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History > Weimar and Nazi Germany - Weimar Germany > Flashcards

Weimar and Nazi Germany - Weimar Germany Flashcards

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1
Q

Physical Effects of WW1 on Germany

A
  • Farming was disrupted due to farm workers being drafted into the armed forces
  • \By 1918, Germany was producing only 50% of the milk that it had been before the war and 60% of the butter.
  • It could not make up for it with imports because the British navy had blockaded German ports
  • Starvation was a huge issue
  • Disease also spread
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2
Q

Political Effects of WW1 on Germany

A
  • Germany had political issues before WW1
  • The Reichstag was weak
  • Working and middle class had little say in the running of Germsny
  • The Kaiser had no effective opposition
  • The situation was worse in the war as the Kaiser imprisoned any political opposition and became a military dictatorship
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3
Q

Psychological effects of WW1 on Germany

A
  • Before the war, Germany was a proud and ambitious country.
  • They were prepared to work hard for success
  • The war experience made people bitter and angry
  • They looked around for someone to blame
  • A country proud for being obedient was now in conflict
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4
Q

Anarchy in Germany in 1919

A
  • Germany was unstable

- Demobilized soldiers were returning home and joining violent demonstrations against the Kaiser

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5
Q

25 October 1918

A
  • Naval Commanders at Kiel decided to send out Warships but soldiers refused leading to a mutiny
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6
Q

26th October - 5th November 1918

A
  • The Kaiser did not try to send an army to crush this mutiny
  • Quickly followed by mass demonstrations against the war and the Kaiser
  • Other soldiers mutinied
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7
Q

6th November 1918

A
  • Soldiers’ and worker’s councils had taken control in many cities
  • Their aim was to end the war but politicians saw them as a real threat of a revolution like the Bolshevik revolution
  • The Social Democrats were the leading party in the Reichstag, they were socialist and committed to social change. Their leader, Freiderich Ebert wanted to save the Kaiser but he knew that if he did, left-wing revolutionaries would take over
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8
Q

7th November 1918

A
  • Social Democrats sent a letter to the Kaiser that if he did not abdicate, they would join the revolution
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9
Q

9th November 1918

A
  • There was a general strike in Berlin, armed workers and soldiers roamed the streets
  • The SPD was afraid that the Communists would take control of the revolution, so one of Ebert’s colleagues announced the abdication of the Kaiser and the creation of a German Republic
  • Ebert took over as chancellor
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10
Q

10th November 1918

A
  • The Kaiser fled into exile in the Netherlands
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11
Q

11th November 1918

A
  • An armistice was reached between Germany and the Allies
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12
Q

Who would control Germany from 1919 onward?

A
  • With the Kaiser gone, the Social Democrats were in charge but not control. Armed soldiers were returning and adding to the violence and there was the threat of left-wing revolutionaries`
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13
Q

Left-wing revolutionaries

A
  • Getting rid of the Kaiser was just the begging for them
  • Now they wanted a revolution similar to the Bolshevik revolution
  • They did not trust Ebert
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14
Q

The Spartacus League

A
  • Named after Roman Gladiator, Spartacus who revolted in Ancient Rome
  • Disagreed on what to do next
  • The leader, Rosa Luxemburg wanted to wait and seize power when the German population was disillusioned with Ebert but others wanted to try straight away
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15
Q

Rosa Luxemburg

A
  • Revolutionary who fled from Poland
  • Married a fellow socialist colleague so she would not be deported
  • Brilliant speaker and was known as Red Rosa
  • Split with moderate socialists in 1914 as they expressed support for the war.
  • Imprisoned for her anti-war propaganda in 1914 and released in November 1918 where she returned to Berlin to lead the Spartacists
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16
Q

The Social Democrats

A
  • This was the end of the revolution for them, even getting rid of the Kaiser was too much for some of them
  • Full of Marxist ideas
  • Called each other comrade like the Bolsheviks but did not want a full on left-wing revolution
  • Too afraid of rich landowners as they were so pivotal to Germany’s success before the war
  • Main aim now was to prevent the commies
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17
Q

General Groener

A

Promised Ebert the support of the army to maintain order inside Germany and in suppressing commies. Groener was right wing and Ebert was centre left but the Commies were a common enemy

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18
Q

The Freikorps

A
  • Ex-soldiers who were armed and were put in place to maintain order
  • Organised by Groener
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19
Q

Spartacist rising

A
  • After multiple collisions between revolutionaries and the government, the Spartacists attempted a revolution in Berlin
  • On 5 January 1919, the Spartacists captured the HQ of the government’s newspaper and telegraph bureau and that was it
  • The Uprising was poorly led and no other groups supported them
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20
Q

Crushing of the Spartacist rising

A
  • Easily crushed by the Freikorps
  • On the 10th, they took over the Spartacist HQ where hundreds of Spartacists were killed
  • Rosa Luxemburg and Karl Liebknecht were murdered
  • In other cities, Freikorps crushed more uprisings. They killed thousands
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21
Q

Effects of the Spartacist rising on Ebert

A
  • Ebert put his government in jeopardy as he put his government in the hands of the Army and Freikorps, neither could be trusted
  • He also fatally undermined the position of the SPD to be a representative of the working classes
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22
Q

Murder of Luxemburg and Liebknecht

A
  • After interrogation at the Freikorps HQ, they were taken away to be sent to prison
  • But they never made it. As they were taken away, they were hit by rifle butts and dragged into separate cars
  • Liebknecht was dragged into a park and shot and then delivered to a mortuary with no explanation
  • Luxemburg was shot by Lieutenant Vogel and then dumped in a canal
  • Ebert was horrified
23
Q

Formation of a National Assembly at Weimar

A
  • Four days after the crushing of the Spartacist Uprising, The government was called at Weimar because Berlin was seen to be too dangerous
24
Q

German expectation of the treaty

A
  • The Germans knew that they would have to pay a price for peace but they hoped to cut a better deal
25
Q

Reasons to hope for the treaty to be lower - new government

A
  • One of the allies conditions for peace was that the Kaiser was to be removed
  • Germany had fulfilled this and that a government that was democratic had been installed. They could not br blamed for the war
26
Q
  • Reasons to hope for the treaty to be lower - the new republic needed support
A
  • The Social Democrats needed help settling Germany down. They assumed that the allies would help them to do this by not giving them a harsh treaty
27
Q

Reasons to hope for the treaty to be lower - President Wilson

A
  • Wilson was the main force in the negotiations and he believed that the treaty should not be too harsh on Germany
  • He said that Germany would one day want revenge if the treaty was too harsh
28
Q

Reasons to hope for the treaty to be lower - Germany was not to blame for the war

A

Most Germans that all countries involved should share equally share the blame for the war

29
Q

The Actual Treaty of Versailles

A
  • Despite Wilson’s ambitions, the allies (especially the French) made the treaty particularly harsh to weaken Germany
  • Germany was not invited to the negotiations, the Allies signed it and it was presented to Germany to sign it
  • Germany had no choice but to accept it
30
Q

Terms of the treaty - war guilt

A

Article 231 of the treaty said that Germany was too blame for the war. This was the term that the Germans most resented

31
Q

Terms of the treaty - Reparations

A
  • As the Germans were to blame for the war, the Allies could claim reparations on them.
  • In 1921, the a commission set the sum at 6.6 bn dollars a year to be paid in annual installments
  • The Treaty also took away 10% of Germany’s industry and 15% of the agriculture
32
Q

Terms of the treaty - military restrictions

A
  • French desire for security restricted German military power
  • Air Force had to disband
  • Army was limited to 100,000 soldiers
  • Navy only had 15,000 sailors, 6 warships and no submarines
  • Rhineland was off limits to German troops
  • Humiliating
33
Q

Terms of the treaty - Territorial Losses

A
  • Alsace-Lorraine was returned to France
  • Poland recieved West Prussia and the Polish Corridor
  • Germany lost all of its overseas mandates
  • Danzing was made into a free city state
  • Saarland was taken over by the league of nations
34
Q

German reactions to the treaty of Versailles

A
  • First German chancellor to Ebert, Scheidemann, refused to sign it and resigned
  • The Allies made it clear the treaty had be signed or the war would be restarted
  • Government had no choice but to sign it
  • This was suicidal for Germany
35
Q

Stab in the back myth

A
  • Many army leaders such as Ludendorff encourgaed the belief that weak politicans led to Germany losing the war as they wanted peace not the army
  • ## This was encourgaed by right-wingers who looked fondly on the Kaiser
36
Q

Causes of the Kapp Putsch, 1920

A
  • One part of the treaty stated that the army had to be made smaller
  • The Allies were afraid of the size of unofficial armies such as the Freikorps
  • When Ebert did try to disband them, Freikorp units led by Wolfgang Kapp marched into Berlin and declared a new national government
37
Q

Reactions to the Kapp Putsch, 1920

A
  • Ebert’s government had tecently returned from Weimar yet they had to flee again to Dresden
  • The army did nothing as they wanted to see the return of the Kasier
  • Ebert realised the only way to stop the economy and call for a strike, this way the Kaiser would have no grounds to return on
38
Q

Successes and failures of the General Strike 1920

A
  • Public services ground to a halt which led to a decline in the economy
  • The Putsch collapsed within days
  • The leaders were never punished
39
Q

Weimer Constitution

A
  • President was elected every seven years
  • Appointed a chancellor from the Reichstag which needed to be supported by a majority
  • Reichstag was selected by proportional representation as each party had a proportional number of seats to their proportion of votes
  • All German adults could vote
40
Q

Strengths of the Weimar constitution

A
  • All Germans had equal rights to vite
  • Proportional Representation made sure that political parties had allocated seats. This was fair
  • A strong president was necessary to keep control of the government during a crisis
  • Each state had its own traditions. It was right they should have some control over their affairs
41
Q

Weakness of the Weimar Constitution

A
  • In 1919, the German Republic had many enemies. It would not have been right to gove equal rights to those who wished to destroy it
  • Proportional Represntation encouraged many parties to from making it hard to gain a majority
  • States could turn hostile against a national government and overthrow it
42
Q

Article 48

A
  • Meant that the President could take total control in a time of crisis
  • A crisis was when he decided
  • He could pass laws without passing it through the Reichstag
  • Voided the point of a democracy
43
Q

Occupation of the Ruhr

A
  • Germany fell behind on its repartition payments of money and raw materials for redevelopment
  • French wanted Germany to pay, so it invaded the industrial centre of Germany, the Ruhr, and force the Germans to make it themselves
  • Workers responded with passive resistance
  • The treaty made the invasion legal
  • Germany became poorer because all industrial output was lost
44
Q

Hyperinflation in 1923

A
  • The government did not have enough money to pay off the passive resistance, so it simply printed more
  • It exceeded its value in Gold leading to inflation
  • It eventually lost all of its value and led to hyper inflation
  • People lost savings, pensions, jobs and houses
  • Wages were not enough
  • People did not blame the Kaiser’s government even though it started the inflation through excessive loans, it blamed Weimar for accepting the treaty
45
Q

Values in 1922-23of German Mark

A
  • 1922 - 400 DM = $1
  • February 1923 - 7000 DM = $1
  • July 1923 - 160,000 DM = $1
  • August 1923 - 1,000,000 DM = $1
  • November 1923 - 130,000,000 = $1
46
Q

Gustav Streseman

A

Appointed chancellor in August 1923

47
Q

Streseman’s response to the Ruhr

A
  • Called off passive resistance
  • Took courgae to do so
  • Realised it was the only way to get the French and Belgians out
48
Q

Streseman’s scrapping of the mark

A
  • In October, Streseman completely abolished the mark and formed a new temporary currency, the Reichsmark
  • Streseman strictly lomited the amount in circulation
  • This stabilised the German currency
49
Q

Streseman gaining support of the army

A
  • The government gave orders to the army to dispose the left-wing state governments in Saxony and Thuringia
  • Once this was done, it was easier to get them to act against right-wing nationalists in Bavaria
50
Q

Streseman agrees reparations

A
  • In November, Streseman agreed to continue reparation payments
  • The Allies set up a committee under American Banker Charles Dawes of how Germany was going to pay
  • The Dawes plan of 1924 extended the time of reparations and made huge American loans available for reparation payments
51
Q

The Dawes Plan, 1924

A
  • Reparations were reduced to £50 million a year
  • US Banks agreed ro loan $25 billion to German Industries between 1924-30
  • Allies agreed to withdraw form the Ruhr and passive resistance was cancelled
  • This improved life for the middle and working class
  • Industrial output increased
  • Employment, trade and income from taxation increased
52
Q

Impact of the Dawes Plan

A
  • Most Germans were reassured as the economy had been strengthened
  • There were some drawbacks
  • The extreme political parties were unhappy that the government had agreed to resume reparation payment
  • Furthermore, the German government was now dependent on the US
53
Q

The Young Plan, 1929

A
  • Streseman agreed the Young Plan with the Allies put forward by American Banker Owen Young
  • 6.6 bn was reduced to 2 bn
  • Annual payments were still 50 million over 59 years
  • Taxes could be lowered
  • This gave higher public spending power and boosted German industry thus creating more jobs
  • The French agreed to leave the Rhineland in 1930
  • This increased confidence in the Weimar Government
54
Q

The Lorcano Pact, 1925

A
  • On 1st December 1925, Streseman signed the Lorcano Pact with Belgium, Italy, France and Britain
  • Unlike Versailles, Germany actually had a say in it

History (13 decks)

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