War, Revolution and Democracy (1914-1923)

Question 1

What was the 1918 Constitution?

Answer 1

• led by Socialist leader Ebert.
• a parliamentary democracy whereby the Chancellor was responsible to the Reichstag.
• had reserve powers to rule by decree in an emergency without the Reichstag’s consent under Article 48.
• Germany was to be a republic, its sovereignty based on the people.
• allowed a system of proportional representation; meant that a wide variety of interests were represented in the Reichstag, but also led to the creation of weak, coalition governments.
• was thoroughly democratic but contained loopholes (Articles 23, 48 and 53).

Question 2

What was the Ebert-Groener Pact?

Answer 2

• Groener agreed that the army would support the government in return for Ebert’s promise to resist Bolshevism and a Communist revolution.

Question 3

What was the Stinnes-Legein Agreement?

Answer 3

• the trade unions agreed not to interfere with private ownership, and in return, employers guaranteed full legal recognition to trade unions, agreed to worker’s councils (which would help to regulate wages and working conditions) and an 8-hour working day.

Question 4

What was the ‘Sparticist’s Uprising’ of 1919?

Answer 4

• 1st January 1919.
• led by Liebknect and Luxemburg.
• left wing.
• the Communists issued a proclamation deposing Ebert and announcing the establishment of a revolutionary government.
• Ebert crushed the rebellion using the Friedkorps.

Question 5

What were the Bavaria and Saxony Uprisings in 1920-23?

Answer 5

• Bavaria = 1919
• Saxony = March 1921
• left wing.

Question 6

What was the Kapp Putsch?

Answer 6

• right wing.
• aimed to overthrow the WR.
• they rejected the Weimar Republic and was anti-democratic and favoured authoritarianism and nationalism; the WR was established by the ‘November Criminals’ who stabbed Germany in the back (‘Stab in the Back myth’).
• due to the terms of the ToV, the German army was reduced to 100,000 men and the Freidkorps took issue with the disbanding of 8,000 army members.
• Wolfgang Kapp and 5,000 Freidkorps memebrs marched into and took over Berlin.
• Ebert fled to Stuttgart.
• the army (Ebert-Groener Pact) refused to fight against the Freidkorps.
• Kapp installed his chancellery and declared the WR was overthrown but people failed to accept the legitimacy of Kapp’s goverment and the revolution failed.

Question 7

What was the Munich Putsch?

Answer 7

• right wing (Hitler and Ludendorff).
• November 1923.
• believed that democracy led to a weak government; their plan was to take over the government and establish Ludendorff as leader of Germany.
• Hitler believed he had the support of Lossow (head of Bavarian police) and Kahr (Bavarain PM).
• Lossow and Kahr backstabbed Hitler and informed the Weimar government of what he was attempting; the revolution was promptly crushed.
• because there was a preservation of elitism in the German judicial profession, Hitler was given a reduced sentence as the judges sympathised with him.

Question 8

What was the Treaty of Versailles?

Answer 8

• the setting of reparations that Germany had to pay to the Allies.
• set on 28th June 1919.
• territorial terms = Alsace-Lorraine was returned to France, West Prussia/Posen to Poland and Eupen and Malmedy to Belgium, the Rhineland was to become a demilitarised zone to act as a buffer state between France and Germany, and the Saar was placed under the League of Nations control; this was Diktat because Germans viewed the areas as ‘German’ and were removed from the state’s land and control, and the Germans did not feel as though the terms aligned with one of Wilson’s 14 Points.
• military terms = Germany was to have no tanks, military aircraft, submarines or large battleships and its army was limited to 100,000 men; this was Diktat because the Allied armies remained strong and so it seemed as though Germany had been unilaterally disarmed which was undignified and unworthy of a great power, like Germany.
• monetary terms = by Article 231, Germany had to accept full responsibility for causing the war and had to pay reparations; this was Diktat because the reparation amount was not yet set by the time the Germans had signed the treaty and they found it impossible to accept the ‘War Guilt’ clause of Article 231 and thought it was there to provide a moral basis and justification for demanding the payment of reparations.

Question 9

What caused hyperinflation?

Answer 9

• to finance the war, the government of the Kaiserreich decided against raising money through taxes and instead issued treasury bills, war loans (loans with the intention of being paid back if Germany won the war), and printed money to put more into circulation.
• by printing money, the government abandoned the link between the gold reserves and the paper money.
• the national debt grew.
• the Tov gave away Germany’s colonies, took over its coal and iron production fields (Saar and Rhineland), and set reparations at 6.6 billion.
• in January 1922, Germany tried to negotiate a reparations extension and loan; November 1922, Cuno asked for a 4-year non-repayable period and a loan of 500 million Marks.
• Cuno stopped all reparation payments and ordered a policy of ‘passive resistance’; workers were still paid even though there was no economic output.
• the French accused the Germans of falling behind on their reparations payments and invaded the Ruhr.
• internal confidence in the Mark collapsed.
• in July 1922, the country’s inflation surpassed hyperinflation; by November 1923, the currency was worthless.
• 300 paper mills and 2000 printers were working to provide sufficient paper money and workers were having to be paid twice daily as prices rose by the hour.
• some Germans were able to pay off house mortgages and loans with the inflated money.
• hyperinflation benefited the big businesses who exploited the situation; Hugo Stinnes controlled 1/5 of German industry by the end of 1923.
• farmers coped reasonably well as food remained in high demand.
• people who saved their money or lived on pensions suffered as money became worthless.
• there was little unemployment.
• socially damaging and would scare Germans for many years (credited with ending the WR and giving rise to Hitler and the Nazis).