Weimar Republic Flashcards

1
Q

When did Kaiser Wilhelm II abdicate?

A

November 9th 1918

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2
Q

When was the Kiel mutiny and what happened?

A

October 1918- sailors revolted and refused to fight

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3
Q

When was the Weimar Republic established?

A

November 9th 1918

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4
Q

Who was the first president of the Weimar Republic?

A

Friedrich Ebert (SPD- social democratic party)

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5
Q

What was the armistice?

A

An agreement to cease fighting

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6
Q

When was the armistice signed?

A

11th November 1918

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7
Q

When were the elections for the new national assembly?

A

19th january 1919

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8
Q

Who was the first chancellor?

A

Philipp Scheidemann

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9
Q

List some of the powers that the president had in the Weimar republic:

A
  • controlled the military- was supreme commander of the army
  • could dismiss and call new elections
  • article 48- president could override democracy, make laws and keep chancellor in office without reichstag support
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10
Q

Why was article 48 a potential problem?

A

It created an opportunity for the president to establish a dictatorship

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11
Q

How was the chancellor elected?

A

Chosen by president, with majority support from the reichstag

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12
Q

How often was the Reichstag elected?

A

Every 4 years

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13
Q

How often was the president elected?

A

every 7 years

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14
Q

What was the role of the Reichsrat?

A

Approved laws proposed by the Reichstag

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15
Q

List 3 strengths of the Weimar constitution:

A
  • Democratic- all above 20 could vote
  • Chancellor required Reichstag support
  • President able to control govt and protect country in a crisis
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16
Q

What was proportional representation?

A

A system in which seats were allocated depending on percentage of total votes

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17
Q

Why was proportional representation a weakness of the constitution?

A
  • gave extremist parties seats
  • created instability as individual parties could not win a majority
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18
Q

What was a coalition?

A

a government comprising different political parties

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19
Q

Why were coalition governments unstable?

A

contrasting political stances made it difficult to come to agreements on policies, and this was compounded by the political turmoil of post-war germany

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20
Q

How many coalition governments were there between 1919-1923?

A

9

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21
Q

What were the fourteen points?

A

a set of guidelines established by the US president Woodrow Wilson to ensure that peace was maintained

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22
Q

List some territorial terms of the Treaty of Versailles:

A
  • Alsace-Lorraine returned to France
  • German colonies given to France and Britain
  • Danzig made a free city
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23
Q

List some military terms of the Treaty of Versailles:

A
  • submarines, tanks and military aircrafts not permitted
  • army not to exceed 100,000
  • Rhineland demilitarised
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24
Q

List some financial terms of the Treaty of Versailles:

A
  • the Saar given to the French for 15 years
  • reparations of £6.6 billion
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25
Q

What was Article 231?

A

the ‘war guilt’ clause- Germany had to accept responsibility for causing WW1

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26
Q

What percentage of European territory did Germany lose?

A

13%

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27
Q

What was a ‘diktat’?

A

a dictated peace

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28
Q

What was Dolchstoss theory?

A

The myth that Germany’s defeat was not on military terms but rather due to peace negotiations organised by the government

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29
Q

When was the Spartacist uprising?

A

January 1919

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30
Q

What happened in the Spartacist uprising and what were its aims?

A
  • Tried to establish communist govt in berlin
  • Occupied govt newspaper hq and attempted to bring about general strike
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31
Q

How did the government put down the Spartacist uprising?

A

Using the Freikorps

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32
Q

Who were the Freikorps?

A

groups of demobilised soldiers who refused to give up their weapons

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33
Q

Who were the leaders of the Spartacist uprising?

A

Rosa Luxemburg and Karl Liebknecht

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34
Q

What happened to the leaders of the Spartacists after the uprising failed?

A

They were shot

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35
Q

Roughly how many of the votes did the Communist party win during the 1920s?

A

at least 10% during each election

36
Q

What is a putsch?

A

an uprising

37
Q

What was the immediate cause of the Freikorps uprising?

A

the government had attempted to disband 2 freikorps units in 1920

38
Q

Who was the leader of the Kapp putsch?

A

Wolfgang Kapp- an extreme nationalist

39
Q

Where was the Kapp putsch?

A

in Berlin

40
Q

How did Ebert suppress the Kapp putsch?

A

organising a general strike

41
Q

What was the impact of the general strike on the Kapp putsch?

A

It disrupted essential supplies like gas, water and electricity

42
Q

How did the Kapp putsch highlight weaknesses in the Weimar republic?

A

Showed how little control the government had over its capital and limited military power. they were forced to appeal to the public for support- which may not be a good long term solution as support was rapidly dwindling due to the magnitude of the political instability

43
Q

What fraction of Germany’s required income did they actually possess in the years 1919-1923?

A

1 quarter

44
Q

When was the French occupation of the Ruhr?

A

1923 january

45
Q

Why did French and Belgian troops move into the Ruhr?

A

Germany had missed a reparation installment in december 1922, so they decided to take their industrial produce instead of cash

46
Q

How did the German government retaliate to the occupation of the Ruhr?

A

Encouraged the workers to carry out passive resistance- using peaceful, non-violent means to resist authority

47
Q

How did the French respond to the workers’ resistance in the Ruhr?

A
  • brought in their own workers
  • shot at workers who refused to follow orders
48
Q

How many German workers were killed during the occupation of the Ruhr?

A

132

49
Q

How did French occupation of the Ruhr escalate inflation?

A
  • govt printed more money to pay strikers in the ruhr
  • shortages of raw materials led to prices skyrocketing
50
Q

How many marks did a loaf of bread cost in November 1923?

A

200 billion

51
Q

What was currency used as a substitute for during the hyperinflation crisis?

A

firewood

52
Q

Who was negatively impacted by hyperinflation?

A
  • People on fixed incomes- incomes did not keep up with rising prices
  • People with savings (mostly middle class) found that they became worthless
53
Q

Who was benefitted by hyperinflation?

A

Businessmen, landowners and people with mortgages found that they could pay loans back easily

54
Q

How were people on wages affected by hyperinflation?

A

They found that they had to spend their money immediately, as prices spiralled so rapidly.

55
Q

When was Gustav Stresemann made chancellor?

A

August 1923

56
Q

How long was Stresemann chancellor for?

A

3 months

57
Q

What position did Stresemann serve as after being chancellor?

A

Foreign minister

58
Q

When was the Rentenmark introduced?

A

Nov 1923

59
Q

What was the value of the Rentenmark based on?

A

gold

60
Q

What new, permanent currency replaced the Rentenmark and when?

A

The Reichsmark 1924

61
Q

How did the changes to the currency aid Germany’s economic recovery?

A

Restored trust in the financial system and allowed the economy to grow stronger

62
Q

When was the Dawes Plan set up?

A

1924

63
Q

What were the main ideas of the Dawes Plan?

A
  • Installments were lowered in the short term
  • USA loaned Germany money to help its industry
64
Q

What happened to Germany’s economic output in the years 1923-29?

A

it doubled

65
Q

When were unemployment benefits set up?

A

1927

66
Q

What negotiations were made as part of the Young Plan?

A
  • Germany only had to pay 1/3 of the initial reparations bill
  • The payments were to be made over 59 years
67
Q

When did the Young Plan come into effect?

A

Sept 1930

68
Q

When did Germany sign the Locarno Pact?

A

Dec 1925

69
Q

Which 6 other countries were involved in the Locarno treaties?

A

France, Belgium, Italy, Britain, Czechoslovakia, Poland

70
Q

What were the agreements of the Locarno Pact?

A
  • Germany agreed that Alsace-Lorraine belonged to the French, and the French left the Ruhr
  • The countries agreed to not engage in military disputes (except in self defense)
  • Germany’s borders were agreed upon
71
Q

Why was the Locarno Pact seen as a victory?

A

It seemed as though Germany was being treated as on equal playing fields to the other European powers, and improved diplomatic relations.

72
Q

When did Germany join the League of Nations?

A

1926

73
Q

When was the Kellogg-Briand Pact signed?

A

Aug 1928

74
Q

What was the aim of the Kellogg-Briand pact?

A

To eliminate the threat of military conflict

75
Q

By how much had real wages increased by 1928?

A

10 percent- by this point, Germany had some of the best-paid workers in Europe

76
Q

How many new homes were built between 1924 and 1931?

A

2 million

77
Q

How much did investment in housing increase from 1913-29?

A

33 times

78
Q

By how much did rates of homelessness decrease by 1928?

A

60%

79
Q

What was put into place by the unemployment laws of 1927?

A

A national unemployment insurance scheme to which workers had to contribute to

80
Q

List 3 aspects of life that women had equal rights in:

A
  • Voting
  • Education
  • Civil service appointments/pay in professions
81
Q

How many female deputies were in the Reichstag by 1926?

A

32- more than Britain and the US

82
Q

What was Neue Sachlichkeit?

A

An art movement (’New Objectivity’) in which artists portrayed the reality of everyday life.

83
Q

Name 2 artists associated with Neue Sachlichkeit

A

George Grosz and Otto Dix

84
Q

What were the hallmarks of Bauhaus architecture?

A

Designs that were abstract and geometric, but functional, simple and economic

85
Q

Why did the German economy go downhill after 1929?

A

Due to the Wall Street Crash and the Great Depression