Booklet 2: Opposition And Consent 1918-33 Flashcards
(32 cards)
The stab in the back myth
The First World War was not lost by the military, but the betrayal of socialists, communists, Jews and politicians.
The TOV confirmed the sense that Germany had been betrayed by politicians
How did the TOV affect the Weimar
Signed at the same time as constitution, the ‘November criminals’ who signed the armistice set up the republic
Demobilisation was a condition, resented
Reparations were blamed for problems of germanys economy
Economic consequences reparations
Hyper inflation 1923, passive resistance
Beer hall putsch 1923,partially triggered by ending passive resitance
Young plan 1929, accepting tov and principle preparations
Military demoralisation consequences
Kapp putsch 1920, partially triggered by demobilisation
Veterans organisation and paramilitary persisted
Psychological stab in the back
Organisation consul 1919-22
Targeted those involved with signing the tov eg Erzberger
Key TOV terms
Rhineland demilitarised
Army reduced to 100,000
All coal production from Saar given to France
Did reparations ‘cripple’ Germany?
The reparations were manageable economically but not politically
The political demoralisation of the tov was the most impactful result
Spartakist uprising January 1919
Wanted to replace germanys gov with network of local soviets
Germans feared the red plague
The rebellion was crushed by army and freikorps
Bavarian Republic March 1919
A soviet republic was declared in bavaria
Revolution crushed by freikorps and right wing gov put in charge
Ruhr uprising March 1920
Communists in Ruhr formed an army of workers
Controlled parts of Ruhr for weeks
Freikorps crushed uprising
The red fighting league (RFL)
KPD paramilitary
Street clashes with SA
Disbanded in 1929
Which left wing uprising was most serious?
The spartikist uprising, because it demonstrated Eberts weakness as he had to retreat and let the freikorps take over
The Kapp Putsch 1920
12,000 freikorps members marched on Berlin
Ebert ordered the army to to take them down, but they refused
Ebert called a general strike and it fell after 4 days
Organisation Consul 1919-22
Had up to 5,000 men
Murdered over 350 people including erzberger
Forced to disband in mid 1920
Munich putsch 1923
3,000 men marched to Munich
SA took control of army headquarters
Ebert declared emergency and ordered general strike and used army
Hitler was arrested
SA
involved in street fights
Added motor corps in 1929
Around 400,000 men in 1932
Junkers
Rich landowning class, strong army influence
Conservative nationalists who opposed communism
Industrialist and businessman
Based in industrial areas, controlled germanys biggest companies
Hugo stinnes- bought several national newspapers and changed their political views
Administrations and bureaucrats
Dominant groups in the institutions of Germany, civil service, judiciary, education system
Undermined government
How significant was the opposition of extreme left vs right?
Most of the support from working class went consistently to SPD
far right was perceived as thuggish and undisciplined, yet had support from army leaders
Working class support
Majority of working class supported republic till 1930
Received a more secure position to negotiate with business men
Lots of protests in 1920s, 1922 4,500 strikes
Middle class support
Middle class voters tended to move towards liberal/nationalist
Some feared the SPD would make Germany a workers state
Support weakened in 1923 after hyperinflation
Women support
Trade unions failed to support women in work after the war
Supported more moderate religious parties
In 1920s 60% of ZP vote was women
Weakening support in 1928
Disillusionment from young people and farmers
Industrialists unwilling to honour agreements made with workers
Middle classes resented rising costs
