Weimar Germany: Questions

Question 1

What did lots of people in Germany want by the end of 1918?

Answer 1

A revolution similar to the Russian Communist Revolution.

Question 2

Give two examples of revolutionary feeling in Germany.

Answer 2

i. Kiel Mutiny - Soldiers refused to fight the British Navy.

ii. 40,000 dock workers take control of themselves. Government control is lost in Bavaria and Hamberg.

Question 3

When did the Kaiser leave Germany?

Answer 3

9th November 1918. He gets replaced by a democratic government led by Friedrich Ebert.

Question 4

What did the Weimar Republic do first?

Answer 4

End WW1 on the 11th November 1918. The Armistice.

Question 5

What were three impacts of the First World War.

Answer 5

i. New government. People were unsure about it.
ii. Financial problems. $37billion had been spent.
iii. Social unrest. Friekorps - unemployed soldiers who were nationalists.

Question 6

Name three problems with the new Weimar Republic.

Answer 6

i. The voting system meant that every Political Party got a share in running the country, this led to lots of uneasy teaming up of Parties that had not much in common.
ii. There were 29 different Political Parties.
iii. Article 48 meant the President could take charge in an emergency, meaning the chance of a new Dictatorship was built into the constitution of the country.

Question 7

Why did Germans find the Treaty of Versailles humiliating?

Answer 7

i. The Germans were given no say in the Treaty. It was a Dikat - dictated peace. Germany had to accept all blame for WW1, when the reality of the causes was more complex.
ii. Germany felt weak and insecure because of the loss of armed forces and land.
iii. The amount they had to pay back was going to increase poverty and difficulty. The war had already cost Germany billions of pounds.

Question 8

Why was the Treaty of Versailles a challenge to the Weimar government?

Answer 8

i. People thought Ebert/the government were weak for signing it. They believed a strong government would have stood up to the Treaty.
ii. People began to view the armistice, signed in November 1918, differently. All of a sudden it seemed like a bad idea. The amount of people missing the Kaiser increased. The Weimar Government got a new nickname - “The November Criminals”. People felt they had been stabbed in the back by the government signing the Treaty.

Question 9

What were the big challenges faced by the Weimar Government between 1919 and 1923?

Answer 9

• A country ruined by war.
• Revolutionary mood in the country.
• Weak Constitution.
• Treaty of Versailles.
• Left and Right Wing Uprisings.
• Political murders.

Question 10

What happened in the 1919 Spartacist Uprising?

Answer 10

50,000 Communists rose up.

They attempted to capture the government newspaper.

SDP had to use right-wing Friekorps to put them down.

Question 11

What happened in the Kapp Putsch?

Answer 11

Right-wing groups hated the SDP.

Attempts to disband the freikorps was hated.

Wolfgang Kapp rose up but people supported the SDP not him.

Question 12

What political murders were there in the 1920s?

Answer 12

376 murders between 1919 and 1922.

Matthias Erzberger was killed in 1921. He was a “November Criminal”.

Question 13

Why was the Ruhr invaded by France in 1923?

Answer 13

Germany could not keep up with the money it owed France through reparations.

Question 14

What were the consequences of the invasion of the Ruhr?

Answer 14

Workers refused to cooperate with the French.

There was protest and the amount that Germany was producing fell dramatically. The government had to start printing money to pay wages.

Question 15

What did hyperinflation do to Germany?

Answer 15

There was a rush to the shops, as prices changed by the hour.

Savings became worthless. Every class of people was affected.

Question 16

In what year did the DAP publish the 25 Point Plan?

Answer 16

1920

Question 17

Who was the leader of the DAP who Adolf Hitler worked with at first?

Answer 17

Anton Drexler

Question 18

What did the DAP Party eventually become?

Answer 18

The Nazi Party

Question 19

What were two things that the 25 Point for Plan for Germany outlined should happen.

Answer 19

1. Get rid of the Treaty of Versailles.

2. All Jewish people should be expelled from Germany.

Question 20

Why was there an increase in hatred for Jewish people in Germany after the signing of the Treaty of Versailles.

Answer 20

Step 1: The Treaty of Versailles weakened Germany and damaged peoples pride in their country.

Step 2: This made people think differently about the revolution that had got rid of the Kaiser in 1918, maybe the protests should not have happened.

Step 3: Back in 1918, lots of the leaders of the protests against the Kaiser had been Jewish so they became an easy target for blame.

Question 21

What happened to support for extremists during the middle 1920s?

Answer 21

Support for extreme parties went down and support for Democractic parties went up.

A key example: There was an 8% voting swing in favour of centre democratic parties between 1924 and 1928.

Question 22

When did Hitler write Mein Kampf?

Answer 22

During the years he was in prison after the failed Munich Putsch.

Question 23

Name three ways the Nazis reorganised themselves at the Bamberg Conference in 1926.

Answer 23

The Nazis were split into local regional Parties with each region getting their own leader.

The Nazis set up women and youth organisations.

The Nazi Party arranged parts of their organisation that would look into big areas like finance, education and industry.

Question 24

What were examples of big businessmen the Nazis received donations from in the years 1924 to 1929?

Answer 24

Thyssen, Krupp and Bosch.

Question 25

What event happened in 1929 which negatively affected Germany?

Answer 25

The Wall Street Crash. This had the consequence of stopping American loans coming to Germany, meaning that factory production slowed and unemployment began to rise.

Question 26

What are two examples that show the effect the Depression had on Germany.

Answer 26

Unemployment rose steadily to 6 million people out of work by 1932.

40% of industrial (factory) production disappeared.

Question 27

Who did workers in Germany begin to support during the Depression years?

Answer 27

The Communist Party.

By 1931, there were 100 Communists who had been elected to the German Reichstag.

Question 28

How did rising support for the Communists help the Nazi Party?

Answer 28

The Middle Classes in Germany gradually began to support the Nazis as they were seen as the most likely alternative to a Communist takeover.

Question 29

How did Joseph Goebells use propaganda very effectively during the Depression years?

Answer 29

Posters with clear and powerful messages were produced: “work and bread”, “our last hope”.

Technology → radios.

Hitler was flown to different places throughout the country in order to give speeches and raise his profile around the country.

Question 30

How did running for President of the Weimar Republic help Adolf Hitler and the popularity of the Nazi Party?

Answer 30

In 1932, Hitler challenged Hindenburg for the role of President. He was never going to win because Hindenburg was a hero.

However, this did increase the awareness of Hitler and made him a candidate to become Chancellor of the Weimar Republic once Hindenburg had to appoint a new one.

Question 31

How did Bruning, the “hunger” Chancellor, weaken support for the Weimar Republic during the Depression?

Answer 31

He made mistakes that led to the support for extreme parties, like the Nazis, to grow

He increased taxes to pay for unemployment benefits. This reduced the amount of money in the country and added to food shortages and protest.

He increased taxes on rich Prussians, which increased support for the Nazis from big business and the upper classes. Hitler was fast becoming a more sensible option for Chancellor.

Question 32

Why did von Papen and von Schleicher fail as Chancellors?

Answer 32

Von Papen was Chancellor from June-November 1932. He made a deal with Hitler and the Nazis to help him get support, in return he lifted the ban of the SA so the SA started being more violent on the streets. He also could not lead the Reichstag or make any strong decisions.

Von Schleicher could not control the Reichstag. He had no authority and resigned in December 1932.

Question 33

What mistake did both men make about Hitler?

Answer 33

They underestimated him and thought they could control him once Hitler became Chancellor.

Question 34

Precisely, how did the increased support of the Nazis show in their number of seats in the Reichstag?

Answer 34

1930 - 107 seats
Nov 1932 - 230 seats
July 1932 - 196 seats
1933 - 288 seats

Question 35

How did the Depression help Hitler become Chancellor in January 1933?

Answer 35

As unemployment rose more people voted for the Nazis.

This was because the Nazis promised a strong government who would make decisions and end the Depression.

The Nazis promised different groups in Germany different things. For example, workers were promised work and bread, Middle classes and big business were promised protection from the Communists taking control and economic stability.

Question 36

How did the pressure of big business leads to Hindenburg appointing Hitler as Chancellor in January 1933?

Answer 36

German businessmen had lost a lot of money during the Depression as industrial production had dropped by 40%. They also had to repay loans to the banks. They had lost faith in the Weimar Republic, but feared the Communists taking control. They supported the Nazi party.

Businessmen and rich landowners put pressure on Hindenburg to appoint Hitler as Chancellor.

Question 37

What did the increased representation of the Nazis in the Reichstag mean for Hitler becoming Chancellor?

Answer 37

Hindenburg could not ignore the Nazi party or Hitler’s claim to be Chancellor

Question 38

How did rising support for the Communists help the Nazi Party?

Answer 38

The Middle Classes in Germany gradually began to support the Nazis as they were seen as the most likely alternative to a Communist takeover.

Question 39

When was the Reichstag Fire?

Answer 39

February 1933. It was blamed on a Communist, Marinus Van der Lubbe.

Question 40

What happened to the Communists because of the fire?

Answer 40

Due to Article 48 (emergency) they were banned from campaigning. People began to vote for the Nazis in even bigger numbers due to increased fear of Communism.

Question 41

What did the Enabling Act do?

Answer 41

It gave Hitler the power to pass laws in the Reichstag by himself for four years.

Question 42

What things did Hitler do to gradually end Democracy?

Answer 42

Banned Trade Unions

Banned Political Parties

Set up a Show Court (People’s Court)

Question 43

When was the Night of the Long Knives?

Answer 43

June 1934

Question 44

What was the importance of the Night of the Long Knives in helping Hitler set up a Totalitarian State?

Answer 44

It got rid of a rival within the Nazi Party (Ernst Rohm).

It allowed Hitler to remove the SA and make the SS more important.

It led to the whole German army taking an oath of loyalty to Hitler, which meant he had total control over all the military power of the country.