8A Flashcards
(19 cards)
What was the state of Germany pre/mid-WW1 compared to post-WW1?
Pre WW1:
- Germany ruled by Kaiser
- autocratic and authoritarian
- limited personal freedom
- the Reichstag was a thing but the Kaiser and appointed officials (Chancellor) made most of the decisions
- Kaiser was a supporter of the army, listened mainly to his generals
- The Germans were a proud people, and the Kaiser was celebrated for his achievements
- They had probably the finest army in the world
Post-WW1:
- German army defeated and on the verge of collapse
- 150 billion marks in debt
- Allied Naval Blockade meant German ports were blocked by the British Navy, and food couldn’t be delivered
- 400,000 died from starvation as a result
- Germans were surviving on turnips and bread
- a flu epidemic killed thousands already weakened by starvation
What was the Kiel Mutiny?
The Allies had offered peace as long as the Kaiser abdicated and Germany became more democratic, but he refused. On October 29, 1918, sailors at a Naval Base at Wilhelmshaven refused to go to sea on a suicide mission against the British Navy. The mutiny spread, and they took over Kiel and set up workers’ councils to run the city. Eventually the German people, army, Prince Max, and the Allies all demanded abdication and a Socialist Republic. German citizens marched into the Berlin City Centre and protested the Kaiser’s Government, and Prince Max announced the Kaiser’s abdication without telling him, and the Kaiser fled to Holland on 9 November, 1918. Friedrich Ebert of the Social Democratic Party was elected Chancellor on 10 November, and he signed the Armistice with the Allies on 11 November
What were the impacts of WW1 on Germany?
Economic:
- Germany was virtually bankrupt
- National spending and industrial production was only a third of what it was in 1913
- There were food shortages
- Many children without fathers and widows
Social:
- Deepened divisions in society
- Huge gaps of living standards between the rich and the poor
- German workers were bitter at restrictions on their earnings while factory owners made fortunes
Political:
- There was an unstable democratic republic (Weimar Republic)
What were the strengths and weaknesses of the Weimar Republic?
Strengths:
- Universal suffrage; German citizens had freedom and choice, men and women aged over 20 could vote
- More democratic and balanced power
- The Chancellor needed the support of half of the Reichstag to pass laws
Weaknesses:
- Article 48 allowed the President to become a dictator, which was undemocratic
- Many enemies who hated/wanted to destroy them, the army was often used to subdue oppression and parties in the Reichstag despised democracy
- Proportional representation meant there were many disagreements and conflicting points of view due to a lack of a majority
- Coalitions were formed, with lack of cooperation and a lot of compromise, leading to parties lacking clear, strong policies
What was the Spartacist Uprising?
January 5-12, 1919, led by Rosa Luxemburg and Karl Liebknecht, they wanted a Germany run by workers councils and soviets, just like in Russia, where a Communist Uprising had just occurred in 1917. Joined by rebel soldiers and sailors, they set up Soviets in many towns after Ebert sacked the chief of police who was very popular with the workers. They carried out general strikes, 100,000 workers took over newspaper and telegraph offices, which allowed them to control the propaganda. Anticommunist ex-soldiers formed themselves into vigilante groups called the Freikorps. Ebert made an agreement with the commander of the army and the Freikorps to put down the rebellion. Street fighting ensued, and there were heavy casualties; over 150 workers died in Berlin. Eventually the Freikorps won, and the leaders were murdered.
What was the Kapp Putsch?
March 1920, many Germans resented Ebert for signing the Treaty of Versailles, they believed that he had had betrayed the Kaiser and the army. The Freikorps were becoming a very powerful force that hated the Weimar Government, so the Allies called on Ebert to break them up. Threatened with unemployment, Dr Wolfgang Kapp led 5,000 armed men to overthrow the government. They aimed to set up a Nationalist Government. As they were ex-soldiers, the army refused to fire on them, so they took over buildings in Berlin and declared a new government with Wolfgang as the figurehead. Ebert and the government fled to Weimar and ten to Stuttgart, before Ebert called a general strikes from the workers, who had more socialist leanings and therefore didn’t want a Nationalist Government. Essential services such as gas, water, electricity, and transport came to a halt. When Kapp realised they couldn’t win, the Freikorps were forced to retreat, Kapp was arrested, and died in prison while awaiting trial.
What were the economic terms of the ToV, and the Germans’ reactions? (3)
- Article 231 forced Germany to sign the War Guilt Clause, and accept responsibility for the war and pay high reparations, made the Germans unhappy as they thought the blame should be shared, and they said they were ‘signing a blank cheque’ because the reparations sum was unspecified
- coal from the Saarland was given to France for 15 years, which was a blow to German pride
- reparations of 132 billion marks or £6.6 billion; the Germans thought reparations would cause economic problems, their economy was already weakened, and it led to the Ruhr invasion, strikes, and hyperinflation
What were the territorial terms of the ToV, and the Germans’ reactions? (6)
- Alsace-Lorraine was returned to France
- Danzig became a free port city run by the League
- Saarland would be run by the League for 15 years, then a plebiscite would be held, which heavily affected the economy because it was a key industrial area
- West Prussia was given to Poland for sea access, which left Germans in foreign countries, under foreign governments
-Germany was forbidden from joining together (Anschluss) with Austria, its former ally - lost all of its overseas colonies, and France and Britain were taking control of German territories in Africa
What were the political terms of the ToV, and the Germans’ reactions? (1)
- League of Nations set up as an international ‘police force’, Germany wasn’t allowed to join until they proved they were a peace-loving country; the Germans felt that if they could have joined, they could have persuaded the Allies to alter the terms
What was the occupation of the Ruhr?
From 11 January 1923 to 25 August 1925. The first instalment of £50 million was paid in 1921, but nothing was paid in 1922. The Allies ran out of patience, particularly the French, who also had debts to other countries, and so French and Belgian troops entered and occupied the Ruhr, where they took what was owed in the form of raw materials, like coal, and goods, like machinery. The Government ordered the workers to go on strike, so the French resorted to violence, killing over 100 workers and expelling over 100,000 protesters from the region. The halt of industrial production in the most important region caused the collapse of the German currency.
Why did hyperinflation occur?
The Government decided to print more money to pay the striking workers and their debts, in worthless marks. Prices and wages skyrocketed, workers needed wheelbarrows to carry home their wages that were paid daily instead of weekly. Although poor people suffered, those who lost the most were middle-class Germans. A prosperous middle-class family would find that their savings, which might have bought a house in 1921, by 1923 would not even buy a loaf of bread. Pensioners found their monthly pension would not even buy one cup of coffee. The Government lost the support of the middle-class.
What did Gustav Stresemann do?
Took over in August 1923
- Hyperinflation: called off passive resistance in the Ruhr, called in useless marks and burned them, introduced Rentenmark
- Improved the economy under Dawes Plan and Young Plan, were sympathetic to unions which led to improved pay and conditions for workers
- More stable politics
- Cultural revival
- Foreign policies
What was the Dawes Plan and its impacts?
In 1924, spread out reparations over a longer time period, 800 million loans from the USA were given to stabilise the economy, primarily from American bankers and investors, and the Dawes Committee would recommend economic reforms.
Positive:
- the loans stabilised the German economy and reduced hyperinflation
- there was a period of economic growth in the mid-20s, known as the “Golden Twenties”
- improved Germany’s foreign relations, attracted foreign investment from countries like the US, improved the export market, and facilitated economic growth
money went into German businesses to replace old equipment with the latest technology, and into public works like swimming pools, sports stadia, and apartment blocks, providing facilities and creating jobs
Negative:
- Germany still had to pay a large number of reparations
- increased Germany’s dependence on external financial markers, as the loans could be called in at short notice
What was the Young Plan and its impacts?
In 1929, reduced the total amount of reparations from 132 to 112 billion marks, and 2 billion marks would be paid a year until 1988.
Positive:
- lower reparations meant lower taxes
- public spending increased, which boosted the economy and employment
- led to the removal of British, French, and Belgian troops from the Rhineland
Negative:
- the Great Depression destroyed any ability to pay reparations
What were the Locarno Treaties and their impacts?
In 1925, guaranteed they wouldn’t try to change Germany’s western borders with France and Belgium
Positive:
- improved diplomatic relations between Germany and the West, brought a period of relative peace and security
- led to Germany’s admittance into the League of Nations in 1926
- successful example of peaceful conflict resolution, encouraged further efforts towards disarmament
Negative:
- issues with Germany’s eastern borders remained unsolved
- extremist movements continued to gain a foothold
- Great Depression strained international relations, Locarno Treaties broke down
What was the Kellogg-Briand Pact and its impact?
Signed in 1928 between Germany and 61 other countries, they promised not to use war to achieve their foreign policy aims
Impacts:
- Germany is now included in the main powers, not dictated by them
- improved support for the Weimar Government, reduced support for Extremist parties
What were the cultural achievements and problems of the Weimar Republic under Stresemann?
Achievements:
- people became more liberated on sex and homosexuality
- they had more freedom to express themselves in art and performances due to less censorship
- there was more representation of the reality of everyday life
- criticisms of politicians, businesses, the Church, and army leaders were allowed
- there was an increase in American culture, jazz became very popular
Problems:
- many Germans in villages and country towns saw the culture of the cities as moral decline
- ther were organisations like the Wandervogel movement which called for a return to simple country values
What were the political achievements and problems of the Weimar Republic?
Achievements:
- became more stable
- there were no more attempted revolutions after 1923
- by 1928, moderate parties had 136 more seats in the Reichstag than the radical parties
Problems:
- the Nazis and the Communists were building up their party organisations
- there were four different Chancellors in the stable years, and only the influence of arty leaders held the party coalitions together
- 30% of the votes regularly went to parties opposed to the Republic
- right-wing Nationalist Party and the Nazis began to collaborate closely and make themselves appear more respectable
- German people elected a president in 1925 who was opposed to democracy, Hindenburg, who even wrote to the Kaiser for approval before he took the post
What were the economic problems of the Weimar Republic?
- the US loans could be called in on short notice
- there was high inequality, the main profiters were big businesses, which controlled about half of Germany’s industrial production, and big landowners
- unemployment began to rise to 6% of the working population by 1928
- peasants farmers had increased production during the war, but in peacetime they were producing too much, they didn’t have enough demand to pay their loans
- Small business owners became disillusioned
- small shopkeepers were threatened by large department stores
