Weimar and Nazi Germany Flashcards
What was Germany’s war debt after WWI?
150 billion marks.
What % of German troops were casualties (dead or wounded) during WWI?
55%
How many German civilians died during WWI?
750,000
What did the Kaiser (Emperor Wilhelm II) do after WWI?
He was forced to abdicate (quit the throne).
What happened in Stuttgart after WWI in 1918 that helped cause the Kaiser to abdicate?
Workers went on strike. Soldiers refused to control the rioting people in the Streets.
What happened in Hamburg after WWI in 1918 that helped cause the Kaiser to abdicate?
Oct 1918, some German navy crews mutinied (rebelled).
What happened in Munich after WWI in 1918 that helped cause the Kaiser to abdicate?
Nov 1918, workers declared a general strike and declared that Munich should be separate from Germany.
When did the Kaiser decide to abdicate?
November 1918 (right at the end of WWI).
What made the Kaiser realise, in addition to the events at Hamburg and Munich, he had no choice but to abdicate on 9th November?
He had lost the support of the Army and the army leadership.
On 9th of November , what was Germany declared?
A Republic (government without a king).
Who was the man who declared Germany a Republic through a window at the Reichstag?
Philipp Scheidemann
What party was Philipp Scheidemann part of?
Social Democratic Party (SPD)
Why did Philipp declare Germany a republic on the same day as the Kaiser’s abdication?
To ward off a communist rebellion.
The leader of the SDP (Freidrich Ebert) set up what as a temporary measure to control the country?
The Council of People’s Representatives
What was the reason for The Council of People’s Representatives being set up?
To protect the country from a communist revolution until a constitution could be set up.
How long was ‘The Council of People’s Representatives’ in control of the country?
9 months
Why did ‘The Council of People’s Representatives’ end in July 1919 (9 months after it was set up)?
A new constitution (rules) were established for the new country.
What was this new country called in 1919?
The Weimar Republic.
Who became the Weimar Republic’s first President?
Friedrich Ebert
Ebert did several things to increase the people’s confidence in the Weimar Republic. What did he do with the Kaiser’s civil servants?
He kept them in place.
Why did the Ebert increase the peoples confidence?
To ensure the country keeps running, such as taxation collection.
What did Ebert do with the army? Why did he do this?
He, again, kept it in place. He promised the army officers that they would keep their positions, this meant they would support the new Republic.
What happened to the trade unions (workers’ support groups)?
Ebert won their support.
What was the name of the main trade union leader Ebert gained support from?
Carl legien.
What did Ebert tell the unions he would aim for?
An 8-hour working week for workers.
Why was it so important for Ebert to gain the support of the unions?
To ensure workers work and don’t go on strike.
Who was the head of state in the Weimar republic?
President.
Who was the head of government?
The Chancellor.
What was the role of the Reichstag?
The Reichstag ‘house’ controlled taxation and as elected every 4 years by the people.
What was the role Reichsrat?
The Reichsrat ‘house’ represented the regions of Germany.
Which was more powerful the Reichstag or Reichsrat?
Reichstag.
What was article 48?
Powers given to the President in times of emergency.
What type of voting system did the Weimar Republic have?
Proportional representation.
What does proportional representation mean?
Each party gets the same percentage of seats in the Reichstag as the percentage of votes in the election. E.g. party A got 40% of the vote and therefore gets 40% of the seats in the Reichstag.
What are the advantages of Proportional Representation?
It is very democratic and fair.
What are the disadvantages of Proportional Representation?
A party is very unlikely to ever get 50% of the seats in the Reichstag. This means that they no laws can be passed without parties joining together called coalitions.
What is the problem with coalitions?
Coalitions often disagree. Also parties have to compromise and don’t end up delivering on their promises in the election.
What were the other strengths of the Weimar Republic style of government?
There are lots of ‘checks and balances’ on power, stopping one man/group gaining too much power like it was under the Kaiser. E.g the Reichstag, President, Chancellor keep each other from gaining to much control.
What were the other weaknesses of the Weimar Republic style of government?
Proportional representation allows extreme parties, like the communists and the Nazis to have representation in the Reichstag, resulting in unrest and extremism.
What was the Treaty of Versailles?
The treaty that was forced on Germany by Britain, France and the USA after WWI in 1919.
What economic terms were in the Treaty of Versailles?
Germany had to accept £6.6billion in war reparations, the output of the Saar coalfields was to go to France.
What military terms were in the Treaty of Versailles?
Army reduced to 100,000 men, navy reduced to 6 battleships, no aircraft, no submarines.
What territorial terms were in the Treaty of Versailles?
Alcase-Lorraine to go to France, land given to Poland to give them access to the sea, ‘Polish corridor’, land in Africa given to Britain, Rhineland to be demilitarised.
What is meant by a Diktat?
Something that is imposed not agreed, like the Treaty of Versailles.
What were the men who signed the treaty called by opposition to the treaty?
The November Criminals.
What did the opposition to the treaty say those men did to the German soldiers who fought in WWI?
Stabbed them in the back.
How did the people of Germany show their anger at the treaty of Versailles?
There was a mass protest at the Reichstag on 15th May 1919.
What was Germany’s economic situation even before the Treaty of Versailles was signed?
Germany was already 150 billion marks in debt due to WWI.
What was the threat from the far-left to the Weimar Republic?
the communists
Who were the Spartacists?
communist
What was the threat from the far-right to the Weimar Republic?
The Freikorps.
What people filled the numbers of the Freikorps?
Mainly WWI soldiers.
What was the Spartacist Rebellion?
A Spartacist (communist) rebellion to remove the Weimar Republic and replace it with a communist government
Who led the Spartacist rebellion?
A communist called Rosa Luxemburg (‘Red Rosa’)
What started the Spartacist rebellion?
A popular left-wing police chief was sacked.
How many Spartacist rebels were there and what did they do?
100,000 people took to the streets and took over important telegraph and newspaper offices.
Why was the Spartacist rebellion so threatening to Ebert and the Republic?
There was no army to deal with the strikers as they took over the city.
What did Ebert do to stop the Spartacist rebellion?
He organised the 250,000 far-right Freikorps to come in to wipe out the Spartacists.
Did Eberts plan work to stop the Spartacist rebellion?
Yes the Spartacists were destroyed and Rosa Luxemburg was killed and thrown in a canal.
The Freikorps were now in control of Berlin. Did they go home after the rebellion?
No they stayed in Berlin with their weapons
What did the Freikorps then do against Ebert?
They staged their own rebellion against the Weimar Republic called the ‘Kapp Putsch’.
Why was it called the Kapp Putsch?
It was led by the Wolfgang Kapp
How many rebels marched march against Berlin on Kapp Putsch?
5,000
What did the Freikorps rebels want?
The return of the Kaiser.
How did President Ebert respond to the Freikorps rebellion?
Ebert called on the workers of Berlin, who did not want the Kaiser’s return, to go on strike to stop the country running properly
Did President Eberts plan work in regards to the Freikorps rebellion?
Yes it did. Wolfgang Kapp gave up trying to run the country. He was eventually arrested and died in prison.
Another major challenge to the Weimar Republic was assassinations. Who was murdered in 1918?
Matthias Erzberger - the politician who signed the surrender to the allies (Britain, France, USA) in WWI
Who was murdered in 1919?
Hugo Haasse - one of Ebert’s Council of People’s Representatives was murdered.
What did these rebellions (S and F) and the assassinations make the young Weimar Republic appear?
The Weimar Republic is weak.
Why did the French invade the Ruhr in 1923?
The French invaded the Ruhr because the Germans fell back on their reparation payments to French. The Ruhr was an industrial area and the French planned to take what was owed in raw materials.
How did the Germans respond to the invasion of the Ruhr?
They ordered their workers to go on strike and not work. This was called ‘passive resistance’.
How did the French respond back to the Germans?
The French simply brought their own workers in and took the raw materials. This caused even more economic problems for Germany.
The Germans suffered from not producing raw materials in the Ruhr. How did they suffer?
This disruption increased Germany’s debts, increased unemployment and worsened the shortage of goods.
How did the government decide to solve the economic problem from the Ruhr?
Print more money.
What did printing more money cause?
Hyperinflation (extreme decrease in the value of Germany’s currency).
What happened to ‘day to day’ living due to hyperinflation?
It became impossible as no one had enough cash to buy things and price kept going up daily.
How much was a loaf of bread in 1923?
200,000 billion marks.
What happened to people’s savings due to hyperinflation?
They disappeared overnight.
What happened to foreign trade as a consequence of hyperinflation?
It stopped. Countries did not want to trade with Germany’s destroyed currency/economy.
What happened to people’s jobs due to hyperinflation?
Many lost their jobs.
What social class suffered the most due to hyperinflation?
The middle class.
Why did the middle class suffer the most due to hyperinflation?
All their money was in banks, where it disappeared
Who became the new Chancellor in 1923 promising to solve the extreme problems of hyperinflation?
Gustav Stresemann
What was the name of the new currency introduced by Stresemann and why was it valuable?
Reichsmark, it was tied to gold reserves and was now trusted home and abroad
Stresemann signed the Dawes Plan. What was included in the Dawes Plan in 1924?
Reparations were temporarily reduced to £50 million per year. US banks agreed to give loans to German industry. They loaned $25 billion between 1924 – 1930.
What effect did the Dawes Plan have on the economy?
Industrial output doubled between 1923 – 1928. Employment, trade and income increased.
Stresemann signed the Young Plan. What was included in the Young Plan in 1929?
Reduced the reparations from £6.6 billion to £2 billion. Given a further 59 years in which to pay it.
What did the Young Plan allow the government to do?
Reduce taxes to stimulate the economy
Why did the Nazis dislike the Dawes and Young plans?
The Nazis thought that they were punishing the German youth as these loans would have to be paid back
Stresemann signed the Locarno Treaties. What was decided at the Locarno Treaties, 1925?
Germany was allowed entry into the League of Nations
Stresemann signed the Kellogg-Briand Pact. What was decided at the Kellogg-Briand Pact, 1928?
Germany and 61 other countries signed the Kellogg-Briand Pact. This pact promised states would not use war to achieve foreign policy aims.
Why was the Kellogg-Briand Pact significant for Germany?
Germany was not included in international decisions. This was not the case in 1919 when the Treaty of Versailles was signed.
As a consequence of Stresemann’s changes, what happened to unemployment between 1924-28?
Unemployment went down from 2 million to 1.3 million.
How many new homes were built under Stresemann?
64,000 new homes.
What happened to the standard working hours under Stresemann?
It was reduced from 50 hours to 46 per week.
During the Weimar Republic, what happened to the political rights of women?
Women gained the vote (this is before Britain and the USA).
What percentage of women turned up to vote in the first Weimar elections?
90%.
What was different about how women conducted themselves at leisure and socially?
They wore short hair, more make up, more jewellery and more revealing clothes. They smoked and drank more and went out unaccompanied.
Were there improvements in the rights of women in the workplace during the Weimar Republic?
No, very little
During the Weimar Republic how much less were women paid than men?
33%
In high-status jobs such as judges very few women main progress. How many women made it to become judges in the entirety of Germany in 1933?
Only 36
When were women expected to give up work for good?
When they got married.
What were new type of art became popular during the Weimar Republic?
Modern ‘expressionist’ art. It was usually critical of German society.
Which artist was particularly well known for expressionist art?
Otto Dix.
What were the cultural changes to architecture?
There was a change to build futuristic city ‘skyscraper’ towers.
What was the best example of this type of ‘skyscraper’ building in Berlin?
Einstein Tower.
What was the name of the architect that built these types of futuristic buildings all around Berlin?
Erich Mendelsohn
What were the cultural changes to cinema?
There was a boom in German cinema
What was a famous film produced during this era and who directed it?
Metropolis, by Fritz Lang.
What genre was the film ‘Metropolis’ one of the first of?
Horror.
Where did the opposition to these cultural changes come from?
The Nazis. They believed it was an attack on traditional Germany.
What was the original name of the Nazi Party?
The German Workers Party (DAP).
Who changed it to its famous name the Nazi Party or NSDAP?
Adolf Hitler
How long did it take for Hitler to take over the party after joining?
2 years.
When Hitler took over he changed the Nazi Party’s main policies. What were these policies?
Anti-Jewish, anti-Treaty of Versailles, anti-democracy, pro-territory expansionist.
In the early days of the Nazi Party, why did Hitler have personal appeal?
Hitler was a very good speaker and his speeches were emotive.
How many early Nazi events was Hitler the star speaker between Nov 1919 and Nov 1920?
31/46.
Due to Hitler’s personal appeal. The membership of the Nazi Party massively grew. How much did the Nazi Party membership increase from between June 1920 - December 1920?
1,000 to 3,000
Hitler also set up the SA in August 1921. Who were the SA?
They were Stormtrooper, mainly consisting of ex-soldiers. They acted as bodyguards and thugs for the Nazis.
What were the SA often tasked with doing?
Disrupting opposition (like the communists) meetings.
Who led the SA?
Ernst Röhm, a former army officer and friend of Hitler.
