Weimar Germany Flashcards
What does Kaiser mean?
Emperor
What is the Reichstag?
Parliament
Article 48
President has power to suspend constitution in an ‘emergency’
Weakness of Article 48
It didn’t define what an ‘emergency’ was therefore the President could abuse this power
What is Anschluss?
Austria and Germany are forbidden from uniting
Who was the President of France?
George Clemenceau
Who was the President of the USA?
Woodrow Wilson
Who was the PM of the UK?
David Lloyd George
What did George Clemenceau want from the ToV?
Wanted revenge against Germany
e.g wanted Land and Money
What did Woodrow Wilson want from the ToV?
Wanted World Peace
What did David Lloyd George want from the ToV?
He wanted more trade opportunities
Name a MILITARY term from the ToV
~No German air force
~Army of no more than 100,000 men
~Demilitarisation of the Rhineland
~Only 6 small battleships
Name an ECONOMIC term from the ToV
Germany forced to pay a reparation bill at £6.6 billion
Article 231
War Guilt Clause
Name a TERRITORIAL term of the ToV
~Rhineland demilitarised
~Saar to be given to France for 15 years
~Alsace-Lorraine given back to France
~Anschluss
Why was the Saar a significant area of land?
It had many coal fields = ££££££
What impact did Article 231 have on Germany?
~ had to pay the Allies for this damage
~ Germany struggled to pay the monthly instalments when they began in 1922
~ huge strain on the already massively weakened German economy
What impact did the military terms of the ToV have to Germany?
~These terms were humiliating for Germany, which prided itself on the strength
of its military.
~Left Germans feeling vulnerable to future attack – (it was surrounded by former enemies: France in the West and the newly communist Russia in the East)
What impact did the territorial terms of the ToV have on Germany?
~Germany was reduced in size by 10 per cent.
~Lost 12 per cent of its population,
~Lost 16 per cent of its coalfields and half of its
iron and steel industry.
What two weaknesses did the Weimar Constitution have?
Article 48
Proportional Representation
(Radical groups could now easily join the Reichstag)
What STRENGTHS did the Weimar constitution have?
~It was a genuine democracy
~Almost all political power was exercised by
politicians (before it was the military)
~Bill of Rights (freedom of speech, religion and
equality
Diktat
Dictated Peace
Dolchstoss
Stab in the back
Coup d’état
to takeover state
When was the Spartacist uprising?
5 Jan 1919 - 12 Jan 1919
What ideology did the Spartacist uprising have?
They were members of the post WW1 Communist Party
How many members did the Spartacist’s have?
50,000
Who led the Spartacist rebels?
Rosa Luxemburg and Karl Liebknecht.
Who defeated the Spartacist uprising?
The Friekorps
What is the Friekorps?
armed bands of ex-soldiers
What happened as a result of the Spartacist uprising?
Communist workers’ councils seized power all over Germany, and a Communist People’s Government took power in Bavaria.
Rosa and Federich arrested and killed
By May 1919 the Freikorps had crushed all of these uprisings
Which party was Friedrich Ebert a part of?
Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD)
Why did the Spartacist uprising happen?
They believed that power and wealth should be shared equally among population
When was the Kapp Putsch?
March 1920
What happened during the Kapp Putsch?
As the German army had to be significantly reduced and the Freikorps were disbanded
Wolfgang Kapp led a Freikorps takeover in Berlin
The regular army refused to attack the Freikorps; Kapp was only defeated when the workers of Berlin went on strike and refused to cooperate with him.
When did the hyperinflation crisis begin?
1923
Why did HYPERINFLATION occur?
After the Germans missed a reparations payment late in 1922.
This set off a chain of events that included occupation, hyperinflation and rebellions
How much did a loaf of bread cost in January 1923?
250 marks
How much did a load of bread cost in November 1923?
200,000 million marks
Who benefitted from hyperinflation?
Businessmen
Landowners
Those with mortgages
Farmers
Who didn’t benefit from hyperinflation?
Those on fixed incomes
(Students, pensioners and the sick)
People with savings
What was the main GOAL of the Kapp Putsch?
Attempt to overthrow fledging Weimar republic
Why did the Kapp Putsch fail?
Wasn’t realistic as Germany was mostly in poverty and working class wouldn’t support the cause
Regular army refused to attack
Cultural changes during the Golden Age of Weimar :
New era of art (surrealism and expressionism)
Bauhaus architecture
Encouragement of literature and arts
Political stability in the Golden Age of Weimar
Stresemann and Hindenburg were the 2 most popular men in Germany
Population were happy with the leadership
(Social democrats had the most plurality of seats)
Standard of living in the Golden Age of Weimar
Wages increased by 10%
Unemployment fell
HOWEVER
Middle class didn’t experience an increase in prosperity
184,000 didn’t qualify for unemployment relief
Women during the Golden Age of Weimar
In 1919 women over 20 could vote
More women chose to take up a career
Advanced legal rights, pay and education
More social freedom to dress more liberally
How many women were unemployed in 1925?
35.6% of women
HUGE DECREASE
SOCIAL CHANGE
Housing during the Golden Age of Weimar
Housing shortages so, planners devised new innovative strategies to combat the shortage
Unemployment insurance during the Golden Age of Weimar
German Chancellor Otto Von Bismarck, introduced reforms including health and insurance schemes
Which German Chancellor brought about health and insurance schemes?
Otto Von Bismarck
