Weimar Republic: Fucked From The Start? Flashcards by Al Cnr | Brainscape

Q

How did the government work when the kaiser was in power?

A

Germany had the reichstag but kaiser had most of the power- he chose the minsters and sacked people he didn’t like

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Q

When did the kaiser rule?

A

1888-1919

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Q

What was the state of Germany in 1918

A

Germany faced certain defeat in WW1 and people in Germany faced starvation

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Q

Why did the kaiser leave?

A

The allies would only make peace with Germany if it became more democratic

Violent uprisings

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Q

Who became the leader after the kaiser?

A

Friedrich Elbert

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Q

What year did friedrich Elbert come to power?

A

1919

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Q

What was the government called after the kaiser’s and what was the leader called?

A

The Weimar Republic

Frederich Elbert

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Q

How was friedrich Elbert elected

A

Democratic election

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Q

What was good about the Weimar constitution?

A

Both men and women could vote

All adults have equal rights and freedom of speech

Parliament voted on laws (democratic)

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Q

What was article 48?

A

In an emergency, the president could pass laws without going through the reichstag

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Q

Pros and cons of proportional representation

A

Pros: small parties got a say

Cons: rarely a majority in German politics so it was hard for laws to be passed

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Q

When was the armistice written?

A

1918

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Q

What was the stab in the back theory?

A

Germans believed that the German army was doing very well in the war (kaiser did not reveal any of the bad news) and the German people thought that the Weimar Republic stabbed them in the back by signing the armistice

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Q

What problems did the ‘stab in the back’ theory create for the Weimar Republic?

A

German people did not trust the government and opposition parties used it to their advantage to weaken support for the leaders of the Weimar Republic

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Q

When was the treaty of Versailles written?

A

1919

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Q

What did the German people hope for in the treaty of Versailles?

Why?

A

They hoped for a fair treaty

They had a new, Democratic Party,

president Wilson did not want harsh sanctions on Germany,

Germans felt they didn’t start the war

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Q

What did the treaty of Versailles say about land?

A

Germany lost 13% of its land

They lost land that was rich in important raw materials

German troops were not allowed in the Rhineland

All Germany’s overseas colonies were taken away

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Q

What did the treaty of Versailles say about army?

A

Germanys army was reduced to 100,000 troops

Their navy was cut to 15,000 troops and only 6 battleships

Germany was not allowed submarines, tanks or battleships

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Q

What did the treaty of Versailles say about blame?

A

Germany was blamed for the war

Allies demanded compensation for German damages

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Q

What did the treaty of Versailles say about money?

A

Germany had to pay £6.6 billion reparations- mostly to France and Belgium but some to England

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Q

How did the German people react to the treaty of Versailles?

A

Humiliated
They hated the allies
Blamed the government- showed government was weak and reinforced ‘stab in the back’

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Q

What did the German government feel about the treaty of Versailles?

A

They didn’t Like it but they had no choice but to accept it as the allies threatened to restart the war if they didnt accept

Q

Who were the spartacist rising?

A

The spartacist league: A communist group set up by Rosa Luxemburg and Karl Liebknecht

Q

Why did the spartacist league want power?

A

Did not trust new government
Didn’t think Elbert would improve the lives of working people
Saw the 1917 communist Russian revolution and wanted something similar

Q

How did the spartacist league try to take over?

A

In January 1919, workers were protesting throughout Germany and the spartacist league tried to turn this into a revolution

But the army and freikorps crushed the rising

Q

How successful was the spartacist rising?

A

Badly planned

Did not get support from other left wing groups

Rosa Luxemburg and Karl leibknecht were both killed

Without their leaders, the spartacists were defeated

Q

Who were the freikorps?

A

Units made up of ex-soldiers who were anti-communist

Q

Who caused ‘The Red Rising in the Ruhr’

A

Groups of workers led by the communist party

Q

Why did ‘The Red Rising in the Ruhr’ happen?

A

Workers upset about bad pay & conditions

Workers had been protesting throughout 1919

Q

What happened in ‘The Red Rising in the Ruhr’

A

A communist ‘Red Army’ of 50,000 workers occupied the Ruhr region of Germany and took control of Germany’s main industrial region

The army and freikorps crushed the rising

Q

When was the spartacist rising?

A

1919

Q

When was ‘The Red Rising in the Ruhr’

A

1920

Q

Was ‘The Red Rising in the Ruhr’ a success?

A

The rising had weak leadership and no clear plan

The communist party had lots if demonstrations and strikes never seriously threatened the government

Q

When was the Kapp Putsch?

A

1920

Q

Who were the Kapp Putsch?

A

A freikorps unit led by Johann Kapp

Q

Why did the Kapp Putsch happen?

A

In 1920 the German government ordered that the Freikorps be disbanded as the left-wing groups had now been crushed

Q

What happened in the Kapp Putsch?

A

12,000 freikorps marched on Berlin and the government were forced to flee

Kapp was made leader of Germany

Q

How successful was the Kapp Putsch?

A

Kapp failed to win much support as leader

In Berlin, workers went on strike as a protest

It was impossible for Kapp to rule so after 4 days he fled and Elbert’s government returned

Q

When was the Munich putsch?

A

1923

Q

Who led the Munich Putsch?

A

The Nazi party led by Hitler and General Ludenorff- they had 55,000 members and their own private army; the SA

Q

Why did the Munich Putsch happen?

A

Nazis believed democracy led to a weak government

Thought a dictatorship would be best

Q

What happened in the Munich Putsch?

A

They planned to make Ludenorff the German leader

Hitler and 600 SA burst into a meeting where the leader of Bavaria was speaking and made him promise to support their plan

Q

Success of Munich Putsch?

A

Not planned

The leader of Bavaria was allowed to leave the hall and the next day, he withdrew his support

The German army was then ordered to crush the revolt

Hitler was imprisoned for 5 years but let out after 9 months

The nazis almost fell apart without Hitler

Q

When was the french invasion of the Ruhr?

A

1922

Q

Why did the French invade the Ruhr?

A

Germany said they couldn’t afford to pay the reparations so 60,000 French and Belgian troops seized the main industrial area if Germany, the Ruhr

Q

How did the German government respond to the invasion of the Ruhr?

A

The German government told the workers to not cooperate with the French and go on strike

PASSIVE RESISTANCE

Q

How did the workers get money during the passive resistance?

A

The German government paid them although they were not working and the country was getting no income from its main industrial area

This caused Germany to run very short of money

Q

When was hyper inflation?

A

1923

Q

How was hyper inflation caused?

A

The German government ran very short of money during the passive resistance so they:

Printed off a lot of money- this deflated the value of German money

Q

Who did hyper inflation help?

A

People in debt could pay of their loans more easily

Businessmen found it easier to pay back money they borrowed to build up their company

Q

Who did hyper inflation negatively affect?

A

People with savings lost all the value of their money

People on fixed wages were soon earning nothing

Q

Effects of hyper inflation

A

Major food shortages and starvation as farmers didnt want to sell their food for worthless money

High crime

Q

How did hyper inflation effect the government?

A

People who had worked hard and saved money all their lives lost out whilst debtors and big business’ did well

Hyper inflation was caused by the governments wrong doing

This turned many against against the government

Q

What caused the Nazis to do the Munich Putsch?

A

Their members were impatient for change

Lots of their members joined purely for the putsch and the hope of taking over power