Weimar Republic up to 1923 Flashcards
When did the Big Three meet to discuss the Treaty of Versailles?
January 1919
What is a coalition?
When two or more political parties form a government
Name 2 terms of the Treaty of Versailles
Blame- Article 231
Reparations- $6.6 billion
Army- 100,000 men, no air force, no submarines, 6 navy ships
Territory- lost to neighbouring countries
Name 2 weaknesses of the Weimar Constitution
Proportional Representation
Article 48
7 year term for president
Coalitions
What is proportional representation?
When the number of seats are allocated on the % vote a party receives
Name 2 strengths of the Weimar Constitution
7 year term for president
Proportional Representation
All citizens over 21 can vote
Who were the Big Three?
George Clemenceau
David Lloyd George
Woodrow Wilson
Which group tried to overthrow the government in January 1919?
The Spartacists
Who were the Freikorps?
Former soldiers from the German Army
Who was the leader of the Freikorps in 1920?
Wolfgang Kapp
Who was the first leader of the German Worker’s Party? (Nazis)
Anton Drexler
Who was the leader of the SA?
Ernst Rohm
Why did the French occupy the Ruhr?
Germany failed to pay them reparations
What is hyperinflation?
Extreme inflation
Name three effects of hyperinflation.
Normal living became impossible People lost savings People on fixed incomes struggles (pensions) Money became worthless People were able to clear debts Farmers benefitted from high food prices
What was the ‘stab in the back’ theory?
Belief that German army had been on verge of winning ww1 but were betrayed by Weimar politicians who agreed the armistice.
Why did Germans oppose the treaty of Versailles?
Shocked by severity of terms Diktat Military terms left Germany vulnerable It was humiliating Germany lost 13% of territory Territory lost had key industrial areas War guilt clause Reparations too high as they were recovering from war and had lost 10% of industry and 15% agricultural land
Who were the leaders of the Spartacists?
Rosa Luxembourg and Karl Liebneckt
How was the Kapp Putsch defeated?
General strike by the workers
When was the Spartacists revolt?
5th January 1919
How were the Spartacists defeated?
The Weimar Republic had to use the Freikorps to crush them
Why was the Spartacists revolt important?
Highlighted the instability of the Weimar Republic
New republic dependent on the army for support
What happened during the Kapp Putsch?
Kapp set up a new government in Berlin
Weimar govt fled to Dresden, asked workers in Berlin to organise general strike to paralyse the city
Army refused to remove Kapp
General strike led to chaos
When did Hitler become leader of the Nazi party?
1921
Who were the SA?
Brown shirts
Attracted many freikorps
Disrupt meetings of Hitler’s opponents
Led by Ernst Rohm
Who did the early Nazis want to appeal to?
Nationalists- destroy TOV
Socialists/ workers- give them a share in company profits
Anti Semitism
Promised to remove Communist threat- appealed to middle class and big business
When did the French occupy the Ruhr?
January 1923
Why did the French occupy the Ruhr?
Germany failed to pay reparations
How did Germans react to French occupation of the Ruhr?
Passive resistance
Why did Hitler carry out the Munich Putsch?
Determined to overthrow government
Timing- Weimar Republic very unpopular
Influenced by Mussolini
Convinced he would have support of Bavarian leaders
Nazi party appeared ready- 50,000 supporters and own private army
What were the events of the Munich Putsch?
Hitler interrupted meeting in Beerhall held by Kahr
Kahr escaped at some point during the night
Hitler and Ludendorff marched through Munich hoping to gain support
There was a gun battle, 16 Nazis were killed
Hitler arrested
What were the effects of the Munich Putsch?
Hitler imprisoned for 5 years (only served 9 months)
Increased publicity for nazis through trial
Nazi party banned
Hitler wrote Mein Kampf
Hitler had to rethink tactics for taking power
Why did Germans refer to the Treaty of Versailles as a ‘diktat’?
The terms were imposed on them- not agreed
Germany had not been allowed to take part in negotiations
What does ‘Dolchstoss’ mean?
Stabbed in the back
Name 2 types of opposition the Weimar Republic faced.
Extremist parties (left and right) in the Reichstag
Uprisings- Spartacist/ Freikorps
Political assassinations
Political parties having their own private armies
What was the name of the foreign minister machine- gunned down in June 1922?
Walter Rathenau
