Weimar Republic Questions Flashcards
Why, by 1923, was the Weimar Republic in crisis?
P1: Political instability
- numerous putsch from right and left (spartacist uprising in 1919, Kapp Putsch 1920, Munich Putsch 1923)
- political assasinations e.g. Rathenau in 1922, who was the Weimar foreign minister that had just signed a treaty renouncing Germany’s territorial claims in Russia
P2: Economic instability
- reparations had not been paid > Belgium and Fr enter the Ruhr
- Govt started printing Money > hyperinflation > money became worthless
- cost of bread increased from 163 marks in 1922 to over 2billion marks by Nov 1923
- the pensioners suffered
Why was the new Weimar government unstable up to 1923?
P: TOV caused problems
- reparations + invasion of ruhr > passive resistance, hyperinflation and economic crisis
P2: people were not used to this style of govt
- went from autocracy to democracy
- L wanted communism while R wanted strong govt made from military leaders ideally
- several uprisings including spartacist, kapp and munich putsch
Why were attempts made in 1919–20 to overthrow the Weimar Republic?
P: Govt associated with TOV
- people horrified by the terms (war guilt clause, disarmament, reparations)
- stabbed in back theory
- Explanation: lost confidence in government
P2: Didn’t like style of government
- used to autocracy not democracy
- Spartacist uprising due to left side wanting communist govt led by soviets
- R wing: Freikorps and Kapp Putsch, thought new government looked weak
Why did FR + BG occupy the Ruhr in 1923
P1: TOV allowed them to
- owed 6.6 billion in reparations according to TOV
- GER paid in 1921 but kept delaying in 1922
- by late 1922, FR was tired of waiting an invaded the Ruhr to collect reparations in terms of goods which they could do under TOV
P2: FR under pressure to repay war debts
- invaded ruhr which was industrial centre and rich in coal and iron to get goods to rebuild their country and pay back USA
Why did some political groups oppose the Weimar Republic?
P1: Associated with the TOV
- stabbed in the back
- opposed reparations, war guilt clause, disarmament
P2: Didn’t like this style of govt
- democracy (used to autocracy/wanted communism),
- coalition (weak, difficult to come to a decision and many elections)
Why did Germany find it difficult to recover economically in the years up to 1923?
P1: Cost of WW1
- industry was at 2/3 of what it was before the war (double check)
- had to pay war widows + orphans
P2: Reparations were very high
- 6.6 billion = 2% of its output
- when they couldn’t pay > invasion of ruhr > passive resistance > industry collapsed > govt printed money > hyperinflation
Why did events in the Ruhr in 1923 have important consequences for Germany?
P1: It caused economic collapse
- invasion of Ruhr > passive resistance > industrial production collapsed > Govt no longer had goods to trade + had to pay wages of workers on strike > printed out more money > became worthless > hyperinflation
P2: caused hyperinflation which affected people’s lives
- could no longer afford to buy bread (2 billion marks in Nov 1923)
- pensioners and people with savings were badly affected
- led to uprisings e.g. Munich Putsch
Why did the Kapp Putsch take place in 1920?
P1: Against TOV
- disgusted by terms, especially disarmament, wanted return of Kaiser/days when GER was strong and had strong army
- Disbanded soldiers joined the Freikorps which allowed them to continue to behave like soldiers. This led Wolfgang Kapp to believe that he had a sufficient force to overthrow the government. Kapp then led them in an attempted uprising in Berlin.
P2: Against communist
- afraid of communism, communist uprising the year before that the govt was to weak to stop (needed help of freikorps)
Why was the French occupation of the Ruhr in 1923 important for Germany?
P1: led to passive resistance > industry collapsed > govt. had no goods to trade with
P2: hyperinflation: govt printed money > money became worthless > bread very expensive, pensioners and those with savings saw their money wiped out
P3: led to rise of Stressman, became economic minister and since his actions helped solve the crisis, he became prominent in govt for the rest of the decade
P4: led to rise of Hitler > Munich Putsch partly because he thought people’s dissatisfaction with govt after the events in the Ruhr will allow Nazis into power > failed but he was able to publicise his ideas during his trial
Why was there left-wing opposition to the German Republic
P1: Disappointment with terms of the treaty
P2: Did not like the way the govt was run
- wanted a government similar to Soviet Russia, run by soviets/workers councils
Why was there right-wing opposition to the German Republic
P1: TOV – humiliating, stabbed in the back
P2: did not like the way the govt was run, too liberal, + wanted a strong autocracy (e.g. return of the Kaiser or military leaders)
Why did the Freikorps attempt to take control of Germany in 1920?
P: anti TOV, wanted big army
P2: Anti Weimar, wanted strong autocracy led by strong military leader/kaiser
Why, following the American stock market crash, did the Weimar Republic face an economic crisis?
P1: Germany’s prosperity dependent on Dawes plan of 1924
- american banks stopped given loans + they started demanding that Germany start paying back debts owed
P2: Germany still had to pay reparations despite the fact that there was a global depression and trade had stopped so they were no longer making money
Why was proportional representation a weakness of the Weimar Constitution?
P: ‘Proportional representation meant that it was extremely difficult for one party to gain overall control. All Weimar governments were therefore coalition governments, made up by representatives from a number of different political parties, each with its own agenda. The coalition governments often did not last long, and there were nine general elections during the years of the Weimar Republic. There was much political instability as a result.’
P2: ‘Proportional representation meant some extremist parties were now represented in the Reichstag.’ ‘It meant that extremist parties now had a platform for publicising their causes.’
Why were the Freikorps important in the early years of the Weimar Republic?
P1: Caused significant problems for the govt: Kapp Putsch
P2: Government relied on them against communism
- Spartacist uprising, bavarian and Ruhr uprisings
Why was Ebert able to defeat left and right-wing threats to the Weimar Republic in 1919–20?
P: workers went on General strikes during Kapp Putsch
P2: Freikorps during Spartacist, Bavarian and Ruhr Uprisings
- Ebert used a combination of army, police and Freikorps to defeat the communists in the Ruhr.
Why was the existence of the Weimar Republic under serious threat in 1923
Why was 1923 a year of crisis for the Weimar Republic?
P: hyperinflation + economic crisis
- reparations had not been paid
- French and Belgian troops entered the Ruhr taking what was owed to them in the form of raw materials and goods. The government responded by calling for passive resistance. Lack of production resulted in the loss of government income
P2: political instability
- there had been political assassinations - 400 people assassinated between 1919-1923, number of assassinations reached its peak in 1923
- Munich Putsch: Because of financial difficulties, Hitler believed the Republic was on the verge of collapse
Why did Germans resent the French occupation of the Ruhr in 1923
P1: Did not like that FR could come and take their goods > passive resistance > 100 killed, 10,000 deported from Ruhr > industry collapsed
P2: Caused economic collapse > hyperinflation > price of bread… pensioners …
Why was Germany facing economic disaster by 1923?
P1: occupation of ruhr > passive resistance > production + industry collapsed > trade collapsed
P2: Hyperinflation > money was worthless > people could no longer afford bread, pensioners and those with saving saw their money disappear
Why was the Republic able to recover and prosper after 1923?
P1: Streseman’s reforms
- introduced a temporary currency, the Rentenmark, to replace the worthless currency used during hyperinflation. He replaced this, in 1924, with the Reichmark
- cut government spending by getting rid of 700,000 govt workers
- called off passive resistance
P2: Germany more accepted by international community
- Dawes plan: Stresemann negotiated a US loan of 800 million gold marks to kick start the German economy
- accceptance into LON
- France left Ruhr
Why were the Spartacists a threat to the German Republic?
P: support from workers
- Large following in industrial areas e.g. Berlin
- They encouraged agitation in the factories and on the streets
- encouraged general strikes
- Many uprisings: e.g. Spartacist, Ruhr,
P2: Opposed Democracy
- wanted to overthrow Weimar Govt and replace it with soviet style government
- The Communists declared a Soviet republic in Bavaria (expand)
Why were the 1920s a period of cultural achievement for Germany
P: Dawes plan = more opportunity
- more businesses could open e.g. restaurants and jazz clubs = increased opportunities for cabaret artists, singers and dance bands
- more investment into cinema = The 1920s were the golden age for the German cinema.
P2: no censorship, people free to be more liberal and try new things
- Writers and poets were allowed to flourish + Artists turned their back on old styles of painting.’
- The Bauhaus style of architecture developed > s rejected traditional styles to
create new and exciting buildings. They produced designs for houses, shops, art galleries and factories
- Berlin night life was daring and liberated
Why, by 1923, was the Weimar Republic in crisis?
P: rebellions / political instability
- Kapp/Munich Putsch, Spartacist Uprising, Uprising in Ruhr and Bavaria
There had been numerous political assassinations throughout 1922 and into 1923. This caused some political instability. This was made worse by the attempted coup by the Nazis at Munich
P2: economic crisis
- passive resistance in Ruhr
- hyperinflation
There were not enough goods for the domestic market and, therefore, prices rose. The government printed more money to pay the workers. This made inflation worse
Why was the Weimar Republic facing problems in 1919–20
P1: Anger at the TOV
- especially in army > disbanded soldiers formed Freikorps > Kapp Putsch
P2: Anger at the style of govt
- Spartacists wanted communist style govt > Spartacist uprising in 1919
Why did the Weimar Republic face political opposition from the start?
P1: People thought the govt was weak
- weren’t used to democracy
- nearly all the Kaiser’s former advisers remained in their positions in the army, judiciary and civil service. They restricted what the government could do
- Left wanted communism
- Many on the right wanted Kaiser to return
P2: Associated with TOV
- led to uprisings e.g. angry ex army became freikorps > Kapp Putsch
- Nazis associated govt with November Criminals
Why did the Weimar Republic face political opposition from the start?
P1: People thought the govt was weak
- weren’t used to democracy
- nearly all the Kaiser’s former advisers remained in their positions in the army, judiciary and civil service. They restricted what the government could do
- Left wanted communism
- Many on the right wanted Kaiser to return
P2: Associated with TOV
- led to uprisings e.g. angry ex army became freikorps > Kapp Putsch
- Nazis associated govt with November Criminals
Why did Germany suffer from hyperinflation
P1 : Passive resistance
- after occupation of Ruhr, govt called for passive resistance > production stopped > not enough domestic goods so prices skyrocketted
- in 1921, Large quantaties of goods sent to BG + Fr so limited goods in GER to begin with
P2: Govt printed money - money worthless
- price of bed
- pensioners/people with savings
Why were there many uprisings and disturbances in Germany in the years 1919–22
P1: TOV
- A crisis hit the new Republic in May 1919 when the terms of the Treaty of Versailles were announced. Most Germans were appalled. In the minds of many Germans, Ebert and his Weimar Republic were forever to blame for the Treaty. The injustice of the Treaty became a rallying point for all Ebert’s opponents.
P2: Didn’t like the style of govt
- R wing wanted Kaiser/autocracy/military leadership
- L wing wanted communist style govt
