Weimar Flashcards

1
Q

When did Prince Max form a new government?

A

October 1918

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2
Q

When was the Kiel Mutiny

A

October 1918

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3
Q

What happened in the Kiel mutiny

A

Kiel sailors refused to fight Britain.
Calls spread for Wilhelm to resign
Workers councils set up

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4
Q

When was Red Bavaria set up?

A

November 1918: Kurt Eisner şet up the socialist Republic of Bavaria.
1000 killed in the process,

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5
Q

When did Wilhelm resign?

A

9th November 1918

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6
Q

Who was in the first government after Wilhelm’s resignation?

A

Ebert and Scheidemann, who split from Prince Max

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7
Q

When was the Armistice signed?

A

11th November 1918

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8
Q

What was the agreement between Big Business and Unions?

A

15th November 1918 - Stinnes-Legien agreement: 8 hour working day; unions wouldn’t interfere in free market?

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9
Q

When was the Spartacist revolt?

A

5th January 1919: Newspaper offices seized, revolutionary committee formed.
Crushed by Freikorps.

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10
Q

What was the agreement between military and government?

A

November 1918: Ebert-Groener Agreement

  • Ebert keep high ranking officers, supply army, not support revolution
  • Groener support Ebert
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11
Q

What did the first national assembly agree?

A

6 Feb 1919: Ebert is President. Coalition government between SPD, ZP and DDP

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12
Q

When was Red Bavaria defeated>

A

April 1919: Red Bavaria crushed by Freikorps?

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13
Q

When was the Treaty of Versailles first presented to German Delegation?

A

May 1919: very different to the Fourteeen Points, so Scheidemann and his cabinet resign.

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14
Q

When Was the Treaty of Versailles actually signed?

A

28 June 1919: Müller signed the treaty

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15
Q

Territorial agreements of the Treaty of Versailles?

A
  • 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
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16
Q

Military agreements of the Treaty of Versailles?

A
  • 100,000 troops
  • no submarines or aircrafts
  • no conscription
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17
Q

Guilt agreements of the Treaty of Versailles?

A

Article 231: Germany wholly responsible. This is what justified the £6.6b of reperations

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18
Q

How was Germany diplomatically as a result of the Treaty of Versailles?

A

STRONG

  • Still united
  • Important diplomatic power
  • > Rapallo Treaty 1922 - cancelled reparations between Germany and the Soviets.
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19
Q

What was the Stab in the Back?

A

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

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20
Q

What were the elements of the Constitution (länder, President, Chancellor, elections, voting, rights)

A
  • 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.
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21
Q

Did the constitution weaken the Republic?

A

+ 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

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22
Q

What was the impact of Proportional Representation?

A
  • Led to endless coalitions

- Longest government up to 1923 was 18 months

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23
Q

Causes of the Kapp Putsch

A

March 1920: government ordered the disbandment of the Erhardt Marine.
Erhardt was also part of the Freikorps, so Freikorps leader (Luttwitz) refused.

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24
Q

What happened in the Kapp Putsch

A

13 March 1920: 5000 of Erhardt’s troops moved to seek government.
Only one officer (Reinhardt) attempted to stop them.
The government fled
Unions called for a national strike, so everyone stopped working and the rebels had to surrender.

25
Q

Consequences of the Kapp Putch

A
  • Government couldn’t act due to Ebert Groener
  • Freikorps disbanded
  • The next cabinet used von Seekt (an officer who didn’t fight against the Freikorps) as head of the army
  • SPD, ZP, DVP vote share decreased by a third
26
Q

What was the Rapallo Treaty?

A

April 1922: Rapallo Treaty

  • Soviets and Germany would drop reparations between them.
  • Set up diplomatic relations
  • Favourable trading
27
Q

v

A

v

28
Q

Which November Criminal was assassinated?

A

August 1921: Erzberger

29
Q

What was the consequence of the increase in assassinations?

A

LAW FOR THE PROTECTION OF THE REPUBLIC 1922

  • imposed penalties on political violence
  • All but 22 murders were committed by the right (but judges were Conservative minded)
30
Q

Causes of the occupation of the Ruhr.

A

December 1922: the new government, under Cuno (now under debt of 500,000 marks), failed to pay promised coal and timber.

31
Q

What happened in the occupation of the Ruhr?

A

When Cuno did not fail to may promised coal and timber in late 1922:
January 1923: French engineers sent soldiers to the Ruhr, where they took over mines and railways.
Cuno’s policy was passive resistance, in which the mine workers stopped working and the government would pay their wages

32
Q

Why did passive resistance lead to hyperinflation?

A

Government was printing money in order to pay those who lost money, its value decreased
By November 1923, one dollar was worth 4b marks

33
Q

Consequences of hyperinflation?

A

Peasants were fairly unaffected, they were self sufficient
The mittelstand did well in exploiting demands of the market, especially if they hadn’t got savings.
Industrial workers’ wages couldn’t keep up with the rate of inflation.
Unemployment rose by 4%
The retired suffered
Businessmen bought up property with worthless money, and prospered with the exchange rate.

34
Q

How did Stressemann’s government help the inflation situation?

A

Sept 1923: reparations resumed, with a commission set up to examine the problems in the economy.
Nov 1923: Rentenmark established. Printing was Limited. The rentenbank set up with Schacht as special currency commissioner.

35
Q

v

A

v

36
Q

When was the Munich Putsch?

A

November 1923.

37
Q

What did the Dawes Plan agree?

A

August 1924:

  • French leave Ruhr
  • Further sanctions would be hard to apply
  • Reparations spread over longer period
  • 800m mark loan first years, which would cover 4/5 of payment
  • 2500m marks per year after 1929
38
Q

When was Hindenburg elected President?

A

April 1925 - Hindenburg elected, he made it clear he would not invite the SPD (despite being the largest party) into government

39
Q

When did the DNVP renounce its desire for the monarchy?

A

In 1928, after losing significant vote share, through the Lambach Articles.
As a result, Hugenberg - who desired an authoritarian government - was elected leader of the DNVP. Brought the party closer to the Nazis.

40
Q

When were the Golden Years?

A

1924-9, thanks to the Dawes Plan and Rentenmark.

41
Q

Evidence of the Golden Years?

A
  • 25.5b marks in foreign capital for reconstruction

- Strikes did decrease fourfold by 1929!

42
Q

Evidence that the Golden Years weren’t real?

A
  • Fall in central parties, 1928
  • Late 1928: 15% unemployment
  • Collapse in food prices
  • 10 hour working day
  • 75,000 cases of arbitration
43
Q

When was the Grand Coalition, who led it, and why was it created?

A

June 1928: Grand Coalition led by Müller introduced aimed to steer Young Plan through Reichstag.
It would prevent the higher payments of reparations kicking in.

44
Q

What would the Young Plan do?

A

1929

  • Payments of 2000m marks / year, increasing gradually.
  • France evacuate Rhine by 1930.
45
Q

What was the opposition to the Young Plan?

A

1929: Hugenburg formed the Reich Committee for Referendum.
- 4m signatures for a referendum on the Young Plan
- Included Hitler: gave him access to industrialists like Fritz Thyssen
- Against War guilt clause (Article 231)
- 14% for freedom law - FAIL, only delayed Young Plan until August 1929

46
Q

What was the unemployment rate after the Wall Street Ceash?

A

17%, Feb 1929

47
Q

When did the Grand Coalition collapse?

A

March 1930: Grand Coalition collapsed over unemployment insurance
The SPD wanted to increase benefits, the DVP wanted to stop them entirely.

48
Q

Why did relationship’s with the Allies improve for Germany?

A

1924: MacDonald PM in Britain.
1924: after international backlash to France’s harsh treatment, a more sympathetic policy ensued.

49
Q

What was the Locarno Treaty?

A

December 1925: agreement on Franco-German and Belgian-German borders.

  • All parties wouldn’t use force to alter frontiers
  • Arbitration between Germany and Poland, France, Czechoslovakia, Belgium and Poland.
  • Didn’t settle east borders in favour of later revision.
  • Germany allowed into League of Nations.
50
Q

Diplomatic progression of Germany?

A

-Sept 1926 - Germany allowed into League of Nations: free from military obligations
August 1927: Commercial treaty between France and Germany (although wasn’t entirely peaceful - Germany still rejected Article 231)

51
Q

2 examples of Neue Sauchlichkeit

A

form of culture used to expose the weaknesses of Weimar

  • Literature focused on WW1
  • > All Quiet on the Western Front - Remarque
52
Q

Examples of alternative culture to NS?

A

Culture also became focused around escapism

-> Charlie Chaplin’s comedic movies

53
Q

Role of women in work under Weimar?

A
  • Proportion remained similar (increased by 4% since pre-War)
  • Proportion in white collar work doubled
  • Better paid jobs in industry reclaimed by men
54
Q

When did attitudes to women in work worsen?

A

1924: better paid men laid off, caused resentment

55
Q

improvements in the welfare state

A

From 1914, claimants could vote.
1920 = those injured in War or widowed could get support
1927 = unemployment insurance

56
Q

Improvements in housing?

A

1929: State spending 3x more on housing

1927-9: 300,000 houses constructed

57
Q

Improvements in public health?

A

1910: 63 hospital beds/10,000
1929: 91 hospital beds/10,000

58
Q

Improvements in youth?

A

REICH WELFARE LAW 1922 secured the right to a good upbringing