Weimar Republic

Question 1

When was the armistice signed by Imperial Germany?

Answer 1

11th November, 1918 at 5:00am

Question 2

Who was called ‘wartime dictator’ during WWI in Germany?

Answer 2

General Eric Lundendorff

Question 3

What happened in the ‘German Revolution’?

Answer 3

The German sailors in Wilhelmshaven rebelled and refused to obey orders in fear of their officers’ intention to order a suicide attack against the Royal Navy. This discontent spread through Germany and civilians began to join the sailors in protest for a fairer socialist system of government, more freedom of speech and civil liberties. Resultant of this was Germany was declared a Republic and Kaiser Wilhelm II went into voluntary exile.

Question 4

When was Germany declared Republic?

Answer 4

9th November 1918

Question 5

What was proportional representation?

Answer 5

The % of votes gained by a political party in an election directly correlated with the percentage of seats they gained in parliament.
E.g. if a party received 30% of votes all votes in elections they would occupy 30% of the seats in the Reichstag.

Question 6

What was the ‘stabbed in the back myth’?

Answer 6

This myth was used as a scapegoat for Imperial Germany. The change of government before the signing of the armistice shifted the blame onto the newly formed Weimar Republic for betraying Germany. As many Germans blinded by Imperial Germany’s propaganda believed that the German army could have gone on to defeat the allies and win the war if the armistice had not been signed. However this was far from the truth.

Question 7

Who were believed to be the ‘November Criminals’?

Answer 7

The ‘November Criminals’ was the term used by right-wing Germans to call those who had signed the armistice in 1918.

Question 8

What were the conditions of the ‘Treaty of Versailles’?

Answer 8

• Pay reparations of 132 billion marks
• Demilitarization of Germany - The German armed forces were reduced and Germany was banned from having an air force and rearmament.
• They had to accept the blame for starting war in the ‘War Guilt Clause’

Question 9

What were the crucial faults within the structure of the Weimar Republic that lead to its downfall?

Answer 9

• ‘Proportional Representation’ - Led to short-lived broad coalitions that could not work together due to the extreme ideas of the small parties causing conflict.
• ‘Article 48’ - due to the indecisive government Weimar counteracted this by having article 48 which gave the president power to overrule the Reichstag. This meant the president could pass laws without consulting the Reichstag and could even dissolve the Reichstag.

Question 10

What were the main three reasons why Ludendorff pressed for a more democratic form of govt?

Answer 10

(1) Demands by American President Woodrow Wilson - wanted Germany to make steps toward a more democratic form of govt before peace negotiations.
(2) To undermine the growing revolutionary extreme parties - Ludendorff feared people would be subject to a breakout of mass disturbance by the right wing extremist inspired by the successful communist revolution in Russia.
(3) Scapegoat for Imperial Germany - changing system before armistice provided a scapegoat for Germany’s defeat, shifted the blame onto the new leadership. This became the origin of the stabbed-in-the-back myth.

Question 11

‘People would vote for the national president (Head of State) every ……….’ Fill in the blank.

Answer 11

7 years

Question 12

What was the problem with ‘proportional representation’?

Answer 12

This method of voting led to a lot of small parties (many with extremist views) in the Reichstag who then had to form coalition governments. These coalitions did not work as the extremist views of the small parties made it unlikely of them agreeing on key issues of govt. This meant no new laws were passed and little got done.

Question 13

What was was the fundamental issue for the Weimar Republic due to ‘old Imperialism’?

Answer 13

‘Old Imperialism’ was the strong support for right-wing politics that continued even after the Weimar constitution implemented vast amounts of democratic rights and civil liberties into German law. This support mainly came from government officials apart of the Weimar govt itself. Support for far-right politics was even present in the judiciary. There was also the ‘Reichswehr’ which was made up of the old imperial army officers who were sympathetic to right-wing groups. Thus the right wing party was embedded deep within Weimar govt. This meant Weimar lacked support within its own government.

Question 14

Who were the main 2 left wing parties?

Answer 14

• KPD (Communist Party of Germany)

- Spartacists

Question 15

Who were the main 2 right wing parties?

Answer 15

• DNVP (German National Peoples Party)

- Friekorps

Question 16

How did the Weimar Republic control political extremism?

Answer 16

They used the ‘Freikorps’ to strengthen their military and crush the left-wing uprisings. The Freikorps used brutal tactics to attack the communist movements. However, the Freikorps swore no allegiance to the Weimar govt.

Question 17

What was the problem with using the Freikorps to control political extremism?

Answer 17

The Freikorps though effective in stopping left-wing opposition they were a crisis itself for Weimar. They swore no allegiance to Weimar and wanted a return to an authoritarian govt. Between 1919-23 they carried out 354 political assassinations, notably Walter Rathenau who was the foreign minister for being a Jew. Jews were blamed as part of the stabbed-in-the-back myth.

Question 18

What was the Kapp Putsch?

Answer 18

Was when the right-wing leaders lead a march to seize Berlin in March 1920. They managed to install a government there with Wolfgang Kapp as the head. The government there had to flee. Weimar’s response to this was to call a general strike because the Reichwehr refused to attack the putsch because they said ‘troops do not fire upon troops’. The general strike crippled the Kapp’s government within 3 days because it was poorly organised.

Question 19

What was the Munich Putsch?

Answer 19

November 1923 - Hitler stormed a large rally in a beer hall in Munich and declared a national revolution. Weimar’s response was to send 100 police to put down the putsch. The result of this was 14 NSDAP party members were killed, 4 policemen were killed and Hitler was arrested for treason.

Question 20

What percentage of the vote did the Nazi Party gain in the 1930 General Election?

Answer 20

18%

Question 21

What was the result of the Presidential elections of 1932?

Answer 21

Hindenburg won by 53% despite HItler’s popularity.

Question 22

What was the occupation of Ruhr?

Answer 22

French President (Raymond Poincare) suspected Germany of avoiding preparation. Thus joined forces with Belgium and invaded the Ruhr (Germany’s most their region) to extract the reparations themselves.

Question 23

What crucial policies did Chancellor Gustav Stresemann implement in the 100 days he was in power?

Answer 23

1) Calling off the policy of ‘passive resistance’ in Ruhr.
2) Promising to continue paying reparations
3) Establishing a new currency - ‘Rentenmark’
4) Cutting government expenditure by firing 700,000 public employees.

Question 24

What was Dawes plan?

Answer 24

Was the result of the Dawes committee chaired by Charles G Dawes for the issue of reparations. The plan was the USA would invest in the German economy who would then, in turn, be able to pay their reparations to France. France would then be able to pay back their loans to the USA.

Question 25

What was the ‘National Opposition’?

Answer 25

Was formed in opposition to the ‘Young Plan’ which was believed to be yet another betrayal by the republic. This opposition was fueled by the stabbed-in-the-back myth as the young plan was seen as the republic agreeing to pay for something Germany was not to blame for. It was headed by Alfred Hugenburg.

Question 26

What was the govt response to the economic impacts of war?

Answer 26

There was a steady rate of inflation throughout the war period and the price of general goods quadrupled in price in 1914. In response to this in 1919, Mattias Erzberger (finance minister) reduced taxation further. This was to stimulate more spending which would lead to a higher demand of good and more jobs for returning soldiers. He also decided to print more money to keep paying repartions at the same time.

Question 27

What was the 1923 Crisis, Hyperinflation?

Answer 27

The value of the mark declined drastically due to printing more money to pay France. The decline spiralled out of control as a pair of shoes that cost 12 marks in 1913 cost 32,000,000,000,000 by November 1913. From 1922 Germany could not produce enough cash or equivalent resources to pay France which led to the occupation of the Ruhr.

Question 28

What was the Golden age of Weimar?

Answer 28

Successful implementation of the Dawes plan meant a period of financial stability for Weimar. The economy recovered and there was less political validity. A liberal culture thrived in reaction to the authoritarian society of the 2ndc Reich. There was a laxation of censorship laws and this increased civil liberties. This period was called the ‘Golden Twenties’ and the main theme was the Americanisation of the German society.

Question 29

What was the impact of the Great Depression on Germany’s economy?

Answer 29

The Great Depression hit Germany hard. The loans that Germany was dependent on from the USA stopped and the American investors demanded repayment. This loss of investment caused unemployment to rise to 6.1million by 1932.

Question 30

How did living standards change from 1918-1932?

Answer 30

• In 1918 economy was in a bad shape and the division between the poor and rich increased. The Weimar govt did introduce a new legislation to improve the working life of an industrial worker. However, these advances were worthless when inflation hit in 1923 when wages and savings became worthless.
• The extent of damage depended on your personal circumstance also. In 1924-29 (Golden Twenties) was relative stability however only the well off enjoyed the liberal atmosphere but others like disabled veteran faced hard lives.
• However during the depression, the total crash of economy equalled class divided. Everyone lived in shared squalor and poverty.

Question 31

What was the ‘Young Plan’?

Answer 31

1929 - International finance committee of allies under Owen Young reviewed the reparations system. The agreed on the’Young Plan’ which was a new scheme of payment. In which Germany continued to pay reparations but the overall amount was reduced.

Question 32

What impact did the Great Depression have on the masses?

Answer 32

Unlike the hyperinflation of 1923, the Great Depression affected everyone (even doctors were facing long-term unemployment). The masses had no income and bank closures were common. People had no money for rent and mortgage and faced eviction. People lost faith in the indecisive coalition govt under Chancellor Muller. More and more people looked to extremist groups.