Weimar and Their Problems Flashcards
Germany
What is hyperinflation?
When the value of money decreases and becomes worthless
What is proportional representation?
Where lots of different political parties were able to win seats in the Reichstag that were equivalent to their number of votes.
Sometimes there were over 20 different parties.
Who didn’t like the Weimar Republic?
- Older army generals
- Judges
- Upper-class families
- Rich factory owners
- University professors
Why did the French and Belgian soldiers invade the Ruhr?
In 1922, Germany announced they couldn’t pay the French
Why did Hyperinflation send crime rates up?
It became easier to steal things as everyday items costed too many bank notes
Why did Hyperinflation turn Germans against the government?
It was the government who printed the money in the first place
How did Hyperinflation impact old age pensioners?
- Prices rose faster than earnings
- If they could buy food, they may not be able to afford the gas to cook it
- They lived in unheated houses because they couldn’t afford coal
- They froze because they couldn’t afford to buy clothes
What was the Red Rising in the Ruhr?
In 1919, communists and working class people who were angry about bad pay and bad working conditions, protested in the Ruhr Over 1,000 were killed by the Freikorps in 1920
What was the Kapp Putsch?
In 1920, around 12,000 Freikorps (led by Wolfgang Kapp) marched to Berlin in 1920 when the government ordered them to be disbanded.
Kapp was put forward as a new leader but workers went on strike. After four days he fled Berlin and Ebert’s government returned.
What was the Munich Putsch?
General Ludendorff and the Nazi Party of 55,000 members and their own private army, the SA
They thought that democracy only led to weak government.
In 1923, Hitler and 600 SA bust into a meeting where they forced the leader of Bavaria to support their plan.
Hitler was sentenced 5 years in prison, but got out after 9 months
What was the Spartscist Rising?
A communist group set up by Rosa Luxemburg and Karl Liebknecht. They thought Ebert would not improve the lives of working people.
In January 1919, Spartacists tried to turn a protest into a revolution. They took the government’s newspaper and telegraph headquarters. Over 1000 workers were killed.
Rosa was shot and Karl was murdered.
What was the structure of the Weimar Republic?
- German people elected the Reichstag and the President
- The President appointed Judges, the Chancellor and controlled the armed forces.
- The Chancellor appointed the Government ministers
What was Article 48?
It gave the President more power in the event of an emergency but there was no actual specified emergency
