender of 1918.
What was the “German Revolution” and what did it lead to
Another reason why the nature of government changed in 1918 was that there were widespread disturbances in Germany which some historians refer to as the ‘German Revolution’. There were terrible food shortages caused by an allied blockade of German ports which cut off food supplies. There were mutinies in some units of the armed forces. Most notably among sailors in the port of Kiel. Workers also formed revolutionary councils (like the Soviets being created by the Communists in Russia)
What were the terms of the Weimar Constitution
- Universal Suffrage: all adult citizens, male and female, had the right to vote
- The President (the Head of State) was to be elected every seven years by universal suffrage
- The President appointed the Chancellor (the equivalent of our Prime Minister)
- The Chancellor’s government would need to work with Reichstag to pass laws.
- Elections to the Reichstag were based on Proportional Representation (PR).
- Civil rights were guaranteed eg freedom of speech/ assembly
- Workers were guaranteed the right to work or social welfare if work was not available.
- The constitution created a federal system of government where individual German states would have a lot of power.
The states would send representatives to the Reichstrat, the second chamber of the parliament. - Article 48 gave the president extensive ‘emergency powers’. The president could suspend the constitution, including civil rights, and rule by decree for a limited period in a state of emergency.
What was the problem with PR in Weimar Germany
Some historians have criticised the Constitution, arguing that it contributed to weak government because of the system of Proportional Representation. This meant that even parties with s small share of the national vote got at least some representatives in the Reichstag, which meant that governments could only be formed by entering coalitions (alliance with other parties). These coalitions were weak and often broke up (there were 14 different Chancellors in Weimar Germany between 1918 and 1933 and 22 different coalition governments). Many Germans therefore associated Weimar democracy with a weak government.
What was the problem with Article 48 in Weimar Germany
Article 48 of the constitution, which allowed the President to suspend parliament and allow the Chancellor to govern by decree (basically he could do as he wished without having to get the approval of parliament) was dangerous because it could be used to undermine democracy.
How did the extensive powers of he president effect Weimar Germany
Another weakness was the powers that the constitution gave to the president. The liberals who wrote the constitution did so because they were highly influenced by the American system of government in which the president has a significant role to play and can rise above petty party interests in the legislature.
Hindenburg used Article 48 not to defend the Weimar Constitution, he used them to destroy it in the early 1930s as he allowed Chancellors from Bruning onwards to use emergency powers to govern. In 1933 he allowed the Nazis to rip up the Constitution by passing laws which went totally against its democratic spirit and guarantees of civil liberties. (Significantly, when the constitution of the Federal Republic of Germany was agreed in 1949, it reduced the powers of the presidency, and insisted that parties that did not reach a threshold of 5% of the national vote would not gain any seats in parliament).
What was the Socialist Party in Weimar Germany
SPD (Socialist Party) Supported mainly by working class Germans. One of its leaders was the first President of the Weimar Republic, Ebert. It was a moderate social democratic party, and was hostile to the Communist Party (KPD)
What was the Center Party in Weimar Germany
Zentrum (Centre Party) This was the party that represented German Catholics. It was right of centre on the political spectrum - it was socially conservative and felt uncomfortable with many of the social changes taking place in Germany e.g. feminism that it associated with Weimar democracy. It was very hostile to Communism because Communists hated religion.
What was the Democratic Party in Weimar Germany
DDP (Democratic Party) This was a liberal, middle class party.
What was the communist Party in Weimar Germany
KPD (Communist Party) This party wanted to overthrow the Weimar Republic and destroy the Capitalist system. However, it did elect members to the Reichstag who generally used parliament as a platform to attack the government and the capitalist ‘system’ which it associated with the Weimar Republic. In the early years of the Weimar Republic Communists had tried to overthrow the government, but without success. It had links to the USSR.
What was the moderate conservative party in Weimar Germany
DVP (Peoples’ Party) This was a moderate conservative party, just right of centre. One of its leaders was Gustav Stresemann, who was to become a leading figure in the Weimar Republic. In the early 1930s it moved to the right and a couple of its leaders became Chancellors who were opposed to democracy (Chancellors Bruning and Von Papen)
What was the Conservative Nationalist right wing party in Weimar Germany
DNVP (Nationalist Party) This was a conservative right wing party that was led by a newspaper baron called Alfred Hugenberg and represented industrialists and landowners. Though it joined some Weimar governments, like other parties, including the Centre Party and the DVP, it moved to the right in the late 1920s/ early 1930s.
What was the extreme Nationalist and anti-semitic party in Weimar Germany
NSDAP (National Socialist German Workers’ Party (Nazi) Party) This party was an extreme nationalist one and anti-semitic (anti-Jewish) party. It was strongly opposed to democracy and wanted to establish a dictatorship. It was led by Adolf Hitler. In 1923 it staged an attempt to overthrow the Weimar Republic, which failed. Hitler was briefly jailed, and he now decided to take power by winning votes; once he did, he was determined to use the power he had to destroy democracy.
What were the revolts that Weimar Republic was faced with
There were a series of revolts against the Weimar Republic. These included:
The Spartacist uprising (January 1919) by Communists
The Kapp Putsch (March 1920) by nationalists on the right, including the Freikorps
The Ruhr uprising (March 1920) by workers and Communists
The Munich Putsch (November 1923) by the Nazis
What other forms of political violence were present in 1919-24
In addition to the revolts, there were a wave of political assassinations, such as that of Walther Rathenau, the foreign minister. He was killed by right-wing extremists who accused the Jewish businessman of being part of a Jewish conspiracy to destroy Germany as he had agreed to the Treaty of Versailles.
How did nostalgia for ‘strong’ government of imperial Germany did to German distrust and hostility towards democracy in Weimar
Many people thought democracy gave too much political power to the ‘uneducated’ who were ill suited to have an influence on important national decisions. Many Germans were nostalgic for the ‘strong’ government of Kaiser and former Chancellors such as the 19th Century leader Otto von Bismarck. He represented the ‘strong man’ many Germans believed the country needed to deal with the problems created by defeat in 1918.
How did anger at the “natioal Humiltion” of WWI lead to distrust toward Weimar
Many Germans were also angry at what they considered to be Germany’s ‘national humiliation’ at the end of World War One. We have already seen that many believed that the German army had been ‘stabbed in the back’ by politicians. In Germany the army had always been highly respected and, as we have seen, during the war generals had a great influence on government. The army had unified Germany in 1871 after a series of military successes. Popular respect for the armed forces was reflected in the formation of groups such as the Navy League which had supported the Kaiser’s policy of building a navy to challenge the British navy. Many former soldiers (including Adlof Hitler, who had been a Corporal) were angered by the defeat and blamed the democratic politicians. This disgruntled ‘front generation’ wanted a return to the ‘spirit of 1914’ when the country had come together against its enemies, the destruction of democracy and the Treaty of Versailles. These ex-army officers formed groups such as the ‘Freikorps’ which in 1920 tried to take over the government.
Racist opposition in Weimar Germany
Other right wing ideas which were hostile to liberal democracy were also widespread in the 1920s. While the Weimar Constitution had guaranteed the right of all Germans from all ethnic backgrounds (Jews, for example, flourished in Weimar Germany), many Germans were deeply racist. Racist groups such as the Racial Hygiene Society campaigned for racist laws and persecution.
What social divisions made Weimar Germany less likely to succeed
Nationalists on the right of German politics (not all of whom were as extreme as Hitler) hated the left (communists and socialists).
Even the left was divided. Socialists feared violent revolution in Germany and so supported the suppression of the Communists. As a result, Socialists and Communists argued among themselves and did not work together in the 1930s to stop Hitler from coming to power.
There were also religious differences between Protestants and Catholics. Protestants tended to dominate the northern states of Germany, while the Catholics were more prevalent in the southern states.
What were the terms of the Treaty of Versailles
Loss of territory: Germany lost Alsace-Lorraine to France.
The Polish Corridor was created which gave the new state of Poland access to the sea. It cut Germany in two, separating East Prussia from the rest of Germany. It resulted in more than 1 million Germans coming under Polish control.
The port of Danzig was made a Free city under League of Nations control.
All coal production from the Saar (until 1935) was given to France. The Saar was put under the control of the League of Nations.
Loss of Empire: Germany’s colonies were placed under the control of the League of Nations, including German South-west Africa and German East Africa.
Reparations: Germany was forced to accept war guilt (Article 231) for starting the war and to pay reparations. These were fixed in 1921 at £6.6billion.
Loss of military: Germany had to disarm. Her army was reduced to 100,000 men. Germany was not allowed military aircraft or tanks. Her navy was limited to 6 battleships. The Rhineland, the area between France and Germany, was demilitarised.
Why did Germans view the Treaty of Versailles as dictated peace
Germans viewed the treaty as harsh since Germany had not been invaded and occupied at the end of the war. They expected to be involved in negotiations and their exclusion from the talks that led to the Treaty led to it being described as a ‘dictated peace’ or ‘diktat’ (ie forced on them against their will).
What do historians say about the German reaction to the Treaty of Versailles
Some historians have argued that the peace settlement could have been much harsher (Germany, for example, imposed a harsher peace settlement on Russia in 1918). Germany could (and did) recover economically in the 1920s, and relations began to improve with her former allies in the 1920s as there was a determination to put the past behind them and to build a better future.
Why did many Germans regard the Treaty of Versailles a betrayal
Many Germans considered the signing of the treaty as a betrayal of the nation. As we have seen, there was a widely held view that the German army had been ‘stabbed in the back’ and that the terms of the Treaty were the inevitable result of the lack of patriotism of the democratic politicians who were running the country (including Jews and Socialists - Ebert, the President was the leader of the SPD).
How did the 1923 Ruhr Crisis start
The German government was unable to pay an instalment of its reparations repayments in 1922 and this led to French and Belgian troops invading the Ruhr industrial region of Germany in 1923. The government was forced to print off money to keep its economy going, which in turn led to high levels of inflation (where prices increase rapidly for goods) - indeed this was a period of ‘hyper-inflation’.
What did the Weimar Government try to get workers to do in the Ruhr Crisis
The financial collapse and the inability of the government to eject the invading forces because of the weakness of its armed forces (the government simply instructed workers in the Ruhr not to cooperate with the invaders who were removing good and taking them to France and Belgium in place of reparations - this was known as ‘passive resistance’ led to the government coming under intense political criticism.
What did President Ebert do to aid in the survival of Weimar Republic 1919 -1923
President Ebert (1919-1925): Ebert took decisive action to defeat the threat from the Communists. He was prepared to work with the army to do so, even though as a Socialist he was very suspicious of conservative army officers. Under the terms of the Ebert-Groener Pact, the President agreed to respect the independence of the army (some generals were concerned about the possibility of army reforms) and the army would cooperate with the government to suppress threats from the Communists. Ebert also made effective use of Article 48 during the crisis years of 1919-24. He used it on 136 occasions in these years. He was committed to the Weimar Constitution.
What did Gustav Streseman do to help the survival of Weimar Germany
Gustav Stresemann: Stresemann was a leader of the German People’s Party (DVP). He played a key role as Chancellor in 1923 in enabling the republic to survive the Ruhr Crisis. He introduced a currency reform which led to economic recovery beginning in 1924. He promised to the French that he would resume paying reparations and negotiated the Dawes Plan (1924) with the USA which led to the Americans loaning money to Germany to enable her to resume payment of the reparations.
As foreign minister for much of the period between 1924-1929 he cooperated with Germany’s former enemies. This led to the Locarno Pact (1925) which in Germany accepted her borders with France and Belgium and reduced the likelihood of another Ruhr Crisis. In 1926 Germany joined the League of Nations. In 1928 he agreed to the Kellogg-Briand Pact, which renounced the use of force to solve international conflicts. The 1929 Young Plan rescheduled reparation payments. In return for German cooperation, Stresemann was intent on negotiating changes to the Treaty of Versailles to make it more acceptable to Germany.
What did the election of Hindenburg mean for Weimar Germany?
President Paul von Hindenburg (1925-1934): Hindenberg was a famous wartime general. His election as President in 1925 is an indication of how many Germans were sceptical about democracy since Hindenburg himself had a very ambiguous attitude towards democratic government.
However, he was prepared to stand for President so that he could influence the direction of Germany and his presidency did enable some Germans to look upon Weimar a little more favourably now Hindenburg and not a Socialist was President; they thought they were in safer hands. Some Germans even celebrated his election by flying the old flag of imperial Germany used in the Kaiser’s day rather than the new tricolour flag of the Weimar Republic.
In the earlier days of Weimar what role did powerful groups play in its survival
Powerful groups such as the army and business leaders were not prepared to support an attempt to overthrow the republic; as we have seen, General Hindenburg was even prepared to try to shape the Weimar Republic by standing for the presidency in 1925. The right helped to suppress the left (the Freikorps helped to defeat the communist revolts) and the left helped to defeat right wing rebellions (there was a general strike in Berlin in 1920 which ended an attempt by a nationalist leader called Dr Kapp to seize power with the support of the Freikorps).
Why were the army willing to defend the Weimar Republic in the earlier years
If we add to this the willingness of the army to defend the Weimar Republic as a result of the Ebert Groener Pact and the effects of the measures taken to recover from the political and economic crisis of 1923, we can see why the Weimar Republic survived.
What did the 1929 Wall Street Crash lead to in Germany
Unemployment reached 6 million in 1932. Many businesses and some banks collapsed. This was a very different economic crisis to that of 1923; while the economy recovered relatively quickly following the hyperinflation crisis of 1923, the depression affected the German economy for many years.
How did the Great Depression influence voters
The depression played a key role in undermining the Weimar Constitution. After 1930 Chancellors - including Chancellors Bruning, von Papen and von Schleicher - used Article 48 (emergency powers) extensively as the Reichstag was increasingly ignored. In the elections of 1932, a majority of voters supported the two extremist parties - the Communists and the Nazis - who wanted to destroy the Weimar Constitution.
Who was Chancellor Bruning and what was his ultimate goal
Heinrich Bruning of the Centre Party was the Chancellor of Germany between 1930-32. He shared many of the concerns of Pope Pius XI about the threat from communism to religion - the communists were atheistic. He believed that an authoritarian government was the best way to protect Catholicism. His ultimate goal, according to his memoirs, was to restore the monarchy.
How did Bruning’s policies effect the depression
Bruning’s economic policies worsened the depression. To prevent inflation making a comeback, he cut public spending by reducing the pay of government employees. By reducing wages rather than spending government money to stimulate demand for good and therefore economic recovery, his measures simply deepened the economic crisis. He was known as the ‘Hunger Chancellor’.
How much did support fot the Nazis increase as a percentage from 1928 to 1932
The Nazis had only achieved a 2.6% share of the national vote in 1928 (12 seats). The party’s support increased dramatically in the early 1930s. In July 1932 the party became the largest in the German Reichstag, with the party winning 37% of the national vote and 230 seats.
What was the role of National Rebirth in the appeal of the Nazis
‘National rebirth’
Hitler and the Nazis offered ‘national rebirth’. He blamed (scapegoated) Jews, communists, socialist, liberals and Germany’s traditional ruling class - the aristocrats and businessmen for Germany’s defeat and decline in 1918. He presented himself, a man whose father had been a humble customs official and a man who had been a ‘down and out’ on the streets of Vienna and Munich before the war as ‘ordinary man’ of the people’. He claimed that the Nazi Party represented the heroic ‘front generation’ of the trenches who had been betrayed in 1918 - ‘stabbed in the back’ - true patriots who would ‘Make Germany Great Again’. The Nazis promised to create a unified ‘national community’ (‘Volksgemeinschaft’). The hated Treaty of Versailles would be smashed and German speaking people reunified under the German Reich. Germany would rearm and this would allow it to secure vital ‘living space’ (‘Lebensraum’) in the east. Nationalism was crucial to Nazi appeal, and which could appeal to all social classes. The Nazis also appealed to the conservative instincts of many Germans, promising to tackle what they considered to be immoral and ‘un-German’ behaviour such as gay clubs, sexual freedom and cabaret clubs and other forms of ‘immorality’.
What was the role of the “Strong Man” ideology in the appeal of the Nazis
A ‘Strong Man’
The Nazis condemned democracy. Hitler presented himself as a ‘strong man’ and a decisive man of action who could ‘save’ and unite Germany. He contrasted himself with traditional politicians who, he claimed, did nothing but talk and compromise. Following the failure of the Munich Putsch in 1923, Hitler had reorganised the Nazi Party, basing it around the’ Fuhrerprinzip’, which gave Hitler supreme power over the Party, making it the obedient tool of Hitler’s will. He provided charismatic leadership, seemingly possessing a demonic willpower which was both infectious and inspiring to others who accepted that what he said could come true. He was a powerful speaker; his timing, expression and content of his speeches impressed his listener. He was able to identify with the emotions and expectations and gave people faith at a time when people despaired about their futures following the impact of the depression.
What was the role of propaganda in the appeal of the Nazis
Propaganda
Along with Joseph Goebbels, Hitler realised the importance of propaganda and used it to target many Germans’ specific grievances. The Nazis targeted different groups with their propaganda. For example, the Nazis targeted the petty bourgeoisie (lower middle classes) by opposing department stores (some of which were owned by Jews), promising to close them down and protect small shopkeepers. They also targeted peasant farmers who had been suffering from declining incomes even before the depression struck. The Nazis promised to protect their farms from being repossessed by banks.They were successful in targeting young Germans; the message of national rebirth resonated with this social group in particular and the membership of the Nazi Party was younger than other party’s, giving it a feeling of youthful energy. Posters conveyed simple messages, such as ‘Work and Bread’ and promoted the leadership qualities of Hitler. The Nazis used the latest technologies - loudspeakers, films and even planes - HItler flew to towns and cities across Germany to attend mass rallies. These rallies used music, lightning and uniformed party members to emphasise the disciplined enthusiasm of the Nazi Party. The importance of propaganda was recognised by Goebbels who said shortly after the Nazi seizure of power, “Propaganda was our sharpest weapon in conquering the state.”
How did fear of communism lead to the failure of the Weimar Republic
Fear of communism was an important factor in the failure of the Weimar Republic. The party had 260,000 members in 1931 and won 6 million votes and 89 seats in November 1932. It had a large paramilitary organisation, the Red Fighting Front. Many Germans feared communism because revolution would be a threat to their property and wealth or to their churches. There was also fear of class warfare and terror, such as had accompanied the revolution in Russia. Fear of communism encouraged many to vote Nazi and to persuade powerful conservative elites to put HItler into power to strengthen the state against the threat from the Communists.
How did the split in the left lead to the failure of Weimar
The left was divided between the SPD and the KPD. The SPD had supported the army in suppressing the communists (and executing them) in the period 1918-1923. This meant that the left failed to create a united front against the far right.
How did the Nazi
Many Germans approved of the Nazi Party taking the fight to the Communists. “We must struggle with ideas, but if necessary with fists’, said Hitler. The Party had its own paramilitary wing, the Sturm-Abteilung (“Stormtroopers”), or SA. These ‘Brownshirts’, led by Ernst Rohm, attacked members of the Communists ‘Red Fighting League. Nearly 100 SA men died in street fighting in July 1932 during the general election - they were held up as martyrs by the party defending Germany from godless communism.
