Second Reich developments Flashcards
Economic growth
Economy expanded by 4.5% per year 1890-1914
Coal and iron production double
Germany’s share of world trade equal to britains 1914
German steel production exceeded britains 1900
New industries
Daimler and diesel
Aeg and Siemens
1913 Germany produced around 50% of the worlds electrical businesses
Synthetic dyes and pharmaceuticals
Industrial economy
Growing working class GNP ride from 33% to 42%
Improved transport
Trains, tramways and trolley buses
Urbanisation
Population boom
1910 60% of population lived in urban areas
Hamburg and Munich exceed half a mill 1910
Berlin 2 million
Overcrowding and homelessness
Poor standards of living
Created a boom in trade unions- 3 million 1913
Class tensions
Working class in conflict with industry owners over pay and conditions at work Junkers were dominant in society Owners of industry worried about socialism Mittelstand found their living standard threatened by new industries
Developments from the left
Growing working class led to expansion of left wing
SPD saw their support increase
1912 28% of vote
Developments from the right
Rise in nationalist politics with elements in the German Conservative party (DKP)
pressure groups sought to protect social elite from free market and to promote nationalism