Germany 1918-21

Question 1

What was the Sparticist Revolt?

Answer 1

At the end of World War One, Germany was torn asunder by revolutions, including one led by the Sparticist League, a German communist group.

The revolt failed when the leaders of Germany’s largest party, the Social Democratic Party, supported the conservative Army establishment rather than the communists.

Question 2

How did the German people react to the harsh terms of the Treaty of Versailles?

Answer 2

Germans were incensed at the Treaty of Versailles. They resented the clause which fastened the war’s guilt solely on Germany, and felt it unduly harsh, given that by the war’s end there was not a single Allied soldier in German territory.

Other sources of irritation included German territory that had been given to Poland, and the large reparations payments.

Question 3

What were the two branches of the German legislative branch in the Weimar Republic?

Answer 3

The German legislative branch consisted of the Reichsrat, elected by the German states, and the Reichstag, elected by the people generally.

In comparison with the United States Congress, the Reichsrat can be considered an upper house like the Senate, and the Reichstag a lower house like the House of Representatives.

Question 4

In March 1920, German conservatives, supported by segments of the German military, attempted to overthrow the Weimar Republic in an event known as the _____ _____.

Answer 4

Kapp Putsch

The Putsch (a German word for a sudden attempt to overthrow the government) took place in Berlin. The Weimar Republic called upon workers to strike in opposition to the Putsch, and the coup collapsed in the face of popular opposition.

Question 5

What was the Stab in the Back myth?

Answer 5

The Stab in the Back myth was popularized by German conservatives in the 1920s and 1930s, and contended that it was not battlefield defeat which led to Germany losing World War One, but the actions of German liberals on the Home Front.

German politicians such as Hitler also tied the Stab in the Back myth to the activities of purportedly disloyal German Jews during the war.

Question 6

In 1923, the leader of Germany’s National Socialist Party, _____ _____, attempted to seize power in Munich in an event known as the Beer Hall Putsch.

Answer 6

Adolf Hitler

The National Socialist Party, better known as the Nazi Party, had the support of popular German hero Erich Ludendorff.

The Putsch failed and Hitler was arrested and charged with high treason. During the trial, the German newspapers reported Hitler’s testimony, enabling him to reach a wide audience with his ideas. Given a short sentence in comfortable quarters at Landsberg Prison, Hitler used his time to compose his book Mein Kampf.

Question 7

In 1921, the Allies presented their first reparations demand to Germany, totaling some 132 billion gold marks. How did Germany respond?

Answer 7

The reparations demand required payment in gold or non-German currency, and was far more than the entirety of Germany’s gold and non-currency holdings.

To meet the demand, Germany began printing vast sums of money with which to purchase foreign currency. Hyperinflation set in, and the German mark (the form of German currency before the euro) fell from 8.4 marks to the dollar in 1921 to 4.2 trillion marks to the dollar in 1924.

Question 8

when was the war
when was the armistice signed
what was Germany experiencing at this time

Answer 8

war: 1914-1918
armistice signed: 11th November 1918
By this time Germany was experiencing widespread unrest which eventually ended in a revolution

Question 9

why was the war devastating for Germany

Answer 9

by November 1918 the situation in Germany verged on the edge of a civil war.
A huge public protest was held in Berlin and members of the SPD (social democratic party) called for the Kaisers resignation
9th November 1918 Kaiser Wilhelm abdicated and two socialist parties the Social Democratic Party and the Independent Social Democratic Party (USPD) declared a republic
10 November 1918 all the state leaders that had been appointed by the monarch left their posts and new revolutionary state governments took over instead. The monarchy had been abolished and Germany had the chance to become a democracy

Question 10

when did Kaiser Wilhelm abdicate

Answer 10

9th November 1918

Question 11

what is a republic

Answer 11

a country ruled without a monarch and power is held by the people via elected representatives

Question 12

what was Germany made up of

Answer 12

Germany was made up of 18 states and each one had its own government. The national government decided national affairs and the state governments dealt with more local affairs.

the German states could pass laws going against the Reichstag

Question 13

discuss the signing of the armistice

Answer 13

11th November 1918

a ceasefire to end WW1 was agreed
the allies (Britain, France and the USA) signed an armistice (truce) with Germany
the new republic was under pressure to sign as the government didn’t think Germany could continue fighting as its military morale was low and people were starving
the armistice wasn’t supported by some right-wing Germans who saw the truce as a betrayal and believed Germany could still win the war

Question 14

what was the Council of People’s representatives

Answer 14

After the Kaisers abdication Germany was disorganised and different political parties claimed control over different towns
a temporary national government was established consisting of the SPD and USPD
it was called the Council of People’s representatives
It controlled Germany until January 1919 when elections were held for a new Reichstag (parliament)

Question 15

what was the Weimar Republic

Answer 15

the first Germany had been governed as a democracy
designed to give the German people a voice
It had major flaws in its constitution that made it weak
In January 1919 the Council of People’s Representatives organised elections to create a new Parliament as Germany was now a democracy and the people would say how the country was run
Fredrich Ebert became the first President with Philip Scheidemann as Chancellor
Ebert was leader of the SPD (a moderate party of socialists)
February 1919 the members of the new Reichstag met at Weimar to create a new constitution for Germany. The constitution decided how the government would be organised and established its main principles

Question 16

how did the constitution organise the German system of government

Answer 16

President:

elected every 7 years by German people
Chooses the Chancellor and is head of the army
the president had the most power but the Chancellor was in charge of the day-to-day running of the government
Can dissolve the Reichstag, call new elections and suspend the constitution
Reichstag:

the new German Parliament
Members are elected every 4 years using proportional representation
parties in the Reichstag were elected by the German people
controlled taxation on the people
Reichsrat:

Second less powerful house of parliament
consists of members from each local region
can delay measures passed by the Reichstag

Question 17

what is proportional representation

Answer 17

where the proportion of seats a party wins in parliament is roughly the same as the proportion of the total votes they win. This made small coalitions and made constitutions weak and powerless.

Question 18

how was the constitution fair

Answer 18

even small political parties were given seats in the Reichstag if they got 0.4% of the vote or above
the constitution allows women to vote for the first time
lowered the voting age to 20 so more Germans could vote and the German public had greater power

Question 19

what were the weaknesses of the German Weimar Republic Constitution

Answer 19

even though it was more democratic it didn’t prove to be very efficient

proportional representation meant that even parties with a small number of votes were guaranteed to get into the Reichstag meaning it was difficult to make decisions because there were so many parties all with different points of views. It also allowed extremist parties to get into the Reichstag
Under Article 48 when a decision couldn’t be reached or a law needed to be passed as an emergency the President could suspend the constitution and pass laws without the Reichstag’s consent. This power was only meant to be used in an emergency but it became a useful way if getting around disagreements that took place in the Reichstag meaning it undermined the new democracy. It was abused by the president

Question 20

what was article 48

Answer 20

Under Article 48 when a decision couldn’t be reached or a law needed to be passed as an emergency the President could suspend the constitution and pass laws without the Reichstag’s consent. This power was only meant to be used in an emergency but it became a useful way if getting around disagreements that took place in the Reichstag meaning it undermined the new democracy. It was abused by the president

Question 21

what was proportional representation

Answer 21

proportional representation meant that even parties with a small number of votes were guaranteed to get into the Reichstag meaning it was difficult to make decisions because there were so many parties all with different points of views. It also allowed extremist parties to get into the Reichstag

Question 22

when was the treaty of Versailles signed

Answer 22

28th June 1919

Question 23

what was the treaty of Versailles

Answer 23

after the armistice a peace treaty called the treaty of Versailles was imposed on Germany
the terms of the treaty were mostly decided by the Allied leaders (David Lloyd George of Britain/ Georges Clemenceau of France/ Woodrow Wilson of USA)
The new German government wasn’t invited to the peace conference in 1919 and had no say in the Versailles Treaty
At first Ebert refused to sign the treaty but in the end he had little choice as Germany was too weak to resist the rising conflict
On 28th June 1919 he accepted the terms and signed
As a result the Weimar republic became associated with the pain and humiliation caused by the treaty of Versailles
the treaty was very unpopular in Germany and many Germans resented the new government for accepting its terms

Question 24

what were the terms of the treaty of Versailles

Answer 24

Article 231 of the treaty said Germany had to take the blame for the war, the War-Guilt-Clause. Many Germans didn’t agree with this and were humiliated by having to accept total blame
Germany’s armed forces were reduced to 100,000 men and they weren’t allowed to have any armoured vehicles or submarines, only 6 warships which made German people feel vulnerable
Germany was forced to pay £6600 million in reparations for the damage caused by German forces in the war. The amount was decided in 1921 but was later changed. The heavy reparations seemed unfair to Germans and would cause lasting damage to Germany’s economy
Germany lost it empire, areas around the world that used to belong to Germany were now called mandates. They were put under the control of the league of nations and organisation which aimed to settle international disputed peacefully. People opposed the losses in territory especially when people in German colonies were forced to become part of a new nation
the German military was banned form the Rhineland (an area of Germany on its western border with France) which left Germany open to attack from the west.

Question 25

discuss the betrayal Germans felt by the Weimar Republic

Answer 25

The treaty of Versailles causes resentment towards the Weimar Republic Germans called the treaty a ‘diktat’ meaning a treaty forced upon Germany and many blamed Ebert for accepting its term some believed the treaty signing was a stab in the back

Question 26

what was the stab in the back

Answer 26

some Germans believed the armistice was a mistake and that Germany could have won the war. They felt ‘stabbed in the back’ by the Weimar politicians who brought the treaty of Versailles upon Germany unnecessarily The Weimar politicians involved in signing the armistice became known as the November Criminals

Question 27

how did the treaty of Versailles play a part in the failure of the Weimar republic

Answer 27

the treaty of Versailles played an important part in the failure of the Weimar Republic as it harmed the Republic’s popularity and created economic and social unrest that hindered the government for years

Question 28

why was their widespread discontent in the first four years of the Weimar Republic

Answer 28

The first four years of the Weimar Republic (1919-1923) were dominated by political, social and economic unrest and it created hardship for the German people and fuelled criticism of Ebert’s government By 1919 thousands of Germans were poor and starving and an influenza epidemic has killed thousands Many Germans denied they had lost the war and blamed the November Criminals who agreed to sign the armistice and the treaty of Versailles. Jews and Communists were also blamed the government was seen as weak and ineffective the treaty of Versailles made living conditions worse

Question 29

what was the Spartacist Revolt

Answer 29

5 JANUARY 1919 the extreme left wanted a revolution 4th January 1919 Chancellor Ebert sacks Eichhorn (chief of police in berlin.) , the workers got on well and like Eichhorn so thousands of workers take to the streets in protest the Sparctist see this as an opportunity to undermine the government and have a general strike in berlin, this works! On the 6th January 1919 100 thousand workers take to the streets In January 1919 communists led by Karl Liebknecht and Rosa Luxemburg tried to take over Berlin They took control of important buildings like newspaper headquarters and 50,000 workers went on strike in support of the left-wing revolution The German army is too weak from the war and the treaty to put down this riot alone Ebert (chancellor) asked for help from the right-wing Freikorps (ex-German soldiers) to stop the rebellion Over 100 workers were killed and by the 13th January the rebels had finally been driven off. The Freikorps’ use of violence caused a split between on the left between the SPD and the communists Rosa and Karl were killed

Question 30

What form of government replaced the Hohenzollern monarchy after World War One?

Answer 30

In 1919, Germany became a republic. The new government was a semi-presidential system, in which power was divided between a popularly elected president, the cabinet headed by a chancellor and responsible to the parliament, and a two-chambered parliament. This republic is known as the Weimar Republic from the town in which the new government first sat.

Question 31

what was the Kapp Putsch

Answer 31

13 MARCH 1920 the right also rebelled against the Weimar government In March 1920 some of the Freikorps themselves took part in the Kapp Putsch led by Wolfgang Kapp They wanted to create a new right-wing government The Freikorps marched into Berlin to overthrow the Weimar regime But German workers opposed the Putsch and staged a general strike Berlin was paralysed and Kapp was forced to give up Even after the Putsch failed threats to the government remained and in 1922 some former Freikorps members assassinated Walter Rathenau who had been Foreign minister and was Jew As Germanys economic problems got worse after the war anti-Semitic feeling increased

Question 32

what does anti-Semitic mean

Answer 32

anti-jewish

Question 33

what is dolchstoss

Answer 33

the right wing belief that Germany could have won WW1 but was betrayed

Question 34

what happened in 1923

Answer 34

11th JANUARY 1923 -RUHR INVASION Germany could no longer meet the reparations payments set out by the ToV France and Belgium decided to take Germany’s resources instead so they occupied the Ruhr which was the richest industrial part of Germany. This gave them access to Germany’s coal and iron reserves and this occupation led to fury in Germany and caused a huge strike in the Ruhr German industry was devastated again. Germany tried to solve her debt problem by printing more money but this plunged the economy into hyperinflation In 1918 an egg cost 1/4 of a mark and by 1923 one egg cost 80 million marks

Question 35

what were the consequences of hyperinflation in Germany

Answer 35

Germany’s currency became worthless and nobody wanted to trade with Germany so shortages of food and good got worse Bank savings also became worthless hitting the middle classes the hardest By 1923 even basic necessities were hard to get hold of. The German people were undergoing immense hardship which they’d now come to associate with the rise of the Weimar Republic

Question 36

who became chancellor in 1923

Answer 36

August - November 1923 Gustav Stresemann became Chancellor of the Weimar Republic. His domestic and international policies helped the German economy to recover resulting in the ‘golden years’ of the Weimar Republic. He made important changes to help Germany recover from its economic crisis

Question 37

what did Stresemann do to help Germany’s economy recover

Answer 37

September 1923 he ended the strike in the Ruhr reducing tension between Germany, France and Belgium and meant the government could stop compensation payments to strikers November 1923 Stresemann replaced the German Mark with the Rentenmark to stabilise Germany’s currency Stresemann created the ‘great coalition’ which was a group of moderate, pro-democracy socialist parties in the Reichstag who agreed I work together. This allowed parliament to make decisions more quickly

Question 38

what did Stresemann become in November 1923

Answer 38

he became foreign minister he tried to cooperate more with other countries and build better international relationships and Germany’s economy prospered as a result

Question 39

what was the Dawes Plan

Answer 39

signed 1924 Stresemann secured France and Belgium’s withdrawal from the Ruhr and agreed more realistic payment dates for the reparations. The USA lent Germany £40 million to help it pay off its other debts. the plan was successful in helping Germany’s economy but meant that Germany became completely dependent on USA

Question 40

what was the young plan

Answer 40

agreed in 1929 the allies agreed to reduce the reparations to a quarter of the original amount and Germany was given 59 years to pay them

Question 41

what was the Locarno Pact

Answer 41

signed in October 1925 Germany, France and Belgium agreed to respect their joint borders even those created as a result of the ToV

Question 42

when was Germany allowed to join the league of nations

Answer 42

8th of September 1926 and Germany was re-established as an international power

Question 43

what was the Kellogg-Briand Pact

Answer 43

signed by Germany in August 27, 1928 alongside 65 other countries. they promised not to use violence to settle disputes

Question 44

what did Germany’s economic recovery help do

Answer 44

it helped restore faith in the Weimar Republic - there was strong support for pro-Weimar political parties in the 1928 elections

Question 45

discuss the end of Germany’s dependence on the US

Answer 45

life was beginning to look better under the work of Stresemann But he died in October 1929 just before the disaster of the Wall Street Crash which was massive stock market crash in the USA which started a global economic depression the plans Stresemann had agreed only worked if the USA had enough money to keep lending to Germany but after the crash it didn’t

Question 46

when was the golden years

Answer 46

1924-1929

Question 47

what improved during the golden years and why

Answer 47

during the golden years living standards improved in the Weimar Republic as a result of Germany’s economic prosperity but also the reforms which took place through the 1920’s unemployment wages housing

Question 48

how did unemployment improve in the golden years

Answer 48

the unemployed were more protected. In 1927 the government introduced unemployment insurance. workers could pay into the scheme and would receive cash benefits if they became unemployed.

Question 49

how did wages improve during the golden years

Answer 49

the working classes became more prosperous. Wages for industrial workers rose quickly in the late 1920’s.

Question 50

how did wages improve during the golden years

Answer 50

the working classes became more prosperous. Wages for industrial workers rose quickly in the late 1920’s.

Question 51

despite the improvements during the golden years what problems remained

Answer 51

higher living standards could only be maintained with a strong economy and Germany’s was fragile the changes mainly helped the working classed and the middle classes couldn’t access the welfare benefits not everyone benefited from higher standards of living. The middle classes felt ignored by the Weimar Government and their resentment made it easier for the government’s political opponents to gains support

Question 52

how did housing improve during the golden years

Answer 52

the government launched mass housing projects. more than 2 million new homes were built between 1924 and 1931 which also provided extra employment

Question 53

what was the munich putsch

Answer 53

November 8-9, 1923. 1. Background Post-World War I Germany: The Weimar Republic was struggling with economic instability, political extremism, and resentment over the Treaty of Versailles. Rise of Hitler and the Nazi Party: The Nazi Party, led by Adolf Hitler, was gaining support by capitalizing on nationalist and anti-Semitic sentiments, advocating for the overthrow of the Weimar government. 2. Planning the Putsch Hitler’s Goal: Hitler sought to overthrow the Weimar government and replace it with a nationalist dictatorship. He aimed to seize power in Bavaria and then march to Berlin. Support: Hitler had the backing of some military leaders, Bavarian officials, and right-wing groups, including the Stahlhelm (paramilitary group). The Trigger: The Bavarian government, led by Gustav von Kahr, was opposing the Weimar government but was reluctant to align with Hitler. This created an opportunity for a coup. 3. The Event – November 8–9, 1923 November 8 – Beer Hall Meeting: Hitler and the Nazis attempted to seize power at a large political rally in a Munich beer hall. They aimed to capture key Bavarian leaders, including Kahr, who were meeting there. Initial Success: Hitler, with his followers, stormed the beer hall and declared the establishment of a new government. Kahr and other officials were held at gunpoint, but they managed to escape. November 9 – The March on Munich: Hitler and his followers marched through Munich, expecting support from local military units and citizens. However, they were met with resistance from the Bavarian police and army. 4. The Failure Confrontation with Police: A gunfight erupted between the Nazis and the police on the streets of Munich. Several of Hitler’s supporters were killed, and the rest of the group was scattered. Hitler’s Arrest: Hitler was arrested the following day, along with other key Nazi figures involved in the putsch. 5. Aftermath Trial and Sentence: Hitler was put on trial for treason in February 1924. His defense was a platform for nationalistic rhetoric, and he used the trial to gain national attention. He was sentenced to five years in prison but served only nine months. The Nazi Party’s Revival: Although the Munich Putsch failed, it was a pivotal moment in Hitler’s rise. During his imprisonment, he wrote Mein Kampf, outlining his political ideology. Long-Term Impact: The putsch’s failure ultimately helped Hitler refine his approach to gaining power. He shifted to pursuing power through legal means, culminating in his appointment as Chancellor in 1933. Key Takeaways: The Munich Putsch was a failed coup attempt by Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party. While the immediate goal of seizing power was unsuccessful, the putsch helped to increase Hitler’s visibility and support. The event marked a turning point in Nazi strategy, leading to the eventual rise of the Nazi regime through legal political means.