Who was the president of the Weimar Republic?
Ebert
What were the aims of the Weimar Republic?
To create the most democratic system in the world
(“Political System in which the population votes for its gov. in elections held on a regular basis (power is therefore ultimately derived from the people”
Who was the chancellor of the Weimar Republic?
Phillip Scheideman
What was the German Revolution?
(When the Kaiser, Willhelm II, who was virtually a dictator, was replaced by a democratic Republic
What Happened in The German Revolution?
(Autumn 1918-Nov. 1918)
Autumn 1918- German army was being pushed back after gaining ground (and rasing popular expectations of victory)
Germany suffered Economic and social pressures, by the war (food shortages and strikes)
29 Sep 1918 - General Ludendorff (Organised German offensive and seen as most powerful man in Germany) called for an armistice (To save the country’s reputation before being fully invaded
4 Oct 1918 - New Government was formed by Prince Max of Baden who was hoping to get an armistice based off his 14 points (It was thought a new gov. would get less harsh terms)
16th Oct - Wilson demanded the Kaiser be removed from power before any armisitice is signed
17th Oct - Ludendorff now changed his tune (declared army could hold out
. accused civillian leaders of failing to deliever reinforcements and failing to raise moral on home front)
(Made it look like he is not responsible for defeat and he was stabbed in the back)
29th Oct- German navy mutinied (sailors at kiel refused to attack the British)
Unrest spread through the entire fleet and then through germany, with socialists leading uprisings of workers and soldiers)
7 Nov 1918 - In munich Kurt Eisner (memeber of militiant Independent Socialist Party) declared an independent, socialisst Bavarian Republic
9th Nov - Kaiser abdicated + replaced with Ebert, leader of SPD (Largest Party in the Reichstag)
11th Nov - Armisitce was signed (Germany felt stabbed in the back because they were still in foreign soil and they thought they were winning)
Why Was the Weimar Republic Doomed from the start?
Why was the Weimar Republic not doomed from the start?
What were the Economic Impacts of WW1?
Social Impacts of WW1?
Political Impacts of WW1?
How many seats did the SDP win?
38%
When did Free Elections first take place?
January 1919
Why was it called the Weimar Republic?
Because the new coalition government thought that Berlin was too dangerous due to the violence and civil unrest
How did the Weimar Constitiution work?
Look at the folder for the Diagram
What other policies did the Weimar Republic implement?
Flaws of the Weimar constitution? (Proportional Representation)
Proportional Representation- Small extremist parties were able to gai a foothold in the Reichstag and get publicity for their cause
Flaws of the Weimar Republic (Article 48)?
Article 48 arguably gave the prsident too much power as it allowed him to discard the democratic system of the government
Between 1929 and 1933 Presidential decrees were increasing in regularity. This helped to undermine respect and confidence in the new democracy
What was Germany’s constitution in 1914?
Look at picture in folder
What is Article 23 of the Weimar Republic?
The Reichstag is elected for 4 years
Why may Article 23 be good or bad?
Good because…
There is more of a say regularly
Bad because….
Changing govts –> Potentially no continuity
What is Article 41?
The President is chosen by the whole of the German electorate. They are elected every 7 years. They select the chancellor, control the army, and call elections
Why Might Article 41 be bad?
7 year is long
What do Left wing groups believe?
Why do Right group wings believe?
(Right Wing germans waited for the Kaiser to come back and believed in the “stab in the back” myth)