Unit 4 Flashcards
Who were the largest party of the first government in the Weimar Republic?
SPD
What percentage of the vote did the SPD win in the National Assembly of January 1919?
38%
How often was a president to be elected under the Weimar constitution?
Every seven years
Who had the power to select and dismiss the chancellor under the Weimar constitution?
The president
Who was the supreme commander of the armed forces under the Weimar constitution?
President
What was article 25 of the new constitution?
The president could dissolve the Reichstag and call new elections within 60 days of the dissolution
How often were Reichstag elections to be held under the Weimar constitution?
Four years
What was article 48 of the new constitution?
The president could rule via decree in the event of an emergency
What rights were enshrined in the Weimar constitution?
Freedom of speech, association and religion
The right to work
A provision giving workers special protection in the new state
Welfare rights (such as protection for the disabled)
The right to own property(business could not be nationalised without compensation)
Who could vote in the reichstag elections under the Weimar constitution?
Universal suffrage over 20
What was a problem with proportional representation?
It created a fragmented party system which made it difficult to form a majority//durable coalition governments
Who were the pro Weimar parties in 1919?
The SPD, centre party and DDP
Briefly describe the stab in the back myth?
Myth that German army could’ve continued in the war and were betrayed by a left wing government
Who were Germany banned from making unions with under the treaty of Versailles?
Austria
What was the treaty of Versailles widely seen as in germany?
A diktat or dictated peace
When was the spartacist uprising?
1919
How many political assassinations were carried out by right wing death squads between 1919-1922?
354
What was the White terror?
Violence committed by right wing anti Weimar terrorist groups
How many right wing political murders went unpunished?
326
How many murders were committed by left wing terrorist groups between 1919 and 1922?
22
How many left wing murders(as in that they committed) went unpunished between 1919 and 1924?
4
How many marks were needed to buy one US dollar in 1919 and in 1923?
1919-12
1923-17,000
What article did Ebert rule via during the Munich Putsch?
Article 48
Who led the spartacists?
Karl Liebknecht and Rosa Luxembourg
What were the aims of the spartacists?
- wanted to follow in footsteps of Russian Rev
- cancel National Assembly election
- all power transferred to worker be soldiers councils
- nationalise all large scale farms
- police/army disarmed, workers militias created
When was the Ebert Groener agreement?
November 1918
What was agreed on the ebert Groener agreement?
- army were promised supplies and protection of its status
- army promised to put down revolutionary activity with force
Why was the Spartacist revolution crushed so easily?
It was poorly planned
What was a negative of the Ebert Groener agreement?
Republic were tied to using anti democratic forces to ‘restore order’
The organisations they used to end violence were often the ones that initiated it
How many army//friekorps were sent in to red Bavaria to crush the rebellion?
30,000
What was the participation like in the January 1919 election?
High, approx 85%
What type of peace did France want after World War One?
Carthaginian peace (harsh type of peace designed to maintain inferiority/humiliation of the loser)
What was article 231 of the treaty of Versailles?
Germany was solely responsible for the outbreak of war
Where did the allies demilitarise and say they would occupy for 15 years under the treaty of Versailles?
The Rhineland
What happened to the Kiel canal due to the treaty of Versailles?
It was opened to warships and merchants from all nations
What did article 80 of the treaty of Versailles forbid?
Anschluss (union with Austria)
What were the military terms of the treaty of Versailles?
- no military aircraft
- no submarine
- army limited to 100,000 men
- 6 battleships
- 6 cruisers
- 12 destroyers
What type of system was used to elect representatives in the Weimar Republic?
Party list system-people voted for a party rather than an individual
When was the Kapp-Putsch?
March 1920
Why did the kapp regime collapse?
A large general strike paralysed the republic
What did article 54 of the Weimar constitution guarantee?
The judiciary maintained their independence
What happened to the currency in 1923?
It collapsed
When was the Retenmark established?
November 1923
