topic 1 -Weimar republic early political threats Flashcards
the political spectrum of the left-wing:
the USPD in 1920 disbanded leaving left-wing sympathizers to choose between radical and moderate (KPD and SPD)
KPD wanted a bolsheviks inspired revolution by using propaganda, workers stikes,a nd violence
LEFT THREAT spartacist uprising events
5th January 1919 100,000 communists went on strike in berlin
lasted for three days; occupied public buildings and created revolutionary committees.
however, stikes made berlin unsafe for the gov and had to move to Weimar, strikes disabled the country
LEFT THREAT red Bavaria
march-may 1919 after the collapse of the Bavarian monarchy in the November revolution USPD leader Eisner took the political leaders but was executed in febuary 1919
‘red army’ of workers set up by Levine proposing radical communist changes
after a month of brutal fighting 1000 were killed by freikrops creating WHITE TERROR
left-wing fighting made Bavaria a right-wing- extremist haven
(nazis come from Bavaria and when the Bavaria judiciary put Hitler on trial after Munich putsch they were very lenient)
LEFT THREAT ruhr army
march 1920 formation of the army from 50,000 workers to oppose the Kapp putsch
crushed by army and freikorps
LEFT THREAT march operation
March 1921 uprising of strikes organized by KPD
LEFT THREAT german October
summer of 1923 KPD and SPD created local coalitions in saxony and thungria
however, communists went further and began military preparations to uprising by creating ‘proletarian hundred defence units.
stressmanns gov foiled plan with using army to put it down
regional gov were re-created without communists
CONTEXT used issue of hyperinflation and Weimar instability to take Weimar when they were weak
were the left-wing a threat for Weimar Germany?
- bad co-ordination that left the groups incapable of mounting a unified attack on Weimar due to the spd and kpd not coming together
- poor leadership meant the left suffered at the hands of the frikorps and removed some of its best leaders (l and l after Spartacists)
- concessions. Weimar gov played on the differences withing extreme left but making concessions that split it
- repression. the authorities systematically repressed the rebels with brutality
what does the term volkish mean
used to describe a person or ideology associated with aryan fascism
RIGHT THREAT organisation consul
an ultra-nationalist paramilitary group essentially terrorists
fromed by ex freikrops after the kapp putsch
notorious for killing Mattias ertzberger (finance minister who signed armistice) and rathenau (foreign minister who drew up the treaty of Rapallo)
PHYSICAL THREAT TO GOV
state within a state
authority and gov of state threatened by the rival power base
RIGHT THREAT freikorps
200 paramilitary units around Germany by 1919
although they were employed by gov to put down threats they threatened gov but due to their anti-republican stance, they had no respect for the Weimar governments.
seekt army remodelling
- strict military discipline and recruited new troops at expense of the freikrops
- determined to uphold the independence of the army as he believed they served a higher purpose to the nation over the government
- turned a blind eye to TOV and continued to build the amry
kapp putsch aftermath
- success- berlin people supported the putsch and withstood it to begin successfully
- lack of army support shows weakness of Weimer government
- amazing seekt was made chief of thermy due to confidence from army command!
- seekts army remodelling and the FAILURE TO REFORM THE ARMY MADE A ‘state within state’
out of 705 people prosecuted for the kapp putsch how many were sentenced
1 and to only 5 years of imprisonment
right wing sympathetic judicary
how long did the kapp putsch last?
4 days (6 overall)
