year 10 eoy key topic 1: weimar republic 1918-1929 Flashcards
1
Q
when did Kaiser Wilhelm II come to the throne?
A
1888, when he was 29
2
Q
why was Britain so powerful in the 1880s?
A
because they had the largest empire and dominated world trade. they also had the largest navy, twice the size of the two closest rivals added together
3
Q
how much iron, steel and coal was germany producing in 1913
A
more iron and steel and as much coal as Britain
4
Q
in what industries did German companies dominate europe in the early 1900s?
A
electrical goods and chemicals
5
Q
how did the workers in the new factories, mines, and workshops feel in the early 1900s?
A
unhappy because wages were low, working conditions were poor, and food was expensive
6
Q
what had Kaiser Wilhelm always dreamed of?
A
making Germany as powerful as Britain
7
Q
who could vote for the Reichstag when the Kaiser ruled Germany?
A
all men over 25
8
Q
what was one problem faced by the Kaiser’s government?
A
he could ignore his advisors and the reichstag and just make all the decisions
9
Q
who was the Bundesrat?
A
the collective name for the state representatives who discussed new laws with the kaiser
10
Q
who was the kaiser supported by in his decision making?
A
the chancellor (chief minister), his advisors/ministers, reichstag, bundesrat
11
Q
what is the term for how the Kaiser built up Germany’s industry?
A
industrialisation
12
Q
what did workers do to try and force the kaiser to improve working conditions?
A
they joined trade unions and organised strikes
13
Q
what was happening to the factory and bussines owners during the time of the Kaiser?
A
they were getting rich
14
Q
who had influence with the kaiser?
A
factory owners, business owners, and noble army officers
15
Q
who did many ordinary workers vote for, and what did they believe in (in the times of the Kaiser)?
A
they voted for the Social Democrats Party (SPD) and believed in socialism
16
Q
what is socialism?
A
the idea that power and wealth should be shared equally among people
17
Q
what did the social democrats hope the kaiser would do?
A
share some of his power, and allow the Reichstag to make more social reforms or laws to improve workers rights and conditions
18
Q
around how many Germans voted for the SPD in the early 1900s?
A
around 1 in 3
19
Q
what did the more extreme socialists want?
A
they were starting to rebel against the Kaiser’s rule; they wanted to start a revolution, take over the country, and allow cities and towns to be governed by councils of workers
20
Q
what was potentially a major problem for the Kaiser government?
A
the rise of socialism
21
Q
between what years did the kaiser release a series of navy laws?
A
1898-1912
22
Q
what was the idea known as Weltpolitik, and what does that mean?
A
it was the idea that Kaiser wanted to transform Germany into a world power with control over countries in different parts of the world, Weltpolitik means world policy
23
Q
how many germans fought in the first world war?
A
11 million
24
Q
how many german troops died in the first world war?
A
2 million
25
how many germans were wounded in the first world war?
4 million
26
what was Germany's debts in 1914 compared to 1918?
50billion marks in 1914 to 150billion marks in 1918 (tripled)
27
how many germans died because of food shortages during ww1?
750,000
28
what had soldiers and workers done in many german towns in 1918?
they set up their own unofficial councils to replace the Kaiser
29
what day was the armistice signed by Ebert?
11th November 1918
30
what day did Friedrich Ebert set up a new German republic?
10th November 1918
31
what were some key points of the Weimar constitution?
- a bill of rights guaranteed every German citizens freedom of speech and religion, and equality under the law
- all men and women over the age of 20 were given the right to vote (in britain only women over 30 were given the right to vote)
- there was an elected president and an elected reichstag
32
what is a constitution?
a list of rules setting out how a government should work
33
when was the weimar constitution completed?
August 1919
34
was britain or germany more democratic in 1919?
germany
35
what were the strengths of the weimar constitution?
- established the most advanced democracy in europe (men and women had the vote at 20 years old, in britain men had to be 21 and women had to be 30)
- the president was elected every 7 years and had the power to appoint the chancellor
- the reichstag had the power to pass or reject changes in the law. members were elected by proportional representation every 4 years
- established the right of free speech and freedom of religious belief
- clear system of checks and balances; not one person or one group could have too much power. the president had the power to choose the chancellor and dismiss the reichstag, and the electorate could change the president
36
what were the weaknesses of the weimar constitution?
- article 48 said that in an emergency the president could make laws without input from the reichstag, which gave the president a lot of power. by 1930 the chancellor regularly relied on the president to pass laws
- proportional representation often led to many small parties gaining seats, including extremist groups like the nazis. no one party was big enough to form a majority and therefor there were lots of coalition governments that were often weak and short lived
- the army generals and judges were the same men who had served the Kaiser, and many of them did not like the Weimar republic
- the Weimar republic was not really the choice of the people; the republic was created out of violence without real public enthusiasm
37
what effect did the fact that the politicians who set up the weimar government were the same people who signed the armistice and ToV have on the reputation of the weimar government?
the politicians were known as the November criminals and the weimar republic was always linked to surrender and harsh peace treaty terms
38
when was the Treaty of Versailles signed?
28th June 1919
39
was the Treaty of Versailles popular in Germany?
no, it was extremely unpopular
40
what were the terms of the treaty of versailles?
- reparations: germany had to pay 6.6billion pounds in instalments until 1988
- colonies: 11 german colonies were given to the winning countries
- military: army was limited to 100,000 men, navy was limited to 6 battleships, 6 cruisers, 12 destroyers, 12 torpedo boats, and no submarines, no airforce was allowed, the Rhineland was demilitarised
- land: Alsace and Lorraine lost to France, Eupen and Malmedy were lost to Belgium, Posen and West Prussia were lost to Poland, lost 10% of it's population and 13% of it's European territory, lost all overseas properties and investments, 50% of it's iron and 15% of it's coal reserves
- war guilt: article 231 said that the war was Germanys fault and they have to accept the blame for the war (and therefore pay the reparations)
41
what did many Germans see the Treaty of Versailles as?
a diktat (enforced peace), Germany was not invited to the peace discussions so they felt that they had been treated unfairly
and a dolchstoss (a stab in the back) as many didn't think they were loosing the was and thought they would've won if they had carried on fighting
42
what did extreme right wing groups want after ww1 and what did they support?
the return of a strong government with a strong army, headed by a powerful leader like the kaiser. they supported capitalism and championed families, law and order, and traditional values
43
what was the main right wing party in 1919?
the National Party (DNVP)
44
what did extreme left wing groups want after ww1?
they wanted germany to be controlled by the people, they opposed capitalism and wanted to abolish private ownership of land and businesses, and put them in the hands of the workers
45
what was the main left wing party in 1919?
the German Communist Party (KPD)
46
what are the key points of the spartacist uprising?
- they managed to capture the governments newspaper and telegraph buildings, but that's as far as they got
- it was badly planned
- they didn't get the support of the other left wing groups
- the spartacist leaders disagreed about the timing and only supported it after if had started
- it was easily crushed by the freikorps
- rosa luxemburg and karl liebknecht were murdered
- it was not a bug threat to the weimar government
47
when did the spartacist uprising start?
5th January 1919
48
what were the key points of the Kapp Putch?
- the freikorps we're concerned about the number of commies
- the allies were getting worried about the size of the freikorps and put pressure on germany to disband it (because of the 100,000 soldier limit in the ToV)
- the uprising was led by Wolfgang Kapp
- they marched into berlin and declared that they were setting up a new government
- the army didn't stop them
- ebert called on the workers to launch a general strike; public services ground to a halt, and w/o transport or communications, the new right wing gov collapsed
49
when was the Kapp Putch?
March 1920
50
who are some of the politicians that were murdered?
Hugo Hasse - one of Ebert's council of people's representatives, murdered in 1919
Matthias Erzberger - politician who signed the armistice in 1918, shot and killed in august 1921
Walther Rathenau - weimar foreign minister, machine gunned to death in berlin in june 1922
51
how many political murders were there between 1919-1922?
376
52
when did the french enter the Ruhr?
January 1923
53
what did the government tell the workers to do after the French invaded?
go on strike
54
what did the government do when they were unable to pay the workers and the French?
they printed more money
55
what did printing money cause?
it meant that prices rose, so they printed more money, so prices rose again and etc. this was very bad for richer Germans with savings, so the economic instability created political instability as well
56
what were the positive effects of hyperinflation?
- farmers benefited as they were paid more for their money
- some people and businesses could pay off loans and mortgages
- fixed rents for rooms or shops became very cheap
- foreign visitors could by more for their money
57
what were the negative effects of hyperinflation?
- some people could not afford essentials like bread
- wages rose slower than prices rose
- some businesses went bankrupt
- people with fixed or monthly incomes such as pensioners suffered the most
- savings became worthless, middle class was most effected
- people blamed the government, so the weimar gov became unpopular
58
who did Ebert appoint as chancellor in august 1923
Gustav Stresemann
59
when did Stresemann resign from chancellor?
November 1923
60
what did Stresemann remain as after being chancellor?
foreign secretary, until 1929
61
what was the Rentenmark and who set it up?
Stresemann set up a new bank and introduced the Rentenmark (the new currency). it's value was tied to the price of gold and the supply of new notes was limited
62
what were the strengths of the rentenmark?
- it was backed by Germany's gold reserves
- german money was trusted at home and abroad
- hyperinflation ended
- stronger basis for the recovery of german businesses and improvements to employment
63
what were the weaknesses of the rentenmark?
people still lost a lot of money during hyperinflation so the confidence in the republic was knocked
64
what was the dawes plan?
reparations were temporarily reduced to £50 million an year, and US banks agreed to give loans to German industry; between 1924 and 1930, the US loaned Germany $25 billion dollars
65
what were the strengths of the Dawes plan?
- it reassured the allies would get their reparation payments
- french left the ruhr because stresemann called off the passive resistance
- industrial output doubled between 1923-1928 passing pre-war levels
- employment, trade, and income from taxation increased
66
what were the weaknesses of the Dawes plan?
- extreme political parties were furious that germany agreed to pay reparations
- the fragile german economy relied on american loans which could be recalled at any moment
67
what was the young plan?
it reduced the total reparation debt from £6.6 billion to £2 million, and gave germany an extra 59 years to pay
68
what were the strengths of the young plan?
- lower reparation meant there were lower taxes for german people
- lower taxes released public spending power; boosted german industry and created more jobs
- french agreed to leave the rhineland in 1930
- increased the confidence of germans in the weimar gov
69
what were the weaknesses of the young plan?
- extremist parties resented the additional length of time given
- annual payments were still £50 million a year
- stretched out payments until 1988
70
what year was the Dawes plan signed?
1924
71
what year was the Young plan signed?
1929
72
what was the locarno pact?
a treaty between Germany, Britain, France, Italy, and Belgium. it was agreed in equal terms with the other main powers (not forced in Germany). Germany accepted it's new 1919 border with france, and france promised peace with germany. germany and the allies agreed that the Rhineland would be permanently demilitarised. they all agreed to open talks about Germany membership to the league of nations
73
what were the strengths of the locarno pact?
- made war less likely in Europe
- Stresemann was given the nobel peace prize in 1926
- germany was treated as an equal, a boost to the prestige of the weimar republic
74
what were the weaknesses of the locarno pact?
some extremists resented that the hated versailles borders had been confirmed
75
when did Stresemann persuade the other countries to give Germany membership to the LoN
september 1926
76
what were the strengths of germany gaining membership to the LoN?
- boost to the moderate parties who supported Stresemann
- boosted the confidence of most germans in the Weimar government
77
what was the weakness of germany joining the LoN?
the LoN was a symbol of the hated versailles treaty, which many Germans wanted nothing to do with
78
what was the Kellog-Briand pact?
Germany and 61 other countries signed this pact. it promised they would never go to war unless it was to defend themselves after being attacked
79
what were the strengths of the Kellog-Briand pact?
- germany was included
- another sign that the Weimar republic was now a respected, stable state
- another boost to the prestige of the weimar republic in the eyes of the German public
- it increased confidence that the moderate political parties could be trusted to make Germany strong
80
what were the weaknesses of the Kellog-Briand pact?
it did nothing to remove the terms of the treaty of versailles
81
what year was the locarno pact signed?
1925
82
what year was the kellogg-briand pact signed?
1928
83
how much support did moderate parties get in may 1924 compared to 1928?
1924: 50%
1928: 58%
84
when did Ebert die?
1925
85
who replaced Ebert?
Paul von Hindenburg, a field marshal of the Kaisers army. he reassured the middle class and gave the republic a strong figurehead
86
when did Stresemann die?
3rd of October 1929 (from a heart attack)
87
how many were unemployed in germany in 1926 compared to 1928?
1926: 2 million
1928: 1.3 million
88
what was the unemployment act and what year was it made?
1927; charged 16.4million worker 3% of their wages and in return provided 60 marks per week in unemployment and sickness benefits if they fell out of work
89
how did the working hours and wages change between 1925-1929?
working week was shortened from 50 hours in 1925 to 46 hours in 1927, real wages (the value of goods that wages brought) rose by 25% from 1925 to 1928
90
how did housing change between 1925-1929?
in 1925, a 15% rent tax was introduced to fund new builds
between 1925-1929, private building companies built 37,000 new homes whilst the building associations built 64,000 new homes
91
what were the changes to women's work?
- most women gave up work after marriage (75% of women worked in 1918, 36% of women worked in 1925)
- few women secured high status jobs
- increase in part time work
- teaching and medicine offered new opportunities to women
- women were encouraged to go to uni
92
when did women earn the right to vote?
1918
93
what percentage of women turned up to elections?
90%
94
what did article 109 of the constitution say?
it states that women had equal rights with men and could enter professions on an equal basis
95
what changed in the leisure for women?
- greater earning power led to more independence for younger single women
- women were less interested in family and more interested in having a good time
- behaviour of new women was not liked by some men and women who felt traditional values were eroding
