Weimar 1919 - 23 (A turbulent beginning)

Question 1

<p>The Spatacists</p>

Answer 1

<p>Left wing opponents of the Republic. Attempted an uprising 1919.
Wanted the 'revolution' to go further.
Leaders - Rosa Luxemburg &amp; Karl Liebknecht. Put down by the Friekorps.</p>

Question 2

<p>Weimar Constitution </p>

Answer 2

<p>Formulated August 1919.
Brought parliamentary democracy to Germany.
Guaranteed individual rights - e.g freedom of speech.

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Question 3

<p>President of the Weimar Republic</p>

Answer 3

<p>First President - Friedrich Ebert.
Head of State - elected.
Had the power to appoint &amp; dismiss the Chancellor.
Controlled the courts and the army.</p>

Question 4

<p>Chancellor of the Weimar Republic</p>

Answer 4

<p>Ran the Government.
Elected every 4 years.
Could rule by Article 48 in an emergency (President had to agree)
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Question 5

Kapp Putsch

Answer 5

1920. (March)
      Right wing - anti Republic.
      Wanted a right - wing autocratic government.
      Government called for a General Strike - plot fell apart.

Question 6

Political unrest, 1919 - 23

Answer 6

1919 Spartacist uprising.
1920 Kapp Putsch.
Over 300 politicians assassinated!
1923 Munich Putsch.

Question 7

Article 48

Answer 7

Allowed the President to rule by ‘decree’ - meaning he did not have to consult the elected a Reichstag.
Described by critics as ‘a toehold for a return to authoritarian government’.

Question 8

Proportional Representation

Answer 8

A voting system adopted by the Republic.
The number of seats allocated in the Reichstag was proportionate to the number of votes cast.
E.g if the German electorate cast 30% of votes for a particular party it would gain 30% of the seats available.

Question 9

Treaty of Versailles - Main Terms

June 1919

Answer 9

War Guilt - Germany to accept responsibility for starting the war (Clause 231)
Army limited to 100,000, no air force, limited Navy, no conscription, no General Staff.
Reparations - 6.6 billion.
Loss of Teritory - West Prussia to Poland, Alsace & Lorraine returned to France.
Rhineland demilitarized

Question 10

Treaty of Versailles - German reaction

Answer 10

Horrified! - not the Treaty they expected - a punishment rather than a negotiated settlement .
No resemblance to Wilson’s 14 Points.

Question 11

DAP / NSDAP

Answer 11

German Workers Party.
Based in Bavaria.
Hitler joined 1919, as member (5)55.
Renamed NSDAP (National Socialist German Worker’s Party)

Question 12

Main ideas of NSDAP

Answer 12

Based on the 25 Point Programme.
Nationalist - All Germans to be united in one state.
Racist - No Jew could be a citizen of the German State.
Socialist - Farmers to be given land, public industries under state control.

Question 13

Why did Hitler attempt the Munich Putsch?

Answer 13

Nazi party had 55,000 members and was stronger than ever before.
The Weimar Republic was in crisis and about to collapse.
German nationalists were furious with the government for calling off passive resistance.
Hitler thought he would be helped by important nationalist politicians in Bavaria.
Hitler had a huge army of storm troopers, but he knew he would lose control of them if he did not give them something to do.
Ambition: Hitler hoped to copy Mussolini - the Italian fascist leader - who had come to power in Italy in 1922 by marching on Rome.

Question 14

What were the consequences of the Munich Putsch?

Answer 14

The Munich Putsch was a failure.

The Nazi party was banned, and Hitler was prevented from speaking in public until 1927.

Hitler went to prison, where he wrote ‘Mein Kampf’. Millions of Germans read it, and Hitler’s ideas became very well-known.

Hitler decided that he would never come to power by revolution; he realised that he would have to use constitutional means.

Question 15

How did Hitler re-organise the NSDAP after the failed putsch?

Answer 15

Formed Hitler Youth.
More propaganda campaigns.
Mergers with other right-wing parties.
Created local branches of the party, all over Germany which tried to get Nazis elected to the Reichstag
Created SS as his personal bodyguard, which was set up in 1925.

Question 16

Why did Germany experience hyper-inflation?

Answer 16

Inflation from WWI
Reparations put pressure on the economy.
Germany defaulted on Reparartions (1922)
France  & Belgium occupy the Ruhr.
Government orders Passive Resostance.
Government paid the workers - issued more paper currency.
Resulted in hyper- inflation.