Weimar Flashcards
When did Prince Max form a new government?
October 1918
When was the Kiel Mutiny
October 1918
What happened in the Kiel mutiny
Kiel sailors refused to fight Britain.
Calls spread for Wilhelm to resign
Workers councils set up
When was Red Bavaria set up?
November 1918: Kurt Eisner şet up the socialist Republic of Bavaria.
1000 killed in the process,
When did Wilhelm resign?
9th November 1918
Who was in the first government after Wilhelm’s resignation?
Ebert and Scheidemann, who split from Prince Max
When was the Armistice signed?
11th November 1918
What was the agreement between Big Business and Unions?
15th November 1918 - Stinnes-Legien agreement: 8 hour working day; unions wouldn’t interfere in free market?
When was the Spartacist revolt?
5th January 1919: Newspaper offices seized, revolutionary committee formed.
Crushed by Freikorps.
What was the agreement between military and government?
November 1918: Ebert-Groener Agreement
- Ebert keep high ranking officers, supply army, not support revolution
- Groener support Ebert
What did the first national assembly agree?
6 Feb 1919: Ebert is President. Coalition government between SPD, ZP and DDP
When was Red Bavaria defeated>
April 1919: Red Bavaria crushed by Freikorps?
When was the Treaty of Versailles first presented to German Delegation?
May 1919: very different to the Fourteeen Points, so Scheidemann and his cabinet resign.
When Was the Treaty of Versailles actually signed?
28 June 1919: Müller signed the treaty
Territorial agreements of the Treaty of Versailles?
- 20% of coal production lost
- Alsace-Lorraine lost to France (note: contradicts self determination)
- The Saar put under League of Nations control, with France lording over coalfields
Military agreements of the Treaty of Versailles?
- 100,000 troops
- no submarines or aircrafts
- no conscription
Guilt agreements of the Treaty of Versailles?
Article 231: Germany wholly responsible. This is what justified the £6.6b of reperations
How was Germany diplomatically as a result of the Treaty of Versailles?
STRONG
- Still united
- Important diplomatic power
- > Rapallo Treaty 1922 - cancelled reparations between Germany and the Soviets.
What was the Stab in the Back?
1919: Hindenburg advised the government that the army was too weak to fight any longer.
November 1919: Hindenburg called Versailles a Schmachfreiden, signed because of the anti-patriotism of the November Criminals
He blamed them for the ‘stab in the back’ of the Armed Forces, that led to military collapse in 1918. They blamed the like of Ebert
What were the elements of the Constitution (länder, President, Chancellor, elections, voting, rights)
- 18 länder (like constituencies)
- President elected every 7 years. Can block laws and rule by decree through Article 48
- Chancellor lead the government, and was accountable to Reichstag.
- Reichstag elected every 4 years. Reichsrat chosen by Lander
- Everyone 20+ could vote
- Bill of rights - freedom of speech, etc.
Did the constitution weaken the Republic?
+ many features weren’t liked (e.g. parliamentary government, civil liberties)
+ the SPD-ZP-DDP got 23.1m votes first election, but that quickly declined. As they never got as many votes, and they made the Constitution, that made it unrepresentative.
-Broad spectrum of opinions included, including DNVP
-Checks and balances, if used correctly, could have stabilised constitution
-Was misused
What was the impact of Proportional Representation?
- Led to endless coalitions
- Longest government up to 1923 was 18 months
Causes of the Kapp Putsch
March 1920: government ordered the disbandment of the Erhardt Marine.
Erhardt was also part of the Freikorps, so Freikorps leader (Luttwitz) refused.