Weimar Germany, 1918-1924 Flashcards
The end of World War One, 1918-1919
When did WW1 end, who surrendered?
11 November 1918
Germany
The end of World War One, 1918-1919
When did Germany sign the Treaty of Versailles, why?
28 June 1919
Punishment from the victorious allies
The end of World War One, 1918-1919
What were the terms for Treaty of Versailles?
remember BRAT
Blame - accept blame for the war in article 231 (war guilt clause)
Reperations - had to pay £6.6 billion
Armed forces - maximum of 100,000 troops, tanks were banned, only 6 battleships
Territory - lost land on all sides of its borders as well as its overseas colonies, reduced in size by 10 per cent, 6 per cent of its coalfields and half of its iron and steel industry
Weaknesses of Weimar government
What were the strenghts of the Weimar republic?
A genuine democracy - Elections for parliament and president every four years
The power of the Reichstag - appointed the government and made all laws
A Bill of Rights - guaranteed every German freedom of speech, religion, and equality under the law
Weaknesses of Weimar government
What were the weaknesses of Weimar republic?
Proportional representation -** % of seats = % of votes** lots of small parties in parliament making it difficult to pass laws and led to weak and often short-lived governments
Article 48 - allowed the German president to bypass the Reichstag and rule by emergency decree in times of crisis
Political instability in the Weimar Republic
What did many Germans call the government, why?
November Criminals
hated the government for signing the
armistice
led to a theory that the brave German army had been ‘stabbed in the back’ by the politicians
Political instability in the Weimar Republic
Who led the post WW1 communist party?
Rosa Luxemburg and Karl Liebknecht
Political instability in the Weimar Republic
Describe the events of the Spartacist Uprising?
Threat from the left
5 to 12 January 1919, 50,000 Spartacists, members of the post-World War I Communist Party rebelled in Berlin
Freikorps (ex-soldiers), defeated the Spartacist rebels
Political instability in the Weimar Republic
What was the date, goal and leaders of the Kapp Putsch
March 1920
Leaders - Wolfgang Kapp and Freikorps units
Goal: Overthrow the Weimar government and establish a right-wing autocracy
Political instability in the Weimar Republic
What were the events of the Kapp Putsch?
- the right-wing nationalist Dr Wolfgang Kapp led a Freikorps takeover in Berlin as a reaction to the army being reduced under the ToV
- The regular army refused to attack the Freikorps - defeated when the workers of Berlin went on strike and refused to cooperate with him
The hyperinflation crisis, 1923
What was the cause of the hyperinflation?
late 1922
Germany missed a reperation payment
The hyperinflation crisis, 1923
Why did France and Belgium occupy the Rhuhr?
believed they could’ve but chose not to pay
The hyperinflation crisis, 1923
What was the aim of the occupation?
confiscate industrial goods as reparations payments
The hyperinflation crisis, 1923
What did Germany order workers to do in response?
‘passive resistance’ - refuse to cooperate
government continued to pay workers
The hyperinflation crisis, 1923
Why did Germany print more money?
To pay the striking workers
The hyperinflation crisis, 1923
What did printing more money lead to?
Hyperinflation - the more money was printed, the more prices rose
The hyperinflation crisis, 1923
How much did the price of bread rise?
250 marks - January 1923
200,000 million marks - November 1923
The hyperinflation crisis, 1923
How extreme was the hyperinflation by Autumn 1923?
Costed more top print a note than what it was worth
The hyperinflation crisis, 1923
Who were the winners of the hyperinflation?
Borrowers, such as businessmen, landowners and those with mortgages - able to pay back their loans easily with worthless money
Farmers - product remained in demand
The hyperinflation crisis, 1923
Who were the losers of the hyperinflation?
People on fixed incomes, like students, pensioners or the sick - incomes did not keep up with prices
People with savings and those who had lent money - money became valueless
