Weimar Germany: Foundation vocabulary Flashcards
Autocracy
When one person dictates law and rules with authority. They may get advice, but this can be ignored.
Kaiser Wilhelm II
The autocratic leader who was forced to stand down by his own people in November 1918.
The Weimar Republic
This was the name given to the democratic government that replaced the Kaiser.
The Treaty of Versailles
The peace agreement at the end of World War One. It weakened Germany in a massive way.
Proportional Representation
The voting system that was used in the Weimar Republic.It made a strong and decisive government impossible.
“Left-wing” extremists
Left-wing politics = Communism. Extreme communists wanted to see the Weimar Republic fail.
“Right-wing” extremists
Right-wing extremists = Nationalist politics. A nationalist is hyper-proud of their nation (country). Extreme nationalists felt the Weimar Republic was failing Germany and needed to be replaced with autocracy.
The DAP and the NAZIS
The DAP was a Party formed of working people who were proud of their country. It was originally led by Anton Drexler and then by Adolf Hitler, who changed its name to the Nationalist Socialist Party.
The years of recovery
In the middle of the 1920s, the threats of extremists to the Weimar Republic declined. During the period 1924-1929, it looked like democracy might work in Germany.
The Depression
A depression is when a country dramatically runs out of money. This happened in Germany between 1929 and 1932, and support for extremists dramatically increased.
Dictatorship
The NAZI Party took power, through democracy, in 1933. Once Adolf Hitler was head of the Weimar Republic, he set about closing down democracy and creating autocracy.
Totalitarianism
Once Adolf Hitler had autocratic rule, he created totalitarianism in Germany. This is autocracy taken to the point where the freedoms of people in a country were extremely limited.
