1 - consequences of ww1

Question 1

German people’s reaction to WW1 defeat

Answer 1

shock -> during war, army commanders had been telling people they were close to victory

Question 2

political impact of WW1

Answer 2

• 9th Nov, Kaiser abdicated
• power went to Council of People’s Representatives (under Friedrich Ebert, SPD leader)
• Germany on verge of revolution (Ebert able to prevent this)

Question 3

How did Ebert prevent a revolution?

Answer 3

• maintained support of army by not reforming it or creating a new force
• kept support of industrialists (able to negotiate 8hr working day w/ trade unions)
• working class was divided btwn KPD & SPD (not a united front)

Question 4

economic impact of WW1

Answer 4

• industrial production = 2/3 of 1913 (pre-war)
• national income = 1/3 of 1913 (pre-war)
• 600,000 widows & 2 million children w/o fathers (by 1925, state spending 1/3 of budget on war pensions)

Question 5

social impact of WW1

Answer 5

• deepened divisions within society (huge gaps in living standards)
• many women worked in factories during the war but some believed this damaged family values

Question 6

‘stab-in-the-back’ myth

Answer 6

claimed Germany had been betrayed by politicians, eg. Ebert, & this is what prevented them from winning the war

Question 7

how the Weimar Republic was set up

Answer 7

• Ebert signed an armistice
• new constitution drawn up
• change in govt (autocratic system to democratic system)
• created ‘stab-in-the-back’ myth

Question 8

November Criminals

Answer 8

leaders of the Weimar Republic who signed the armistice that ended WW1

Question 9

When was the November Revolution?

Answer 9

1918

Question 10

What was the November Revolution?

Answer 10

political upheaval in Germany after WW1, leading to the end of the monarchy and the start of the Weimar Republic

Question 11

first president of Germany

Answer 11

Friedrich Ebert